Tag: LeBron James

Jayson Tatum Ranked No. 11 On ESPN Top 100 NBA Players List

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Jayson Tatum was recently named the No. 11 player in the NBA according to ESPN (so it’s a good thing we have a fire flames JT t-shirt you can buy) with three of his teammates also landing in the Top 50. Jaylen Brown was ranked No. 32, Marcus Smart No. 37, and Kemba Walker No. 48 to round out the list.

I would expect Kemba to be ranked higher, buttt he did deal with a knee injury before returning to the bubble last season and looking less than 100% and now he’s out until at least January so I’m sure that knocked him down this list a bit.

Jayson Tatum was ranked No. 35 by ESPN before the start of last season so it’s a substantial leap for the young forward prior to his fourth NBA season. It’s not like Danny offering the deal was ever in question, but all this talk of Tatum knocking on the door of becoming a Top 10 player in the NBA makes his recent 5-year $195 million max extension look even better.

Tatum also came in at No. 2 on Complex’s Top 24 Players 24 and Under list (Jaylen Brown was No. 12) behind only Luka Doncic. Here’s what Complex had to say about Tatum, which has me looking like the Three Eyed Raven (or an overly optimistic Celtics fan).

“We all thought Tatum would be pretty good coming out of Duke when the Celtics made him the third pick in the 2017 NBA Draft because Danny Ainge usually knows what he’s doing up in Boston. But if you saw Tatum elevating his game to All-NBA status in three short seasons you need to play the lottery because Tatum really burst onto the scene last season. “

Roll the tape from Dec. 18th, 2017:

I don’t think it was a stretch to assume the No. 3 overall pick was going to become a very good player, but not many people expected such a meteoric rise for Jayson Tatum. I know they lost the series and there’s no moral victories in sports, but Jayson Tatum ended his rookie season by dunking over LeBron James in the Eastern Conference Finals.

If that didn’t tip people off to greatness bubbling under the surface then you just weren’t paying attention.

Depending on where you fall on the blind optimism meter, Danny Ainge is either a so-so GM whose won just one title in nearly 20 years on the job and is a terrible drafter OR he’s a master chess player that turned a bunch of scrubs and Al Jefferson into Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, and a Larry O’Brien Trophy and THEN turned those guys in their late 30s into Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Marcus Smart (and Kyrie Irving). I fall somewhere in the middle because Danny obviously orchestrated the Brooklyn trade and has nailed his picks when the Celtics get that high up in the draft. BUT he has also had some horrific misses like trading up to draft Kelly Olynyk over Giannis Antetokounmpo as well as some really bad draft picks like Guerschon Yabusele, RJ Hunter, James Young, Fab Melo etc.

As we all know Danny has borderline fetishized acquiring assets and stockpiling draft picks, so much so that he often hurt his own leverage because teams knew he couldn’t actually use all the picks he had. Thats how you build the best G-League team in the entire NBA! But seriously, this led to years like 2016 when Danny drafted 6 players + two more guys that he traded away. So my point is, over the years I have seen A LOT of Danny’s crappy draft picks playing meaningful minutes for the Celtics and none of them ever had the potential that Jayson Tatum had on Day 1. Again, obviously he was the No. 3 overall pick so he should have great potential, but even Jaylen Brown was a No. 3 overall pick and for the first few years of his career he was looked at as a jack of all trades, athletic, defensive specialist type player. Marcus Smart was the No. 6 overall pick and is the heart and soul of the team, but I still cringe when he pulls up for a 3 in a big spot. Tatum though, from Day 1 you could see they had something special, and he’s only gotten better ever year.

He’s improved in just about every statistical area significantly including Points, Rebounds, Assists, Steals, and Blocks per game. Even the nerds love him as Tatum’s advanced analytics have improved substantially from Year 1 to Year 3 including his PER (Player Efficiency Rating) and his VORP (Value Over Replacement Player). Thats the full package, folks.

Tatum is now signed through 2026, which means the Celtics are married to him and are quite frankly dependent on him turning into a Top 5 player if they have any hope of winning their first title since 2008. Top tier free agents never have and never will make Boston a destination so the Celtics are all in on Jayson Tatum being that piece. The way things are looking now, so far so good.

So grab your JT shirts before the new season kicks off!

The Celtics Affinity for Blowing Games Continues as They Blow Game 6 and Blow the Series

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In a weird, pandemic interrupted season that stretched 11 months and 27 days the Celtics went from an unmitigated disaster last summer watching two max contract players leave for nothing to landing Kemba Walker and going on a run to the Eastern Conference Finals. Despite all the missed opportunities that arose once the NBA season resumed, the Celtics accomplished what so few teams ever can; rebuilding on the fly. As Kemba said in his post-game press conference last night, “This is our first year together, we are going to have some time to grow.” He’s not wrong.

