Buccaneers

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) &mdash; University of Alabama basketball star Brandon Miller brought a teammate the gun that was used in a fatal January shooting near campus, an investigator testified Tuesday.
Miller, a freshman standout, brought Darius Miles&rsquo; gun to him on the night of the shooting after Miles texted him and asked him to do so, Tuscaloosa Police investigator Brandon Culpepper testified, according to news outlets.
The allegation of Miller&rsquo;s involvement on the night of the Jan. 15 shooting came during a preliminary hearing for Miles and Michael Davis, who face capital murder charges for the death of 23-year-old Jamea Harris.
Former Tide player Miles is accused of providing his gun to Davis, who fired it and killed Harris, prosecutors say.
Alabama coach Nate Oats told reporters Tuesday the team has been aware that Miller allegedly brought Miles the gun, but the team&rsquo;s leading scorer is not in &ldquo;any type of trouble.&rdquo; He has started every game since the shooting.
Miller was just in &ldquo;the wrong spot at the wrong time,&rdquo; Oats said, later clarifying what he termed his &ldquo;unfortunate remarks&rdquo; after receiving criticism on social media.
&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve known the situation,&rdquo; Oats said in a news conference Tuesday. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve been fully cooperating with law enforcement the entire time. I mean, the whole situation is just sad. The team closed practice with a prayer for the situation today, knowing that we had this trial today. You think of Jamea and her family,&rdquo; Oats said.
Miller has not been criminally charged. A team representative did not immediately know if Miller had an attorney.
&ldquo;We knew about that,&rdquo; Oats said. &ldquo;You can&rsquo;t control everything everybody does outside of practice. Nobody knew that was going to happen. College kids are out. Brandon hasn&rsquo;t been in any type of trouble, nor is he in any type of trouble in this case. Like the wrong spot at the wrong time.&rdquo;
Oats acknowledged in his later statement that those remarks &ldquo;came across poorly&rdquo; and sought to clarify,
&ldquo;We were informed by law enforcement of other student-athletes being in the vicinity, and law enforcement has repeatedly told us that no other student-athletes were suspects,&rdquo; Oats said. &ldquo;They were witnesses only. Our understanding is that they have all been fully truthful and cooperative.
&ldquo;In no way did I intend to downplay the seriousness of this situation or the tragedy of that night. My prayers continue to go out to Jamea Harris&rsquo;s family.&rdquo;
The 6-foot-9 Miller is the biggest star of the second-ranked Tide team that had its first AP Poll No. 1 ranking in 20 years last week. He is projected to be an NBA Draft lottery pick.
The shooting occurred on the Strip, a business district of bars and restaurants that cater to students near the Tuscaloosa campus. Harris was sitting in the passenger seat of a car when she was struck by a bullet, police said.
Investigators wrote in a court document that Miles, who had been a junior reserve forward on the team, admitted to providing the gun used in the fatal shooting, but Davis fired the weapon.
Culpepper said Tuesday that Miles told Davis where his gun was in Miller&rsquo;s car.
Prosecutors and defense lawyers presented diverging accounts of the shooting. Chief Deputy District Attorney Paula Whitley told the judge that there was ample evidence to proceed with the case against Miles and Davis.
A defense lawyer suggested during Tuesday&rsquo;s hearing that Miles was reacting defensively when he told Davis where the gun was located.
&ldquo;The reason that the gun was provided to Michael Davis was for protection,&rdquo; Mary Turner argued.
Defense lawyers asked for Davis and Miles to be released on bond. District Judge Joanne Jannik did not immediately issue a decision on the bond request.
Both Davis and Miles wiped away tears as their mothers&rsquo; took to the stand to testify that they would make sure their sons would follow rules if granted bond.
After court, Harris&rsquo; mother told reporters that she is frustrated by the focus on basketball when the shooting claimed the life of her daughter.
&ldquo;She has a 5-year-old son that is still waiting for his mother to come home,&rdquo; DeCarla Heard told reporters. &ldquo;I want justice for my grandson.&rdquo;

Brandon Miller has not been criminally charged, but is accused of providing his gun to Darius Miles prosecutors say.

Alabama's Brandon Miller delivered gun in shooting, police say

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Best of Basketball News: Spotlighting our top content from 2022

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WNBA Power Rankings 5/22

The NBA offseason is packed with entertaining events. In a matter of three or so months, the league undergoes free agency and trade season &ndash; and that&rsquo;s almost immediately after the Finals and the draft. And while everyone gets to experience all that is great about the NBA in a relatively short amount of time, it makes for a busy and pressure-filled time for NBA front offices &ndash; that can result in miscalculations.
The 2021 offseason had some abnormalities to contend with. The uncertain financial impact of COVID-19 and the free agent signings in the months leading up to free agency resulted in an underwhelming offseason.
Still, free agent signings and trades happened, even if it was on a smaller scale than normal. And what must surely result from NBA transactions? Regrettable transactions.
After seeing more than 40% of the season we can realistically judge the offseason&rsquo;s transactions with a modicum of accuracy. Sure, multi-year deals can&rsquo;t be graded in their entirety after less than half of a season, but slumps rarely persist for almost half a season, too. That leaves us in a gray area of sorts. Still, the impact of adding a player to a team&rsquo;s present and near-future salary cap is very real. So, after observing approximately half of a season, let&rsquo;s identify the worst deals of the 2021 offseason.
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Evan Fournier Sign-and-Trade to the New York Knicks
Entering this season, Fournier was widely seen as an above-average scorer and playmaker. He represented a relatively big upgrade from Reggie Bullock for the Knicks, providing much needed offensive versatility. So, while the pairing felt a bit off (given the Knicks defensive-mindedness), the four-year, $73 million contract seemed like only a minor overpayment.
Fournier kicked off his time as a Knick with a bang, scoring 32 points in an opening night win against the Boston Celtics &ndash; but the honeymoon was short-lived. Through 38 games, Fournier is averaging just 13.5 points with an Effective Field Goal percentage (eFG%) of 52.5%. Comparatively, he averaged 17.1 points in 2020-21 and 18.5 in 2019-19 with eFG% of 56 and 56.5 respectively. He&rsquo;s also shooting a near-career worst 38.1% on threes attempts.
The fact that the Knicks are in such hot water indicates a degree of buyer&rsquo;s remorse. So, while their future is still quite bright thanks to their younger players, their salary cap optimism has probably been muted. The fact that Bullock was lured away by the Dallas Mavericks for a three-year, $30.5 million contract only adds to the team's frustrations. And while that&rsquo;s a hefty contract, too, considering it&rsquo;s netted just 6.0 points per game on 28.7% shooting from deep, it&rsquo;s quite a bit less than the Knicks are paying Fournier. But Bullock aside, the Knicks might wish they could get a redo on this one (although maybe not quite as much, after Thursday night's career-high scoring effort from Fournier).&nbsp;
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Russell Westbrook trade to the Los Angeles Lakers 
Did anyone outside the Lakers&rsquo; front office really think this was a good idea? Westbrook is a dynamic, albeit polarizing, player who&rsquo;s produced some of the most amazing individual seasons we&rsquo;ve ever witnessed. But he was never a fit for the Lakers &ndash; and, namely, not a good fit alongside LeBron James.
On a positive note, Westbrook's contract is up after next season. So, the long-term impact is limited, even if he is still owed more than $90 million between this season and 2022-23.
But there is significant downside, too. Let's start with Westbook's play &ndash; it's not great. Westbrook's scoring (19.5 points per game), assists (8.1) and rebounds (8.1) are all down. So is his PER (15.9), which is the second-worst of his career. His turnovers (4.6) are still up and he's still struggling on threes (30%).&nbsp;
There's also the fact that the Washington Wizards are in the playoff picture in the Eastern Conference, and their depth has a lot to do with that. Kyle Kuzma, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Montrezl Harrell are averaging at least 25.4 minutes per game. Harrell is actually posting a career-best 25.1 PER. The Lakers could use that depth. Just look at their top minute getters: James (36.9 per game), Westbrook (35.8) and Anthony Davis (35.4) lead the way. After the Big Three, it gets messy thanks in part to COVID. Talen Horton-Tucker gets 28.2 per game, Carmelo Anthony receives 27.1 and Stanley Johnson &ndash; who was just signed last week &ndash; is averaging 25.2. Isaiah Thomas, Avery Bradley, Wayne Ellington and Austin Reaves are all averaging more than 20 minutes per game, too. Now imagine if they had a more talented rotation of role players&hellip;
Next, there are the rumors that the Lakers were in advanced talks with the Sacramento Kings about swapping Kuzma for Kings sharpshooter Buddy Hield instead. Hield-to-Los Angeles makes so much more sense. He&rsquo;s the type of player who does well in a catch-and-shoot role. Hield is shooting better than 40% on threes across his 424 game career. Plus, the Lakers would have kept Harrell and Pope, meaning that the 15th best long-range shooting team could have added a top shooter (while subtracting a seriously subpar shooter in Westbrook ). Not to mention, they could have hung on to two quality role players.
And finally, there&rsquo;s the reality of James&rsquo; age and career trajectory. James is still playing insanely well, especially for a 37-year-old. But let&rsquo;s be honest, it won&rsquo;t be that way forever. In all likelihood, he will show more signs of aging over the next season or so. Unfortunately, Westbrook being signed through the end of 2022-23 eliminates cap flexibility, meaning that additional help will be hard to find until 2023-24, at which point James will turn 39. That's not a great outcome for a team hoping to win at least one more championship with their current core.
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Duncan Robinson re-signs with the Miami Heat
As the NBA season approaches its midway point, the Heat are pretty much exactly where we thought they would be. They&rsquo;re currently in fourth place in the Eastern Conference, boasting the seventh-best defensive and offensive ratings. And Kyle Lowry has fit perfectly with Miami&rsquo;s culture. But one thing isn&rsquo;t working, Robinson &ndash; and it&rsquo;s surpassingly due to a lack marksmanship.
Robinson signed his first big deal this past offseason to the tune of five-years and $90 million. And while that&rsquo;s a lot of money, Robison&rsquo;s shooting touch nearly warranted it. He shot 40.8 percent on 8.5 long-range attempts last season and 44.6% on 8.3 attempts per game in 2019-20.
But Robinson has struggled to replicate such performances. He&rsquo;s shooting just 34.6% on threes this season, and he hasn&rsquo;t made up for his slump elsewhere. He's down to 79.3% on free throws after shooting 82.7% last season and 93.1% in 2019-20. And he&rsquo;s connecting on just 52.2% of two-point attempts, after shooting 61.4% last season and 66.7% in 2019-20.
Ultimately, the bounce back performance of Tyler Herro is overshadowing Robinson&rsquo;s poor play, and the law of large numbers will probably win out with Robinson bouncing back at some point. In fact, there is a glimmer of hope in that he shot 37.6% on threes in December, which is less than ideal but better than he did in October and November.
A five-year, $90 million contract sounds like a lot, but to be fair Joe Harris signed a four-year, $75 million deal in late 2020, and Davis Bertans signed for five years and $80 million. Ironically, both players have been mentioned as being available this season, but Robinson signed at the going rate for a great knock-down shooter. If Robinson can get his shot back, this deal becomes infinitely more bearable.
The fact that players are assets is an unfortunate truth of professional sports. Love them or hate them, if players underperform for long enough it will inevitably draw the ire of their teams. What happens from there varies from team to team, but the business of basketball wins out more than not.

