NBA Hot Takes: Red Hot Rockets and "Kawhisland"

WHO’S HOT

Daniel: Chris Paul

Although the Clippers have stalled after a scorching start that took the league by storm, Chris Paul continues to show that he may be the single hungriest player in the league. Much maligned for his outward criticism of his… less savvy teammates, Paul has gained a reputation of striving for nothing less than basketball perfection. Last Saturday night, he came as close as any mortal could, scoring 20 while dishing out another 20 dimes without a single turnover. Chris Paul continues to add to his MVP résumé as he attempts to lead the Clippers to a championship (or at least the Western Conference Finals).

Marcus: The Houston Rockets

The Rockets have yet to lose in the month of December since knocking off Golden State on the 1st. Since then, they have won an additional nine games in convincing fashion, solidifying their rebirth under head coach Mike D’Antoni. They have shown that they can hang with the top teams in the West and are flourishing with James Harden’s incredible statistical season running the point. Don’t forget that the team has also twice broken the record for most 3’s made and attempted in a game this month. With a few tough matchups, against the likes of the Clippers and Spurs, before the year comes to a close, we will truly see if Houston can place itself among the elites and challenge the Warriors in the West.

John: Anyone that played the LA Lakers

The Los Angeles Lakers were a very pleasant surprise in the early NBA season, where they defied projections and started 10-10 with a likable group of young budding stars. However, the universe righted itself again, and the Lakers are in free fall. They had an 8-game loss streak that was broken just last night against the Sixers. The streak included losses against the bottom-dwelling Suns, Nets, Kings, and a 39-point pummeling by the red hot Houston Rockets. Granted, quite a few of those losses have come without their two biggest stars, Julius Randle and D’Angelo Russell, but both have now returned and things still aren’t really looking up.  To make matters worse, Jordan Clarkson did not take advantage of the prime opportunity he had with Russell out, and really hasn’t shown much improvement after his great rookie campaign.

WHO’S NOT

John: Donatas Motiejūnas

Motiejūnas has had an interesting past couple of weeks, as his very extended contract negotiation with the Rockets came to an end after he received a 4yr/$37 million offer from the (hapless) Brooklyn Nets.  He signed it without hesitation, but the Rockets were feeling clingy and used their restricted free agent powers to match the offer sheet.  Motiejūnas really wanted out of Houston, so he decided that signing the offer and ducking on his team physical was the best course of action, which proved to be costly as he lost both of his offers completely.  He then grudgingly signed a smaller deal with Houston, and actually showed up for his physical, but got into a disagreement with the staff and was promptly released.  And he can no longer sign with the Nets.  Best of luck to you, Donatas.

Daniel: The Spurs Defense (feat. The Kawhisland)

Putting the back to back DPOY is guaranteed to make any lineup a little bit tougher defensively, right? Enter the “Kawhisland” (credit to CBS’ Matt Moore). Rather than having their best player go toe-to-toe with Sugar K, teams have opted to shove Kawhi’s man in the weakside corner, effectively removing him from the play. Playing 4 on 4 is inherently easier on the offense thanks to the extra space freed up by the Kawhisland©. Forcing the laterally challenged Tony Parker and Pau Gasol into any sort of pick and roll will result in easy buckets for any competent offense.

Marcus: Demarcus “Boogie” Cousins

What else is new? As talented as a player he is, Boogie has never learned in his years in the NBA how to control his temper. Annoyed by a reporter’s inquiry about a pending lawsuit involving himself and teammate Matt Barnes, Cousins got into the reporter’s face then subsequently refused to talk to reporters in the postgame interview unless the aforementioned reporter leave. This is just another incident in a long line of problems Cousins has caused in his time in Sacramento. It’s also another blow to his ever-relevant trade value, as the Kings have been shopping him before he inevitably leaves in free agency this summer. Hopefully, Boogie can live up to his immense potential in another city.

*Links to all photos embedded. Credit to respective sites

Basketball: On and Off the Court

John Askins
Staff Writer

Flashback 6 years ago.  It was a cool, cloudy fall afternoon.  Saturday, to be exact, which meant one thing: basketball.

I stood on the damp pavement, ball in hand.  Eucalyptus trees rose towards the sky all around me, their leaves flowing down and gently blanketing the court.  A tall field of grass with a seldom-used baseball diamond extended out to the right of me, a well-worn playground in between.  Crestmoor Elementary: a small public school with a little court tucked into a canyon of trees, the “alma mater” for many of the members of our little ball club.  From an outsider’s perspective it wasn’t much, but it was everything we needed.  Every weekend anyone who wanted to play basketball came and did just that.  Sometimes there were many of us, sometimes only a few; sometimes we played hard, sometimes we chucked 3’s; sometimes we fought, sometimes we laughed.  But one thing stayed the same: when it was over, we were already looking forward to the next one.

