#this is a serge ibaka call out post

[elokitties]

society if the Bucks didn’t trade Donte DiVincenzo away for PENNIES………..

[freenewstoday]

New Post has been published on https://freenews.today/2021/01/09/kawhi-on-latest-collapse-clips-have-to-change/

Kawhi on latest collapse: Clips 'have to change'

After the LA Clippers blew a 22-point lead in just over five minutes to suffer another second-half collapse, Kawhi Leonard said the Clippers “just have to change.”

The Clippers led 85-63 with 3:15 remaining in the third quarter, only to fall in a stinging 115-105 loss to the Golden State Warriors on Friday night at Chase Center in San Francisco.

Since the start of last season, and including the playoffs, the Clippers have lost an NBA-high eight games when leading by at least 15 points, according to ESPN Stats & Information research.

“We just have to change, pretty much,” Leonard said after watching Stephen Curry score 19 of his 38 points in the third quarter. “We’ve got to change it. We’ve got to get better.”

With a red-hot Curry sparking the comeback in the third quarter, the Warriors overwhelmed the Clippers with a 52-18 blitz from late in the third to under two minutes left in the game.

The Clippers turned the ball over 11 times from the point that they led by 22, and their offense became stagnant. It conjured up bad memories of their collapse against the Denver Nuggets after leading their series 3-1 in the second round last postseason, when the Clippers repeatedly blew big, second-half leads to the Nuggets.

When asked if the Clippers had a long talk after Friday’s defeat, Paul George said he and his teammates “demand greatness” from one another.

“We just want to — just be great as a unit, just demand greatness out of everybody,” George said. “We got to be better. All of us included. This was a team loss, more than anything. We just got to get better. We’ll work on it.”

“I think this is good that something like this happened for this team so early,” George added. “Because fact of the matter is, we have to be a better closing-out team.”

Leonard bristled when asked what the players said to one another after the blown second-half lead.

“I’m not about to tell you what we’re doing in the locker room,” Leonard said. “It’s locker room talk.”

After the Clippers’ playoff meltdown against Denver, Leonard said the team had to improve its basketball IQ and know how to get out of jams when things are snowballing the wrong way.

Team owner Steve Ballmer replaced coach Doc Rivers with Ty Lue in the offseason. This season, the Clippers nearly lost big double-digit leads in the second half before holding on to beat the Los Angeles Lakers, the Nuggets and the Phoenix Suns. Lue praised his team for hanging in and continuing to fight in those victories.

But on Friday night, Lue said he thought the Clippers went away from what helped them build their big cushion while becoming stagnant on offense once Golden State turned the game.

George finished with 25 points and made 9 of 13 shots. Leonard had 24 points. But the Clippers’ two stars were held to a combined four points in the fourth quarter.

The Clippers’ bench was outscored 42-20 by the Warriors’ reserves.

“Our third quarter was terrible as far as defense,” Leonard said. “Them able to get easy looks, coming down just laying up the ball with no one there. Steph Curry did a few times.

“In that third quarter, just guys coming down and getting either open looks or just walking to the basket and laying up the ball.”

On one possession in the fourth, Kent Bazemore had plenty of time to just walk up and take a wide-open 3-pointer that he buried during the Warriors’ big run with 8:25 left in the contest. Clippers center Serge Ibaka could only flail his hands in frustration as the Clippers called timeout.

“We just gotta dig deep,” George said when asked how the Clippers can keep blown leads from becoming a habit. “That’s what it comes down to: We just gotta dig deep as a group and just rely on our team defense to help each other.”

Source

[womenofcolor15]

All The Self-Care & Fitness Suggestions You’ll Need To Get Through This Coronavirus Crisis

Now is the perfect time for some unapologetic self-care. Your usual schedule is a distant memory and you’re adjusting to your new normal as the world fights a global pandemic.

  We're not about to lose our minds - or our skin we've been working so hard on - becasue of all the global & political foolery happening.  Here are a few things you can do to help ease you through the Coronavirus crisis…

It’s been scientifically proven if you take time out to “take care” of yourself, overall you’ll be in better health. Checking in and attending to physical, emotional, social, spiritual, and professional needs can make you feel better. And during a time like this, it’s uber important (even when we're more worried than ever).

There is no one-size fits all approach for stress relief. However, there are things you can do to help ease the self-quarantine pains.

You've also likely have been experiencing grief due to this new world order of sorts, and not even realize it. David Kessler - known as the world’s foremost expert on grief - talked to Harvard Business Law about feeling different types of grief.

HBR: People are feeling any number of things right now. Is it right to call some of what they’re feeling grief?

Kessler: Yes, and we’re feeling a number of different griefs. We feel the world has changed, and it has. We know this is temporary, but it doesn’t feel that way and we realize things will be different. Just as going to the airport is forever different from how it was before 9/11, things will change and this is the point at which they changed. The loss of normalcy; the fear of economic toll; the loss of connection. This is hitting us and we’re grieving. Collectively. We are not used to this kind of collective grief in the air.

You said we’re feeling more than one kind of grief?

Yes, we’re also feeling anticipatory grief. Anticipatory grief is that feeling we get about what the future holds when we’re uncertain. Usually it centers on death. We feel it when someone gets a dire diagnosis or when we have the normal thought that we’ll lose a parent someday. Anticipatory grief is also more broadly imagined futures. There is a storm coming. There’s something bad out there. With a virus, this kind of grief is so confusing for people. Our primitive mind knows something bad is happening, but you can’t see it. This breaks our sense of safety. We’re feeling that loss of safety. I don’t think we’ve collectively lost our sense of general safety like this. Individually or as smaller groups, people have felt this, but all together this is new. We are grieving on a micro and a macro level.

What can individuals do to manage this all this grief?

Understanding the stages of grief is a start. But whenever I talk about the stages of grief, I have to remind people that the stages aren’t linear and may not happen in this order. It’s not a map but it provides some scaffolding for this unknown world. There’s denial, which we say a lot of early on: This virus won’t affect us. There’s anger: You’re making me stay home and taking away my activities. There’s bargaining: Okay, if I social distance for two weeks everything will be better, right? There’s sadness: I don’t know when this will end. And finally there’s Acceptance. This is happening; I have to figure out how to proceed.

Acceptance, as you might imagine, is where the power lies. We find control in acceptance. I can wash my hands. I can keep a safe distance. I can learn how to work virtually.

You can read more here.

With your usual schedule getting knocked out of whack, you’re likely not going to bed at your usual time. The gym is closed, so you may not be getting in your cardio and weight training. You don’t have to leave the house, so you’re likely lounging around in sleepwear all day. Well, it’s time to get out of the rut and try and make the best of the cards we’ve been dealt.

EXERCISE: Even if it’s something mild – do something. Walking, jogging, yoga, HIIT, body weight exercises – all of these things will help your body FEEL better. Avoid the gym though.  When you exercise, your body releases endorphins, which trigger positive feelings in the body. And who doesn’t want that?

Actress Tia Mowry isn't letting the pandemic stop her from staying healthy.

"Day 8 of #saferathome. Wanted to make sure you are guys are keeping your #health and #mentalhealth in check," Tia wrote on Instagram. "Just a few of the ways I’ve been doing just that. Apps such as @calm has helped with mediation, FaceTiming family and friends, and just letting my feet touch the grass (becoming one with nature) known as #grounding has helped with #peace of mind. When it comes to my #health, I’ve been focusing on things that support my #immunesystem system. Not forgetting to eat my veggies (frozen) and fruits loaded in vitamin C including supplements with Zinc, garlic, and iron @shopanser just to name a few. I’m also #workingout out to help with #immunity. It’s amazing how many incredible apps are avail to help keep your body moving! Also, in my Instagram stories, I’ve been giving some recipes and activities I’ve been doing with the kids to help keep us all sane. Ps, YES those are stretch marks and I’m freaking proud of them!"

NBA baller Serge Ibaka and Olympic Gold Medalist volleyball player Kim Glass are getting in their cardio inside the house:

  Cardio day at home pic.twitter.com/LzSRGBnzwk

— Serge Ibaka (@sergeibaka) March 18, 2020

          View this post on Instagram

                  Quarantine Chronicles: A 4 Exercise Full Body Circuit to add to your next Home Workout!! Tag a Friend, Save it, & Do it next workout! 1. Sumo Squat Shuffle (3 x 8) note: 2 sumo squats-2 shuffles repeat 8 times/4 each way) 2. Squat Jumps (3 x 6) 3. Tricep 8’s (3 x 24) 4. SL DB Pullover Crunch (3 x10-12) #homeworkouts #fullbody #quarantinechronicles #workout #igfit #fitness #instafit #workoutmotivation #workfromhome #WhenYourDogDoesntWantYouToBeGreat

A post shared by K͙I͙M͙ G͙L͙A͙S͙S͙ (@itskimglass) on Mar 20, 2020 at 4:38pm PDT

  SLEEP: You're likely not going to sleep at your usual time now that you have more time on your hands. You should change that. Keep a regular sleep schedule by going to bed and waking up at the same time each day. This helps your body know when to expect sleep, which helps your body clock sync up with when you need to feel awake and when you feel sleepy.

Also, be sure your room is dark and cool. Science tells us that we sleep better in cooler temps.

STRETCHING: Activities like yoga helps the circulation of blood to various body parts and gets everything moving. It also reduces muscle tension, increases energy levels, and increases the range of movement in the joints.

MEDITATION: Taking a few minutes out of your day to calm your brain and relax during this stressful time can be very beneficial. Meditation reduces stress, promotes emotional health, and helps control anxiety. If your kids are home with you all day, taking a few minutes to meditate can definitely help you keep your cool. Our fave apps? Breethe, Calm & Meditate (available on your SLACK app).

