Good morning. Anthony Davis has ascended directly to the heavens.
That and much more in Tuesday’s NBA newsletter.
Good morning. Let’s basketball.
NOT SO FAST: On Monday, Kevin Arnovitz published a huge “what ails the Nuggets” piece on ESPN.com. (It’s really good and interesting.) Later that day, the Nuggets beat the Cavaliers in Cleveland. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
THE REST OF BASKETBALL IN LIKE 47 SECONDS: Lots of games! The Grizz crushed the Rockets and are the best. (Tony Allen even gave Dwight Howard the finger-wag.) Markieff Morris went off in Boston in a game decided by open-court turnovers and breakaway dunks (!?!). (The Suns won.) The Heat busted the Nets. The Mavs womped the Hornets. The Pistons gave one up to the Magic. The Blazers beat the Pelicans despite Anthony Davis going Ozymandias on the Moda Center. The Bulls beat the Clips in L.A. in a REVENGE OF THE EAST game. And in the stunner of the night, the Spurs throttled the Sixers.
SLOW GUY FAST BREAK. I believe that’s basketball’s official version of the fat guy touchdown.
OH DOUG: Rookie Doug McDermott tries to get in a photo with Kid Ink, Chris Paul and Blake Griffin. BG is like NAAHH.
SO MUCH POWER: Are the Warriors the best team in the NBA?
SPEAKING OF POWER ... Someone needs to plug in Jeremy Lin. He’s lost his charge.
VIEWING GUIDE: Flannery’s Viewing Guide knows this is a big week for the Grizzlies. It’s off to a wonderful start.
OH: Steve Ballmer could end up with a $1 billion tax break from buying the Clippers. The definition of insanity.
RUDY TIME: I wrote about why Rudy Gay and the Kings are perfect for each other. Zach Lowe also endorsed the move for the Kings.
HERE THIS GOES: Dwight Howard has been investigated for child abuse, reportedly using a belt to discipline his son. We’ll see how the Rockets and NBA handle this.
WE HAVE A PROTEST: The Kings have been granted a protest review from their loss to Memphis on Thursday. They are convinced there is evidence that Ryan Hollins tipped the inbounds pass and that Courtney Lee took more than 0.3 seconds to get off his layup. A decision will come down by December 2. Memphis GM Chris Wallace hilariously lashed out at Sacramento for elevating the matter.
HOW SAD ARE THE PACERS? They have been granted a second hardship waiver. It’s November 18.
DAVID ALDRIDGE’S MORNING TIP: Always a fun read.
DEALING WITH BLOWOUTS: Danny Chau is very good, and his piece looking at how local broadcasters deal with blowouts is excellent.
YOU LAUGH NOW: But when Jaden and Willow Smith are our benevolent rulers, you will remember this day fondly.
Happy Tuesday. See you next time.
