Not a Great Week for Jimmys

Happy New Year Razzball Nation. Nearly to the half-way point of the season, many questions remain. Is Razzball a nation? What is our form of government? Do we have an official nation-state bird or something? See what I mean, it’s all fun and games until you have to pick out which bird best represents, ya know?

And sure, there are a couple basketball-related question. Here’s one, is Alexandre Sarr worth your attention yet? Maybe! Since a rough November, he’s averaged 13.5 points, nearly 7 boards and over two assists plus 1.6 blocks. Wizards are going to let him play, so it’ll be interesting to see if there’s more growth yet in his rookie year.

Look, I know that isn’t the lede, but I live in the area and of like one of three people who have watched more than one Wizards game this year. I just want to share my secrets. Yes, my secret was that I watch some Wizards games. Oh, speaking of which, y’all should check out what Jordan Poole‘s been doing lately…

So yes, Jimmy Butler was recently suspended for seven games, for what I assume was listed as “regression to toxic self” which is of course ironic, since no one ever accused Pat Riley of being a very friendly and compassionate figure. That being said, here’s another question; will he be traded and do you care?

I would say the answer to both is another emphatic… maybe? Look, I think the funny outcome is Butler gets so steamed he accepts his player option and just sits on the Heat bench another year, which just shows that if he wants to go nuclear, he kinda has the last “ef u” chip in my opinion. I know the view is that Riley has nothing to lose, which is kinda true, but Jimmy is the truest wild card and all bets are off for me.

Now of course Riley could also do some funny things, like trade Butler to, say, the aforementioned Wizards, but let’s be honest. I think wherever Jimmy ends up, including back to Miami, it’s really what his emotional state is that will affect you the most. If you get happy Jimmy, even if it’s Raptor Jimmy or Hornets Jimmy (I have no idea if these are legitimate trade targets)… the point is, if he is into it, you’ll get the stats and fantasy points. If he’s doing his four-year awkward exit thing, which this is, then obviously there’s zero value. I guess it’s a long way of saying, it doesn’t matter where he ends up or how it happens; just only how he feels about it.

And the Thunder and Cavs continue rolling, just in time for their head-on collision. I have to slightly favor the Cavs here, with Chet still out, I have a theory that in these big-time games, the Thunder still have a bit of a size issue inside the paint, even with iHart back. I’d probably point to the Bucks loss in the Cup run as an example, but no doubt this should be one of the best regular season games this year.

LeBron James checked out against the Hawks with 30 points and 8 assist, marking his 563rd 30-point game, most in NBA history. Not to wax poetic too much, but one of the best parts of watching today’s modern NBA is the fact that we get to watch aging stars actually sustain and perform way better than their previous contemporaries.

Maybe I’m just getting old and soft (just the way your mother likes it), but getting the chance to still see Steph, KD, LeBron still play at a high level (a majority of nights) is an amazing thing and is certainly a great perk in this era of basketball. What! It’s the New Year, gotta end on hope…

Jay is a longtime Razzball everything who consumes an egregious amount of Makers Mark as a vehicle to gain wisdom and augment his natural glow. Living in the D.C. area, he also likes spending time visiting the local parks and feeding lettuce to any turtles he encounters, including Mitch McConnell.