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What’s going on, family. Welcome back to Layup Lines. It’s Sykes here to usher you into the weekend. Let’s talk about, well, *wildly gestures everywhere* everything happening with the league right now.
The state of the NBA doesn’t feel like a very good one right now. It hasn’t felt that way for a few weeks.
So many scandals have seemingly just come out of nowhere and given us a loop of drama that just won’t seem to cease. It started with the Draymond Green and Jordan Poole altercation. Then there was the Robert Sarver scandal. The news cycle then shifted to Ime Udoka’s scandal with the Celtics. Josh Primo’s sexual misconduct scandal came a few weeks later, but most folks missed that because Kyrie Irving pulled a Kyrie Irving by spreading antisemitic propaganda on his platform. Oh, and Ime Udoka is probably going to coach again this season…with the Brooklyn Nets.
It just doesn’t feel like the basketball league is about basketball anymore. And rightfully so. The issues vary — they include racism, antisemitism, misogyny, abuse and sexual misconduct. These things are much, much bigger than basketball. This is very clearly something the NBA needs to take care of.
It’s just such a shame because there’s some fun basketball going on right now. We’ve got multiple players breaking Wilt Chamberlain records right now. The teams that are supposed to be good right now aren’t (looking at you, Warriors and Clippers). There are some extremely fun teams rising up, too. The Donovan Mitchell trade is working out for the Cavaliers. Jalen Brunson seems like a real player for the Knicks. Paolo Banchero’s career is also off to an amazing start.
And we can’t talk about any of it because of, again, *gestures wildly at everything*. This completely stinks. But, more than that, it’s just disappointing because of what we thought the NBA stood for.
The NBA has always marketed itself as this stand-up, progressive league that was here for the everyday person. It always seemed to be more thoughtful and caring. It always let its players use their voices and they seemed to want to use those voices to try and impact change for everyday people.
That just doesn’t feel like the case anymore. As these scandals have happened, the league has largely been quiet. They’ve allowed things to unfold in a hands-off way we’re not used to. Players have remained silent on many of these issues as well — the NBA Player’s Union didn’t even include Kyrie Irving’s name in a statement disavowing antisemitism.
Now isn’t the time to be quiet, though. Now is the time to act. Stand up. Bring values to the table. Show people what the NBA is about and what it stands for.
Then maybe we can get back to talking about basketball again.
The Tip-Off
Some NBA goodness from around the USA TODAY Sports network.
Speaking of basketball, the Warriors are struggling right now. Their bench is the main cause of it.
The major issue in that, though, is that bench is supposed to be filled with guys who are the Warriors’ future. I wrote a bit about that earlier. The numbers are staggering.
“Here’s how good their starters have been. Of all lineups in the NBA that have played at least 70 minutes together, the Warriors’ starters are the second best in the NBA with a net rating of +24.1 behind the Milwaukee Bucks’ starters.
But their bench — filled with the youth that is supposed to carry the next generation — is failing them tremendously.”
Check out more on that here.
One to Watch
(All odds via Tipico.)
Mavericks (-3.5, -155) vs. Raptors (+125), O/U 216.5, 8:30 PM ET
This is going to be a good one. Luka Doncic is probably the front runner for MVP at this point in the season. It’s still early, but dude is putting up Wilt Chamberlain numbers which automatically puts you in the conversation.
But the Raptors have the 7th best defense in the NBA and a lot of length to throw at Luka. I think it’ll be a close one, so I’m taking the Raptors +3.5.
Shootaround
— Kyrie Irving’s apology doesn’t matter if his actions don’t back it up.
— Watch Matt Ryan’s buzzer-beater for the Lakers in slow motion.
— The Nets’ future just fizzled out again.
—Twitter was absolutely shocked by the Warriors’ epic collapse.
That’s all, folks! Enjoy your weekend.
