20 Second Timeout

Rockets Acquire Kevin Durant From Suns in Exchange for Dillon Brooks, Jalen Green, and Six Draft Picks

The Houston Rockets acquired Kevin Durant from the Phoenix Suns in exchange for Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks, the 10th overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, and five second round draft picks, but the transaction will not become official until July 6 when the NBA's new year begins*. Last season, the Rockets earned the second seed in the Western Conference with a 52-30 record before losing 4-3 in the first round to the Golden State Warriors; the Rockets were strong defensively, but they ranked just 21st in the league in field goal percentage (.455), and they shot .446 from the field in their playoff loss to the Warriors. The Rockets expect Durant's elite scoring and solid playmaking to provide a major boost to their anemic offense.

There is no disputing Durant's talent and productivity. The 2014 regular season MVP and two-time NBA champion/two-time NBA Finals MVP (2017, 2018) is a four-time regular season scoring champion (2010-12, 14) and five-time playoff scoring champion (2011, 2013-14, 2016, 2019) who ranks eighth in ABA-NBA regular season career points (30,571) and seventh in ABA-NBA playoff career points (4985). Durant owns the sixth highest ABA-NBA career regular season scoring average (27.2 ppg) and the fourth highest ABA-NBA career playoff scoring average (29.3 ppg). Durant, who turns 37 in September, averaged 26.6 points, 6.0 rebounds and 4.2 assists in 62 games last season while becoming the ninth member of pro basketball's 30,000 point club. The future Hall of Famer has averaged at least 25 ppg while shooting at least .500 from the field and at least .400 from three point range for three straight seasons, the longest such streak in ABA-NBA history.

Despite Durant's success, he has rarely seemed happy--let alone content--during his long and distinguished career. He fled Oklahoma City for Golden State in 2016 after leading the Thunder to game seven of the 2016 Western Conference Finals versus the Warriors, and then he orchestrated a move to Brooklyn in 2020 after winning two championships with the Warriors.  

After Durant forced his way from Golden State to Brooklyn, I discussed his perpetual dissatisfaction:

There is a clear pattern here. Durant never feels happy or satisfied, no matter how much those around him cater to his needs and his expressed wants. The Thunder built their team around Durant, but he left; the Warriors embraced Durant from day one, built their team around him, but he left despite having the most successful all-around seasons of his career. Durant's comment that Golden State could not "alter anything in my basketball life" is odd, unless he values his individual honors and achievements over team success: he did not obtain ultimate team success until he joined a team that had already won a title just two years before he arrived...

Durant may win multiple titles in Brooklyn, or he may not win any titles. He may reestablish himself as an elite player after missing a full season due to a significant injury, or he may never return to his old form. Based on past experience, though, one thing seems certain: he will not be happy--and that is sad. 

Durant played just 129 games in three seasons with the Nets before forcing his way to Phoenix, where he played just 145 games in three seasons. Durant enjoyed his greatest team success in Oklahoma City and Golden State, and he has had very little team success since leaving the Warriors. Between 2011 and 2019, Durant played in the Western Conference Finals six times, played in the NBA Finals four times, and won two titles; his Warriors reached the 2019 Western Conference Finals but he did not play due to injury, returning for one game in the 2019 NBA Finals before rupturing his right Achilles, causing him to miss the rest of the 2019 NBA Finals plus all of the 2019-20 regular season. Since leaving the Warriors, Durant has not reached the Conference Finals, he has advanced past the first round just twice, and he missed the playoffs last season. His post-Golden State resume includes a 2-4 playoff series record, and a 10-18 record in playoff games, including being on the wrong end of two first round sweeps.

It is understandable why the Rockets believe that acquiring Durant will improve their chances to win a title; they are already a big, physical, defensive-minded team, so adding a two-time champion who is an elite scorer seems to make their roster complete--but Durant has only made deep playoff runs when he was 30 or younger and playing alongside a dynamic, MVP-caliber guard (first Russell Westbrook, then Stephen Curry). Durant is seven years removed from his last deep playoff run, and the Rockets do not have--and do not seem likely to acquire--a dynamic, MVP-caliber guard.

Barring significant injuries, the Rockets are likely to win more than 50 games, and they should not lose again in the first round--but, beyond that, their future is less clear. Drama and discontent follow Durant, so it is premature to assume that the Rockets are a lock to reach the 2026 Western Conference Finals. The best case scenario is that Durant's efficient shooting opens up the floor for Alperen Sengun, Amen Thompson, and Fred VanVleet and that Durant is willing to buy in to Houston's gritty defensive style--but the worst case scenario is that within two years Durant is unhappy yet again and forcing his way out of town.

* July 7, 2025 update: The Durant trade has been consolidated into a record-setting seven team trade, with these terms, per NBA.com:

The Rockets receive:

Kevin Durant

Clint Capela

The Suns receive:

Jalen Green

Dillon Brooks

Khaman Maluach (No. 10 overall)

Rasheer Fleming (No. 31 overall)

Koby Brea (No. 41 overall)

Daequan Plowden

2026 second-round pick

2032 second-round pick

The Nets receive:

2026 second-round pick

2030 second-round pick

The Warriors receive:

Alex Toohey (No.  52 overall)

Jahmai Mashack (No. 59 overall)

The Hawks receive:

David Roddy

2031 second-round pick

Cash 

The Lakers receive:

Adou Thiero (No. 36 overall)

Cash 

Timberwolves receive:

Rocco Zikarsky (No. 45 overall)

2026 second-round pick

2032 second-round pick

Cash

Labels: Brooklyn Nets, Dillon Brooks, Houston Rockets, Jalen Green, Kevin Durant, Oklahoma City Thunder, Phoenix Suns

posted by David Friedman @ 3:00 PM

14 comments

Knicks Fire Their Most Successful Coach of the Past 25 Years

"You're timing stinks. We've just made a billion eight for the second year in a row. That's three and a half billion in the past two years. But mark my words, Henry. You may never see a billion eight again. And do you know why? Because you don't know how the f--- we made it in the first place." Lee Iacocca to Henry Ford after being fired by Ford

A family run business can hire and fire on a whim. That is how Ford Motor Company operated under Henry Ford II, which is how Lee Iacocca ended up at Chrysler, where he revitalized a company that had seemed to be on the brink of imminent collapse; meanwhile, Ford Motor Company's market share gradually declined after the Iacocca firing. Iacocca had a lot to do with Ford Motor Company's success in the 1960s and 1970s, but job performance had nothing to do with Henry Ford II's decision to fire Iacocca. 

What does this trip down automotive history memory lane have to do with the NBA? Tom Thibodeau just coached the New York Knicks to their most successful season in the past 25 years--the culmination of three straight years of improved regular season records--but that was not enough to save his job when James Dolan decided to fire him. Much like Henry Ford II ran Ford Motor Company as a family business (never mind the existence of a supposedly independent board of directors), Dolan runs the Knicks as a personal fiefdom where he can declare "Off with their heads!" on a whim. 

The Knicks steadily improved during Thibodeau's tenure, and before this season began no reasonable person would have said that reaching the 2025 Eastern Conference Finals would constitute failure, let alone be a fireable offense. The Knicks went 21-45 in the COVID-19 abbreviated 2019-20 season, and then went 41-31 in Thibodeau's first season at the helm. After slipping to 37-45 in 2021-22, the Knicks went 47-35, 50-32, and 51-31 in the next three seasons, advancing to the second round in back to back years before reaching the Eastern Conference Finals this season.

Prior to hiring Thibodeau in 2020, the Knicks had missed the playoffs for seven straight seasons under six different coaches. The Knicks have had 13 head coaches in the 24 years since the departure of Jeff Van Gundy in 2001.

Do you see the pattern? The one constant is James Dolan, who has owned the team through all of this turbulence; the general managers change, the coaches change, the players change, but Dolan is always there, presiding over the chaos. 

Firing excellent coaches is a trademark move of a dysfunctional franchise. Sensible reasons to fire a coach include underperformance relative to reasonable expectations, declining performance in the absence of extenuating circumstances, or the availability of a superior coach. Those reasons are not applicable to Thibodeau and the Knicks. 

Bashing excellent coaches is a trademark move of media members who do not understand the sport that they cover. The correct way to critique a coach is to focus on a specific coaching decision, provide evidence demonstrating why that coaching decision was suboptimal, and then suggest an alternative coaching decision that would have been better, supporting that alternative with evidence. Media members do not do this for a simple reason: they are not capable of doing this. The barriers to entry for some fields are quite high: to become an attorney, you must first get a high LSAT score, then you must graduate from law school, and then you must pass the bar exam; to become a chess master, you must achieve a rating in timed, competitive play that exceeds the ratings of 99% of competitive chess players. To become a media member, all you have to do is know someone who knows someone who likes you, and that is why media members who could not coach their way out of a paper bag with a machete are paid to intone solemnly (or yell bombastically) about how they would coach a team much better than a career professional coach would.

The prevailing media-driven narrative that Thibodeau did not use his bench enough is as lazy as it is stupid, and the people who propagate that nonsense fail to explain (1) who specifically Thibodeau should have played more minutes, (2) who specifically Thibodeau should have played fewer minutes, and (3) what evidence exists to demonstrate that making those moves would have produced a better outcome than losing in the Eastern Conference Finals.

When I critique a coach, I provide specific evidence-based reasons for that critique. For example, when Kevin Durant entered the NBA and Seattle Coach P.J. Carlesimo declared that he would move Durant from forward to guard, I expressed skepticism: 

Durant has not played one minute of regular season action in the NBA, yet even though he has been advertised as a great inside player his coach already wants him to switch positions. Carlesimo clearly wants to spare Durant from being pounded in the paint but the move to the backcourt will lead to other problems. To the best of my knowledge, Durant has never played guard; now he will have to learn how to do so against the best guards in the world. Also, from what I saw in the summer league, Durant has a very high dribble and is not a great ballhandler, so he will be a turnover waiting to happen if he is relied upon to do a lot of dribbling.

Durant clearly needs to put on some weight but that will be true regardless of which position he plays. I think that he and Seattle would be better served if he takes his lumps at his natural small forward position where he will at least be in the comfort zone of playing in areas of the court that are familiar to him.

