Good morning, it was nice knowing you Thunder
We miss you, Serge. Here’s Thursday’s NBA newsletter.
Good morning. Let’s basketball.
YEESH: The Spurs beat the Thunder 112-77. That’s ... not good. You alright, Russell Westbrook? No? Yeah, we understand.
Let’s just move on as quickly as possible, okay?
TONIGHT: No basketball. Spoiler alert: same thing tomorrow. No basketball until Saturday! We’ll miss you, basketball.
PAUL GEORGE’S BRAIN: On Wednesday I wrote that the NBA’s concussion policy is worthless. A few hours later the Pacers revealed that Paul George did suffer a concussion when his head bounced off the floor (shocking!) but blamed the lack of a full-blown evaluation when it occurred on ... the player.
Like I said: the policy is worthless until evaluations backstage are mandatory after all blows to the head.
CONSENSUS MOCK! Amar from SLC Dunk has looked at 20 mock drafts to come up with the consensus mock. Well worth your time.
GETTING OLD WITH THE SPURS: Great read from David Roth on San Antonio’s companionship over the past decade. Along similar lines, Kevin Ding on Tim Duncan’s legacy as the totally malleable NBA superstar.
THE TRUEST GRIZZLY: Spencer Hall lays out the only choice for the next leader of the Memphis Grizzlies: Mike Miller.
SPEAKING OF MEMPHIS ... Dave Joerger is interviewing with the Timberwolves because the Grizzlies have gone insane.
THE DAILY WIN: Prepare for the Cavaliers’ dynasty.
#TROLLHARD? An L.A. restaurant took out an ad congratulating the Lakers on their playoff run. Either someone is very confused or Upper West is my new favorite restaurant in L.A.
CELEBRATING A GREAT GAME 7 PERFORMANCE, 10 YEARS AGO: K. Masenda remembers Kevin Garnett’s epic Game 7 against the Kings in 2004. That was one helluva game. ::cries uncontrollably::
WHY THE NBA HAS SO MANY CONSPIRACY THEORIES: Fun read by Pablo S. Torre.
WARNING: The LeBron to Cleveland rumors are back. This is just a warning. Be careful out there.
SPEAKING OF CLEVELAND ... Some funny notes in Zach Lowe’s tale from the lottery, including the fact that the Cavs plan to frame and hang in their practice facility the three logo placards from the recent lottery wins. A nice substitute for the championship banners, no doubt.
A NEW FRONTIER: The WNBA will market itself to the LGBT community. Smart move.
MARKET MEASURES: Ethan Sherwood Strauss admonishes the NBA for improving the lots of its small-market teams.
AUTOMATIC MUST-READ: Brian Phillips on Russell Westbrook’s career arc.
Happy Thursday. See you next time.