Drew Maresca takes a look trades and signings from the 2021 offseason that some teams might rather take back.

2021 Offseason redos: Decisions teams wish they could take back

The Philadelphia 76ers might be losing one battle after another, but is it possible that the losses could end up helping the team win the war?
Ben Simmons and his saga persists, Tobias Harris is missing in action and Joel Embiid has COVID-19.&nbsp;
Despite it all, Doc Rivers&rsquo; team has gone out and competed admirably. Even with Tuesday night&rsquo;s 118-109 loss to the defending champion Milwaukee Bucks, if there&rsquo;s one thing the Sixers have proven in the early going of the 2021-22 season, it&rsquo;s that they will fight.
That says something.
In the NBA, there&rsquo;s no such thing as a participation trophy, and coaches don&rsquo;t typically find any solace in moral victories. But whether it be Tyrese Maxey, Shake Milton, Georges Niang or Furkan Korkmaz, Rivers has seen firsthand that he has a formidable rotation. Along with Seth Curry, the lesser-known Sixers have carried their weight, and then some.
If the team is able to get back to 100% &mdash; and that&rsquo;s still an &ldquo;if&rdquo; at this point &mdash; one can&rsquo;t help but wonder whether it'll be able to provide ample resistance against the Bucks or the Brooklyn Nets come postseason time.
That&rsquo;s especially true if &mdash; as many expect &mdash; the team ends up trading Simmons.
At this point, the franchise appears to be in a staring match with the young point guard. Daryl Morey may not be able to extract a king&rsquo;s ransom from a wannabe-contender in exchange for Simmons; at a certain point, it might be worth it for Morey to simply take what he can get.
In Brooklyn, Kyrie Irving remains a figment of everyone&rsquo;s imagination. In Boston, Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum aren&rsquo;t exactly inspiring confidence with their play. And out West? Anyone who&rsquo;s capable of firing up the ESPN Trade Machine could concoct a trade or two with the Minnesota Timberwolves, Sacramento Kings, Oklahoma City Thunder or Portland Trail Blazers that could yield Philadelphia a decent return.
And that&rsquo;s exactly the point.
While Morey isn&rsquo;t wrong in wanting to extract all the value he can out of a potential Simmons trade, there will eventually come an impasse, and he owes it to his guys to simply allow them to carry the pieces that want to be there and move forward.&nbsp;
All things considered, the Sixers have been good. How much better could they be if they managed to land another dynamic piece in exchange for a player who isn&rsquo;t playing for them?
Odds are, Rivers would find a way to make it all work. &nbsp;
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So Tyrese Maxey just taking a whole leap huh. <a href="https://t.co/N2Ib9Bciam">pic.twitter.com/N2Ib9Bciam</a>
&mdash; Steve Jones Jr. (@stevejones20) <a href="https://twitter.com/stevejones20/status/1458255470339268609?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 10, 2021</a></blockquote>

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The Sixers entered play on Nov. 9 with a 115.3 offensive rating, which &mdash; believe it or not &mdash; ranked first in the NBA.
Interestingly enough, and perhaps because the team primarily plays through Embiid, Philadelphia also entered play on Nov. 9 with the slowest pace in the entire league; it yielded just 102.6 points per game, good for eighth-best in the Association.
In other words, Rivers has seemed to realize that his Sixers are a bit of a throwback in that they can excel as a half-court team playing inside-out, and if they force other teams into a slower pace of play, they&rsquo;ll come out on top more often than not. At least before Embiid went missing from the lineup, through the team&rsquo;s first 10 games, they&rsquo;ve used that recipe to win some games.
Success in the half-court requires a few things, most importantly a player who can command double-teams in the post. Embiid obviously checks that box. Off-ball movement and floor-spreading shooters are imperative, and it&rsquo;s there that Simmons presented an obstacle. It might not be fair to say that removing him from the lineup has been addition by subtraction, but it has at least shown us that the Sixers can function &mdash; and win &mdash; with Embiid as the sole focal point.
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Sixers first team in NBA to 7 wins Seth Curry with 23 Tyrese Maxey with 20 Joel Embiid with 19 Shake Milton with 16 Georges Niang with 14 Sixers have won 5 straight 💥💥 <a href="https://t.co/EKOfXEuTQF">pic.twitter.com/EKOfXEuTQF</a>
&mdash; John Clark (@JClarkNBCS) <a href="https://twitter.com/JClarkNBCS/status/1456432547727020035?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 5, 2021</a></blockquote>

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If Morey wants to help his team get to the next level, his focus should be on getting auxiliary pieces that can help Embiid challenge the Bucks and Nets for supremacy atop the Eastern Conference &mdash; not on winning the game of chicken the organization currently finds itself engaged in with Simmons and his representatives. Landing Jaylen Brown or Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in exchange for Simmons would be great, but it might also be pie in the sky.
At a certain point, you&rsquo;ve simply got to cut bait.
What&rsquo;s true of every generation of basketball fans is this: we have all been reminded that championship windows can close rather abruptly.
When the Boston Celtics landed Kyrie Irving in 2017, the team had an embarrassment of riches that was surely thought to have a Larry O&rsquo;Brien trophy in its future. The same was said of Kevin Durant&rsquo;s Oklahoma City Thunder. When Steve Nash arrived in Los Angeles to join forces with Kobe Bryant, many believed the Lakers would flirt with 70 wins.&nbsp;
Obviously, none of that ended up being true.
Way back when, once upon a time, Shaquille O&rsquo;Neal was thought to be a second-rate center. Sure, he could break a backboard, but could Shaq lead a team to a championship? It was a debate for a while, mainly because he took a fair amount of lumps from the likes of David Robinson, Patrick Ewing and Hakeem Olajuwon, the latter of whom handed Shaq a humiliating sweep in the 1995 NBA Finals.
To this point, Embiid&rsquo;s journey in the NBA has been somewhat reminiscent... Except he hasn&rsquo;t even sniffed a Finals appearance.&nbsp;
By this point in his career, Shaq already won a conference finals and left Orlando to pursue the destiny he dreamed of. Embiid, obviously, is still on his first chapter, and truth be told, he&rsquo;s doing a pretty good job of writing a compelling story in Philadelphia.
With a capable supporting cast around him, a championship-caliber head coach and the ability to serve as the franchise&rsquo;s cornerstone, Embiid has an opportunity to accomplish something great for the Sixers.
Tomorrow isn&rsquo;t promised, though. And if there&rsquo;s a lesson to be learned both from the Sixers&rsquo; strong start to the season &mdash; and from dashed championship aspirations of the past &mdash; it&rsquo;s that promise shouldn&rsquo;t be taken for granted.
It&rsquo;s about time that Daryl Morey comes to terms with that fact.

In the early-goings of the season, the Sixers have shown us what their recipe for success without Ben Simmons is.

Early results suggest 76ers may be better off without Ben Simmons

He crossed the half-court line with his eyes on the basket. Never one to shy away from a shot, Julius Randle surprised all in attendance when he turned to his right and started toward the middle of the floor.
Kemba Walker seized his moment.
The newest New York Knick cut to his left before receiving an underhanded scoop pass from Randle, who set a screen on Seth Curry. Already burned by Walker on a previous possession, Tobias Harris made what seemed to be a wise business decision &mdash; he sagged off of Walker instead of blitzing him.
Walker made him pay.
The veteran guard immediately recognized that he had enough space to launch a three-pointer, so he took what the defense gave him, and his shot found the bottom of the net. But this trey wasn&rsquo;t just any other shot, it was Walker&rsquo;s fourth consecutive make in a decisive stretch that saw the Knicks open up a 20-point halftime lead against Joel Embiid and his Philadelphia 76ers.&nbsp;
And it was the last shot he&rsquo;d hit before many in attendance began chanting his name.
As Walker was serenaded by the fans of his new old team, he gave the Knicks a cushion they were ultimately able to turn into a win.
If there was any lingering doubt, at this point, there wasn&rsquo;t any longer. With Madison Square Garden chanting his name, Kemba was indeed home.
&ldquo;It was the kind of moment I dreamed about when I was a kid,&rdquo; he&rsquo;d reveal after the Knicks broke a 15-game losing streak against the Sixers on Tuesday night.
And it was the kind of moment the Garden faithful envisioned when the news of Walker&rsquo;s return to New York was made public last summer.
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🔥 <a href="https://twitter.com/KembaWalker?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@KembaWalker</a> (19 PTS, 5 AST, 5 3PM, 2 STL) powers the <a href="https://twitter.com/nyknicks?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@nyknicks</a> to a 3-1 record! <a href="https://t.co/1CPZp7NJNZ">pic.twitter.com/1CPZp7NJNZ</a>
&mdash; NBA (@NBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1453353323822780419?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 27, 2021</a></blockquote>