Now that the back patting is over, lets take a look at the epic choke job the Celtics completed last night. For whatever reason this team struggled mightily when it came to neck stepping time. Whether they’re too young, lack a killer instinct, or just don’t have a defined closer on the team, whatever it was, this team struggled to finish games. We saw it in the Raptors series that they were lucky to escape in 7 and it carried over to the Eastern Conference Finals where the Celtics blew late leads in Games 1 and 2. The latter of which led to an all-time dysfunctional locker room blowout before winning Game 3, dropping Game 4, and winning Game 5 to force a 6th and decisive game. It looked like Boston’s talent was going to do what it had in the previous round, overwhelm their gritty opponent. They even forced the Heat to go away from their vaunted zone defense as the Celtics finally figured out a consistent way to penetrate and disrupt.

However, when it came to crunch time the Celtics once again WITHERED. The Celtics defense imploded as the Heat scored at will.

BRobb also tweeted out the Celtics’ clutch stats (idk ask BRobb for the definition of that one) and they’re just as bad as you’d expect.

With 9 minutes to go in the game and Boston up by six, the Heat went on a 26-6 run to officially stomp them out. Even worse was their absolutely moronic, panic stricken shot selection down the stretch.

Where the hell is Brad Stevens during all that? The Heat went on something like a 19-6 run before he decided to call a timeout with 4:30 remaining. By that point though it was too late and too big of a hole and then the C’s really were forced to start jacking up 3’s.

One of my biggest complaints, but it’s probably more about the league in general than the Celtics specifically, is there insistence on chucking threes even when they’re clearly not falling. Boston went 15-46 (32.6%) from 3 for the game, 4-22 from 3 in the 2nd half, and an atrocious 2-14 in the 4th. In the 4th the Celtics shot 37% from the field including 14.3% from 3. Meanwhile the Heat shot 66.7% from the field while only taking 3 three pointers in the 4th and nailing them all. For the game the Heat went 13-27 from 3 for a 48.1% clip, nearly 16% better than the C’s.

The Celtics never had an answer for Bam Adebayo all night. Daniel Theis fouled out again while getting worked by the “point center” and rookie Grant Williams probably did the best job covering the big man, but Bam was just on another level dropping 32 and 14.

I also want to point out that while I respect Jimmy Butler’s MJ-esque toxic competitive streak, I also would have been fully on board with Jaylen Brown getting ejected for knocking him out after that dirty play under the hoop.

No foul was called because the NBA officiating is hilariously inconsistent, but don’t let that fool you. This was a dirty, dangerous play and could have seriously injured Brown. Don’t be surprised if these two get into a scuffle down the line because I guarantee Brown will not forget about that play.

So where do the Celtics go from here? This is definitely a team at a crossroads with no clear path to improvement. Bench scoring is obviously a need, they need more defined roles, but more than anything the Celtics need to add some veteran grit and balls. Every great team has veteran players and character guys that can consistently get buckets and/or act as a mentor to younger teammates. Think Eddie House, James Posey, Sam Cassell, and PJ Brown on the ’08 Celtics. They need to add some grit to their bench rather than filling it with all their mediocre draft picks from the last 3 years who can’t create offense. Danny Ainge has created the greatest G League team ever assembled with all those draft picks, but that has not translated to consistent productive NBA players outside of Smart, Tatum, and Brown. Three core players no doubt, but the C’s have failed to develop much in the way of bench talent. That is only made more glaring when the C’s are getting lit up by rookies like Tyler Herro in Miami, who the C’s apparently loved pre-draft.

Grit seems to be the main thing they lacked this postseason as the Celtics routinely blew late leads only to get bailed out by the skin of their teeth on talent alone. Well that string of luck came to a swift end last night as the Heat showed them what a team with a lead is supposed to do. It steps on your neck and closes it out.

So do the Celtics looks to reconfigure their roster or just hope the deep playoff run provides valuable experience? Felger and Mazz producer Jimmy Stewart was floating rumors of a potential Marcus Smart trade last week if the C’s got bounced.

I think Tatum is completely untouchable at this point as he should be. He definitely needs some more seasoning to his game (stop routinely settling for fadeaway threes) and generally has some maturing to do, but you don’t trade elite talent for no reason.