The Seattle franchise subsequently moved to Oklahoma City and replaced Carlesimo with Scott Brooks, who immediately shifted Durant back to forward, a decision that I praised: "Moving Durant to small forward is a big step in the right direction that I predict will pay noticeable dividends, possibly as soon as the end of this season." The rest is history, as Durant assembled a Hall of Fame career as a forward; he averaged 20.3 ppg on .430 field goal shooting in his one year as a shooting guard, and in the next 16 seasons he never averaged less than 25.1 ppg and he never shot worse than .462 from the field.

A few years later, Carlesimo was coaching the Brooklyn Nets and Thibodeau was coaching the Chicago Bulls. The teams met in the first round of the 2013 playoffs, and I predicted that Chicago would win: "This series features a huge coaching mismatch. TNT's Kenny Smith says that if a team loses by more than five points then blame the players but if it loses by less than five points blame the coach; the games in this series figure to be low scoring and close and I trust Chicago's Tom Thibodeau much more than I trust Brooklyn's P. J. Carlesimo; this is not just about in-game adjustments but also about elements of preparation that give one team an edge over another." Sure enough, Chicago--which had won 45 games during the regular season while Brooklyn had won 49 games--won that series, 4-3. After the series, I distinguished coach evaluating from coach bashing:

Coach bashing is a favorite media pastime but most media members do not have a clue how to determine if a team is well coached or poorly coached. I respect all NBA coaches tremendously and I fully realize that even a bad NBA head coach knows more about basketball than the vast majority of coaches at any other level of the sport; [George] Karl is a very good NBA coach but he seems to be better suited for rebuilding teams/coaching underdogs than he is at extracting the maximum out of 50-plus win teams. Carlesimo was an excellent collegiate coach and he served as an assistant on Gregg Popovich's San Antonio staff so Carlesimo obviously has a very good basketball mind--but as an NBA head coach he has not measured up well in comparison with the best of the best, a category in which Thibodeau clearly belongs.

When I critique coaches like Carlesimo and Karl I am not trying to suggest that I know more about basketball than they do or that I would be a better NBA head coach; in other words, I am not acting like Bill Simmons. I am just doing my job as an NBA analyst by pointing out that, as much as Karl and Carlesimo know about basketball, there are other coaches who are demonstrably performing at a higher level.

Media members do not like to admit being wrong and it is interesting to see the lengths some of them will go to in order to avoid such admissions. Simmons used to regularly bash Doc Rivers' coaching acumen but now Rivers is widely recognized as a great coach so Simmons had to stop degrading Rivers--but did Simmons admit that he was wrong? Of course not! Simmons' story is that Rivers has evolved into being a great coach. Rivers won the 2000 Coach of the Year award in his first season as an NBA head coach after leading the "heart and hustle" Orlando Magic to a 41-41 record with Darrell Armstrong, John Amaechi and Chucky Atkins as the top three players in the rotation. Has Rivers become a better coach in the intervening 13 years? I am sure that he has; I hope that anyone who does something for more than a decade becomes better at it--but the idea that Rivers was a terrible coach who then became a great coach is absurd. Simmons was dead wrong about Rivers and he should just admit it. 

After retiring from the NBA, Brian Scalabrine has played several one on one games versus regular people who assume that because he was a bench player in the league and is now a retired player they have a chance to beat him--but Scalabrine routinely dominates these players, and he has correctly stated that he is closer to LeBron James' level than any of those players are to his level. Similarly, the worst coach in the NBA is closer to Phil Jackson's level of basketball understanding and acumen than any media member is to the worst coach's basketball understanding and acumen. In other words, media members should approach their craft with humility and with the goal of trying to learn more about basketball strategy--but that does not generate hype or TV ratings, so basketball fans will continue to be subjected to empty minds with large mouths loudly proclaiming "hot takes" devoid of cold logic.

Labels: James Dolan, Jeff Van Gundy, Kevin Durant, New York Knicks, Oklahoma City Thunder, P.J. Carlesimo, Scott Brooks, Seattle Supersonics, Tom Thibodeau

posted by David Friedman @ 10:32 PM

2 comments

Kevin Durant is the Ninth Member of Pro Basketball's 30,000 Point Club

The Memphis Grizzlies built a 19 point lead and held on to defeat the Phoenix Suns 119-112, but the headline story from that game is that the Suns' Kevin Durant joined the elite 30,000 point club by making a free throw with 1:11 remaining in the third quarter. Durant finished with a game-high 34 points on 12-18 field goal shooting. Ja Morant scored a team-high 26 points as the Grizzlies improved to 36-17 while dropping the Suns to 26-27. The Grizzlies have the second best record in the Western Conference, while the Suns are fighting just to earn a berth in the Play-In Tournament; the Suns are yet another example of how the "Big Three" model of instant team building fails more often than it succeeds.

Durant is the 30,000 point club's ninth member, and the first new member since LeBron James became the eighth (and youngest) member in 2018, one year after Dirk Nowitzki joined. Before we reflect on Durant's excellent career, it must be emphasized that it is shameful that the NBA and its media partners call Durant the 30,000 point club's eighth member, ignoring the fact that Julius Erving scored 30,026 points. ABA numbers should be counted offiically by the NBA, just like the NFL officially counts AFL numbers. Erving was just the third player to score at least 30,000 points, and he was the first "midsize" (6-7 or under) player to accomplish the feat; nearly 40 years after Erving retired, the only other "midsize" players who have scored at least 30,000 points are Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant. Ignoring Erving's accomplishments and statistics skews the ubiquitous conversation about the greatest players of all-time; Erving is often left out of that discussion, but he deserves to be prominently mentioned. Erving starred in the ABA for five years before enjoying a spectacular 11 year run with the Philadelphia 76ers. He made the All-Star team in each of his 16 professional seasons, he never played for a losing or non-playoff team, and he is the only player to win an MVP award in both leagues. Erving won four regular season MVPs, three championships, and two Finals MVPs; he did a lot more than just score, but he was also one of the greatest, most consistent scorers of all-time, with scoring averages ranging from 20.0 ppg to 31.9 ppg in his first 14 seasons.

Durant is unlikely to join James in the 40,000 point club, but he has come a long way from being a skinny rookie who was played out of position at guard before blossoming in his second season after being shifted to his natural position of small forward. Durant spent his prime years at small forward but as his body developed and the league began favoring smaller lineups he became a devastating weapon at power forward, stretching the floor while not being afraid to attack the hoop. Durant had a high, loose dribble as a young player but he developed into an effective ballhandler. He did not average at least 4 apg until his sixth season, but he averaged at least 4 apg in each of the next 12 seasons. Durant won four scoring titles, and he posted two 50/40/90 seasons that exemplify how complete his scoring repertoire is: Durant is renowned as a midrange assassin, but he also posts up, drives to the hoop, drains three pointers, and not only draws fouls but shoots his free throws at an elite (.882) clip. Like Erving, Durant has an all-around game, and an impressive list of accomplishments, including two Finals MVPs, two championships, and one regular season MVP.

Six of the nine members of the 30,000 point club are in my Pantheon (an asterisk denotes that the player is in my Pantheon):

                               Pro Basketball's 30,000 Point Club 

1. LeBron James* 41,623 

2. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar* 38,387 

3. Karl Malone 36,928 

4. Kobe Bryant* 33,643 

5. Michael Jordan* 32,292 

6. Dirk Nowitzki 31,560 

7. Wilt Chamberlain* 31,419 

8. Julius Erving* 30,026

9. Kevin Durant  30,008

Labels: Dirk Nowitzki, Julius Erving, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Karl Malone, Kevin Durant, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Michael Jordan, Wilt Chamberlain

posted by David Friedman @ 3:25 AM

20 comments

Suns Spoil Clippers' Home Opener in New Arena

The Phoenix Suns built a 14 point first half lead, fell behind by 10 points with just 6:13 remaining in the fourth quarter, and then rallied to beat the L.A. Clippers 116-113 in overtime, spoiling the Clippers' home opener in Steve Ballmer's new arena. Kevin Durant led Phoenix with 25 points while also posting a team-high seven turnovers. Bradley Beal scored 24 points on 8-12 field goal shooting, and poured in seven of the Suns' 13 overtime points. Devin Booker had a quiet game (15 points, six assists) by his lofty standards. Tyus Jones did an excellent job in his debut as the team's starting point guard, finishing with 11 points, a game-high tying eight assists, and no turnovers. The Suns squandered many late leads last season due to poor execution down the stretch, so slotting Jones in as the starting point guard is meant to solve that problem, and if this game is any indication then that plan will work out well.

This game was a microcosm of James Harden's career: he filled up the boxscore with empty calories, and he disappeared when it mattered the most. Harden's game-high 29 points, game-high 12 rebounds, and game-high tying eight assists will make every "stat guru" drool, but it is worth noting not only that Harden had a -4 plus/minus number but also when and how he accumulated his numbers, because the great Bill Russell used to emphasize during his time as a CBS commentator the importance of when a player puts up his numbers. Harden was a no-show in the first half with four points on 2-11 field goal shooting as the Suns built a 47-39 halftime lead, forcing the Clippers to expend energy playing from behind. Then, he erupted for 16 points on 5-9 field goal shooting in the third quarter as the Clippers outscored the Suns 35-25 to take a 74-72 lead heading into the fourth quarter. In the fourth quarter with the game up for grabs, Harden had eight points on 3-7 field goal shooting with a team-worst -7 plus/minus number. 

The Clippers led 99-90 with 3:52 remaining in the fourth quarter, and then Harden did his thing: he missed a 30 foot three pointer, he missed a floater, he turned the ball over, he missed a layup, and he fouled Durant on a three point play that gave the Suns the lead for the first time in the fourth quarter. Harden then tied the game with a stepback jumper and gave the Clippers a brief lead by hitting a pair of free throws before Durant's fadeaway knotted the score at 103 with 21.2 seconds remaining. Harden missed a floater that could have won the game, and in overtime he did not score a point or deliver an assist. Harden once said that he is not a system player but he is "The system" and that is true if he means that he is "The system" for falling behind early, squandering late leads, disappearing in overtime, and putting up "concert tour" field goal percentages in playoff games.

Unfortunately for the Clippers, their hopes will ride or die with Harden, because two-time NBA Finals MVP (2014, 2019) Kawhi Leonard is out indefinitely with a knee injury. It is becoming increasingly evident that the issue with Leonard is not so much that he is intentionally engaging in load management but that rather he just cannot stay healthy. 

