Good morning. Let’s basketball.
Good morning. Let LeBron’s no-headband era begin!
That and more in Wednesday’s NBA newsletter. SUBSCRIBE!
THE NON-HEADBAND ERA BEGINS: LeBron did not wear a headband at all on Tuesday, perhaps for the first time in his pro career. This is a really big deal. LeBron also had 27-8-7 in a massive Cavaliers rout of the Mavericks. We have entered a new era in basketball.
THE NIGHT IN BASKETBALL IN 32 SECONDS: The Pacers crushed the Magic. The Pelicans pounded the Nets. Kawhi Leonard is low-key a crazy dunker. The Spurs turned out the Raptors. The Jazz finished off the Knicks, who had that dreaded Rocky Mountain back-to-back. The game included Dante Exum doing the ol’ block-and-open-court-dunk thang and featured Andrea Bargnani getting happy feet before getting trucked. The Lakers beat the flagging Pistons.
STANDINGS UPDATE: At the bottom of the East, Boston and Brooklyn are still in it but Detroit is falling out of the race. Indiana, Charlotte and Miami are all fighting for two spots with the others chasing. In the West, San Antonio has passed Dallas for No. 6, which frankly makes the No. 2 seed a lot more attractive. New Orleans has tied up OKC for No. 8, with Phoenix falling back (three games out with 17 to play).
DRAYMOND WORLD: So after Draymond Green humiliated fugazy-arsed Dahntay Jones for that ridiculous post-game bump on Sunday, Clippers coach Doc Rivers decided he wanted the flames to lick his face too. Doc tried to mock Draymond by sarcastically talking about severity of the bump and calling Green a “tough guy.”
So Day Day hit Rivers with three devastating words: “Cool story, Glenn.” That’s pure contempt, baby. He called him Glenn! He knew his legal name was Glenn (low-key impressive trivia game) and had just little respect enough to use it in a derisive way. That’s big, man.
A) I’m pretty sure Austin Rivers is now obligated to fight Draymond at next opportunity. B) All hail the petty-as-hell Warriors-Clippers feud.
YES: A cut of Stephen Curry’s best highlights. This could be an hour long, but it’s not.
WE KNOW NOTHING: The latest Flanns & Zillz looks at how difficult it is to assess coaches in the NBA, starring David Blatt and Monty Williams.
DRAFT RISER ALERT: Ricky O’Donnell writes about Providence star Kris Dunn, who is finally healthy and, if he has a big tournament season, will be shooting up draft board.
AN ASTOUNDING PROJECT: Jason Concepcion and Shea Serrano determine the greatest fictional basketball player in history. I would trust this project in no one else’s hands.
THE GOOD PROFESSOR: Steven Lebron talks to Andre Miller about the offseason, leadership and more.
RULE CHANGES: Scott Howard-Cooper catches us up on rules changes being tested in the D-League. It appears that some mechanism to allow teams to advance the ball late in games without using a timeout and headsets for referees may be coming to the NBA as soon as next season.
UM ... THANKS? A teenager from Seattle wrote every NBA team explaining that he’s looking for a new rooting interest. Only the Wolves responded quickly. In the Wolves’ response, two player’s names (Zach LaVine and Shabazz Muhammad) were misspelled. Oh well! The kid is now a Wolves fan.
INTERESTING: Why don’t most game stories talk much about defense?
AFFLALO’S CHARGE: How Arron Afflalo can and is replace Wes Matthews.
AMUSING HEADLINES FOR $100, ALEX: “Even Vlade Divac thinks flopping has gotten out of hand.“
Happy Wednesday. See you next time.
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