I try to stay out of the drama in the NBA. Kwame Brown wants to fight Matt Barnes… not that interested. KAT and Embiid have beef… don’t really care. *Insert player name X* and *Insert player name Y* both dated a Kardashian… would be tough for me to give less of a shit. But, the fan who threw the water bottle at Kyrie, and the subsequent backlash that Kyrie has received after a video surfaced of him rubbing his foot on the Celtics logo… this has really struck a nerve with me.
I know the Lakers won last night, but I just simply can’t wrap my head around Montrezl having two straight DNP’s. And it’s not just that he had two straight DNP’s; that would be normal, for example, if the Lakers were playing AD at the 5 and then subbed in Drummond for those bench C minutes (I would still attempt to find Montrezl some minutes in that case, but it would at least be understandable that he would sit). But, that’s not what the Lakers are doing. Instead, they’ve been starting BOTH AD & Drummond and have been giving the bench C minutes to Marc Gasol. Yes, I’m as confused about that as you are.
I hinted at this article after game 1 of the Celtics-Nets series, where the Brooklyn Nets played probably the worst first-half of basketball they could feasibly have played and still managed to handle the Celtics by 11. After last night’s game against the Celtics (as well as watching the other teams in the NBA), I’m finally ready to say it: The Brooklyn Nets will win the 2020-2021 NBA Championship.
Portland lost last night, but that’s not going to stop me from writing about what my eyes witnessed during that second quarter, and for that matter throughout the game. Damian Lillard put up 22 points on 6 threes in the 2nd quarter, and 42 and 10 assists for the entirety of game 2, and it was truly baffling to watch. I want to discuss, first of all, how special Damian Lillard is, specifically in terms of shooting the basketball, but also about how his legacy is overlooked due to the unfortunate timing of his career.
Hello everybody and welcome to AC Playoff Takeaways, a series where I'll be writing daily articles with a focus on coaching/player strategy, and will be making predictions about player stats, game outcomes, and coaching adjustments along the way! The easiest way to stay updated when we release an article is by following our Twitter. Thanks and hope you enjoy the journey :)
