Around the NBA Web

The Houston Rockets won game two last night in H-Town. Eventual league MVP James Harden said his team doesn’t really worry about who they’re playing, writes Tim MacMahon.

“Like, if we come out and be some dogs and do what we did tonight, it doesn’t matter,” said Harden. “But if we don’t, then we see the results in Game 1. It’s not about chess match or what they’re doing. It’s about us.”

Kevin Durant, on the other hand, continues his delusional talk. No, you are in fact the juggernauts of the NBA. I understand what KD is going for with his comments last night. Sure, the Warriors can be beaten once or twice like any other team in sports, but it often feels like he’s trying to make the challenge of winning another Finals with his superstar teammates seem harder than it actually is.

This tweet was from a few days ago.

Does that look like a juggernaut to you?

Anyways, I don’t really like watching either the Warriors or the Rockets. The Hamptons Five is too damn powerful for me to like. Houston chucks threes and flops around the court at such a high rate that I also often lose interest in watching them. I still respect how incredible these two teams are, but why do we have to appreciate something?

I like Jemele Hill and what she stands for but thought this was a bad take:

I don’t find the inevitability of the Warriors winning another championship fun to watch. Should that really make me a terrible basketball fan? I like watching young players trying to find themselves and enjoy seeing the breakout stars of each season, who take their games to another level. I like stories of redemption and getting to know the players personalities off the court. I love the game of basketball. These are some reasons for my fandom.

I can appreciate how the Warriors have changed the game, and how we will look back at them as one of the best teams ever assembled, without also appreciating their sheer dominance because...it all feels predetermined.

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The first mock draft I looked at after the NBA lottery results came out had the Wolves selecting 19-year-old Bosnian small forward, Dzanan Musa. His potential NBA role is that of a bench scorer, according to Mike Schmitz.

This is the Schmitz’s final takeaway on Musa, who plays for Cedevita:

Outlook: Despite questions about his body and willingness to get others involved, Musa is in the conversation for the best non-Doncic prospect in this international class. What he has done at age 18 should carry weight within front offices, even those that are worried about his durability. With a high need for wings in the NBA and Musa’s readymade scoring, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him go in the first round if his medical checks out.

After clicking on some other links, it sounds like his biggest weakness comes on the defensive end, where some describe him as a non-defender. Here’s a video on Musa:

As for the 2018 NBA draft combine, today marks the second batch of team interviews. Drills, testing, and 5-on-5 scrimmaging will also happen. Grayson Allen will meet with the Wolves. He’s one of the bigger names that Doogie has reported, in terms of interviews. Some people seem to like Allen as a prospect quite a bit. All of those cheap shots over his career at Duke have always turned me off though.

QUICK NOTES

Mike Budenholzer has agreed in principle to a four-year contract to become the Milwaukee Bucks’ head coach. Bud is going to have so much fun with his new roster. I can’t imagine he had much fun this past season in Atlanta.

Kevin Draper wrote about How Betting Will Change the Sports Media Business.

Mo Bamba won the OMG, Is That Wingspan For Real? Award at the Combine. 7’10”! He is set to be drafted extremely high next month. Bamba recently worked out with KG.

Luka Doncic should definitely be the #1 pick. The Phoenix Suns might be tempted by DeAndre Ayton (and who wouldn’t be) but Doncic’s skills are going to fit better in today’s pace and space league. Read this:

Meanwhile, Jimmy Butler recently went hiking in Vancouver and seems to be in the self-reflection state of the offseason. Is there hidden meaning behind his recent Instagram posts? I’ll let everyone else decide.

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In Canis Hoopus commenter news, SlowBreak’s wife has early morning jokes about our Timberwolves. Joel Hernandez stays consistent in his talking points with an obvious counter punch to the tweeted text message. We shall never forget about all of the Pythagorean Record Finals banners.

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Time for a song to end this post. Me and Michael by MGMT.