Kyle McKeown (@RotoKyleNBA) is leaving Basketball Monster, and we thank him for 10+ years of excellent work. Here's more info on what he's up to next: https://t.co/VA6eaVGSIQ
Sources: NBA to review Charlotte Hornets star LaMelo Ball for taking out ankle of Miami Heat star Bam Adebayo in 2nd Q, resulting in hard spill and back injury that cost him rest of crucial do-or-die play-in contest. Ruling expected before Hornets’ final play-in bout on Friday.
One reason tanking is so much worse now than back in the day is you used to only have 12 roster spots. Now, there are 18. You can sit your top-12 guys! No coincidence this really got out of control as soon as 2-way contracts started.
#Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton “lost part my eyebrow” due to face shingles:
“I’ve been taking unbelievable amounts of medication to try to get rid of it. It hasn’t worked. It’s obviously caused me to gain weight … That’s been a topic of conversation through social media …”
Fun fact from the @NBCSPhilly broadcast:
Bona isn't Adem Bona's last name—it's an acronym of four people that helped him get to where he is. He changed his name from Ikechukwu Stanley Okoro to Adem Bona when he became a Turkish citizen in April 2018.
During the NBA GM meeting this week, one person suggested make the bottom three teams ineligible for the top picks entirely. The league, per multiple sources, found this to be way too extreme. But then another person on the call offered a softer version of the same concept: What if the bottom three teams just had slightly lower odds than the teams ranked four through 10? Not zero. Just a little less.
Sources on the call say Adam Silver responded enthusiastically to this idea. Which speaks to the state of lottery reform. The 18 team/8% odds for the top 10 concept is simply still just the concept. The specifics of it will change by the time the league votes on it in late May. And adjustments — like this one — are still in heavy consideration.
I think it’s brilliant. Under that structure, with the bottom three teams having slightly worse odds, there is no longer a single point in the standings where losing helps you. Tanking all the way to the bottom hurts you a bit. It’s not quite relegation that you’d see in the Premier League, but it’s the NBA’s own form that would punish being the worst in the league. And much like Premier League teams have entertaining games to prevent relegation, NBA teams would too.
Picture two bad teams in late March, both within a game of the bottom three, both desperate to win. That's a win for the fans. Picture the front office of the Wizards doing the calculus on whether to shut down Trae Young and Anthony Davis and realizing that, actually, no, the vets need to go play, because falling in the standings is a real cost now, not a reward. That's a win for the sport. Picture Sacramento intentionally fouling Seth Curry late in a game, and the conversation around it shifting from "nefarious tanking" to "bad coaching." That's a win for the league.
More on @YahooSports:
The average margin of victory in NBA games this season is 13.1 points, the largest spread in history. A record 89 games have been decided by 30 or more points.
Rick Carlisle will not be with the team the next two games and Loyd Pierce will be acting as Pacers head coach.
Rick will be with his daughter Abby for a school event. Said Herb Simon and Kevin Pritchard gave him permission to do so.
The NBA has a tanking problem that has spread into an epidemic.
Here’s a wide-ranging look at the worsening tactics, the impact and the call for a fix.
Reporting from our ESPN group.
https://t.co/Q3SJrMoxgU
Via @johnhollinger, this is how bad the tanking has been this season:
- The notorious nine are 17-144 against the 20 legit squads since the trade deadline, a 0.106 winning percentage.
- Notorious Nine have lost by an average margin of 13.9 points since the All-Star break.
- The average team in this group, when faced with any type of real basketball game, is playing as bad as the worst team in history (the 7-59 Charlotte Bobcats during the lockout-shortened 2011-12 season), posting a despicable .106 winning percentage that equates to an 8.7-win season over 82 games, with nearly the worst scoring margin in NBA history.
https://t.co/2FYgOg1iyE
Micah Potter had both colors of shoes ready to go before Pacers-Cavs. T.J. McConnell carried them to the bench while Potter warmed up in his regular shoes.
How Potter pulled off the in-game gender reveal: https://t.co/1IjZrQ928O
Wizards HC Brian Keefe said Anthony Davis and Trae Young are not expected to play again this season. They tried to ramp AD up, but ran out of time and Trae is behind AD in the process.