Ground control to Wesley Johnson
Ground control to Wesley Johnson
Take your protein pills and put your helmet on
Ground control to Wesley Johnson
Commencing countdown, engines on
Check ignition and may God’s love be with you [...]
Ground control to Wesley Johnson
We have that and more in Thursday’s NBA newsletter.
”This is Wesley Johnson to ground control
I’m stepping through the door and I’m floating in a most peculiar way
And the stars look very different today
For here am I sitting in a tin can
Far above the world
Planet Earth is blue
And there’s nothing I can do.”
Scores Galore ...
MIL 87, DET 110
TOR 117, ORL 104
IND 102, ATL 107
CHA 106, BOS 134
GSW 109, WAS 101
PHX 110, MEM 102
OKC 111, DAL 110 (OT)
NOP 121, SAS 116
HOU 105, LAC 92
... And So Much More
Seriously, what James Harden did to Wesley Johnson is simply iconic. It was a good crossover and stepback and had it stopped there, it would have been shared widely. But that long pause to admire his work? Perfection. Simply perfection.
That said, this is as good an opportunity as any to salute Johnson for building a career after leaving Minnesota. He was a massive disappointment out of Syracuse at the No. 4 pick (ahead of DeMarcus Cousins). He didn’t survive his rookie deal, and he’s been on a seemingly endless string of one-year deals since. But he’s found a credible role in the NBA by playing defense and taking open threes. Kudos to him!
And remember this: everyone gets gotten, even Harden.
Brilliant Mirin Fader piece on what LaVar Ball is actually doing to LaMelo in Lithuania. It’s not shocking, but the level of detail here is striking.
The Awful Eight went 2-3, though there’s an asterisk: two of them, Phoenix and Memphis, played each other. The Grizzlies kept on losing. The Hawks got a win over the Pacers (despite a valiant Indiana comeback attempt) and the Mavericks needed overtime to lose to the erratic Thunder. Due to the Atlanta and Phoenix wins, Sacramento and Orlando are now tied for the worst record in the NBA with Memphis in No. 3 (Up a couple spots! Great loss!) and Phoenix in No. 4. The Hawks and Mavericks are tied for No. 5. Brooklyn and Chicago follow.
I wrote about LeBron James’ claim that referees are protecting shooters at the expense of those who drive to the rim. The math (that we can see, at least) doesn’t support the theory.
The Nuggets missing the playoffs would be an unmitigated disaster. Denver is currently a half-game up on the Clippers for No. 8.
The Dallas sports media has not covered itself in glory in covering the Mavericks scandal.
The Pelicans starting to feel like a team of destiny to anyone else? Just me?
Interesting piece on how the Raptors are trying to prepare for winning close games without actually playing many close games.
Fourteen straight for Houston. It’s their second 14-game win streak of the season and tied for the sixth-longest in the league over the past five years. Boston had the longest of the year at 16. Houston’s schedule gets pretty tough starting Saturday against the Celtics, though.
The research you love SB Nation for: more NBA players follow Wale than Kendrick or Migos.
Corey Brewer is leaving the Lakers to rejoin his college coach in Oklahoma City. The Sixers cut Trevor Booker and he’s off to Indiana. Thursday is the deadline for players to be waived by their teams if they wish to appear in the playoffs for another team.
CHAMPIONSHIP WEEK! I really do enjoy college basketball, especially this time of year. It’s a totally different basketball watching experience than the NBA.
The Undefeated asked some awesome artists to present The State of the Black Athlete. It’s great.
Your Thursday TNT doubleheader features Sixers-Cavaliers (battle for LeBron’s future!) at 8 p.m. ET and Timberwolves-Blazers (the Brandon Roy Game!) at 10:30.
Be excellent to each other. And look up into the night sky this evening. You might catch a glimpse of Wesley Johnson’s smile careening through space.
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