Today I stand in the exact same place, ball in hand, and a strong wave of nostalgia hits.  Though it’s changed immensely since the days we began playing -- Crestmoor was closed and the campus reassigned to a private school, the ground resurfaced, the backboards changed -- it’s still home.  Memories dating back 6 years seemed to project onto the court.  Every bucket, every block, every “that’s not a foul!” -- still fresh in my brain.  Many of us played for our schools and AAU teams, nonetheless we religiously made our way out every weekend, because we just couldn’t get enough.  We dreamed of becoming the next Wade, Lebron, or Durant.  We’d spend games doing our best impersonations: hollering “KOBE” whenever we took a bad shot; turning and pulling face-up jumpers saying “Melo!” as it sunk through the net with our right (or left, in my case) hand hanging in the air; popping a 3 from 10-feet beyond the arc while letting loose a “STEPH CURRYYYY” — all were common occurrences on the court.  Though the dreams of making it big may now be outdated, the passion remains.  6 years later, we assemble in the exact same place.  Some old faces, some new; all with the same love for the game.

We looked -- and still look -- up to NBA players as role models, number 2 or 3 to only Mom and Dad.  It wasn’t as obvious while we were living it, but crystal clear now: NBA players have an enormous impact on today’s youth.  Not only with their actions on the court, but off as well.  From the shoes kids wear, the shots they take, the things they say, the way they celebrate… all a page torn right out of an NBA star’s book.  

With the emergence of social media, fans are now able to see nearly everything a player does.  Whether it’s a positive contribution to society, or a bad mistake made, it’ll be known by hundreds of thousands of NBA fans within a couple of hours.  The platforms have allowed to us to see headlines such as “Memphis Grizzlies Visit Patients at Local Children’s Hospital”, “WATCH: Lebron’s Son Catches Trout on Family Vacation”, “BREAKING: Blake Griffin Out 6-8 Weeks After Breaking Hand Punching Trainer at Nightclub”, and even “Draymond Green Accidentally Posts Picture of-”… ehh I won’t go into that one.  The social media saturation can be detrimental at times, but it could also be very helpful and inspiring.  

So many NBA players have become so influential, and many are using their fame in a very positive way.  It doesn’t take much scrolling to find a picture of perhaps the NBA’s most beloved star, Stephen Curry, visiting a patient in a hospital, or even taking time out of his famous pregame routine to talk to my own cousin, who endured a hemispherectomy due to brain complications.  Seeing first-hand now how much something as simple as a “hello!” and a conversation can make somebody feel better makes me appreciate the NBA and its players that much more.  From Commissioner Silver and his brilliant, conscientious leadership to Lebron James’s Family Foundation that does so much for Cleveland citizens: players and officials having an awareness of their effect on kids — or anybody, for that matter — is extraordinarily important.

There’s a huge population of little ballers making their way through their elementary schools, middle schools and AAU teams who dream to be the next generation’s James Harden, Steph Curry, Kyrie Irving, or whomever they want to be.  The NBA is so unique in the fact that each player has their own identity.  Almost every player has their own charisma and brings a distinct aspect of their game to the stage. Jordan and Bird, Kobe and Wade, and now Joel Embiid and KAT; the league is full of personality and color, aspects wildly attractive to people all around the U.S. and beyond.  It connects to the population like not many other sports can, forming for a glorious melting pot: the sport, the players, its fans, and true emotion embedded deep throughout its history.

Reverse Jam's NBA Power Rankings: Week 4

REVERSE JAM NBA WEEK 4 RANKINGS

#	John	Daniel	Matt
1	△2	△2	(-)
2	(-)	(-)	(-)
3	▽2	▽2	△1
4	(-)	(-)	▽1
5	△2	△1	△5
6	△2	▽1	△1
7	▽2	△4	▽2
8	▽2	▽1	△6
9	△7	△5	△6
10	△4	△5	▽2
11	▽1	▽1	▽5
12	▽1	(-)	(-)
13	▽1	▽4	▽4
14	▽5	▽6	△2
15	△3	△1	▽4
16	▽2	△2	▽3
17	▽4	△11	△2
18	▽1	▽5	(-)
19	(-)	(-)	▽2
20	(-)	(-)	△3
21	△1	△8	△1
22	△6	▽1	▽1
23	▽2	▽6	△5
24	△2	△2	(-)
25	▽2	▽2	△1
26	△2	△1	▽1
27	△3	▽5	▽7
28	▽4	▽4	△2
29	▽4	△1	▽2
30	▽3	▽4	▽1

Matt:

