20 Second Timeout

76ers Make Magic Disappear, Chef Curry Cooks Clippers

The opener on the second night of NBA Play-In Tournament action featured two Eastern Conference teams that both did not meet expectations this season battling to secure the seventh seed. The shorthanded Philadelphia 76ers outlasted the offensively challenged Orlando Magic, 109-97. Tyrese Maxey led the 76ers with 31 points and six assists. Kelly Oubre Jr. added 19 points while shooting 5-10 from three point range, significant perimeter production considering that the Magic shot just 7-27 (.259) from beyond the arc. VJ Edgecombe contributed 19 points plus a game-high tying 11 rebounds as the 76ers held their own on the glass (only losing the rebound battle 41-40) despite being without the services of Joel Embiid, who is recovering from an appendectomy. Andre Drummond filled part of the void in the middle with 14 points, 10 rebounds, and a team-high tying three blocked shots off of the bench. Paul George had 16 points on 6-16 field goal shooting along with five rebounds and five assists.

Desmond Bane scored a game-high 34 points on 10-16 field goal shooting, but he did not have much help. Paolo Banchero, who is supposed to be Orlando's franchise player, scored 18 points on 7-22 field goal shooting while committing a game-high six turnovers. Anthony Black had a solid game off of the bench (13 points on 4-8 field goal shooting), but Franz Wagner did not do nearly enough (12 points on 5-11 field goal shooting), and Jalen Suggs (four points on 1-9 field goal shooting) misfired from all angles. It felt like anyone sitting courtside should wear a safety helmet to protect against Orlando's barrage of wildly missed shots, as the Magic shot 33-81 (.407) from the field. The first quarter set the tone for the entire game, with the 76ers leading 28-24 after the first 12 minutes despite shooting just 10-25 (.400) from the field; the Magic shot 9-24 (.375) from the field. If you watched the game, you know that the quality of play did not improve--and if you did not watch the game you are probably not yearning for a detailed account of all of the missed shots. In TV parlance, if this were part of a highlight package it would be "score only."

Who would be silly enough to pick this lethargic, flawed Magic team to win a road game versus the 76ers? Oh, that would be me. In my defense, it's not like the 76ers are particularly impressive; they did not build a double digit lead against the Orlando Magical Bricklayers until the third quarter, so it will be interesting to see how the 76ers fare in a first round matchup versus the surprisingly good Boston Celtics. Meanwhile, the Magic have one last chance to make the playoffs if they beat Charlotte on Friday, but the Magic are not likely to find much success when confronted by Charlotte's size, stingy defense, and three point shooting. I still feel good about picking Charlotte to capture the eighth seed.

In the nightcap, Stephen Curry turned into the superhero known as Chef Curry and he cooked the L.A. Clippers with a game-high 35 points as his Golden State Warriors rallied from a 13 point fourth quarter deficit to post a 126-121 win. The Clippers, who started the season 6-21 before rallying to qualify for the Play-In Tournament, are now eliminated from playoff contention, while the Warriors must beat the Phoenix Suns on Friday night to claim the Western Conference's eighth seed. Kristaps Porzingis and Gui Santos scored 20 points each for the Warriors. Bennedict Mathurin led the Clippers with 23 points.

The Clippers jumped out to a 12-2 lead versus the Warriors, the only Play-In Tournament team with a losing record this season. The Warriors had lost nine games in a row to the Clippers in L.A. and seemed to be well on their way to a 10th setback--but then they authored their own 12-2 run to tie the score at 14 and that set the tone for the rest of the game: the Clippers repeatedly built double digit leads to seemingly take command before collapsing and letting the Warriors back in the game. The collapses largely correlated with Kawhi Leonard not being in the game: Leonard, who finished with 21 points on 8-17 field goal shooting, was the only Clippers' starter with a positive plus/minus number (+6); every other Clippers' starter had a plus/minus number of -7 or worse. The first half ended with Leonard driving coast to coast through Golden State's entire team as if they were a bunch of elementary school kids, culminating in a two-handed dunk, after which Leonard shook his head as if to say, "You've to be kidding me if you think that is enough to even slow me down." The Clippers led 61-53 at halftime.

Curry put on a vintage show in the third quarter, erupting for 16 points on 6-8 field goal shooting to single-handedly keep the Warriors in the game, but after Mathurin's two free throws pushed the Clippers' lead to 98-85 at the 9:53 mark of the fourth quarter the Warriors seemed to be running out of time and energy until Curry saved the day, along with timely 4-4 three point shooting from Al Horford and suffocating defense on Leonard by Draymond Green. Curry scored 11 fourth quarter points on 4-6 field goal shooting while posting a +15 plus/minus number in the final stanza, and the 39 year old Horford scored 12 of his 14 points in the fourth quarter. Green authored his typical "triple single" (seven points, team-high nine assists, six rebounds), had a 0 plus/minus number, and did not score in the fourth quarter, but he stole the ball from Leonard twice in the closing moments, and played a major role in holding Leonard scoreless in the fourth quarter until Leonard had a meaningless dunk with 16.9 seconds remaining.

L.A. coach Ty Lue was disgusted after the game (though he used a different phrase when asked to describe his feelings), lamenting "We had the game in our hands" but gave it away by making numerous "silly plays." Not surprisingly, Golden State coach Steve Kerr was thrilled with the result, and he thanked NBA Commissioner Adam Silver for creating the Play-In Tournament, noting that otherwise the Warriors' season would already be over--and that raises an interesting point, albeit not the point that Kerr wanted to make: over the course of the 82 game regular season, the Clippers won five more games than the Warriors, but because Curry and Horford got hot in the fourth quarter of one game the Clippers are eliminated while the Warriors have a chance to make the playoffs. Phoenix finished eight games ahead of Golden State during the regular season, but the Warriors can wipe out months of work by beating the Suns just once. 

This format may work out great for Kerr, his team, and his team's fans this season, but the message that this sends is that the regular season does not matter--and this message, conveyed by the league office, team executives, and the players themselves in many ways during recent years, is how we have ended up with tanking, load management, and a league whose regular season is becoming increasingly unwatchable. Instead of the NBA having a great regular season, the NBA produces a mediocre regular season and hopes that some excitement in the Play-In Tournament and the playoffs will be enough to satisfy the fans who pay high ticket prices and streaming fees.

Labels: Desmond Bane, Draymond Green, Golden State Warriors, Kawhi Leonard, L.A. Clippers, Orlando Magic, Paolo Banchero, Philadelphia 76ers, Stephen Curry, Tyrese Maxey

posted by David Friedman @ 10:44 AM

1 comments

NBA Wags a Stern Finger at Draymond Green for Confronting a Fan During a Game

The NBA has reportedly issued a "warning" to Draymond Green after Green went chest to chest with a courtside fan in New Orleans on Sunday as Green's Golden State Warriors defeated the New Orleans Pelicans, 124-106. The fan had been chanting "Angel Reese" at Green after Green missed several shots. Reese is a WNBA player who is notorious for seemingly padding her rebound totals by collecting her own missed shots. Green finished with eight points on 3-13 field goal shooting, 10 rebounds (including four offensive rebounds), six assists, and five turnovers; in the first quarter, Green scored 0 points on 0-7 field goal shooting, and he had four offensive rebounds (all of which were from his own missed layups or attempted tip in shots). The fan's chanting may have been annoying to Green, but it was not vulgar, and it pertained to the action on the court, as opposed to being a random or offensive insult. Fans have a right to cheer or boo, and to heckle as long as the heckling is not vulgar/offensive and not interfering with other fans being able to watch the game.

It is not clear what Green thought that he could accomplish by approaching the fan, who did not back away and did not seem intimidated by Green; it is also not clear what the NBA thinks that it can accomplish by issuing an unofficial warning to Green, who has a long history of violent misconduct despite being fined and suspended multiple times; if forcing Green to miss games and lose money did not straighten him out, a verbal warning is unlikely to have much impact.

Green has quite a rap sheet demonstrating his immaturity and his lack of emotional control. In the 2016 playoffs, Green kicked Steven Adams in the groin, and Green was suspended for game five of the NBA Finals after striking LeBron James in the groin in game four. Green consistently gets away with running roughshod over referees with incessant (and often vulgar) complaining/whining, he viciously punched then-teammate Jordan Poole in 2022, he stomped on Domantas Sabonis twice while Sabonis was down on the floor during a 2023 playoff game, he choked Rudy Gobert during a 2023 regular season game, and he slugged Jusuf Nurkic in the face during a 2023 regular season game. 

Green specializes in attacking players who are (1) not standing up or are in an otherwise compromised position and (2) are either smaller than he is or are clearly not going to fight back. Green had a chance to confront Ron Artest/Metta World Peace several years ago and somehow managed to not attempt a chokehold, groin kick, or punch--because Green is a bully who knows better than to pick a fight with someone who is crazier or tougher than he is. There may not be that many players left in the NBA who are willing to fight at the cost of being fined/suspended, but Green knows very well who they are and he gives them a wide berth. However, people like Green who think that they know who to mess with only have to make one mistake to end up in a precarious situation in which either they get injured or they injure someone else--and Green is fortunate that the players he has struck, kicked, and choked did not end up with serious injuries. What if Poole had suffered brain damage or Gobert had suffered a broken neck? There are many people in prison because the people who they hit in the face or who they choked suffered serious or even fatal injuries.