Other than that they could move Jaylen Brown but I just cannot get on board with trading him or Smart. That would be a MASSIVE “addition by subtraction” gamble that I would not be willing to take and I dont think Danny Ainge would either.

There was speculation that the team lacked clearly defined roles and too many guys thought it was their team. Theres only one basketball and if everyone wants to play hero ball and take the last shot then you’re going to run into trouble.

It’s not a hot take but I think their best bet is to hope yet another brutal postseason exit helps their young core build the testicular fortitude required to make the jump next year. I keep thinking of that scene from “The Last Dance” documentary where Michael Jordan details how he got his brains beat in by the Celtics and Pistons for years before finally getting over the hump. Even with 6 rings on his fingers, Jordan admitted those early struggles were necessary to give him the experience and the drive to finally break through.

The most unfortunate part though is this was the easiest path to the Finals the Celtics were going to have any time soon with a depleted/dysfunctional Philly team, Giannis getting knocked out early, no Kawhi or LeBron in the East, oh ya and the Nets will be rolling out Kyrie and Kevin Fucking Durant next season. So while I want to preach patience, I can understand if Celtics brass doesn’t feel the same way.

We don’t even know when the next NBA season will begin thanks to the COVID interruption. Training camps for next season would have normally started around now, but Adam Silver has hinted at a Christmas or even January start for the 2020-21 season. Until then we’ll have plenty of missed opportunities to regret as we watch LeBron James inevitably win another title. Hopefully this Celtics team uses that as motivation and comes back ready to take over the East and finally, legitimately threaten for the Larry O’Brien trophy next year.

Lets Talk About What Nobody Wants to Talk About

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It’s been difficult to write much the last week while the country is gripped in protests, riots, civil unrest, and let us not forget about the coronavirus pandemic thats killed more than 100,000 people. 2020 has been the year from hell and the murder of George Floyd was the tipping point for many Americans.

In times like these we typically turn towards sports to help heal the rawest of wounds. It sounds silly, but it’s true. Sports has always been the unifying force that society uses to bring people of all different backgrounds together, if only for a couple of hours.

I’m torn on this because sports have unified people during horrific times like 9/11 and helped kickstart difficult conversations after tragedies like Eric Garner’s death, but maybe not having sports right now is for the best? Without any sports to speak of theres nothing for us to turn our attention towards. We’re all stuck at home and forced to have the difficult conversations that sometimes we’re all too quick to turn the page on.

The 24/7 news cycle never sleeps, but it seems like as a nation we’re all focusing on the same exact thing right now. We may fall on different sides of the issue, but we’re all talking about the same issue, which is how progress begins.

A lot of people are learning, and hopefully growing, in real time. Drew Brees faced the swift wrath of not just twitter, but his own teammates and peers from around the NFL after he denounced protestors kneeling during the anthem.

…and then apologized less than 24 hours later. Life comes at you fast, Drew. It was a shockingly tone deaf statement from one of the faces of the NFL. It’s been 3+ years since Colin Kaepernick started kneeling during the National Anthem to protest police brutality, but plenty of people, Drew Brees front and center, still think it’s about the military or “disrespecting the flag.”

I don’t know what kind of reaction Brees expected from these comments during what may be the height of racial tensions in my lifetime, but he has, unsurprisingly, been getting ripped by players across the league including by his own No. 1 receiver, Michael Thomas.

Malcolm Jenkins put out a heartbreaking video directly responding to Brees’ comments and effectively telling him to just shut up and listen.

The McCourty twins eviscerated Drew Brees for leaning on the military as a reason for denouncing the kneeling protestors.

Brees issued a lengthy apology this morning, less than 24 hours after his original comments, but I find it hard to believe he was this glib to begin with so the apology does ring a bit hollow. Hopefully Brees and everyone who sees this exchange use it as a learning experience.

We try to not get too political here, but after hearing the pain in the voices of some of my black friends it would be selfish to not use the minuscule platform we have here to at least say something. I’m a white guy in his thirties so I’ll never know what it’s like to be a black man in America, but one of the main things I heard from friends of mine is to simply see and acknowledge our differences. Saying you “don’t see color” is misguided because that only blinds you to the issues that people of different races experience on a daily basis. It’s important to see, and celebrate, the differences between us all. Ignoring those differences may be done with good intentions, but it takes away from our ability to use any privilege we do have to help, even if its just calling out a friend or a family member on their shit.

