Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving Shine While James Harden Disappears as Nets Destroy 76ers
The only thing better for the road team than the sound of silence is the sound of the home fans booing the home team. Philadelphia fans paid a lot of money to boo former 76er Ben Simmons and cheer new 76er James Harden, but by the second half the only sounds Philadelphia fans made were boos directed at their listless and soft 76ers, who trailed by as much as 36 points en route to a 129-100 loss to the Brooklyn Nets.
Kevin Durant scored a team-high 25 points, grabbed a game-high 14 rebounds, and dished for a game-high seven assists while shooting 10-17 from the field and posting a +34 plus/minus number; he authored a complete performance in all aspects of the game at both ends of the court, and it was obvious that he took this game very personally not only vis a vis Harden but also vis a vis Joel Embiid, with whom Durant exchanged pointed words early in the game. Kyrie Irving--on the heels of a scintillating 50 point performance during which he shot 15-19 from the field--scored 22 points on 8-17 shooting from the field, he had five assists, and he accepted the challenge of guarding Harden. Former 76er Seth Curry poured in 24 points on 10-14 field goal shooting, and former 76er Andre Drummond had an impact in the paint at both ends of the court while compiling seven points, seven rebounds, and three blocked shots in 21 minutes.
The Nets led wire to wire, and were already ahead 72-51 at halftime, by which time 76er fans directed their consternation away from Simmons and toward Harden and company. Simmons did not play, as he is getting into condition after not playing at all so far this season. I am not a fan of how he talked his way out of Philadelphia while he was still under contract, but I am also not a fan of how the organization, coaching staff, players, media, and fans in Philadelphia turned Simmons into a scapegoat. As we saw tonight, this team has plenty of flaws, even after Daryl Morey replaced Simmons with Harden, the player who Morey considers to be the greatest offensive player of all-time. The Nets did not even need Simmons' versatility, playmaking, and defense
to annihilate the 76ers. Imagine how good the Nets can be if they are
ever at full strength!
People need to stop focusing on Ben Simmons' deficiencies, and start focusing on James Harden's deficiencies.
James Harden is who I said he is. I have been saying it for nearly a decade, and I know that some people will never listen, believe, or accept, but James Harden is overrated, he is mentally soft, and he disappears in big games. Longtime 20 Second Timeout readers know that I do not place too much emphasis on the result of any one particular game, but this was not just one game for Harden--this one game is part of a career-long pattern. Harden scored 11 points on 3-15 field goal shooting in the first half. His former teammates showed great game plan discipline, shading him to his right hand and not committing silly fouls. Harden had a -22 plus/minus number in the first half. Harden scored no points on 0-2 shooting from the field in the second half before Coach Doc Rivers mercifully pulled the plug, and put Harden--whose -30 plus/minus number tied Joel Embiid for game-worst "honors"--on the bench.
Embiid bulled his way to 19 free throw attempts and he made 15, but he shot just 5-17 from the field and, as is often the case, he wore down after being aggressive during the game's first few minutes. He finished with 27 points and 12 rebounds, but no one who watched this game with understanding thinks that the player who is being hyped as the 2022 MVP is in the same category as Durant. Durant has missed too many games this season to be considered in the MVP balloting, and if Embiid misses any more games then he should be dropped from consideration as well, but this game was a great reminder that if these teams meet in the playoffs the best player on the court will be Durant.
Put another way, this game provided a great example of the difference between NBA champions Durant and Irving compared to "wanna be" champions Embiid and Harden. Embiid is young enough, big enough, and talented enough that perhaps there is still hope that he could lead the right kind of team to a title, but he needs better physical conditioning, a more refined/focused mentality, and a better, more reliable sidekick than Harden. Both Embiid and Harden spent much of the first half bricking shots and then whining to the referees about phantom fouls. They looked like the opposite of what champions look like, and that fundamental flaw will not change any time soon, no matter how many regular season games the 76ers win the rest of the way.
The way that the 76ers looked tonight is the way that they will look when the pressure ramps up during the playoffs.