Green also has an outsized belief not only regarding his worth/power, but the worth/power of athletes in general vis a vis the owners who employ them (and the fans who ultimately pay their salaries by purchasing tickets and merchandise). After the NBA suspended Green for choking Gobert, I lamented Green's anger control issues and inflated sense of entitlement: 

Green is the poster child for athletes who are paid far more than they could ever earn doing anything else, and who have developed a sense of entitlement without a corresponding sense of responsibility regarding their conduct. If Green did not have the NBA to protect him, there is a strong possibility that he would be in jail--or dead--as a consequence of his inability to control his anger. Sadly, neither of those possibilities can be ruled out if he does not seek help. Gobert referred to Green as a "clown" and I can understand why he feels that way, but this is no laughing matter: Green needs help both to protect others and to protect himself, because his behavior goes well beyond just being a physical player. In the sense that Green is overrated, Gobert is correct: without the injured Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson around to carry the load, the Warriors went 15-50 in 2019-20 as Green averaged 8.0 ppg on .389 field goal shooting while looking very much like a role player and very little like the Hall of Famer he is purported to be. Green seems to get very angry when his limitations as a player are pointed out, but that does not change the reality that he is a limited player whose specific talents can be helpful for a team already stacked with talent but don't make much impact on winning otherwise. 

In December 2023, I warned that the NBA is taking a risk by not sufficiently disciplining Green for his out of control violent behavior:

If the NBA keeps protecting Green from the natural consequences of his actions, Green is going to eventually do something so egregious that the NBA will no longer be able to protect him because the judicial system will be compelled to intervene. Draymond Green is a 6-6, 230 walking time bomb that is going to explode in the league's face if Commissioner Silver does not take strong action--and if time bomb Green explodes, the league is not going to be able to successfully argue in court that the explosion was not foreseeable given Green's track record of violent behavior. 

Green has some basketball skills, but he is not as good as he thinks he is. Green should not be compared to Hall of Famers Dennis Rodman or Ben Wallace. Rodman won seven straight rebounding titles, and would have been a dominant rebounder regardless of who his teammates were. Wallace won two rebounding titles and one shot blocking title, and he ranked in the top 10 in the league in those categories seven times each overall. Neither Rodman nor Wallace could have been the best player on a championship team, but both were statistically dominant players. In contrast, Green has only led the NBA in a statistical category once (steals per game in 2016-17), he has never ranked in the top ten in rebounds per game or blocked shots per game, and he is heavily dependent on being surrounded by great players who do most of the work, as I noted last year when I assessed Green's legacy:

Green is going to ride his triple single career averages (8.7 ppg, 7.0 rpg, 5.6 apg) all the way to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame because he was lucky enough to play alongside Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Andre Iguodala. Is "lucky" a fair adjective? What would Green's career have looked like without those guys? Glad you asked: in the 2019-20 season, Iguodala and Durant were gone (Green played a role in chasing Durant away, but that is another story), Thompson missed the whole season due to injury, and Curry played in just five games due to injury. Green showed the world who he really is as a player, averaging 8.0 ppg on .389 field goal shooting along with 6.2 rpg and 6.2 apg for a 15-50 team. So, yes, "lucky" seems about right.  

Green will be 36 years old soon, and his pedestrian numbers so far this season (7.9 ppg on .391 field goal shooting, 5.8 rpg) indicate that his playing days will be over soon. Green's retirement will be a mixed blessing: the good news is that we will no longer have to watch him deliver cheap shots to opposing players and we will no longer have to listen to his self-serving excuses for his lack of emotional self-control; the bad news is that he likely will be paid millions of dollars per year to be a commentator for one of the NBA's media partners, turning that media partner's pregame show into a mess almost as unwatchable as any pregame show featuring "Screamin' A" Smith. Green is supposed to have a high basketball IQ, but that has not been evident thus far when he has been a TV commentator; to cite just one example, when he participated in TNT's coverage of the 2024 Western Conference Finals he was more interested in bashing Gobert than in providing intelligent analysis, as I pointed out in my game two recap:

An intelligent, unbiased commentator would talk about the final possession of the game when Dallas gave up an open three pointer to Naz Reid even though Reid was the hottest three point shooter in the game. Reid's shot barely missed, but just as it could be argued that Minnesota should not have given up a three pointer to Doncic with a two point lead it could also be argued that Dallas should not have given up an open shot to Reid, one of the few Minnesota players who shot well in this game.

Instead, Green focused his attention on Gobert, sounding like a little kid on the playground teasing another kid as opposed to sounding like an intelligent, unbiased commentator analyzing what happened. It is valid to question why Minnesota left Gobert in the game for the last defensive possession instead of going small, switching everything, and forcing Dallas to shoot a two point shot--but it is silly to act as if Gobert is personally responsible for Doncic hitting the kind of shot that he has hit many times before against many other players.  

Gobert has one of the best plus/minus numbers overall during the 2024 playoffs, and the Timberwolves have outscored the Mavericks during his minutes this series while being outscored when Gobert is out of the game. I would not be surprised if "Screamin' A" Smith acted as if an entire 48 minute NBA game can be boiled down to one shot, but intelligent commentators understand that the last play is not necessarily what decided the outcome. Here, the Timberwolves enjoyed a 16 point third quarter lead before their offense fell apart; are we supposed to pretend like all of those empty offensive possessions had nothing to do with the final result?

Green is either an idiot or a buffoon: he either does not know what he is talking about, or he does not care how foolish he sounds. It is interesting that Kenny Smith was the only person on the TNT set who was willing to even tentatively challenge Green's nonsense both before and after the game. Smith noted that the Timberwolves have outscored the Mavericks during Gobert's minutes, and Smith emphasized that Doncic could have made that last shot over anyone, not just Gobert. Charles Barkley and Shaquille O'Neal did not contradict Green, but they correctly focused on Towns' shortcomings and they made the valid point that if the Timberwolves are going to play big then their big men must play with force in the paint. The Timberwolves' problem is that they are not attacking the paint offensively--and that problem must be fixed by Edwards and Towns. The problem is not drop coverage or Rudy Gobert or any other nonsense spewed by Green. If Green keeps lying about Gobert it would be great if someone had the guts to tell the truth about Green, and his triple single exploits on .389 field goal shooting for the 15-50 Warriors during the 2019-20 season when Green did not have Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, or Andre Iguodala to do the heavy lifting. I'll double down on what I said before: Green will be inducted in the Basketball Hall of Fame primarily because he was lucky enough to play alongside those four players. 

It is also worth mentioning that Green went 0-3 versus Minnesota this season, and 1-2 last season (Golden State beat Minnesota once in 2022-23 when Green did not play, an example of addition by subtraction). If Green is so smart, maybe he should use that big brain to figure out how to do better than 1-5 versus the player and team that he keeps mocking.

The NBA and TNT should have been embarrassed to put Green on the air in the first place after his numerous violent incidents, and they should be even more embarrassed by how he is doing his part-time job. When David Stern was the NBA's Commissioner, he took the consistent position that it was important to promote the game and uplift the players. How does it promote the game to uplift a violent and petty person like Green to a position of prominence so that Green can mock the league's Defensive Player of the Year? If Gobert is as bad as Green suggests, then either the league is trash, or the media members who do the voting are idiots; neither scenario is a good look for the league. 

The NBA under Commissioner Adam Silver has coddled Green for too long, and no one should be surprised when Green does something so egregious that the NBA will not be able to protect Green from legal consequences. What if Green had hit the New Orleans fan like he hit Poole? Green would be in jail, and he, the Warriors, and the NBA would likely be facing a multi-million dollar lawsuit. It is easy to retort that Green did not hit the fan because Green knows what boundaries he cannot cross, but Green has crossed multiple boundaries already, so relying on him to exercise good judgment is quite a gamble, even for a league that does not mind being in bed with legalized gambling operations.

Labels: Adam Silver, Domantas Sabonis, Draymond Green, Golden State Warriors, Jordan Poole, Jusuf Nurkic, NBA, New Orleans Pelicans, Rudy Gobert

posted by David Friedman @ 12:05 PM

2 comments

Timberwolves Reclaim Homecourt Advantage With 102-97 Win Versus Warriors

Anthony Edwards scored a game-high 36 points--including 28 in the second half, 13 of which came in the fourth quarter--as the Minnesota Timberwolves reclaimed homecourt advantage with a 102-97 game three win versus the Golden State Warriors. Julius Randle contributed a triple double (24 points, game-high 12 assists, 10 rebounds), and Jaden McDaniels added 15 points while playing his usual tough defense. The Warriors led for most of the second half and were ahead 82-77 with 8:16 remaining in the fourth quarter before the Timberwolves went on a 16-4 run to take control. The Timberwolves outscored the Warriors 33-24 in the fourth quarter.

The biggest story of this series so far is the strained left hamstring suffered by two-time regular season MVP and 2022 Finals MVP Stephen Curry, who played just 13 minutes in Golden State's 99-88 game one win before being sidelined. Sans the injured Curry, the Warriors lost game two 117-93 but returned home owning homecourt advantage. Jimmy Butler did his part in game three, scoring a team-high 33 points, grabbing seven rebounds, and dishing for a team-high seven assists. Jonathan Kuminga, who fell out of the rotation earlier this season, scored 30 points off of the bench. Buddy Hield had a solid game with 14 points, five assists, and four rebounds. If the Warriors had received anything of substance from Draymond Green, a player touted as a future Hall of Famer, they could have won the game--but "Mr. Triple Single" finished with two points, four assists, and two rebounds on 1-4 field goal shooting while committing a game-high five turnovers before fouling out. He had more turnovers and fouls (11) than points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocked shots (10) combined. Having more turnovers than field goals made is a "Harden," so perhaps having more turnovers and fouls than points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocked shots combined should be called a "Green." It should be emphasized that his primary matchup, Randle, ate his lunch (and breakfast and dinner).

Green is a four-time NBA champion whose career should not be defined by one game, but the larger point is that there is a consistent pattern during his career that when he is not surrounded by multiple All-Stars--if not multiple Hall of Famers--then his numbers and his impact are muted. Is it too much to ask that in a pivotal playoff game Green figures out how to get five of something positive? If not five points, then five rebounds or five assists? Is it too much to ask that after getting in foul trouble Green avoids making high risk, low reward plays that result in him fouling out? One could cynically comment that the Warriors' best chance to win was to take him out so he took those fouls for the team, but even though he had a -5 plus/minus number the Warriors probably missed his defense and physicality down the stretch. 