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New Yorkers aren&rsquo;t necessarily known to be patient people &mdash; not with pizza deliveries, not with the subway and not with professional sports. Walker, a native New Yorker, knows that quite well. That&rsquo;s why, according to a few of his teammates, he was particularly hard on himself with three fairly subpar showings in his first three games as a Knick.
Tentative and slow to react, the veteran point guard didn&rsquo;t resemble the same player who became known in the NBA for his timely cuts, change of direction and ability to knife his way into the teeth of an opposing defense.
But against Philadelphia, Walker looked spry and energized. At Madison Square Garden, he looked to be at home.
Truth be told, he looked... like Kemba Walker.
&ldquo;That&rsquo;s how this league works,&rdquo; he said.&nbsp;
&ldquo;There&rsquo;s going to be nights where things aren&rsquo;t going your way. The best thing about this league is a day later, you have a game. It&rsquo;s all about how you come back.&rdquo;
Fine example.
As Tom Thibodeau continues on his crusade to make New York a contender in the Eastern Conference, last summer, the common belief between the coach and his front office was that his team suffered from the absence of an attack guard. In their first-round loss to the Atlanta Hawks last postseason, the Knicks' overreliance on both Randle and Derrick Rose simply caught up to them.
While one of the best reserve guards in the league, asking Rose to captain the team&rsquo;s offense for 35 minutes per night was a task that caught up to the veteran over the course of a physical playoff series, while Randle was proven to still have quite a bit of growing to do as a player. After some of the bigger names on the free-agency market landed elsewhere, the Knicks rebounded nicely by securing the services of Walker, and now, his potential redemption is inspiring.
By the time Walker&rsquo;s fourth game as a Knick had ended, it was quite obvious that it was really the first game that he looked like the guard the organization hoped it was getting. He scored a team-high 19 points to go along with 5 rebounds and 3 assists, and shot 7-for-15 from the field, including 5-for-11 from three-point territory.&nbsp;
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Obviously, in the grand scheme of things, one early-season win doesn&rsquo;t mean that much for the Knicks. But for Walker&rsquo;s confidence &mdash; and for the belief that he can be the missing piece that brings Thibodeau&rsquo;s puzzle together &mdash; it was a welcome sight.
By and large, the Knicks will only go as far as Randle will be able to carry them as the team&rsquo;s go-to scorer; but this season, he&rsquo;ll have plenty of help. The All-Star forward has begun to see the floor incredibly well and find teammates both on the interior and on the perimeter for easy looks. That includes Walker, who was assisted by Randle on three of his looks against Philadelphia.&nbsp;
The hope for Thibodeau was that Walker would be able to productively and seamlessly fit in with Randle and RJ Barrett, and if there&rsquo;s at least one conclusion to draw from Walker&rsquo;s early tenure with the Knicks, it&rsquo;s that he won&rsquo;t force his own will or personal agenda on the team. They&rsquo;ll be better for it.
Walker &mdash; much like he was in Boston &mdash; is willing to let others lead, and pick and choose his spots. At the end of the day, that&rsquo;s exactly what makes the New York Knicks dangerous. Already a productive team, the hope was that Walker would address some of the team&rsquo;s major weaknesses, and at least on one night, he proved to be able to do exactly that.
For the most part, the road to the NBA Finals is expected to go through Brooklyn and Milwaukee, and both Chicago and Miami are likely to have something to say about that.
But one old adage that holds true and seems appropriate in this moment is that the game isn&rsquo;t played on paper. Judging by what the Knicks have produced on the court over their first few games of the 2021-22 season, at a minimum, they are a team worth keeping an eye on.
With a noticeable pep in his step and a swag that was reminiscent of him at the peak of his powers, Walker led the Knicks to a rare victory over Joel Embiid and his Sixers.
If he continues to channel the Kemba Walker of old, it&rsquo;s completely fair to wonder where else he might be able to carry them to.

After getting off to a slow start this season, Kemba Walker came to resemble his old self, much to the delight of Tom Thibodeau.

Kemba Walker finally gave the Knicks a glimpse of what could be

Russell Westbrook is a Los Angeles Laker.
We got draft night magic on Thursday, with the Washington Wizards sending Westbrook and two second-rounders (2024, 2028) to the Lakers for Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Kyle Kuzma, Montrezl Harrell and the 22nd pick of this year's draft (Isaiah Jackson). Jackson was later traded to the Indiana Pacers for Aaron Holiday and the 31st pick of the draft (Isaiah Todd).
But enough pick minutiae: Westbrook is slated to share the floor with LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
The Lakers entered the offseason looking to revise the roster, and kicked things off with one heck of a splash. Adding that level of star power without giving up a premier asset -- Kuzma is fine, but far from a blue-chipper -- is always a win on the surface.
But basketball teams aren't built on the surface, nor can they really be evaluated on paper.
Westbrook is, and has been for quite a while, a polarizing player in the league. If there's a list of surefire Hall-of-Famers that have been more heavily scrutinized than him -- including by your's truly -- then there's no way it's longer than, like, three people.
The early takes on the Westbrook-to-LA deal have been on opposite ends of the spectrum. It's either #GameOver for the rest of the league, with Westbrook expected to thrash teams as a theoretical third option; or, this is shaping up to be a utter disaster due to spacing and decision-making concerns.
Like most things in life, the truth is somewhere in the middle. There's reason to be excited for Westbrook's addition to this roster; concerns about the fit are also valid. Let's take a look at the specifics of what he brings to -- and takes off -- the table for the Lakers.
WHAT HE BRINGS
The Lakers' formula in the LeBron-Brow era has been simple: we will outsize you, rebound every miss, bludgeon you at the rim, and crowd the paint on the other end. On the surface, Westbrook fits the mantra.
He's a powerful (and explosive) 6-foot-3 at the 1, allowing him to generate advantages practically on a whim. The rim prowess remains, even at this stage of his career. He's averaged north of seven rim attempts per game in six-of-the-past-seven seasons; that number dropped to 5.0 last season, though that comes with the context of him working through a quad injury for a large chunk of the season.
At his best, Westbrook can still get downhill. He can come off a ball screen and kick things into high gear; he can clear a side after forcing a switch and get to the cup. He adds occasional value as a post-up threat against smaller defenders. In transition, Westbrook can push after outlet passes, or grab-and-go himself.&nbsp;
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For a Lakers team that struggled in the half-court last season -- they ranked 23rd in efficiency, per Cleaning The Glass -- one way to mitigate those concerns is to play a little faster. Westbrook's ability to generate early offense by his lonesome could be an asset.
He isn't just a threat to score, either. He's one of the league's most prolific playmakers, a skill accentuated by the attention he draws as a driver. There isn't a pass in the book that Westbrook can't make, though he's much more comfortable as an interior passer than a kickout artist. Get him downhill, and he'll feed bigs with an assortment of lobs, wrap-arounds, and traditional dump-offs.
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Westbrook should slot in nicely as an early offense playmaker. Early drag screens with Davis (or LeBron, for that matter) should be fruitful. There are plenty of transition hit-aheads in Westbrook's film, which should vibe with Davis' ability to run after misses and seal his defender early. If Westbrook could get Rui Hachimura and Daniel Gafford early buckets, LeBron and Davis will absolutely get some freebies.
Westbrook also adds juice as a live-dribble passer. The amount of velocity he places on his dimes unlock windows that aren't available to everyone. Placement can be an issue at times -- he'll go high when he isn't completely under control -- but he should help the Lakers generate more corner threes than they <a href="https://www.nba.com/stats/teams/shooting/?Season=2020-21&amp;SeasonType=Regular%20Season&amp;DistanceRange=By%20Zone&amp;sort=Corner%203%20FGA&amp;dir=1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">did last season</a> (8.1, 17th). In fact, Westbrook ranked fourth in <a href="https://www.pbpstats.com/totals/nba/player?Season=2020-21&amp;SeasonType=Regular%2BSeason" target="_blank" rel="noopener">corner-three assists</a> (77) this season despite the injury woes and missed games.
But everything starts with the rim pressure with Westbrook. That's the primary appeal, and where the fit alongside LeBron makes sense. While LeBron is a top-three player in the league at worst, we've approached the point where he isn't a blow-by-literally-anyone guy anymore. At the very least, it's not fair to expect that from him on a game-by-game, possession-by-possession basis.
It's why the initial addition of Dennis Schroder was key for the Lakers; he was a guy who could get to the rack and take some of the on-ball burden off of LeBron. Replacing Schroder with Westbrook is a sizeable upgrade, even if there are shooting concerns present (more on that later).
Beyond that, the <a href="https://www.pbpstats.com/wowy-combos/nba?TeamId=1610612747&amp;Season=2020-21&amp;SeasonType=Regular%2BSeason&amp;PlayerIds=2544&amp;OnlyCommonGames=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">non-LeBron minutes</a> were a bit of a mess last season. Injuries played a part in that, but even the good-and-healthy version of Schroder isn't quite offense-onto-his-own good. Westbrook is a lot closer to that status. Combine his singular talent with the shooters the Lakers have added thus far in free agency, and it's easy to see a pathway to Westbrook-led second units having success.
REASONS FOR CONCERN
Even with some workarounds, it's still hard to look past the shooting.&nbsp;
When factoring in volume, Westbrook is one of the worst three-point shooters the NBA has seen at the guard position. In a league that has become so dependent on shot creation -- and specifically, pull-up shooting -- it's fair to question what may happen to Westbrook's effectiveness once playoff time comes around.
The mid-range shooting isn't great, either. He <a href="https://www.nba.com/stats/players/shooting/?Season=2020-21&amp;SeasonType=Regular%20Season&amp;DistanceRange=By%20Zone&amp;sort=Mid-Range%20FGA&amp;dir=1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">led the NBA</a> in attempts (6.1) last season, and only hit those at a 38.1% clip. Westbrook has knocked down 40.7%, 31.8%, 39.8% and 36.3% of his mid-range shots in the four seasons prior to this one, while ranking no lower than sixth in volume.&nbsp;
That, uh, isn't great.
It's one thing to be a poor shooter, with teams ducking under picks and hitting you with soft closeouts on the perimeter. It's another thing entirely for teams to practically ignore you from outside the arc. There are only so many empty-corner looks, dunker-spot relocations, and slot cuts you can muster to make that work.&nbsp;
The Lakers have done their part to add shooting -- Wayne Ellington, Malik Monk, Carmelo Anthony just to name a few -- but none of those guys should be considered good defenders. Striking the shooting/defense balance around Westbrook will be key to the Lakers' postseason success.
(I should add: Monk quietly made strides defensively last season in Charlotte, but you get my overall point.)&nbsp;
Speaking of defense, Westbrook is a mixed bag -- and has been for quite some time. When locked in, he can be a legitimate positive. He possesses the lateral quickness to mirror guards, and the strength to absorb blows from all but the elite power wings in the sport. He can&nbsp;get in a stance, cut off drives, then finish possessions strong with a healthy contest.
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He just hasn't been able to consistently put those possessions together. Some of it is injury. Some of it is role -- it's hard to be a lockdown guy with a ton of offensive responsibility. But a lot of it is Westbrook.
Screen navigation is a problem for him. The angles he takes when defending ball screens can be described as adventurous; even when taking solid angles, he often fails to stay connected to the ball-handler.&nbsp;
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Off the ball, Westbrook can be a demon in the passing lanes. He attacks the ball with the same fervor that he attacks the rim. Errant passes can and will be picked off. And when engaged, he can occasionally provide value as a dig-and-recover guy (his hands are quick and&nbsp;strong, leading to strips) or a rim protector.
But Westbrook often gets caught ball-watching. Being an event creator on defense is nice, but not if it's offset by losing cutters and relocating shooters.
The Lakers are making a couple of bets with Westbrook here. They're hoping that with less of an offensive burden, Westbrook will be able to put more positive plays together at the point of attack. With Schroder and Alex Caruso gone, he will have to fill that void.
On the flip side, the Lakers are trusting their backline. In the event that Westbrook proves not to be up to task, having LeBron and Davis -- two of the best off-ball defenders in the sport -- should be quite the insurance policy.
STRAY THOUGHTS
<ul>
<li>There will be some staggering at play with this sort of Big Three. All need their touches in different areas, so it'll be on Frank Vogel to shape the rotation in a way that maximizes everyone. One thing I would expect, however, is a lot of Westbrook-Davis minutes. Davis will need an on-ball creator to help him, and Westbrook will need that kind of security blanket on the other end.</li>
<li>The Lakers slipped from sixth to ninth in defensive-rebounding rate last season; let's just say Westbrook should help with that.</li>
<li>I'm interested to see what inverted ball screens with LeBron and Westbrook will look like. Do you trap those and give Westbrook some of the 4-on-3s he saw in the second half of his Houston stint? Space the floor right, and you may have a money combo to work with late in games. Add in Davis chilling in the dunker spot and... whew.</li>
<li>While I'm on the Westbrook-as-screener kick, the Lakers' Elbow action with LeBron at the elbow, and Westbrook screening for Davis cutting from the corner should be something they experiment with. If you aren't familiar, it's the play they ran for Davis to get him a go-ahead bucket against the Sixers before Tobias Harris hit the actual game-winner.</li>
</ul>
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<ul>
<li>Laker fans, LeBron fans, and Westbrook fans under the same roof should make for an entertaining Twitter experience. And by entertaining, I mean absolutely awful.</li>
</ul>

Nekias Duncan digs into Russell Westbrook's fit with the Los Angeles Lakers.