In contrast, the Suns have a much sounder foundation, as they are relying on two-time NBA champion/NBA Finals MVP Durant, supported by Booker and Beal, who are excellent as the second and third options respectively. The Suns replaced Frank Vogel, who is an excellent coach, with Mike Budenholzer, who led the Milwaukee Bucks to the 2021 NBA title.

Labels: Bradley Beal, Devin Booker, James Harden, Kawhi Leonard, Kevin Durant, L.A. Clippers, Phoenix Suns, Tyus Jones

posted by David Friedman @ 11:14 AM

0 comments

Stephen Curry's Late Three Point Barrage Leads Team USA to 98-87 Olympic Gold Medal Game Win Over France

"What is easy is seldom excellent."--Samuel Johnson

Stephen Curry scored a team-high 24 points--including 12 points in the final 2:47--as Team USA held off a resilient France to win 98-87 and earn a fifth straight Olympic gold medal game victory. The 11 point final margin belies how competitive this contest was. Team USA was clinging to an 82-79 lead with 3:09 left in the fourth quarter after Victor Wembanyama's putback dunk, but then Curry hit four three pointers in a 2:12 span to save the day. Curry had a game-high +20 plus/minus number and five assists. In the first four games of the Olympics, Curry scored just 29 points and he only shot 5-20 (.200) from three point range, but in two games of medal round play versus Serbia and France he tallied 60 points while shooting 17-26 (.654) from beyond the arc. 

Kevin Durant--who started for the first time for Team USA in 2024--added 15 points, four rebounds, and four assists. He is the first American male basketball player to win four Olympic gold medals. Devin Booker also scored 15 points, and he had six rebounds, three assists, and the game's second best plus/minus number (+18). 

LeBron James capped off an excellent Olympics with another great all-around performance, scoring 14 points, grabbing six rebounds, and dishing for a game-high 10 assists. He joined Curry and Booker as the only players with double digit plus/minus numbers (+17). James averaged 14.2 ppg, 6.2 rpg, and 8.5 apg in the 2024 Olympics, earning MVP honors for the event. James headlines an Olympics All-Star Five that includes Curry, Victor Wembanyama (France), Nikola Jokic (Serbia), and Dennis Schroder (Germany).

No other American player scored in double figures, but Anthony Davis had an impact with eight points, a game-high nine rebounds, and a game-high four blocked shots.

Only four Team USA players played at least 20 minutes: James (32), Durant (31), Curry (30), and Booker (28). Derrick White and Tyrese Haliburton did not play. Haliburton never had a significant role for Team USA, but White ranked sixth on Team USA in minutes played during pool play before falling out of the rotation in medal round play.

Joel Embiid started at center alongside James, Durant, Curry, and Booker, but he finished with just four points in 11 minutes. He did not make a field goal, and he spent much more time on the bench inciting the French crowd than on the court contributing to the win. His decision to play for Team USA instead of France turned out well for him, and he can thank Curry, Durant, James, and Booker for adding a gold medal to a trophy case that is otherwise bereft of team championships. Considering his lack of productivity versus France, it would have been hilarious if the fans had chanted at him in French the familiar taunt that is directed toward players who are helping the opposing team at least as much as they are helping their own team: "He with us!" 

Victor Wembanyama scored a game-high 26 points on 11-19 field goal shooting. Guerschon Yabusele muscled his way to 20 points on 6-14 field goal shooting. Nando De Colo was the only other French player who scored in double figures (12 points). Evan Fournier runs hots and cold as a shooter, and in this game Team USA held him to eight points on 3-10 field goal shooting. France's rotations and substitution patterns were interesting, to put it mildly. Nic Batum played 25 minutes--third most on the team--despite having a plus/minus number (-20) that was -11 worse than any other French player. He led France in rebounding (eight rebounds) and assists (four) so he was productive, but when he was in the game France hemorrhaged points. In contrast, Rudy Gobert played just 12 minutes despite having a +3 plus/minus number. Plus/minus numbers can be noisy in small sample sizes, but Gobert had a positive impact with his defense, rebounding, and screen setting, so a case could be made that he earned more playing time.

In the past several years, France has consistently proven to be a worthy opponent for Team USA. Team USA beat France 87-82 in the gold medal game of the 2020 Olympics (played in 2021) after losing to France 83-76 in the first game of pool play. France also defeated Team USA 89-79 in the 2019 FIBA World Cup.

This game proved to be no different, as it was competitive from the jump ball until the final buzzer.

James opened the scoring with a two-handed fast break dunk, and Wembanyama answered with a three pointer. Team USA led 12-11 at the 4:52 mark of the first quarter when the first substitutions were made, including Davis checking in for Embiid, and Fournier and Gobert entering for France. Tatum checked in for Durant at the 4:12 mark, when the score was still 12-11.

Team USA led 20-15 at the end of the first quarter while holding France to 1-9 three point field goal shooting, and Team USA extended that margin to 24-17 on two inside baskets by Davis. France countered with an 8-0 run to go up, 25-24. James put Team USA up 26-25 with a driving layup, but Team USA was not able to pull away. Yabusele cut Team USA's lead to 40-36 by posterizing James and then completing the three point play after James was called for a blocking foul. Team USA countered with a Curry three pointer followed by Booker's fast break layup and free throw after being fouled on the drive. Team USA led by double digits (46-36) for the first time. Yabusele's layup off of a Wembanyama feed just before the halftime buzzer trimmed Team USA's lead to eight, 49-41. 

Yabusele led France with 15 first half points, while Wembanyama had 13 points, five rebounds, and two assists. Booker was Team USA's only double figure scorer (13 points). James had seven points, five rebounds, and two assists. Team USA shot 9-20 (.450) from three point range in the first half while holding France to 3-16 (.188) three point field goal shooting.

Team USA began the third quarter with a 7-2 run in less than two minutes, and eventually widened the lead to 14 points (61-47), but just when it seemed like Team USA might pull away, Wembanyama hit a three pointer to pull France to within 65-56 at the 4:05 mark. After a timeout, both teams had multiple empty possessions before Fournier's three pointer cut Team USA's lead to 65-59. James answered with a three pointer to put Team USA up 68-59, and Team USA soon pushed the lead to 72-61, but France scored five points in the final 23 seconds to trail just 72-66 heading into the fourth quarter. Team USA had seven turnovers in the third quarter.

Curry did not score in the first 7:13 of the fourth quarter before pouring in 12 of Team USA's 26 fourth quarter points. Team USA led 80-69 with less than seven minutes to go but could not sustain their double digit lead. For most of the fourth quarter, Team USA's offense featured sloppy ballhandling and missed shots, and France had outscored Team USA 13-10 in the final stanza before Curry heated up.

Team USA won the rebounding battle 37-33, but committed 17 turnovers compared to France's 13 turnovers. The key, as is often the case for Team USA in FIBA competitions, was that Team USA held France to 9-30 (.300) three point field goal shooting. As a bonus, Team USA shot 18-36 (.500) from beyond the arc. Curry did most of the long range damage with his 8-12 three point field goal shooting. 

Winning a gold medal under any circumstances is a tremendous accomplishment. Team USA was the prohibitive favorite and in the end they got the job done--but it is worth remembering that Team USA's roster included four members of the NBA's 75th Anniversary Team (James, Durant, Curry, Davis)--and this was almost certainly the last Olympics appearance for at least three of those four players. If Team USA needs that kind of overwhelming talent advantage on paper just to beat Serbia and France in very competitive games, then what foundation is Team USA building--either on this roster, or on the U19 and younger teams--for future FIBA success?

Curry's end of the game three point heroics were incredible--he zigged and zagged through France's defense like a video game character--but this is not a sustainable recipe for FIBA success because (1) this is almost certainly his last FIBA competition and (2) no one else can do what he did. If Team USA's formula for future FIBA success is going to be "Keep the game close and have one dude go ballistic for two minutes from three point range" then Team USA is going to struggle to win more gold medals versus countries that play team ball instead of hero ball. The formula for sustained FIBA success for Team USA is putting together a roster that plays stifling defense and then turns those defensive stops into transition scoring opportunities. It is fine--but not necessary--for some of those transition scoring opportunities to be three pointers, but the four late three pointers that Curry made are a testament to his individual greatness, not great game planning or ball movement.

As a Team USA fan, Curry's awesome late game shooting was exciting, but as an analyst/historian I wonder what is Team USA's plan for the future. 

Labels: 2024 Olympics, France, Guerschon Yabusele, Joel Embiid, Kevin Durant, LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Team USA, Victor Wembanyama

posted by David Friedman @ 10:06 PM

7 comments

Team USA Overcomes 17 Point Deficit to Defeat Serbia, 95-91

Team USA outscored Serbia 32-15 in the fourth quarter to escape with a 95-91 win that punched their ticket to a gold medal game matchup with France on Saturday. Stephen Curry scored a game-high 36 points, one short of Team USA's single game Olympics record--but Curry had his best Olympics performance in a highly competitive game, while Carmelo Anthony scored 37 points in a blowout win versus Nigeria in 2012. Curry shot 12-19 from the field (including 9-14 from three point range), and he had a game-high +20 plus/minus number. 

Joel Embiid had his best all-around game as a member of Team USA, scoring 19 points on 8-11 field goal shooting. He had seven fourth quarter points. LeBron James logged just the fourth triple double in the Olympics since the 1970s (when rebounds and assists began to be tracked consistently), and he is the only player since the 1970s with two Olympics triple doubles. James finished with 16 points, a game-high 12 rebounds, and a team-high 10 assists. 

Jayson Tatum and Tyrese Haliburton did not play, while Anthony Edwards, Anthony Davis, Bam Adebayo, and Derrick White each played 13 minutes or less. With Team USA staring elimination in the face, the players who Coach Steve Kerr trusted the most were Curry (33 minutes), James (32 minutes), Embiid (26 minutes), Devin Booker (24 minutes), Kevin Durant (24 minutes), and Jrue Holiday (20 minutes). 

Bogdan Bogdanovic led Serbia with 20 points, while Nikola Jokic had 17 points, a game-high 11 assists, and five rebounds. Aleksa Avramovic scored 15 points on 5-8 field goal shooting, and he led Serbia's long range attack with 4-6 three point shooting. Team USA only outrebounded Serbia 34-33, and Team USA committed 10 turnovers compared to Serbia's seven turnovers.

