Saturday Slam: The Los Angeles Lakers probably wish they could tank this season

 

                                             (Credit: Bruce Kluckhohn/USA TODAY Sports) 

The Los Angeles Lakers are 0-5 with road losses to the Warriors, Nuggets, and Timberwolves and home losses to the Clippers and Trail Blazers. LeBron James is averaging 25.8 points, 9.4 rebounds, 7.2 assists, and 1.6 steals per game while Anthony Davis is doing his part with 24.0 points, 9.5 rebounds, and 2.3 blocks per game. However, the rest of the team is pretty weak. Lonnie Walker IV is averaging 13.4 points per game on 41.5% shooting from the field, which isn't bad, but Russell Westbrook is really stinking it up, averaging 12.3 points per game on an absolutely horrible 30.9% shooting from the field. It's just bad. Like really bad. 

And then after Westbrook, there just isn't much. Westbrook was supposed to be the third part of a "Big Three" and he's far from fulfilling that role. He's weighing them down like a really big paper weight. 

The easy answer to this problem of course is to trade Westbrook. But he's turning 34 in a few days and he has a contract paying him $47M this season. Nobody, even in today's NBA, will want to take on that contract. He'll also be an unrestricted free agent next season, so teams will be able to pick him up for a lot less money assuming he continues to build a house of bricks in Los Angeles. 

The Lakers are in a bind. Trading Westbrook is a long long put and yet so long as they have him, they're going to continue to struggle. If they had a lottery first round pick available for next season, they could at least entertain the possibility of tanking for this season. Letting Westbrook brick their way into the NBA draft lottery where they could get a high pick and use that piece to build around for the future. 

But given all these win-now moves that they've made, the Lakers don't have that option. If they were to win the NBA draft lottery after the season, the pick would go to the New Orleans Pelicans, who as part of the Anthony Davis trade, have the rights to swap first round picks with the Lakers in 2023. So that option, as attractive as it looks right now, is off the table for them. 

If the Lakers do want to turn this around, they need to do so like now. They have a home stand starting Sunday that begins with the Nuggets followed by the Pelicans, Jazz, and Cavaliers before making a return trip to Utah to face the Jazz. This upcoming home stand is crucial. They need to at least post a .500 record on this home stand (2-2) to stay afloat. If they go 1-3 or heaven forbid 0-4, they could be looking at a really really bad season without having any of the benefits of tanking. It can't get any more brutal than that. 

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Tomahawk Tuesday: What are the odds we see a Warriors-Celtics NBA Finals rematch?

 

                                             (Credit: Cary Edmondson/USA TODAY Sports) 

The NBA regular season tips off tonight with both NBA Finals teams playing, though not against each other. The Boston Celtics squared off against the Philadelphia 76ers while the Golden State Warriors faced the Los Angeles Lakers. The NBA obviously wanting to feature both of their NBA Finals teams on opening night. In this blog post, I want to address the possibility that we see a rematch of last year's NBA Finals with the Warriors and Celtics facing each other for a second straight year. 

What helps to boost the odds of both teams facing off is the fact that they have their core rosters back. The Warriors with Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green. The Celtics with Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, and Al Horford. When you bring back a core group that got to the NBA Finals the season before, your odds of getting back are as good as they can get. 

The second thing that helps boost the odds is that the Warriors in particular have been through this rodeo many times before. They've represented the Western Conference in six of the last eight NBA Finals and won four of those six trips. They know what it takes to get back to the NBA Finals. For the Celtics, this is a new journey for them. Whether or not they have what it takes to get back for a second straight year remains to be seen, but if you look at the way things are trending, there's good reason to think they can get back again. 

Aside from injuries, which is always the biggest hurdle to teams getting back to the NBA Finals, probably the biggest hurdle/reason for doubt is the chaos that has surrounded the departure of Celtics head coach Ime Udoka. He was having an improper relationship with a member of the Celtics organization. Whether or not Joe Mazzulla can fill in and guide the Celtics back to the NBA Finals is a big question mark for the Celtics right now. If he can, odds are good Udoka's time in Boston is over. 

On the Warriors side, probably their biggest hurdle is just father time. Curry, Thompson, and Green are all getting older. It's tough to keep playing in June year in and year out and it's possible this last championship was more of a final second wind for the group. But, if there's any group that could navigate this, it's the Warriors. Head coach Steve Kerr does a good job of resting his guys and keeping the eye on the prize. They also have some talented young players who can fill in and take the load off until playoff time. 

