Saturday Slam: The NBA is taking social justice to another level

                                            (Credit: Ashley Landis/Pool/AFP)

 The Milwaukee Bucks' audacious decision to not play against the Orlando Magic in Wednesday's playoff game in protest of police brutality, specifically the lack of justice for Jacob Blake, sparked even more conversation about the Black Lives Matter movement and the need for change when it comes to better policing and racial equality. After a league-wide meeting, the league decided to resume the playoffs on Saturday, but there was reportedly serious talk about cancelling the season. As a matter of fact the Los Angeles Clippers and Los Angeles Lakers were united in their vote to cancel the season. 

What prevented a cancellation was the overall consensus that the best way for the NBA to use their platform was to keep playing. Boston Celtics star Jaylen Brown reportedly pressed players on this, saying that if they were to cancel the season, they better be willing to go in the trenches and not just head home and chill in their gated communities. President Barack Obama also advised players to finish the season for the same reasons. 

Personally, I think finishing the season is the right move for the NBA for all the reasons that Obama and Brown said. However, I do think it's pretty amazing that LeBron James and other players were willing to not finish the season because of how fed up they are with what's going on. The fact that a conversation had to take place on the matter says a lot.

For the first time in NBA history, players are starting to see themselves as more than just basketball players, but as agents for change. They recognize that they have an influence over society and they want to use their platform to the best of their abilities. I think this is great. 

At the same time, NBA players need to remember that without basketball, they have no platform to be agents for change. If they stopped playing basketball, they would also lose the megaphone that they are trying to leverage as much as possible. It's a tricky line to walk, but so far, the NBA seems to be walking it pretty well. It'll be interesting to see how the season finishes up and how players will use their platform going forward. 

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Tomahawk Tuesday: Can the Portland Trail Blazers reach the NBA Finals?

 

 

                                         (Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports) 

 

Earlier today, the Portland Trail Blazers defeated the Dallas Mavericks 134-131 behind 61 points from Damian Lillard, tying a career-high (Click here to watch the highlights). With the victory, the Trail Blazers are now 34-39, moving up to 8th place in the Western Conference standings. Should they win out, they will guarantee themselves a spot in the play in series to determine the final spot in the Western Conference playoffs. The still-undefeated-in-the-bubble Phoenix Suns and Memphis Grizzlies are both .5 games back at 33-39. 

 

Last week on Inside the NBA, Charles Barkley boldly predicted that if the Trail Blazers make the playoffs, they'll upset the Lakers and reach the NBA Finals. While a lot of Sir Charles' predictions get made fun of, he could be right about the Trail Blazers. Given the lack of home court advantage in the Orlando bubble, the odds of upsets in the playoffs go up by a lot. A major reason for why we don't see more upsets in the NBA playoffs is home court advantage. Winning on the road in the NBA is not easy and in the playoffs, being at home is a huge help to a team's chances of winning. They get more calls, the crowd gets them going, etc. It's the nature of the NBA. 

With home court advantage not being in effect this year, we should see an NBA playoffs format that much more closely mirrors the NCAA Tournament. In the NCAA Tournament, we see a lot of teams win with their guard play. A guard gets hot and explodes for a lot of points. We've seen this with Jimmer Fredette, Stephen Curry, and many other guards. In the NBA, Damian Lillard is capable of doing just that. And not only do the Trail Blazers have Lillard. They also have a very talented shooting guard alongside Lillard in CJ McCollum. While Lillard is averaging 29.3 points per game, McCollum isn't far off, averaging 22.4 points per game. That is a really nice scoring punch in the backcourt! 

In addition to an explosive backcourt, the Trail Blazers also have a terrific frontcourt anchored by Hassan Whiteside (15.6 points, 13.7 rebounds, and 3.0 blocks) and Jusuf Nurkic (18.8 points, 10.5 rebounds, and 2.5 blocks). As an added bonus, the Trail Blazers also have Carmelo Anthony popping in 15.4 points per game. When you look at this Trail Blazers team, it is clear that they have a lot going for them. They got terrific guards, a terrific set of big men, and a seasoned veteran who can give them an extra scoring punch. 

 

Now, as for whether or not they can come out of the West, the odds are still not in their favor. They still need to take care of business in the rest of their regular season and hang on to win the play in tournament. But if they can do that and get to a first round match up with the Lakers, I don't see why they can't go the distance. They're getting hot at the right time and seem to really believe they can shock the world. It will be fun to see if they are able to prove Barkley right. 

 

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Tomahawk Tuesday: The Phoenix Suns are making the most of the Orlando bubble

                                                   (Credit: Kevin C. Cox-Pool photo via AP)

Earlier today, Devin Booker hit a clutch game winner over Paul George and Kawhi Leonard to give the Phoenix Suns a 117-115 win over the Los Angeles Clippers (Click here to check it out). With the win, the Suns are now 3-0 in the Orlando bubble and only three games back of the 8th seeded Memphis Grizzlies. The Suns still have a lot of work to do, but so far are making the most of the restart season as they continue their push for a playoff spot.

Booker has been the catalyst of the Suns' playoff push, averaging 30.7 points per game in their 3-0 restart. Their most recent win over the Clippers was Booker's best game in the bubble, as he had 35 points to go along with his game winner. Regardless of whether or not they make the playoffs, Booker is showing why he's the highest paid player in Suns history and why they have a bright future with him at the helm.

As for whether or not they'll make the playoffs, the Suns' remaining schedule is against the following teams: Indiana Pacers (42-26; 3-0 in the bubble), Miami Heat (43-25; 2-1), Oklahoma City Thunder (41-25; 1-1), Philadelphia 76ers (40-27; 1-1), and Dallas Mavericks (41-29; 1-2). Like the Suns, the Pacers are perfect in the bubble and the Heat earlier today escaped with a win over the Celtics. So, those are two teams that will not be easy to knock off. The rest of the schedule isn't too bad, but at this point of the season, everyone is fighting for their lives and there are no bad teams in the bubble. That's why they're all there.

Personally, I think it's likely that the Suns will cool off a bit and miss the cut, but with Devin Booker running the show, anything is possible. Wins like the one they had over the Clippers build tremendous confidence and momentum. And at this point of an NBA season, this is the right time to get hot. It'll be fun to see if the Suns can keep this going and have a playoff run for the ages.

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