It was evident from the opening tip that playing Serbia in the medal round is nothing like playing Brazil, the team that Team USA routed in the first game of medal round play. Serbia dominated Team USA for the first three quarters, leading 31-23 at the end of the first quarter and pushing the margin to 17 (42-25) before settling for a 54-43 halftime lead. It must be emphasized that Serbia controlled the game despite Curry putting on an incredible shooting exhibition, starting with 14 points in the first 3:38 of the game and 17 points overall in the first quarter; what wins for Team USA is not three point shooting or highlight plays, but rather stingy defense leading to transition scoring opportunities--and Team USA did not play that way until very late in the game.

Team USA trimmed the deficit to six, 65-59, on a Holiday three pointer with 3:30 remaining in the third quarter, but then Serbia countered with an 11-2 run to go up 76-61 with just :32 left in the third quarter. The momentum shifted at the 7:19 mark of the fourth quarter when Jokic committed his fourth foul while Serbia led, 78-70; in FIBA play, five fouls result in disqualification, so Jokic could not be as aggressive the rest of the way. On one fourth quarter possession, he backed away from Embiid in the post and gave up an open shot rather than risk being whistled for his fifth foul. 

James' driving layup tied the score at 84 with 3:41 left, and then after a Filip Petrusev dunk put Serbia back on top Curry drilled a three to give Team USA the lead for good, 87-86. Jokic's layup cut Team USA's lead to 93-91 with :26 remaining, but Serbia made a puzzling decision to let 18 seconds run off of the clock before fouling--and then they fouled Curry, whose two free throws iced the win.

Serbia shot 10-19 (.526) from three point range in the first half, and they made 15 three pointers in the first three quarters--five in each quarter--but did not make a single shot from beyond the arc in the fourth quarter as Team USA belatedly lifted their defensive focus and intensity. There could not be a better example proving the point that Team USA's shooting from three point range is not the deciding factor in these games. 

When figuring out what to make of this game, keep in mind that Team USA's roster includes four players from the NBA's 75th Anniversary Team while Serbia's team includes four players who have NBA experience. Jokic is an all-time great and Bogdanovic is a solid NBA starter, but Vasilije Micic has averaged 7.0 ppg in 60 career NBA games and Nikola Jovic has averaged 7.1 ppg in 61 career NBA games.

Here is a fascinating thought experiment: would Serbia have come within five points of beating Team USA if you switched Jokic with any one Team USA player? Keep in mind that 75th Anniversary Team members James, Curry, Durant, and Davis won most of their NBA titles by forming super teams, not by elevating teams without All-Stars. Would any of them even show up for the Olympics if they were told that their team's second best player would be Bogdan Bogdanovic? Curry led an underdog college squad at Davidson so maybe he would accept the challenge, but James, Durant, and Davis are not built like that.

I mean no disrespect to Serbia. In fact, my point is that the Serbian players are better at basketball than they are given credit for being, while American players are overrated. This is not a hot take, or an overreaction to one game. Team USA's game plan for the first 30-plus minutes versus Serbia seemed to be to hope that Curry could make enough three pointers to overcome their sluggish defense and their lack of an effective half court offense; in marked contrast, Serbia played a team game at both ends of the court. American basketball--from high school to college to the NBA--has devolved into an isolation game in which star players are protected by the officials and in which principles of team play at both ends of the court are not emphasized enough. For at least the past 20 years in FIBA play, we have regularly seen that American players who are used to traveling, palming, and being rewarded with free throw attempts after jumping into defenders are not nearly as effective when they are not provided with such leeway. NBA players, particularly American NBA players, rely on rules that favor offense, and their statistics are inflated by that reliance; think of how often NBA players are bailed out by flopping and flailing. Embiid had an excellent game versus Serbia, but in this game and throughout the Olympics he has often flung himself to the floor--as he does all the time in the NBA--only to watch in exasperation as the FIBA referees refused to bail him out. Embiid has bragged that he would average 50 ppg in the NBA if double teaming were outlawed, but a better hypothetical to ponder is how many points he would average if the NBA stopped rewarding him for falling down. 

As I noted in my article about Team USA's performance in the USA Basketball showcase, the popular notion--repeatedly asserted by J.J. Redick--that today's NBA players are vastly superior to NBA players from previous eras does not withstand careful scrutiny. Jokic already has won an NBA championship despite not playing alongside a single All-Star, and now he nearly took down four 75th Anniversary Team members (plus a host of perennial All-Stars) with one NBA starter and two NBA reserves. Either Jokic is the greatest player of all-time, or his Serbian teammates are much better than anyone thinks, or the American players are not quite as good as their press clippings. Again, this is not based on just one game; this is based on watching more than two decades of regression of the American game--with a brief respite when Kobe Bryant and Jason Kidd restored order by playing the kind of perimeter defense that is necessary for Team USA to consistently win in FIBA play: Bryant went 36-0 in FIBA play, and Kidd went 56-0 in FIBA play, but before and after their tenures with Team USA the squad suffered losses to teams that looked vastly inferior on paper if one only considers the players' NBA resumes.

Redick and others assert that the supposedly skinny NBA players of the 1990s, 1980s, and earlier would have had no chance trying to compete against James. If that is true, then why does James need three other 75th Anniversary Team members to barely beat Jokic and--no offense to Serbia--a bunch of skinny dudes who will likely never make an NBA All-Star team? I don't doubt that James would put up big individual numbers in any era, but he would not have won more championships in earlier eras than he won in his own era, unless you can picture Jokic and crew beating any championship team from the 1990s, 1980s, or 1970s. If James needs a team stacked with NBA All-Stars to barely squeak by Jokic and Serbia then James is not beating the 1970s Knicks or Celtics, or the 1980s Lakers, Celtics, Pistons, or 76ers, or the 1990s Bulls unless he has a stacked team.

This close call versus Serbia is just one more example of the extent to which American players who expect to be able to travel and palm the ball while being rewarded with free throw attempts if a defender even breathes on them are not nearly so spectacular when they are expected to play basketball by the written rules and not by the NBA's lenient interpretations of those rules. Remember when Gregg Popovich used to instruct his players to put their hands behind their backs when they guarded James Harden? Popovich was trying to prevent his players from getting into foul trouble based on the ludicrous way that Harden was officiated but--intentionally or not--he was also exposing the extent to which the NBA game is slanted to favor offense.

It is often said that the world has caught up to America in basketball, but that is overly simplistic. It is true that many of the other national teams have improved, but it is undeniable that American basketball has regressed. There is video evidence to demonstrate this. On August 8, 1992, the one and only Dream Team beat Croatia 117-85 to win Olympic gold. Team USA's starting lineup that day was Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Scottie Pippen, Charles Barkley, and David Robinson. I realize that half of the people reading this article may not have been alive in 1992, but those of us old enough to have seen all of the Dream Team's games live know the difference between their brand of basketball and the brand of basketball being played by the current version of Team USA. It is fair to say that the Dream Team would have beaten this Serbian team by at least 15-20 points, and probably more. Keep in mind that the Croatian team that the Dream Team thrashed featured three future Hall of Famers: Toni Kukoc, Drazen Petrovic, and Dino Radja. That Croatian team would probably beat this Serbian team. The Dream Team certainly made their share of highlight plays, but they won because of their mastery of basketball fundamentals at both ends of the court: they defended tenaciously, they rebounded, and they punctuated fast breaks with dunks, not "logo threes." 

It is undeniable that Team USA 2024 is far from being a Dream Team, let alone matching the real Dream Team, and even though Team USA is (and should be) the favorite versus France it is not at all certain that Team USA will win the gold medal game. France beat Team USA 83-76 in the first game of the 2020 Olympics (held in 2021), and then battled Team USA to the wire before falling 87-82 in the gold medal game.

Labels: 2024 Olympics, Bogdan Bogdanovic, Joel Embiid, Kevin Durant, LeBron James, Nikola Jokic, Stephen Curry, Team USA

posted by David Friedman @ 1:49 AM

12 comments

Team USA Routs Brazil 122-87 to Move Within Two Wins of Capturing Olympic Gold

After posting a 3-0 record in pool play and earning the number one seed in the medal round, Team USA demolished Brazil in the quarterfinals to set up a semifinal matchup on Thursday versus Serbia, who needed overtime to beat Australia. Team USA jumped out to an 18-8 lead within the first five minutes, and enjoyed a double digit cushion most of the rest of the way. Brazil cut the margin to just eight points, 42-34, at the 4:10 mark of the second quarter before Team USA closed the half with a 21-2 run to erase any doubt. As is generally the case in FIBA play, strong defense leading to transition scoring opportunities was the key factor. Team USA held Brazil to 32-77 (.416) field goal shooting overall, including 12-37 (.324) from beyond the arc. Team USA controlled the boards 46-34, and forced 15 turnovers while only turning the ball over 11 times. Each Team USA starter had a plus/minus number of at least +12, a welcome change from previous games when opposing teams kept pace with Team USA's starters before succumbing to Team USA's superior depth.

Starter Devin Booker scored a team-high 18 points on 6-9 field goal shooting in 15 minutes. Anthony Edwards added 17 points on 6-10 field goal shooting off of the bench in 20 minutes. Joel Embiid, inserted in the starting lineup despite his largely desultory play for Team USA, had 14 points and seven rebounds in 12 minutes; naturally, while finally having a good game he engaged in constant celebrations, taunting a French crowd that jeered him for spurning France (he is a French citizen as well) to play for Team USA. Also naturally, Embiid injured his ankle during the first half and did not play in the second half: watching him play for Team USA is like watching him in the NBA playoffs when he usually plays below his regular season standard for most games but has one or two good games and invariably is either injured entering the postseason or gets hurt during the playoffs. He is not expected to miss more time in the Olympics.

Anthony Davis, Team USA's defensive anchor, scored 13 points on 5-9 field goal shooting while also tying Brazil's Georginho De Paula for game-high rebounding honors (eight). LeBron James added 12 points on 5-6 field goal shooting plus a game-high nine assists before leaving the game after taking an elbow to the face. James needed four stitches and did not return to action but he is expected to be fully available for the Serbia game. Kevin Durant chipped in 11 points off of the bench and surpassed Lisa Leslie to become the all-time leading scorer for Team USA in Olympic play (of course, such records are skewed in favor of modern players who participate in the Olympics several times, in contrast to previous eras when American players played in the Olympics just once).

Bruno Caboclo scored a game-high 30 points for Brazil, but Team USA held most of his teammates in check.

