Unfortunately, a majority of the past week was highlighted by LeBron James and the backlash he faced in and by the media, a consequence of his own actions. Despite the 3-1 record the Cavaliers registered, their lone loss to the Brooklyn Nets came under heavy scrutiny.
Multiple reports surfaced about there being no chemistry between James and Kyrie Irving. Given his off-court actions and the unnecessary attention he has brought to the team, many are starting to question whether James is indeed the leader the Cavaliers need.
Anyway getting away from all that “noise”, there were more headlines across the league which didn’t receive greater attention. Here’s a compilation of the hits and flops of the week from the world of the NBA:
Hit: Blake Griffin cleared for action, begins serving suspension
Los Angeles Clippers forward Blake Griffin hasn’t played a basketball game since partially tearing his left quadriceps tendon on Christmas Day in a game against the Los Angeles Lakers.
At that time he was declared out of action for four weeks but just before he could make his return in January, he fractured his right hand in an incident at a Toronto restaurant where he punched the team’s equipment manager.
The Clippers suspended him for four games for the incident and docked him of five games’ pay which is worth 859,442 dollars. Although the team was able to adapt to his absence and grab some wins under their belt, all realistic Clippers fans knew that they could not make any headway in the Playoffs without Griffin.
Entering Sunday’s match-up with the Denver Nuggets, the team announced that Griffin was medically cleared for action and has begun serving his four-game suspension. The team further announced that he will make his return in a week at home against the Washington Wizards.
Griffin’s return is big news for Clipper nation. Getting to play only seven games might not be enough for him to gel with the team on the court but the practices between games and the day’s off before the post-season might just be what he needs.
To help their case the Clippers are slated to play, as the standings remain today, a depleted Memphis Grizzlies team in the first round of the Playoffs, which should help Griffin, regain his fitness for the vital second round.
Flop: Mavericks’ recent rough stretch
At the beginning of the month of March, the Dallas Mavericks were sitting pretty comfortably as the sixth seed in the West. Now they are seeded ninth, just outside the Playoffs with only nine games left. What happened in the last four weeks?
The Mavericks lost 10 of their 12 games over the last four weeks, making it tougher on themselves to make the Playoffs this year. Over the four week span, the team has been playing lacklustre defence allowing an average of 113.2 points. On Sunday, they gave up a season-high 133 points in a disappointing loss to the Sacramento Kings.
As part of those ten losses, the team has dropped games against the Denver Nuggets and twice against the Sacramento Kings. Other than these games, the schedule has been quite rough for the Mavs having to play the Warriors twice, the Cleveland Cavaliers once and the rising Portland Trailblazers twice in the span of nine days.
The past two weeks have just been disastrous, losing all but one game against Portland. To make matters worse, the team lost Chandler Parsons for the season after he was facing problems with the medial meniscus in his right knee. Deron Williams was also sent back to Dallas for an MRI and has been ruled out for the next couple of games with an abdominal strain.
Head Coach Rick Carlisle is known to use a deep bench but it won’t be easy making up for what Parsons brings to the floor. While keeping his focus on making the Playoffs, Carlisle also has to regularly schedule rests for his veterans in Dirk Nowitzki, Deron Williams and Wesley Matthews.
Hit: Battle for final Playoff spots heats up in either conference
After the excitement the beginning of the NBA season brings, the end of the regular season is what everybody looks forward to. The Playoff races and the battle for positions in both conferences towards the end of the regular season makes every game vital and its results have a huge impact on the standings.
As of Monday, there are three Playoffs battles going on. One for the last three spots in the Western Conference between the Portland Trailblazers, Utah Jazz, Houston Rockets and the Dallas Mavericks. All four teams are fighting for the spots and are separated by only two and a half games.
The other two Playoff battles are in the East. One being for the seventh and eighth seed between the Indiana Pacers and the Detroit Pistons, the other is a four team tussle between the Atlanta Hawks, Miami Heat, Boston Celtics and the Charlotte Hornets to determine the seeds from third to sixth.
The Pacers are currently in seventh leading the Pistons by half a game. The recent slide of the Chicago Bulls has practically finalised the eight teams in the East for the Playoffs, now it’s all about the seeds.
In the four-team group, the Hawks are currently leading the pack. All four teams are separated by only two games. So each game for all teams is vital to finalising their Playoff seed.
Flop: Doubts on whether Charlotte will host 2017 NBA All-Star
Mid-last week, the State of North Carolina passed a law that many believe discriminates unjustly against the LGBT community. The “Public Facilities Privacy & Security Act” was passed by the state’s legislature in a special session last week and later signed by Governer Pat McCory.
A widely discussed aspect of this law is its impact on bathrooms. The legislation states that single-sex bathrooms can be used only by individuals who have their sex mentioned on their birth certificate.
According to the governor, the law prevents a “breach of basic privacy and etiquette”. However, the law has faced a backlash from many forums. Trans people have said that the law is psychologically harmful and places them at risk. More importantly, the law has been condemned by the Obama administration as well in the White House.
Finally getting to how this impacts the NBA. Charlotte, a city in the state of North Carolina, is set to host the All-Star Weekend next year and there are doubts over whether things would go according to plan. The league released a statement on the law:
"runs counter to our guiding principles of equality and mutual respect," adding that it does not know yet "what impact it will have on our ability to successfully host the 2017 All-Star Game in Charlotte."
The league has received calls to move the All-Star Game out of Charlotte if this law was not rightfully dealt with. No official statement has been made by the league but the fact that they are thinking about it is a huge cause for concern for the people of Charlotte and North Carolina.
Hit: D-Leaguer Russ Smith grabs attention of NBA world on Wednesday
After being drafted in the second round of the 2014 NBA Draft by the Philadelphia 76ers, Russ Smith has played a total of 29 NBA career games for two NBA franchises across two seasons.
He was most recently waived by the Memphis Grizzlies on 29 December. About two weeks after that he signed with the Delaware 87ers, the NBA D-League affiliate of the Philadelphia 76ers, and since then his play has only gone up.
It didn’t take long for him to show his skill. Just a couple of weeks after signing with Delaware, he was named the NBA D-League Performer of the Week averaging 28.7 points (5th in the league) shooting 48% from the field and leading the league in assists with an average of 8.7. However, he stole the limelight from NBA players on March, the 23rd a Wednesday, when he broke the record for most points scored by an individual in a NBA D-League game.
He scored 65 points on 24 of 42 shooting in 44 minutes helping his 87ers win the game against the Canton Charge 140-129. He broke the record for most points scored held previously by Jordan McRae, who scored 61 points this January. The league and the media covering the NBA gave credit where it was due and ran the news repeatedly across their channels and websites.
Guess the Lakers players!
