Five NBA Things I may or may not have Liked: Harden Knocks, Fights, Dieng it, Tanks, Kangz

It’s a Harden-ock Life

The Cavaliers shocked the world at the NBA trade deadline when they turned Darius Garland into James Harden. While the move was an immediate talent and availability upgrade, Harden is 36, turning 37 in August, and Garland only blew out 26 candles in January. In this day and age, teams usually don’t trade two-time All-Stars in their prime for a 37-year-old, regardless of how good they are. That being said, the Cavaliers’ acquisition of an NBAer in their golden years has gotten off to a roaring start.

Since Harden arrived, the Cavaliers, who were in the midst of a 7-1 run, have continued to roll. They’re 3-0, with a win against the Nuggets in Denver. Harden, despite failing to practice with the team prior to his first game, has hit the ground running. He’s averaging 19.3 points and 8.7 assists per game on a True Shooting percentage of 67.9%. The Cavs have a 123.1 offensive rating with him on the court, and Jarrett Allen has turned into Wilt Chamberlain, thanks to The Beard’s steady supply of lobs.

In the three games Allen has partnered with Harden, he is averaging 24 points per game on 80.6% shooting. The NBA record for field goal percentage is 74.19%, set by Mitchell Robinson in 2019-20, and while Allen probably won’t be able to break it this season, next season, watch out.

Fights

The NBA had its first proper fight in ages when Jalen Duren and Moussa Diabate decided to butt heads (literally), get mushed, see red, and throw hands. What started as a little scuffle rapidly evolved to include coaches, security, the always shitbrained Miles Bridges, and the perpetually ready Isaiah “Beef Stew” Stewart. Unsurprisingly, all four listed parties were ejected and have now been suspended.

The beef had been stewing in this game for a while. The Pistons play a physical brand of basketball and, based on my observations, appear more apt to cross the line than most teams. They’re not necessarily dirty, but they ain’t clear either. Up until that point, the game had been entertaining as the best team in the East squared off with the hottest team in the conference. It was a fun, raucous affair that portends a budding rivalry between the Hornets and Pistons, but it wasn’t the only “fight” of the night.

Something must have been in the water, perhaps rage-ohol, because Mouhamed Gueye and Naz Reid also got in an ejection-worthy altercation. If the Pistons and Hornets kerfuffle-plus was an old-school NBA fight, then this was some new school extracurriculars. It mostly amounted to Naz Reid angrily grabbing Gueye’s jersey as teammates and coaches wrestled to separate the pair before they did anything truly suspension-worthy.

All told, it was another reminder that basketball players, pound for pound, are by far the worst professional athletes at fighting. But it’s still fun watching them try.

Gosh, Dieng it

I am under no illusions that this will continue, but if it does, two franchises will be kicking themselves. Ousmane Dieng has had a largely nondescript career. Over his first three seasons, he played a total of 109 games, averaging 4.3 points, 2.2 rebounds, and 1.0 assists per game. Wow, sounds like a deep bench piece, and you’d be correct.

However, the one thing Dieng had going for him was that he was on the Thunder. Sometimes, young players on excellent teams just don’t have the room to breathe and show just how good they can be, and he’s finally getting his shot. Through a series of multiple trade deadline salary dumps, Dieng now finds himself in Milwaukee, and he has been cooking. Through three whole games, Dieng is averaging 12.7 points and 5.0 rebounds on 50% shooting from three, and 66.7% from two.

A 6’9 player who can play three through five and nail threes is a very useful player, and right now, that’s exactly what Dieng is. While the Thunder understandably didn’t have the room to see this version of Dieng, the Chicago Bulls certainly could have. Dieng was never really a Bull, as he was quickly rerouted to Milwaukee so Chicago could acquire Nick Richards, but for a team entering a re-something, seeing if a former lottery pick might have some long-term potential is worth a shot. Instead, they decided an NBA team needs an actual center, which, fair play.

Ugh, Tanking Conversations

Tanking is back on the airwaves, and I cannot stand it. It’s an issue that I’ve never actually heard a real rank-and-file fan bring up without the larger basketball media prompting them. I get that it’s not the best thing for the league, but it’s also not something that needs to be dissected and discussed four times a season, especially when every solution is fucking bonkers awful.

My main issue with how people approach tanking is that it is overly American. There is this unrelenting apathy towards bad teams. Every solution that is proposed will only exacerbate the struggles of the worst teams in the league. It’s like how 90% of solutions to solve poverty seem to be, “make the suffering so bad, they’ll have no choice but to become millionaires.” And the root of all of these inept ideas is that no one will even consider broaching the actual solutions to tanking because it would require rich people taking some losses.

I don’t want to hear anyone complain about tanking unless they believe the draft should be eliminated or team financial compensation becomes tied to league placement. Those are two real solutions. And even those solutions will probably hurt the smaller, weaker, feebler markets. If you want the NBA to be a league where every market has a real chance to build a winner, you’ve got to be cool with tanking.

Kangz

I’m a sucker for football heritage, and the Sacramento Kings are staying true to their colors. If you aren’t privy to football heritage, it’s a simple idea. Some football clubs just have a way about them that remains unchanged through the years. They might be known for comeback wins, calamitous collapses, or reckless challenges, and it’s just a part of their football heritage. In basketball, the Lakers randomly falling ass backwards into top-75 players is their football heritage, and for the Kings, their football heritage is just falling ass backwards.

As of this moment, the Kings are in the midst of a 14-game losing streak, and it isn’t like they’ve faced a murderers’ row of opposition. They’ve been outscored by 12.1 points per game, despite playing Washington, Memphis, New Orleans, and Utah in four of their past six games. For the season, they’re 12-44 and are 29th in offensive rating, 28th in defensive rating, and 29th in net rating. And the best part, they actually thought they’d be okay!

The Kings spent in the offseason and have one of the oldest rosters in the league. This was a team designed to at least challenge for the play-in, and guess what, they Kangzed it all up. It must suck for their fans, but as a neutral observer, the Kings’ leaning into their football heritage is always a good bit of comedic relief.

For any inquiries about work, discussion, and the like, you can email me at nevin.l.brown@gmail.com.