Examining Russell Westbrook's fit with the Los Angeles Lakers

Etan Thomas spoke with Al Harrington about Sha'Carri Richardson's suspension, marijuana in pro sports, his cannabis company and more.

Q&A: Al Harrington on Sha’Carri Richardson, cannabis company, more

Matt Babcock concludes his series by detailing the post-2001 years in Milwaukee and his father's role in finding talent deep in drafts.

Growing up a Buck: From Ray Allen to Giannis, my dad remains in Milwaukee

Before dismissing the Washington Wizards as a fluke team with no chance of advancing, ask yourself this: Who are the two best players in the Washington-Philadelphia first-round series?
The easy answer is Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons. The unpopular answer is Russell Westbrook and Bradley Beal, because Westbrook is polarizing and Beal has been playing on one good leg.
The truth probably lies somewhere in between, so the important question to ask is this: Who has had the better spring?
Westbrook has had seven triple-doubles this month, just missing an eighth Thursday night as Washington took apart the Indiana Pacers, 142-115, in their play-in game for the eighth seed in the conference. He will now go up against Simmons, whose last triple-double was March 17 in an overtime loss to the Milwaukee Bucks, one of four triple-doubles Simmons put together this season.
Westbrook has had four of &lsquo;em since May 8, folks, and broke Oscar Robertson&rsquo;s career record while accumulating 38 of them this season. So dismiss him and his Wizards at your own peril.
&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve got some tough guys in this locker room that I believe in,&rdquo; said Westbrook, who tossed his sneakers into the crown with just over four minutes left when this one had long since been decided. &ldquo;Hopefully we can shock the world.&rdquo;
What was astonishing about Thursday night was the severity of the beating Washington put on the Pacers, who failed to make the postseason for the first time since 2014-15. They have not won a single playoff game since the first round in 2017-18, and although the absence of Caris LaVert (health and safety protocols) Myles Turner, T.J. Warren and Jeremy Lamb (injuries) are a huge part of the explanation for their lost season, Indiana now appears to be the clubhouse leader in the race to determine which franchise will go nuclear in the offseason.
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But back to the Wizards, who will be counted out by those prone to hyperbole.
Before jumping on that bandwagon, consider the fact that Westbrook has 106 career playoff games on his tires, along with the exact type of competitive spirit that Philly coach Doc Rivers has been working all year to harness from Embiid, a finalist for MVP, and Simmons, a finalist for Defensive Player of the Year.&nbsp;
In their three matchups this season, Westbrook shot 10-for-19 on March 12, 8-for-18 on Jan. 6 and 9-for-22 on opening night, as the Wizards lost three times.
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But March 12 was eons ago, and it should be noted that what we have seen from Washington since April 7 is 18 wins in 24 games. You know who can match that winning percentage over that same span? Only one team, and if you knew it was the New York Knicks, congrats on staying engaged during this strangest of NBA seasons.
But aside from win-loss percentage, even the Knicks cannot stand up to the Wizards&rsquo; points per game (123.9), field goal percentage (49.8%) and points in the paint production (60.5). All are the best in the entire NBA since April 7.
A big part of that has been Westbrook, who has carried the team over the final part of the regular season as Beal has struggled with a hamstring injury. Beal had 25 points in just 28 minutes Thursday night, and big contributions came on the defensive end from Alex Len and Daniel Gafford in making Domantas Sabonis work extra hard for each of his 19 points.
Gafford had five blocks in the first half and finished with 18 points and 15 rebounds in what will be remembered as his <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-daniel-gafford-washington-wizards-russell-westbrook-bradley-beal-tony-falce-arkansas-razorbacks" target="_blank" rel="noopener">coming-out game</a>. Len, now in his eighth season after switching teams five times since being the No. 5 overall pick in the 2013 NBA draft, is headed to the postseason for the first time. Lots of folks have given up on him already, but he is one of the guys still standing this season.
&ldquo;They&rsquo;re not always easy, but none of our coaches can say anything bad about any of our guys because they compete real hard every night,&rdquo; said Brooks, who recalled &ldquo;knowing what we were getting&rdquo; when Wizards general manager Tommy Sheppard pulled the trigger on the deal that sent John Wall to Houston for Westbrook.
Brooks recalled how Westbrook addressed the team midseason and angrily told his teammates he was determined not to miss the playoffs, saying that was likely the moment when everyone on the Wizards sort of jumped aboard the resiliency bandwagon and put their 17-32 record behind them.
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Brooks was especially appreciative of the noise produced by the crowd of roughly 5,000 fans, which was the largest and loudest crowd in the nation&rsquo;s capital since&hellip; oh, never mind. Jan. 6 is not an important day in Washington basketball history. April 7 is, because that is the day that the Wizards&rsquo; season turned around.
Beal has nine years in the bank along with 40 career playoff games as the guy who by far is the longest-tenured member of the organization when it comes to the roster. Beal has been around long enough to have been teammates with the likes of Earl Barron, Nene Hilario, Shaun Livingston, Emeka Okafor, Andre Miller, Drew Gooden and Al Harrington. The 27-year-old finished second to Steph Curry in scoring at 31.3 points per game. Curry averaged 31.98 in the closest scoring race since Carmelo Anthony (28.66) topped Kevin Durant (28.15) in 2012-13.
The Wizards were the third-highest-scoring team in the NBA and took more free throws per game (20.1) than anyone. They were among the teams hit hardest by COVID-19 early in the season (<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-washington-wizards-troy-brown-jr-bradley-beal-russell-westbrook-outbreak-covid-19-coronavirus-virus-contract-health-safety-protocol" target="_blank" rel="noopener">as covered here in this behind-the-scenes piece by former Wizard Troy Brown Jr.</a>), and they had a front-row seat for all of the histrionics that have taken place in the District of Columbia since 2020 turned into 2021.
They are still standing, led by Westbrook, Beal and Brooks, an NBA lifer who kept a jersey from every single NBA team he ever played for. He is tight with Westbrook, whose competiveness should not be underestimated, Brooks warned.
Let&rsquo;s see what happens vs. Philly, but one guarantee: With the way the Wizards have been playing the past six weeks, they are not going to be an easy out.
&ldquo;In Boston, I was terrible; I let my teammates down,&rdquo; Westbrook said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve got some tough guys in this locker room that I believe in. Hopefully we can shock the world.&rdquo;

The Washington Wizards are a different team from the last time they took on the Philadelphia 76ers, writes Chris Sheridan.

Do the Wizards have a shot against the Sixers?

It just slipped away.
In the end, the Los Angeles Clippers couldn&rsquo;t keep up their end of the bargain.
Alone, Paul George stood in the corner. Doubled-over, he clenched his shorts as he probably wondered how his team had gotten to this point. Trailing by 15 points in a Game 7, could the Clippers muster the necessary resilience to pull out a win?
This was soon answered by George himself.
Kawhi Leonard missed a stepback three-pointer over Nikola Jokic, and when Patrick Beverley corralled the long rebound, the Clippers &mdash; just as Doc Rivers had taught them &mdash; whipped the ball around until it landed in George&rsquo;s open arms.
Gary Harris lunged to disrupt, but George got off a clean look.
What happened next was a surprise to everyone.
The shot clanged off the side of the backboard &mdash; never even getting close enough to the rim to say hello. For all intents and purposes, the 2019-20 Clippers died right then and there.
Do you believe in reincarnation?
It appears that Paul George does.
Not shying away from the role he played in last season&rsquo;s disappointment, George started the 2020-21 campaign attempting to keep last season a distant memory. As he&rsquo;s learned firsthand, however, it&rsquo;s not about how you start, it&rsquo;s about how you finish, and to this point, he&rsquo;s done a pretty good job of that.
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The Clippers enter play on April 21 having flown under the radar. The Utah Jazz and Phoenix Suns have grabbed much of the attention, while the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers are expected to reassert their dominance once LeBron James and Anthony Davis return to the lineup.
Meanwhile, George has quietly proven capable of carrying the Clippers on his shoulders. Since last season, he's improved in a number of areas, but his offense deserves specific kudos. He's scoring 23.8 points per game this season compared to 21.5 last season and is currently boasting the highest true shooting percentage of his career &mdash; 61.5%. Similarly, he's shooting career-highs both from the field (48.3%) and three-point territory (43.2%). That's something we've rarely been able to say about a soon-to-be 31-year-old player in his 11th season.
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What's been most inspiring about George&rsquo;s play is his ability to carry these Clippers in the absence of Leonard, who has missed 14 contests through games played as of April 21.
Specifically, in games played without Leonard in the past month, George has admirably led the club. After going just 1-2 in the first three contests that Leonard sat out in which George played, the Clippers are 4-1 in their last five such contests. The only loss came at the hands of the Philadelphia 76ers, who happen to be the Eastern Conference&rsquo;s top team.
In the Clippers&rsquo; last seven games &mdash; two of which we played with Leonard &mdash; George is averaging 32.9 points, 6.7 rebounds, 5.6 assists and 1.6 steals. He&rsquo;s shooting 54.2% from the field and 47.5% from three-point territory.
The truth about George, though, is this: for someone who&rsquo;s been as good as he has for so long, his regular-season accomplishments won&rsquo;t get him anything he doesn&rsquo;t already have. Similar to Russell Westbrook and Chris Paul, we've gotten used to their displays of greatness, at least in the regular season. Success in the postseason, or a lack thereof, is what separates the good players from the greats.
An All-NBA talent and a player who is respected by his peers as one of the most gifted in the game, those who see the George glass as half-empty will refrain from giving him his just due until he is able to put a team on his back and carry them at least as far as he was able to carry the Indiana Pacers many moons ago. With the memory of last season&rsquo;s playoff failure still fresh, that's especially true of George's Los Angeles incarnation.
Performances like the one he turned in on Wednesday night&rsquo;s 113-112 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers &mdash; a contest in which he converted the game-winning free throws &mdash; will work to that end. But everyone, including George himself, knows that the games &mdash; at least from a legacy standpoint &mdash; won&rsquo;t truly matter until the postseason begins.
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Once upon a time, George was able to stand toe-to-toe with LeBron James. It seems so long ago that his upstart Pacers valiantly battled the Miami Heat for supremacy in the Eastern Conference.
Now, as fate would have it, George sees James still standing in his way. And the coach who pushed him toward the throne, Frank Vogel, is flanking the King.
Unlike last season, there doesn't appear to be much noise around the Clippers. Somehow, despite being an arguably more talented bunch, they've gotten less attention than last year.
Nonetheless, for George, an opportunity at redemption awaits.
&ldquo;PG&rsquo;s cool as a fan,&rdquo; <a href="https://twitter.com/TomerAzarly/status/1384750353145503744?s=20">DeMarcus Cousins said</a> of his teammate on Wednesday night.
&ldquo;[He&rsquo;s] one of the most talented players I&rsquo;ve ever seen lace them up. We gotta stop the PG slander. It just won&rsquo;t be accepted around me&hellip; [He&rsquo;s] one of the most gifted players in this league...&rdquo;
Of that, we&rsquo;ve all been reminded.

