Kiwi Steve in the NBA #11: Basketball Is Back
A Bit Of A Scare
There’s been such a buzz (in Thunder circles at least) about the prospect of a fully rested Steven Adams after lockdowns and what a boost that could give this team. First few games we saw an energised and aggressive Kiwi Steve and it felt obvious that the break had indeed done him good. Little niggles had affected him most of the season and now suddenly he’d had time to recover, you love to see it.
That fitted in nicely with a Thunder team that looked great overall too. First three games after the restart at least, the next three we’ll get to in a sec because they kinda tanked them a bit. But at full strength in the first three they beat the Jazz, lost to Denver in OT, and beat the Lakers. Three playoff teams and three very competitive performances. Chris Paul was a damned magician. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Danilo Gallinari were hitting big shots. The role players were stepping up, including backup centre Nerlens Noel. It was fantastic to watch and amidst it all Steven Adams was out there making plays. Without playing huge minutes or getting extra shots he was still out there making the most of things. Assists down slightly but so it goes, it’s a small sample size. He was making tough shots, he was moving really well especially in the paint under pressure, and he was playing a key role on a really impressive Thunder defence.
But there’s a reason he kept picking up sneaky injuries earlier in the season and that’s because he plays basketball like this...
Nooooot nice. Especially not when we were just admiring how fit and healthy he looked. Adams stayed in the game after this but limped around and was soon taken out... then because we’re cramming all these teams into slightly limited facilities the trainer had to assess him in an empty bit of the hallway which was odd. He would return to the game and looked decent enough in the fourth quarter as he added to a quality night and the peak result of OKC’s bubble seeding games, comprehensively dropping the top seed LA Lakers – the first time all season where the Lakers didn’t hold a single lead.
Then this happened...
And he continued to miss games afterwards, not playing in any of the three games after since the Lakers matchup (although he did show up in cardboard cut-out form in the virtual seats).
All along Billy Donovan has said that it’s nothing serious and the Phoenix Suns defeat in particular he rested plenty more players beyond just Steve. Dennis Schröder had been out of the bubble for the birth of his child. A few other fellas had little injuries. The Thunder didn’t really wanna risk it so you can tell that the Adams thing was all part of that wider trend... a trend which you have to also consider may be a bit convenient too.
See, OKC’s season being what it has been, that still doesn’t change the wider focus of things as they seek to rebuild into a championship contender and it just so happens that the Thunder’s first round pick is transferred to the 76ers (as part of the Jeremi Grant trade) if it falls outside the top twenty. For them to sneak into the top twenty, they probably can’t afford to finish higher than the sixth seed. Now, you don’t wanna get too committed to that line of thinking and ruin your chances of competing in the playoffs with a tougher matchup however if guys do have genuine niggles that need care and you’re already guaranteed in the playoffs and without home court advantages perhaps you don’t really care too much about where you end up... it’s a side-quest worth at least being aware of.
For the record, here’s what Steven Adams had to say about the injury to his... appendage.
Unity In The Bubble
Checkmate
Apparently since only 35 people are allowed into the bubble on behalf of each team, most of them couldn’t sneak a chef into Walt Disney World so many of those chefs are working outside the bubble in a specially supervised kitchen and then having those feeds delivered into the bubble to the players... which is crazy. Another example of the incredible organisational effort that’s gone into all this.
Like, the basketball is one thing but if you’re a top tier professional basketballer in the NBA stuck in a permanent bubble for the rest of the season then what do you get up to while you’re not playing? The NBA has spared no efforts in that regard either with a wide variety of activities and entertainment options. Some fellas are off fishing, some are gaming in their rooms, some are hitting up the gym, some are playing bags... all sorts. Steven Adams, however... he’s playing online chess.
Not just playing it either, he’s also getting in deep on the strategies and then bragging about his victories by sharing screenshots all over social media. After he whupped on the Lakers last week he then chucked up the same image of a checkmated chess board on literally twelve different random tweets, from NBA highlights to nature pics to UFC yarns. Same as he did a couple weeks ago with another happy victory...
Note that the fella’s gotten ruthless here, sacrificing his queen to get the win. That’s some high concept chessery there, ain’t it? Most of us wouldn’t have the guts. But Kiwi Steve on the other hand, he appears to be a bit of a scholar of the chessboard. Here’s another one from a few weeks ago in which he’s also gone high concept for the win and let everybody know about it...
By the way, this is from the OKC social media crew just prior to the Los Angeles Lakers game. Funny thing about that clip is he was clearly saying “checkmate motherfuckers” but they cut the edit to censor him before any vulnerable ears were made to hear something they shouldn’t have. Tsk tsk.
That’s the same win that he screenshotted in those dozen tweets after the game. So basically he got that ‘mate, bragged about it to the team social media folks, went out and dropped 18p & 7r on the Lakers in a big win, then spread the evidence of his accomplished chess exploits to the world. Flex on them all, son.
Steve-O + Jingles
Mateship, aye?
BOX SCORES
vs UTAH JAZZ (W 110-94):
28 MIN | 16 PTS (7/10 FG, 2/5 FT) | 11 REB (3 OFF) | 2 AST | 2 BLK | 4 TO | 3 PF
vs DENVER NUGGETS (L 121-113 OT):
34 MIN | 9 PTS (3/6 FG, 3/4 FT) | 10 REB (3 OFF) | 1 AST | 2 TO | 6 PF
vs LOS ANGELES LAKERS (W 105-86):
28 MIN | 18 PTS (7/10 FG, 4/7 FT) | 7 REB (1 OFF) | 2 AST | 1 TO | 2 PF
vs MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES (L 121-92):
DNP – Leg Injury
vs WASHINGTON WIZARDS (W 121-103):
DNP – Leg Injury
vs PHOENIX SUNS (L 128-101):
DNP – Leg Injury
THE SCHEDULE
vs MIAMI HEAT, Thursday at 12pm (NZT)
vs LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS, Saturday at 10.30am (NZT)
SLAM DUNKS
(Old mate’s not actually married, probs just said ‘the missus’ in convo and Americans being Americans they misinterpreted the kiwi slang, as per... Malika Andrews – outstanding ESPN reporter btw, no hate – also mentioned that he brought a guitar to the bubble despite not being able to play because this was a perfect chance to learn or something... Steve-o legit can play some tunes, there’s vids going back years of him on the guitar, but you can already guess that almost certainly came from him saying something self-deprecatingly humble about his guitar skills and that being taken literally)
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