Serbia has been up and down during the Olympics, but they have the best player in the world (Nikola Jokic) plus Bojan Bogdanovic and a bunch of scrappy players who most casual fans do not know much about. Team USA handled Serbia pretty easily in both the USA Basketball Showcase and pool play, though it is worth mentioning that in pool play Serbia played even with Team USA for the 31 minutes that Jokic was on the court but was outscored 29-3 during the nine minutes that Jokic was on the bench. If Serbia plays Jokic almost the entire game and he gets a little more help from his teammates then this game could be closer than expected, particularly if Team USA has some defensive lapses.

Labels: 2024 Olympics, Anthony Davis, Devin Booker, Joel Embiid, Kevin Durant, LeBron James, Team USA

posted by David Friedman @ 9:04 AM

0 comments

Team USA Cruises to 3-0 Record in Pool Play, Earns Top Seed in Medal Round

On Saturday, Team USA routed Puerto Rico 104-83 in the final game of Olympics pool play. Puerto Rico led 25-17 after the first eight minutes, but Team USA trimmed the margin to 29-25 by the end of the first quarter and then outscored Puerto Rico 39-16 in the second quarter to take a 64-45 halftime lead. Team USA shot just 9-32 (.281) from three point range and that did not matter at all, because they held Puerto Rico to 10-37 (.270) three point shooting. As is generally the case for Team USA in FIBA play, defending the three point line, getting out in transition, and scoring easy baskets were much more important than making three pointers--despite the incessant chatter about the need to stuff the roster with three point shooters: Stephen Curry, widely considered the greatest three point shooter of all-time, shot .263 from three point range in Team USA's three pool play games, and Team USA still won each game by at least 17 points.

Anthony Edwards scored a game-high 26 points in just 17 minutes off of the bench; as has often been the case for Team USA this year, the reserves picked up the slack after the starters were sluggish. Joel Embiid added 15 points on 6-14 field goal shooting, which qualifies as a breakout game for him considering how poorly he has played up to this point; he looks out of shape, but the undersized Puerto Rico team was just the right medicine for him. Kevin Durant added 11 points in 19 minutes off of the bench, while LeBron James, Jayson Tatum, and Anthony Davis each scored 10 points. James had six rebounds and a game-high eight assists, and Tatum tied Puerto Rico's Ismael Romero for game-high honors with 10 rebounds.

Team USA finished Olympics pool play with a 3-0 record. Team USA previously beat Serbia (110-84) and South Sudan (103-86 after nearly losing to South Sudan in the USA Basketball Showcase)--and has earned the number seed in the medal round based on their overall point differential of +64. Canada and Germany also went 3-0, but they had point differentials of +47 and +20 respectively. In the Olympics, blowing out an inferior opponent is an important tactic for getting a better seed, not bad sportsmanship.

The medal round is single elimination, so the NBA players have to adjust their mindsets from seven game playoff series during which each game lasts 48 minutes to the reality that one bad 40 minute game--or even one bad stretch during a 40 minute game--could be the end of the road. Team USA is the clear favorite to win the gold medal, but the other top FIBA teams are not pushovers. Team USA must continue to defend the perimeter aggressively and then score easy baskets in transition; if the game slows down, the top FIBA teams may pick them apart in the halfcourt. Depth is a major weapon--perhaps the major weapon--for Team USA; it is fascinating to see that even unheralded FIBA teams that lack NBA stars can hang with Team USA's first unit of all-time great players before being overwhelmed after Team USA's second unit enters the fray.

Edwards led Team USA in scoring (16.7 ppg on .633 field goal shooting) during pool play, followed closely by Durant (16.0 ppg on .636 field goal shooting). James is third in scoring (14.3 ppg on .643 field goal shooting), first in assists (7.3 apg), and third in rebounding (6.7 rpg) behind Tatum (7.5 rpg) and Davis (7.0 rpg).

Team USA has been rolling so comfortably that media members have felt compelled to make up drama-filled headlines, shrieking in horror when Tatum did not play versus Serbia and then again when Embiid did not play versus South Sudan. Team USA's Coach Steve Kerr explained those lineup choices as being strictly matchup-related; he does not have a set rotation, but instead shuffles his starting lineup and adjusts playing time based on the strengths/weaknesses of the opponent. If the people covering the 2024 Olympics did their research then they would know that the 1992 Dream Team--the first Team USA squad that had NBA players on the roster--had many different starting lineups; every player on the roster except John Stockton and Christian Laettner started at least one game, with most players starting three or four of the eight games (not surprisingly, Michael Jordan was the only player who started all eight games).

Team USA will face Brazil in the quarterfinals on Tuesday. The winner of that game will play the winner of Australia versus Serbia. In the other bracket, the winner of Germany versus Greece will face the winner of Canada versus France, with the winner of that semifinal matchup advancing to the gold medal game to presumably face Team USA.

Labels: 2024 Olympics, Anthony Davis, Anthony Edwards, Jayson Tatum, Joel Embiid, Kevin Durant, LeBron James, Team USA

posted by David Friedman @ 3:54 AM

6 comments

Sharpshooting Bucks Take Down Defenseless Suns, 140-129

The Milwaukee Bucks beat the Phoenix Suns 140-129 on Sunday even though the Suns were at full strength while the Bucks were missing two-time regular season MVP (2019, 2020) Giannis Antetokounmpo, who was a late precautionary scratch due to lingering hamstring soreness. Damian Lillard scored a game-high 31 points on 10-19 field goal shooting while passing for a game-high/career-high tying 16 assists. Bobby Portis matched Lillard with 31 points, shooting 13-20 from the field and also snaring a game-high 10 rebounds. Portis made all five of his three point shots. Khris Middleton returned to the lineup after missing 16 games with an ankle injury, and he had a major impact, scoring 22 points and dishing for seven assists in just 25 minutes. The Bucks set season highs for three point field goals made (24) and points scored in a half (82) while also tying the NBA record for three point field goals made in a half (18). Their 140 points is the most that they have scored since Doc Rivers took the head coaching reins shortly before the All-Star Game.

Bradley Beal led the Suns with 28 points while passing for seven assists, Grayson Allen added 25 points and a team-high eight assists, and Devin Booker had 23 points, a team-high nine rebounds, and six assists. Kevin Durant entered the game needing 20 points to surpass Shaquille O'Neal on the all-time scoring list, but he finished with just 11 points on 4-10 field goal shooting, though he did have a strong floor game (nine rebounds, four assists, three steals, two blocked shots, and just one turnover in a game-high 41 minutes).

This rematch of the 2021 NBA Finals did not feel like a rematch not only because of Antetokounmpo's absence but also because Booker is the only player or coach remaining from Phoenix' 2021 squad. It is amazing how quickly things change in the NBA, even for franchises that have been successful.  

Hubie Brown provided the color commentary for ABC. His most recent telecast was last Sunday when the Philadelphia 76ers beat the New York Knicks 79-73 in the NBA's lowest scoring game since 2016. Brown's pregame remarks focused on Middleton and Durant. Brown noted that even though Middleton is only averaging around 14 ppg this season he is a proven 20 ppg scorer who can also play the point guard role during crunch time minutes. Brown commented that Durant is so good that he makes scoring look easy, and he pointed out how Durant uses his length to create space to launch uncontested shots. 

Lillard is having a good season by conventional standards, but his numbers are below his career averages in several key categories, including PPG, FG%, and 3FG%. He played poorly in his previous two games, scoring just 27 points on 9-28 (.321) field goal shooting, but he understood the assignment with Antetokounmpo out of action: score efficiently while creating easy scoring opportunities for his teammates. Lillard scored nine first quarter points, but even more importantly he had six assists and no turnovers. Portis led the Bucks with 12 first quarter points on 5-5 field goal shooting. 

The Suns jumped out to a 9-3 lead, but by the end of the first quarter the Bucks led 39-36 and they never trailed again. The Bucks shot 15-24 from the field (.625) in the first quarter and the Suns were not far behind that blazing pace, shooting 14-25 (.560). Brown called the Bucks a "slow defensive recovery team," and added, "You can see early in this game that the defensive end off of the dribble is going to be a problem for Milwaukee." 

Brown amplified his pregame comments about Middleton's importance to the Bucks, calling him "A joy to watch," and praising him as a third scoring option who is comfortable being the second or even first option in clutch situations, which takes pressure off of Antetokounmpo and Lillard. 

Brown, who made his mark as a defensive-minded coach, described the defense in this game as so bad "it's almost outrageous," specifically noting that on many plays a defender was not within four or five feet of the shooter. Brown pointed out that the Bucks' strategy was to trap Booker and Durant out front while playing zone behind the traps.

After Portis made a three pointer from the left wing in the second quarter, he shouted, "That’s for you, Hubie!" Portis gave a similar shoutout to Brown during Milwaukee's 119-98 win over Philadelphia on Sunday February 25. Brown loves Portis' game, and it is nice to see a player who is far too young to remember most of Brown's coaching and broadcasting careers demonstrating such respect for one of the legends of the game.

The Bucks led 82-60 at halftime, mainly because of their record-setting three point shooting, led by Portis' 25 points on 10-13 field goal shooting (including 5-5 from three point range). Brown mentioned that the Bucks shot 2-2 from the free throw line during the first half, and said that this is because the Bucks were "shooting at will in wide open areas." The Suns' defense was so bad that they were not even close enough to the Bucks to foul them, let alone hinder or stop them. 

Brown said that the Suns should approach the second half with the mindset of cutting 4-5 points off of the lead every six minutes. The Suns stuck to that blueprint quite well, helped by the nature of the NBA today: the three point shot is a high variance play, and overuse of the three point shot is a major reason that NBA games so often feature big leads followed by big comebacks. In this game, the Bucks led by as many as 25 points in the second half before the Suns used a 32-13 rally to trim the margin to 100-94 with 1:30 remaining in the third quarter; in less than eight minutes, the Suns transformed a blowout into a potential win. The Bucks quickly built their lead back up to 15 points, but had to withstand one more Phoenix surge that trimmed the deficit to 122-115 with 6:17 left in the fourth quarter. The Suns made their run by utilizing a smaller, more aggressive lineup featuring Durant as the only player taller than 6-7.

Although the Suns outscored the Bucks 35-31 in the fourth quarter, overall this season the Suns have been awful in the final stanza, posting the fifth worst fourth quarter scoring margin in NBA history and blowing 10 fourth quarter leads. Brown attributes the Suns' fourth quarter struggles this season to high turnovers and low field goal percentage.