Ultimately, if I had to bet on it, I would say we likely won't see both teams back in the NBA Finals in 2023 only because it's just so hard to get back. The Warriors are getting older and it's unclear if they can handle the grind once more while with the Celtics, it's unclear if Mazzulla can get the job done. That said, it wouldn't shock me if we saw a rematch, either. The Warriors do have a lot of experience and the Celtics having now gotten a taste of the NBA Finals are going to be more seasoned and experienced. It'll certainly be fun to see how both teams do and which team does better at getting back for a second straight year. 

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Remembering Bill Russell

 

                                              (Credit: Bill Chaplis/Associated Press) 

On July 31st, the game of basketball lost a legend in Bill Russell, who passed away at the age of 88. Russell played at McClymonds High School in Oakland, California before playing four years at the University of San Francisco (1953-56). After leading the Dons to two national championships in 1955 and 1956, Russell was selected with the number two overall pick by the St. Louis Hawks in the 1956 NBA Draft. Russell was then traded to the Boston Celtics for six-time All-Star Ed Macauley and Cliff Hagan, who was yet to play an NBA game due to military service. The rest as they say is history: 

Russell won 11 NBA championships with the Celtics to go along with five NBA MVPs, 12 All-Star game appearances, four rebounding championships, and various All-NBA honors. Russell also won his last two NBA championships as player-coach, which only enhances his already godly state in the game. 

Russell is basketball royalty and as such has become the first player to have his number retired by the entire NBA. Once all the current players who wear the number 6 (e.g. LeBron James) retire or switch their numbers, the number 6 will no longer be worn by another NBA player again. This is what happened with Jackie Robinson in major league baseball. The final player to wear the number 42 was Mariano Rivera of the New York Yankees, who wore the number at the time major league baseball retired Robinson's number league-wide. Rivera was allowed to keep his number 42 until he retired after the 2013 season. 

When talking about the greatest basketball players of all-time, Russell is frequently mentioned right at the top along with Michael Jordan, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Magic Johnson. If I were to create my own "Mount Rushmore" of basketball players it would include those three players along with Russell. 

The reason why Russell makes the list is the fact that he won more NBA championships than any other player in league history. He won an NBA championship in 84.6% of the 13 seasons he played. That's insane. What made Russell so prolific in his winning is the fact that he truly put his team above everything else. He didn't care about personal stats. He cared about doing whatever his team needed him to do. He was willing to do the dirty work: Rebound, block shots, and make plays for others. When you combine that kind of mentality with a player who was as gifted as Russell, you get the kind of championship productivity that he had. 

On top of being a phenomenal basketball player, Russell was a phenomenal person. He was a civil rights activist and was a major force for good in the African-American community. He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Barack Obama in 2011, celebrating his contributions and legacy. 

When looking back on the life and legacy of Bill Russell, it's clear that he's left an impact that will never be matched by anyone else to ever play or coach the game of basketball. While that can be said of many of the all-time greats, Russell truly left a special and enduring mark on the game that will be felt for generations to come. By having his number 6 retired by the NBA, his flame will flicker forever as a symbol of what it means to be a champion and more importantly, what greatness really is. 

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Saturday Slam: The evolution of Jaylen Brown

                                              (Credit: Michael Dwyer/Associated Press) 

Before my current position as publisher of CardinalSportsReport.com, covering all things Stanford for the Rivals network, I covered Cal basketball for GoldenBearReport.com, Rivals' Cal affiliate site. My first season covering Cal was Jaylen Brown's freshman year, giving me a chance to cover him up close. I got to watch him practice when he first got to Berkeley, I got to be in attendance for his first media session all the way through his final game in the NCAA tournament, in which Cal got upset by Hawaii as a #4 seed in their region. 

Being totally honest, I was a bit surprised Brown went #3 overall to the Boston Celtics in the 2016 NBA Draft after just one year at Cal. Not because I didn't think he had the talent. The talent was obviously there. But just because he seemed to still have a lot of growth and maturation to undergo. I just wasn't certain if he was going to become an NBA All-Star level talent. My doubts have certainly been quieted and Brown has established himself as one of the top players in the NBA, playing a major role on a Celtics team that finds themselves tied 2-2 in the NBA Finals against the Golden State Warriors, the best team of this generation. 