What happens in big games matters more than empty calorie, padded statistics compiled against inferior teams--and, no matter how much anyone tries to play it off after the fact, this was a big game not only in the standings, but also because of the trade that brought Simmons, Curry, and Drummond from Philadelphia to Brooklyn in exchange for Harden. Yes, this is just one game, but this one game reaffirmed much of what we already knew about Durant, Irving, Embiid, and Harden, which in turn reaffirms much of what we already knew about the championship prospects of both teams: Philadelphia is a team built by tanking, and that loser's mentality is tough to shake; Brooklyn is a team built around the talents of former NBA champions Durant and Irving, and the Nets are a major threat if they stay healthy (which includes Irving being available for home games as soon as possible, which may happen if the New York City COVID-19 vaccination mandate is lifted).
Labels: Andre Drummond, Ben Simmons, Brooklyn Nets, James Harden, Joel Embiid, Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, Philadelphia 76ers, Seth Curry
posted by David Friedman @ 10:54 PM
Lakers Hit New Low With Overtime Loss to Rockets
The Houston Rockets have the worst record in the Western Conference and are just percentage points ahead of the Orlando Magic in the "race" to post the worst record in the entire NBA, but the L.A. Lakers lost to the Rockets in overtime on Wednesday night, 139-130. This loss will be tough to blame on everyone's favorite scapegoat, Russell Westbrook, but I have full faith and confidence that Skip "Clueless," "Screamin' A" Smith, and the rest of the village idiots will figure out how to trash Westbrook's name and Westbrook's game.
The Lakers' overall problem, as Charles Barkley has repeatedly noted, is that without Anthony Davis they are old, slow, and lack defensive presence in the paint. The Lakers sometimes play well in stretches, but they cannot sustain good play for much more than a quarter or two at a time. Another Laker problem is that LeBron James has entered "We're not winning anyway so let me pad my stats" mode. "Lakers Lose Despite LeBron James' Triple Double" is the headline that LeBron James wants to see after the Houston loss, and most media outlets will bow to the self-proclaimed King and comply. Let's look a little deeper at that 23 point, 14 rebound, 12 assist triple double: James shot 9-26 from the field (.346), hoisting five more field goal attempts than any other Laker, he had five of the Lakers' 16 turnovers, and he had the worst plus/minus number (-17) of any player on either team.
To top it off, despite jacking up more shots than any other player, James eschewed a potential game-winning layup at the end of regulation to pass to Carmelo Anthony, who missed a long jumper at the buzzer. When Ben Simmons passed to a teammate for a layup down the stretch of a playoff game last year, he was pilloried for being afraid to shoot, but there is no doubt that James passing up a layup for a long Anthony jumper will be portrayed as a heroic example of "making the right basketball play." Anthony shot 5-13 from the field, and his plus/minus number (-14) was second worst to James in this game, but we are supposed to pretend that the points the Lakers hemorrhaged with James and Anthony on the court do not matter, and we are supposed to pretend that a long jumper by an over the hill player is a better basketball play than a layup attempt by the player who cannot stop telling us that he is the greatest player of all-time.
After the game, Rockets rookie Jalen Green--who scored a career-high/game-high 32 points, including 10 in overtime--said, "Our game plan was just to attack Melo and find the mismatch on the floor. So when it came down to it, we were looking for Melo and I was attacking him every time."
Meanwhile, Russell Westbrook scored a team-high 30 points on 11-21 field goal shooting. He had eight rebounds, six assists, and just two turnovers in 40 minutes. His plus/minus number was -2, but it was in positive territory until the disastrous overtime that would not have been necessary if James had not been afraid to make a game-winning layup. The collective amnesia about Westbrook's prior accomplishments and the notion that he is washed up now are two of the most ridiculous basketball narratives that I have ever had the displeasure of reading and hearing. Hubie Brown is 88 years old and he does not do a full schedule of games, but he is still as sharp as ever, and it is fascinating to contrast his take on Westbrook with the dominant narratives. For example, during Sunday's broadcast of Milwaukee's 132-122 win over Phoenix, Brown noted that Giannis Antetokounmpo is on pace to become the first player
to average at least 25 ppg, at least 10 rpg, and at least 5 apg in four
different seasons. Brown mentioned that the record for such seasons is currently shared by
Oscar Robertson (three, 1961-63) and Antetokounmpo (if the NBA counted ABA numbers--which should be counted--then Julius Erving's 1974-76 seasons would be included). Brown added that Wilt Chamberlain (1964, 1966) and Russell
Westbrook (2017-18) are the only other players to accomplish this more than once, and Brown said of Westbrook, "A lot of people don't want to give him credit, but
that's the company he's in." It should be noted that reigning regular season MVP Nikola Jokic is set to join that company as he is on pace to have his second consecutive 25-10-5 season.