After game two--during which Green received his fifth technical foul of the 2025 playoffs--Green ranted that he is the victim of a false narrative depicting him as an "Angry Black man." One of the characteristics of people who have anger management issues is to deny that they have a problem and instead blame others, and this is a recurring two-pronged pattern of behavior for Green: the first prong is him lashing out inappropriately, and the second prong is his stubborn refusal to take responsibility for his actions. Green's basketball playing ability has enabled him to obtain generational wealth, a host of accolades, and almost certain induction in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame; it takes a very peculiar, warped thought process for a person who has been so blessed to conclude that he is a victim who is being singled out for negative treatment. If Green lacked basketball playing ability and behaved in a similar fashion while holding a regular job then he would not only be fired but would likely be in jail and would almost certainly would be found liable in a civil action; he not only punched teammate/co-worker Jordan Poole in the face, but he has assaulted several opponents over the years, and he has been let off the hook with minor game suspensions plus fines that are negligible compared to his huge salary. Green is not only not a victim, but he is the beneficiary of privileges granted to a very select few athletes whose teams and leagues consider them to be valuable commodities. 

The Warriors would be much better served if Green focused on performing at a high level in game four and for the rest of the playoffs instead of pouting off of the court as a prelude to disappearing on the court.

Labels: Anthony Edwards, Draymond Green, Golden State Warriors, Jimmy Butler, Julius Randle, Minnesota Timberwolves, Stephen Curry

posted by David Friedman @ 1:17 AM

2 comments

Minnesota Versus Golden State Preview

Western Conference Second Round

#6 Minnesota (49-33) vs. #7 Golden State (48-34)

Season series: Golden State, 3-1

Golden State can win if…Stephen Curry does not wear down, if Jimmy Butler dominates by scoring in the paint/drawing fouls, and if the Warriors' defense contains Anthony Edwards without conceding too many open shots to other Minnesota players. Minnesota reached the Western Conference Finals last year and has homecourt advantage, so Golden State faces an uphill battle in this series.

The Warriors floundered to a 25-26 start this season before acquiring Jimmy Butler from the Miami Heat. After finishing the season with a 48-34 record, the Warriors defeated the Memphis Grizzlies 121-116 in the NBA Play-In Tournament to earn the seventh seed in the Western Conference. Golden State took a 3-1 lead in the first round versus the second seeded Houston Rockets before losing games five and six to set up a game seven showdown in Houston; it appeared as if the younger and more physical Rockets had worn down the Warriors, holding Curry to 13-35 (.371) field goal shooting in games five and six while forcing him to commit eight turnovers--but Golden State won game seven 103-89 as Buddy Hield scored a game-high 33 points while shooting 12-15 from the field, including 9-11 from three point range. Curry bounced back to produce 22 points on 8-16 field goal shooting while grabbing a team-high 10 rebounds (just his second double figure rebounding game in the playoffs since 2022) and passing for a game-high seven assists. Butler added 20 points, eight rebounds, and seven assists.

Curry is perhaps the most unusual of the players who can legitimately be ranked among the 15-20 greatest all-time; he and Jerry West are the shortest players in that group, but West was stronger, could jump higher, and played much better defense. During his playoff career, Curry has been targeted on defense, he has been worn down as series progress, and he has won the NBA Finals MVP just once during four championship campaigns--but he has also produced in the clutch on many occasions, including yesterday's game seven win in Houston and his 50 point masterpiece in a game seven win at Sacramento in 2023.

The addition of Butler has helped Golden State because Butler is not only an efficient scorer but he draws fouls, he is an excellent passer, he rebounds well, he is a very good defender, and he rises to the occasion in big moments. The Warriors would not even be in the playoffs this season without him. Against Houston, Butler ranked second on the team in scoring (18.3 ppg) and assists (4.8 apg), and first in rebounds (6.0 rpg). Butler played for Minnesota in the 2017-18 season before his contentious departure during the 2018-19 season, and this is the first time that he has faced the Timberwolves in the playoffs.

Draymond Green defends well, sets good screens, and is a deft passer. He is also an emotional time bomb that has exploded on many occasions, both to his detriment and to the detriment of his team. His media buddies will say that Golden State cannot win without him, but Green's typical triple single statistics versus Houston speak loudly: 8.0 ppg (sixth on the team), 5.6 rpg (third), and 3.3 apg (third) with .393/.258/.571 shooting splits. Even if one buys the premise that Green does a lot of good things that don't show up in the boxscore, what shows up in the boxscore for Green is often less than impressive, and we have already seen that Green has minimal impact on team success when he is not surrounded by multiple future Hall of Famers, with his triple singles adding up to a 15-50 record in the 2019-20 season. 

Hield's game seven performance was an aberration not only in the series--he scored five points or less in four of the seven games--but those 33 points are more than a third of his career playoff scoring total (98 points). The likelihood that he will ever score 33 points again in a playoff game is exceedingly low. 

Minnesota will win because...the Timberwolves will use their size to frustrate Golden State at both ends of the court. The Rockets did not consistently exploit their size advantage versus the Warriors and the Rockets lack a defined, elite number one scoring option; the Timberwolves bludgeoned the Lakers in the paint in the first round, and Anthony Edwards is an elite scorer whose young career already includes playoff series wins versus Luka Doncic, Kevin Durant, LeBron James, and Nikola Jokic. Edwards averaged 26.8 ppg, 8.4 rpg, and 6.2 apg versus the Lakers.

Former Laker Julius Randle, who the Timberwolves acquired from the New York Knicks in exchange for Karl-Anthony Towns prior to this series, averaged 22.6 ppg, 5.2 rpg, and 4.4 apg versus the Lakers. Randle can drive to the hoop with power, and he can nail three pointers as well, shooting 11-28 (.393) from long distance versus the Lakers to rank second on the team in three pointers made and second in three point field goal percentage.

Jaden McDaniels played excellent defense versus Doncic while also scoring 17.4 ppg (third on the team behind Edwards and Randle).

Draymond Green loves to mock and belittle Rudy Gobert, but now Green will have to deal with Gobert on the court. Gobert's first playoff matchup versus the Warriors ended in a 4-0 Golden State sweep of the Utah Jazz in 2017, but those Warriors featured prime Kevin Durant, prime Stephen Curry, and prime Klay Thompson, plus three big men (David West, Zaza Pachulia, JaVale McGhee) who each averaged between 10-15 mpg during that series. Gobert averaged 15.5 ppg on .658 field goal shooting in that series, and he led both teams with 13.0 rpg, so the notion that he does not match up well with the Warriors is demonstrably false--and if Gobert can be effective versus the Lakers' trio of Luka Doncic, LeBron James, and Austin Reaves, then he can be effective versus Stephen Curry, Jimmy Butler, and the undersized Warriors. Gobert did not score much during the first four games versus the Lakers, but in game five he had 27 points on 12-15 field goal shooting while grabbing 24 rebounds; the Lakers defiantly stuck with a small lineup, and Gobert destroyed the Lakers in the paint.

Other things to consider: I did not pick either of these teams to reach the second round, so I have to candidly assess what specifically I either underrated about these teams or that I overrated about their first round opponents. 

I expected the L.A. Lakers to exploit the scoring/playmaking of Luka Doncic, LeBron James, and Austin Reaves to overcome Minnesota's size advantage--but the Timberwolves pounded the Lakers into submission at both ends of the court while sufficiently containing Doncic, James, and Reaves. The Timberwolves did not fall into the trap of going small to match up with the Lakers but instead punished the Lakers for being too small.

I expected the Houston Rockets to use their size advantage and physicality to wear down the smaller, older Golden State Warriors; the Rockets followed that blueprint successfully for substantial portions of this series--most notably during games five and six--but they could not overcome their anemic offense, scoring 93 points or less in three of the seven games.

The Timberwolves are a bigger, better version of the Rockets team that wore down the Warriors but could not knock out the Warriors; the Timberwolves will finish what the Rockets began.

Minnesota will defeat Golden State in six games.

Labels: Anthony Edwards, Draymond Green, Golden State Warriors, Jimmy Butler, Julius Randle, Minnesota Timberwolves, Rudy Gobert, Stephen Curry

posted by David Friedman @ 4:14 PM

50 comments

New All-Star Format Produces Same Desultory Results

At least some of the players tried some of the time.

Sadly, that is the best that can be said about the NBA's new All-Star Game format featuring four teams playing a mini-tournament consisting of games that are each an untimed race to 40 points. TNT's Charles Barkley, Shaquille O'Neal, and Kenny Smith picked the rosters for three of the four teams out of a player pool consisting of this year's 24 NBA All-Stars. Barkley's Global Stars included players with an international connection, O'Neal's OGs included veteran American players, and Smith's Young Stars included young American players. Trae Young was selected by Commissioner Adam Silver as a replacement for the injured Giannis Antetokounmpo on the Global Stars, and Silver tapped Kyrie Irving to replace the injured Anthony Davis on the OGs. LeBron James (OGs) and Anthony Edwards (Young Stars) waited until the day of the game to decide that they could not play, and thus no replacements were selected for either of them. The fourth team, Candace Parker's Rising Stars, included rookies and second year NBA players who won the Rising Stars event on Friday night.

I've been following the NBA since the 1970s, and the NBA All-Star Game used to be one of my favorite events, but recently it has become something that I watch more out of a sense of duty than a feeling of joy; during the 1980s, I loved watching the East's Julius Erving, Larry Bird, Moses Malone, and Isiah Thomas compete against the West's Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and George Gervin because the players had fun and showed off their individual skills while playing to win--but in recent years the All-Star Game has featured various gimmicky formats while the only thing the players competed at was showing who was least interested in playing hard. 

