NBA Bi-Weekly Recap: Restoring The Feeling

Ya boy (it me, ya boy) is back with another recap after two more weeks of NBA action. The season transitioned into November, and as the temperature cools, the intensity seems to have heated up. Let’s dive into some things that I noticed since we last checked in.

SlimmerJam I Didn’t Quite Live Up To The Hype (And That’s Okay!)

November 14 th saw the first of what we hope to be many regular season meetings between Victor Wembanyama and Chet Holmgren. The great Bomani Jones calls their matchups, “The Skinny Bowl,” but I’d like to submit SlimmerJam as a replacement (I’ll also accept SlenderJam, SlimmerSlam and SlenderSlam). No matter the moniker, the two latest versions of basketball unicorns squared off. And while Holmgren’s Oklahoma City Thunder routed Wembanyama’s San Antonio Spurs, neither player played particularly well. Both players failed to reach double figures. The difference is if Chet struggles, he has an All-NBA teammate in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander who is shouldering the brunt of the scoring responsibility. If Vic struggles, his teammates are solid but young, and the roster isn’t as talented as OKC’s.

But like most regular season games, we’ll quickly forget the final score and instead keep tally on which of the two slender men has the upper hand in their individual matchup. And like other singular regular season games, one bad game does not matter, overall. We must remember that both Chet and Vic have barely played double figure games in the NBA. There is more of a pressurized scrutiny with young players because we see and know of them earlier and there are more ways to consume the high praise their potential warrants. But that’s just it—potential needs to develop. That is especially true of massive amounts of it where the possibilities are more abundant. We live in a society where we want everything ready-made and finalized for us then complain when the shelf life is short. Cultivation is needed in this case, both for their growth as future NBA superstars and their rivalry. Because the best part of this is that it appears Chet and Vic carry adversarial every towards each other. Not hate or anything that will lead to fisticuffs (we’ll get to that later), but a lack of desire to acknowledge the other’s ability. If we want true rivalries back, we have to give them time to develop on their own. Let’s pest for health and future dominance for both of them.

Anthony Edwards is The Young Superstar We Have Yearned For

Moving on to a more established but still rising young superstar, Anthony Edwards is here. I know it. You know it. Bleacher Report knows it. Adidas knows it. The 22-year-old Ant Man is looking as if he wants to take over the league with his game and his charisma. As of the morning of November 20, Minnesota is atop the Western Conference at 9-3, percentage points ahead of the 10-4 Thunder. While a lot of that can be attributed to Rudy Goober Gobert returning to elite status as a defensive anchor, Edwards certainly has elevated his game as well. That elevation and dedication revealed itself during the FIBA World Championships. From playing his way into the starting lineup, to being both the go-to guy and somewhat of a leader for Team USA. The Ant Man appears to want to take the challenge of what’s required to be among the Association’s best, now and in history.

He already has the internal confidence and the overflowing talent to pursue greatness. Not bad for someone who one Draft evaluator said he didn’t care about basketball because he had other interests. Edwards restores the feeling of a time before and draws unnecessary comparisons to Michael Jordan (that will be a subject for another day) because he appears to not let any friendships or good rapport get in the way of dominating on the court. Jordan’s killer instinct is well-documented, but he also had friends on other teams. Edwards looks to be of a similar vein, according to good friend Tyrese Haliburton of the Indiana Pacers. Ant has both the magnetic personality as well as the drive to be the game’s premiere perimeter player. Here’s to continued ascension and health for Anthony Edwards so he can fully realize his superpowers.

NBA Players Play Hard Because They Are Professionals

Okay, let’s get to the hottest topic of last week: NBA skirmishes. Last week saw a bit of a dust-up between the Golden State Warriors and Minnesota Timberwolves that started with Klay Thompson and Jaden McDaniels and ended with Draymond Green’s biceps around the aforementioned Gobert’s neck. Since the NBA collective has moved on after Draymond received his five-game suspension, my comments on that exact situation will be brief. First, whatever violence aside, the fact this happened in the first 90 seconds of a scoreless game is hilarious. Second, Draymond having an initial reaction to put the person looking to deescalate the situation in The Million Dollar Dream is a sign of a man looking for an opportunity and play a different kind of Peacemaker.

Alright, with that skirmish and the one between the Lakers and Grizzlies occurring during In-Season Tournament games, there is this notion that said tournament is causing players to play harder—restoring the feeling is basketball from two generations ago. If we are to use that logic, I have a couple questions. First, does that mean players don’t play hard in the non-Tournament games that happen in that same week? What about in January and February before the All-Star break when the In-season Tournament is over and it’s just the regular season? Will players not play hard then? Additionally, let’s take Klay in this case. He got into it with both Devin Booker and Dillon Brooks last year. My point is that those kinds of altercations (and that word feels strong in most cases) happen because of individual circumstances. And overall, players play hard because they are professionals. Any questionable lack of effort is also individually based and not indicative of a league-wide problem.

To quote NBA insider Vincent Goodwill on the podcast, My Main Man Michael Smith, “I don’t think the players don’t care about the regular season. I think we as media and a basketball culture go and tell people that the regular season doesn’t matter. I think that’s us more than that’s the basketball players.” He’s right, because if we believe the players are trying competitive, that competitive drive is there whether it’s a game in January or Game 6 of the Conference Finals. Domination and embarrassment are quality motivators, too. While I do believe that Commissioner Adam Silver and the NBA urged teams to take the In-Season Tournament games seriously, there isn’t some tangible boost in energy output because of it. Money and status can’t both be a motivator and a catalyst for complacency.

Here are this week’s Till Takes:

** NBA veteran Lou Williams is either lying about how the Clippers behaved about winning a championship in The Bubble or he’s telling the truth and that team listened to imaginary chatter about it. Championships are hard, especially for a franchise that’s never won one. Turning down an opportunity at legend for outside noise is not the best look.

** Washington Wizards guard Jordan Poole is the result of what it looks like to watch a superstar and only take in the results of hard work instead of learning what it takes to get to be a superstar. He still has time to figure it out. I hope no one throws away any 23-year-old’s future because of a little knucklehead behavior.

** GG Jackson. Remember the name. He’s18 and tearing up the G League for the Memphis Hustle.

That’s it for this biweekly recap. I’ll be back in a couple weeks with another check-in.