After the Bucks sealed the win in the closing moments, Brown's broadcast partner Dave Pasch noted that Lillard is the first player in Bucks' history to have at least 30 points and at least 15 assists in the same game. Brown replied that he was fortunate to coach great Milwaukee players including Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Oscar Robertson, and Bob Dandridge. Brown said that it is important to remind younger viewers that Robertson averaged 30-10-10 in his first five NBA seasons. "That is the impression he made," Brown emphasized. Brown is correct, and in fact Robertson averaged 30.4 ppg, 10.7 apg, 10.0 rpg in his first six NBA seasons. Brown respects the players in today's NBA and he praises Lillard's game when warranted, but Brown did a great job of making it clear that one 30-15 game is not equivalent to averaging 30-10-10 for several seasons in a row.  

This game reflected the strengths and weaknesses that both teams have displayed throughout the season: the Bucks are potentially an offensive powerhouse, but they need Antetokounmpo on the court to provide paint presence at both ends of the court; the Suns' Durant-Booker-Beal trio can be lethal on offense, but collectively the Suns provide little defensive resistance. 

Labels: Bobby Portis, Bradley Beal, Damian Lillard, Devin Booker, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Hubie Brown, Kevin Durant, Khris Middleton, Milwaukee Bucks, Phoenix Suns

posted by David Friedman @ 2:46 AM

12 comments

Lakers Outshine Suns, Will Face Pelicans in NBA Cup Semifinals

Kevin Durant owns a 9-5 head to head advantage over LeBron James in their NBA Finals matchups while  winning two of those three series, but James extended his head to head advantage in their regular season encounters to 18-6 with a 106-103 L.A. Lakers win over Durant's Phoenix Suns. The victory lifted the Lakers into the NBA Cup Semifinals, where they will face the New Orleans Pelicans, who beat the Sacramento Kings 127-117 on Monday night. 

Father Time may be undefeated, but LeBron James has not lost to him yet and he had another sterling performance with a game-high 31 points, a game-high 11 assists, eight rebounds, and five steals. He is the first Laker to post at least 30-10-8-5 in a game since Magic Johnson in his prime, but James' performance is notable because he is a soon to be 39 year old in his 21st NBA season. 

James leads the Lakers by attempting nearly six three point field goals per game, but in this contest he shot the trey judiciously (2-4) and made a concerted effort to attack the paint. The Lakers are at their best when James and Anthony Davis attack the paint instead of settling for jump shots or just drifting around the perimeter. Davis finished with 27 points, a game-high 15 rebounds, and the Lakers' only two blocked shots. Davis shot just 10-26 from the field but he had a strong first half (20 points on 8-16 field goal shooting) as the Lakers built a double digit lead. Even though Davis had just seven points on 2-10 field goal shooting in the second half, he had nine rebounds as the Lakers did just enough to hold on and win. He also dominated his head to head matchup with Jusuf Nurkic, who finished with three points, eight rebounds, and no blocked shots.

The Lakers outscored the Suns in the paint 54-44. It would be interesting to know what the Lakers' record is when they win points in the paint by at least 10 points with James and Davis combining for at least 58 points and at least 23 rebounds. We have been subjected to so much nonsense about "lasers" and Russell Westbrook and roster construction, but the simple reality is that when James and Davis are both healthy and both attack the paint the Lakers are very difficult to beat; the Lakers shot 38-102 (.373) from the field--including 9-30 (.300) from three point range--and still defeated a Phoenix team featuring future Hall of Famers Devin Booker and Kevin Durant.

Durant tied James for game-high honors with 31 points while shooting 12-17 from the field. He also had seven rebounds and four assists. Booker scored 21 points while leading the Suns with 11 rebounds and six assists. Grayson Allen also scored 21 points.

The Lakers jumped out to a 33-23 lead by the end of the first quarter, and they enjoyed a 59-47 halftime advantage. They took control by outscoring the Suns in the paint 36-22 in the first 24 minutes. The Suns won the second half 56-47 and outscored the Lakers in the paint 22-18 but--like a race car that takes the checkered flag while running on fumes--the Lakers did just enough to reach the finish line. Austin Reaves drilled a three pointer to put the Lakers up 105-101 with 15 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter. Durant answered with a reverse layup, and then Davis closed out the scoring by splitting a pair of free throws. Durant had a chance to tie the score with a long three pointer from the left wing, but he missed wide right and the Lakers punched their ticket to Las Vegas for the NBA Cup Semifinals. 

During the TNT telecast, we saw highlights of the first time that James and Durant faced each other in the NBA (January 8, 2008). I covered that game in person as a credentialed journalist, and I not only wrote a recap of the 95-79 win for James' Cavaliers over Durant's Sonics but I interviewed Paul Westhead--who was then an assistant coach with the Sonics--and I later wrote a profile of the "guru of go," the only coach to win an NBA title (1980 Lakers) and a WNBA title (2007 Mercury). Interviewing coaches and scouts to talk about basketball strategy and basketball history was one of my favorite things about being a credentialed journalist. 

Speaking of basketball history, it should be noted that Durant recently passed Moses Malone to move into 10th place on the NBA's regular season career scoring list. Of course, as I have frequently insisted, it is historically inaccurate to talk about an NBA-only list while ignoring ABA statistics; the NFL provides full and equal recognition to AFL statistics, and the NBA should do likewise with ABA statistics. Durant currently ranks 13th on the ABA/NBA regular season scoring list, and he is still more than 2000 points behind Moses Malone, who ranks ninth all-time in career regular season scoring. Amin Elhassan's historical analysis often falls short of basic competency--most notably during his repeated, shameful mocking of Bob Cousy--but he was right on target recently during a segment of the Sirius XM NBA show that he co-hosts with Jason Jackson: Elhassan declared that the NBA should immediately grant full recognition to ABA statistics, and he pledged to work with the Players Association and other league contacts that he has in order to make this happen. Hopefully, those are not empty words, because making ABA statistics official is long overdue and--as Elhassan mentioned--it would be great for this to happen while ABA legends such as Julius Erving, Rick Barry, Artis Gilmore, and Dan Issel are still alive to appreciate it.

Labels: Anthony Davis, Devin Booker, Kevin Durant, L.A. Lakers, LeBron James, Phoenix Suns

posted by David Friedman @ 2:12 AM

2 comments

Davis and James Save the Day for Listless Lakers Versus Shorthanded Suns

Anthony Davis and LeBron James combined to score 23 fourth quarter points as the L.A. Lakers rallied from an 84-72 deficit at the start of the final period to post a 100-95 win versus a Phoenix Suns team missing injured stars Devin Booker and Bradley Beal. Davis led the Lakers with 30 points and a game-high 12 rebounds, while James finished with 21 points, nine assists, and eight rebounds. Kevin Durant poured in a game-high 39 points on 14-28 field goal shooting, and he was the only Phoenix player with a double digit plus/minus number (+18). Durant topped the Suns with 11 rebounds, but he also had a game-high eight turnovers. Both teams struggled to score, with the Lakers shooting 36-84 (.429) from the field and the Suns shooting 34-81 (.420) from the field--and the three point shooting was horrific, with the Lakers shooting 5-29 (.172) and the Suns shooting 9-31 (.290).

The Suns jumped out to a 30-18 lead by the end of the first quarter, with Eric Gordon and Jordan Goodwin (seven points each) leading the way while Durant scored six points. James did not score in the first quarter. In the second quarter, James led both teams with 11 points as the Lakers almost reversed the first quarter margin, outscoring the Suns 30-22 to only trail 52-48 at halftime.

The Suns heated up in the third quarter, scoring 32 points on 10-17 (.588) field goal shooting as Durant scored 15 points while shooting 5-6 from the field. James did not score and shot 0-1 from the field, and it looked like the Suns were poised to win even without All-Stars Booker and Beal. The Lakers have indicated that they intend to limit James to around 30 minutes per game during the regular season, and if they had stuck to that plan then he would have barely played half of the fourth quarter--but James played all 12 minutes in the final stanza, and he attacked the hoop relentlessly instead of settling for long jump shots. James scored layups on back to back possessions to break a 91-91 tie, and then after Austin Reaves split a pair of free throws Davis closed out the scoring by sinking four straight free throws in the final seven seconds. Davis scored 13 fourth quarter points, while James added 10 fourth quarter points

Regardless of all of the talk about various personnel moves transforming the Lakers, at their core the Lakers are the same team now that they were at the start of last season: they can be very dangerous when both James and Davis are healthy and engaged, and they are mediocre at best otherwise. James' level of play as a soon to be 39 year old in his 21st NBA season is remarkable; no player in pro basketball history has been this athletic and retained this much skill at his age level/experience level. James is understandably not as durable as he was during his prime, but when he is healthy he still plays at an MVP level. It is tempting to call Davis an enigma, but an enigma is a mystery and Davis is not mysterious, because the 12 season veteran has consistently demonstrated who he is: he is a very talented player who misses a lot of games due to injury, and who does not consistently play with a high energy level after returning from injury. When James and Davis play the way that they did in the fourth quarter versus the Suns, the Lakers will be successful whether they have Russell Westbrook or D'Angelo Russell; when James and Davis do not play at all or when they do not play at a high level, the Lakers are not very good.

The Suns are who we thought they were: a team with elite players who often miss games due to injury, supported by a thin bench. Bradley Beal has missed the first two games of the season due to a back injury. Devin Booker starred in the first game, then missed the second game due to injury. Durant has played in 55 games or less in each of the four seasons since he ruptured his Achilles during the 2019 NBA Finals, and if the Suns are relying on him to consistently score 39 points in 39 minutes that is a recipe for him to miss a lot of games later in the season. Jusuf Nurkic, acquired in an offseason trade for Deandre Ayton, has appeared in 56 games or less in each of the past four seasons. The Suns are betting that their four best players will be healthy enough during the playoffs to make a championship run, regardless of how many regular season games they miss or where the Suns finish in the regular season standings.

