A List of Random Thoughts

A notebook of my scattered thoughts this week about the NBA.

1. The New York Knicks are a whole other kind of bad

Forbes/NBC NBA Analyst Tommy Beer tweeted out a fact so despairingly bleak about the Knicks' recent play that it almost makes you think the league should have a relegation system. In the past 9 quarters, New York has been outscored by 92 points, including a 37-point loss to the Nuggets and a 45-point loss to the Bucks. Prior to astonishingly close losses to the Celtics and Sixers, they got pummeled by 28 points by the Raptors.

The Knicks are rudderless on the court, and their administration will be, as it has been, hopelessly inept at coordinating a revitalization. They need an obvious facelift, which has begun with the firing of David Fizdale. But these deeply-rooted issues are not just cosmetic, and solvable with the firing of the coach. Removing Fizdale is purely a move to show the seriousness of the Knicks' intentions to initiate change. This team is position less and terrible. RJ Barrett can be really good, but being surrounded by four non-playmaking, non-shooters will hamper anyone's development. Pray for the Knicks. Free RJ.

2. How did James Harden's dunk not count????

Harden's non-scoring dunk has to be one of the most confounding referee errors I have ever seen. It wasn't some controversial call sparking the ire of both fanbases. It wasn't a missed foul or inaccurate out-of-bounds call. Harden made a basket IN GAME and they didn't count it because ... the way it wrapped around the hoop made it look like he missed? I mean, what? I believe two things: 1) The Rockets are right to protest this call and 2) That nothing should come of it. It certainly altered the outcome of the game. But they were still up 15 with less than 8 minutes to go at that point. Don't blow that lead.

3. I'm not surprised TV ratings are down

Really, I'm not. I have multiple theories as to why, some of which have circulated the internet. The league's main viewing demographic skews younger, which means more cord-cutters and those without access to games. (There is also the silly NBA League Pass blackout restrictions for local games). And sure, there is parity, but the superstars are still concentrated in LA and mildly peppered in throughout the rest of the league. The Bucks, Nuggets, and Blazers surely aren't getting their due. I also think fans are realizing that each NBA game is less than 2% of the regular season, so games feel less high-stakes and make-or-miss. On that note, the league has an "Eventization" problem as dubbed by the Ringer, in which it fails to make a, say, regular season Lakers-Bucks game feel like a championship bout. Finally, and no one will admit it, but I think we miss the Warriors. A league without Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, and now-Net Kevin Durant will have that effect. These aren't injured stars, they are absent transcendence. Oh, and I think maybe not counting baskets that literally go through the hoop frustrate people, too.

4. When will Zion be back?

I miss him, and I haven't even gotten to know him. We need him so badly.

5. This will be the best MVP race in years

It is years like this that make the idea of a lone MVP revolting. VORP and WAR and PER and any other advanced metric, which I am a believer in, will tell you that it's Luka Doncic's to lose. I don't think it's offensive to the analytics community or the cloud-yelling community that I think a simple eye test would reveal that's not true. Who's to predict the impact of the Bucks without Giannis, the Rockets without James Harden, or the Lakers without LeBron? I think baseball has it right to divvy up the awards by conference. More than one of those guys deserves accolades, assuming their historic seasons hold.

6. The 2019 NBA Draft has been terrible

Zion, out. Ja, out. RJ, Knicks. De'Andre Hunter, meh. Darius Garland, yikes. I mean, who has the best rookie been? It's easy to say Ja Morant for when he has played, but he's still hurt and on a bottom-dwelling Grizzlies franchise. Maybe, Rui Hachimura? Except he is in the same predicament franchise-wise with the Wizards. I was super pumped about this draft class because of how well they seemed to fit the modern NBA game and for their eccentric personalities. But so far, hardly any franchise has had reason to be hopeful for its rookie class (besides the Pistons, I believe in Sekou!)

7. The LeBron travel is amazing

The King really makes his own rules. The nonchalantness in his steps. Bojan Bogdonavic's plea for a call. Everyone else's disregard for the blatant violation. It's frankly picturesque and an example of a blown call that I am entirely okay with.

8. Gordon Hayward, Deandre Ayton, and Marvin Bagley will be back soon

For Hayward, I am worried that his absence might not have been a bad thing for the Celtics. I say worried because Hayward is really good and ultimately shouldn't be a negative. But there are a lot of cooks in that kitchen with similar skill sets and I think one's success comes at another's expense usually.

For Ayton, I sense a case of subtraction by addition, the infamous alternative to the much more famous saying. Ayton's offense is certainly more dangerous than Aron Baynes, but the attempts he will swallow up, coupled with his ever-growing, mistake-prone defense makes his minutes split with Baynes something to watch.

For Bagley, he finds himself in a similar situation to Ayton, though their offense will be less reliant on his playmaking. Bagley can be a solid defender but can still let guys slip around him. On offense, he can truly be a force. But Richaun Holmes has been a revelation at the 5, and Harrison Barnes has been serviceable in the 4 spot. I especially love Holmes' touch floater that looks wildly awkward coming out of his hand. Sacramento started 0-5 and was counted out, but now they're balling. Bagley, like Hayward and Ayton, could ruin the flow of teams on surprisingly good runs.