Westbrook is one of the greatest players of all-time, and he can still play at a high level. Just last May, the Washington Wizards put the ball in Westbrook's hands, and he set records while lifting them from oblivion into the playoffs. Will Lakers' General Manager/Coach/Media Relations Manager/Team Captain/Heir to the Regular Season Scoring Crown LeBron James play defense, display championship-level leadership, and let Westbrook run the offense to give the Lakers a fighting chance to salvage this train wreck of a season? Why should he? He is chasing the all-time scoring record, his media friends and allies will cover for him, and he knows that Westbrook--and Coach Frank Vogel--are set up to be the fall guys.
Labels: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Houston Rockets, Hubie Brown, Julius Erving, LeBron James, Oscar Robertson, Russell Westbrook, Skip Bayless, Stephen A. Smith, Wilt Chamberlain
posted by David Friedman @ 1:36 AM
LeBron James Scores 56 as L.A. Lakers Defeat Slumping Golden State Warriors
The Golden State Warriors (2015, 2017-18) and L.A. Lakers (2020) have combined to win four of the last seven NBA championships, but both teams entered Saturday's night's matchup mired in slumps; the Warriors had lost three games in a row and seven of their last nine games, while the Lakers had lost four games in a row and eight of their last 10 games. The Lakers and Warriors combined to play an exciting--but far from flawless--game, with the Lakers winning 124-116 as LeBron James scored 56 points, becoming just the fourth player in NBA history to have a 50 point game after his 37th birthday (joining Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, and Jamal Crawford). The Lakers trailed 67-62 at halftime, but outscored the Warriors 35-22 in the final stanza. Russell Westbrook finished with 20 points on 9-17 field goal shooting
while grabbing four rebounds and dishing for four assists, while Stephen Curry
led the Warriors with 30 points on 13-22 field goal shooting.
James scored efficiently from all areas of the court, shooting 19-31 from the field (including 6-11 from three point range) and 12-13 from the free throw line. This performance provides yet another example of why it is ludicrous to characterize James as a pass first player. Even James, who has often spoken about how much he loves to pass the ball, seems to have grown weary of this misconception, and he recently expressed displeasure at not being acknowledged as a great scorer. James, more so than any other all-time great player, is prone to publicly beg for/demand more praise, and it is not difficult to believe that James meant to send a message about his greatness as a scorer by putting his individual talents on full display in a nationally televised game.
Both teams played small ball for the vast majority of the game. James started at center, and the Lakers did not use a traditional center during the entire game. Kevon Looney started at center for the Warriors, but he only played 13 minutes as the Warriors played small ball for the other 35 minutes. James grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds, tying the Warriors' Otto Porter for game-high honors.
As I watched this game, I had mixed feelings about James' performance. I have mentioned many times before that James is the most baffling great player who I have ever watched. His talent is undeniable, and his accomplishments are impressive. Yet, there often seems like something is missing. I have also mentioned many times how difficult it is to score 40 points or more in a game at any level of basketball, let alone in an NBA game. Scoring 56 points on efficient shooting is something that very few players can do, and it is even more remarkable to do this past one's 37th birthday; many Hall of Famers were retired by 37, or else they were playing out the string as reserves. What James did was historic, and we may not see a performance like that by a player of his age for a long time (unless he does it again).
