Well look, unfortunately I don’t mean the metaphor, especially since I do get a little nausea if the Lakers actually do go on a big winning streak. Though, it’s the same nausea I get when my Clippers do the same thing, so… anyways, LA is burning and while many of you might already know I’ve found myself languishing in the District the last 15 years, my old stomping grounds included Los Angeles, more specifically Santa Monica, Westwood and just a touch of Pasadena. You only want a touch!
And what does this have to do with basketball? Well, the Lakers game was postponed, and we already have confirmation that JJ Reddick has lost his home and that Kawhi Leonard left the Clippers with his house and family right at ground zero in the Palisades area the other night. While I’ve seen many ranging reactions from all over the place, all I’ll say is that sure, those who are well-off will not suffer their property loss as much as others, but the trauma is still the same, the danger is still the same, and there are things that just simply cannot be replaced no matter how rich you are.
Regardless, it’s a horrifying situation, and if you feel you are able, I am linking this great Los Angeles Daily News reference page that have several actionable ways you can help including support for the American Red Cross, California Fire Foundation and the Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation. My best to you and yours if affected.
Now for some regular basketball stuff…
Turns out I may know what I’m talking about once and a while (haha…haha…ha); if you missed it, the Cavs continued their winning streak, now 12-straight games, beating the Thunder in what could be a potential Finals match-up. Darius Garland scored 40 points with 9 assists, 4-7 from three. Now… I did mention that the Thunder lacks size at the moment, and so if they’re not shooting lights out, their suffocating perimeter defense has a bit of trouble in the paint and that showed with Jarrett Allen going 18/15 with 2 blocks and Evan Mobley with 21/11 and six assists. Let’s see how it goes when Chet Holmgren comes back… who is currently travelling with the team, for what it’s worth.
Victor Wembanyama cooled down a bit with some help by Giannis’ defense, going 10/10/1 on 4/10 shooting. This will most likely be a weakness moving forward, big physical guys who can move him around. He’ll adjust, but the dude is still a bit of a Giraffe grazing out there. If grazing is averaging like 15 blocks a game.
The Mavs have been working hard without Luka and Kyrie, winning their last two. The couple biggest factors have been P.J. Washington (going 23/14 with three steals) and Dereck Lively II (getting a 21/16 with three blocks last night against the Trailblazers).
Did you know that since Jimmy Butler‘s absence/vacation/emo-sabbatical/suspension, Jaime Jaquez Jr. has been averaging 16.8/6.5/6.5 on 63% total shooting?
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.