Paul George has quietly put together one of the best seasons of his career, and he's leading the Clippers back toward the top out West.

As playoffs approach, Paul George seems eager to rewrite his story

<div>Jesse Edwards, Syracuse University's sophomore center, has been relegated to the end of Coach Jim Boeheim&rsquo;s bench for the majority of the season. Many, including myself, have been screaming from the mountaintops: "FREE JESSE!!!!"</div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div>Our main center is injured and we're playing Marek Dolezaj out of position. He's a great player and incredibly important to this team, but is giving up size, strength and height to opposing centers on a nightly basis. For that reason, many Syracuse fans have been puzzled as to why a 6-foot-11 sophomore center like Edwards hasn&rsquo;t been utilized more. Thus, the chants and hashtags of #FreeJesse.&nbsp;</div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div>Despite the pleas from the fan base, every time Coach Boeheim has been asked by reporters why Jesse Edwards isn&rsquo;t getting a chance, he responds with a litany of excuses: &ldquo;He&rsquo;s not strong enough," "He&rsquo;s too thin," "He doesn&rsquo;t rebound well enough," "I play the guys who play the best at practice," and his most consistent response, &ldquo;He&rsquo;s not ready.&rdquo; &nbsp;</div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div>On many occasions over the past two years, I&rsquo;ve personally messaged Jesse to offer some encouragement, telling him almost exactly what Syracuse legends Rosevelt Bouie, Coach Louis Orr, and the late Conrad McRae told me my freshman year. I wasn&rsquo;t playing and Coach Boeheim was similarly telling everyone I wasn&rsquo;t ready. I told Jesse that his time was going to come to make Coach Boeheim eat his words, to prove to everyone in the country that you have been ready all season and that he should continue to be mature, conduct himself professionally, have a good attitude, and be the ultimate team player.</div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div>I also told Jesse to not sulk on the bench and to keep working hard in practice and be ready when his time comes. The worst thing that could happen is for Coach Boeheim to throw him in a game and he doesn't play well -- that would allow him to say to the media "See? That&rsquo;s why I can&rsquo;t play him. He&rsquo;s not ready."</div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div>Those were the advices I got from the OGs my freshman year, and now, I've been able to give it right back to Jesse Edwards. It&rsquo;s an honor to be able to do that.&nbsp;</div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div>Then, on Saturday, it happened.&nbsp;Jesse finally got his chance against Georgia Tech.</div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div>When Marek Dolajaj got into early foul trouble, Jesse's number was finally called, and he was ready.</div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div>He was active, challenged shots, finished inside with dunks, got steals, altered shots and was a difference maker from the time he entered the game. I actually jumped out my seat and dunked right along with Jesse when Kadary Richmond set him up for the finish after a nice drive to the basket. It was kind of like in Rocky V when Rocky was watching Tommy Gun on TV and mirroring the moves of his protoge while punching the punching bag in his living room (I know I&rsquo;m dating myself with that reference).</div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div>
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</div>
<div>But man, I was so happy for Jesse. Did he play perfect? No. Did he make some mistakes? Of course. But did he show the entire basketball world that he was ready and able to contribute? Definitely.&nbsp;</div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div>Despite the strong performance, after the game, Coach Boeheim was <a href="https://www.syracuse.com/orangebasketball/2021/02/watch-jim-boeheims-news-conference-after-syracuse-loss-to-georgia-tech.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a little stingy</a> with the praise for Jesse.</div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div>&ldquo;I thought Jesse gave us some good minutes in there," he said. "He rebounded, but he still bobbles a lot of balls, but he got to play... He did a good job in the middle, but obviously there&rsquo;s balls he has to get to, so those are still some issues out there.&rdquo;</div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div>It wasn't exactly a ringing endorsement from the coach, but, hey, it was kind of a compliment, I guess. You just had to listen really closely, but it was in there... Kind of.&nbsp;</div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div>Nonetheless, Jesse Edwards had shown everyone that he was at least ready to contribute. The real test, though, would be Monday&rsquo;s game against North Carolina, the team with one of the best, if not the best front courts in the ACC with 6-foot-10, 240-pound Armondo Bacot,&nbsp;6-foot-10, 240-pound Garrison Brooks and 6-foot-11, 265-pound Day&rsquo;Ron Sharpe.</div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div>Lo and behold, Coach Boeheim went to Jesse early, and this was show-and-prove time for the sophomore. This was the moment of truth. It was here where Coach Boeheim would be able to say "I told you so!" if Jesse performed poorly or where Jesse would show the world that the game against Georgia Tech was no fluke.</div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div>He didn&rsquo;t disappoint, more than holding his own about North Carolina's talented bigs. Upon entering the game, he again had an immediate impact -- he fought for rebounds, challenged and altered shots and proved to be exactly what the famous 2-3 zone had been missing: an inside presence.&nbsp;</div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div>Although he fouled out in just 24 minutes, Jesse's presence was felt the entire game. He finished with six points and eight rebounds, helping Syracuse to a 72-70 victory. The performance left fans and media wondering what would&rsquo;ve happened if he'd been playing the entire season. Would Syracuse still be on the bubble? Most experts predicted the team's tournament hopes were flushed down the toilet after the last loss to Georgia Tech. Maybe Jesse could've helped the team prior to that point.&nbsp;</div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div>
<div>The Post Standard's Donna Diota <a href="https://www.syracuse.com/orangebasketball/2021/03/kadary-richmond-jesse-edwards-play-huge-roles-in-syracuse-win-over-north-carolina-donna-ditotas-quick-hits.html">recognized his contributions</a> to the win after the game, as well:</div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div style="padding-left: 40px;">&ldquo;Jesse Edwards.&nbsp;The sophomore big man was crucial for Syracuse on Monday against all that UNC size and length. He played 11 first-half minutes before exiting with three fouls. He&rsquo;s so long in there, he at least has a chance to contest those gigantic UNC guys. And in those 11 minutes, he grabbed five rebounds.</div>
<div style="padding-left: 40px;">&nbsp;</div>
<div style="padding-left: 40px;">"He was even better in the second half, walling up inside and rebounding the ball -- even going out of his area to track down misses. His play enabled Marek Dolezaj to move to the forward spot and helped the Orange with its backline defensive issues. And he produced some points, too.&rdquo;</div>
<div>
Despite the strong performance, as tweeted by The Athletic's Matthew Guiterrez, Coach Boeheim still doesn't believe Jesse is "ready."
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Asked Boeheim if Jesse Edwards was capable of a performance like this earlier in the season when the NCAA tourney hopes were stronger. "What a question, jeez." Boeheim says Jesse still isn't "ready" despite performing well against the best frontcourt in the ACC.
&mdash; Matthew Gutierrez (@MatthewGut21) <a href="https://twitter.com/MatthewGut21/status/1366574379459514368?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 2, 2021</a></blockquote>
It kind of makes you wonder what Jesse has to do to actually be "ready."
Does he have to be a mixture of Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, and Kareem Abdul Jabbar all rolled into one?
While I will readily admit my Big Man bias, that's not why I believe in Jesse. Syracuse fans and media have all been singing his praises after his performances the last two games. He&rsquo;s finally been allowed to play and showed what he is capable of.
</div>
</div>
<div>
<div>Kudos to Jesse Edwards for staying professional and staying ready. He's proved to the entire college basketball world that he is ready to contribute.&nbsp;</div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div>#FreeJesse&nbsp;</div>
</div>

When Jesse Edwards got his chance, he proved that he belongs.