James was very productive when he had the ball, and he was very effective as a rebounder as the biggest player on the court with both teams playing small ball, but when he did not have the ball on offense or when he was not guarding the man with the ball on defense he was very disengaged, which has been a consistent pattern throughout this season. A major reason that the Lakers often trailed during this game and that they had to fight until the end to defeat a slumping team is that James gave up points on defense at almost the same historic clip that he scored points on offense. To their credit, ABC's Jeff Van Gundy and Mark Jackson do not just fall in line with the common media practice of praising James while ignoring his flaws; they understand that you can give James credit for his greatness while also pointing out his deficiencies. Van Gundy repeatedly pointed out times when James did not cross halfcourt on defense as the Warriors scored, and he also singled out times when "help" or the "rotating big man" did not arrive on time (or even move at all), though in those instances he could have more often explicitly called out James by name (James was the only "help" or "rotating big man" in the picture on those plays, so maybe Van Gundy thought that it was obvious who he was talking about).
Van Gundy has a very simple take on what is wrong with the Lakers: without Anthony Davis in the lineup, the Lakers are too old, too small, and too slow to consistently play championship-level defense. The team's only hope is that Davis returns soon, and plays at a high level. Mark Jackson agreed with Van Gundy to some extent, but also said that some of the Lakers' problems could be minimized--if not solved--by playing harder. Van Gundy replied that the Lakers would have better results if they played harder, but he is still not convinced that the Lakers sans Davis are or can be very good.
In my 2021-22 Western Conference Preview, I wrote, "If the Lakers are healthy, they will win the West, and it would be
fascinating to see prime Giannis Antetokounmpo versus elder statesman
LeBron James in the NBA Finals." I could just note that the Lakers have not been healthy and move on, but because there has been so much talk about "fit" and so much effort to blame everything on Westbrook I would like to clarify why I expected the healthy Lakers to be so good, and what I think has gone wrong. My expectation was that Davis would anchor a strong defense, and that Davis, James, and Westbrook would control the defensive rebounds, enabling the Lakers to score a lot of points in transition; I pictured an older, but still potent version of James' Miami Heat teams that featured James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh. I expected that in the half court set the Lakers could punish teams inside with James and Davis, much like the 2020 Lakers did en route to winning the title. I knew that Westbrook's numbers would decline a bit, but I thought that his rebounding and playmaking would fit in very well. Instead, what happened was (1) Davis has been hurt for most of the year, and he has not played at peak effectiveness even when he was healthy, (2) James missed a lot of games due to injury, and when he has been healthy he has been much more focused on scoring than on defense, (3) Westbrook has not been provided with a defined role that maximizes his strengths, and he has been turned into the main scapegoat, and (4) the older players who the Lakers relied on to provide bench play have been injured, ineffective, or fallen out of the rotation for various reasons.
There has been constant chatter throughout the season about what is wrong with the Lakers. ABC devoted almost their entire pregame show to the topic, but when Stephen A. Smith and Mike Wilbon do so much of the talking you can be sure that a lot more heat than light is being generated. Smith and Wilbon kept baiting Magic Johnson to blame everything on Russell Westbrook and to call for Westbrook to be benched, but Johnson refused to follow their foolishness. Wilbon mentioned that during the Michael Jordan-Scottie Pippen era Scottie Pippen often played with the reserves; Wilbon has brought this up before, and he seems incapable of understanding the difference between staggering minutes so that either Jordan or Pippen is in the game for as close to 48 minutes as possible (which resulted in Pippen playing some minutes alongside several bench players) and removing Pippen from the starting lineup, which Coach Phil Jackson did not do for reasons that are obvious to anyone who is not biased and/or an idiot. Johnson did not correct Wilbon about the Pippen comparison, and Johnson just said that Westbrook needs to play better and needs to accept the high expectations that are part of playing for the Lakers. Johnson added that the blame for the Lakers' failures goes across the board. When pressed about benching Westbrook, Johnson smartly said that he goes to all of the games but he is not in the locker room, the practices, or the meetings so he has to defer to the coach's judgment. Johnson believes that if Davis returns then the Lakers are capable of making a postseason run, and he compared this team to his 1991 Lakers who he said overcame a slow start to reach the NBA Finals.
