The Dugout – NBA Finals, Coaching Dramas & Gronk Being Gronk
Draymond vs LeBron
This can only be an enormous quantity of fun. LeBron James is still the king, but Draymond Green might be the new king of banter. And it deserves special mention because against the Hawks last series we got to see something that we haven’t seen for a few years… Troll LeBron. You can bet your ass that Draymond wants to mark LeBron and this is an early warning that the battle is gonna be outstanding. Green was also a Defensive Player of the Year candidate, shall it be added.
Also, LeBron James reckons he’s playing the best basketball of his career right now. So… do with that information what you will, Warriors fans.
Cavalier Approach
It’s funny how different the seasons have been for these two NBA finalist, yet how similar at the same time. Both have been the best in their conference throughout the playoffs, and for most of the regular season, but the Warriors started from the top and maintained it while the Cavs were a work in progress for a long time.
For them it all started with welcoming LeBron James back with open arms. They’d won the NBA Draft Lottery, and selected first overall, though they traded Andrew Wiggins (along with Anthony Bennett) to Minnesota for Kevin Love. Big three assembled, now the world would tremble.
But it didn’t. They started as a middling team, the expected historic offence nothing near what was predicted. It was only a few months into this new team and already hurdles were arriving for LeBron and NBA rookie coach David Blatt (but mostly for LBJ, let’s be honest). Mr James took a two week holiday in Miami.
They get back to business, a few key trades go down. Suddenly they’re setting the league alight. Kyrie Irving has a couple of career nights. Second seed, 53 wins.
Except the playoffs weren’t clear sailing either. Kevin Love’s injury, the deficit overcome against the Chicago Bulls. They had to work, but up against the only side in the east with more wins than them, the Atlanta Hawks, they were ruthless and punishing.
It’s been a bloody crazy journey and now it’s culminated in LeBron’s fifth consecutive NBA Finals. The Golden State Warriors were a very good team last season. They’re an all-time great team this season. Narratively speaking, this is just about perfect. The best player vs the MVP. Two rookie coaches. The sidekick brilliance of Kyrie vs Klay. The history of both of these franchises and their lack of titles over the last number of decades. Most of all, the fact that probably the two most exciting teams are there. Jeezus, is it Friday already? Hurry up, dammit!
High-Brow Coaching
Tom Thibodeau has been sacked by the Chicago Bulls. Monty Williams has been sacked by the New Orleans Pelicans. Going back further, Scott Brooks has been sacked by the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Orlando Magic were happy to let James Borrego’s contract run out. Those are the four new changes so far, but you can bet there’ll be more, especially with a couple of those guys on the lookout for new employment.
The mental thing is that the Pelicans and Bulls both made the playoffs while the Thunder would have were it not for injuries. But sometimes that ain’t good enough. Head coaching is one of the most harshly judged jobs in sport, so much relies on players and fit and general good luck. And there’s nothing like fresh ideas when a franchise wants to make that next step as all three of these teams do (Come on, the Magic don’t matter quite yet). Billy Donovan has left his Florida Gators job after nearly 20 years to run the Thunder, that’s old news. Meanwhile the Bulls have also gone the college route with Fred Hoiberg and the Pelicans were able to lure Golden State assistant Alvin Gentry with the carrot of taking Anthony Davis into his peak. Who’d be a coach? Well, if you get to coach Kevin Durant, Anthony Davis, Russell Westbrook or Derrick Rose… pretty much anybody.
MLB Power Rankings:
- St Louis Cardinals
- Houston Astros
- LA Dodgers
- Washington Nationals
- San Francisco Giants
- Minnesota Twins
- New York Nets
- LA Angels
- New York Yankees
- Texas Rangers
Gronking Around
It’s fast become clear that we will never ever reach Peak Gronk. He is a forever perpetuating fountain of Bro Wisdom, Partying and Football. But this interview with DuJour Magazine is somewhere near the upper echelon of Gronkness. He talks tinder, pissing, ladies, dating and football. This whole thing was delightfully unnecessary.
Also, the Gronkowski family are slated to appear on Family Feud soon. Honestly, he's so over-represented in this column it's barely legal...
Big Fella
The Designated Hitter debate is an ongoing one, because Americans aren’t very good at handling grey areas, so having two different rules in two different leagues can get annoying for some. But when asked about the idea of introducing the DH to the National League, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred had one example that may have put the argument to bed for a while: Bartolo Colon’s hitting. Can’t argue with the bloke.
The Best Player For Every NBA Jersey Number
Top 10 From the MVP
Lloyd Loses It
Kit-Kat Etiquette
This Is Now
Look, corporate shout outs are pretty uncomfortable, and not entirely moral either. So in the interest of balance, do not – under any circumstances – buy any Body Armor drinks. They can’t even spell ‘armour’ properly. But this is a very cool ad.
When Mascots Get Hammered...
Quote of the Week:
“The Chicago Bulls have a history of achieving great success on and off the court. These accomplishments have been possible because of an organizational culture where input from all parts of the organization has been welcomed and valued, there has been a willingness to participate in a free flow of information, and there have been clear and consistent goals. While the head of each department of the organization must be free to make final decisions regarding his department, there must be free and open interdepartmental discussion and consideration of everyone's ideas and opinions. These internal discussions must not be considered an invasion of turf, and must remain private. Teams that consistently perform at the highest levels are able to come together and be unified across the organization -- staff, players, coaches, management and ownership. When everyone is on the same page, trust develops and teams can grow and succeed together. Unfortunately, there has been a departure from this culture. To ensure that the Chicago Bulls can continue to grow and succeed, we have decided that a change in the head coaching position is required. Days like today are difficult, but necessary for us to achieve our goals and fulfill our commitments to our fans. I appreciate the contributions that Tom Thibodeau made to the Bulls organization. I have always respected his love of the game and wish him well in the future.”
That’s Chicago Bulls Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf’s full statement on the firing of Tom Thibodeau. A very long-winded rant about Thibs not being on ‘the same page’ as the rest of the organisation, presumably of Thibs blocking other areas of the organisation from acting how they’d like. Could probably have edited this a little…
Runner Up Quote of the Week:
Adrian Peterson is still a Minnesota Viking and has no way out. He doesn’t understand why.
Peterson has since returned to the organisation for pre-season.
Good Week:
Carolina Panthers Fans – Sounds like Cam Newton is on the verge of a new, long-term deal. No word on the figures yet but you can expect it to happen based on the reports.
Joey Gallo (Texas Rangers) – Everyone loves a young phenom hitter. One of the top ranked power prospects in baseball, Gallo made his debut against the White Sox this week and could not have hoped for better. His first at-bat was a 2-run single with the bases loaded, he added a double and a massive homer to that and finished 3-4 with 3 runs and 4 RBI. On debut. Remember this name.
Joc Pederson (LA Dodgers) – There aren’t many can hit a baseball further than LAD’s 23 year old centre fielder. Only Bryce Harper and Nelson Cruz have hit more of them too (each with 18) after Pederson sent four over the fences this week to bring his total up to 16.
Bad Week:
Tom Thibodeau (N/A) – Still not entirely sure what he did wrong.
Klay Thompson (Golden State Warriors) – The lad’s been cleared to play in the finals, but his concussion in the clincher against Houston was not a happy sight. Word is he was vomiting in the changing rooms, that’s awful.
Player of the Week:
This position is on hold for a week on account of the whole LeBron James vs Steph Curry vs Kyrie Irving vs Klay Thompson vs J.R. Smith vs Draymond Green… etc. thing coming up this week. Double or nothing next time.