Five NBA Things I may or may not have Liked: Cup, OKC You Later, Memphis Blues, Celtic Pride, Not so Lively

My favorite and least least favorite things from the NBA

A Cup-le of Blow Outs

All told, the NBA Cup has been exactly what the NBA had hoped for. It’s not replacing the playoffs, but players seem to take it seriously, and outside of the stick-in-the-mud-media-personalities, most pundits and fans agree on its merits. Unfortunately, the quarterfinals proved to be an uninteresting platform for when the tournament heads to Las Vegas.

The closest game was the Magic’s 117-108 victory over the Heat, and even that game never really felt close. The Magic took a nine-point lead into the fourth quarter, and the closest the Heat would come to making it a game was when they cut the lead to seven 40 seconds into the final frame. Then the Knicks used a 34-13 second quarter to put their contest against the Raptors to bed. The Thunder invented a new adjective for destruction with what they did in their 138-89 victory over the Suns. And the Spurs cruised easily to a 132-119 victory over the Lakers.

Basketball is at its most compelling when the game hangs in the balance, and thus far, we haven’t had a fourth quarter provide us with any real stakes. Hopefully, the ease with which teams advanced to the semifinals portends two thrilling contests.

Oklahoma City Excellence

What the Thunder are doing this season is beyond historic. They’ve equaled the best start to a season in NBA history (24-1), own the best net rating ever at +17.2, and have five 30+ point victories compared to three games where they failed to win by at least five. Since their lone loss on November 5th, they’ve had exactly three games decided by less than ten points. The statistics are setting them up to go down as the single greatest team in NBA history, and their preferred starting five of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams, Chet Holmgren, Isaiah Hartenstein, and Lu Dort have played a combined zero minutes together. So, watch out, the best team in NBA history hasn’t even been at full strength yet.

No Morant, No Problem, No Edey, Mo Problems

It’s a sad state of affairs that Ja Morant’s antics have been far more memorable than his performances over the past three seasons. Part of it is due to the ridiculousness of his behavior, but a lot of it is down to injury and a degradation in skill. For most of this run, the Grizzlies’ fate has been tied to Morant’s availability, but not this year. In the ten games since Morant went down with yet another injury, the Grizzlies are 7-3 with a +7.0 net rating. Considering they were 4-10 with a -7.7 net rating over their first 14 games, it’s not out of bounds to suggest that they are better without him.

While laying blame at the feet of Morant is fair, the clearest catalyst for their turnaround was the return of Zach Edey. In the 11 games he has played, they’re 7-4, and he has a +25.8 on-off net rating split. With Morant already being listed as questionable, there was some hope that the combination of Edey and a more engaged Morant could propel them up the standings. Unfortunately, the Grizzlies just cannot avoid catastrophic injury news. Edey is being shut down for a month due to a stress reaction in his surgically repaired ankle. By the time he returns, Morant or Jaren Jackson Jr could already be injured too. Despite the record, the Grizzlies are a solid team, if only they could have all of their guys healthy at the same time.

Celtic Pride

The Celtics might have lost last night to the Giannis-less Milwaukee Bucks, but that doesn’t change what an incredible season they’ve had. They’re 15-10 with a net rating of +6.1, and their opponents have outshot them from 3-point range. Normally, when a team loses players of the quality of Jayson Tatum, Jrue Holiday, and Kristaps Porzingis, they collapse into oblivion. And while these Celtics aren’t as good as that iteration, they’re still one of the best teams in the league.

Joe Mazzulla deserves a ton of credit for the job he has done. Jaylen Brown is breaking defenses one mid-range jumper at a time. Derrick White and Payton Pritchard, despite poor 3-point shooting, have been absolutely dynamite at protecting the basketball. And Neeimas Queta has had one of the most surprising breakouts in recent memory. I have no idea if the Celtics can keep this up. They almost never get to the basket, are incredibly reliant on jump shooting to power their offense, and their defense has been mediocre. Still, to see a team lose three elite players and keep on fighting is a welcome sight when a gap year would have been prudent.

Dereck Lively Done

In depressing NBA news, Dereck Lively will miss the remainder of the season following surgery to relieve discomfort in his right foot. You never want to hear about a seven-footer needing foot surgery, and the list of injuries to Lively’s right leg is starting to look career-altering. He had been limited to seven games this season due to a right knee sprain, had surgery on his right foot over the summer to remove bone spurs, and missed two months with a stress fracture in his right ankle the season before. Over three seasons, Lively will have played in 98 out of a possible 246 games.

With modern medical science, there’s a better chance than ever before that Lively will be able to overcome this rash of injuries and have a long career. However, the trackrecord for players this big, who have already had this many injuries, is not great. Throw in the fact that Lively’s game is predicated on athleticism, and we might have already seen his best. I’m hoping Lively can get right and stay right because he has the potential to be an impact player. Still, the trend lines are not looking great, which, as humans, we are cursed with knowing.

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