Johnson is too polite--or too business savvy--to directly tell Smith and Wilbon that they have no idea what they are talking about, or maybe Johnson realizes that this is so obvious to informed basketball fans that it need not be stated, but it was fascinating to hear Van Gundy offer his take during the game telecast. Play by play announcer Mike Breen mentioned that there have been reports about internal strife within the Lakers organization about whether or not Westbrook should be removed from the starting lineup. On the topic of removing Westbrook from the starting lineup, Van Gundy declared, "Whoever made that suggestion does not understand
coaches, coaching, or players." Van Gundy added that you do not bring a player of Westbrook's caliber to a team and then bench him, even if Westbrook has a bad stretch of games. Mark Jackson agreed with Van Gundy that Westbrook has earned the right to play himself out of a bad stretch. Westbrook said as much during a few press conferences, and he was pilloried by media members who attack everything that Westbrook says or does.
Let's be very clear: during yesterday's pregame show, Wilbon proudly noted that he has been making the bench Westbrook suggestion all season-long, apparently believing that repeating a dumb idea enough times will transform that dumb idea into a smart idea. During the game, Van Gundy emphatically stated that anyone who thinks that Westbrook should be removed from the starting lineup "does not understand coaches, coaching, or players." I agree with Van Gundy that Wilbon "does not understand coaches, coaching, or players." I hope that whoever produces NBA programming for ESPN/ABC takes heed, and acts accordingly. It should also be noted that Hubie Brown, perhaps the best NBA color commentator of all-time, has a much different take on Westbrook and the Lakers than Smith and Wilbon.
Earlier in the day on Sirius XM NBA Radio, Sam Mitchell provided a more intelligent take on Westbrook and the Lakers than Wilbon could ever dream of having. Mitchell, a former NBA player and the 2007 NBA Coach of the Year, called the Lakers' treatment of Westbrook "disgraceful." Mitchell said that the organization should be protecting Westbrook but instead Westbrook is just hung out to dry, and Mitchell stated that any intelligent free agent would think twice about signing with the Lakers, because if the Lakers are willing to throw a former MVP/perennial All-Star under the bus then no one is safe. Mitchell also declared that if Westbrook were playing for a team that understood how to use him correctly then Westbrook would average a triple double or close to a triple double. Regarding LeBron James, Mitchell and his co-host Brian Geltzeiler noted that James left Bosh and Wade behind in Miami, and he left Kevin Love behind in Cleveland; it is a pattern of behavior for James to abandon a team (and his teammates) for what he perceives to be greener pastures. Geltzeiler emphasized that James has seemed disengaged throughout this season when the ball is not in his hands.
It is fascinating to watch how most media members operate, and then contrast this with the few media members who are smart enough (and honest enough) to understand and speak the truth. LeBron James is a one of the greatest basketball players of all-time. At times, though, he is selfish/self-centered, he is not "pass first," and this season in particular has devolved into him chasing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's career scoring record as opposed to trying to maximize the team's success. Along the way, James has deftly manipulated the narrative--with help from his friends Stephen A. Smith and Michael Wilbon, both of whom gave him big hugs on air before yesterday's game--so that he escapes any criticism for the Lakers' failed season. Russell Westbrook, even with his recent slump, is averaging more than 18 ppg, more than 7 apg, and more than 7 rpg. As Reggie Miller correctly noted during a recent TNT telecast, no other point guard would be so heavily criticized while posting such numbers--and he could have added that few point guards are even capable of posting such numbers. Magic Johnson had five 18-7-7 seasons in his 13 year NBA career (and in one of those five seasons he played just 37 games). Oscar Robertson had six 18-7-7 seasons in his 14 year NBA career. That is not meant to suggest that Westbrook is as good or better than Johnson or Robertson, nor is it meant to suggest that 18-7-7 is the only (or best) way to evaluate performance--but it is meant to suggest that Westbrook is making positive contributions that are being diminished, if not ignored, while media members focus on his weaknesses instead of pointing out (1) how poorly the Lakers are using Westbrook and (2) James' defensive indifference, which not only hurts the Lakers directly but also is no doubt affecting the team's overall morale and effort level.
Labels: Hubie Brown, Jeff Van Gundy, L.A. Lakers, LeBron James, Mike Wilbon, Russell Westbrook, Sam Mitchell
posted by David Friedman @ 12:41 PM
