Good morning, the Warriors really lost by 40 points
Like, that’s a lot. Here’s your NBA newsletter for Tuesday!
Good morning. Let’s basketball.
LAST NIGHT: Wow! What a compelling postseason. Links lead to recaps.
And here’s our neat next-day “what happened?!” feature, which includes yarns on Dave Joerger’s aced test, the erasure of some magical Thunder moments and more.
Apparently Lil’ B is responsible for turning Kevin Durant’s threes into airballs? He was unsuccessful on this 16-point font all-caps boldface CRAZY ASS CIRCUS SHOT FROM THE CORNER. Base that.
Serge Ibaka had a sweet ode to Dikembe in the Thunder loss.
Blake Griffin had one hell of a night, as illustrated in this good piece from Sam Amick. Also, a friendly reminder from Marc Spears that the Warriors and Clippers straight hate each other.
TONIGHT: Here’s what ahead on Tuesday.
Hawks at Pacers, 7 p.m. ET, TNT
Nets at Raptors, 7:30 p.m. ET, NBA TV
Wizards at Bulls, 9:30 p.m. ET, TNT
All eyes on Indiana, where we find out whether a No. 1 seed is really going to go down to a 38-44 team.
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR: ... goes to Joakim Noah! Thanks to some brilliant transparency reforms by the Pro Basketball Writers Association and the NBA, we can see who gave P.J. Tucker a first-place vote (Al McCoy, radio voice of the Suns, of course). Tucker’s only other vote period came from ... McCoy’s KTAR Radio colleague Tim Kempton. This is not meant to same McCoy and Kempton, but to point out that homerism exists among even media professionals. It’s not just a blog thing.
BLACK MONDAY: Two coaches were canned on Monday, and one more retired.
Mike Woodson is gone in New York. Posting and Toasting reacts. Steve Kerr is a popular name up that way. Jim Cleamons is also getting mentions. Of course, Phil Jackson himself will remain a candidate in the public eye forevermore.
The Jazz let Tyrone Corbin go. SLC Dunk reacts. Two intriguing names immediately popped up: Spurs assistant Jim Boylen (not Skiles caddy Jim Boylan) and Italian coaching legend Ettore Messina.
Finally, Rick Adelman retired after 23 seasons as an NBA head coach. Godspeed to him. Canis Hoopus reacts. Rumored candidates include Fred Hoiberg and team president Flip Saunders.
At least two more jobs should be opening up very soon: the Lakers and the Pistons. There’s a chance at least two playoff teams could be looking for new coaches in a couple weeks, too.
HISTORY MADE: Looking at the Game 1 performances from LaMarcus Aldridge and Damian Lillard in historical perspective.
COACHING WAR: How Pop outmaneuvered Carlisle in Game 1.
JABARI NO. 1: A survey of GMs finds Jabari Parker -- not Andrew Wiggins or Joel Embiid -- atop most lists.
A MILWAUKEE WRINKLE: If the new owners of the Bucks don’t have an arena deal in place by November 2017, the NBA can move in to purchase the team. One assumes at that point the league would sell the club to owners who could get an arena built ... somewhere.
CHANGE OF SCENERY: Instead of a prime waterfront arena at Pier 30, the Warriors have reportedly purchased land closer to AT&T Park for their new arena. That avoids a massive battle against environmental groups. It’s still in San Francisco, not Oakland.
BACK TO THE FINISH LINE: The great Paul Flannery on Boston and its Marathon, one year later.
ANOTHER BRIAN WILLIAMS BANGER: This time it’s the newsman doing California party anthem “Gin and Juice.”\/\/est Coast!
Happy Tuesday. See you next time.