I’ll leave you with this video that former Eagles linebacker Emmanuel Acho put out yesterday: Uncomfortable Conversations With a Black Man

The 2012 Celtics Were THIS Close to Breaking Up the Miami Heat According to LeBron James

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NBCSports – LeBron James joined Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh in Miami promising multiple championships. But the Heat lost in the 2011 NBA Finals then lost three straight to trail the Celtics 3-2 in the 2012 Eastern Conference finals. LeBron was labeled a choker who didn’t deliver in the clutch.

Then, he turned in a performance for the ages – 45 points, 15 rebounds and five assists in a victory in Boston.

How did LeBron summon that level of focus and execution?

LeBron on Instagram Live:

My mentality was, if we lose, Pat Riley may break us all up. And I didn’t want that. It might be the quickest breakup in basketball history. And not only might they break it all up, my legacy is going to take a huge, huge hit if I don’t go out here and perform at an all-time high. Win, lose or draw, I had to be focused. I had to lock in and lead us to victory. Didn’t know if it was going to happen that way, but that was my mindset.

Despite an unprecedented run of dominance in Boston across multiple sports over the past 20 years, it’s the bitter defeats that stick with me most. I vividly remember sitting at my future father-in-law’s house in 2012 watching LeBron James rip my heart out as he went God Mode for 45 and 15 in Game 6. Just an absolutely unbelievable, singlehanded display of dominance. And it knocked out the already exhausted legs of the aging, proud, veteran laden 2012 Celtics. I’ve written about how that Celtics squads was one of my all-time favorite Boston teams many times.

Led by three Hall of Famers in Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Ray Allen, but all three were well past their primes. This was a full four years after the Celtics won Banner 17. This wasn’t the 2008 Celtics, this was the Grit and Balls Celtics.

KG was 36, Ray was 36, and Pierce was 34-years-old at this point so this was going to be their last run at a chip and everybody knew it. It’s impressive they even got that far after winning just 39 games in the regular season that year.

People forget the C’s actually went down 0-2 in this series before ripping off 3 straight wins and putting LeBron on the ropes, which was oh so sweet at the time. KG and the Celtics broke LeBron two years before and legitimately bullied him so bad he left Cleveland to team up with his super friends. After the most ridiculous display in pro sports history (AKA the pre-season dynasty predicting rock concert)

LeBron and co. proceeded to get worked by Dirk and the Mavs in the 2011 Finals.

0 for 1.

So if the Heat lost yet again in Year 2, with LeBron, D-Wade, and Chris Bosh all on massive contracts, I very easily could have seen Pat Riley saying F this whole operation. Would that have been an overreaction? Yea sure, but this is Pat Riley we’re talking about not Brad Stevens.

To think we were THIS close to imploding that mini-dynasty less than 24 months into its inception like a cheap folding chair. That Game 6 literally gave birth to the LeBron James we know today. It essentially washed away the choker tag as LeBron evolved into the most dominant player in the world that night.

Yes, LeBron swung the sword that decapitated the end of the Celtics’ run and won his first NBA title in the process. But lets not forget the following season, if not for Ray Allen’s dagger 3 in Game 6 of the Finals the Heat lose to the Spurs in 2012.

I remember watching this game at T’s Pub on that crappy projector screen, turning to Big Z and saying “Well Ray just won the Finals for LeBron.” They still had to go to OT just to win Game 6 and then win Game 7 on top of that, but the hardest job was already done by Jesus Shuttlesworth.

The Heat then lost to the Spurs in 2013 too. That would have made the Heat 1/4 in the Finals with the Super Team, which would have made LeBron an ugly 1/5 in his career up to that point. Add that with losing 3 out of 4 to the Warriors in Cleveland and LeBron could easily be 2/9 in the Finals. So a couple of butterfly wing flaps one way or the other and LeBron could have left Miami with just one or even zero championships. Imagine that?

Now I love watching LeBron play, I understand I am witnessing one of the greatest to ever play the game, but goddamn was it fun to root against LeBron with KG and Pierce wanting to bury the guy more than anybody every single night.

The Gamblers Guide to Betting on the Celtics and the Atlantic Division This Year

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So we’re two weeks into the 2019-20 NBA season and the Celtics are a solid 4-1 with wins over the Knicks (twice), the Raptors, and an incredible comeback win over the Bucks. Their only loss came on opening night to the Sixers, made worse by the sight of Al Horford in a Philly jersey. The Celtics look like they’ll be a pretty good team made better possibly with addition by subtraction. Kemba Walker looks like a match made in heaven as a guy who can drop 30 a night, yet is more than happy to pass up a last shot to blossoming superstars like Jayson Tatum.