Syracuse center Jesse Edwards answers critics with his play

BROOKLYN &ndash; A security guard with colorful purple streaks in her hair was watching the third quarter of Wednesday's game between the Brooklyn Nets and Atlanta Hawks from an empty concession stand in the concourse at a deserted Barclays Center, then moved inside the upper-level later in the quarter because she wondered what all the noise was about.
Because the noise was quite something. As was the whole experience of covering an NBA game under the pandemic rules and procedures.&nbsp;
There might have been 300-400 people inside the Nets' home arena, but one of those people on the game operations crew had a hand on the fake-crowd-noise dial, and that person was pumping up the volume excessively.
I have covered literally thousands of basketball games all around the world in my three-plus decades as an NBA reporter, and I can honestly say I have never been to a louder arena than the one I was in last night in the borough also known as Kings County.&nbsp;
Tarps covered nearly all of the seats in the lower bowl, and every single concession stand was closed. Concourses usually teeming with people were barren. Usually, the place is an olfactory overload with all of the different culinary choices. But on Wednesday night, there was merely a skeleton crew of security guards, and I did not gain admittance until a pleasant young lady stuck a nasal swab up my right nostril to give me a rapid COVID-19 test. I was negative.&nbsp;
Every single NBA beat writer and national writer and broadcaster is going through this very same procedure every night they go to work at an NBA arena. The rules are clearly spelled out by the NBA, with everyone&rsquo;s safety the foremost concern. Masks are mandatory at all times. You want a sip of water? You have to drink it in the concourse.
&ldquo;You pick noses for a living?&rdquo; I cheerily asked the COVID-19 tester (because mirth and levity cure COVID fatigue).&nbsp;She smiled back, a rare moment of levity prior to what would be the game of the night, a 145-141 Nets victory that knocked the Hawks from the ranks of the unbeaten and reaffirmed Brooklyn as perhaps the best team in the East when playing nearly at full strength.&nbsp;&nbsp;
Of the six games on the NBA schedule, it was the only one decided by single digits. There has been a pattern of blowouts developing over the first week-plus of the NBA season, and it is not a good pattern.&nbsp;
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Many of this season&rsquo;s games have not been close, and the sights and sounds that everyone is getting on TV are different from what we all got back in the days of the bubble. Fans are barred from all but a handful of the 29 NBA arenas; large tarps cover huge swatches of the stands (sometimes adorned with advertisements so that viewers will see the team's sponsors). The audio and video quality varies tremendously from game to game (across different networks), and the fake crowd noise &ndash; which was kind of welcome in the bubble because it restored some sense of normalcy &ndash; is having a different effect this season.
It is too fake, if there is such a thing.&nbsp;
In Brooklyn, it was earsplitting. NBA players should be getting earplugs to deal with it, along with the masks that they and the coaches are wearing on the benches throughout these games during the 2020-21 season.
This is not a criticism of the Nets, who are doing everything they can to host games and accommodate media members working under extraordinary logistical difficulties. They must keep media members socially distanced from one another as well as from players and coaches, and all interactions between media and team members are conducted pre- and post-game via Zoom.&nbsp;
This has the impact of limiting the opportunities that reporters have to interact informally with coaches and players, and the quality of the reporting suffers because media members have fewer opportunities to mingle with coaches, players, scouts and folks sitting courtside as part of the news gathering process. The floor level at Barclays is a no-fly zone, so one cannot even tell if the team has exercise bikes in their usual spot just to the side of the exit tunnel, a place where the Nets have a dazzling array of photographs from games, concerts and events that have been held over the years at the arena.
Media members have no choice but to adjust, and some beat writers are choosing to cover their teams from home&nbsp; -- unthinkable in journalism theory, a necessity at times during a pandemic. Things are going to remain this way for the foreseeable future, and it will not make NBA reporting any easier; simply more challenging. The more intrepid among us can handle it.
New York is generally a grumpy city these days, but it should be noted that every single person I ran into at Barclays Center was cheerful and helpful. It is human nature for 99 percent of us to act that way, and whatever they are putting in the eater in Brooklyn is working.
Getting back to last night&rsquo;s epic game, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant combined for Brooklyn's final 20 points over the final five-and-a-half minutes of a contest that left everyone spent. But what it looked like in the locker room afterward -- something reporters routinely describe anecdotally in their coverage -- was a mystery.
"Yeah, I definitely need a beer," Nets head coach Steve Nash said afterwards via Zoom.
A colleague I have known for several years who works for CBS was in attendance, and I gave him a ride after the game back to Manhattan where his car was parked. He has been attending games all over the country in football stadiums where the roofs have been closed and the 80,000-seat arenas have been emptied. He said Indianapolis was boarded up, Las Vegas was dead (both inside and outside the Raiders' new retractable-roof stadium), but absolutely nowhere was the pumped-in crowd noise anywhere near the levels that we both experienced at Barclays Center. This was headache-inducing noise, and one headache in particular did not subside until 5 a.m. this morning after a couple hours of shut-eye.
We drove along 34th Street in Manhattan and spotted exactly one open business &ndash; a 24-hour convenience store. There were perhaps 30 pedestrians along that major crosstown thoroughfare, and we marveled at the ghost town aspect of Manhattan during this pandemic. It was eerie, and as Jeff Van Gundy said on The Sheridan Show earlier this week when <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-podcast-chris-sheridan-jeff-van-gundy-rockets-james-harden-hawks-team-usa-cuba">describing Staples Center in Los Angeles</a>, it was surreal.
Every hoophead in America is getting a taste of this from their sofas each evening, but to witness it in person was different.&nbsp;
Under new media rules, after you pass your COVID test, you go to your assigned seat and stay there. Period. Unless you need a bathroom break. From the Nets' media seats in the 200 level (think &ldquo;corner of the arena, halfway up&rdquo;) one could see a pair of security guards come onto the court during every timeout, but there was nothing for them to do except go through the motions and look busy. There was no one inside the arena for them to crowd control. 
Whatever was being said in timeouts was a mystery. Cameras could catch it for the TV audience, but from 80 yards away, you cannot see much in detail. Within view were the three rows of socially distant seating for the bench players and assistant coaches, a socially distant scorer's table with only a few folks keeping stats and making public address announcements, and perhaps the person with the fake crowd noise controller.&nbsp;
Since the floor level is off-limits to anyone not affiliated with the league or the teams, the usual NBA reporting practice of going to a locker room and mingling with the players and/or spotting which celebrities were in attendance was an impossibility. Not that any celebrities were in Brooklyn on Wednesday, unless they were spirited inside where no one was watching and kept out of camera range. It would not have been impossible, given the building&rsquo;s layout. (I once interviewed Bill Clinton on the loading dock after a Bucks-Nets game. He is buddies with Marc Lasry and likes the Bucks a lot).&nbsp;
The working press room is closed. The interview room is closed too. The luxury club down the hallway from the locker rooms is also closed. The dance team&rsquo;s room and the Team Hype cheer quad rooms are empty. Those folks are not working this season.&nbsp;
Outside Barclays Center on the streets of Brooklyn, there was zero pedestrian traffic. A supermarket across the street was virtually empty. The plaza leading to the subway and the Long Island Railroad station that serves Barclays Center was devoid of people, and even the ever-present pigeons were gone.
Surreal may not be a strong enough word. Again, eerie.
But this is the new normal in these tough times, and as we all should know by now, the new normal is often abnormal. This dynamic is taking place in all 28 NBA cities along with Tampa, the current home of the Toronto Raptors, and there is no way that it is financially sustainable.&nbsp;
Barclays Center was sucking electricity from the power grid in order to heat the massive arena. Inside, every concession stand was closed, which means that all of the people who used to work at those concession stands are now either out of work or have found other jobs.
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True story: When I was a young sportswriter covering a Utah Jazz-Houston Rockets playoff semifinal in Salt Lake City in 1996, former Commissioner David Stern was in attendance with his wife, Dianne, who was put off by all of the fake noise. Stern got things done, and he ordered one of his staffers, Todd Harris, to keep a decibel meter at courtside and to make sure the sound level did not exceed a certain threshold.&nbsp;
Harris was a dutiful foot soldier, and he followed the directive so closely that the Jazz dancers could not hear the soundtracks that they were dancing to. Odds are that Dianne Stern left the next game without a splitting headache.
Stern passed away exactly 366 days ago, and his successor, Adam Silver, is doing his utmost to have a 72-game NBA season that gives the league's fans at home enduring the pandemic something entertaining and unscripted to watch each and every night. But that manufactured noise is too phony.&nbsp;
Ironically, the Nets were one of the first teams to pop in fake crowd noise, doing it back when they played in East Rutherford before sparse crowds. When news broke of what they were doing, they were ridiculed. Now, it is the norm.
However, it would be interesting to see the NBA test this idea:&nbsp;
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">Try televising a couple of games with no fake crowd noise.&nbsp;</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">Put microphones on the players so we can hear their interactions.&nbsp;</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">Open the broadcast with a disclaimer that there may be some off-color language picked up by the microphones.&nbsp;</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">Let the viewers experience the on-court noises and what the players are saying to each other as these games are being played. If a cuss word sneaks in, so be it. We can handle it.&nbsp;</li>
</ul>
Look, there comes a point where the product is too fake. The bubble served its purpose, and the fake noise made it seem familiar. But those games were played in very small arenas in Lake Buena Vista, FL, whereas the current games are being played in empty 20,000 seat-arenas with massive tarps covering the seats. The optics are unnerving, no matter how good or bad the games are.
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We all want to get bodies back into those seats as soon as possible, but in the meantime, over-faking it is too phony.&nbsp;
The NBA toyed with the idea of playing at G-League arenas and practice facilities, but for a variety of reasons, the idea was scrapped. Those reasons included the economic expense of outfitting new venues for NBA broadcast and other technology. The costs of implementing required health and safety protocol measures were significantly more feasible in the normal arenas &ndash; things such as entrance, egress, space for distancing, hand-sanitizing stations, plexiglass dividers, space for players, personnel to be physically distant on benches, locker rooms, weight rooms, etc. Also, it was less desirable from a revenue perspective as it was easier to implement the needed signage elements in existing arena setups, many of which have naming rights deals.
So the NBA will stay in the big arenas, come what may.&nbsp;
But it would be nice to see the NBA try something different at some point this season. You can turn the limited fake crowd noise back on when the arenas have fans in them. But until then, let viewers hear what's really happening.

Chris Sheridan shares his experience covering an NBA game during a pandemic, as he attended Wednesday's Nets-Hawks game.

Sportswriter’s Diary: Covering an NBA game in a pandemic

Nekias Duncan looks ahead to how the five teams in the Northwest Division will fare in the upcoming NBA season.

