Good morning. The West remains a complete mess.
That and more in Thursday’s NBA newsletter.
Good morning. Let’s basketball.
UPDATE ON CHRIS COPELAND: The knife wound he took at an NYC club early Wednesday actually punctured his diaphragm. He had surgery on Wednesday and still at least part (if not all) of the evening in the ICU. He also suffered some sort of elbow injury. The other two victims are reported to be in stable condition.
The Pacers wore headbands in his honor on Wednesday (and pasted the Knicks).
UPDATE ON THE HAWKS: The police report cited by various outlets claims it took four cops to control Thabo Sefolosha and that Pero Antic grabbed an officer when the authorities arrested his teammate. Neither guy played Wednesday in Brooklyn. There’s no word on whether they’ll be available for the Hawks’ remaining regular season games, though reportedly Thabo’s ankle was injured in the incident.
UPDATE ON THE EAST PLAYOFF SITUATION: We still have no idea who’s is going to get those last two spots ... but the tiebreaker situation is basically resolved! (Milwaukee-Indiana, which is relatively unlikely to matter, is still in flux.) Boston is currently sitting in No. 7 thanks to a Nets loss. Can Miami or Indiana (or both) blast back up in there?
UPDATE ON THE WEST PLAYOFF SITUATION: We updated and simplified our tiebreaker guide on this one ... and yeah, there’s no simplifying this situation. San Antonio could still be No. 2 or No. 6. Same with the Clippers, Rockets and Grizzlies. Dallas is now locked into No. 7, Portland is very likely a No. 4 without home court and everything else is TBD. (The Suns have been officially eliminated, though.)
UPDATE ON LEBRON JAMES: He is quite good at delivering high-impact daggers.
UPDATE ON J.R. SMITH: His videobomb game is on lock.
GOOD QUESTION: What the Hades happened to Joakim Noah this season?
THE NBA BEARD CLUB: James Harden and Gregg Popovich compare their chin cozies.
OH DEAR: The highlight of the Lakers’ season is 10-day contract call-up Dwight Buycks putting a Nugget on his tailbone with a nasty son-of-a-crossover, then casually drilling a three after a brief pause. Just filthy!
BAN CELEBRATION TECHNICALS: Jimmy Butler just wants to have fun!
THE SPURS WAY: Pretty great quote from Tony Parker on how the stars have made way for the next generation repeatedly.
SPEAKING OF THE SPURS ... This is the absolute best description of the NBA season to date.
Happy Thursday. See you next time.