GET OUT OF THE HOUSE: Yes, we're social distancing, but that doesn't mean you can't go outside for a minute for fresh air! Make it a habit to get outside and soak in some fresh air and sunlight - but not in groups.

LEARN SOMETHING: Now that you have more time on your hands, it's a good time to do some research on whatever it is you've been meaning to research. Look up information on things like starting a new business, stocks and bonds, retirement funds, etc. Now is the time to soak in all the information you can, make a plan and take action. Plus, most of the Ivy League universities are offering free online courses. 

CLEAN: Go ahead and put spring cleaning into full effect. You're already wiping everything down and disinfecting, might as well clean out all of the junk you have laying around from the holidays to kick off spring with a fresh start. Need help cleaning out your closet? Stylist Lili Morton will virtually guide you through the process of cleaning out and organizing your closet. Find out how here.

If you haven't already (or have been forced to), now would be a good time to reschedule beauty services. States are shutting down non-essential businesses left and right, which would include hair salons, barbershops and nail salons. If you're hairstylist/nail tech hasn't canceled or rescheduled you yet, they likely will as experts say the Coronavirus pandemic will get worse before it gets better. The federal government hasn't shut down these establishments, but states are and more will likely follow suit.

“People need to consider whether the necessity of the appointment or trip to the overrides the risk of being in public,” Dr. Robert A. Norton, a professor of Public Health at Auburn University told PEOPLE. “That is a personal decision, but social distancing is a wise move for now.”

“In areas with few or no cases, the risk is not zero (the virus is here), but generally less than the risk encountered in areas and regions where the case numbers are higher,” Dr. Norton continued.

Salons, barbershops and nails salons are already shutting down, so if yours hasn't yet, be prepared for when it does. And you could also use this as a time to learn to do your own cuts, washes, blowouts, braids, manis and whatever else.  You never know where your money saving talents may lie...

Also, we've created a Netflix list of TV shows and movies that will kinda curb your anxiety. Check it out HERE.

Listen, we're social distancing, but we're doing it together. Stay strong Fab Ones. We'll get through this!

Photo: David Prado Perucha/zulufoto/Shutterstock.com/Tia's IG

A SERIOUS MATTER: YBF CELEBS PREPARING FOR CORONAVIRUS!

[Read More ...] source http://theybf.com/2020/03/23/all-the-self-care-fitness-suggestions-you%E2%80%99ll-need-to-get-through-this-coronavirus-crisis

[viraljournalist]

Ten NBA things I like and don't like, including the Luka Doncic-Dwight Powell dance

New Post has been published on https://viraljournalist.com/ten-nba-things-i-like-and-dont-like-including-the-luka-doncic-dwight-powell-dance/

Ten NBA things I like and don't like, including the Luka Doncic-Dwight Powell dance

How about a fresh serving of 10 NBA things:

1. The tricks of Ja Morant

Morant’s athleticism and fearlessness strike you first. He is so fast. He wants to dunk on everyone — to humiliate victims, the bigger the better.

All that is cool. But what is most impressive about Morant — the runaway Rookie of the Year — is his veteran craft. He already knows how to start and stop with a live dribble, and keep defenses guessing until the best option reveals itself. He sees every pass. He imagines passes no one else sees, and conjures them with dribble moves designed to shift the defense in some specific way.

You just don’t see rookies doing stuff like this:

That fake spin — the Smitty — dusts damn near the entire LA Clippers team. The one-handed lefty gather into a reverse layup is borderline pornographic. That insta-gather is already a Morant trademark — useful in tight spaces.

He has a mean pass fake:

He busts it out on the perimeter to freeze help defenders:

A lot of ball handlers turn statuesque when someone else takes the controls. Not Morant. He weaponizes his speed as an off-ball cutter.

Morant isn’t the only reason the Memphis Grizzlies — 13-6 since early December — have improbably surged into the Western Conference’s No. 8 spot. Their three core big men — Jonas Valanciunas, Jaren Jackson Jr. and Brandon Clarke — are balling, and their bizarro bench is obliterating opponents.

But Morant is driving it. He is real. He is a superstar in the making playing winning basketball. He belongs at the edges of the All-Star conversation right now.

2. Drivin’ De’Aaron Fox

After two months of injuries and uneven play, Fox is back on his ascent toward becoming the Sacramento Kings’ franchise point guard. In seven January games, Fox is averaging 24 points and 8.5 assists on 50% shooting. He is driving more often, with more guile and ferocity.

Fox is earning seven free throws per 36 minutes — easily a career high. He is piling up almost 29 drives per 100 possessions, second among rotation players — and up from 15 and 18 in his prior two seasons, per Second Spectrum data. He has drawn fouls on 13% of those drives, 16th highest among 173 guys who have recorded at least 100 drives.

1 Related

Fox is still searching for the right pass-or-score balance, and the Kings under Luke Walton haven’t landed on a coherent identity. (Injuries to Fox and Marvin Bagley III have stalled progress there.) They are playing at one of the league’s slowest paces, though they amp it up some with Fox on the floor.

The next step for Fox is dialing in on defense, where he has disappointed this season. The Kings won’t go anywhere too serious until the Fox/Buddy Hield backcourt proves it can survive on that end.

3. Forfeiting mismatches

A pet peeve:

This isn’t about the Orlando Magic. Every team does this now and then: Spot a juicy mismatch, and default into a pick-and-roll that allows the defense to switch that mismatch away.

The Utah Jazz are stuck with Emmanuel Mudiay on Aaron Gordon. If you want to post Gordon up, do it when he can mash a smaller dude. Instead, D.J. Augustin and Gordon gift the Jazz a switch.

Come on. Disengage autopilot and read the game. The right kind of post-up can still be an effective scoring option. They also are fun to watch. The league needs stylistic diversity.

You know who rarely bungles this? The Indiana Pacers with Domantas Sabonis. Their old-school mentality serves them well when they earn a switch, or when the opposing power forward is stuck defending Sabonis. The Pacers in those scenarios are ruthless. They are surgical. They abort whatever plan they had and hunt that mismatch.

4. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, off the glass

The notorious S.G.A. is already one of the league’s shiftiest ball handlers — a long-limbed, change-of-pace phantom who seems to move at two or three different speeds at once. Guarding him is like trying to catch a fish with your bare hands.

He also is a premier bank shot artist, smooching from unconventional angles:

That is a little close to the baseline for most players to go glass. Gilgeous-Alexander has the touch to pull it off. That one hits pretty low on the backboard, but Gilgeous-Alexander will kiss the ball off the tippy-top if need be.

The straight-on banker is underused — a tricky work of depth perception that can increase your margin for error on harried floaters. Gilgeous-Alexander has it in his bag:

Only 10 players have attempted more glassers than Gilgeous-Alexander, per Second Spectrum. (Russell Westbrook has tried by far the most — almost double the No. 2 guy.) Coming off a ridiculous 20-20-10 game, Gilgeous-Alexander has a fringe All-Star case: 20 points, six rebounds and three assists per game, decent shooting, solid defense.

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It is a hard case to parse. Each member of Oklahoma City’s three-headed point guard monster has sacrificed something. Gilgeous-Alexander has stepped back into a secondary ballhandling role behind Chris Paul (probably a better All-Star candidate) and Dennis Schroder (in the running for Sixth Man of the Year). Gilgeous-Alexander has logged only 40 minutes as solo floor general — without either Schroder or Paul.

I recently debated with a few non-Thunder executives whether Gilgeous-Alexander would grow into an All-NBA player. That they framed the question in those terms — and not around whether Gilgeous-Alexander will make All-Star teams — is indicative of how good he has been.

5. Still waiting on Aaron Gordon

Boy, did Gordon need this recent mini-hot streak: 60 points on 23-of-39 shooting over Orlando’s last three outings, and a last-second game-winner Monday in Sacramento. It has otherwise been a stilted, disappointing season for Gordon.

I thought this was the year it might finally happen for him. I predicted Gordon would make the All-Star Game.

Instead, Gordon’s production on offense has dipped across the board, though he remains engaged on the other end. There are three theoretical Gordons: the player Gordon wants to be; the player Orlando wants him to be; and the player Orlando needs him to be because of their roster construction. The actual Gordon is paralyzed in some sort of existential tension between all three.

The first player — Gordon’s dream for himself — is a ball-dominant scorer. Orlando indulges that Gordon by calling occasional post-ups for him and giving him some freedom to go rogue. Gordon can make hay against smaller players. He has done well on scripted duck-ins. But too many of his forays into would-be stardom end with bricked fadeaways:

A player this powerful should not spend so much time spinning away from the hoop. He rarely draws fouls. The Magic have scored 0.826 points per possession anytime Gordon shoots out of a post-up or passes to a teammate who fires right away — 74th among 96 players who have recorded at least 25 post-ups, per Second Spectrum data. He is not much of an inside-out playmaker. A full 77% of those post-ups have ended with Gordon shooting — the second highest such rate in that sample.

The best version of Gordon on a good team is something like his take on Draymond Green: screening and rolling as a power forward, spraying passes (Gordon is an underrated playmaker), defending like all hell across every position. The Magic have never put Gordon in optimal position to find that role. They shoehorned him onto the wing next to Serge Ibaka and now Jonathan Isaac.

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That is not on its face unworkable. Some of those ultra-big Magic lineups have performed well — including last season. Talented frontcourt partners render positional designations irrelevant. What position would Gordon play next to, say, Kevin Durant and a traditional center in Brooklyn? Isaac has some blossoming all-around skill on offense.

But Isaac also is very young. Before Isaac’s injury, it felt — from the outside — Orlando was reaching the point at which it would have to make a final call on Gordon. There are teams who would give a lot for Gordon. Isaac’s knee injury may have put off those decisions. The Magic don’t have to rush. Gordon is still just 24.

But stasis often becomes untenable.