Last night, after numerous breaks in the action for Kevin Hart to ham it up, the OGs defeated the Global Stars 41-25 in the championship game. The OGs raced out to an 11-0 lead and never looked back. Bay Area hero Stephen Curry was the inevitable choice for the Kobe Bryant All-Star Game MVP award after he scored 12 points on 4-8 field goal shooting (attempting no shots inside the arc), though a credible argument could be made that Jayson Tatum (15 points on 6-7 field goal shooting, three rebounds, two assists) had a bigger impact. The Stephen Curry All-Star moment that I will never forget--and that symbolizes how far the All-Star Game has plummeted--did not happen in 2025, but was when he lay down on the court in 2017 to permit an uncontested dunk.

The Global Stars qualified for the championship game by defeating the Young Stars 41-32, while the OGs beat the Rising Stars 42-35. It would have been fitting if the Rising Stars had won against an OGs team packed with star power, but the OGs closed the game on an 18-9 run after the Rising Stars enjoyed a brief 26-24 lead. The OGs played some defense down the stretch, but still flirted with disaster by missing four three pointers after scoring their 37th point before they closed the game out with a Kevin Durant dunk and a long Damian Lillard three pointer; it never seemed to occur to the OGs to take two easy two pointers instead of firing away from long range, which says a lot not only about the All-Star Game but also about the way that "stat gurus" have skewed basketball with their emphasis on "advanced basketball statistics" as opposed to sensible basketball strategy focusing on attacking the paint, defending the paint, and not relying on high variance long range shots. The Rising Stars played hard but just did not have enough talent to match up with a squad featuring four players on the NBA's 75th Anniversary Team.

Recent All-Star Games have been defined by the players jacking up three pointers and playing no defense, culminating in last year's fiasco featuring 168 combined three point field goal attempts and just five combined free throw attempts. This year, some players--most notably Victor Wembanyama of the Global Stars and Jaylen Brown of the OGs--played defense, but in the championship game the teams combined to attempt 33 of their 59 field goal attempts from three point range while shooting just four combined free throw attempts. Wembanyama scored a team-high 11 points on 5-7 field goal shooting in defeat.

The inescapable conclusion is that some of these players do not want to participate at all, and most of the players refuse to play hard. During the 2025 Legends Brunch--the highlight of the weekend--Rick Barry reminisced about the 1967 NBA All-Star Game, a contest during which the teams combined to attempt 63 free throws. At that time, the players had enough personal pride to compete against each other, but that started to fade in the early 2000s after Michael Jordan retired, and then in the past 10 years or so it completely disappeared. None of the NBA's experimental All-Star Game formats have worked because no amount of begging or extra money will induce these players to compete.

There is only one solution, and I proposed it during my 2024 All-Star Game recap: get rid of the All-Star Game. The players don't want to play, and I can't imagine that many fans enjoyed watching these choppy games interrupted by goofy skits (though it was fun watching a fan win $100,000 after making one half court shot before Lillard could make three half court shots). The NBA should not only stop having an All-Star Game but it should restructure existing contracts that have bonus clauses for being selected as an All-Star, and those bonuses should be tied to objectively measurable performance goals combined with a minimum number of games played. If the NBA thinks that fans just want to see three point shooting interspersed with musical performances and comedic skits then the league should end the pretense of calling that event an All-Star Game and instead just have an "NBA Entertainment Extravaganza" featuring those things. 

It was hilarious to hear Draymond Green--a guest commentator on TNT who is preparing for the next stage of his life when he can no longer bask in Stephen Curry's reflected glory--complaining all night about the All-Star format. He whined that the All-Star court is "sacred" ground and that the Rising Stars have no right to even set foot on the court, and he griped that the new format prevents players from ever breaking single game All-Star records. Charles Barkley challenged Green, bluntly declaring, "His generation messed the game up." As noted above, I don't like any All-Star format other than East versus West with both teams playing hard, but Green has no credibility criticizing anything in the NBA; he is lucky to even be in the league--let alone featured as a commentator--after a career that includes numerous dirty plays and violent actions. If modern All-Stars had taken the All-Star Game seriously then they would not have had to worry about their "sacred" ground being sullied by the presence of basketball players who are not superstars.

Note that the 2025 All-Stars were given the opportunity to play for more money in a shorter format; players on the winning team received $125,000 each, an increase from the $100,000 that each player on the winning team received last year, which was an increase from the $50,000 that each player on the winning team received prior to 2018. Yes, All-Star Game winners receive more money for a few hours of "effort" than most people earn in an entire year--and that money is on top of their huge salaries, plus the six or seven figure bonuses that many players get just for being selected as an All-Star.

No, Draymond, we don't feel sorry about "sacred" ground being sullied, but many of us are offended by the combination of greed and sloth displayed by so many players. Unlike some people, I don't have a huge issue with the general concept of athletes making a lot of money: they are the best in the world at what they do, and what they do generates billions of dollars in revenue. However, I am increasingly offended by the entitled attitudes of so many players who want more and more money for doing less and less work, and who have no compunction about breaching their contracts on a whim when they decide that they would prefer to play somewhere else. For those of you who do not understand contract law, teams have the legal right to cut or trade players (and the players with guaranteed contracts still get paid anyway), but players do not have the legal right to get out of shape and stop playing hard if they decide that they don't like their current employment circumstances; the notion that teams "have no loyalty so it is OK for players to have no loyalty" reflects a misunderstanding of the employer-employee dynamic. If the players want the absolute right to play or not play whenever they want, then they should agree to not have their contracts guaranteed. Then, guys like Jimmy Butler and James Harden can stop getting paid right after they stop playing hard, and guys like Joel Embiid can get paid if and only if they show up for work.

Green was not content to rain on Silver's All-Star parade. Green provided more comic relief than Hart, declaring that the Golden State Warriors will win the 2025 NBA title. When Joe Namath made his famous guarantee prior to Super Bowl III, he was the best player on the New York Jets and arguably the best player in pro football. In marked contrast, Green has never been better than the third best player on his own team except for the one season when all of the great players left or got injured, after which Green led the Warriors to a 15-50 record while posting his typical "triple single" averages. Adding Jimmy Butler should make the Warriors a better team in the short term, but the Warriors currently are clinging to the 10th seed in the West; if they move out of the Play-In Tournament field and into the top six that would be an accomplishment, and if they win a playoff series that would be a surprise--but imagining them winning four playoff series is delusional, and making such a prediction as the team's third best player is absurd and delusional. 

If Commissioner Silver does not cancel the 2026 NBA All-Star Game, then he should at least put a clown's hat on Green and replace Hart with Green so that the audience understands that Green is there for comic relief and not serious commentary.

Recent NBA All-Star Game Recaps:

The 2024 NBA All-Star Game Descends to New Lows as Any Pretense of Defense is Abandoned (2024)

"The 2023 NBA All-Star Game may have been not only the worst NBA All-Star Game ever, but possibly the worst basketball game ever played by high level players--until the 2024 NBA All-Star Game sunk to a new low: the teams launched 168 three point shots while attempting just five free throws as the Eastern Conference All-Stars routed the Western Conference All-Stars, 211-186. That is not competitive basketball, and it is unrecognizable compared to what the All-Star Game used to be: in 1994, the East beat the West 127-118 in a game featuring a combined 60 free throw attempts but just 30 three point field goal attempts; there was no shortage of highlight plays/moments but the most important thing is that the players competed.

During the wonderful 2024 NBA Legends Brunch, Larry Bird praised today's players and made a request: "The one thing I would really like to see is they play hard in tonight's All-Star Game. I think it's very important when you have the best players in the world together you've got to compete and you've got to play hard." 

Instead, the players disrespected themselves, the sport, and the legends who built the game that provides them with the opportunity to receive generational wealth. No one is expecting the All-Star Game to resemble game seven of the NBA Finals, but the refusal of the modern players to even pretend to want to compete is sad...

We hear so much about how great Commissioner Adam Silver is, but it appears that he is praised because he tends to let the players do whatever they want, in contrast to his predecessor David Stern, who viewed himself as a caretaker of the sport as a whole. 

Considering how little today's best players care about putting even forth minimal effort, the NBA should get rid of not just the All-Star Game but even the concept of being an All-Star: retain All-Star Saturday Night (it could be renamed something else, like NBA Showcase Saturday) and of course retain the Legends Brunch, but the All-Star Game serves no purpose, and being selected as an All-Star in today's NBA has no meaning. Only the awards given after the season matter, so let the players grumble about having to play at least 65 out of 82 games--oh, the suffering!--to be eligible to win those awards. 

Here is the challenge to Silver: fix the All-Star Game, or have the intestinal fortitude to not only get rid of it but to publicly say that he is getting rid of it because the players do not take it seriously enough to deserve to have it and to receive the bonuses associated with being selected for it."

The 2023 NBA All-Star Game May Have Been the Worst Basketball Game Ever (2023) 

"The 2023 NBA All-Star Game was not only the worst NBA All-Star Game ever, but it may have been the worst basketball game ever 'contested'--and I use that word with hesitation--by high level players. Denver Nuggets Coach Michael Malone, who coached Team LeBron, made this statement after Team Giannis prevailed 184-175: 'It's an honor to be here, and it's an honor to be a part of a great weekend with great players, but it's the worst basketball game ever played.' Malone also admitted that he has no idea how to fix the game.

The NBA All-Star Game began its horrific slide to irrelevance several years ago (see game recaps appended to this article for more details), but yesterday the league's showcase midseason event descended to a nadir from which there may be no recovery. 

At its best, NBA basketball is about the world's greatest athletes competing at a high level at both ends of the court while working together to help their team win. At its worst--and its worst was on full display last night--NBA basketball is about players flaunting their individual skills without any connection to team success while their 'opponents' step aside and watch instead of competing on defense. The 2023 NBA All-Star Game was such an abomination that it is difficult to decide which moment was the worst."

