The NBA is a tough, physical game, and as the season winds down and playoff berths are at stake, it shouldn’t be a surprise to see tempers flare a bit from time to time. Usually that means a little pushing and shoving, maybe some jawing, or a staredown. Or, if you are Delonte West, maybe a shove to the ear:
Yeah, that just happened — and it earned Mr. West a technical, too. It’s a good thing Gordon Hayward took the high road, or things might have escalated and West might have snapped him with a wet towel.
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This play from Gordon Hayward is nearly some Prince-level stuff. From Wednesday’s Jazz-Celtics tilt:
If I were Hayward, I’d probably retire right after this. Or if I’d made a half-court shot to win a national title over Duke, I’d probably have retired if I did that as well (too soon?).
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As everyone knows by now, the compressed NBA schedule will force every team to play three games in three nights at least one this season (42 times in total). With only 66 games to stake a claim to a playoff spot or seed, how teams perform during these killer slates could have a large impact on how their seasons turn out.
With that in mind, we’re going to keep track of each of the 42 three-plays to see which teams take advantage and which teams fall apart. Up next, the Utah Jazz, who played three straight from Feb. 12-14.
Given the Heat’s performance over the same period of time, it’s easy to overlook the fact that the Jazz completed their three-play, also all on the road. Unfortunately, they didn’t fare quite as well.
Game 1: Jazz 98, Grizzlies 88 - Pretty nice way to start things off — a win over the Grizzlies on the road, with Al Jefferson leading the way with 21 points and a season-high 15 rebounds. Gordon Hayward had 23 points and one rebound, and I can’t decide if I think the coaches congratulated him for that effort or made him stay after practice. 3 points (1 for the win, 1 for +10 margin, 1 for road)
Game 2: Hornets 86, Jazz 80 - They should get extra negative points for this loss, as the Hornets had only four wins on the season coming in and were losers of eight straight beforehand. Chris Kaman boosted his potential trade value for New Orleans, dropping 27 and 13 on the Jazz. -1 point
Game 3: Thunder 111, Jazz 85 - Third games in three nights will produce results like this from time to time, as the Jazz got behind early and often, shot 35 percent from the field, and got blasted on the Western Conference-leading Thunder’s home court. 0 points
If you told me before the start of their trip the Jazz would lose two of three, I’d have probably agreed. I wouldn’t have presumed that one of those losses would have come at New Orleans though, that’s for sure.2 total points for Utah.
Up next: The Phoenix Suns play three straight Feb. 13-15.
Earlier this morning Sekou and I put our GM caps on and picked rosters for the BBVA Rising Stars Challenge, trying to figure out what they might look like once Shaq and Chuck get done with them for All-Star Friday night.
Sekou got the first pick because, well, he’s big time, and I’m just a squirrel trying to get a nut.
Here are our squads:
Sekou’s Squad (in order of draft selection):
Blake Griffin Ricky Rubio Kyrie Irving Paul George Derrick Williams Evan Turner Tristan Thompson Tiago Splitter Markieff Morris
And mine:
Micah’s Men:
John Wall DeMarcus Cousins Greg Monroe Kemba Walker MarShon Brooks Gordon Hayward Kawhi Leonard Jeremy Lin Landry Fields Brandon Knight
Which team do you like the best?
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I’d like to apologize to Gordon Hayward in advance for linking to this. I know I am very fortunate that the most embarrassing moments of me singing and/or rapping have all occurred away from any recording devices that could then post the evidence on the internet for everyone to enjoy and/or ridicule.
Still, I’d be remiss in my duties of trying to bring you all that is funny in and around the world of basketball if I didn’t share this, courtesy of the blog Mid Majority (by way of Ball Don’t Lie): Hayward, in the lead up to last year’s NCAA Finals run for Butler, recorded a little rap record with his boys.
I have a feeling that had Hayward, aka “G-Time”, known Butler would make it as far as they did, he might have thought twice about lending his pipes.
What I want to know is, do Hayward’s Jazz teammates know about this? And if so, as a rookie, do they make him sing it at every practice/game/moment of the day? And if not, why not? What is the point of hazing rookies if not to make them perform embarrassing rap songs they wrote in college?
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Catch up on every single game-winning buzzer beater during the season and see how it rates on the Horry Scale.
