Welcome to the Basketball Hangover. I write about what’s happening in the NBA daily, even when COVID has ravaged the league.
The Pistons stunned the Lakers Thursday night.
(PHOTO CREDIT: Carlos Osorio/AP.)
For one night, the Detroit Pistons looked like worldbeaters as they upset the Los Angeles Lakers (albeit shorthanded with Anthony Davis not suiting up) on Thursday. This is probably what had the franchise in mind because I felt like the direction they were taking was to go for the playoffs.
They still had Blake Griffin and Derrick Rose (yeah, I know), two fallen stars but are still slated to contribute a lot to a team. It’s been a bit strange to see Griffin fall off so much. He seems a step slower and I can’t remember the last time he did a breathtaking slam. But it’s almost like he’s strictly a three-point shooter now and it felt like yesterday that he was a Top 3 player in the league (NOTE: He was third in MVP voting in 2014.)
I’m loathe to talk about Rose considering what happened. But his MVP season in 2011 also felt like it just happened. He’s become a scorer off the bench at this stage of his career. As of late, there had been rumors about him on the trading block but honestly, I felt like that’s happened because the team that Detroit had put together didn’t live up to their expectations.
They lost Christian Wood and they were able to get Jerami Grant, who had far exceeded our outlook for him. Maybe he is suitable to be a #1 option in some teams. He currently leads the team in scoring with 23.8 PPG (he and Wood are definite candidates for Most Improved Player).
But if you sign veterans like Grant, Mason Plumlee, Delon Wright, and Wayne Ellington… and you still have Griffin and Rose on the team (though, to be fair, it’s TOUGH to get out of Blake’s humongous contract), you’re definitely trying to go for a postseason spot.
Let me clarify about this because people would tell me, “Well, isn’t everyone trying to win?” Well, sometimes, teams will endure the lean years by playing a lot of their young guys. And then they hope that the young guys get better and help the team take it to the next level. They do have Killian Hayes and Saddiq Bey as well as sophomore Sekou Doumbouya but Hayes is hurt and only Bey is getting a bit of run (Doumbouya is only averaging 12 minutes per).
So no, I don’t think they looked at this as a rebuilding year. Or maybe they changed their mind when they saw that the plan didn’t come to fruition. Well, Lakers play-by-play man Bill MacDonald that the Pistons told him they want to be how Cleveland is NOW in two years. Yeah, you tell Blake Griffin and Derrick Rose they want to be a team hovering around .500 in two years. That seems like such a tough pill to swallow.
My point is that the Pistons probably fell way short of their own expectations. But on Thursday, they got a glimpse of what they thought was going to happen all year. Anyway, back to the lottery they probably go.
(Unless they suddenly go on a 24-game winning streak. In that case, you can tell me to shut up.)
Bullet Passes
Wood did return to action against the Blazers. He didn’t miss a beat. 22 points and 12 boards.
I want to like Victor Oladipo, who had such an inspirational year with the Pacers in 2017-18. But then…
“Going through my career, it just feels like people keep quitting on me, but it’s a part of life and I embrace it.” -Victor Oladipo pic.twitter.com/hUXH5hxilG
— Jackson Gatlin (@JTGatlin) January 29, 2021
It’s so weird to say that because, apparently, the Pacers had offered Oladipo a hefty extension to stay. Oh, boy. And he implied the Pacers were quitting on him? Woof.
Yeah, the Heat really can’t wait for Jimmy Butler to come back. They lost to the Clippers, who DIDN’T have Paul George AND Kawhi Leonard. That’s rough.
The Suns without Devin Booker obliterated the Golden State Warriors.
The Warriors are a perfect example of an average team. They haven’t had any winning and losing streaks longer than TWO. They’re currently 10-9 right now.
NBA Scoreboard
Jan. 28, 2021
Watch This Play
If there is a free runway, Derrick Jones, Jr. is there:
DERRICK JONES JR ✈️✈️✈️✈️ pic.twitter.com/ziIL3GrXZ4
— Portland Trail Blazers (@trailblazers) January 29, 2021
The Rockets ended up taking the win, though.
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. GG.