This is the Hangover. This is where I get drunk on the NBA as I recap last night’s action as well as a few things going on around the league. Here’s your word vomit.
12/22/2016
THE GAMES
BOS 109 (17-12) @ IND 102 (15-16)
GS 117 (26-4) @ BRK 101 (7-21)
ORL 95 (13-18) @ NY 106 (16-13)
LAL 107 (11-21) @ MIA 115 (10-20)
SA 101 (23-6) @ LAC 106 (22-8)
(PHOTO CREDIT: Joe Murphy/Getty Images.)
SHAQ IS IMMORTALIZED IN MIAMI
It’s probably a little unusual for a team to retire a jersey of a player who only played there for a short time. But I don’t think anyone will dispute what he did for the Heat during his time there.
Shaquille O’Neal went to the Heat before the 2004-05 season in an acrimonious split with Kobe Bryant and the Lakers. With then-second-year player Dwyane Wade, the Heat became contenders to the title. They did lose Game 7 at home against the then-defending champions Detroit Pistons in the Eastern Conference Finals. But they came back the next season to win the championship as Pat Riley took over the coaching reins and Wade became an even better player. Shaq was in the middle of all of that.
Shaq helped put the Heat on the map. Today’s NBA lives on pace and space so a lot of fans forget how dominant #32 was for a long, long time. Miami doesn’t win their first title without Shaq’s hulking presence. There’s just no way you can ignore his contributions on the court. He was late in his career but he still managed to bully his way to 19.6 points, 9.1 rebounds, and 1.9 blocks per game while with the Heat.
His number joins Alonzo Mourning, Tim Hardaway (funny enough, no one seemed to give a hoot when Hardaway himself only played 4 1/2 seasons with the Heat), and, curiously enough, Michael Jordan (done after Jordan played his final season in the NBA) on the rafters. So even if it was a short stay with Miami, it was definitely a storied and memorable stint. Shaq definitely deserves to get his number retired there.
THE REST OF THE LEAGUE
Okay, Stephen Curry makes amazing plays all the time.
Even when he loses his mouthpiece:
Was that mouthguard spit a fake out? pic.twitter.com/vJydixooqY
— Tas Melas (@TasMelas) December 23, 2016
George Karl apparently wrote unflattering remarks about his former players in Denver. In his upcoming book, Furious George, he had things to say about Carmelo Anthony, J.R. Smith, and Kenyon Martin. From the New York Post:
Karl also took aim in “Furious George’’ at former Nuggets, and ex-Knicks, J.R. Smith and Kenyon Martin. He branded the trio of Anthony, Smith and Martin as “AAU babies’’ — akin to “the spoiled brats you see in junior golf and junior tennis.’’
Karl also referred to Smith’s entourage as “posse’’ — a racially loaded phrase that got Knicks president Phil Jackson in hot water when he used it regarding LeBron James’ managers.
Hmmmm. Here’s more:
“Carmelo was a true conundrum for me in the six years I had him,” Karl wrote. “He was the best offensive player I ever coached. He was also a user of people, addicted to the spotlight and very unhappy when he had to share it.
“He really lit my fuse with his low demand of himself on defense. He had no commitment to the hard, dirty work of stopping the other guy. My ideal — probably every coach’s ideal — is when your best player is also your leader. But since Carmelo only played hard on one side of the ball, he made it plain he couldn’t lead the Nuggets, even though he said he wanted to. Coaching him meant working around his defense and compensating for his attitude.”
Keep in mind that this was Carmelo from like 5-7 years ago. I guess you gotta sell books. This isn’t anything new as Carmelo was (still is) not known as some sort of defensive stopper.
And more:
“Kenyon and Carmelo carried two big burdens: all that money and no father to show them how to act like a man,” Karl wrote.
Karl wrote Anthony “was such a talented kid,’’ he could’ve “become the best defender at his position in the NBA.’’
Referring to one reason Anthony sought greener pastures, Karl wrote they had “a little conflict bubbling.”
“I want as much effort on defense — maybe more — as on offense,” Karl penned. “That was never going to happen with Melo, whose amazing ability to score with the ball made him a star but didn’t make him a winner. Which I pointed out to him. Which he didn’t like.”
.@carmeloanthony teaches his son the art of the jab step. #ThisIsWhyWePlay #Knicks pic.twitter.com/pW2XsX5d3j
— NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) December 22, 2016
What an awful father!
Still not done!
Regarding Smith, Karl wrote that Smith’s father, Earl Sr., “urged his son to shoot the ball and keep shooting it from the very moment I put him in the game.’’
Karl wrote Smith carried “a huge sense of entitlement, a distracting posse, his eye always on the next contract and some really unbelievable shot selection.
“When we traded J.R. in 2011, I was disappointed that I hadn’t helped a clearly talented player advance his game more.’’
That’s quite a handful from George Karl. Other than book sales, I don’t know how much this accomplishes for Karl? I guess he needed to vent but why bring up old stuff from years ago? It’s pretty disappointing coming from Karl, who has had multiple run-ins with stars (most recently, with DeMarcus Cousins). But I guess he needed to be either honest or make it more dramatic for sales. Who knows?
All that hatred or dislike, whatever you want to call it, is so stressful, though.
Carmelo decided not to address the issue. J.R. Smith didn’t talk much about it on his Twitter feed but you can check out Kenyon Martin’s Twitter. He certainly didn’t hold back.
Lakers can’t seem to figure out how to hold on to leads. First, they were having trouble getting off to good starts. Now they can’t finish. What they have to do now is learn how to play all four quarters. Inexperienced teams have trouble doing that. They’ll get there soon.
The Clippers still managed to beat the Spurs as Chris Paul left with a strained hamstring. He’s not going to be out for long, which would be good because they already don’t have Blake Griffin for 4-6 weeks.
Also, I have been critical of Isaiah Thomas in the past (you can probably find that somewhere in my Twitter feed from years ago) but he’s really blossomed to become this spitfire of a player. It’s a combination of the right situation, being coached by Brad Stevens, and also maturing and knowing when to pick his spots. I’ve never been happy to be more wrong. Especially since he’s only like an inch taller than me. I should be better at supporting the under 6′ crop of players. Shame on you, Rey-Rey.
LINE CROSSER
(PHOTO CREDIT: Getty Images.)
Not the most heralded name on this section but Kyle O’Quinn of the Knicks did all of this in 24 minutes:
14 points, 16 rebounds, 5 blocks.
Pretty great stuff there.
WATCH THIS PLAY
(VIDEO CREDIT: NBA.)
Pau Gasol just hates facing these Clippers. Look at DeAndre Jordan punk Pau with this slam.
Follow Rey-Rey on Twitter at @TheNoLookPass for all tweets about the NBA. Also, check out his podcast, Rey-Rey Is Fundamental.
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