2020-21 NBA Season Preview: Northwest Division

The 2020 NBA Draft is 24 hours away. Alex Kennedy sat down with NBA Draft analyst Matt Babcock, who is the founder of <a href="https://www.babcockhoops.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Babcock Hoops</a> and a BasketballNews.com contributor, to discuss this draft class, trade activity and more.
Do you expect this to be a very busy draft night in terms of trades?
Babcock: "Absolutely. There are a bunch of teams that have multiple picks this year and that suggests a high probability of movement by itself. Also, considering the number of star players currently on the trade market, that increases the probability of significant movement even more. There is a ton of chatter behind the scenes right now. Wednesday night should be interesting, to say the least."
What are some of the biggest ways that the pandemic has impacted this draft?
Babcock: "The biggest way it&rsquo;s impacted the draft has definitely been the timing. I mean we&rsquo;re in mid-November and teams&rsquo; rosters aren&rsquo;t set. I also think since there were not competitive workouts or a traditional combine during the pre-draft process, certain players were held back from moving the needle in regards to their draft stock."
How does free agency starting two days after the draft change things for teams?
Babcock: "The biggest change will be with undrafted players. In most years, some teams commit to two-way and [G League] affiliate player deals on draft night, but oftentimes many teams will have players participate in summer league before making long-term decisions. Of course, there will be no summer league this year and there will be no time to waste in regards to setting their rosters for training camp, which starts at the beginning of December. Players, agents and teams will likely need to make quick decisions on draft night or soon thereafter. It&rsquo;s going to be hectic."
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Who are some players that you're higher on than the general consensus?
Babcock:&nbsp;"A few guys that come to mind are Elijah Hughes from Syracuse, Isaiah Stewart II from Washington, Cassius Stanley from Duke and Malachi Flynn from San Diego State. I have a lot of confidence in all of those players for various reasons, and I would have no issue putting my neck on the line for any of them. I think they all have a good chance of having successful NBA careers."
Who are some players that you're lower on than the general consensus?&nbsp;
Babcock: "I like to consider myself a friend of the game of basketball, and with that said, I&rsquo;m certainly not rooting against anyone. However, a couple of players I feel I&rsquo;m generally lower on are Cole Anthony from North Carolina and Tyrese Maxey from Kentucky. I do my best to provide honest evaluations of prospects and that means I have to be critical sometimes, unfortunately."
You've been in the gym with a lot of these prospects throughout this pre-draft process. Who were some of the guys who impressed you the most?
Babcock: "I recently spent some time with Malachi Flynn and Zeke Nnaji, and both impressed me a lot. First of all, talent is a prerequisite for players to be able to play in the NBA; without it, nothing else matters. Zeke and Malachi certainly have NBA talent, but what really separates them from others in my book is all the little stuff. They have different personalities from one another, but one commonality between them is that each of them has a great work ethic; they&rsquo;re overachievers and they possess a growth mindset &mdash; all ingredients in the recipe for success, in my opinion."
Who are your favorite second-round sleepers in this draft?
Babcock: "Well, let&rsquo;s see who falls to the second round, but to give you an answer -- Jalen Harris from Nevada is definitely a sleeper for me. He&rsquo;s a tough, killer-instinct scorer that is effective on or off the ball. I think Harris has the opportunity to be a good pro regardless of where he ends up being selected. Naji Marshall is another guy to watch out for; he&rsquo;s a versatile forward from Xavier that's tough and gritty."
As a former agent, walk me through what agents are typically doing in the 24-48 hours leading up to the draft.&nbsp;
Babcock: "It changes depending on the player you&rsquo;re representing, but generally speaking, an agent will spend a lot of time on the phone speaking to the teams that have shown interest in their clients, as teams and agents are trying to get a grip on players&rsquo; ranges leading up to the draft. For projected second-round picks, there are certain hypothetical scenarios that agents need to address with teams, including whether a player would be open to signing a two-way contract or being stashed (playing overseas) for a season if they drafted them. 
"Other than that, agents really are just spinning their wheels the last couple of days before the draft, because just about all of the necessary work has already been done. The truth is that there were many times I felt uneasy and helpless representing players right before the draft because I wasn&rsquo;t quite sure exactly how everything would play out."

Alex Kennedy chats with NBA Draft analyst Matt Babcock about the 2020 NBA Draft class, trade rumors, sleepers and more.

Matt Babcock on upcoming NBA Draft: 'It's going to be hectic'

I had a special relationship with Hall-of-Fame coach John Thompson, and it all started when he chose not to recruit me.&nbsp;
Anybody I grew up with will remember that I always wanted to go to Georgetown; Syracuse was actually my second choice. I remember my high school teammate, Ryan Humphrey, saying that I was like the kid in the movie "Rudy" who always wanted to go to Notre Dame. That was actually pretty accurate.&nbsp;
See, I grew up admiring Coach Thompson ever since I heard him speak out about the racism of the NCAA. I remember him being asked how it felt to be the first Black coach to reach the NCAA Final Four and he replied, "I resent the hell out of that question if it implies I am the first Black coach competent enough to take a team to the Final Four. Other Blacks have been denied the right in this country; coaches who have the ability. I don't take any pride in being the first Black coach in the Final Four. I find the question extremely offensive."
I remember reading about how Coach Thompson specifically recruited inner-city Black players and molded them, both on and off the court.
He focused on their education, enforced discipline and structure, and educated them about society and being a Black man in America. He was a father figure in that he actually cared about his players far beyond wins and losses (although he definitely wanted to win). He made sure he stressed that his players graduate and not squander their time allowing the system to use them. Of course that was the coach and program I wanted to be a part of.&nbsp;
Also, he coached one of my favorite players, Alonzo Mourning - someone who I wanted to pattern my game after. He also coached Patrick Ewing, one of my favorite players growing up (as a New York Knicks fan). I wanted to be able to block shots like Dikembe Mutombo and have defenses literally draw plans to avoid bringing the ball inside. I wanted to carry on the tradition and wear No. 33 at Georgetown (which is one of the reasons why I wore No. 33 at Syracuse, but I&rsquo;ll explain that later).
I even went to Georgetown's basketball camp when I was in the eighth grade. I remember reading about the next center who was going there, Othella Harrington, and seeing pictures of Coach Thompson with his arm around all of the aforementioned men. I dreamed of seeing myself in that same picture, in that same pose, alongside the great centers of Georgetown at the end of that line.
In the summer of my junior year, I was being recruited by every major program in the country except Georgetown. Coach Thompson called me and told me that they had a lot of big men, naming off five: Jamel Watkins, Boubacar Aw, Ruben Boumtje-Boumtje, Jahidi White and Ya-Ya Dia, so they really didn&rsquo;t need any more bigs. I was heartbroken, to be honest. I may have even shed a few thug tears, but I vowed to terrorize Georgetown for my entire college career and picked their biggest rival, Syracuse University.&nbsp;
Fast-forward to Feb. 8, 1997, during my freshman year at Syracuse. That day, we faced off against Georgetown. Syracuse fans remember this as the "Donovan McNabb game" since the star quarterback and two-sport athlete ignited the Carrier Dome with an electrifying performance en route to a win over the Hoyas. Meanwhile, as a young freshman who didn&rsquo;t receive much playing time after the beginning of the season - I was playing behind and learning from the great Otis Hill - I had one of the worst games of my career. I set a Syracuse record for the <a href="https://www.syracuse.com/orangebasketball/2013/02/syracuses_1997_win_over_george.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">quickest foul out by a player in school history</a> (and maybe even Big East history).
After not playing for a long stretch, I was put into one of the biggest games of the season due to Hill's foul trouble. I found myself in the unfortunate position of having to guard an explosive, quick-off-his-feet, 300-pound monster named Jahidi White, who could have been called the Shaq of the Big East.&nbsp;
As soon as I checked into the game, Coach Thompson ran every single play for White - and apparently told him to dunk on me every play. Well, I had too much pride for that, so I fouled him every time he tried it. I attempted to block the first few dunks and almost got my arm ripped off in Jahidi&rsquo;s Shaq-like power moves to the rim. So the next two times, I just fouled him.
I ended up fouling out of the game after seven minutes in front of 30,000 people at the Carrier Dome in one of the biggest games of the year. I remember looking at Coach Thompson as I was walking to the bench. He gave me a little nod that said, to me, "That&rsquo;s why I didn&rsquo;t recruit you." I was destroyed inside. I wanted to head straight to the locker room and hide in the closet until everyone left.&nbsp;
After the game, a ball boy gave me a note from Coach Thompson that simply read, "Keep working, keep your head up, you&rsquo;ll be fine."
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My sophomore year was really my breakout year, and one of the games I had circled on my schedule was the Georgetown game. I had a <a href="https://www.syracuse.com/orangebasketball/2013/01/in_1997-98_season_syracuse_get.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">monster night</a> - 23 points, seven rebounds, six blocks - and I was throwing down thunderous dunks, beating my chest, swatting shots into the stands and screaming into the crowd. I was so hyped, I couldn&rsquo;t even calm down to shoot on the free-throw line.
At the sound of the buzzer, my first thought was to run up to Coach Thompson. I shook his hand, looked him in the eyes and said, &ldquo;You could&rsquo;ve had me.&rdquo;
And he replied with a big smile: &ldquo;Yeah, I know."
That was the start of our relationship of mutual respect and support that spanned for two decades.&nbsp;
I came to D.C. in 2000 with the Washington Wizards. Coach Thompson would have me on his show and support my events around the city. He would offer advice, encouragement, chastisement and praise by call or text.
<a href="http://voices.washingtonpost.com/dcsportsbog/2007/09/etans_antiwar_speech.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Shortly after the invasion of Iraq</a>, I spoke at a big <a href="http://politicalaffairs.net/the-speech-everyone-is-talking-about-etan-thomas-electrifies-anti-war-washington/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">anti-war rally</a> in D.C. Coach Thompson called me afterwards and said, &ldquo;You have no idea what you just stepped into young man, do you?&rdquo;&nbsp;
And honestly, I truly didn&rsquo;t. I had been speaking all over D.C. about the war. I wrote three different poems and two different speeches against the war all from my first poetry book, "<a href="https://www.haymarketbooks.org/books/561-more-than-an-athlete" target="_blank" rel="noopener">More Than An Athlete</a>."
&ldquo;You are lucky you play for [Washington Wizards chairman] Abe Pollin because if you didn&rsquo;t, this could be very bad for your professional career," Coach Thompson said to me. He also told me that he had the utmost respect for me, and if I needed some support when I felt the wrath of America after that speech, he was there for me.&nbsp;
For many years, I would have events around D.C. and when I looked into the crowd, I'd see Coach Thompson right there in the front row with his arms folded.&nbsp;
At Georgetown University, I had a debate with Bill Rhoden about his book, "40 Million Dollar Slave." Coach Thompson brought his entire team there - including a young Roy Hibbert, Jeff Green and Patrick Ewing Jr. - and had them all taking notes.
In my book, "<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Fatherhood-Ultimate-Challenge-Etan-Thomas/dp/0451414896/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1523315169&amp;sr=1-3&amp;keywords=etan+thomas" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Fatherhood: Rising to the Ultimate Challenge</a>," Coach Thompson wrote: &ldquo;In my life, I&rsquo;ve been fortunate enough to meet presidents, senators, congressmen, CEOs of major companies, cardinals of churches, heads of states from several countries and some of the finest athletes and coaches this world has ever known. I&rsquo;ve learned to respect them all and admired their accomplishments, but I&rsquo;ve never met a man who accomplished so much with so little as my dad. And I have come to realize that nothing has more meaning to me than the honor of being named after the finest man I have ever met, my Dad, John Robert Thompson.&rdquo;&nbsp;
I had never even heard him tell that story before and was honored by the fact that he felt comfortable telling me this for my book.&nbsp;
This past winter, I was watching a high school tournament at Wise High School and doing some recruiting for my AAU team, FBCG Elite Dynamic Disciples. Coach Thompson saw me before I saw him. He had someone chase me down and bring me to him. He said, "You better come over here and say hi to me."
He was in obvious pain with his walker, and I asked him how he was feeling. He smiled and said, "Just old, but you keep doing what you&rsquo;re doing."
I said, "Yeah, I'm looking at some players for my team." He responded, "That&rsquo;s great, but that&rsquo;s not what I&rsquo;m talking about. You keep using your platform and speaking and writing truth. I may not get around like I used to, but I&rsquo;m always watching you and I'm proud of you. Now move out my way, I gotta get out of here."
He left before I could even get a picture with him and my son Malcolm, who came up after the conversation. Afterwards, Malcolm asked me who the man in the walker was.
"One of the best coaches to ever walk the planet," I told him.
Rest In Peace, Coach John Thompson.