6. The Bucks, going under

Almost every team scurries under picks against bad shooters, but Milwaukee does it more dramatically and against many more players. The Bucks treat every so-so shooter like Ben Simmons. Present Milwaukee with Kris Dunn or RJ Barrett (two recent examples) and its on-ball defenders hang almost in the paint — a step or two further back than most teams prefer. They form a shell that is really hard to puncture.

They don’t deviate if some Dunn type hits a couple of long 2s. The Bucks understand math. They know their scheme plays mind games with opposing shooters — even non-terrible ones. They’re going so far under. This is embarrassing. Am I really supposed to keep shooting? Boom — the shot clock is down to 8, and you’ve accomplished nothing.

This is such low-hanging fruit. Every team should imitate Mike Budenholzer’s exaggerated “go under” ethos.

Of course, later playoff rounds offer very few awful shooters — and almost none beyond Simmons who handle the ball. It would be interesting to see Milwaukee’s approach in a series against the Miami Heat and Jimmy Butler — shooting just 27% from deep this season and 36% for his career on long 2s.

7. When young guys forget who is guarding them, Part I

Oh, Jordan Poole.

That’s Kawhi Leonard. At his apex, the mere act of possessing the ball within a 15-foot radius of Leonard was dangerous for anyone outside the league’s most deft point guards. Forget dribbling. Poor saps held the ball close to their chest — terror sweat pouring from their brow, eyes darting in search of some passing target — until Leonard would simply reach out and take it. It was cruel. It was bullying.

Leonard isn’t the same impenetrable wall today, and he saves his best stuff for high-leverage playoff moments. But you can’t be Jordan freaking Poole and dangle the ball in front of him. This is like living next door to Thomas Crown, buying a masterwork, and leaving your front door wide open all night. What do you think is going to happen?

There has been much fretting of late about the Clippers’ underwhelming performances against the dregs of the league. Meh. One of Leonard and Paul George has missed most of those games. Wake me up when the real Clippers struggle.

The Clippers also seem like a mortal lock to make a win-now trade. They have use-it-or-kinda-lose-it assets ticking toward evaporation. They can trade their 2020 first-round pick, but that is the last one they can move (as things stand now) before their 2028 selection. They have Maurice Harkless’ $11 million expiring contract, and a few semi-expendable midsized salaries.

The Clippers would rather add talent (via in-season free agency) without trading anything. Harkless is solid — a starter most of the season. That 2020 pick represents one of LA’s only means of acquiring a young player who might help Leonard and George as they age.

But the Clippers are all-in. George and Leonard can hit free agency in 18 months. They should prioritize this year over everything.

Part II of young guys failing to respect their elders is coming next week.

8. Respect the Mavs’ other big men

I never got the mostly quashed rumblings Dallas might be interested in Andre Drummond. Kristaps Porzingis should eventually play more as the Mavs’ lone big man, and in the meantime, Maxi Kleber and Dwight Powell are doing just fine alongside him.

Skeptics in the preseason perceived the Mavs roster as top heavy: two stars and a motley crew of bench guys. It’s true (it’s damn true!) Dallas does not have anyone like a third member of past championship Big 3s. But they do have (by my count) seven guys you might describe as quality fifth starters — seven fifth-best players, all but one (Tim Hardaway Jr.) on value contracts. There is power in giving zero minutes to below-average players.

Powell has always been a dangerous rim-runner, but he has exploded as Luka Doncic’s go-to pick-and-roll dance partner. Only three player pairs have teamed up on that play more often. (For trivia purposes, the top three in volume: Spencer Dinwiddie/Jarrett Allen, Damian Lillard/Hassan Whiteside, and the Lou Williams/Montrezl Harrell symphony.)

The Mavs average a ginormous 1.18 points per possession anytime Doncic or Powell shoots out of the pick-and-roll, or passes to a teammate who launches — ninth-best among 226 duos who have run at least 100 such plays, per Second Spectrum.

Powell has improved as a passer on the move — crucial when teams trap Doncic:

Kleber does a little of everything. He’s a serviceable screen-and-dive guy. He is hitting 41% from deep on a career-high attempt rate, and he makes canny plays off the bounce when defenses rush at him:

Kleber is a sturdy, smart defender across multiple positions. Rick Carlisle has trusted him to guard extra-large ball-handlers, including LeBron, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Simmons. He’s a solid rim protector with some hops.

Dallas is starting Kleber and Powell in the absence of Porzingis, and the Mavs have outscored opponents by 13 points per 100 possessions with both on the floor.

Kleber and Powell earn $18 million combined this season — $9 million less than Drummond. Drummond holds a much-discussed player option for 2020-21. Kleber and Powell are under contract through 2023. Leaving aside money and whatever assets Detroit might demand, it’s unclear whether giving Kleber/Powell minutes to Drummond would even make Dallas any better.

9. Miami is one player away, but who?

This is a minor quibble considering the Heat are 28-12 and a robust 10-6 against teams at .500 or better. Maybe the “one player” is Justise Winslow, who is still out with a back injury after returning for a single game last week.

Winslow is (in theory) the well-rounded small-ball power forward to unlock lineups featuring Bam Adebayo at center. Meyers Leonard is shooting 45% from deep as Miami’s nominal starting center, but there are lots of games in which he never sees the floor after his first stint in each half. Kelly Olynyk is barely playing.

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Right now, Derrick Jones Jr. and James Johnson are holding down that Winslow slot. Johnson looks feisty after a long stint in Heat purgatory. He’s 10-of-20 on 3s. But his jumper is unreliable, and he is regaining the team’s trust.

Jones has taken the lion’s share of these minutes over the last month. His arms are everywhere. He is the keystone of Miami’s zone defense. Lineups with Jones and Adebayo at power forward and center have done well.

But are you trusting Jones to close playoff games? He’s shooting 23% from deep. Defenses ignore him on the perimeter to muck up Miami’s spacing.

Miami has tried to solve the equation at times by going super-small, with Jimmy Butler at power forward. That is a little too small. Adebayo is so strong and athletic, you forget he’s only 6-9. Miami has been a middle-of-the-pack defensive team after a stingy start. They have to be careful.

They are one player away from being really dangerous. They know. They are looking, sources say. A lot of speculation about the Heat — and other teams — has centered around Jrue Holiday. He’s good. The Pelicans may opt to keep him and push for the No. 8 seed. (This is what suitors expect as of now — which could of course change.)

But I wonder if Miami has a more pressing need for a stretch power forward with some defensive chops to fill that Winslow/Jones/Johnson slot. (Winslow returning to form could render this moot.) Danilo Gallinari would be a worthy rental, but the Thunder might be too good to trade him. It’s also unclear whether Miami has any appetite for surrendering any players who are or could be (i.e., Winslow) key parts of their current rotation.

Regardless, keep an eye on Miami.

10. Marcus Smart is coming at you

What in the hell is this?

I’ve seen defenders close out low to distract shooters, but they usually resemble football tacklers. They aim for the stomach. I’m not sure I’ve seen anyone crouch toward the shooter’s foot. Smart looks like he’s trying to pick something up off the floor.

I honestly don’t know how anyone shoots 3s against Boston without worrying what kind of goofy closeout awaits. Jaylen Brown jumps straight up and down with all his might, and reaches both arms as high as he can — a technique Al Horford mastered, and something the Celtics teach. Brace for that, and Smart comes nipping at your ankles.

What’s next? Jayson Tatum running at shooters, screaming gibberish and waving his arms? Kemba Walker experimenting with some kind of drop-and-roll technique?

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[traductionomax]

Nurse critique les nouveaux venus Johnson et Hollis-Jefferson pour leur mauvais jeu défensif

Nick Nurse, The Canadian Press

________________________________________________________________

TORONTO – Dans la NBA, la période du camp d’entraînement est le moment de l’année où la plupart des joueurs se sentent bien et reçoivent des critiques élogieuses.

Comme par miracle, tous les joueurs qui présentaient quelques kilos en trop ont perdu exactement le poids qu’ils devaient perdre. Tous ces joueurs sont au sommet de leur forme et sont déterminés à connaître la saison de leur vie. Cependant, il ne faut pas prendre au pied de la lettre tout ce qui se dit avant le début de la saison.

Chez la plupart des équipes, la réalité s’installe entre la fin d’octobre et le début de novembre et vient freiner l’élan de positivisme qui y règne. 

Cela dit, l’entraîneur-chef des Raptors, Nick Nurse, a surpris quelques joueurs mercredi en procédant à l’évaluation de ses nouveaux venus.

Nurse s’est d’abord fait demander si l’équipe avait trouvé sa véritable identité, car il reste moins d’une semaine avant le premier match de la saison. Évidemment, il a surtout parlé de la défensive, qui fut la principale raison pour laquelle son équipe a remporté le championnat le printemps dernier. 

Les Raptors ont bien sûr perdu deux de leurs piliers défensifs, soit Kawhi Leonard et Danny Green, mais le noyau actuel de joueurs devrait néanmoins bien garder le fort. La défensive demeure la priorité de l’équipe.

Il va donc sans dire que l’ajout de Stanley Johnson et de Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, reconnus pour leurs prouesses en défensive, devrait aider, n’est-ce pas?

« Non, pas du tout. Ils n’ont toujours pas compris : a) l’intensité à laquelle nous jouons, et b) nos stratégies et, notamment, toute l’importance qu’ils doivent accorder à la défensive », a expliqué Nurse. « Nous avons du boulot à faire avec ces joueurs. Je leur dis souvent qu’il y a encore deux places à combler au sein de la formation d’ici jeudi pour ceux qui les veulent. Les candidats devront me montrer leurs capacités défensives, leur intensité et leur compréhension de nos stratégies de couverture de l’adversaire. Peu importe ce qu’ils font à l’attaque, des possibilités s’ouvriront à eux grâce à leurs coéquipiers qui viendront à eux. Ils n’ont pas à se présenter sur le court et à trop se soucier de la façon dont ils doivent se détacher de leur adversaire pour pouvoir tirer au panier, car ça ne leur garantira pas du temps de jeu pour le moment. Nous devons trouver les joueurs qui s’intégreront le plus rapidement à cette équipe sur le plan défensif. »

Quelques minutes plus tard, alors qu’il vantait les efforts de Fred VanVleet pour encercler les gros avants lors du camp d’entraînement, Nurse a repris la question des nouveaux joueurs. 

