Relax, watch Steph Curry and have a delicious Crying MJ pancake

Good morning. It’s Friday! Let’s basketball.

FIRST, AND MOST IMPORTANTLY: The Crying MJ Pancake You Didn’t Know You Needed.

ABOUT LAST NIGHT: The Wolves gave the Warriors all they wanted, but it’s pretty hard to overcome 46 points from Steph Curry and a 23-8-12 night from Draymond Green. Golden State is 10-0. The Heat just edged the Jazz, who were without Rudy Gobert. The absence of the Stifle Tower allowed Derrick Favors to bloom; Alec Burks was also dope. But Miami had a bit too much. In the late game, the Suns beat the shorthanded Clippers, who were without Chris Paul and J.J. Redick and got just 16 minutes of Blake Griffin. Brandon Knight is bloody good!

THE LAYUP FROM HEAVEN: Steph’s floaters are godly.

MAS KINGS: I shared five additional thoughts on the Kings’ newest dramas. Marc Spears’ piece on the situation is a must-read.

MAD MAN: Joe Vardon on the interesting problem of LeBron’s sponsorship deals.

AMENDMENT 1: LeBron is a really cool hero for a kid to have.

GOOD NEWS, EVERYONE: The new Spurs already defend like the old Spurs.

GOTTA HAVE IT: This infomercial convinced me to buy PORZINGIS cleaning solution.

SPEAKING OF KRISTAPS ... Stefan Bondy writes about how his putback dunks are crushing stereotypes.

GOTTA HAVE IT 2: Jimmy Butler’s boombox-inspired, music-bumpin’ aquarium is so damn cool.

LIFE AS SHAQ: Few men can show up to their television jobs pantsless. Shaq is one of them.

YES! Uncle Drew, maybe the best current ad campaign, is back with Baron Davis and Ray Allen in old man pickup.

MIAMI VICE: There are some details around Gerald Green’s run-in with the authorities last week: apparently he got treated for “dehydration” and later punched someone in the lobby of his building. Hence the suspension from the Heat.

EARLY RETURNS: Anthony Slater notes that Enes Kanter’s big contract is paying off so far.

YES: Jerry West says he expects Steph Curry to spawn an entirely new type of basketball player.

FROM THE BOTTOM: I found this Russell Westbrook profile from Chris Palmer to be engaging and interesting.

PEAK KG: Is Kevin Garnett talking about developing young players or dogfighting? You decide!

DOPE: The new D-League commissioner thinks they’ll have a full 30 teams within five years. They’ll be at 22 (at least) next season.

BANG THE DRUMM: Rob Mahoney on the Xs and Os of the Pistons and Andre Drummond is excellent.

FACILE REASONING 101: David Berri writes about the Curse of the No. 1 pick in VICE Sports. He reasons that because only one team in the last 25 years won a title after obtaining the No. 1 pick (San Antonio), attempting to win the No. 1 pick is a bad strategy. And I quote: “So here’s the real lesson of winning the No. 1 pick: be good enough avoid it. Currently, fans of lousy teams are taught that if their favorite club just sucks enough, the lottery gods will smile, and happiness will be their future reward. Lottery teams exist for a reason, though. Teams lose because they can’t find enough talent to win. Adding one great player to a team with little else won’t produce a title contender. What ends up happening? Those singular talents eventually get tired of mediocrity, and takes said talents elsewhere. Once that happens, lottery teams are back in the lottery.”

I mean, really? “The solution for failure is success.” Thanks. That’s real helpful. Here’s the actual story: while drafting a superstar No. 1 overall has only resulting in one team winning titles (five of them in 15 years, mind you), many No. 1 overall picks have led their teams out of mediocrity and into the title conversation. LeBron took the Cavs to the Finals in Year 4. Shaq took the Magic there twice before bailing. Derrick Rose, John Wall, Blake Griffin, Kyrie Irving and Davis were all pieces who greatly helped in eventually turning around moribund franchises into playoff teams and various levels of contenders. Chasing No. 1 overall isn’t a viable strategy for a good team. But it’s the quick route to escaping mediocrity for a bad team. There’s no curse here.

TONIGHT: Your NBA TV doubleheader is Knicks-Cavaliers (7:30 p.m. ET) and, uh, Kings-Nets (10 p.m. ET). League Pass has some real intriguing choices: Pacers-Wolves, Jazz-Magic, Hawks-Cs and Blazers-Grizzlies.

THIS WEEKEND: We have a Pistons-Clippers day game on Saturday and an intriguing Grizz-Wolves game on Sunday. Plus lots more, of course.

Happy Friday! Have a peaceful weekend, and see you next time.