Good morning. Let’s basketball.
The Raptors are so mad right now
Good morning. We have that and more in Monday’s NBA newsletter.
Neville E. Guard-USA TODAY Sports
HERE THEY COME: Paul Flannery’s Sunday Shootaround takes a deep dive into the Warriors, what they’re doing and what they might do. Needless to say, it’s getting scary. We knew the offense would be special and maybe unprecedented. But there are signs of a terrifying defense in there, too. Flanns also has your weekly Shootaround favorites and a look at the five young stars making the leap. Check it out.
BESTBROOK: This is Russell Westbrook nailing the tying three with two seconds left over an invisible Pacers defender. Indiana won in overtime, anyway.
OOF: On Sunday, the Raptors had a side inbounds with 2.4 seconds left, down three. Terrence Ross hit a deep three just in time. OR DID HE? It turns out DeMarcus Cousins deflected the ball on the inbounds, but the clock didn’t start immediately, so the play got reviewed. The replay center determined that 2.5 seconds elapsed between the time Boogie touched the ball and Ross released his shot. No basket. No overtime. Dwane Casey was furious! Kyle Lowry was furious! (All video links via r/nba.)
SCORES GALORE ...
Hawks 94, Knicks 104
Blazers 129, Nets 109
Pacers 115, Thunder 111 (OT)
Raptors 99, Kings 102
Jazz 91, Nuggets 105
Bulls 118, Lakers 110
BOSSES OVER BROS: Tim MacMahon with the wonderfully entertaining tragedy of the Mark Cuban-Chandler Parsons bromance.
WE HAVE A THING FOR PREMATURE ENDINGS IN SACRAMENTO: Boogie Cousins reacts after Kanye ditches his Saturday show in Sacramento after two songs and a rant.
REVENGE OF THE GUNNER: Mike Wise on how gunners are no longer personas non grata in the NBA.
IT TURNS OUT AL HORFORD MATTERS: Al Horford came back after missing time due to a concussion. Then he hit the game-winning shot and made a game-sealing defensive play. Nice work, Al!
STANDINGS CHECK ...
In the East, the Cavaliers are out in front at 10-2. Four teams — the Hawks, Hornets, Bulls, and Raptors — within a game of each other follow. Then four more teams are within a game of .500 (the Celtics, Pacers, Knicks, and Magic). Detroit and Milwaukee are two games below .500, and Miami, Brooklyn, Washington, and Philadelphia are worse.
In the West, the Clippers, Warriors, and Spurs are out in front. Three more teams — the Grizzlies, Rockets, and Thunder — are at least two games over .500. The Blazers, Lakers, and Jazz are within a game of .500. Then come Denver, Sacramento, and Minnesota; then Phoenix, and New Orleans, and way behind everything at 2-10 is Dallas.
MEET THE HENDERSONS: Friend of GMIB Curtis Harris sits down with the Gerald Hendersons to talk about basketball and Philly.
SURE: Joel Embiid is trademarking “The Process” so he can write children’s books and sell Shirley Temples.
NEXT UP: NBA TV has Mavericks-Spurs (yikes) at 8:30 p.m. ET. League Pass has some nice options: Grizzlies-Hornets at 7, Rockets-Pistons at 7:30 and Raptors-Clippers at 10:30.
AND FINALLY: No, Zaza. Just ... no.
Be excellent to each other.
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