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There is so much tension on the hardwood you could cut it with a knife. Draymond Green had another suspension resulting incident; Pistons are historically bad; Giannis gives us an NBA edition of Mahomin'; and the Cavs are trying to hang tough while facing a major injury bug. I'll run through those headliners & I also have some positive vibes comin' out of LA to shine bright on to complete this week's Scoop. Let's roll.
Cleveland is hurtin' bad right now as they are fightin' a nasty injury bug. December 15th was an awful day for the Cavs as they announced that both Darius Garland (fractured jaw) & Evan Mobley (knee surgery) will miss multiple weeks of action due to injury. Mobley has a timetable of 6-8 weeks before he can return with Garland's return time in question, but labeled as "multiple weeks". Bad news for a squad trying to stay in the top 8 of the Eastern Conference as we close 2023. Donovan Mitchell is back to having a load on his back.
Injuries have kept the Cavs from reaching their potential to start the campaign; it has unfortunately been their theme and is the reason for their 14-12 record. Role players Max Strus (current starter at 2) and Georges Niang are the only two players to play in all 26 games- the star trio of Mitchell-Mobley-Garland have only played 13 games together this season. Exactly half; so I get the 14-12 record. The record is pretty damn solid when you consider thier injury problems. They place right in the mix for the Play-In seeds in the East with enough seperation from those in the basement. They look to keep things that way, but now face difficulty. Spida Mitchell and Jarrett Allen will need to be on their A-games during the absences of Garland and Mobley if the Cavs hope to avoid a fall in the standings.
Cavaliers have an up and down schedule coming up to close out the year. They play elite; middle of the pack; and basement squads as they currently sit 2nd in the Central. Cavs are trying to stick with the Pacers and stay above the Bulls; having Mobley and Garland out for the foreseeable future makes the task tricky with the type of opps lurkin' in the distance. Cavs have mega-important games with the Raptors; Bulls; and Nets, whom they play in Paris. On top of those, they have marquee matchups with the Pelicans; Mavericks; and Bucks coming up. i don't sugarcoat it when I say they face difficulty... they face DIFFICULTY. Luckily, they have a three game spread with the Wizards (x2) and Spurs that should help them add quick dubs to contain any smoke caused, but there is no doubt they will feel this injury bug on the record. Really it just comes down to limiting the impact and damage. Lets see how the Cavs respond to more adversity.
Clippers are showin' they can overcome some adversity of their own. Clippers' adversity wasn't created by an injury bug, but a cultural shock to their team chemistry and a change in the rotation just as the season got rollin'. LA lost the first five games that James Harden played since the trade with the Sixers- they went just 5-8 in the month of November. Clippers have now won 7 in a row and all 7 of their games thus far in December... looks like they just needed some time to gel together.
Kawhi Leonard has finally woke up and Harden is doing a good job runnin' the offense with a combined +87 plus/minus across the winning streak with three games over +20 and three games with double digit assists. KLAW has averaged 29.4 points across the win streak, shootin' a smooth 61.7% from the field. Leonard dropped 41 on the Jazz to give him his first 40-burger since April 1st (25 games; includes pre & postseason). KLAW puttin' up those kind of numbers are crucial to the Clippers' success and we see that in full sense here in December.
Winning streaks can completely alter a team's season for the better, and the Clippers look to take advantage. LA has been MONEY at home this season with a rock solid 11-3 record, and have now won six in row inside the Staples Center (no, I won't call it anything else) since the loss to the Nuggets on November 27th. The last four team dubs were all at home. Clippers are a top 5 team at home this season, but they do have issues on the road. A slew of issues at that as they have a lackluster 4-7 record with two of the four only being against the basement Spurs. They look for this winning streak to alter that poor narrative; and in a big way as extending the streak to ten will catapult them up a tier in the standings.
Clippers play three straight games on the road against the Pacers; Mavericks; and Thunder before playing the East leadin' Celtics at home. Monster games to both change thier efforts on the road and climb the standings even more... the Thunder are only 1.5 games ahead of the Clips for the two spot atop the West. Monster games indeed. Clippers then start 2024 off with three straight road games against the Suns; Pelicans; and Lakers! See what I mean!? Changing the narrative will be difficult forsure as they play their next 6 road games against teams all currently holding a spot in the playoffs. With how the rotation is starting to gel; I don't recommend countin' them out against this task. They need Paul George to step up his consistency from the field and Harden to continue to focus more on his passing & spacing rather than his shooting. Feed the KLAW. Lets see if they can keep this streak going as we close out December. Right now, things are going damn good for the Clippers.
Things sure aren't damn good in Detroit. Pistons are historically bad, and not in the same sense as they were in the late '80s. Pistons are bad in terms of losing, not by having a winning and aggressive attitude like the Bad Boys. Detroit joins the '95-96 Vancouver Grizzlies; the '97-98 Denver Nuggets; and the dreaded '11-12 Charlotte Bobcats for the third-longest losing skids within the same season- that record is set at 26 and held by the '10 Cavs & '13 76ers. On top of that, they have now set the new mark for the longest losing streak in franchise history surpassing the '80 squad. Pistons are now just 5 losses away from tying the 2015 76ers (28) for the longest losing skid in NBA history (any duration). Monty Williams is a sorry-sorry coach.