What made that Tatum game winner even better was that it was the exact same play that the Celtics ran in Orlando last year leading to Kyrie throwing a fit on the court for not getting the ball. Oh and Kyrie continues to be an absolute PILL in New Jersey, memorialized by Jackie MacMullan’s great piece last week. Enjoy the ride, Nets fans.

Now for the most important part: the gambling.  Its a little early to overreact one way or the other and the Celtics’ unlikely come from behind double digit win over the Bucks probably skews things a little bit. But pick your spots with this C’s team and you could make some decent cash as they continue to surprise people.

  • Philadelphia 76ers
    • ESPN Projected Finish: 57-27, 2nd in the East
    • Key Storylines: Addition of Al Horford, Finally Getting Over the Hump, Overcoming Lack of Depth
    • 5-0 Against the Spread

The Sixers took their biggest weakness last year, a lack of bench depth, and doubled down on it. They lost Jimmy Butler and JJ Reddick, but picked up big man Al Horford to pair with Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid. The Sixers have arguably the best starting 5 in the league, but the end of the bench is pretty barren yet again. With that being said they are 5-0 and the current No. 1 seed in the East so while they don’t have much margin for error, they are one of the most talented squads in the league.

  • Boston Celtics
    • ESPN Projected Finish: 48-34, 3rd in the East
    • Key Storylines: Loss of Kyrie Irving and Al Horford, Addition of Kemba Walker, Addition by Subtraction, Jayson Tatum the All-Star
    • 3-2 ATS

If the Celtics are going to go anywhere this year its going to largely be due to Jayson Tatum. Sure Kemba Walker is the latest max free agent in town and Jaylen Brown just got PAID, but this team needs Tatum to become an elite wing player this season if they want to do some damage. I’ve been predicting big things for Tatum despite a less than stellar second season. So far this season he looks excellent averaging 22 PPG while shooting 40% from the field, an impressive 48% from three and an abysmal 75% from the line. Along with Pascal Siakam, Tatum was voted by ESPN as the most likely player to make their first All-Star team in the East, both earning 68.2% of the votes. With Tatum and likely Kemba making the All-Star team, an improved Brown, a finally looking like a basketball player again Gordon Hayward, and All-World defense from Marcus Smart, this team could be in business. As we seem to say every year since KG and Perk left town, the Celtics will need someone to step up as a rim protector/rebounder/big man presence. Whether thats Enes Kanter, Daniel Theis or Robert Williams evolving into the role, the C’s will need someone to step up if they want to compete with the Sixers.

  • Brooklyn Nets
    • ESPN Projected Finish: 45-37, 5th in the East
    • Key Storylines: Addition of Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant, Kyrie Still a Pill
    • 2-4 ATS

This will be a much safer bet next season when Kevin Durant returns to the court, assuming he’s healthy, but in the meantime they will be a fun team to watch. Despite all his bizarre antics and issues with the media, Kyrie Irving remains one of the most electric one on one players in the league. While thats not necessarily the best path to winning a title, it definitely will steal the Nets some games they have no business winning.

  • Toronto Raptors
    • ESPN Projected Finish: 45-37, 6th in the East
    • Key Storylines: Defending Champs, Loss of Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green, Growth of Pascal Siakam
    • 4-2 ATS

Man what a roller coaster ride 2019 has been for Drizzy Drake’s favorite squad. Sorry let me clarify, I meant Drake’s hometown team the Raptors not his other favorite squad the Golden State Warriors. Winning their first title behind a Herculean effort from Kawhi Leonard solidifying his spot as the best player in the NBA…to Kawhi walking away and now defending their title with Pascal Siakam and not much else. Siakam was voted by ESPN as the co-favorite to earn their first time All-Star bid in the East. Its hard to be mad as the defending champs, but they went from the favorites (especially with a rapidly imploding Warriors team) to a team that will be scrapping for a bottom half seed in the East this year.

  • New York Knicks
    • ESPN Projected Finish: 26-56, 13th in the East
    • Key Storylines: ….lottery picks and 2020 Free Agency?
    • 1-6 ATS

If you bet real, actual, American dollars on the New York Knicks then you are on your own. Sure Marcus Morris is great to watch when he’s on, but you are banking on the latest iteration of James Dolan’s madness here. Maybe if you get them in a parlay, but other than that I cannot advise gambling on this dumpster fire.

