Welcome to the B-Ball Brunch. Enjoy reading about my NBA musings about last night during your brunch hours.
As mentioned yesterday, Gordon Hayward got injured against the Spurs.
(PHOTO CREDIT: Vincent Carchietta/USA Today.)
So Gordon Hayward fractured his hand on Saturday afternoon. It’s another unfortunate incident for the Celtic wing, who has been often injured since he got to Boston.
It’s really unfortunate but sports are full of these unlucky injuries. It makes me say, sometimes, that the NBA (I can’t speak for the other sports) is a battle of attrition. They play so many games each season that have gotten increasingly taxing that coaches will sit some of their stars out to conserve them and get them ready for the even more physical postseason. Ya know: load management (I still despise that term but I’m trying to keep up with the cool kinds in terms of buzzwords).
And a team’s season can literally change in a moment. Remember that Hayward got hurt in the first six minutes of the 2017-18 season after a gruesome leg injury (don’t watch that video). The Celtics were forced to change up their rotation. And when Kyrie Irving was ruled out of the playoffs, they had to change it up yet again. Boston took Cleveland to a seven-game series in the East Finals before losing. Who knows what could have happened if Hayward and Irving were healthy?
Staying in Boston, Kendrick Perkins tore knee ligaments in Game 6 of the 2010 NBA Finals. He missed Game 7, which the Celtics ended up losing. Doc Rivers likes to say that he hasn’t lost a series with his starting line-up intact. Most people laugh at it because it DOES sound like an excuse but, at the same time, it brings up a valid point. What if Kendrick Perkins was healthy?
And the NBA is full of “what ifs.” People love to say that the Golden State Warriors “got lucky” in 2015 because they were healthy. Maybe the Detroit Pistons don’t win in 1989 if the L.A. Lakers didn’t lose Magic Johnson and Byron Scott. Do the Toronto Raptors win if Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson didn’t get hurt? Do the Houston Rockets pull off an NBA Finals berth if Chris Paul was active in Games 6 and 7 of the 2018 Western Conference Finals.
Sometimes, it’s not enough to have the most talent in the league. It needs some luck and good health for an NBA team to win it all. Not to take away from every NBA champion; they are obviously all good and deserve to win. But there are reasons why many say it’s never a guarantee to get that elusive championship, no matter how talented the team is. If is was just about talent then maybe the Oklahoma City Thunder would’ve won the last 10 championships.
Bullet Passes
Even though the Celtics lost Hayward, they beat the Spurs in San Antonio for the first time since 2011. That’s quite a long time.
How often do you see a team being led by a 13-point scorer? It happened with the Bulls last night. Well, okay. Four players scored 13 for Chicago. Oh, yeah. They lost because James Harden went for 42-10-9.
D’Angelo Russell is averaging 37.3 points per in his last three games. The Warriors, however, are 0-3 in that span.
Brandon Ingram continues to shine with averages of 25.9 points and 7.3 boards in 9 games this season.
Hey, I wonder how it’s like to have both of these guys in the same team…
Watch This Play
The slam dunk champion from last year, Hamidou Diallo, blasts one in front of Marquese Chriss.
(VIDEO CREDIT: House of Highlights.)
THAT was cruel.
Rey-Rey is on Twitter at @TheNoLookPass.
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