Pages

Saturday, January 25, 2020

Report: Lakers unhappy with Clippers coach Doc Rivers’ LeBron James joke - NBCSports.com

Asked about the differing health-management philosophies between the Clippers with Kawhi Leonard and Lakers with LeBron James, Clippers coach Doc Rivers quipped, “I think theirs is whatever LeBron says it is.”

Now, the Clippers are facing internal issues amid perceived favorable treatment for Leonard and Paul George.

Jovan Buha and Sam Amick of The Athletic:

The irony was not lost on the Lakers, who sources say weren’t happy with the comment, in part, because of the perceived hypocrisy regarding the Clippers’ style with Leonard.

This is such a Los Angeles squabble.

Every team gives its top players favorable treatment. That’s especially true with these two teams that use their glamour market to attract stars. The Lakers and Clippers are pointing fingers at the other for behavior each does itself. It’s Spider-Man.

This is just intensifying because the rivalry is finally heating up.

In the 35 years they’ve shared the city, the Lakers and Clippers have both won a playoff series in the same season only once – 2012. The Lakers were on the downswing with Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum. The Clippers were rising with Chris Paul, Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan.

Now, both teams are elite. It’d be a massive disappointment for either to lose in even the second round, let alone before that. A Western Conference finals featuring both Los Angeles teams is highly anticipated.

Pettiness like this adding up would make it even more fun.

Zion Williamson was impressive in his NBA debut, but he did it from three, not with dunks.

That changed just 40 seconds into his second game.

It was a lob from Jrue Holiday against a Denver defense that did not get back fast enough. Zion and the Pelicans wanted to do this in his debut but give the Spurs credit, they got back in transition and cut off these opportunities. The very shorthanded Nuggets did not.

There will be a lot more Zion dunks — and a lot more spectacular ones — but you never forget your first.

LeBron James — who on Saturday night likely will move past Kobe Bryant into third on the all-time NBA scoring list — has reached the point in his legendary career that he only can be compared to other legends.

Specifically, Michael Jordan.

Jordan, now the owner and face of the Charlotte Hornets, was in Paris to watch his team lose to the Milwaukee Bucks, and tried to downplay comparisons to LeBron.

“We play in different eras. He’s an unbelievable player. He’s one of the best players in the world, if not the best player in the world. I know its a natural tendency to compare eras to eras and it’s going to continue to happen. I’m a fan of his, I love watching him play. As you can see, our league is starting to expand on very talented players. I think he’s made his mark, he will continue to do so. But when you start the comparisons, I think it is what it is. It’s just a stand-up measurement. I take it with a grain of salt. He’s a heck of a basketball player without a doubt.” 

Does anyone think the ultra-competitive Jordan actually believes that? Of course not, we saw his Hall of Fame speech. But for fun, let’s take MJ’s words at face value.

Jordan is right. Both that it’s nearly impossible to compare NBA players across eras and that people will continue to do it anyway.

Jordan was a better one-on-one scorer playing in an era where the rules pushed the game toward isolation basketball and playing through contact. LeBron is a much better passer with better court vision in an era where driving-and-kicking to the corner, or making a skip-pass against an overloaded defense, is the smarter basketball play. Jordan broke open barriers as a player who is a brand off the court, but LeBron expanded that in a social-media era and added in a social conscience.

Both are legendary players, both are products of their generation, and both are Mount Rushmore players. Which player you think is the better player says more about you, your age, and your preferred style of play than it does LeBron or Jordan.

But please, commence the arguing in the comments.

PARIS — Giannis Antetokounmpo had 30 points and 12 rebounds and the NBA-leading Milwaukee Bucks beat the Charlotte Hornets 116-103 on Friday night in the first NBA regular-season game in France.

Milwaukee improved to 40-6 with its eighth straight victory. The Bucks have the best 46-game start in franchise history. They were 39-7 in 1970-71 when they went on to win the NBA championship.

Eric Bledsoe added 20 points and five assists for the Bucks.

Malik Monk led Charlotte with 31 points. The Hornets have lost eight in a row.

Milwaukee rallied to tie it at 78 going into the fourth quarter. Pat Connaughton put the Bucks in front with a dunk in the fourth. Then Antetokounmpo got going, drawing a foul as he slalomed through the defense.

Dallas took a big hit this week when center Dwight Powell went down with a torn Achilles. The Mavericks’ starting center was a critical pick-and-roll partner with Luka Doncic, a roll man and vertical threat that allowed Kristaps Porzingis to space the floor (along with other Dallas shooters), plus Powell was a solid team defender.

Willie Cauley-Stein is going to get a chance to fill that role.

Golden State is trading Cauley-Stein to Dallas for a second-round pick.

Dallas just made a trade for Justin Patton to waive him and clear out a roster spot for this trade.

Cauley-Stein is averaging an efficient 7.9 points and 6.2 rebounds a game for Golden State. More importantly for Dallas, he provides the athletic dive man, a threat on the roll they need to keep things open for Doncic.

Dallas could have waited out the market to try and land a better center, but this gives them a reliable fit for minimal cost (a late second-round pick, they kept Golden State’s own second rounder). Cauley-Stein will split time at the five with Kristaps Porzingis, Maxi Kleber, and Boban Marjanovic.

For those of you crunching the numbers at home:

For Golden State, in the short term, this move creates a couple of open roster spots. One of those likely will be used to re-sign Marquese Chriss, who was waived last week. The other roster spot likely will go to Ky Bowman.

Golden State adds a pick and a trade exception for sending out a player that was not part of their long-term plans anyway.

Let's block ads! (Why?)



Sports - Latest - Google News
January 24, 2020 at 10:42AM
https://ift.tt/2GxlakZ

Report: Lakers unhappy with Clippers coach Doc Rivers’ LeBron James joke - NBCSports.com
Sports - Latest - Google News
https://ift.tt/2Mbsnt7
Shoes Man Tutorial
Pos News Update
Meme Update
Korean Entertainment News
Japan News Update
Posted by at

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)