Labels: Anthony Davis, Kevin Durant, L.A. Lakers, LeBron James, Phoenix Suns

posted by David Friedman @ 1:30 PM

0 comments

Suns Tame Warriors in Second Game of NBA Opening Night Doubleheader

The new-look Phoenix Suns outlasted the new-look Golden State Warriors 108-104 in the second game of the NBA Opening Night doubleheader. Devin Booker led the Suns with a game-high 32 points on 13-21 field goal shooting and a team-high eight assists while also grabbing six rebounds. Kevin Durant scored 18 points and snared 11 rebounds, but he shot just 7-22 from the field in his first game at Golden State since fleeing the Warriors for what he expected to be greener pastures in Brooklyn after the 2018-19 season. Josh Okogie added 17 points on 7-9 field goal shooting, and Jusuf Nurkic had 14 points and a game-high 14 rebounds as the Suns dominated the undersized Warriors 60-49 on the boards. The Suns are hoping that Nurkic will fit in better--and be less disgruntled--than Deandre Ayton was.

Stephen Curry paced the Warriors with 27 points, but he shot 8-20 from the field (including 4-14 from three point range) while passing for just one assist and accumulating a -9 plus/minus number. The other "Splash Brother," Klay Thompson, also struggled, finishing with 15 points on 6-18 field goal shooting. In his first game with the Warriors after spending the past three seasons with the Suns, Chris Paul scored 14 points on 4-15 field goal shooting but he also had a game-high nine assists while only turning the ball over once. Paul had six rebounds and a +5 plus/minus number.

This game had significant momentum swings, as Phoenix led by 15 points (61-46) at halftime, but Golden State rallied to lead by eight points (88-80) early in the fourth quarter. A few consistent themes emerged: without a true point guard running the show the Suns had 19 turnovers and did not shoot as efficiently as usual (42-95, .442), while the Warriors shot even worse than the Suns (36-101, .356) and also struggled to defend the paint and get rebounds to complete defensive possessions.

Each team was missing a key player: the Suns' Bradley Beal was inactive due to back tightness, while the Warriors' Draymond Green was inactive because of a left ankle sprain. Until we see these teams at full strength for an extended period of time it is too early to make definitive judgments about how good they are. The Suns are counting on Beal to provide a significant scoring punch while Booker assumes the point guard role formerly handled by Chris Paul. Green is the Warriors' de facto point guard and the linchpin of their defense.

Labels: Chris Paul, Devin Booker, Golden State Warriors, Kevin Durant, Phoenix Suns, Stephen Curry

posted by David Friedman @ 9:09 AM

2 comments

Nuggets Blot Out Suns, Who Fall Meekly in an Elimination Game for the Second Year in a Row

The Denver Nuggets may hear the doubters, but they are not paying attention to them. The Phoenix Suns are the latest franchise whose attempt to build a super team went down in flames, as the Nuggets rolled into Phoenix for game six and then rolled over the Suns 125-100 to win their second round series and advance to the Western Conference Finals for the second time in four years. The game was not nearly as close as that score might suggest. Two-time regular season MVP Nikola Jokic had to settle for making the All-NBA Second Team this season, but he did not look like second team anything as he hit the Suns with 32 points, 12 assists, and 10 rebounds, extending to 11 his record for most career playoff triple doubles by a center (a mark held by Wilt Chamberlain--who had nine--for more than 50 years). Jamal Murray, whose availability was in doubt due to a non-COVID illness, added 26 points, four assists, and four rebounds. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope contributed 21 points, five rebounds, and strong defense.

Cameron Payne more than ably filled in for injured Phoenix point guard Chris Paul, scoring a team-high 31 points on 12-16 field goal shooting. However, Payne's elevation into the starting lineup plus the insertion of Jock Landale into the staring lineup in place of injured starting center Deandre Ayton left the Suns' already thin bench almost completely barren; the Suns' reserves scored 12 points on 6-14 field goal shooting. Landale scored 13 points and grabbed five rebounds, while Devin Booker finished with 12 points on 4-13 field goal shooting plus a team-high eight assists.

Kevin Durant, who struggled to score efficiently throughout the series, finished with 23 points on 8-19 field goal shooting. After the game, he declined an invitation to provide context for his performance or the team's performance, stating simply that he takes responsibility and that any context he attempts to provide will be dismissed as excuses. Say what you will about Durant's team-hopping, but Durant is a hard worker who plays the right way and makes no excuses. It is a shame that basketball fans did not get treated to multiple Golden State versus Oklahoma City playoff series with Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson battling against Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, but Durant's choice to flee from accepting that challenge does not diminish what he has accomplished during his career.

Remember all of the "experts" who termed the Suns the proverbial "team nobody wants to face" because of the Booker-Durant duo? Building a championship team is not as easy or instantaneous as making microwaved food for dinner, and the basketball gods have once again issued that message loudly and clearly. Maybe Booker and Durant will win a title together eventually, but it was not realistic to believe that a roster thrown together near the end of the season with no depth and no chemistry would survive four playoff rounds this year.

Remember all of the "experts" who mocked Deandre Ayton and insisted that the Suns should get rid of him? Those hot takes did not age well as the Suns sans Ayton lost the rebounding battle 41-29 while getting outscored in the paint 62-46.

I wonder if the MVP voters who chose Joel Embiid over Nikola Jokic still believe that Embiid is a better basketball player than Jokic and that Embiid has a greater impact on winning. Jokic has now earned his second conference finals appearance, while Embiid just lost at home in a closeout game and now needs a game seven win in Boston to make his first conference finals appearance.

Hubie Brown provided color commentary for ESPN, his first national TV appearance since New York's game three win versus Miami on May 6. It is not surprising that Brown, who led the Kentucky Colonels to the 1975 ABA title with a frontcourt featuring Hall of Famers Artis Gilmore and Dan Issel (and Hall of Fame guard Louie Dampier), loves Jokic: "He's a destroyer at both ends of the floor," Brown said before the game. "He's the total package, and he's leading his team."

Throughout the game, Brown marveled at Jokic's skills while also breaking down what makes him great. After yet another series of deft post moves resulted in a Jokic basket, Brown said, "That's what I like about his game. He slows down, and he has that baby hook." Brown added, "I enjoy watching him play any time from the foul line down. He has so many moves."

The Nuggets led 81-51 at halftime, breaking the record for most points in a half by a road team in the history of the NBA playoffs. Last year, the Dallas Mavericks humiliated the Suns 123-90 in game seven in Phoenix, and in that game the Suns also trailed by 30 at halftime.

Just before halftime, Brown summarized how the Nuggets dominated the Suns: "The defense for Denver has been outstanding" and Denver's "offense has been winning the paint." As the game--and the Suns' season--came to an end, Brown explained why Phoenix lost: "They cannot defend this team. They cannot defend their movement, and they cannot defend the painted area."

Regardless of how much some people talk about three point shooting, spacing, "gravity," and the relative efficiency advantages of shooting three pointers as opposed to posting up, timeless basketball fundamentals are still true and still matter: a team that plays excellent defense and controls the paint is best positioned to make a deep playoff run.

The highlight of this game for me--besides Jokic's all-around mastery and Brown's vivid descriptions of that mastery--happened during the fourth quarter when Brown and play by play announcer Dave Pasch paid tribute to 90 year old Phoenix broadcaster Al McCoy, who is retiring after this season. Pasch raved about the energy of both McCoy and Brown, who is 89 years old, and Pasch added that it is a treat for him to broadcast games alongside Brown. Brown and Pasch visited with McCoy before the game, and Pasch talked about how much he enjoyed listening to their stories from when they both joined the NBA more than 50 years ago. Pasch reminded younger viewers that Brown was an assistant coach with the 1974 Milwaukee team that reached the NBA Finals before serving as the head coach of the 1975 ABA champion Kentucky Colonels. Brown reminisced about his time with the Bucks--who had a young nucleus including Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Bob Dandridge surrounding veteran Oscar Robertson--and he mentioned that his Kentucky championship team had three Hall of Famers. Pasch added that Brown also coached Patrick Ewing and Bernard King with the New York Knicks in the 1980s and then had a successful run with the Memphis Grizzlies two decades later. It should be mentioned not only that Brown won the NBA Coach of the Year award in 1978 and 2004, but that he had top three finishes in 1979, 1980, and 1984.

Based on the scheduling of the remaining second round games and the likelihood that ESPN's main crew will do all of the Conference Finals games, this was probably Brown's last broadcast this season. I hope that he enjoys the offseason and comes back strong for the 2023-24 season!

Labels: Denver Nuggets, Devin Booker, Hubie Brown, Jamal Murray, Kevin Durant, Nikola Jokic, Phoenix Suns

posted by David Friedman @ 8:56 AM

3 comments

Nuggets Outshine Suns, Take 3-2 Series Lead

Nikola Jokic led both teams in scoring (29 points), rebounds (13), and assists (12)--his 10th career playoff triple double, breaking Wilt Chamberlain's record--as the Denver Nuggets took command early and breezed to a 118-102 win over the Phoenix Suns. Denver can close out the series and advance to the Western Conference Finals for the second time in four years by winning game six in Phoenix on Thursday night. Bruce Brown was sensational off of the bench, pouring in 25 points in 27 minutes, while Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. scored 19 points each. The Nuggets outrebounded the Suns 50-42, and they held the Suns to .432 field goal shooting, which is impressive considering that the Suns have a high-powered offense and the Nuggets are not considered to be a great defensive team.

Devin Booker, who is leading the NBA in playoff scoring this season (35.9 ppg), "slumped" to a team-high 28 points on 8-19 field goal shooting, and Kevin Durant continued his puzzling inefficiency in this series, shooting 10-24 from the field to amass 26 points. Durant led the Suns with 11 rebounds and seven assists. Starting point guard Chris Paul missed his third straight game due to injury, a recurring theme throughout his playoff career. In the previous two games, the Suns scored 121 points and then 129 points to tie the series at 2-2 after falling behind 2-0 while averaging just 97 ppg in two losses. It is interesting to wonder how the Suns would have performed had Paul not sat out: would they have won two high scoring games with Booker and Durant both putting up big numbers, or would the Suns have continued to lose? 

The narrative that often surrounds Paul's teams--and that has been promoted by "stat gurus" for his entire career--is that Paul's efficiency elevates everyone around him and is the driver of the offense. At the very least, in this small sample size of games we see that Booker, Durant, and the Suns are quite capable of scoring a ton of points--and twice beating the number one seed in the Western Conference--without Paul. That is not to suggest that Paul is a bad player or that his presence hurts his team, but it is to suggest that (1) his impact on team success is overrated and (2) to the extent that he impacts team success this impact is not consistently felt in the playoffs: Paul has been front and center for some embarrassing playoff debacles, including last year's 123-90 game seven loss at home to Dallas, and five blown 2-0 series leads (an NBA record for one player).