Etan Thomas looks back on his unique relationship with the late, great John Thompson.

My special relationship with the late, great John Thompson

The Milwaukee Bucks recently decided to boycott Game 5 of their first-round playoff series against the Orlando Magic in response to the shooting of Jacob Blake. Blake, 29, was shot seven times by police in Kenosha, WI. 
This comes exactly four years after Colin Kaepernick took a knee during the national anthem for the first time prior to a 49ers-Packers preseason game, showing just how much has changed in that span.
The NBA postponed all of Wednesday&rsquo;s games and players met to discuss whether they should finish the postseason in the bubble. Ultimately, the players decided to resume the playoffs, with the NBA and NBPA <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-nbpa-social-justice-coalition-executive-director-michele-roberts-voting-elections" target="_blank" rel="noopener">coming together</a> to create a social-reform coalition, turn many NBA arenas into voting locations and run ads during the playoff games that promote greater civic engagement.
Blake&rsquo;s attorney, Benjamin Crump, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CESTQkYD4Xc/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">posted a picture</a> of Blake with his three sons (who were in the car when he was shot) on his Instagram page and wrote: &ldquo;This is Jacob Blake. He is 29 years old and a devoted father. Kenosha, WI police shot him several times in the back tonight after he was breaking up a fight between two women. His THREE SONS were in the car he was getting into when they shot him!! His sons will be traumatized forever. As a father myself, I am horrified and disgusted. We cannot let this continue! We cannot let officers violate their duty to PROTECT us. Our children deserve better!!&ldquo;
Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James discussed this incident following a Game 4 win over the Portland Trail Blazers.
&ldquo;So you&rsquo;re telling me that there was no way to subdue that gentleman or detain him before the firing of guns? You&rsquo;re lying to every African-American, every Black person in the community,&rdquo; James <a href="https://www.espn.com/video/clip?id=29735258" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>. "If you watch the video, there were multiple moments where - if they wanted to - they could&rsquo;ve tackled him, they could&rsquo;ve grabbed him, they could&rsquo;ve done that. So why did it have to get to a point where we see the guns firing? His family is there. The kids are there. It&rsquo;s in broad daylight. 
"And if that video is not being taken by that person across the street, do we know if we even see that video? &hellip; We are scared as Black people in America. Black men, Black women, Black kids, we are terrified.&rdquo;
Oklahoma City Thunder guard Chris Paul also addressed this during his post-game interview following a Game 4 victory over the Houston Rockets.
&ldquo;I just want to send my prayers out to Jacob Blake and his family,&rdquo; Paul <a href="https://twitter.com/complexsports/status/1298030906024906753?s=21" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>. &ldquo;We said we were going to continue to speak on the social injustice and the things that continue to happen to our people. It&rsquo;s not right.&rdquo;&nbsp;
Miraculously, Jacob somehow survived and is in stable condition, according to a statement from the family. However, make no mistake, the police (who are now on paid administrative leave) did not intend for him to leave there alive. Their aim was to kill him - right in front of his 3-year-old, 5-year-old and 8-year-old sons.
&ldquo;Nobody&rsquo;s more devastated than his three sons,&rdquo; Crump <a href="https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/crime/2020/08/24/jacob-blake-stable-condition-after-shooting-kenosha-police-shot-7-times/3431519001/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel</a>. &ldquo;You can only imagine the psychological problems these babies are going to have for the rest of their lives."
"As we fight for justice and understanding, our family has and will face many trials during this time," the Blake family wrote on their <a href="https://www.gofundme.com/f/justiceforjacobblake" target="_blank" rel="noopener">GoFundMe page</a>. "Jacob Blake is a loving father of six that deserves proper medical attention and legal representation."
Why is the family and their attorney repeatedly stating that Jacob is a loving father of six and a good person? Because each and every time a Black man or Black woman is killed by the police, they are demonized and their name is dragged through the mud. This happened with George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Sandra Bland, Terence Crutcher, Eric Garner, Philando Castile, Alton Sterling, Akai Gurley, Stephon Clark, Andrew Kearse and countless others. The media floods the airways with justifications of why the person was shot by the police and how it was somehow their fault.
A Black man shouldn&rsquo;t have to be perfect or a college graduate or a husband or a father in order to explain why he didn&rsquo;t deserve to be shot seven times in the back by police, but I digress.&nbsp;
This is exactly why NBA players have been kneeling during the national anthem. It&rsquo;s why they have been wearing messages on the backs of their jerseys. It&rsquo;s why they have collectively let their voices be heard during this entire NBA bubble restart, despite the barrage of criticism and vitriol they have received. It&rsquo;s why there were questions about whether the players should go to the bubble at all.
Donald Trump <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nba/2020/08/11/donald-trump-nba-players-very-dumb-kneeling-during-anthem/3343737001/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">called</a> NBA players &ldquo;very nasty and very dumb&rdquo; for taking a knee during the national anthem.
Conservative political pundit Charlie Kirk <a href="https://twitter.com/charliekirk11/status/1288975274709671936" target="_blank" rel="noopener">tweeted</a>: &ldquo;Hilarious to see Black NBA players who make millions a year take a knee to try and tell us black people can&rsquo;t succeed in America. Kick them out of the league. Done watching the NBA.&rdquo;
Former NFL player, head coach and current commentator Mike Ditka <a href="https://www.tmz.com/2020/07/26/mike-ditka-x-league-national-anthem-protests-womens-football/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told TMZ Sports</a>: "If you can't respect our national anthem, get the hell out of the country. That's the way I feel. Of course, I'm old fashioned. So, I'm only going to say what I feel.&rdquo;
How is it possible that so many people still don&rsquo;t understand that this has nothing to do with the flag or veterans? Or are they simply dedicated to purposely misrepresenting and redirecting the issue?&nbsp;
Michael Vick spent more time in prison for killing dogs than just about every police officer who has killed an unarmed Black person over the past three decades, so it should be crystal clear what the issue is.
Joakim Noah recently <a href="https://www.fli.tv/joakim-noah-interview" target="_blank" rel="noopener">appeared on my show, The Rematch</a>, and explained why he chose to put &ldquo;Justice&rdquo; on the back of his NBA jersey while in the bubble.
&ldquo;Because everyone deserves justice. Everybody does,&rdquo; Noah said. &ldquo;And the truth is that right now, and for a long time, there are a lot of people who don&rsquo;t [receive justice]. I wanted to use that because everyone deserves human rights. All of my heroes have been fighting for justice. Some have died for justice... And I hope that a lot of these people who have died - when you think of [George] Floyd and Breonna Taylor - I really hope that they can get their justice.&rdquo;
Joakim almost got emotional while saying these words. This isn&rsquo;t just a trendy thing to support, as some have suggested; this means something to Noah and these players. It&rsquo;s important for NBA players to take stances like this and verbalize to the media why this matters to them. We&rsquo;ve heard Noah, LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard, Jerami Grant, Tobias Harris, Sterling Brown, C.J. McCollum, Donovan Mitchell, Marcus Smart, Kyle Kuzma and so many others discuss this. We&rsquo;ve heard from coaches such as Doc Rivers and Alvin Gentry. It should be crystal clear what the issue is at this point.&nbsp;
What the NBA and WNBA have done this season can&rsquo;t be overlooked: This is one of the largest collective athlete-activist movements since the 1960s. This movement has pushed entire industries to reckon with their racist history and institute programs and initiatives that weren&rsquo;t previously there.&nbsp;
For example: The NBA <a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/29602899/nba-establishes-fund-support-empowerment-black-community" target="_blank" rel="noopener">recently announced</a> that &ldquo;all 30 NBA teams will contribute a combined $300 million over the next decade to fund the NBA Foundation, a new charitable initiative dedicated to greater economic empowerment in the Black community.&rdquo;
NBA Coaches For Racial Justice was <a href="https://www.ajc.com/sports/atlanta-hawks/how-lloyd-pierce-is-leading-nba-coaches-in-the-fight-for-racial-justice/OSCCWK4DEZHODL6W2C3P3MIDWE/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">established by</a> Lloyd Pierce and now every coach in the NBA is working with grassroots organizations in their respective cities.
Former head coach and current analyst Stan Van Gundy explained the kneeling for those who still seem to be confused on the meaning and importance of the players&rsquo; stance.&nbsp;
&ldquo;If you love something, you want it to be better,&rdquo; Van Gundy said <a href="https://www.fli.tv/stan-van-gundy-interview" target="_blank" rel="noopener">on my show, The Rematch</a>. &ldquo;As a parent, you&rsquo;re going to love your kid no matter what. But you&rsquo;re not going to just let them do whatever they want to do and not say anything or do anything - because if you really love your kids, you want them to be the best that they can be. And when they&rsquo;re not doing that, you want to try to correct their course. That&rsquo;s what the players are doing. They&rsquo;re not saying, &lsquo;I don&rsquo;t want to live here,&rsquo; or, &lsquo;I hate America.&rsquo; They&rsquo;re saying, &lsquo;I want it to be the best that it can be.&rsquo;&rdquo;
NBA players took a respectful stand - not against police, but against police brutality. And they did it together, as an entire league. Coaches, referees, staff, white players, foreign players - everyone taking a stand together while utilizing the media to bring further attention to specific cases of police brutality and calling for police accountability (such as justice for Breonna Taylor and George Floyd).&nbsp;
With the horrifying shooting of Jacob Blake and the fact that none of the police officers had body cams - although Kenosha technically requires them for all of their officers - some players feel that kneeling isn&rsquo;t enough anymore. And as was the case with George Floyd, if it weren&rsquo;t for a civilian&lsquo;s recording, the &ldquo;facts&rdquo; from the police report almost certainly wouldn&rsquo;t have resulted in any officer being held accountable.&nbsp;
It is more than evident that we still have a long way to go.&nbsp;
<a href="https://www.gofundme.com/f/justiceforjacobblake?utm_source=customer&amp;utm_campaign=m_pd+share-sheet&amp;utm_medium=copy_link_all" target="_blank" rel="noopener">This is the official GoFundMe created for Jacob Blake and his family. They need our support.</a>

The Jacob Blake shooting is exactly why NBA players have been kneeling and fighting social injustice, writes Etan Thomas.