Buy Low: Utah Jazz

While Hayward has been officially back for the last 9 games, the Jazz have still underperformed, losing their last four games.  My “Buy Low” on the Jazz is rooted in my belief of not what their team has done, but what I know they can do.  They’ve showed glimpses of great cohesive basketball in short stretches and their almost-traditional starting lineup is a refreshing sight placed amongst an oversaturated league of small ball and threes.  Hill has been exceptional but is currently injured, Hood was playing extremely well in the few early games in absence of Hayward and once they begin to share the wing together, I know we will see improvement out of them. Their upcoming two games should be very good indicators of their current form.  Make sure to watch 1) Nuggets @ Jazz, Wednesday Nov 23rd to see a very competitive matchup against a team that has thus far fared similar woes, and 2) Hawks @ Jazz, Friday Nov 25th to see the Jazz face a team playing in early-season contender form.  

Buy Low: Chicago Bulls

The Bulls have shown great signs thus far, playing far above 

anyone’s expectations while also being entertaining, but I believe they will only keep improving and paired with an extremely opportune upcoming schedule, I could easily see them finishing 4-1 over the course of the next few games tying them for 2nd in the East, a current upgrade to their 3rd best at (9-5).  A curious thought is the philosophy on the composition of the Bulls’ team.  The Bulls backcourt consists of Rondo, Wade and Butler who are by no means new to the game.  There is so much experience and leadership in these veterans that the Bulls possess an extremely stable nucleus while still retaining their youthful energy that a normal, veteran-heavy team would experience.  The veteranship typically is what will get younger teams through the long NBA season and is what will keep the Bulls’ in the position they are at.

Daniel:

Buy low: Boston Celtics

With the recovery of Al Horford and Jae Crowder’s imminent return, the Celtics look poised to make a return to a spot closer to their preseason ranking. Although their rebounding problem does not look to be going away anytime soon (cue video of 5 Celtics outrebounded by a player literally lying on the floor), these two players are pivotal for the Celtics to maintain any semblance of a defensive presence. As expected, the offense will also feel a boost and should keep their offensive rating firmly within the top 10. Perhaps too much credit has been given to head coach (and future United States president) Brad Stevens, but he has given no reason to doubt his ability to make the pieces fit in a coherent manner. Look for the Celtics to have home court advantage in the first round, barring disaster.

Sell high: Los Angeles Lakers

Call me a skeptic, but I remain unconvinced that this scrappy band of lovable underdogs has what it takes to crack the playoffs, or even just the upper half of these rankings. (Also, it makes me slightly nauseous to refer to the Los Angeles Lakers as lovable up and comers.) Although Timofey Mozgov has managed to not too bad in comparison to some other overpaid centers around the league (shoutout Phil Jax), Luol Deng has prematurely begun his transition into veteran that provides “leadership and locker room presence”. Keep in mind that this man is actually younger than his teammate Nick “Swaggy P” Young! Contracts aside, Russell and Randle appear to be taking another step towards becoming potential all star caliber players. At the end of the day, this still appears to be a young team that will provide 48 minutes of entertaining gameplay, as long as you don’t expect the.500 basketball they’ve eked out so far.

John:

Buy Low: Utah Jazz

A few weeks ago, the Utah Jazz got Gordon Hayward back, and 

looked to be absolutely set to jettison themselves into the top of the standings… then George Hill jammed his finger, and Derrick Favors sustained a bone bruise on his knee.  Hill was among the biggest surprises in the league before going down, averaging over 20 points and 5 assists a game on some crazy shooting numbers. He proceeded to miss the next 8 games due to the injury, and the Jazz have gone 3-5 in that span, the 3 wins coming against a handful of bottom-dwelling Eastern Conference teams.  Favors has missed the past 3 games -- all losses -- and is out for the “foreseeable future”.  However, Hill is expected back soon, and if Trey Lyles can step up, (which he is very capable of,) expect a hearty serving of W’s on the Jazz’s plate.  There are a lot of borderline teams in the 5-8 seeds, so the spot is theirs, if they can play up to it.

Sell High: Houston Rockets

I had a lot of trouble figuring out a good sell high candidate this week, as most of the teams that are hot look like they’re going to be able to sustain it for the foreseeable future.  So this sell-high is more like a challenge to the Rockets, I want to see them succeed and prove that they’re a real contender.  Harden has been playing out of his mind all year, taking full control of the offense as the team’s primary guard and dropping dimes like it’s going out of style (12.5 per game, best in the league.)  I’ve never been a huge fan of teams who live and die by the 3-ball, but this squad (aka Harden and chuckers) has too much firepower to sleep on.  With big games against the Raptors and Trail Blazers coming up on the schedule, they have a chance to carve out a spot near the top of the standings.