Even for the most passionate NBA Fans, there are… many games. And that’s not counting the pre- and post-game press conferences, practice availability and countless social media posts. All that said, it’s hard to keep up with everything that’s going on, from on-court highlights to off-court fashion choices.
Just this week featured an All-Star Game feud that originated with an insult you’d see on an elementary school playground, a coach nearly destroying a folding chair in disgust, and a father-son duo. No named LeBron and Bronny James making history in the NBA.
Let’s share some winners and losers from this week in the NBA.
Look, I’m all for cleverness. Giving them the “too small” after rating someone, when appropriate, can be intimidating. NBA players have became extremely creative with his three-pointer celebrations. And, in almost any other circumstance, Giannis Antetokounmpo extending a handshake to an opponent and then pulling it back like a seven-year-old saying “too slow,” would have been hilarious.
But man, you can’t do that move after potentially hitting said opponent with a stiff elbow to the temple.
Celtics forward Jaylen Brown was understandably irritated in the moment and doubled down after the game, calling Antetokounmpo “a kid.” Antetokuonmpo called it “a joke” and well, yes, of course it was. But, as with any joke, you have to read the room, and Giannis clearly failed in that regard.
Not to mention, Giannis and the Bucks are literal underdogs this week, losing three of their four games (the only win was over the Jazz…congratulations?) to bring their record to an ugly 2-8.
Winner: Cavs continuity
If you had a penny (For anyone under the age of 25, cents are monetary units that) for every expert who insisted that the Cleveland Cavaliers I absolutely had to If you traded this offseason, you would have enough money to buy some nice lakefront real estate right now. Last season, the Cavs did well in Donovan Mitchell-Jarrett Allen minutes and Darius Garland-Evan Mobley minutes, but were perfectly mediocre with all four on the floor together. The logical conclusion was that Cleveland needed to send someone packing (most likely Garland) in order to reach true championship contention.
Cavs president of basketball operations Koby Altman listened to all their criticism and said…
Instead of trading one or two players, he hired a new coach, Kenny Atkinson, who has Cleveland off to an 11-0 record: they beat the Warriors and Nets in back-to-back games over the weekend to get their victories number 10 and 11 of the season, and the best offensive rating in the league (122 points per 100 possessions) with basically the same squad. Everyone loves a trade machine, but the Cavs are showing there’s something to be said for staying the course with players you believe in.
Perhaps no NBA player looks better when things are going well and worse when things go bad than D’Angelo Russell. Unfortunately for the Lakers, it was the latter that reared its threatening head this week.
Lakers coach JJ Redick decided not to bring Russell back into the game midway through the third quarter during Wednesday’s 131-114 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies, citing the “level of competition” and “attention.” in detail” of the tenth year guard. Social media experts quickly identified a clip from the game that accurately shows Redick’s frustration.
First, Russell gets caught ball-watching on defense and makes absolutely no effort to cover up his mistake as he watches Grizz forward Jake LaRavia slide down the lane in search of the easy basket. Then, on the other end, Russell puts on a dribbling display in the corner before Jay Huff blocks his step-back 3-pointer (yes, former Lakers great Jay Huff). Finally, Russell half-heartedly tries to steal Santi Aldama’s hand before giving up an open corner three-pointer to…could it be someone else? – That’s right, Jay Huff boy. It really is a sight worth seeing in real time.
After a Zapruder-type inspection, Redick almost put his chair on the bench through the wood of the FedExForum in reaction to the implausible set of gaffes.
Understandably, Redick reconsidered his personnel decisions before the next game against the woefully short-handed Philadelphia 76ers, bringing Russell off the bench and promoting Cam Reddish to the starting lineup. Russell played well as a reserve, finishing with 18 points and three assists on 7-of-12 shooting in 25 minutes and earned a +13 score, earning praise from his coach.
“We’ve asked him to do things. He’s accepted the role,” Redick said of Russell after the win. “He’s talked to me all the time. He has a very strong desire to win and a very strong desire to be coached. And our level of communication from June 20 until today has been nothing but open, honest and transparent. And I guess will continue to be so.”
That being said, Russell had some interesting plays along the way.
Russell came off the bench once again in the Lakers’ 123-103 win over the Raptors on Sunday night, scoring 15 points on 6-of-13 shooting in 26 minutes. Hey, maybe this was best for all parties involved.
The alternate title for this entry would be “Loser: Gravity.” There’s really not much to say here other than do one Playing like that for your entire life, even in a mini hoop, would be worthy of endless bragging. Doing it twice in the same game is the strangest absurdity. Ha Morant, ladies and gentlemen.
Of course, this being the NBA, Morant suffered a hip injury two nights later against the Lakers (after another high-flying display) and is now considered week-to-week. At least we have that fancy horizontal split-screen video from NBA social media to tide us over until he returns.
Winner: Parents and children
The NBA is increasingly a league of second-generation players, with “Jr.” and “II” and “III” inscribed on the back of various jerseys seemingly every game. However, this was an especially good week for father-son connection. On Friday, Memphis Grizzlies guard Scotty Pippen Jr. achieved the first triple-double of his career (11 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists) as Ja Morant’s backup starter, making him and his father, Scottie Pippen (yes, they spell their names differently, get over it) the First father-son duo in the play-by-play era. to each record a triple-double. The elder Pippen had 17 of them during his Hall of Fame career, so Youngin has some catching up to do.
The next night, LeBron James headed to El Segundo to see his son Bronny (you may have heard of him) during his Debut in the G League for the South Bay Lakers. It may not seem as cool as playing in the same NBA game, like they did in the Lakers’ season opener, but the G League is where Bronny will get the reps that could eventually hone him into a solid player. of the NBA rotation. He didn’t have the most impressive stats in his debut (six points on 2-of-10 shooting), but he’s already coming into his own, throwing this soft one-handed lob to teammate Kylor Kelley for an easy dunk.
I enthusiastically praise my five-month-old daughter when she burps well after feedings, so I can’t imagine what it’s like to see your daughter perform at this level.