The Nuggets may be the most under the radar number one seed that we have seen in the NBA for quite some time--not that it matters too much what people who do not understand the sport think, but it is unusual that a consistently successful team led by a two-time regular season MVP is regarded so lightly. Considering the early elimination of the number one overall seed Milwaukee Bucks, and the shaky play of the Boston Celtics--who now trail 3-2 versus the Philadelphia 76ers--a logical argument could be made that the Nuggets should be considered the NBA championship favorites.

Labels: Chris Paul, Denver Nuggets, Devin Booker, Jamal Murray, Kevin Durant, Nikola Jokic, Phoenix Suns

posted by David Friedman @ 10:12 AM

6 comments

Big Performances by Booker and Durant Offset Jokic's 53 Point Game as Suns Win Game Four, Tie Series Versus Nuggets

It seems like a long time ago that Denver took a 2-0 lead versus Phoenix. Devin Booker (36 points on 14-18 field goal shooting) and Kevin Durant (36 points on 11-19 field goal shooting) led the way as the Suns beat the Nuggets 129-124 to tie the series at 2-2 and set up a critically important game five in Denver. The Suns' thin bench has been a problem since the Suns traded away several players to acquire Durant, so it seemed like the groin injury suffered by Chris Paul in game two that has forced him to miss games three and four would be a fatal blow--but without the aging Paul the Suns are pushing the ball up the court and creating easier scoring opportunities. Also, in game four Landry Shamet scored 19 points as the Nuggets unsuccessfully employed an "anyone but Booker or Durant" defense that intentionally left him open; that strategy failed because, as the above numbers show, the Nuggets not only failed to contain Booker and Durant but they enabled a third scorer to join the party.

Through the first nine games of a playoff season, few players have scored more points than Devin Booker has in the 2023 playoffs (331, 36.8 ppg), and no one who scored more than Booker had a higher field goal percentage than his .617. In the four games versus the Nuggets, Booker is averaging 36.3 ppg on .637 field goal shooting. It is fair to say that playing alongside Durant (who is averaging 32.0 ppg on .469 field goal shooting versus the Nuggets) has unleashed Booker's already potent offensive game. In the Suns' 121-114 game three win, Booker poured in 47 points while Durant added 39 points. Booker's 2023 playoff scoring is on a tier shared with only Wilt Chamberlain, Elgin Baylor, Jerry West, and Michael Jordan.

The Nuggets wasted a great performance by Nikola Jokic, who scored 53 points on 20-30 field goal shooting while also passing for 11 assists. The only center who scored more points in a playoff game is Wilt Chamberlain, whose 56 points on March 22, 1962 set the NBA's single game playoff record that stood for less than a month before sublime forward Elgin Baylor scored 61 points in game five of the 1962 NBA Finals. Jokic is putting up his own historic numbers in this series, averaging 36.5 ppg on .570 field goal shooting while leading both teams in rebounding (14.0 rpg) and assists (9.5 apg). In game three, Jokic had 30 points, 17 rebounds, and 17 assists. 

Jamal Murray had 28 points and seven assists, but no other Nugget scored more than 11 points. Murray is having an excellent series (26.0 ppg, 7.3 apg, 5.0 rpg), but the Nuggets need more consistent production from other players in order to counter the Booker-Durant pyrotechnics.

A bizarre play happened with 2:36 remaining in the second quarter and the Nuggets leading, 55-54. After the ball sailed out of bounds near the baseline, Phoenix owner Mat Ishbia refused to give the ball to Jokic. Jokic ripped the ball out of Ishbia's hands, and made light contact with Ishbia's chest, after which Ishbia flopped backwards as if he had been shot by a sniper. Meanwhile, another "fan" made contact with Jokic. The referees huddled together to sort things out, and decided to assess a technical foul against Jokic. The fan who made contact with Jokic was ejected, but Ishbia was not disciplined. After the game, Jokic mentioned that he thought that the NBA was supposed to protect players from the fans; Denver Coach Michael Malone made a similar point, noting that fans do not have a right to interfere in a game by holding on to the basketball and stating that this applies even if the fan is an NBA owner. 

The NBA office should rescind Jokic's technical foul, and--at the very least--publicly reprimand Ishbia while making clear what consequences will be dealt out if any fan (including an owner) engages in similar conduct. If the NBA office does not act, look forward to many other owners and courtside fans interfering in games: that free point matters in a close game, that technical foul moved Jokic one step closer to being ejected (and, if not rescinded, adds to a tally that could result in an automatic suspension if he accumulates more than seven technical fouls during the playoffs), and yet Ishbia has faced no consequences for blatantly interfering in the game. Also, I have no idea what the gambling line was for this game, but it is easy to see how an extra point could have a significant financial impact for anyone who bet on this game, which highlights the risk that the league has taken by entangling itself with gambling.

Regarding the game and the series overall, there is a tendency to overreact to each individual game as if there has been a major momentum shift. These teams are evenly matched, albeit with different strengths and weaknesses. I picked Denver to win in seven games, so I did not expect a Denver sweep after the Nuggets won the first two games at home and I do not expect the Suns to win out the rest of the way after winning their first two home games. It is normal for both teams to win games in playoff series, but in today's media world/social media world featuring hot takes that are a mile wide but only an inch deep people latch on to simple answers and biased narratives. Think about how crazy it is that three of the last four coaches who led teams to NBA titles (Mike Budenholzer, Frank Vogel, Nick Nurse) have been let go by the teams that they guided to the mountaintop; did all of those guys suddenly forget how to develop effective strategies and lead players? No, but we now live in a world that classifies every loss as a colossal failure for which blame must be assigned instead of as a step in a growth process. Many of the greatest coaches of all-time in a variety of sports took several years to win their first championship; in today's environment, would John Wooden, Tom Landry, Don Shula, Dean Smith, or Larry Brown have lasted long enough to put together their Hall of Fame resumes?

Labels: Denver Nuggets, Devin Booker, Jamal Murray, Kevin Durant, Nikola Jokic, Phoenix Suns

posted by David Friedman @ 11:02 AM

4 comments

Jokic Dominates as Nuggets Take 2-0 Series Lead Over Suns

The number one seed that few commentators seem to respect and that every team supposedly wanted to face is now up 2-0 versus a Phoenix Suns team that many observers crowned as a future champion. Nikola Jokic, the reigning two-time regular season MVP, was by far the best player on the court, scoring a game-high 39 points on 17-30 field goal shooting, pulling down a game-high 16 rebounds, and passing for five assists as his Denver Nuggets beat the Suns, 97-87. Jokic may not look or move like some people expect a basketball player to look or move, but he is intelligent, skillful, and STRONG; that combination of traits means that he knows where to go, he knows how to get there, and no one is able to stop him from getting there. Some people used to think that European players are soft. Many of these European players grew up in war zones; they are not soft, and they do not back down from fake tough guys who try to send messages with cheap shots (hello, Markieff Morris).

The Nuggets won despite Jamal Murray having an off game (10 points on 3-15 field goal shooting), Michael Porter Jr. disappearing (five points on 2-7 field goal shooting), and their bench players combining to score just 13 points (it helped the Nuggets that the Suns' bench players scored only four points). 

Devin Booker, who ranks just behind Jimmy Butler in the 2023 NBA playoffs scoring race, scored 35 points on 14-29 field goal shooting while also passing for six assists and grabbing five rebounds. Kevin Durant had an uncharacteristically inefficient game, scoring 24 points on 10-27 field goal shooting. Deandre Ayton--whose self-proclaimed "Dominayton" nickname does not seem likely to age well--had 14 points and eight rebounds. Chris Paul had a quiet game (eight points, six assists, five rebounds in 25 minutes) before suffering a groin injury in the third quarter that forced him to miss the rest of the game; his status for game three (and the rest of the series) has not been publicly revealed. I have sympathy for Paul and I hope that he makes a quick, full recovery, but let's be honest--a Chris Paul playoff injury is predictable under any circumstances, and even more so now that the Suns' bench is thin: in my series preview, I wrote that "it is just a matter of time before one or more of the Suns' starters either wears down or gets injured. Booker, Durant, and Paul have all been injury-prone in recent seasons even without carrying the workload that they are currently shouldering."

Game two was very different stylistically from game one, when the Nuggets beat the Suns in a 125-107 shootout. Murray shined in that game (34 points, nine assists, 13-24 field goal shooting), and Jokic added 24 points, 19 rebounds, and five assists. Aaron Gordon contributed 23 points and six rebounds. Durant led the Suns in scoring (29 points) and rebounding (14 rebounds), but he had seven turnovers. Booker scored 27 points.

Thus, we have seen the Nuggets beat the Suns in a shootout, and we have seen the Nuggets grind down the Suns in a sloppy, low scoring game. The Suns will most likely be more efficient and productive at home, but if Paul is unable to play then their thin bench will be stretched to the breaking point. Booker can shift to point guard but is he going to play 48 minutes? If not, who is going to take up those minutes?

Building a championship team is not easy, nor should it be. It is understandable why the Suns traded away much of their depth to acquire two-time NBA Finals MVP Durant, but you cannot just throw a few talented players together with little practice time and a barren bench and then expect them to win a seven game series against an experienced team that has been together for a while and earned the top seed in the Western Conference. The LeBron James-Dwyane Wade-Chris Bosh Miami Heat did not win a championship in their first season together despite having a full training camp and a full regular season together--and those three players were each in their primes. Paul is past his prime, and Durant is no youngster, even though he still plays at an All-NBA Team level.

The 2011 Dallas Mavericks did not have a single elite player other than Dirk Nowitzki--Jason Kidd is an all-time great, but he was well past his prime by then--but they beat the James-Wade-Bosh super team in the NBA Finals. A similar storyline, albeit two rounds earlier, seems to be unfolding in this Denver-Phoenix series. 

If the Nuggets advance and then go on to win the championship, Jokic is not going to channel LeBron James in the Orlando "bubble" and whine, "I want my respect," but Jokic has more than earned respect by the way that he plays and the way that he leads his team.

Labels: Chris Paul, Deandre Ayton, Denver Nuggets, Devin Booker, Jamal Murray, Kevin Durant, Nikola Jokic, Phoenix Suns

posted by David Friedman @ 11:51 AM

0 comments