« Ça revient à ce que je vous ai dit”, a-t-il indiqué. « Ces gars-là doivent apprendre à jouer un peu plus dur. Même si c’est ce qu’ils pensent faire, ils doivent monter le jeu d’un cran. C’est ce que nous avons appris lors des deux mois passés en séries éliminatoires – nous devons mettre les bouchées doubles. »

Le message véhiculé par Nurse est bien clair, que ce dernier fasse davantage référence au caractère simple et parfois trop direct de sa méthode de travail – lui qui a même reproché à Leonard de ne pas mettre assez d’efforts au milieu de la saison dernière – ou bien au rendement peu impressionnant de Johnson et de Hollis-Jefferson lors du camp d’entraînement.

Nurse ne s’est pas exprimé à brûle-pourpoint non plus. Il laissait entendre que certains nouveaux joueurs avaient moins compris le système de jeu ou faisaient des erreurs en défensive la semaine dernière au Japon. On peut également tirer une certaine conclusion de l’utilisation de ces joueurs au sein de la rotation jusqu’ici. 

Même si les Raptors étaient privés de six joueurs partants. Johnson fut le neuvième joueur de l’équipe à se présenter sur le court dimanche dernier face aux Bulls, alors que Hollis-Jefferson en était le 11e ou 12e (il s’y est présenté en même temps de Devin Robinson, dont le contrat partiellement garanti et assorti de la clause Exhibit 10 lui confère une place au camp d’entraînement). 

Après trois matchs hors concours, Johnson a joué pendant 12,4 minutes par match (il occupe le 14e rang sur 20 joueurs des Raptors au chapitre du temps de jeu) et a réussi 1 tir sur 10. Hollis-Jefferson, quant à lui, affiche une moyenne de 12 minutes de jeu par match et a commis six revirements. Seuls trois joueurs de son équipe en ont commis davantage. 

Chaque joueur doit traverser une période d’apprentissage lorsqu’il se joint à une nouvelle équipe, et c’est particulièrement vrai dans le cas de Johnson ou de Hollis-Jefferson, lesquels ont passé la majeure partie de leur carrière au sein d’une seule organisation et amorcent leur cinquième saison. On est toutefois en droit de s’attendre à ce que ces deux joueurs en aient appris davantage jusqu’ici, ce qui explique la frustration de Nurse. 

Johnson a d’abord été repêché huitième au total par Detroit en 2015, où il a joué pendant trois saisons et demie, avant d’être échangé à la Nouvelle-Orléans en février dernier. Hollis-Jefferson, son coéquipier chez les Wildcats de l’Arizona, fut le 24e joueur repêché cette année-là et n’avait jusqu’ici joué qu’à Brooklyn. 

Après ne pas avoir répondu aux attentes que l’on avait envers eux après la signature de leurs contrats de recrue, les deux joueurs cherchent à s’affirmer de nouveau, eux qui ont paraphé des ententes à court terme, moins lucratives. Ils n’ont pas progressé autant que leurs anciennes équipes l’auraient souhaité sur le plan des tirs en suspension et du jeu défensif, mais leurs âges (23 ans pour Johnson et 24 ans pour Hollis-Jefferson), leurs potentiels et leurs profils défensifs étaient attrayants aux yeux des Raptors, qui disposaient de peu de moyens de remplacer Leonard et Green pendant l’été.

En accordant à Hollis-Jefferson un contrat d’un an d’une valeur de 2,5 M$, et à Johnson un contrat de deux ans évalué à 7,5 M$ et assorti d’une année d’option, les Raptors encouraient peu de risques. 

Ces deux contrats sont entièrement garantis pour cette saison, ce qui signifie généralement que les deux joueurs sont assurés de faire partie de l’équipe. Cependant, comme il est peu probable que les Raptors atteignent le seuil de la taxe de luxe cette année, leur marge de manœuvre leur permet de résilier un contrat garanti d’un joueur et de lui verser le salaire maximal qu’il aurait pu gagner s’ils croient qu’un autre joueur mérite davantage ce poste. Cette situation ne devrait toutefois pas se produire étant donné que les Raptors ont encore trois postes à combler. 

Cela dit, Johnson, Hollis-Jefferson et les autres joueurs de l’équipe de Nurse sont avertis que s’ils ne jouent pas bien défensivement et ne montrent aucune intensité, ils commenceront la saison sur le banc. 

Nurse a souvent fait mention de huit joueurs qui étaient assurés de faire partie de la rotation ou qui pourraient agir comme partants, soit Kyle Lowry, Pascal Siakam, Marc Gasol, VanVleet, Serge Ibaka, Norman Powell, OG Anunoby et Patrick McCaw. Qu’ont-ils tous en commun? Ils jouaient pour les Raptors l’an passé, ils sont tous des champions et ils connaissent bien le système et les attentes de Nurse. 

C’est évident que Nurse a confiance en ces huit joueurs, du moins pour l’instant. Néanmoins, l’équipe sera composée de 10 joueurs lors de presque tous les matchs, c’est-à-dire qu’il reste deux autres postes à combler, comme l’a déjà mentionné Nurse. Si les nouveaux venus continuent de décevoir et que Nurse décide de faire confiance à des joueurs qu’il connaît bien, Chris Boucher et Malcolm Miller, qui jouaient pour l’équipe l’an passé en vertu de contrats non garantis, pourraient très bien se tailler une place dans la rotation. Le joueur recrue non repêché Terence Davis, l’un des quelques nouveaux venus qui a impressionné l’équipe lors du camp, est également en lice.

Traduction : Max St-Onge (traductionomax@yahoo.ca)

Source : https://www.tsn.ca/raptors-coach-nurse-calls-out-newcomers-johnson-hollis-jefferson-for-poor-defensive-play-1.1382285

[toldnews-blog]

New Post has been published on https://toldnews.com/sports/basketball/on-pro-basketball-joel-embiid-is-having-fun-making-the-sixers-look-unstoppable/

On Pro Basketball: Joel Embiid Is Having Fun, Making the Sixers Look Unstoppable

PHILADELPHIA — The demolition of an eager but thoroughly outmatched Marc Gasol was not completed until Joel Embiid brought out the windmill. That symbolic punctuation to an already decided Game 3 of the Eastern Conference semifinals looked like this:

With 5 minutes 30-some seconds left in the fourth quarter, Embiid caught a pass from Ben Simmons behind the 3-point line, ball-faked an onrushing, lumbering Gasol, took one lane-consuming dribble and threw down a contest-worthy windmill dunk, setting off a celebratory frolic to the far side of the floor.

There went Embiid, arms extended, befitting a young man in full flight. He cupped his ear to an eruptive Wells Fargo Center crowd, à la Allen Iverson, the little giant who once flamboyantly roamed this arena.

“Theatrics,” Embiid would call his last impression of a 33-point, 10-rebound, 5-block virtuoso performance in a 116-95 victory that gave his Philadelphia 76ers a 2-1 series lead over Toronto’s bewildered Raptors on Thursday night.

“I think for everybody that knows me, I need it. When I have fun, my game just changes. I’m always told that if I don’t smile during the game, I’m either having a bad game or I’m not into it.”

Embiid in fanciful fun mode is always the factor that makes the 76ers the most entertaining and intriguing of the remaining conference contenders. He is also the definitive answer to the question of whether a traditional center can still be the dictator of yore in a contemporary N.B.A. ruled by 3-point marksmen of all shapes and sizes.

Of course, Gasol’s hapless late lunge was made necessary because the 7-foot, 250-plus-pound Embiid also happens to possess a soft touch from deep. So what do you do with a guy who makes 3 of 4 from behind the 3-point line, whose footwork and agility are such that he can navigate the paint like a small forward but with the size and power to coerce 13 free throws, of which he made 12?

“Dominant, from the beginning of the game to the end,” said Greg Monroe, Embiid’s 28-year-old backup. “He’s a special player, no doubt about it. When he plays like that, he changes the game.”

In Toronto, in Games 1 and 2, Embiid was more wallflower than man in full bloom, shooting a combined 7 for 25 from the floor, frustrated by the Raptors’ defensive energy, while setting off additional speculation about the condition of his chronically achy knees.

Health has been and may always be an issue for Embiid, a 25-year-old Cameroonian, but his “crown-jewel” talent, as described by his coach, Brett Brown, has never been in doubt.

In a long playoff series, which this still has the potential to be, no game other than a clincher should be weighed too heavily. But it’s clear that Embiid at his best or near-best is an unsolvable problem for the Raptors, who have $45.7 million in 2018-19 payroll invested in the declining Gasol, 34, and Serge Ibaka.

Embiid, meanwhile, was reminding Monroe of Hakeem Olajuwon with his dominance on both ends, including a payback rejection of Pascal Siakam after the Raptors forward’s blatant trip of Embiid earned him a flagrant fourth-quarter foul.

“I mean, the Dream, off the top of my head, the similarities, that would probably be the guy I’d think of,” Monroe said. “The skills, size, plays great at both ends. Step out and shoot the jumper, post moves.”

History is in the eye of the beholder, and no one in the arena has seen more of it than Sonny Hill, an impresario of the Philadelphia basketball scene and a staple in the 76ers’ locker room dating to the 1960s.

