Good morning, the Pacers have gone completely off the rails
It can’t get worse for Indiana ... can it?
Good morning. Let’s basketball.
A SEASON WORTH CELEBRATING: Paul Flannery’s final epic Sunday Shootaround of the season looks at all of the great things this season has given us ... as well as some of the bad. Like the East No. 8 seed (which is why we should abolish conferences) and the league’s five biggest disappointments.
ROCK BOTTOM ... WE HOPE: Could things get worse for the Pacers? Well, they lost by 19 at home to the Hawks on Sunday. Frank Vogel pulled his starters six minutes in and sat Roy Hibbert for the entire second half, and GM Kevin Pritchard sat on the bench in the second half. This is not good.
WEST DEATHRACE UPDATE: The Mavs and Suns each won, and the Grizzlies lost. That leaves Dallas and Phoenix with 31 losses, and Memphis on the outside looking in with 32. This is going all the way to the end, friends.
MOTHER OF GOD: Brandon Knight back! Just a nasty crossover on Greivis Vasquez to set up a vicious dunk on Jonas Valanciunas.
WELPVILLE: Nick Cannon tries to film an America’s Got Talent promo at Madison Square Garden during a break in a Knicks game. Knicks fans boo him relentlessly.
J.R. SMITH FOR THREE: The Knick set multiple three-pointer records on Sunday (most makes by a Knick with 10 on an NBA-record 22 attempt) but New York still fell to Miami. The Knicks are now two games behind Atlanta for the No. 8 seed. Miami is a game clear for the No. 1 seed.
TRAGIC TURN: Outside the Lines did an in-depth piece on Javaris Crittenton’s tragic turn. Crittenton played with Dwight Howard in high school, and Dwight’s uncle is actually the D.A. prosecuting Crittenton on murder charges in Georgia. Now OTL reports Crittenton joined the Crips after being drafted by the Lakers in 2007. Just an altogether disturbing story.
THE WORST PLAYOFF TEAMS EVER: Eddie Maisonet looks at teams even worse than the current Hawks who made the postseason.
WELPVILLE II: Golden State fired Darren Erman, a top assistant coach, for “violating company policy.” No one knows what that means. But the Warriors are now down two assistant coaches. No worries, it’s not like the playoffs are com -- oh hell.
YIKESVILLE: Dante Cunningham arrested for making what police call terrorist threats a few days after being arrested for alleged assault against his girlfriend. Awful.
WHIMSY: I have no idea how old this is, but via Matt Yglesias, a fake 30-for-30 short on the Space Jam game.
HOLY VOX.COM! SB Nation’s sister site, Vox.com, launched on Sunday. It’s not in its final form, but it’s got the great writing you’d expect. And some you wouldn’t expect, like reasons adults should play board games. (I am so on board with that.) Enjoy!
Happy Monday. See you next time.
