It’s Thursday, Jan. 31 – here’s what to watch the rest of the week
Just as a note – this Anthony Davis stuff has already been beaten to death and covered from every angle. I can’t say I have anything new to provide here, as Rich Paul hasn’t returned any of my calls.
1. The Real Jah
You think Ja Rule is the hottest Ja(h) right now? Wrong.
Let’s talk Jahlil Okafor. That’s the real story out of New Orleans.
Since Anthony Davis went down with a finger injury in a Jan. 18 loss in Portland, Okafor has stepped in and averaged 21.2 points and 11 rebounds. He had a six-block performance against Detroit, a team stacked with talented big men. And in his most recent game, he went for 27 and 12 on the road in Houston. Though the Rockets’ lack of center depth has been well chronicled in this column, 27 and 12 is still 27 and 12.
Are these numbers a tad misleading? Perhaps. Okafor’s +/- over these five games has been -33. But take that with a grain of salt – the Pelicans have been without Davis, Nikola Mirotic, and Julius Randle for most of those minutes. And their last five games have also been against the Grizzlies, Pistons, Thunder, Spurs, and Rockets.
Either way, it’s nice to see Okafor getting some playing time and having some success. It’s weird to think that he is a “reclamation” project for New Orleans, when the man was drafted in 2015 and turned 23 last month. But that’s exactly what he’s been.
One of Philadelphia’s two major draft missteps of the otherwise-legendary tenure of former GM Sam Hinkie (the other being the draft-night trade for Nerlens Noel), Okafor’s professional career seemed to get off to a great start when he made the NBA All-Rookie First Team. But a combination of off-the-court behavioral issues and a non-adaptive game poorly suited for the modern NBA had the Sixers quickly shopping the former Blue Devil.
Okafor ultimately ended his contentious Philly stay as a healthy scratch in 31 of his final 33 games. He played in just over 25 minutes of game time in that span. The brief Brooklyn Nets stint that followed wasn’t much of an improvement.
Who knows if the revival will last in New Orleans, but Jah deserves another moment in the sun. He’s at least earned himself another look.
2. Parity Hilarity
The Western Conference is far superior to the Eastern Conference. It’s something we’ve known for at least a decade now. In terms of watchability, the opening round of the Eastern Conference playoffs typically ranks somewhere between The Gospel Channel and circumcision.
But I have to hit you with these facts relating to the 2018-19 season. As of Wednesday afternoon:
- The West is 156-115 vs. the East this season
- The West has three teams with a negative point differential – the East has seven
- The West has two teams at 21 wins or below – the East has seven
- The 14th seed in the West (Memphis) would be four games outside of the East playoff race
- Five of the bottom six offenses are in the East
- The bottom two defenses are in the East, as are seven of the bottom nine point differentials
The last year or two, we’ve heard a bit about an East resurgence, but it has proven to be wildly untrue. The East used to at least be able to sell an easier path to the Finals – LeBron and four guys in a wheelchair did it several years in a row. Instead, we’ve seen top-tier Eastern talent like Bron and Paul George head out west. Why?
The commissioner’s already on record acknowledging internal reseeding discussions that would see the top 16 teams making it into the postseason, regardless of conference. Keep an eye on that.
3. Rising Stars Desperation
Most of the rosters for both the U.S. and the International team make sense. Jarrett Allen, Lonzo Ball, Jaren Jackson, De’Aaron Fox, etc. Makes sense. Bogdan Bogdanovic, Luka Doncic, Lauri Markkanen, Cedi Osman, etc. Makes sense too.
And then there’s Ben Simmons, Donovan Mitchell, and Jayson Tatum.
These three are not rising stars – they are stars. This game is completely beneath them. Jayson Tatum is especially surprising, because I have no idea what he’s doing here. But I know exactly what Ben Simmons and Donovan Mitchell are doing here. The NBA is attempting to reignite the drama that swelled up between the two during their rookie campaigns last year. Simmons and Mitchell immediately separated themselves from the rest of the pack in the Rookie of the Year race, and the debate then became is Simmons actually a rookie? He was drafted in 2017, but sat out the whole 2017-18 season.
First of all, yes he was a rookie you moron. Blake Griffin won the award in 2011 after doing the exact same thing, and instead of complaining, people just made him jump over a car. But getting back to the point, this is a tired feud, partly because neither has continued their ascension in their second seasons. Simmons still can’t shoot, and Mitchell has hit his sophomore slump hard before finally heating up over the last few weeks.
If the NBA is really looking to pit the Americans vs. the foreigners, they should scrap the game and make an educational visit to the White House.
4. ESPN Clickbait
ESPN has a problem. To stick with the presidential theme, other sports sites are “eating their lunch.” You wanna know why?
I hit up their site Wednesday evening to see if they had anything interesting basketball-wise. My eyes immediately fixed on the second headline from the top.
“Celtics’ Bird pleads not guilty to 2 new charges.”
Larry $#@!ing Bird’s in trouble with the law?
No, it’s actually Celtics guard Jabari Bird. If you read the new set of charges, this guy sounds like an absolute scumbag. But not the point.
ESPN knew exactly what they were doing with that headline. They gave up on actual journalism a while ago, and that’s why every aspect of ESPN sucks these days – their channels, their website, their magazine, everything. The Celtics article was sandwiched between the following headlines: “LeBron practices, ruled out Thursday” and “J. Cole, Meek Mill to headline All-Star Game.” And this is smack in the middle of the season.
5. Did You Know?
A triple-double is one of the ultimate displays of all-around basketball dominance for a single game. But did you know there have been four* quadruple-doubles in modern NBA history?
October 18, 1974 – Nate Thurmond, Chicago Bulls
22 points, 14 rebounds, 13 assists, 12 blocks (game went to overtime)
February 18, 1986 – Alvin Robertson, San Antonio Spurs
20 points, 11 rebounds, 10 assists, 10 steals (the only one with steals rather than blocks)
March 29, 1990 – Hakeem Olajuwon, Houston Rockets
18 points, 16 rebounds, 10 assists, 11 blocks
February 17, 1994 – David Robinson, San Antonio Spurs
34 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists, 10 blocks
*February 18, 1985 – Larry Bird, Boston Celtics
30 points, 12 rebounds, 10 assists, 9 steals
This was Bird’s stat line through three quarters of an easy 110-94 victory in Utah. Head Coach K.C. Jones walked over to Bird and asked him if he wanted to play at all in the fourth quarter, seeing as he was one steal away from a quadruple-double. At the time, it would’ve been the first non-overtime quadruple-double in NBA history.
Bird shrugged and declined. “I already did enough damage,” he said. True story.