Hill spent a good while with Embiid after the game, suggesting he put the night behind him and not assume Game 4 on Sunday will be a mirror image. The great ones, Hill said, all understood the fleeting nature of playoff success.

“What people don’t understand is that he’s still learning to play the game,” Hill said. “On a scale of 10, he’s probably a 6. He’s got another notch or two to go in terms of his development. He’s still learning how to play in the low post. But he has the ability to put the ball on the floor and get a shot. He can stand still and get a shot. He can run the floor. He doesn’t block shots like Wilt and Bill Russell but does intimidate. If we look at this era of basketball, he is the most well-rounded center that we have.”

It was an understatement on a night when Embiid displayed multiple skills and moves: a right-side drive and a no-look over-the-shoulder pass to Jimmy Butler for a layup; a difficult catch of a bounce pass from Butler in the lane before levitating for a score. All of the offensive fireworks were appreciated by Brown, who nonetheless preferred to dwell on Embiid’s interior defense.

He had plenty of help at the offensive end from Butler (22 points) and others, while the Raptors’ Kawhi Leonard was left to wonder what happened to his 58-win team, with the exception of Siakam.

After dropping another 33 points, Leonard is averaging 37 for the series on 60 percent shooting, a Bernard King-mimicking maestro of the midrange. But the minute he went to the bench to start the fourth quarter, the 76ers went on an 11-0 run to blow the game open. He won’t be enough without much more help and unless Gasol vs. Embiid becomes a fairer fight.

Back in the locker room, while waiting on Embiid to go to the interview room in tandem, Butler yelled out: “He windmilled so he can decide when to go. But the second he says some bull, I’ll be out of there — and you know he will.”

Perhaps mindful of Hill’s advice, Embiid was uncharacteristically bland.

“Great player, have a lot of respect for him,” he said of Gasol. “But it’s a team game.”

[winterolympicssports2018-blog]

Kendrick Perkins of Cleveland Cavaliers has heated exchange with entertainer Drake during and after Game 1 win over Toronto Raptors

Click here for More Olympics Updates https://www.winterolympian.com/kendrick-perkins-of-cleveland-cavaliers-has-heated-exchange-with-entertainer-drake-during-and-after-game-1-win-over-toronto-raptors/

Kendrick Perkins of Cleveland Cavaliers has heated exchange with entertainer Drake during and after Game 1 win over Toronto Raptors

TORONTO — The fireworks between the Toronto Raptors and the Cleveland Cavaliers didn’t end with the final buzzer in the Cavs’ thrilling 113-112 overtime victory in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals, as entertainer Drake and Cleveland backup center Kendrick Perkins got into a shouting match when both teams made their way off the court.

The beef started between the two at halftime, when Drake, the Toronto native who often sits courtside for games at Air Canada Centre and serves as a Raptors global ambassador, overheard Perkins talking trash to Raptors center Serge Ibaka.

“I was f—ing with Serge, my old teammate,” Perkins said after the game. “I wasn’t talking to [Drake].”

The Cavs led only once all game, but that’s all LeBron & Co. needed to steal Game 1 from the Raptors in Toronto.

Despite netting a triple-double Tuesday, LeBron James criticized his own performance and gave credit to his fellow Cavaliers in their Game 1 win over the Raptors.

1 Related

Perkins and Ibaka both used to play for the Oklahoma City Thunder, reaching the NBA Finals together in 2012.

“[I was] telling him, ‘We about to win this game,’ and Drake butted in talking s— to me,” Perkins told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. “So I said something back to him.”

What exactly was Perkins’ rebuttal?

“He said something slick, so I said something back: ‘Sit your ass down and watch the game.'”

In a comment on an Instagram post Tuesday night, Drake claimed, “I just said I like the hem on his capris.”

Several members of the Cavaliers’ security personnel approached Drake’s bodyguard after Perkins had cleared the court and made his way to the Cavs’ locker room. Drake could be heard saying, “I never said that s—,” during that discussion.

After Drake initially left the court, through the tunnel and up the ramp toward the Raptors’ locker room, he came back down the ramp yelling obscenities in the direction of the visitors locker room aimed at Perkins.

This is not the first time this postseason that the “Nice For What” rapper was not so nice to an opposing team’s player. During the Raptors’ first-round victory over the Washington Wizards, Drake took on Kelly Oubre Jr., shouting “You’re a bum!” at the Wizards forward, and also called out Washington point guard John Wall, exclaiming “John, you’re getting bodied by 20 tonight!” during Toronto’s 130-119 victory in Game 2.

When Perkins exited the Cavs’ locker room for good Tuesday night, a member of the team’s security staff asked him if he wanted to be escorted to the team bus in case he might have another run-in with Drake along the way.

“I’m fine,” Perkins said with a smirk. “What’s he going to do?”

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[jessicakehoe]

ICYMI: These Were the Highlights From the Stronger Together Concert

The largest single-show broadcast in Canadian history, Stronger Together, Tous Ensemble brought together the biggest names in the country, from actors and athletes to musicians, authors, activists and more. The special event honouring healthcare workers and raising money for Food Banks Canada featured musical performances, messages of hope and solidarity, and also told the stories of frontline workers and COVID-19 survivors. Now, we’re reliving some of the highlights from the show.

Canadian rocker Sam Roberts kicked off the show with an uplifting acoustic rendition of his 2014 single “We’re All In This Together,” with his three children accompanying him on music. Celine Dion addressed viewers in French and English, praising the “heroes out there around the world who are going to work every single day.” Other celebrities who made an appearance include author Margaret Atwood; dance troupe Cirque du Soleil’s Kevin, Andi and Gasya Atherton; actors Mike Myers, Will Arnett (with a special appearance by Amy Poehler) and Kiefer Sutherland; and the entire cast of Schitt’s Creek.

The goal of Stronger Together, Tous Ensemble was to raise money for Food Banks Canada’s $150 million campaign to provide immediate support to food banks across the nation during the pandemic, and over the course of the 90-minute event, so many Canadians sent in donations that they broke the internet. “Canada, you’re amazing,” organizers of the event tweeted. “The @foodbankscanada website has crashed under the weight of your generosity.” For those who still wish to donate, there’s plenty of time. Text COVID to 30333, call 1 (877) 535-0958, or head to Foodbankscanada.ca to make whatever contribution you can afford.

In case you missed it last night, check out some Stronger Together highlights below:

Alessia Cara

Before performing Randy Newman’s “You’ve Got a Friend In Me” with her band, Grammy-winning Brampton native Alessia Cara shared a personal message to viewers about the importance of human connection and friendship, especially in the most trying of times.

“I want to play you guys a song that I really loved growing up, that I feel is pretty important and fitting in this crazy, weird, difficult time we’re going through right now,” she said. “And I think if there’s anything we can learn from it, it’s that there’s nothing we can’t get through together. In fact, everything’s always a little bit easier when we have each other. So hopefully this gives you a little bit of hope or joy.”

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Shania Twain

From her home in British Columbia, Shania Twain shared a special message for Canadian frontline workers—healthcare workers, drivers transporting food and health supplies, cleaners and first responders. “Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for putting yourself out there, putting yourself at risk,” she said, tearing up. “We couldn’t do this without you, we would be in a much bigger mess without you.”

She then went on to perform—with her labrador Melody by her side—a couple of verses of the title track “Up!” from her 2002 album, providing a slight coronavirus twist to the lyrics.

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Barenaked Ladies, Michael Bublé and Sofia Reyes

Michael Bublé and Barenaked Ladies performed a song titled “Gotta Be Patient” with Mexican singer-songwriter Sofia Reyes, tweaking the lyrics with coronavirus references. “I just want to see my friends / I want to walk the street again / But I gotta be patient / So let’s enjoy this confination,” began the song, leading into: “I just wanna feel your love / Coz Instagram is not enough for me / So I gotta be patient / Let’s enjoy this confination.”

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Ryan Reynolds and Eric McCormack

The two actors provided some moments of levity, with Ryan Reynolds quipping that the day marked “the 10-year anniversary of the quarantine we’ve been on for the last six weeks.” Eric McCormack spoke of how Canadians can get through anything, sharing an anecdote from his youth, before going on to introduce Sarah McLachlan as “one of Canada’s most precious natural resources.”

“I spent my 20s in theatres from Vancouver to New Brunswick,” he said. “And let me tell you, if Canadians can brave a three-hour production of Henry IV Part Two in the dead of the Winnipeg winter, they can do anything.”

Thank you @EricMcCormack for the message of love ❤️. #StrongerTogether #TousEnsemble pic.twitter.com/qyt3BpiotI

— Stay At Home TV (@GlobalTV) April 26, 2020

A tribute to Nova Scotia

Canadian singer Anne Murray took a moment to speak about the tragic shooting that took place in Portapique, Nova Scotia, last week.

“A week ago, the unthinkable happened, right here in my beloved Nova Scotia,” she said. “To the families, friends and communities of those affected, we want you to know that we are grieving with you and we send prayers for courage and strength as you try to make sense of this horrific tragedy.”

She went on to say, as she thanked healthcare workers across the country: “We as a nation are being put to the test right now as we face the unknown, but we’re facing it together and that’s the way we want to remember this. Here’s a song that’s become an anthem for times like this and one that I’ve actually sung a few times. Here are Voices Rock Medicine, a choir made up entirely of women physicians.”

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A message from Canadian athletes

Some of the top performing athletes in the country (and the world) joined forces to share a message of team spirit, unity and perseverance, including tennis player Bianca Andreescu, swimmer Penny Oleksiak, Toronto Raptors Serge Ibaka and Pascal Siakam, soccer player Christine Sinclair, sprinter Andre de Grasse, former hockey player Hayley Wickenheiser and ice skater Tessa Virtue.

