Good morning. Let’s basketball.
Good morning. Kobe Bryant can’t decide whether he’s clutch.
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A RETURN AND A GOODBYE: Rajon Rondo returned to Boston, dropped some eyebrow-raising quotes and dominated the Celtics. Paul Flannery’s Sunday Shootaround takes a wider look at what Rondo meant to Boston and what Boston meant to Rondo.
THE GREATEST THING WE SAW THIS WEEKEND: We caught Nick Collison and Steven Adams in their amazing pregame handshake ritual. It’s super serious.
FAIR IS FAIR: On Friday, Kobe missed a tying shot at the buzzer and I wrote about his poor clutch numbers. On Sunday he hit the winner as the Lakers crawled past the Pacers. The Unicorn is back! Kobe is now 3-24 in the final minute of games in which the margin is five points or less this season.
ON THE OTHER HAND: Ronnie Price missed a breakaway dunk in hilarious fashion. The Lakers bench stands up to celebrate, and Robert Sacre even prepares a fist bump and ... nope.
DON’T MAKE EYE CONTACT: Tony Allen went 0-4 with three offensive rebounds in one 9-second possession on Friday.
PSST: The Josh Smith Effect isn’t real. Detroit has played a cupcake schedule AND got Jodie Meeks back. Houston was struggling before Smoove arrived. That said, the Pistons have now won five straight and Smith is already back out of Houston’s starting five.
MEANWHILE IN MIAMI: The Heat look awful. Why is that?
HEY NOW: Andrew Wiggins is already starting to look a lot better, even if the Timberwolves are trash.
EAST STANDINGS UPDATE: The Atlanta Hawks are in first place. Read that again. Chicago has moved into a tie for No. 2 with the Raptors, who aren’t doing so hot against the West all of a sudden. Washington had a bad trip to Texas and sits at No. 4, 2.5 games ahead of the broken Cavaliers. Milwaukee, Brooklyn and Miami round out the top eight. The Pacers, Cetlics, Magic, Hornets and Pistons are all within four games of the final spot.
WEST STANDINGS UPDATE: The Warriors and Blazers are at the top. They are followed with slim and sometimes nonexistent margins by Memphis, Dallas, Houston and the Clippers. The Spurs maintain No. 7 and the Suns are holding onto No. 8 for dear life. The Pelicans (17-16) and Thunder (17-17) are lurking a couple games back.
MYSTERIES OF THE WORLD: How do the Knicks still sell out every game?
’NEED A HAND?’ You know you want to see a young buck who challenges Gaston at Disney World to a pushup contest get destroyed. You may not want to see the commenters argue that Gaston’s pushups weren’t to full depth, which I’m dubbing Gastongate. It’s about ethics in Disney World character pushup challenge journalism.
PROGRAMMING ALERT: GMIB’s Serial references will henceforth be replaced by Downton Abbey references. If you need a primer on what any of it means, Vox has you covered.
REST IN PEACE, STUART SCOTT: J.A. Adande wrote a beautiful piece on Stu’s legacy beyond the catchphrases.
Have a fulfilling Monday, friends. See you next time.
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