I won't beat this drum too much here as I went in on the Pistons in the last Scoop, but this team is hard to watch. I think there is a strong chance for them to set the all-time mark with who loom on the schedule. They face a strong storm of foes atop the East with the next five games being @ ATL; vs UTA; @ BKN; vs BKN; and @ BOS. Circle the Jazz matchup; probably the Piston's best chance to secure a win. If they lose those next five games then there is a strong chance they don't reach 10 wins on the campaign. That will just cause more tension across Pistons Nation.
You already know the tension in-camp is thick. Losing will do that, especially losing to their degree. It doesn't help they have a pathetic coach who says this regarding the losing skid:
Monty still is playing Killian Hayes over Jaden Ivey at the point; has shown no leadership; and continues to say the worst things when asked about the team's failures. Pistons deal with him; deal with losing; and deal with being trolled. They are the laughing stock of the league, and their opponents have no problem chriping them up while handin' down buckets and Ls. Just insert Patrick Beverley, who wanted to talk some talk pregame to Isaiah Stewart and the Pistons:
video via AhnFireDigital//X
Pistons have young talent; but no diversity in the rotation. They have NO shooters and have trouble shootin' in every area of the field. Pistons rank no higher than 20th in any given area of the floor this season and rank dead last in three pointers made per game (9.8). Bojan Bogdanović returning from injury gives a major boost in spacing and scoring, but surely not enough. Cade Cunningham is too inefficient; teams have no fear in the Piston's perimeter defense; and the team can't shoot. It's a pure dumpster fire in Detroit.
Draymond Green is back in the headlines & back on the suspension list. Green has been suspended indefinitely with a timetable of around three weeks as he begins his counseling process of the suspension. The league took action on Green for this shot to the head of the Suns' Jusuf Nurkić:
video via ohnohedidnt24//X
Green's actions on Nurkić come to no surprise for most as Draymond is custom to physical play and at times- dirty physical play. Dray has now faced six suspensions across his career, including one that contributed to Golden State's historic collapse during the 2016 NBA Finals. Add 19 ejections on top of those six suspensions. Dray has shown a few instances this season of just pure unnecessary roughness, this path was created- the strike on Nurkić was the final straw. Action needed to happen, and the league's office looks to be handling it perfectly. In no way, shape, or form do I agree with the lot who shout for him to miss the entirety of the season. I sure as hell will never have the gull to compare him in full retrospect to Ron Artest. You all take things way too serious and just spit to spit.
Comparing Green to Artest just shows ignorance and foul judgement. To be clear, I don't believe for a second that Green didn't "try" to hit Nurkić. That stike was intentional and does compare to one that Artest did on James Harden:
video via Clutch Time//X
Green's motives just don't align with Artest's motives. Green acts in stealth by trying to outsmart reality, whereas Artest had one mission and will complete that mission in full disregard of any consequences. Frankly, Green is a light form of a psychopath while Artest was a pure sociopath on the hardwood. You see that with Artest immediately squaring up with Ibaka and welcoming all pursuers while Green looks for empathy and shows a lack of guilt off the tip. Don't compare the two, it's silly. Me writing that is not an attempt at taking away Draymond's accountability. The stunt he pulled on Nurkić is pathetic and tiringsome. It also is beyond disrespecful to Green's hard work and path to greatness.
I have always thought highly of Green as a ballpalyer and a teammate. I followed his career in East Lansing and adored his work ethic and grit. Not a person in the world, besides Draymond, thought he would make it to this point when he was a Sophmore at Michigan State. The cat had a different wave to himself. A wave consisting of work ethic; grit; and pure competitiveness. That wave led him to have a spectacular pro-career as he is one of the best premier defenders and championship pieces of the 21st-century. It would be beyond shameful to see him throw that built legacy away. It's already shameful for him to have actions that give people the chance to degrade his name and personality. I hope he puts an end to this; hopefully this is a wake-up call. This being a reference to his counseling and structure of his suspension. Get yourself right, so you can end your career on the right note. To everyone else: don't compare him to Ron Artest. You look and sound silly.
Hey, speaking of being silly! How about the embarrassing debacle between Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Pacers? Just another snippet of a pro-athlete acting like a damn fool while throwing a tantrum:
video via ohnohedidnt24//X
Here is a fan angle of the tunnel run:
Giannis was fired up over not receiving the game ball after he posted a career high 64 points as he broke the Bucks' franchise record for most points scored in a single game. He made a scene the moment the game ended. A grown man fighting over a basketball; just silly! Don't get it twisted, the Indiana players that were acting like little kids by hiding the ball are just as pathetic, but that doesn't take away Giannis needing to be held back and restrained over a damn basketball!
Giannis is to have his team officials handle getting the game ball by the time the team is to leave the arena. They would have gotten the damn ball. The Pacers began to hide it after Giannis was throwing a fit in efforts to rile him more up and out of spite because Giannis ruined their night. Such an avoidable situation, but these guys are SO emotional. Being a grown man in that moment and having people hold you back like it's some WWE brawl is so childish. I call it Mahomin' now by the way. Giannis got straight to Mahomin'. Learn how to act, man! I mean, we literally talked more about this unnecessary behavior than his unreal performance on the court. That tells enough. Take a second to clarify your behavior before you act. That's all I ask!
So much tension on the court as we are set to finish 2023 on the calendar. All this tension isn't a bad thing, the comp' is red-hot and the standings are a bloodbath. Just the way Hoop fans like it, cha heard. Saddle up for another fire week of action on the hardwood and leave this Scoop with a gorgeous Luka dime:
video via Mavs_FFL//X
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