The NBA is in a weird place where a 7’1” star who finished 2nd in Defensive Player of the Year voting doesn’t guard the opponents best player at 7’5”. We all understand the logic behind it, but in theory it doesn’t make any sense. I felt the same when Anthony Davis, one of the all-time great defenders in league history would not take the matchup on Nikola Jokic when it mattered most. I do wonder in some ways whether we are overcomplicating things schematically.
Kevin Durant on the narrative that the world is catching up to Team USA:
“All I hear is, 'AAU is destroying the game, the Euros do it right’, while the Americans do it wrong. It's a lot of bulls**t with that. I can read between the lines on that; it's a shot at Black Americans. We're controlling the sport; they're tired of us controlling the sport. France is coming for you.' Really? We smacked them boys.”
(via @VinceGoodwill)