Welcome to the Basketball Hangover. I write about what’s happening in the NBA daily, even when COVID has ravaged the league.
LeBron James is like 475 years old and he’s still getting it done.
(PHOTO CREDIT: Gary Dineen/Getty Images.)
Lakers/Bucks was seen as a Finals preview and they didn’t let us down. Unfortunately, the Bucks have been runner-ups in the East the last couple of years and this game was a litmus test for this revised Milwaukee squad.
In the big picture, this game is going to be left behind and it’s going to be “just another game.” But Milwaukee had to measure how they do against elite teams, especially the champions of last season. It has to be a bit of a confidence hit that they couldn’t get the job done against the champs.
Meanwhile, the Lakers, even with a short offseason, are riding high. And it’s very encouraging because there could be a time where the Lakers could feel fatigued by the end of this season. Obviously, they want to have a high seed but really, it’s all about them getting to the postseason.
But man, they haven’t missed a beat even when they added new players to their core. LeBron James, despite playing a career-low 32.6 minutes per game, he’s got a 24-8-8 line that puts him as an MVP frontrunner.
What’s really a pleasant surprise, though, is that the Lakers have been hitting those threes. They’re third in percentage at .400. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, who has been a much-maligned shooter for most of his career, is shooting a volcanic .569 from behind the arc! Alex Caruso, who is not known to be a sharpshooter, is .571 from three. Kyle Kuzma and Wesley Matthews are both at 40 percent. Even LeBron is a hair below at .396 on 6.6 attempts per.
Suddenly, the Lakers have fixed their glaring weakness and have looked even more deadly. The only thing that could stop them is fatigue. And if that doesn’t stop them, the Lakers COULD be starting another dynasty.
The Bucks had that opportunity, with Giannis Antetokounmpo at the peak of his powers. And right now, they’re struggling a bit to get to the top of the East.
It obviously could be different by the spring. But right now, that’s where we’re headed towards.
Bullet Passes
Thursday was actually NOT a great day for this league, even though that marquee match-up lived up to the hype.
First of all, let’s check out this exchange between Shaquille O’Neal and Donovan Mitchell:
Donovan Mitchell is not here for Shaq’s motivational techniques pic.twitter.com/DNkNYCse6r
— CJ Fogler 6’7″ IQ 269 #BlackLivesMatter (@cjzero) January 22, 2021
Earlier in their program, Shaq said Mitchell is a second or third option. And then he told Mitchell that he didn’t have what it takes to get to the next level. You know, one of the rising stars in the league who is in his fourth year and he had just dropped 36-7-5 on a game featured on the network that employs Shaq. Also, Mitchell is the same guy that dropped 50 TWICE in a playoff series a few months ago. Ya know, that had only happened twice before in the league’s HISTORY (Michael Jordan and Allen Iverson; Jamal Murray would also achieve that in the same series).
And then that same crew said Mitchell couldn’t do anything else. He’s a solid enough passer. He’s a decent rebounder for his size (6’1″). And he’s not a bad defender. He’s got other teammates that do so much of that, anyway (he’s not the point guard, Rudy Gobert is on his team, and he’s got plenty of good defenders on his team that could cover him and he holds his own).
Plus they made it seem like Mitchell has already peaked. Dude, he’s 24. Steve Nash won MVP at 31. Come on, guys.
Draymond Green got ejected against their game against the Knicks. But pay close attention:
Draymond Green gets ejected from the game 🤔 pic.twitter.com/ALHFIwXnUl
— Bleacher Report NBA (@BR_NBA) January 22, 2021
Draymond looked like he was yelling at his teammate, James Wiseman, which we have seen plenty of times. And the referee in question, John Butler, threw him out because he thought he was cussing at HIM.
NBA head official Ben Taylor said that it was a mistake but it couldn’t be undone. Was there a rule where they couldn’t do that? It sucks because Green has been a huge reason why the Warriors have been above .500. They would go on to lose to the Knicks, who are having their own renaissance as a team.
NBA Scoreboard
Jan. 21, 2021
Watch This Play
Donovan Mitchell leaves Nickeil Alexander-Walker in an ice rink.
touched 🌎#TakeNote pic.twitter.com/x96Q4Y9jnv
— utahjazz (@utahjazz) January 22, 2021
Oh, wait. I was just told Donovan Mitchell couldn’t do anything else? What is this play?!
Everyone, please take care of yourselves during this pandemic. And that goes for everyone involved with the NBA as well.
You can find Rey-Rey on Twitter at @TheNoLookPass.
You can also check out Rey-Rey’s podcast, Rey-Rey Is Fundamental, for more basketball content and, really, whatever else.