“With a focus on physical and mental health, let’s remember to stay in touch, stay strong, stay brave, and stay united,” said Virtue. “Thirty-seven-million strong, this is the most important Team Canada I have ever played on,” said Wickenheiser.

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Lean On Me

Canadian singers Tyler Shaw and Fefe Dobson, founders of an initiative called ArtistsCAN, brought some of the country’s biggest musicians together for a moving collaborative performance of the late Bill Withers’ “Lean On Me.” Justin Bieber, Michael Bublé, Avril Lavigne, Bryan Adams, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Jann Arden, Sarah McLachlan and others performed the special ensemble piece, proceeds from which will go directly to Red Cross Canada’s COVID-19 relief efforts. Canadians can contribute to the initiative by simply streaming the song, viewing the official music video, or downloading the single.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau closed out the video with a message to the nation, saying: “We’re going to get through this together, by leaning on each other and protecting our frontline workers. Stay home, stay safe.”

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Drake

In a move that raised a lot of eyebrows on Twitter, Drake closed out the show, getting the last word after Prime Minister Trudeau. His three-minute-long closing message thanked the artists who had performed for a good cause that evening, the frontline workers and first responders, and those who have to leave their families everyday and go to work amidst this crisis. “They’re the glue holding all this together so thank you very much for that,” he said. He also addressed the mental health challenges that people across the world are facing right now, whether they have been directly affected by coronavirus or not.

“I want to urge everybody that’s in their own space to find the silver lining in the times that we’re living in right now,” he said. “If you have a craft that can be worked on from home, it’s an amazing thing to continue working, keep your mind stimulated, get better at that thing that you’re passionate about. Better yourself mentally, physically, if you can stay active, if you can make a change you’ve always wanted to make in your life, right now is the time. Nurture your personal relationships… or decide which personal connections aren’t for you. Now is a time of self-reflection.”

“I hope we all emerge better people, more unified people, and I hope we are able to show each other the same amount of love we’re showing now.”

https://twitter.com/etalkCTV/status/1254561506504646656?s=20

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[junker-town]

Every player in the NBA Finals, ranked by importance

Who will truly decide these NBA Finals?

The 2019 NBA Finals tip off on Thursday (9 p.m. ET, ABC). Everyone on the planet is familiar with the Golden State Warriors at this point. Entering their fifth straight championship series, they have added only a few new faces (DeMarcus Cousins, some fringe roster players). The stars and role players are well-established.

Not so for the challengers, the Toronto Raptors. Among the 15, only Kawhi Leonard, Danny Green, and Serge Ibaka have been to the NBA Finals before, with Leonard winning the 2014 Finals MVP trophy. The Raptors have been really good for several years now, but a few trades have shuffled most of the roster. Only Kyle Lowry and Ibaka are long-standing Raptors, really. Plus, Toronto has a number of important players (Pascal Siakam, Fred VanVleet, Norman Powell) who might be unfamiliar to more casual basketball fans. If you’re one of those: you’re going to love these guys.

As is now annual tradition, let’s rank all 30 players on both Finals rosters in terms of importance. No offense intended to anyone ranked lowly, except for ...

30. Andrew Bogut

I’m still not sure why the Warriors signed this dude given everything else the franchise claims to stand for. But hey, Jordan Bell Insurance Policies gotta eat too.

Now, no offense to anyone else ranked lowly.

29. Chris Boucher

Oh yeah, the Raptors have the 26-year-old reigning G League MVP and Defensive Player of the Year chilling in the cut. He has played four minutes in the playoffs.

28. Jacob Evans

If Jacob Evans gets NBA Finals minutes, something has gone very wrong for one of these teams.

27. Eric Moreland

Definitely the best player who couldn’t get minutes on either the Phoenix Suns or Toronto Raptors this season.

26. Damian Jones

Jones has played in three of the Warriors’ 16 playoff games. In one of them, he started. Gotta love crazy Steve Kerr.

25. Malcolm Miller

Miller, a second-year wing who is seldom used, is like the Bruno Caboclo to Pascal Siakam’s Bebe Nogueira.

24. Quinn Cook

Cook could get between four and seven straight DNP-CDs, or play 20 minutes and rack up 11 points and six assists in one of these games. With Kerr as coach, anything is possible. Cook actually matters substantially more when Stephen Curry improbably gets into foul trouble.

23. Jordan Bell

Bell is one of the 11 Warriors to start a game this postseason. Is Kerr trolling the league?

22. Jeremy Lin

A little stretch of time to shine in the Bay Area could turn into a magical, storybook homecoming performance for Palo Alto’s finest. Or, it could signal garbage time in one of the games at Oracle.

21. Jodie Meeks

Masai Ujiri signed Meeks to a contract in late March for some reason. Maybe we’ll figure it out at some point.

20. Alfonzo McKinnie

Among the Warriors reserves that never knows if Kerr is going to call on him or not, McKinnie is my favorite.

19. Patrick McCaw

That the Patrick McCaw storyline is a thing is pretty hilarious. This was the least essential story of the offseason and early part of the regular season. McCaw refused to sign his qualifying offer despite no other teams stepping up with an offer sheet. He eventually convinced the Cavaliers to spring him free with a fake offer sheet and a waiver. The Raptors may have been in on it and scooped him up on a small contract.

He hasn’t played more than eight minutes in any Toronto playoff game. This isn’t exactly 2001 Raja Bell we’re talking about here, folks.

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Patrick McCaw will never miss an NBA Finals

A post shared by Sports Blog Nation (@sbnation) on May 25, 2019 at 9:22pm PDT

18. OG Anunoby

Anunoby, one of the Raptors’ most promising young players, hasn’t played this postseason due to an appendectomy at the end of the regular season. Toronto has suggested he might be available around the middle of this series. What a dream that could be! He’d likely take minutes from Norm Powell and be assigned to hassle one of the Splash Brothers. This might be especially valuable if the Warriors make it painful for the Raptors to play Marc Gasol or Serge Ibaka.

17. Shaun Livingston

Shaun Livingston and Father Time are currently in Round 31 of a 39-round mixed martial arts fight. My money’s on Livingston.

16. Jonas Jerebko

Jerebko is one of those reserve wings who you feel could play 20 minutes every night and give the Warriors a solid contribution, except the Warriors have so many great wings that there’s really no use. But hey, if something happens and the Warriors need him, he’s there.

15. Norman Powell

Powell is definitely the best player in the NBA Finals who also has a DNP-CD in the playoffs. Is this where I mention that Powell shot 40 percent from three during the regular season and is shooting 41 percent from three in the playoffs? Young Lou Williams over here.

14. Kevon Looney

Looney has been something of a revelation since DeMarcus Cousins went down, and has definitely won the confidence of Steve Kerr over Jordan Bell and the Aussie Who Shall Not Be Named. You can kind of imagine Looney playing Marc Gasol to a draw, which would seem to be a major problem for the Raptors. Looney’s definitely very different from both Brook Lopez and Joel Embiid, so Gasol and Serge Ibaka may need a game to adjust.

13. DeMarcus Cousins

Of course, Looney’s importance could slide if Cousins is indeed ready to go. He’s been out since early in the Clippers series, but seems closer to returning than Kevin Durant. Cousins actually has had trouble scoring on Gasol in the past (like most centers!), but Gasol is now 34 and clearly a step slower. Anyways, Cousins is also more of a passer and less of a rim runner and transition threat than Looney, so there are certainly some trade-offs.

The only thing that could make me sad about a Raptors series win is if Cousins’ return gets blamed. Don’t do it, folks. Unless, you know, it’s deserved.

12. Andre Iguodala

Iguodala is banged up, but seems to be available at the start of the series. Needless to say, Iguodala takes on much greater defensive importance in guarding Kawhi and/or Pascal Siakam with Kevin Durant out. We have clearly seen that the Warriors offense can survive and thrive without KD. But Toronto has a really, really good offense, and Golden State doesn’t have a deep reserve of strong defensive wings.

Iguodala’s health and competence loom large, at least until Durant returns. If Durant returns.

11. Serge Ibaka

Ibaka feels like the soul of the team, and he’s also the resident tough guy, which likely means at least one run-in with the zenned out Draymond Green. Depending on Cousins’ availability, Nick Nurse may end up spending a lot of time with Ibaka at center checking Looney or Green in Golden State’s smaller lineups. (In fact, you wonder if Nurse will turn to Siakam at center for long stretches.)

Ibaka will almost always be the fourth or fifth offensive option when on the floor, but defense and hitting the glass will be critical to Toronto’s fortunes.

10. Fred VanVleet

Kawhi and Kyle Lowry have rightfully received the lion’s share of attention and credit for the Raptors’ East title. But don’t forget that Fred VanVleet shot 14-17 from three in those last three games against Milwaukee ... all of which came after his son was born. Good heavens!

9. Danny Green

Unlike VanVleet, Green is not on a hot streak. In fact, Nurse had to bench him a few times because he’s seemingly lost some confidence in his shot. But he’s here not just to it open catch-and-shoot threes. He’s here to harass Klay Thompson and/or Stephen Curry, switch effectively onto Draymond Green, and to take the Raptors’ defense from WOW to HOLY S—T.

He’s a bit of a luxury in that sense, but the Warriors are so good that Toronto needs every open shot he can hit.

8. Marc Gasol

Gasol’s fortunes really turned around with his midseason trade to Toronto, and he’s been just about a perfect fit. Big Spain is an immaculate passer and a huge reason the Raptors have shot so well from deep since acquiring him. There are valid criticisms that Gasol doesn’t shoot enough — he passes up open looks more than anyone on either of these teams, which is saying something, because the Warriors have multiple excellent players who regularly pass up lay-ups — but he does everything else so well that it would seem Toronto needs him to stay on the court and play well to give the Raptors a shot.