So to wrap it up, who has the best shot at winning the division? Lets not get ahead of ourselves and ask who’s going to take down LeBron and the Lakers or Kawhi and the Clippers in the Finals quite yet. As of late October, the Sixers had become -200 favorites to win the Atlantic, improving from -160 on opening night. The Celtics remained the second-favorite, but were well back at +420, only a shade ahead of the new-look Raptors at +490 with all odds via Sports Betting Dime. Expect those odds to be a little closer together when they’re updated next. Boston’s impressive 116-105 win over the 60-win Bucks made a statement that Brad Stevens’ team is going to be a tough out this year.

I LOVE the Celtics at +420 to win the division. Sure that means catching the Sixers and winning 50+ games, who ESPN has them finishing 9 games behind, but those are odds to bet on. The Sixers at -160 is almost even money and forget it if Embiid misses time with the annual injury or load management concerns. The Raptors feel pretty unlikely to leapfrog both Boston and Philly so I’m not sold on them, and I think this season is a holding pattern for Brooklyn and yet another rebuilding year for the Knicks. So slap down some cash on the Celtics and enjoy the ride.

NBA Players “Silent Scourge” is a Lack of Sleep. How About the Balls On These Sleepy Millionaires?

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ESPN – Fatigue has long been a reality of life in the NBA, a league with teams that play 82 games in under six months and fly up to 50,000 miles per season — roughly 20,000 more miles each season than NFL teams and far enough to circle the globe twice. Over the 2018-19 season, the average NBA team played every 2.07 days, had 13.3 back-to-back sets and flew the equivalent of 250 miles a day for 25 straight weeks.

Some in the league, from players and coaches to training personnel, have begun to suspect that the toll extracted by the NBA grind — the combination of the sport’s physical demands, the circadian disruptions, the six to eight months of travel across time zones — is not fully appreciated..Still, despite the league’s best efforts — lengthening its schedule in recent years, reducing back-to-backs for five straight seasons (down to an average of 12.4 per team in the coming season), eliminating four-in-five stretches, reducing the nationally televised games that tip off at 10:30 p.m. ET, creating more rest days — sleep deprivation remains what one high-ranking league source intimately involved with player health calls “our biggest issue without a solution.”

“It’s the dirty little secret that everybody knows about.”

…”You ask anybody in the room,” [Tobias] Harris says. “The thing I talk about is sleep.

“I think in a couple years,” he says, “[sleep deprivation] will be an issue that’s talked about, like the NFL with concussions.”

I debated actually going with the word “scourge” in the headline because I had to look it up myself, but it was how ESPN described it and its just so dramatic, so over the top, that I had to include it. A scourge is “a person or thing that causes great trouble or suffering.” So the great “silent scourge” of the NBA thats causing so much great trouble or suffering is not getting enough sleep. I feel like Charlie when Mac and Dennis are unsuccessfully trying to explain to him whats going on in Israel. Oh I don’t understand? Why don’t you crack an egg of knowledge on me buddy?

Our grandparents had the great depression and world wars to struggle with, but NBA players are sleepy soo its kind of a wash in who had it worse.

Look I totally get that playing on back to back nights in different cities sucks. Playing til 10 pm and then having to jump on an airplane and not getting to your hotel until the middle of the night sucks. Not having 8 hours of sleep in general sucks. But you know what?

Now if we’re talking about this in the context of achieving peak athletic performance then fine, but thats not what this article is about.

Portland Trail Blazers guard CJ McCollum began taking naps in high school and seeking nine hours of sleep a night. And in the NBA, he gets into bed as early as possible. “Lack of sleep messes up your recovery, messes up how you play, your cognitive function, your mindset, how you’re moving on the court,” McCollum says. “Sleep is everything.”

When the hell did people have time to take naps in high school? You’re in school til 2:30 and then at practice til 5. I would have to assume that means sneaking in some REM during algebra class.

I am lucky enough to only have to work one job these days, but for years I worked as a bouncer at a bar in Boston. On school nights no less! Working til 1 or 2 in the morning and then driving home only to get up at 7 am the next day and take the T all the way back downtown to my soul crushing 9-5. Thats a fucking scourge buddy.

Most of America works multiple jobs and doesn’t get enough sleep. Can you imagine saying this to a mom with a newborn baby? She literally might murder you where you stand. So while not getting 8 hours of sleep sucks, I would gladly trade a few hours of sleep here and there for $20M annual contracts handed out to even average NBA players. Not to mention you get the whole summer off like a goddamn kindergarten teacher. Sorry guys, but I refuse to feel for ya here.

Has Kobe Bryant Gone Soft? Says Team USA Will “Win Some, Lose Some and Thats Just How It Goes.”

