That Goddamn 5-year streak of playoff losing really did a number on my arterial integrity.

Each leading playoff-destined teams. Each fawned over by the rest of the League’s fanbase as though they’re some unknown, extraterrestrial entities suddenly landing back over the border to be revealed as really f-ing good basketball players.

The other stuff, like role definition and the x’s and o’s, thrive in that kind of environment.

They’re not yet the most skilled, but the effort and determination has spread like wildfire down the roster.

True, rebounds often go to the tallest, the highest-jumping, the hardest working, the biggest bum, the widest frame, the lowest-centre of gravity, and/or the most aggressive.

I just practiced a lot about the angle of the ball and the trajectory of it.

In truth, he’s an offensive rebounding menace looming the baseline behind enemy lines waiting for the opportune subversion of boxouts.

As play progresses, he tippy-toes hoopward, “innocuously”, not letting on to his ulterior motive.

Yuta’s is a short corner three from the left side – interestingly, corner shots are typically long misses than short, JC still reads it – and Gary’s goes long off a pull-up from the right side.

They disincentivize aggressive, altruistic defenders.

A lot of players nowadays know that when you get dunked on like that, it goes viral on the internet, so they try to avoid those situations.

Not just because of the blocks – though they do exemplify his athleticism, awareness, and timing – but because he’s a superb one-on-one defender, a sixth-sense team defender, and capable of guarding 1 to 4 no problema.

They know the chickens inevitably come home to roost on some crossover or some facial jam in the distant future.

There’s a shared knowledge that he’s got way too much energy and he’s just playin’ with you.

Paul Jones and Leo Rautins – filled in for Matt Devlin and Jacko while in Health and Safety Protocols.

I don’t know if those come out naturally or if Paul sits in his office overdosed on caffeine just listing out anything that sounds remotely like a basketball act.

Toronto Raptor ticket prices are nuts on a normal day.

And then….and then!!!! Their little miser, money-grabbing collective frontal lobes decided to sell additional tickets at inane prices for fans to see the Warriors’ 6,7,8,9,10th best players.

Speaking of, this whole playing through the season until all that’s left are basketballs, twinkies, and Florida is bad news.

…Read the full story

The NBA prides itself on not being the NFL and yet here we are choosing to play games, endanger players, knowingly spread the virus, and put a product on the floor that is – no offence to 10-day contractors – very, very sub-par.

I get players need to get paid.

For anyone familiar with Team Canada, you know Stauskas is a Canadian Sniper.

In Protocols are: Fred VanVleet, Malachi Flynn, Gary Trent Jr, Scottie Barnes, Precious Achiuwa, Pascal Siakam.

…Read the full story

Waters won the G League Rookie of the Year award in 2019-20, and he’s a low-mistake, efficient guard.

…Read the full story

…Read the full story

All his shots seemed to be short on the night, which makes plenty of logical sense considering how long he had off, letting his legs get rusty.

He looked for his shot quite a bit, and a lot of that had to do with Golden State not really giving him any extra attention , which is maybe the best non-assist pass I’ve ever seen.

His passing was surgical — had one leaping, drifting bounce pass to Achiuwa in the pick and roll that made me wake my dog with a yelp.

But he does so much other good stuff that it’s okay He did some other fantastic things though outside of the scoring: threw a few incredible lob passes in transition, compiled a huge number of deflections.

That actually changed in the second half, as he scored in the post and in a few isolations, too.

But then rotated to the rim from out of nowhere to block Kuminga at the rim! Surprisingly, that didn’t really get his defense going, as he gave up a blow-by to Chiozza in the third.

As usual, solid cutting to make himself available along the baseline, particularly when Barnes had the ball.

I really liked his choice to keep Anunoby in the game in the fourth, when the rest of the starters were done, just to get his rhythm back.

…Read the full story

Pascal Siakam, Norman Powell and OG Anunoby are considered the success stories of the Raptors’ shooting program, but outside of the surprising potency, Barnes’ shot diet shares virtually no similarities to theirs.

The rapid burst of self-creation that Barnes has shown at the NBA level is a sight to behold, but even the most bullish of his pre-draft supporters wouldn’t have predicted 41 percent on pull-up triples, albeit on low volume.

Barnes’ willingness to try will likely be a defining feature of his NBA career, and it’s exactly why the trajectory of his outside shot is categorically different than what the Raptors have been teasing out of players before him.

Once Siakam returned from injury and started bending the defense in this way, Barnes started to form up off of Siakam’s drives — mirroring his movements, maintaining passing lanes, and hitting threes with a chasm of space between him and his defender.

Credit to Siakam for creating advantages, yes, but for Barnes to take all of this in stride as a rookie, to bypass the mental blocks that no doubt existed for him and to shoot with no hesitation — a hell of a player.

The Warriors game earlier in the season was Barnes’ first multi-triple game, and the start of this 11-game run of shooting.

But, with his run of form starting against the Warriors, and Curry recently setting the record, what a unique opportunity to check in.

…Read the full story

…Read the full story

Today, MLSE announced how its ticketing process would change.

…Read the full story