NBA Formally Honors the 75th Anniversary Team, Stephen Curry Wins the All-Star Game MVP (2022)

"How much has the All-Star Game devolved from an actual competition featuring the league's best players to an exhibition of players demonstrating individual skills devoid of competition or team play? Free throws are a quick way to gauge physicality/defense. The 2022 All-Star Game included eight fouls, four of which were called in the fourth quarter, and Team LeBron shot 2-2 from the free throw line while Team Durant shot 7-7 from the free throw line. This season, NBA teams average a little over 21 free throw attempts per game, so it is obvious that the All-Star Game featured few fouls, few free throws, very little physicality, and token defense compared to a normal NBA game.

All-Star Games used to be played much differently. In the first NBA All-Star Game, the East beat the West 98-93 in overtime in 1954 with the East shooting 36 of 44 from the free throw line and the West shooting 17-26 from the free throw line. In 1962, Wilt Chamberlain set an All-Star single game scoring record (42 points) that stood for 55 years. Chamberlain shot 8-16 from the free throw line, and his East squad shot 24-43 from the free throw line. The West, which won 150-130, shot 36-51 from the free throw line. Chamberlain's scoring record took place during a competitive game, and the record stood until long after NBA All-Star Games ceased to be competitive; his record is so exceptional that even in an era during which it is much easier to score in All-Star Games only two players have surpassed the standard that he set--and Curry did so by making a bunch of uncontested three pointers.

For most of All-Star Game history, players from both sides played hard, played defense, and committed a normal amount of fouls. Things began to change in 2007, when the victorious West only attempted nine free throws and the East only attempted 13 free throws, a big decline from 24 and 28 respectively in the 2006 All-Star Game. The 2008 All-Star Game was more of the same. Matters improved a bit during the next several All-Star Games, but in 2014 the East attempted nine free throws and the West attempted 12 free throws. Since 2014, single digit free throw attempts per team have been the norm rather than the exception--and on the rare occasion that a team has attempted more than 10 free throws most of those free throw attempts have happened in the fourth quarter, when the new scoring rules inspire (or shame) the All-Stars into playing some defense."

Giannis Antetokounmpo Wins All-Star MVP With Perfect Shooting, Leads Team LeBron to 170-150 Win Over Team Durant (2021)

"Giannis Antetokounmpo did not have the first perfect shooting performance in NBA All-Star Game history--Hal Greer shot 8-8 from the field en route to scoring 21 points and winning the 1968 NBA All-Star Game MVP--but he set the NBA All-Star Game record for most field goals without a miss (16), and he captured his first All-Star Game MVP by scoring a game-high 35 points as his Team LeBron routed Team Durant, 170-150. Antetokounmpo played just 19 minutes, so he scored nearly two points per minute. Most of Antetokounmpo's shots were lightly contested--if not uncontested--dunks, but he also shot 3-3 from three point range. Each team shot 3-5 from the free throw line as both teams spent most of the game not even pretending to care about defense. Perhaps the league and/or the players think that the fans want to see uncontested dunks and wide open three pointers, but I think/hope that true basketball fans want to see competition. A contested dunk is a great play; an uncontested dunk is just performance art."

Kawhi Leonard Leads Team LeBron to 157-155 Win over Team Giannis as New Format Results in Exciting Fourth Quarter Competition (2020)

"After three quarters, it seemed that the new NBA All-Star Game format had not inspired many players from either team to even pretend to play at a fraction of their full capabilities. Fortunately, the fourth quarter--a race to 157 points based on adding 24 points (in honor of Kobe Bryant) to the 133-124 lead enjoyed by Team Giannis over Team LeBron at the end of the third quarter--featured high level play as both teams looked fully engaged: Team Giannis' Kyle Lowry seemed to try to take a charge on every defensive possession, players from both teams contested almost every shot, and the level of physicality ramped up to top notch regular season levels, if not even first round playoff levels.

It is mystifying that most NBA players seem to need external motivation to play their best in the All-Star Game, but with a substantial portion of the weekend's festivities dedicated to the memory of Bryant--including naming the All-Star MVP award for him--it would have been a travesty for the players to just sleepwalk through the entire proceedings. Kawhi Leonard is a pioneer of the less than commendable load management scourge, but at least he always plays hard when he is on the court. Leonard scored a game-high 30 points on 11-18 field goal shooting (including 8-14 from three point range), grabbed seven rebounds, dished for four assists, and received the first Kobe Bryant All-Star Game MVP Award as his Team LeBron won, 157-155."

Kevin Durant Wins his Second All-Star MVP as Team LeBron Overcomes 20 Point Deficit to Defeat Team Giannis, 178-164 (2019)

"The All-Star Game sunk to such depths a few years ago that there were even whispers that it might be discontinued. Instead, the league changed the format from East versus West to a format in which the top two vote-getters conduct a draft consisting of a pool of other All-Stars selected by fans, coaches and media members. LeBron James faced off against Giannis Antetokounmpo in this year's All-Star draft. Popular consensus was that James, whose draft strategy seemed to be focused on acquiring every major player who will be a free agent soon, got the better of Antetokounmpo--but it did not look like that initially, as Team Giannis led 53-37 after the first quarter and 95-82 at halftime. Antetokounmpo scored a game-high 38 points on 17-23 field goal shooting, including 10 dunks. He also had 11 rebounds and five assists. He set the tone in the first quarter with 16 points. Antetokounmpo's Milwaukee teammate/All-Star teammate Khris Middleton added 20 points on 7-13 field goal shooting, including 6-10 from three point range. Middleton scored 12 first quarter points.

To coin--or repeat--a phrase, it seemed like Team LeBron was in 'chill mode' during the first half, but in the second half they exerted at least some defensive effort and they rained down a barrage of three pointers. Team LeBron outscored Team Giannis 96-69 in the second half while shooting 22-49 from three point range. The teams combined to attempt 167 three pointers during the game, compared to 108 two pointers attempted.

Kevin Durant earned MVP honors by scoring 31 points on 10-15 field goal shooting (including 6-9 from three point range) while also contributing seven rebounds. He had 11 points on 4-4 field goal shooting in the fourth quarter. Durant's Golden State teammate Klay Thompson finished second on Team LeBron with 20 points on 7-16 field goal shooting (6-12 from three point range) and he had eight rebounds and four assists as well."

LeBron James Earns Third All-Star Game MVP as Team LeBron Outlasts Team Stephen, 148-145 (2018):

"LeBron James scored a game-high 29 points on 12-17 field goal shooting, grabbed a game-high tying 10 rebounds and dished eight assists as Team LeBron defeated Team Stephen 148-145 in the first year of the NBA's new All-Star selection format; instead of the traditional matchup featuring the Eastern Conference facing the Western Conference, a team of All-Stars picked by LeBron James faced a team of All-Stars picked by Stephen Curry. The NBA tweaked the All-Star Game in the wake of several subpar All-Star Games, culminating in last year's farce.

Before the 2018 All-Star Game, James already held the NBA All-Star Game career scoring record (314 points) and yesterday he surpassed Julius Erving (321 points) to set the record for most points scored in ABA and NBA All-Star Games combined. Bob Pettit (1956, 58, 59, 62) and Kobe Bryant (2002, 2007, 2009, 2011) share the record with four All-Star Game MVPs each, while James joined Oscar Robertson, Michael Jordan and Shaquille O'Neal as three-time winners; James previously earned the All-Star Game MVP in 2006 and 2008."

The NBA All-Star Game Has Become a Farce (2017):

"The Western Conference's 192-182 victory over the Eastern Conference is without question the worst NBA All-Star Game that I have ever watched. Other than the MLB All-Star Game that ended in a tie (and many NFL Pro Bowls of recent vintage) it may be the worst major professional league All-Star Game ever. When the reigning two-time regular season MVP literally lies down on the court instead of attempting to play defense, you know that the event has jumped the shark."

Labels: 2025 NBA All-Star Game, Charles Barkley, Draymond Green, Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, Kenny Smith, Shaquille O'Neal, Stephen Curry, Victor Wembanyama

posted by David Friedman @ 12:56 PM

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Timberwolves Devour Nuggets, Force Game Seven

The Minnesota Timberwolves routed the Denver Nuggets 115-70 to force a game seven on Sunday in Denver. Anthony Edwards scored a game-high 27 points and posted a game-best plus/minus number that looks like a typographical error: +43. Jaden McDaniels scored 21 points, just the third 20 point game of his playoff career. Mike Conley returned to action after missing one game with a calf strain, and his calming influence was evident at both ends of the court to a far greater extent than his boxscore numbers (13 points, five assists) suggest. Karl-Anthony Towns scored just 10 points on 4-10 field goal shooting, but he made his presence felt with 13 rebounds and five assists. The allegedly "unplayable" Rudy Gobert had eight points, a game-high 14 rebounds, and the game's second best plus/minus number (+30). He did not block a shot, but his paint presence and activity helped the Timberwolves outscore the Nuggets in the paint 46-36 while holding the Nuggets to the worst field goal percentage (.302) and lowest scoring total in the franchise's playoff history. Naz Reid added 10 points and 11 rebounds in 22 minutes off of the bench as Minnesota won the rebounding battle, 62-43.

Nikola Jokic had a solid game while leading the Nuggets with 22 points and nine rebounds, but the Timberwolves can live with those numbers; their size and their timely double teams held Jokic below his usual production, but the Nuggets did not exploit their opportunities to play four on three: Nuggets not named Jokic shot 17-67 (.254) from the field, with Aaron Gordon scoring 12 points on 4-7 field goal shooting while the other Nuggets faded into oblivion. Jamal Murray had just 10 points on 4-18 field goal shooting.

