Good morning, say goodbye to Dick Bavetta
That and more in Wednesday’s NBA newsletter.
Good morning. Let’s basketball.
TONIGHT: Team USA vs. the Dominican Republic, 7 p.m. ET on NBA TV. It’s friendly No. 2 of 4 for USA Basketball before the FIBA World Cup begins August 30.
UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES: Lottery reform is cool and all, but what about the impacts to competitive balance?
BYE BYE BAVETTA: Iconic NBA official Dick Bavetta has officially retired from duty after 39 years on the job. His streak of assignments is just longer than Cal Ripken’s streak of games played, which is incredible considering how many fewer games per year Bavetta works. Ben Golliver has a very nice look at Bavetta’s career; I’ll always cherish the All-Star footrace with Sir Charles.
Speaking of refs, you can now buy NBA official track jackets at the NBA Store in NYC. My birthday is coming up, y’all.
MAMBA! There is a statue of a naked Kobe wrestling a black mamba. Find out in whose living room it stands, next on Sick, Sad World.
THE ROOK: What will Andrew Wiggins do as a rookie? Canis Hoopus is here to deflate expectations.
MORE ON BALLMER: Really enjoyed Steve Perrin’s piece on the superficial differences between Donald Sterling and Steve Ballmer. The anecdote about Sterling’s White Party is so ridiculously Donald Sterling it’s almost sad.
BASKETBALL NEEDS CHICAGO: Great piece by Ricky O’Donnell at Blog-a-Bull.
NOTHING TO SEE HERE: Derrick Rose sits out two consecutive practices due to knee soreness, but expects to play Wednesday in a warm-up against the Dominican Republic.
INTERESTING DEVELOPMENT: The title game of the 2010 FIBA World Championship -- starring Kevin Durant and 12 of your favorite Turkish ballers -- drew horrifically low ratings in the States, with fewer than 900,000 viewers according to reports at the time. Yet John Ourand reports Team USA’s friendly against Brazil on Saturday drew more than 1 million viewers. That’s promising, and weird. It’ll be really interesting to see how many people tune in to the World Cup with KD, LeBron and the league’s biggest stars missing.
WE KNOW DRAMA: LeBron and Maverick Carter are among the producers on this Starz series about a newly rich basketball phenom that looks like a less joyful version of Basketball Entourage, if I can be honest.
Happy Wednesday. See you next time.