In his freshman year at Cal, Brown averaged 14.6 points, 5.4 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 0.8 steals, 0.6 blocks, and 3.1 turnovers per game in 27.6 minutes per game. He shot 43.1% from the field, 29.4% from 3-point range, and 65.4% from the foul line. This past season with the Celtics, his 6th season in the NBA, Brown averaged 23.6 points, 6.1 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1.1 steals, 0.3 blocks, and 2.7 turnovers per game in 33.6 minutes per game. He shot 47.3% from the field, 35.8% from 3-point range, and 75.8% from the foul line. 

When looking at his numbers, what really jumps out is how much better of a shooter Brown has become.  At Cal, he was not a reliable 3-point shooter or foul shooter. Now, the interesting thing is when watching him in practice at Cal, it looked like he couldn't miss. So, I think a lot of this comes down to just getting more comfortable and confident in game situations. He was a good shooter back at Cal. He just didn't have the confidence yet. 

Now, he has found out how to translate his excellent in-practice shooting to the game and that has really been the biggest difference. That may sound like a small thing to figure out, but there are so many guys who look good in practice but for whatever reason cannot put it together in the game. The fact that Brown has figured this out is huge and no small feat. 

Brown always had the physical tools to be an elite NBA player. That was obvious when he was at Cal. Look up his dunk against Oregon State. It remains one of the most amazing dunks I've seen college or pro. It was just a matter of him figuring out how to become a better overall player and polishing his game. The rate at which he has polished his game and honed his craft is what makes his evolution so incredible. 

In addition to evolving as a basketball player, Brown has evolved as a person as well. At Cal, he was very quiet, reserved, and thoughtful. He also was very bright and articulate. One of the brightest athletes I've ever covered. With the Celtics, he has learned how to channel his intelligence and thoughtfulness into championing causes for social justice and being a voice for his people back in the Atlanta, Georgia area. He certainly is a guy who has big plans for himself outside of the game of basketball. 

In closing, I just want to quickly say it has been a lot of fun watching Jaylen Brown evolve from his first days in Berkeley to an All-Star playing for the Boston Celtics on basketball's biggest stage. It's fun to reflect on my times interviewing him and talking with him after games and practices and just seeing how far he has come. Even more fun is to think about how much farther he will go in the coming years both on and off the court. 

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2022 NBA Finals Preview: Golden State Warriors vs. Boston Celtics

 

                                             Credit: Getty Images/TSN

Tonight, the 2022 NBA Finals tip-off in San Francisco with the Golden State Warriors hosting the Boston Celtics. The Warriors come in having taken out the Dallas Mavericks in five games in the Western Conference Finals while the Celtics snuck past the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals, winning the series in seven games. 

The Warriors come into this series as the seasoned NBA Finals veterans having won three NBA championships in 2015, 2017, and 2018 while also reaching the NBA Finals in 2016 and 2019. As for the Celtics, while their franchise historically is tied with the Los Angeles Lakers with most NBA titles (17), this current Celtics group is new to this big of a stage. 

Stephen Curry (25.5 points, 5.2 rebounds, & 6.3 assists) is the leader of this Warriors team, playing some of the best basketball of his entire career. While Kevin Durant is no longer on the team, the Warriors have picked up right where they left off before he even joined them in the first place. They're looking like the Warriors team that won in 2015 with Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, Jordan Poole, and Andrew Wiggins forming a solid core around Curry. 

As for the Celtics, Jayson Tatum (26.9 points, 8.0 rebounds, & 4.4 assists) leads the charge along with Jaylen Brown (23.6 points, 6.1 rebounds, & 3.5 assists). The two of them form a really dynamic wing duo that is very difficult to stop. They too have a solid cast around them in Dennis Schröder, Marcus Smart, and Al Horford. 

As for what's going to determine this series, I think a lot of this comes down to whether or not the Warriors play a clean, efficient series or not and whether or not the Celtics will be able to force them into playing sloppy basketball. The Warriors are the more experienced team. If they play their best basketball, they're going to win this series. However, they sometimes have lulls or moments where they are sloppy and not playing their best. If the Celtics can take advantage of those moments and play a clean, efficient series on their end, this series could get interesting. 