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ESPN – Kobe Bryant thinks Team USA might have to get used to a new reality of losing in major events…”It’s not a matter of the rest of the world catching up to the U.S., it’s that the rest of the world has been caught up for quite some time,” Bryant said at the Wukesong Sports Center. “And it’s to the point now where us in the U.S. are going to win some, we’re going lose some. And that’s just how it goes.“

When I first read that my initial reaction was straight out of Kobe’s old commercial with Kanye:

You win some, you lose some? This is the Black Mamba for christ’s sake. The guy who still has a blood feud with Shaq nearly 20 years later because he’s so psychotically competitive he couldn’t get along with his own teammate, despite being in the midst of a three-peat.

THAT guy is the one telling everyone in the United States that “eh shit happens, the rest of the world is also pretty good so you might win, you might lose.” Has Kobe gone soft? Or is Kobe just trying to pump the collective tires of every other country he may do business with in the future? Maybe sell a few more Mambas in China if he makes it sound like he believes China can win Gold at Tokyo? Or maybe he’s just trying to Inception LeBron and Anthony Davis to get off their ass and *want* to win Gold. That would be some diabolical subterfuge that only the Black Mamba could pull off.

I spent years coming around on you Kobe so don’t you go soft on me now. I respect the assassin attitude so I refuse to accept this at face value. When we roll out the new Dream Team at the Olympics I will be the first one to give Kobe credit for planting the seed of doubt in everyone’s brain.

Team USA Better Assemble the Next Dream Team After This Disaster at the FIBA World Cup

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ESPN – The U.S. will leave the World Cup with its worst finish in a major international tournament, assured of finishing no better than seventh after falling to Serbia 94-89 in a consolation playoff game Thursday night.

The previous worst finish for a U.S. men’s team in 45 tournament appearances was sixth at the 2002 world championships. The Americans — the top-ranked team in the world — will be either seventh or eighth in China, depending on the outcome of their consolation finale Saturday.

Just a couple of days after getting bounced by France in the FIBA World Cup (Team USA’s first loss in 13 years, snapping a 58 game winning streak), they were officially embarrassed today, losing to Serbia in the consolation game. So no gold medal, no bronze medal, now not even a 5th place finish for the most disappointing Team USA in my lifetime.

I understand its just FIBA, I really shouldn’t care. Maybe I care more because half the team is made up of Celtics and it reflects poorly on my hometown team’s chances this season. Sure. Or maybe its just embarrassing for the US to send a team of kids and scrubs to represent the country before getting their teeth kicked in. This ain’t the 1980 USA Olympic Hockey team.

This team was in trouble from the second that Turkey game ended last week and we all knew it.

I also get that its become more and more popular for NBA stars today to obsess over their bodies and to manage their workload. The NBA season is long and LeBron can’t lead Team USA every single year, but where was James Harden or Anthony Davis? Steph Curry? Kawhi Leonard? Russell Westbrook? Kyrie Irving? Paul George? Klay Thompson?

Even guys like Kyle Lowry, Jimmy Butler, and Damian Lillard could’ve carried this team to gold. So its a tough spot to be in because the US is expected to win gold every single year, but we invented the damn game and have more than 90% of the best players in the world. I don’t think being the best is asking all that much.

USA Basketball better look at this as more than just a down year; its am embarrassment to the sport. I have enough embarrassment to go around from the US Mens Soccer Team, but at least they’re just not very good. The basketball team can and should dominate. So bring me the next Dream Team. Bring me an outrageous collection of talent and just run other teams out of the gym. Its time for the USA to re-establish its dominance on the hardwood.

#The300sPodcast – Next Up for the Celtics: Kemba Walker

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Red and Mattes jump into The 300s Podcast studio to discuss all the swirling Celtics rumors that are out there. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again; the NBA Offseason is the best show on TV.

– Kemba Walker signing a max deal with the Celtics?

– Kyrie Irving is a PILL

– Al Horford is likely gone

– Are the Celtics’ young guys getting off too easy for their role in the drama around the team last season?

– Recapping the Celtics draft night and what it means for the 2019-20 roster

– NBA Free Agency and potential fits for the C’s

The Celtics Now Belong to Jayson Tatum

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Danny Ainge refused to include Jayson Tatum in any Anthony Davis deal (as he should have). Kyrie Irving is as good as gone. Al Horford just opted out of his last year. Look around guys.

The Celtics now belong to Jayson Tatum.