This game is a resounding demonstration that momentum does not exist in an NBA playoff series. After Denver's convincing game five win--the Nuggets' third straight victory after losing the first two games at home--it seemed like the Timberwolves had no chance to extend the series; that is what I thought as well--not based on momentum, but based on my unwavering belief that the Nuggets are the better team. The Nuggets finished one game ahead of the Timberwolves during the regular season, and that slender margin determined that Denver will host game seven. History suggests that homecourt advantage in general--and homecourt advantage in game seven in particular--matters a lot. The Timberwolves are unlikely to get 36 points off of their bench in game seven, and the Nuggets are highly unlikely to shoot so horribly in the friendly confines of their home arena.

The Nuggets shot 7-36 (.194) from three point range, including 2-9 in the first quarter as the Timberwolves sprinted to a 31-14 lead. During the halftime show, ESPN's Bob Myers made two excellent points: 1) Denver missed wide open three pointers, and 2) when you are missing three pointers--even if they are open--you should stop shooting them, put your head down, and drive to the hoop. During the season, the Nuggets ranked 30th (last) in three point field goals attempted (31.2 per game) and 10th in three point field goal percentage, so it is out of character both for them to shoot that poorly from beyond the arc and for them to shoot so many treys. High volume three point shooting leads to high variance results; in Denver's game five win, the Nuggets shot 9-19 (.474) from three point range, and those kind of numbers are what one should expect to see in game seven, regardless of whether or not the Timberwolves keep double teaming Jokic: there is not a requirement that after a star player is trapped his teammates must keep jacking up three pointers. 

The prevailing narrative after game five is that Minnesota's loss was Rudy Gobert's fault, that the four-time Defensive Player of the Year is "unplayable," and that Jokic humiliated Gobert. Inconvenient facts were conveniently ignored (this is a media specialty that extends well beyond NBA coverage): in game five, Gobert contributed 18 points on 7-7 field goal shooting plus a game-high 11 rebounds with a -2 plus/minus number while every other Minnesota starter was -12 or worse, but let's not talk about that. Instead, let's give a microphone to the guy who punched Jusuf Nurkic in the face and put Gobert in a headlock. What does Draymond Green think about Gobert's performance?

Green provided unintentional comedy during his Wednesday night guest appearance on TNT when he said that he guards Jokic better than anyone who is guarding Jokic during this series. Green also declared that it is unacceptable to let Jokic be both a big-time scorer and a big-time playmaker; you have to take something away, Green solemnly declared--as if he is the man to do that job. Perhaps Green does not know that boxscores from all of his games are available online; the last time the Green faced Jokic, Jokic had 32 points, 16 rebounds, and 16 assists as Denver beat Green's Golden State Warriors, 119-103. Jokic shot 13-24 from the field and had a +20 plus/minus number, while Green logged his customary triple single (seven points, five rebounds, four assists) along with a game-high six turnovers and a game-worst -23 plus/minus number. Yes, Jokic had as many rebounds as Green had points, rebounds, and assists combined! Some players say that journalists who have never played the game are not qualified to analyze the game--but, with all due respect to Green, his personal experience does not seem to qualify him to speak about how to effectively guard Jokic, and the obvious personal grudges that Green has against Gobert, Nurkic, and other players disqualify him as an objective commentator.  

Green is going to ride his triple single career averages (8.7 ppg, 7.0 rpg, 5.6 apg) all the way to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame because he was lucky enough to play alongside Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Andre Iguodala. Is "lucky" a fair adjective? What would Green's career have looked like without those guys? Glad you asked: in the 2019-20 season, Iguodala and Durant were gone (Green played a role in chasing Durant away, but that is another story), Thompson missed the whole season due to injury, and Curry played in just five games due to injury. Green showed the world who he really is as a player, averaging 8.0 ppg on .389 field goal shooting along with 6.2 rpg and 6.2 apg for a 15-50 team. So, yes, "lucky" seems about right. 

The real story of this series has nothing to do with the incessant narratives about momentum or Gobert being "unplayable" or Edwards being the next Michael Jordan. The real story of this series is that these two teams are mirror images of each other because their rosters were built by the same executive, Tim Connelly: both teams are big and physical, both teams defend well, and neither team relies on "pace and space." The Nuggets have Jokic and homecourt advantage, and those two factors are likely to be the difference in game seven.

Labels: Anthony Edwards, Denver Nuggets, Draymond Green, Jamal Murray, Karl-Anthony Towns, Minnesota Timberwolves, Nikola Jokic, Rudy Gobert

posted by David Friedman @ 12:39 AM

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NBA Suspends Draymond Green Indefinitely for his "Repeated History of Unsportsmanlike Acts"

Less than a month after suspending Draymond Green for five games for "unsportsmanlike and dangerous" conduct, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has suspended Draymond Green indefinitely because of his "repeated history of unsportsmanlike acts," the latest of which was slugging Jusuf Nurkic in the face. The NBA's public statement added that Green "will be required to meet certain league and team conditions before he returns to play."

An indefinite suspension could last for just one game--although that seem unlikely here--or it could turn into a permanent ban (which also seems unlikely, though perhaps not impossible given Green's violent and volatile behavior). The last NBA player who received an indefinite suspension is Gilbert Arenas, who now just recklessly shoots off his mouth on his podcast instead of threatening to shoot people with guns. Arenas earned his indefinite suspension in 2010--and came close to being a Darwin Award winner--by bringing four guns into the locker room and challenging then-teammate Javaris Crittenton to choose one for a gun duel. After his NBA career ended, Crittenton served 10 years in prison for manslaughter; Arenas may have thought his locker room gun play was all (foolish) fun and games, but he was messing with someone who had no compunction about pulling a trigger and taking another person's life: Crittenton shot and killed a 22 year old mother of four in a drive-by shooting--and the victim's family is understandably outraged that he only served 10 years of his 23 year sentence (but that is a topic for a different article). Commissioner David Stern succinctly explained why he suspended Arenas by stating that Arenas "is not currently fit to take the court in an NBA game." Stern also suspended Crittenton for the rest of the season, and Crittenton never played in the NBA again.

Arenas' suspension lasted 50 games. He then returned to the Washington Wizards, and resumed jacking up wild shots for a losing team before the Wizards dealt him to the Orlando Magic. Arenas averaged 8.0 ppg on .344 field goal shooting in 49 games for the Magic in 2010-11 before concluding his career by scoring 4.2 ppg on .406 field goal shooting in 17 games for the Memphis Grizzlies in 2011-12. Now, Arenas--who won a grand total of one playoff series during his entire career--dispenses his peculiar perspective on basketball on a podcast featuring hot takes that are as off the mark as his erratic .421 career field goal shooting. Arenas' post-suspension NBA career lasted 87 games.

Stern's description of Arenas' lack of fitness to appear in an NBA game is applicable to Green as well. Hopefully, Green will seek help and make sincere efforts to change his mindset and behavior as opposed to just paying lip service long enough to get back on the court. Right now, Green is an overrated and emotionally erratic player for a sub.-500 team; he is not indispensable for the Warriors, and the Warriors are far from being a marquee team, so Green is on a trajectory taking him out of the league if he does not get his act together. The bottom line is that the Warriors don't need him--they can be sub-.500 without his extra baggage--and the NBA is fed up with him.

Labels: Adam Silver, David Stern, Draymond Green, Gilbert Arenas, Golden State Warriors

posted by David Friedman @ 1:16 AM

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When Will the NBA Take a Stand Against Draymond Green's Unacceptable Violent Behavior?

If once is an accident, twice is a coincidence, and three times is a pattern, then what is four, five or six times? Draymond Green has been suspended four times, and he is about to receive his fifth NBA suspension after delivering an open handed punch to the face of Phoenix' Jusuf Nurkic. Green was assessed a Flagrant Foul 2--which carries with it automatic ejection--at the 8:23 mark of the third quarter of the Suns' 119-116 win over the Warriors. Green's Warriors led 65-60 when Green was ejected.

In his post-game press conference, Green claimed that he did not intend to hit Nurkic and he apologized for hitting Nurkic. Green said that he was trying to "sell the foul" because Nurkic was pulling on his hip. If Green is asserting that he lacks control over his body movements to the extent that he cannot prevent himself from hitting someone in the face while playing basketball, then Green should immediately receive a neurological examination to determine what is wrong with him. I have played basketball for over 40 years. Although I never played in the NBA, I know what it means specifically to post up/play post defense, and I know in general what it means to control your body movements while sharing the court with nine other players. I don't possess Green's athletic abilities/body control, but I have never hit anyone on a basketball court the way that Green hit Nurkic, and I have never seen anyone hit someone like that on a basketball court by accident.

I don't know how good of a fighter Green is--because he very carefully avoids getting in fights (see below)--but he is a terrible actor and a worse liar. Anyone who has ever played basketball knows that (1) Green meant to hit Jurkic and (2) Green is lying when he suggests otherwise. TNT's Jamal Crawford noted that if Green had felt apologetic then he would have immediately said "My bad" and helped Nurkic up, which was also my immediate reaction when Green provided his disingenuous account of his actions.

After the game, Jurkic said that Green needs help, that he's glad Green did not choke him (a reference to what Green recently did to Rudy Gobert), and that what Green did had nothing to do with basketball.

Green has complained that the NBA singles him out for special, harsher treatment. I agree with Jeff Van Gundy's point that in fact Green receives special, beneficial treatment: Green is expected to behave poorly, so he is therefore given a benefit of the doubt that is not given to players who are more mild-mannered, and he is often not ejected despite behavior that results in ejections for other players. Last night, Denver's Nikola Jokic--a two-time regular season MVP and the 2023 NBA Finals MVP--was ejected after just one technical foul for complaining about a non-call in a manner that would be considered mild by Green's histrionic standards. 