7. Pascal Siakam

Toronto’s second-best player will be introduced to casual basketball fans in these Finals, much like Draymond and Klay were in the 2015 NBA Finals. Siakam hasn’t shied away from anything yet this postseason. Don’t expect him to start now. You do wonder how aggressive Nurse will be in having Siakam check Thompson or Curry on occasion, just to give them a different look.

6. Klay Thompson

A brewing thunderstorm just waiting to strike at a moment’s notice and completely change the texture of a game or series.

5. Kyle Lowry

Lowry buried the demons and the jokes in the Eastern Conference finals with some huge performances. His defense on Eric Bledsoe was superlative, and he’ll need to be even better when guarding Stephen Curry or Thompson in the Finals. There’s no tougher dude in this series.

4. Kevin Durant

Obviously, the single most important factor in this series is whether Durant can play. The Warriors can obviously still win if Durant is done, but the advantage swings so heavily in their favor if he comes back. The primary reason is on defense: having both Durant and Draymond Green to deal with Kawhi and Siakam is enormous. Iguodala is good, but Durant is better when locked in.

3. Draymond Green

Green famously lost a bunch of weight before the end of the season and he’s been as great as ever in the playoffs, dominating the game on defense while making smart plays and relieving pressure on the Splash Brothers on offense. He’ll likely get a chance guarding Leonard in addition to watching Siakam, and how he does on that end could determine whether this is a series or a one-sided affair. We’ve seen how reliant the Raptors are on Kawhi. If Draymond can slow him down ... uh oh.

2. Stephen Curry

Curry has had a masterful postseason once Durant went out of action. It seems so long ago that he started slow in these playoffs with a few duds against the Clippers and Rockets. Curry is every bit as impactful as Kawhi thanks to his tireless movement off the ball, his shot creation skills, and his playmaking. But Toronto’s defense is something else (ask Eric Bledsoe and Giannis Antetokounmpo) and Lowry will be doing his best to make things difficult for Curry. In theory, Lowry should be better equipped than Damian Lillard to do that.

1. Kawhi Leonard

Leonard has been the best player in the league overall this postseason, and led the Raptors on offense while keeping Giannis Antetokounmpo bottled up in the Eastern Conference finals. He’s looked to be banged up lately; hopefully the extended rest between series will help him be back to his best.

Toronto needs Kawhi to be as good as ever — 2014 Finals good — to have a chance here. Can they count on him to be the best player on the court for a fourth straight series?

[biofunmy]

The N.B.A. Elite Are Now From Everywhere

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It was at the 2018 All-Star Game in Los Angeles that I asked Steve Nash, one of the foremost imports in N.B.A. history, if the league would ever be ready — really ready — for a Rest of the World vs. United States format for its annual midseason showcase.

“We’re getting there,” Nash said then.

Nash suggested that perhaps 2022 would be “the time to try it,” as a 30th anniversary tribute to the original Dream Team that wowed the world at the Barcelona Olympics.

That forecast is looking smarter every day.

Understandably somewhat lost last week amid the very sad news of the former N.B.A. commissioner David Stern’s death was the bulletin from the league office detailing the first batch of returns from fan balloting for next month’s All-Star Game in Chicago.

The leading vote-getter in the Eastern Conference: Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo from Greece.

The leading vote-getter in the West: Dallas’s Luka Doncic of Slovenia.

Fan voting will always generate outrage for one reason or another. Boston’s little-used Tacko Fall, who placed sixth among East frontcourt candidates, and the Los Angeles Lakers’ Alex Caruso, who landed at No. 8 among West guards, were the primary causes for complaints from the opening round of polling. Yet you scarcely heard a quibble about the fact that LeBron James trailed both Giannis and Luka even though he has joined Anthony Davis in powering the Lakers to a 29-7 start.

Antetokounmpo is the league’s reigning Most Valuable Player Award winner and is playing at an even higher level this season. Doncic has yet to appear in an N.B.A. playoff game, but he has established himself as a consensus top-10 player by averaging a ridiculous 29.7 points, 9.7 rebounds and 8.9 assists in his sophomore season — leading the upstart Mavericks to a surprising 23-13 record in the process.

Unlike Nash’s era, when the N.B.A. certainly featured numerous successful international players but only a few who were considered truly elite, there are several at that level besides Giannis and Luka.

The Cameroonian duo of Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid and Toronto’s Pascal Siakam have their own gaudy stat lines that make them All-Star locks.

Denver’s Nikola Jokic (Serbia), despite some slippage in his numbers from last season, remains the unquestioned fulcrum for the team with the second-best record in the West.

Utah’s Rudy Gobert (France) is not assured of making his All-Star breakthrough next month because a defense-first reputation like his historically doesn’t help much in All-Star campaigning. But Gobert has made such an all-around impact for the Jazz that you can find his name on Basketball Reference’s M.V.P. tracker at a solid No. 10.

Minnesota’s Karl-Anthony Towns, who was born in New Jersey but represents the Dominican Republic internationally, played in the past two All-Star Games and would be a cinch for a third appearance if not for a recent knee injury — and the Timberwolves’ slump to a 14-21 record from a 10-8 start.

Throw in top All-Star contenders such as Philadelphia’s Ben Simmons (Australia) and Indiana’s Domantas Sabonis (Lithuania) — as well as All-Stars of recent vintage such as Orlando’s Nikola Vucevic (Montenegro), Philadelphia’s Al Horford (Dominican Republic), Toronto’s Marc Gasol (Spain), Miami’s Goran Dragic (Slovenia) and Dallas’s Kristaps Porzingis (Latvia) — and the point becomes clear.

There may not quite be 12 internationals playing at an indisputable All-Star level as we speak, but it’s increasingly fair to ask, as Nash predicted, if we’re all that far away.

Porzingis, after all, is working his way back to an All-Star standard after a lengthy injury layoff. Two of Nash’s young fellow Canadians — Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Denver’s Jamal Murray — have also flashed All-Star potential. Recent top-five lottery picks include Phoenix’s Deandre Ayton (Bahamas) and the Knicks’ R.J. Barrett (Canada).

The way things are going, as we dribble into a new decade, it looks as though mathematical fairness is the only deterrent to N.B.A. Commissioner Adam Silver’s trying out a United States/World format.

There were 108 foreign-born players on opening-night rosters this season, meaning there were more than 300 American-born players. It simply wouldn’t be equitable for two groups of such disparate size to battle for 12 All-Star spots each.

But I also don’t believe that the league is married to its two-year-old system in which the two leading vote-getters, as captains, pick their respective squads without regard to conference. For all the anticipation and chatter that the made-for-television selection show generates, momentum from the first game played using this format in L.A. in 2018, after years of waning interest, did not carry over to the 2019 edition in Charlotte.

Don’t forget that Silver, when he initially proposed the introduction of an in-season tournament starting with the 2020-21 season, was looking at the final four of that competition as a potential replacement for the All-Star Game entirely. The league ultimately backed off that proposal when teams and the players’ union voiced resistance to an in-season tournament that would fall any later on the league’s calendar than December, but Silver’s original thinking suggests that the N.B.A. remains concerned about how flat All-Star Games tend to feel.

At the M.I.T. Sloan Sports Analytics Conference in Boston in March, remember, Silver himself said the 2019 All-Star Game “didn’t work” and admitted that the most recent changes were akin to putting “an earring on a pig.”

Maybe the starry imports who have succeeded Nash, Dirk Nowitzki, Pau Gasol, Tony Parker and all the international stars from the last decade will never get their chance to engage the Americans in an All-Star duel. Maybe restricting that format to the Rising Stars Game featuring first- and second-year players, as the N.B.A. has done for the past five seasons, is the right call.

Yet the mere fact that the debate only gets stronger may be as fitting a tribute as we can muster for Stern — since taking the N.B.A. global before any other North American sport, and to a much greater degree, is such a huge slice of his legacy.

The Scoop @TheSteinLine

This newsletter is OUR newsletter. So please weigh in with what you’d like to see here. To get your hoops-loving friends and family involved, please forward this email to them so they can jump in the conversation. If you’re not a subscriber, you can sign up here.

You ask; I answer. Every week in this space, I’ll field three questions posed via email at marcstein-newsletter@nytimes.com. (Please include your first and last name, as well as the city you’re writing in from, and make sure “Corner Three” is in the subject line.)

Q: Where would you rank David Stern as a commissioner compared to those in other sports like Pete Rozelle in the N.F.L., Bowie Kuhn or Fay Vincent in baseball, etc.? — Bob Purcell (San Diego)

Stein: I covered a smattering of all the major North American men’s team sports in my youth, but I have been covering the N.B.A. almost exclusively since February 1994. So it’s not really fair for me to answer this one.

I would naturally put Stern ahead of all his competitors because I know so much more about his work. Most of my older peers always say that mythical top spot has to go to either Stern or Rozelle. But as our own Harvey Araton sagely noted when I asked him, Stern’s edge may well be that on his watch the N.B.A. achieved relevance on social, cultural and international fronts that the N.F.L. — for all its advantages in TV prominence and in-stadium attendance — can’t match.

What I can say with greater confidence is that I will always wish Stern, upon ceding his office to Adam Silver in February 2014, would have spent a few years trying to bring order to a sport he loved almost as much as I do: tennis.

Tennis has always suffered greatly from the lack of a commissioner who could exert authority over the sport’s many (too many, really) competing factions. But Stern’s focus, for pretty much his entire adult life, was the N.B.A. and growing/enhancing/protecting his league. So I am forced to concede that it probably would have been hard for him to muster anywhere near the same passion for another sport in a working capacity.

Q: I have to agree with the recent comment here that the Raptors are mostly ignored by the American sports media. Maybe you are an exception, but why aren’t more people writing about the Chris Boucher story alone? — Kent Goodwin (Stowe, Vt.)

