It’s Thursday, May 2 – the sun is shining, the Rockets are whining, and Paul Pierce is an idiot. Here’s what to watch for.
1. Where Has This Jimmy Butler Been?
Jimmy Butler was a man among boys for the Philadelphia 76ers in their Game 2 win against the Toronto Raptors. He led the Sixers with 30 points, and frankly refused to let them lose. While his teammates looked scared throughout a second-half near-collapse, Butler hit shot after shot to help the Sixers hold onto the lead.
But other than this stellar performance, and a 36-point Game 1 performance from the opening round vs. Brooklyn, Butler has been an absolute enigma. He’s been passive with his offense, non-existent from behind the arc, and opts in and out of defensive effort like it’s an email newsletter.
Butler averaged 18.2 ppg in the regular season after coming over to the Sixers in November, which dropped to 17.3 after Tobias Harris switched coasts in February. But even while playing third or fourth fiddle, Butler is capable of so much more. And frankly, it’s the quietest 17.3 ppg you can imagine most nights.
Perhaps Butler has a special ability to sense when his teammates need him to be the most agressive. His basketball IQ is certainly among the best in the league, and it’s worth noting that his two most recent scoring binges essentially came on night when none of his other teammates showed up. But regardless, Philly needs to see more of this Jimmy Butler, the Jimmy Butler they traded for back in November.
2. Can Kawhi Keep This Up?
Fuck no, he can’t. Kawhi Leonard has been impossibly hot.
In Game 1 of the Raptors’ Eastern Conference semi-finals game against the Sixers, he had 45 points and 11 rebounds. He shot 70% from the field, and 91% from the line. In Game 2, he led the Raptors in points, rebounds, and assists with 35, 7, and 6 respectively. He shot 54% from the field and 86% from the line.
Kawhi is a top-five player in the league when he wants to be, but this brilliance cannot be sustained. Though he still undeniably balled out in Game 2, Ben Simmons has been much more effective at limiting Kawhi on offense than Jimmy Butler was in Game 1. Sure, Kawhi still knocked down some ridiculous jumpers, but a solid defensive effort will force Kawhi to become a jump shooter. Nothing you can do if he’s hitting it.
Meanwhile, his teammates are trending downward as well. Pascal Siakam had a terribly inefficient Game 2 on 9-25 shooting. Marc Gasol managed five points. Kyle Lowry hit back-to-back threes late in the game to keep Philadelphia sweating, but in doing so he used up his two makes for the entire series.
Danny Green had a sneaky great game. Despite only scoring three points, he was a +14 for the game, by far the best on the Raptors. But he missed a wide-open look from three late in the game that he never should’ve had. So he’s not right either.
The Raptors will continue to require superhuman efforts from Kawhi Leonard in order to win on a nightly basis, and I just don’t see it happening. I’m doubling down on my pick that the Sixers win this series.
3. Draymond, The Definitely-Not-Hypocrite
It was so nice to hear Draymond come out and call for an end to the referee bashing, once and for all. He called all of the focus on the referees “embarrassing for the game.”
Thank you for being mature, Draymond. Because if there’s one person who has
always unconditionally supported the refs, it’s you!
Whether it was the time that you said NBA players can’t play defense anymore.
Or the time you stalked official Zach Zarba around the entire court and somehow didn’t get tossed.
Or the time you threw a ball at the ref.
Or this argument with an official.
You get the point.
4. Pop Staying Put
Despite speculation that he might step down after the season concluded, word on the street is that Gregg Popovich is close to signing a three-year contract with the San Antonio Spurs. He will stay put in the city he has led to an astounding 22 straight playoff appearances (a league record), and will remain the highest-paid coach in the league. Sounds like he needs it with all the wine he buys.
We’ll start with the obvious – this is a fantastic thing for the Spurs. Even at age 70, Pop is a top-three coach in the league at worst. He’s one of the rare ringleaders who excels at what I consider to be the four stages of team development: instilling the necessary skills, teaching a team how to win, becoming a championship team, and maintaining a championship team. He’s done all of it with San Antonio.
And there had been serious concerns over the last few seasons that Pop’s run could be coming to an end. He said for years that he was going to retire whenever Tim Duncan did. Duncan retired in 2016, and yet Pop kept coaching. Then in July 2018, Tony Parker signed with the Charlotte Hornets, and still Pop kept coaching. Manu Ginobili announced his retirement in August of that same year, marking the departure of the final piece of one of the greatest trifectas in NBA history. And still, Pop kept coaching.
Pop even kept coaching after his wife’s death in April 2018. Just when you think he should be slowing down, it almost seems like he’s speeding up. Pop now boasts current U.S. Men’s Olympic Team Head Coach as part of his resume, and with the 2020 Olympics coming up, Pop seems like he truly is here to stay. And the NBA is a better place for it.
5. Top 10 List – I’ll Give Houston Something to Complain About
To put it lightly, the Houston Rockets need to stop bitching about calls and no-calls. It’s incredible that a team has somehow made the general population pull for the Golden State Warriors.
I’m over complaining about the refs. If I were the Houston Rockets, here are ten things I’d be complaining about instead:
10. Sending their kids to school in the 37th-ranked state for education
9. James Harden can’t even see out of his eyes after getting hit in Game 2. With his vision marred, it will be difficult for him to harass the correct referee
8. The Rockets don’t even have the Asian fans anymore, they all hopped on the Warriors bandwagon
7. The rim is too small, and that’s why they missed 27 straight three-pointers in last year’s Game 7
6. Not sure why Charles Barkley saves all his fat jokes for the women of San Antonio, because Houston is literally the fattest city in America. But Harden seems to be into that kind of thing
5. Your football team is the Texans
4. The Rockets cry to the league that they are being robbed of championships – meanwhile, the only reason they have their two banners is because Michael Jordan had a bad acid trip and thought he was Ken Griffey Jr. for a year and a half
3. Chris Paul made $35.6 million this season, and is due a staggering $124,076,442 through his next three seasons. He’ll be 37 by then, and collecting his 0th championship ring
2. How are the Rockets so incredibly annoying that Austin Rivers doesn’t even crack their top five?
1. What the Rockets really should be complaining about is playing in the Western Conference. They’d win 65 games per year in the East, and would have more time to watch James Dolan ban Knicks fans in person