For the Warriors, Curry is going to need to come up big and have an NBA Finals MVP-level performance. They cannot expect to win this series if he isn't playing at his best. He really is the engine that makes this Warriors team go. As for the Celtics, they need Brown and Tatum to be on their game. If those two guys are balling out, the Celtics have a chance. 

Prediction: I got the Warriors winning this series in six games. They have championship experience and know what it takes to win an NBA championship. I think the Celtics will do enough to take a couple games of the series, but when it's all said and done, the Warriors will be the ones lifting the Larry O'Brien Trophy. Stephen Curry will also take home his first NBA Finals MVP award. 

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Saturday Slam: Should the Brooklyn Nets blow up?

                                              (Credit: Brad Penner/USA TODAY Sports) 

The Brooklyn Nets were a team that had so much hype and promise at the start of the season. They had James Harden, Kyrie Irving, and Kevin Durant. They were looking like a team that should come out of the East or at least reach the conference finals. Instead, they finished 7th in the conference and got swept in the first round of the playoffs by the Boston Celtics. While a lot of people are talking about blowing up the Utah Jazz after the way their post-season ended (I'll share my thoughts on that in an upcoming post), I think it's perhaps even more fair to ask the same question about the Nets.

For starters, Harden is gone. He's now with the Philadelphia 76ers and still in the playoffs, advancing to the second round where they'll face the Heat. By trading him before the deadline, that was already a step towards blowing up the team. 

Secondly, Irving refused to get vaccinated, making it so he couldn't play every night while also creating an unnecessary distraction. It's hard to develop a rhythm and team chemistry when one of your key players is in and out of the lineup. While the vaccine mandate was eventually lifted and Irving was able to play in home games towards the end of the season, it's clear that his inability to play really inhibited them. And while Irving's refusal to get vaccinated was about personal freedom, the fact that he was willing to put his team through all that has to make one wonder how committed he really is to building a championship team in Brooklyn. 

Third, Durant is getting up there in age. He'll be turning 34 in September and while he did average 29.9 points per game this season, one can't help but wonder how much more gas he has left in the tank considering the Achilles injury he had and everything. Father time catches up with everyone and he could be soon to catch up with Durant as well. 

Last and most importantly, they got swept in the first round. That's bad. Any time you get swept in the playoffs, that has to lead to some soul searching and introspection. Especially if you are a more veteran team. It's one thing to get swept and be young with a promising future. The future is supposed to be now for the Nets and if now isn't panning out, it's hard to see it ever panning out. 

The bottom line is the Nets have a lot of questions to ask themselves after this season and the first one is whether or not they keep Durant and Irving together or if they begin the process of blowing up the team and starting over. It's not a fun conversation to have, but when you exit the playoffs like they did, it's a conversation that needs to be had. 

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Tomahawk Tuesday: Should the Golden State Warriors be favored to win the West?

 

                                             (Credit: Jeff Chiu/Associated Press) 

At the moment, the Golden State Warriors are up 3-1 on the Denver Nuggets in the first round of the NBA playoffs. It's the only Western Conference series that's clearly going in favor of one team. The top-seeded Suns are being pushed to the brink by the eight-seeded Pelicans tied 2-2 in their series; the two-seeded Grizzlies are up 3-2 on the seven-seeded Timberwolves after winning 111-109 tonight; and the five-seeded Jazz will look to force a game seven on Thursday against the Mavericks. 

The Warriors are on cruise control right now and assuming they advance, they'll face either a Grizzlies team that got pushed to the brink of elimination or an up and coming Timberwolves team that doesn't seem ready to reach the conference finals. And then who knows who'd be waiting for them in the conference finals if they get there. Even if it's the Suns and Devin Booker is back, the Warriors have more championship experience. And that's really the whole point here. The Warriors are the only team in the entire Western Conference playoffs who have proven championship DNA. Everyone else for one reason or another can be called into question. 

This isn't to say the Warriors are perfect or that they don't have their flaws. They do. There's a reason they didn't get the top seed in the West. But when looking around the rest of the conference, it's hard to not look at the Warriors and think they should be favored to come out on top. Stephen Curry is back, Klay Thompson is back, Draymond Green is healthy, and Jordan Poole is a rising star. They have their core championship unit intact and appear to be heating up at the right time. 