If you had asked me two years ago (23 months ago but whos counting) I would have traded “every player on the Celtics roster” for Anthony Davis. But so much has changed since then. AD shot his way out of New Orleans, he demanded a trade to the Knicks or the Lakers, his agent Rich Paul tried to strong arm a deal to LA mid-season and then made it wildly clear that AD would not re-sign with Boston. Now I get it that it’s Danny Ainge’s job to call that bluff and pull the trigger on a trade because A. Davis may end up loving Boston like Kevin Garnett did and B. Davis suddenly would be sacrificing $50 Million dollars to leave Boston for LA. But, by landing in LA, Davis and Paul both get exactly what they wanted. Maybe it was a bluff, maybe it wasn’t. All I know is I’m not trading Tatum and the rest of the team for a guy who may or may not play in Boston for less than 12 months. I’m just not doing it. Tatum has shown way too much promise and you’d have to throw in heart and soul guys like Marcus Smart *just* to make the money work. Pass.

As for the Kyrie situation, I have been going back and forth on my thoughts because I hate reacting to news that hasn’t happened. I don’t want to bury a guy for a decision he hasn’t made yet. BUT, it sure seems like Kyrie is already out the door. There are reports that the Celtics are resigned to losing him in free agency. In fact Adam Himmelsbach wrote in the Globe that Kyrie has essentially “ghosted” the Celtics leading up to free agency, which would be the least surprising shit I’ve heard about him if true. Kyrie has shown that, despite all his grandiose speeches and delusions of grandeur as this elder statesman, he is just immature. A leader, or even a grown ass adult for that matter, handles last season very differently. I’m 30 and even I know that publicly criticizing younger, more impressionable co-workers is a piss poor way to inspire confidence and improve performance. Read a management book on one of your 6 hour flights for christ’s sake. Even Cleveland.com is criticizing Kyrie for making the same mistakes as the guy he so desperately wanted to get away from on the Cavs.

That doesn’t mean I think things are beyond repair though; I honestly believe Kyrie could come back, show a little embarrassment at the way everything has been handled the past 12 months, put up a good month of basketball and all would be forgiven. But, I just don’t think thats the way he’s wired.

And this is why the Boston Celtics do not kowtow to superstars. The C’s did everything they possibly could have to appease their young superstar in Kyrie Irving and he still is less than two weeks away from likely leaving them at the altar. You may need to do that in order to win an NBA title, but I’d rather live and die with guys like Marcus Smart and Isaiah Thomas than beg a superstar to please come play for our historic franchise. Why?

Woj also tweeted earlier today that Horford has reportedly opted out of his contract.

To be completely honest, I fully expected this from big Al. He is 33 years old with one year left on his deal in a suddenly barren free agent market. This is his last chance to get a long term deal. So he could opt in and cash the $30M check, or he could opt out and potentially negotiate a 3-year $60M deal to stay with the C’s and secure the bag for another $30M. Nobody is going to pay Horford $30M per on his next deal so it makes perfect sense for him to opt out. Orrr he could see the writing on the wall in Boston and try to take a lesser deal to jump ship to a more clear cut contender. Except, theres not so many clear cut contenders out there now with Golden State’s rash of injuries, Kawhi’s uncertainty in Toronto, LA’s revival with AD, Philly’s 3 starters heading towards free agency [plus Ben Simmons needing a max extension next summer], Milwaukee lurking, not to mention the apparent turmoil in Houston. So theres a whole lot of second tier teams that think they have a legit shot at a title next year.

I know Mattes wrote about this potential deal before, but with Al Horford opting out it makes a trade for Mike Conley seem unlikely at this point. Not that a soon to be 32-year-old point guard would necessarily become the face of the Celtics, but its another legit player seemingly off the board. In fact, just check out Mattes’ entire breakdown of what the Celtics can do this offseason with AD off the board.

So to Tatum, Brown and the other young guys: you all privately and publicly battled with Kyrie last year for mostly petty reasons. Kyrie is definitely to blame for that, but Tatum, Brown and co. aren’t without fault. Either way the team suffered as a result. Tatum, Brown and the young guys reached Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals without Kyrie (and Hayward) so I get it. Well now Kyrie is all but gone so here you go. It’s your team now Jayson. Jaylen can be your 1A, but this is your team.

Tatum has the best pedigree, the highest ceiling, has shown the most elite offensive flashes, and has the length to play D, can be a spot up shooter or get to the rim. I am excited to see what a 3rd year Jayson Tatum looks like with the ball in his hands a lot more. I think Tatum will be an All-NBA player before long….but he better be. Danny just bet the next decade of the Celtics’ fortunes on Tatum being that good. Because if he’s not, we have become the Atlanta Hawks.