The NBA has been way too easy on Green. Less than a month ago, the NBA suspended Green for five games for "unsportsmanlike and dangerous" conduct after Green put Minnesota's Rudy Gobert into a headlock. A five game suspension stacked on top of Green's previous suspensions, ejections, and technical fouls clearly was not sufficient to change Green's behavior, so I offer two suggestions to NBA Commissioner Adam Silver--one silly suggestion, and one serious suggestion (the reader can determine which is which):

1) Implement a special Draymond Green rule: any player--teammate or opponent--who is hit, kicked, choked, or otherwise accosted by Green has the right to immediately deliver exactly the same blow to Green without punishment, and if that player declines to do so then he may appoint a teammate to do so on his behalf. Green professes to be a tough guy who does not back down from anyone, so let's put that to the test, because so far we have only seen Green acting out in situations where he knows that the people he attacked will not strike back because (1) they are not prone to committing physical violence, and (2) they know that the NBA will punish them for striking back. So, let's remove those restrictions and put Green in a FOFO (Fool Around and Find Out) situation the next time he feels like hitting, kicking, or choking someone. Clearly, Green does not care about suspensions/fines because (1) he is self-centered and not concerned about how his behavior harms his team, and (2) he has made so much money already that the fines don't impact his lifestyle; my theory is that Green will suddenly become much better at anger management if there is 100% certainty that his next punch will be immediately met by a punch, particularly if that punch will be delivered by the toughest guy on the other team even if that is not the guy who Green hit.

2) Suspend Green for at least 10 games, and make his return to action conditional on successful completion of anger management classes. If the Players Association objects, then Commissioner Silver should point out how absurd it is for the Players Association to protect someone who is attacking fellow Players Association members. If a fan jumped out of the stands and clubbed Nurkic in the face, what punishment would the Players Association deem to be appropriate? It would be more than suspending the fan from attending the next 10 games. The Players Association would demand that the fan be banned for life and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. 

If the NBA keeps protecting Green from the natural consequences of his actions, Green is going to eventually do something so egregious that the NBA will no longer be able to protect him because the judicial system will be compelled to intervene. Draymond Green is a 6-6, 230 walking time bomb that is going to explode in the league's face if Commissioner Silver does not take strong action--and if time bomb Green explodes, the league is not going to be able to successfully argue in court that the explosion was not foreseeable given Green's track record of violent behavior.

Labels: Adam Silver, Draymond Green, Golden State Warriors, Jusuf Nurkic, Phoenix Suns

posted by David Friedman @ 2:51 AM

3 comments

NBA Suspends Draymond Green for Five Games for "Unsportsmanlike and Dangerous" Conduct

The NBA suspended Draymond Green for five games "for escalating an on-court altercation and forcibly grabbing Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert around the neck in an unsportsmanlike and dangerous manner." The incident happened during the opening moments of Minnesota's 104-101 win versus Golden State on Tuesday night. Green, Klay Thompson, and Minnesota's Jaden McDaniels were ejected from the game; the NBA subsequently fined Thompson, McDaniels, and Gobert $25,000 each for the incident that began with Thompson and McDaniels pulling each other's jerseys, continued with Gobert wrapping up Thompson, and then escalated out of control when Green put Gobert in a chokehold.

Don't hold your breath waiting for Green to apologize or express remorse; he has been unrepentant about his anger management issues and violent behavior throughout his career, encouraged by the NBA's reluctance to impose sufficient consequences to inspire him to seek help to improve his conduct.

After Green stomped on Sacramento's Domantas Sabonis while Sabonis was lying on the court during game two of the 2023 first round playoff series featuring Golden State versus Sacramento, I provided this commentary about Green:

After the game, an unrepentant Green took no responsibility for his actions and blamed Sabonis for everything. Green has a penchant for striking people when they are not looking or when they are lying on the ground. He fancies himself to be a tough guy, but I cannot recall ever seeing him square up face to face and challenge a player who is his size or bigger; he likes to pick on people who are smaller, or who are in compromised positions.

I do not condone fighting in basketball games, but it would be fascinating to teleport Green to earlier eras when fighting in NBA games was much more tolerated. I rather doubt that Green would square off against Charles Oakley, Maurice Lucas, or Willis Reed--and I think that Green would get a most unpleasant surprise if he believed that smaller guys like Alvin Robertson or Calvin Murphy would be easy targets for bullying. Green is a classic "hold me back" guy who runs his mouth, takes cheap shots, and knows that he is not going to have to fight a grown man on even terms.

Green appears to have serious emotional issues that negatively impact his behavior, and hurt his team's chances to win. I have no patience for anyone who suggests that the Warriors would have won the 2016 NBA Finals if Green had not been suspended for game five, and I have no patience for anyone who suggests that the Warriors would have beaten the Kings last night if Green had not been ejected. Being suspended and ejected is an essential part of who Green is. If you posit that Green's defense, rebounding, and passing help the Warriors to win, then you also have to accept that Green's emotional volatility damages the Warriors and hurts their winning chances. The good, the bad, and the ugly are all part of the Draymond Green experience.

The NBA suspended Green one game for the Sabonis stomp, and that punishment clearly was not enough to curb Green's ongoing anger management issues. When David Stern served as the NBA's Commissioner, he made it clear that persistent improper conduct--whether that conduct consisted of illegal drug use, dirty plays, or anything else--would result in a one way ticket out of the league. Adam Silver seems to want to be a "kinder, gentler" Commissioner, but that results in the escalation of improper conduct because perpetrators feel immune from justice. After Green punched out his then-teammate Jordan Poole prior to last season, I noted that he "has anger control/emotional control issues that have yet to be addressed because his conduct is not regulated by the league or by his team." During the 2022 NBA Finals, I expressed disappointment with the extent that the NBA tolerates (and thus encourages) Green's misconduct:

It is not surprising that the Warriors responded to their game one loss by being more energetic and physical in game two, but it is surprising that Draymond Green is permitted to repeatedly throw opposing players to the ground, hit opposing players with forearms and/or elbows aimed above the neck, and instigate confrontations while only being punished with one technical foul. As ABC's Jeff Van Gundy has repeatedly noted, there is a bizarre double standard that works in Green's favor: Green is expected to behave poorly, so he is therefore given a benefit of the doubt that is not given to players who are more mild-mannered. Had another player fouled a three point shooter, landed on top of the shooter, rested his legs on the opposing player, and then grabbed the opposing player's shorts after the opposing player pushed his legs aside--as Green did to Jaylen Brown late in the second quarter--that player would have received a technical foul; unfortunately, because Green was the offender here and he had already received a technical foul, the referees assessed no penalty. Basically, after Green received his first technical foul he had a license to commit any mayhem short of a flagrant foul without being penalized. In the good old days, the game was more physical than this and yet also more sensibly officiated: players had a lot contact when the ball was live, but dead ball contact was not tolerated, and the issuance of a first technical foul was not a license to commit future mayhem but a warning that you are one false step away from being ejected. 

It is worth adding that even though Green is highly compensated and benefits from double standards that favor him, he has complained that there are double standards that discriminate against athletes, a contention that Marcellus Wiley brilliantly refuted: 

"What's happening is Draymond is confusing what a lot of people are confusing: double standard with different worlds...Double standard implies that you're in the same world...I understand why people get confused, but the truth is we're in two different realities. Ask Michael Jordan, who is an owner. We [pro athletes] are employees, brother. I know we are glorified employees...[80,000] people showed up to just watch me work and not 80,000 people showed up at everybody's job/employment. But what happens from that perspective is you start to get a God complex. You start to lose your way. You start to realize that maybe I am not the same as other employees. Draymond Green and others need some real world friends to understand perspective. Because, when you are an employee there are two names on your check: yours, and whoever is paying you. You guys don't live in the same reality. It's just that simple. So, if you don't like bosses, be a boss--simple as that. Oh, you can't be a boss. Well, then, being a boss comes with its perks, comes with its privileges." Wiley then points out that salaries in the major sports leagues--the NBA, the NFL, MLB--have soared in the past decade, far outpacing inflation. He correctly notes that this is a major way that owners show respect to employees. He asks players like Green who claim to be disrespected, "What are your measurements? What are your metrics? This metric right here is undeniable. They are showing you respect."

Green is the poster child for athletes who are paid far more than they could ever earn doing anything else, and who have developed a sense of entitlement without a corresponding sense of responsibility regarding their conduct. If Green did not have the NBA to protect him, there is a strong possibility that he would be in jail--or dead--as a consequence of his inability to control his anger. Sadly, neither of those possibilities can be ruled out if he does not seek help. Gobert referred to Green as a "clown" and I can understand why he feels that way, but this is no laughing matter: Green needs help both to protect others and to protect himself, because his behavior goes well beyond just being a physical player. In the sense that Green is overrated, Gobert is correct: without the injured Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson around to carry the load, the Warriors went 15-50 in 2019-20 as Green averaged 8.0 ppg on .389 field goal shooting while looking very much like a role player and very little like the Hall of Famer he is purported to be. Green seems to get very angry when his limitations as a player are pointed out, but that does not change the reality that he is a limited player whose specific talents can be helpful for a team already stacked with talent but don't make much impact on winning otherwise.

Labels: Draymond Green, Golden State Warriors, Minnesota Timberwolves, Rudy Gobert

posted by David Friedman @ 8:20 PM

6 comments

Warriors Roll in Game Five, Put Pressure on Lakers to Win Game Six at Home

Three Warriors scored at least 20 points and all five Warriors starters scored in double figures as the Warriors took an early lead versus the L.A. Lakers, withstood a Lakers run, and did not trail in the second half en route to a 121-106 game five win. Stephen Curry led the way with 27 points on 12-24 field goal shooting and a game-high eight assists. Andrew Wiggins had his best game of the 2023 playoffs (25 points, seven rebounds, five assists), and Draymond Green delivered a double double (20 points, 10 rebounds) instead of the triple single that he had in four of his previous 10 playoff games this year. Coach Steve Kerr inserted Gary Payton II in the starting lineup for the second consecutive game, and Payton II finished with a game-best +25 plus/minus number even though his boxscore numbers were modest (13 points, six rebounds). Klay Thompson continued to struggle (10 points on 3-12 field goal shooting), which is a concern not only for game six but for subsequent rounds if the Warriors survive and advance. The undersized Warriors outrebounded the Lakers 48-38, and only lost the points in the paint battle by two (52-50), which is a victory for the Warriors because they can expect to win the battle from beyond the arc (plus nine points in game six).