As of this moment, I believe the path to an NBA title out West goes through Golden State. Their overall body of work speaks for itself and nobody else in the conference appears ready to grab the bull by the horns and take control. It'll be interesting to see if Golden State goes on to win the West rather unopposed or if some worthy challenger out of all these other struggling teams will emerge. 

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Saturday Slam: Can the Portland Trail Blazers withstand Damian Lillard's absence?

 

                                             (Credit: AP Photo/Jeff Chiu) 

Earlier this week, Portland Trail Blazers superstar Damian Lillard underwent abdominal surgery. The team announced that he will be re-evaluated in six weeks, though he could be out as long as eight weeks or even longer. After averaging 30.0 points per game in the 2019-20 season and 28.8 points per game in the 2020-21 season, Lillard has regressed a bit this year in his production, averaging 24.0 points per game. The last season he averaged fewer than 25 points per game was his third season in the NBA (21.0 points per game), so for his standards this is quite a drop off. 

If you are the Blazers, you have to hope that by undergoing this surgery, that'll help Lillard get back to his old self where he was averaging 28+ points a night. Lillard hasn't felt healthy all season long. It's clear that his production has suffered. 

While this surgery is good for Lillard and the Blazers long-term, this does hurt them in the short-term. They are 10th place in the Western Conference standings right now at 17-25, just .5 game up on Sacramento. With Lillard out, it does look unlikely that they'll hang onto the 10 seed, which means that when he comes back (assuming he does come back this season), they're likely going to be on the outside looking in of the Western Conference play-in tournament. 

If the Trail Blazers are to have any hope of making the play-in tournament and making a run in the playoffs, they're going to need shooting guard C.J. McCollum (20.6 points) and swingman Norman Powell (18.6 points) to really step up. If those guys can get going and pick up the slack, it's possible the Trail Blazers hang around and don't fall too far in the standings. 

Speaking of McCollum, he is expected to be back Monday against the Magic per Shams Charania of The Athletic after being out with a collapsed lung that he suffered on December 4th against the Celtics. So that's one piece of good news for the Trail Blazers. 

Ultimately, it'll be interesting to see how the Trail Blazers look without Lillard and whether or not they'll be able to stay afloat. He's by far their most important piece and when he's not on the floor, they're nowhere near the type of team that they know they are capable of being. Going on without him will be an uphill battle, but it's the cards they've been dealt. They have no choice but to solider on as best they can. 

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Saturday Slam: Klay Thompson's return is huge for the Golden State Warriors and fun for the NBA

 

                                             (Credit: Jeff Chiu/AP Images) 

The long awaited return of Golden State Warriors shooting guard Klay Thompson is finally here. After being out for over 900 days due to a torn ACL and a torn Achilles, Thompson will make his return on Sunday against the Cleveland Cavaliers at home. Thompson missed the entire 2019-20 season due to his ACL and then missed the entire 2020-21 season due to his Achilles. To say the least, it's been a while since we've seen him play in an NBA game. 

For the Warriors, the return of Thompson is huge. He's one of the greatest shooters the NBA has ever seen, cut out of the Ray Allen/Reggie Miller cloth as a lethal shooter in catch and shoot situations. He moves really well without the ball and if you give him any space, he'll hit a three in your face. In the 2018-19 season, Thompson averaged 21.5 points per game on 46.7% shooting from the field, 40.2% shooting from 3-point range, and 81.6% shooting from the foul line. He was an All-Star for the fifth consecutive season and he was just starting to enter the prime of his career before going down with two bad injuries. If he's able to get back to that form or close to it, he'll be a very nice boost to a Warriors team that is 29-9 and looking to get back to the NBA Finals. 

As for the NBA at large, it's just fun to have Klay back. He's a really fun player to watch and has one of the better personalities in the league. He has a bit of a dry sense of humor and is laid back while also being very lethal on the court. As good as Stephen Curry is, I think we've all missed seeing Curry play with Thompson by his side. The Splash Brothers as they have been called, are now back as a duo and the league will be better for it. 

In terms of what we can realistically expect from Thompson, it's probably fair to expect him to be a bit rusty at first. He needs to get back into game conditioning and it could take him a little bit of time to find his rhythm. But in time, I do expect him to get back to being one of the best shooters in the league and who knows, maybe he'll surprise me and get off to a great start on Sunday. Regardless, I'm glad he's back and I hope he's able to stay healthy going forward. 

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