LeBron James led the Lakers with 25 points and nine rebounds. He played well, but he did not dominate, which is what is needed to win game five on the road, and the same can be said of Anthony Davis, who posted nearly identical numbers (23 points, nine rebounds). Davis left the game with 7:34 remaining in the fourth quarter after being accidentally hit in the head by Kevon Looney. The Lakers trailed 102-88 at that point, and Davis had a game-worst -22 plus/minus number, so his absence down the stretch is not why the Lakers lost this game. TNT's Chris Haynes reported that Davis had trouble walking (this was not evident in the video shown on television), and that he required a wheelchair to move around the bowels of the stadium. Davis' reputation for being tough and playing through injuries speaks for itself. ESPN showed footage of Davis walking out of the arena unassisted. Assuming that the wheelchair report is true--and I still have not figured out why Haynes is incapable of delivering a report about something that happened five minutes earlier without reading text messages on his phone from a source close to the situation--we can only hope that Davis recovers from what obviously must be a serious injury. I mean, Kobe Bryant once played in an All-Star Game with a broken nose, a concussion, and soft tissue damage in his neck after being hit in the face by Dwyane Wade, so if a member of the NBA's 75th Anniversary Team cannot return to a playoff game and reportedly needs a wheelchair then we have to assume that he has suffered an injury more serious than a broken nose, a concussion, and soft tissue damage in his neck. So, if Davis does not play in game six or does not play well, we already know that he has good reason to disappear for the rest of this series. NFL player Chris Spielman vowed to retire if he ever had to be helped off of the field, but Dwyane Wade once needed a wheelchair for a shoulder injury, so each person defines toughness in his own way.

Both teams shot well in the first quarter, and the Lakers offset the Warriors' three point barrage (7-12 shooting from beyond the arc) with Davis' 13 points on 6-8 field goal shooting. That kind of three point shooting is not sustainable, but a big and skilled player attacking smaller players in the paint is sustainable (or, at least, it could be). The Warriors led 32-28 after the first 12 minutes.

Both teams continued to shoot well in the second quarter, but the Warriors won the points in the paint duel 20-12 while each squad made four shots from beyond the arc. The Warriors led 70-59 at halftime. The Lakers' vaunted defense apparently did not make the trip across California, staying home to get ready for game six. The teams played to a 23-23 tie in the third quarter, and then the Lakers threw in the towel near the end of the fourth quarter after not being able to make a meaningful dent in the deficit.

Almost every day, I read or hear some commentator asserting that Lakers General Manager Rob Pelinka turned the Lakers' season around by trading Russell Westbrook for D'Angelo Russell, Jarred Vanderbilt, and Malik Beasley. Some "experts" are even suggesting that Pelinka should be voted Executive of the Year--for putting together a team that struggled to make the Play-In Tournament, and then struggled to survive the Play-In Tournament!

Lakers Coach Darvin Ham does not share the same assessment of that trade as the "experts" do. How do I know that without speaking to Ham? In game six, with a chance to eliminate the Warriors, Ham played Vanderbilt for 11 minutes, and he did not put Beasley on the court until the final three minutes when both teams emptied their benches. Two of the three players from the supposedly brilliant trade have essentially played themselves out of the rotation because they are who I said they are: limited role players. Russell scored 15 points in 30 minutes, right in line with his playoff averages this season. Russell has some value as a rotation player when he is making his shots, but in other areas of the game he provides little to no value, so if he is not making his shots or not getting shot opportunities he is just another guy running around getting some cardio work done while other players decide the outcome of the game. 

The Lakers' best "trade" was when Davis became available down the stretch and actually put forth effort at both ends of the court. He is capable of being a fearsome defender and a very difficult to guard scorer in the paint. When James is also playing in the paint at both ends of the court, the Lakers can be pretty good. When the Lakers' defense is indifferent and when the Lakers are indifferent about attacking the paint, they give up 121 points, lose by 15, and get ready for the next game.

Road elimination games are tough, as the Knicks proved earlier in the evening by beating the Heat to send their series back to Miami for game six. The Lakers will likely find out that home elimination games versus the Warriors are not a picnic, either. At least the Lakers know that they can count on Davis and the "triumphant trio" to have big performances so that the Lakers do not have to return to Golden State for a winner take all game seven.

Labels: Anthony Davis, Draymond Green, Golden State Warriors, Klay Thompson, L.A. Lakers, LeBron James, Stephen Curry

posted by David Friedman @ 2:38 AM

6 comments

Golden State Versus L.A. Lakers Preview

Western Conference Second Round

#6 Golden State (44-38) vs. #7 L.A. Lakers (43-39)

Season series: L.A. Lakers, 3-1

L.A. can win if…Anthony Davis and LeBron James consistently make their presence felt in the paint at both ends of the court. Davis is capable of being an elite rebounder and shotblocker. Davis averaged 13.7 rpg and 4.3 bpg in the Lakers' 4-2 first round series victory against the Memphis Grizzlies after averaging 12.5 rpg and 2.0 bpg in the regular season--and he played in all six playoff games after missing 26 out of 82 regular season games. James averaged 11.2 rpg and 1.3 bpg in the first round after averaging 8.3 rpg and .6 bpg in the regular season--and he played in all six playoff games after missing 27 regular season games.

When Davis and James attack the paint on offense they create easy shots for themselves, they force double teams that create open shot opportunities for their teammates, and they draw fouls that get the opposing team in the bonus, creating free throw opportunities for all of the Lakers. 

For the first part of this season, James focused on breaking Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's regular season scoring record, which is a tremendous accomplishment. After James reached that milestone, he seemed more focused on using his prodigious talents to help his team win, and the Lakers won six of their final seven regular season games.

Austin Reaves has emerged as the Lakers' third best player. He averaged 16.5 ppg, 5.3 rpg, and 5.0 apg in the first round. D'Angelo Russell spent most of the first round missing shots, but a big performance in game six lifted his series numbers to 16.7 ppg, 5.8 apg, and 3.7 rpg; this is the first time in his career that Russell played on a team that won a playoff series. Rui Hachimura (14.5 ppg, 4.7 rpg, team-best .569 FG%) had a very solid first round series.

Golden State will win because…the Warriors' defense will make things difficult for the Lakers' sporadically effective offense, and Stephen Curry will continue to add to his impressive legacy. Curry is unlikely to match his iconic game seven masterpiece versus the Sacramento Kings, but it would not be surprising if he averages 30-plus ppg versus the Lakers while also contributing 5-plus apg and 5-plus rpg. He has averaged at least 30 ppg in eight of his 27 career playoff series, including four times in his last seven playoff series. Curry averaged 33.7 ppg, 4.9 apg, and 4.9 rpg versus Sacramento; that is the fourth highest scoring series of his career, and his highest scoring series since 2019.

The Warriors' defense was inconsistent during the regular season, but the Warriors shut down the high-powered Kings offense in game seven, holding Sacramento to 100 points on .375 field goal shooting. Kevon Looney grabbed 21 rebounds, and he leads all 2023 playoff rebounders with 15.1 rpg. Looney is listed at 6-9, but he plays like an old school big man and not like a new school undersized "big" who drifts to the perimeter.

Other things to consider: The mainstream media narrative is that the Lakers transformed their team by trading future Hall of Famer Russell Westbrook for role players D'Angelo Russell, Jarred Vanderbilt and Malik Beasley. Read that sentence out loud to emphasize how foolish it sounds, and how foolish it is.

To quantify the foolishness, here are the first round numbers for the "tremendous trio": Russell averaged 16.7 ppg on .435 field goal shooting, Vanderbilt averaged 7.2 ppg on .548 field goal shooting, and Beasley averaged 4.2 ppg on .292 field goal shooting. Meanwhile, Russell Westbrook averaged 23.6 ppg on .410 field goal shooting while also contributing 7.6 rpg and 7.4 apg for the shorthanded L.A. Clippers during their five game first round loss to the Phoenix Suns; those numbers, which are in line with Westbrook's career playoff averages, may never be matched in any playoff series by any of the players acquired in exchange for Westbrook. 

As noted above, Davis missed 26 regular season games, and James missed 27 regular season games. Davis missed 24 of the Lakers' first 51 games and just two of the Lakers' final 31 regular season games.

The best midseason trade that the Lakers made was the one in which they traded the player known as "Street Clothes" to acquire Anthony Davis!

The Warriors went 33-8 at home and 11-30 on the road during the regular season. Their chemistry seemed tenuous at best after Draymond Green slugged teammate Jordan Poole in the face during a preseason practice. They kept talking about championship DNA and putting everything together when it mattered, but their desultory play suggested that they did not believe what they said, so it was no surprise when they fell down 2-0 versus the Kings--and it was no surprise when Green stomped on Domantas Sabonis' chest during game two, earning an ejection and a one game suspension.

What is surprising is how quickly the Warriors turned things around. They won the next three games to seemingly take command of the series before being embarrassed at home in game six, setting the stage for Curry's epic game seven performance.

Who are these Warriors? It seems unlikely that they can reach the dominant level of their repeat championship teams from 2017-2018, but it seems probable that they can eliminate a Lakers team that was even more inconsistent than they were during the 2023 regular season. The Warriors beat a quality playoff opponent, while the Lakers defeated an injury-riddled Memphis team.

I would not be shocked if the Lakers win their first two home games after falling behind 2-0, but the Warriors will win this series in six games.

Labels: Anthony Davis, Draymond Green, Kevon Looney, Klay Thompson, L.A. Lakers, LeBron James, Stephen Curry

posted by David Friedman @ 10:18 PM

22 comments