Stein: I think we’ve reached the point in this discussion where nothing I say is going to persuade the skeptics. But I think I will be vindicated when Coach of the Year Award voting results are released in June.

The Raptors awoke on Tuesday on a 54-win pace. If they maintain that level for the rest of the regular season, given the ridiculous string of injuries they’ve faced along the way, Nick Nurse will have a real shot at winning the C.O.Y. prize — and thus prove how closely the Raptors are being monitored south of the border in the post-Kawhi Leonard era.

It was suggested to me last week by a trusted insider that the Raptors just might surprise us again before the Feb. 6 trade deadline and emerge as buyers to fortify themselves for another playoff run. The widespread assumption coming into the season held that Toronto would trade the veteran likes of Kyle Lowry, Marc Gasol and Serge Ibaka to prepare for a reset in the summer of 2021 built around the free-agency pursuit of Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo. (I predicted as much myself.)

The safe bet remains that Masai Ujiri, Toronto’s president of basketball operations, will avoid any deals that affect the Raptors’ cap space in 2021. But the Raptors will be a huge source of curiosity over the next month — thanks in part to the unexpected contributions from the likes of Boucher, Terence Davis, Matt Thomas, Oshae Brissett and O.G. Anunoby — whether or not they’re generating reams of coverage.

Q: How convenient for you. Now you get to expand your hate for Houston beyond basketball. — @venramamurthy from Twitter

Stein: This tweet came in response to my social media cheering for the Buffalo Bills as a proud former Western New Yorker — which lasted until the Bills unraveled in Saturday’s A.F.C. wild-card loss to the Houston Texans to extend their drought without a playoff win to 1995.

The supposition from Venkat is that rooting against the Texans was a natural for me because I “hate” his Rockets.

We’re still not past this stuff in 2020, friends?

My only issues with Houston, here in the real world, are the traffic, how hard it is to get to Cafe Adel for some wonderful Bosnian food in that traffic when staying downtown and the oppressive weather from June to September (my quarrel with every city in Texas — including the one I live in).

Happy New Year!

Numbers Game

$2,615,000

In 20 years as the team owner of the Dallas Mavericks, Mark Cuban has accrued more than $2.6 million in publicly announced fines from the N.B.A., according to this ledger maintained by the longtime Mavericks historian Patricia Bender. Not all fines issued by the league office are made public.

6

The N.B.A.’s two Florida teams sport quite the contrast with their records in overtime games so far this season: Miami is 6-0, and Orlando is 0-0.

16-19

The Pacers finished three games under .500 last season after losing Victor Oladipo to a ruptured quadriceps muscle in his right leg and were swept by Boston in a first-round playoff series. After acquiring Malcolm Brogdon in an off-season sign-and-trade with Milwaukee, Indiana is on a 51-win pace this season without Oladipo but still doesn’t know when he will return.

3-2

The potential downside of the Los Angeles Clippers’ well-chronicled “load management” strategy with Kawhi Leonard is that they may have to settle for a playoff seed that forces them to play the Lakers sooner than the conference finals. Thanks to an underwhelming 3-2 mark since their impressive Christmas Day defeat of the Lakers, Kawhi and Co. awoke on Tuesday as the West’s No. 4 team — which has the Clippers on course for a second-round playoff encounter with their Staples Center cotenants.

20

The Lakers’ 20 blocked shots in a home win on Sunday over Detroit were a rarity. According to Basketball Reference, no N.B.A. team had recorded at least 20 blocked shots in a game since it happened twice in 2001: Toronto with 23 against Atlanta in March 2001 and the Raptors with 20 against Golden State in November 2001.

Hit me up anytime on Twitter (@TheSteinLine) or Facebook (@MarcSteinNBA) or Instagram (@marcsteinnba). Send any other feedback to marcstein-newsletter@nytimes.com.

Sahred From Source link Sports

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[actutrends]

What to get your favorite NBA player for Christmas

NBA players are just like us — hoping and dreaming for the perfect gifts this holiday season. Here’s what your favorites are pining for.

Klay Thompson

A life-size, topiary chess set where each individual piece is also on wheels so that Thompson may shuffle them around on his own, or with a friend.

Nikola Jokić

Permission from the Denver Parks Department arborist department to go and chop a branch off a stately oak tree on Christmas Eve to burn as the badnjak in the Serbian holiday tradition. Why does he need permission if he’s such a bad boy, you’re probably wondering. Because bad boys care about conservation.

Kevin Durant

A night’s stay at the Plaza Hotel’s Eloise Suite.

LeBron James

Seriously? It has to be spelled out for you? He drops hints about it every single week on the exact same day. The trademark license for Taco Tuesday, signed and sealed by the USPTO, preferably on a heavyweight eggshell paper and inscribed in gold, how you get it to him his your prerogative but he would prefer it had delivered by Kia Silverbrook, the greatest inventor of the modern era with 3,847 patents filed and counting.

Giannis Antetokounmpo

Either a little mailer to go out to the wider population of Milwaukee with the phonetic spelling of his last name or for the Bucks organization to fund a series of robocalls out where his last name is repeated slowly, again and again, like a friendly incantation so people learn to say it already. He’s been playing there for over six years now it’s the least they could do.

Joel Embiid

A slide whistle. Don’t you think he seems like the kind of person who’d get right into that? Blocks somebody into oblivion — slide whistle. Dashes the hopes of a team — slide whistle. Watches Ben Simmons clank another jumper — slide whistle.

Kyle Lowry

A back support brace for when he needs to place the entire Raptors roster atop his.

Kawhi Leonard

The same thing he wishes for every year, a reasonable sense of accomplishment.

The Lopez brothers

Though of wildly different tastes, the Lopezes share everything, making them simultaneously easy to knock off your list but challenging to shop for. Brook wants glass blowing lessons, Robin will smash each and every molten creation. Robin wouldn’t mind a trip to Scotland, Brook is deathly afraid of the Loch Ness Monster. What to do, what to do? The answer is, and always will be, matching monster trucks.

Russell Westbrook

It has been a dream of Westbrook’s to walk down the tunnel in a full spacesuit, pantomiming that he’s left earth’s orbit and is free from its diminutive restrictions of gravity. Now being so close to Houston’s Space Centre, it seems this simple holiday wish may finally come true.

Ja Morant

A team of trained and certified firefighters to stand guard under the opposing basket with one of those nets for saving people who have to leap out of tall buildings so that his precious, spring-loaded legs may be spared from harm.

P.J. Tucker

A homemade, pancake of the month calendar.

Jonas Valanciunas

For Domantas Sabonis to realize he’ll never be able to out-tan the self-bronzed god himself and to stop hitting the beds so hard. It’s one thing to pass a deep tan in December in Memphis, entirely another to pretend it’s natural in early winter Indianapolis. Respect yourself.

Kelly Oubre Jr.

An array of masks he can wear to escape the scourge of being too beautiful all the time. He was thinking something silicone and realistic, but in a pinch would settle for Scream and Ronald Reagan.

Serge Ibaka

For once, someone to ask how hungry he is. That or a hat with a brim finally as big as his own ambitions.

Kevin Love

Have you noticed at all that Love seems to have his mind in another place on the court? And I don’t just mean “anywhere but Cleveland”. Truth is, after getting a taste of that life this summer, Love wants to be a cowboy. The wide-open spaces, the little doggies getting along, the mainly bean diet, the hats, the belt buckles, the fringe — Love loved it all. Still, best to ease into a total lifestyle change so for now, a cupboard full of beans will do.

Donovan Mitchell

Considering his public-facing penchant for them, Mitchell is actually terrified of spiders! He would like a day trip to Utah’s Hogle Zoo to visit with the arachnid keeper and get this phobia under control.

Kyrie Irving

While first avoidant of NYC’s iconic bagels due to their spherical, globe-like resemblance, he would now like to try one.

Jimmy Butler

A show where he goes to a new retirement villa in southern Florida every week and whips folks trying to enjoy their golden years in peace into shape. It’s called Going For Golden, Mark Wahlberg is the producer, and Wahlburgers are what’s on the menu, exclusively.

Damian Lillard

A cool motorcycle.

James Harden

He may be sponsored by BODYARMOR but this Christmas, Harden wouldn’t mind a drip of the real stuff. Like chainmail, Roman lorica hamata, or a full set of plate armor, or samurai scale armor, he isn’t picky but it has to be completely historically accurate so best to get a scholar involved and a gift receipt.

Evan Fournier

Where to find a decent bowl of beef bourguignon in central Florida.

Buddy Hield

Just once in his life for someone to be faster than him. Humility is a gift.

Paul George

Audiobooks. He listens to them when he warms up. The longer and more arduous the better. Think, every volume of the encyclopedia or the My Struggle series by Karl Ove Knausgaard, pretty interchangeable.

Steph Curry

A big, novelty-sized card signed by every player in the league thanking him for bringing about an entirely new era of gameplay. The holidays are a time to be gracious, after all.

Anthony Davis

A gorgeous, 7-foot tall vase.

Kent Bazemore

He would like a custom decal for his kitchen window, which looks out on Mount Hood, of a tiny little flag that looks like it was planted atop the mountain’s summit and says “Mount Bazemore”. He climbs it every day in his mind. Also, funny right?

Malcolm Brogdon

A six-point set of buck antlers mounted on a handsome, polished walnut board to hang on his wall.

Alex Caruso

A time machine so he can go back to 1947 and the inaugural season of the Los Angeles Lakers franchise, of which he was a crucial part.

Terry Rozier

A new nickname. “Scary Terry” worked in Boston, where success and fear go hand in hand, but now that he is in Charlotte he wouldn’t mind something a little more relaxed. Extraordinary Terry? Fiduciary Terry? Interdisciplinary Terry? You could maybe hire a poet or a copywriter, you could probably find one employed as the other in this economy.

Kemba Walker

The NBA has been spoofing these a bit already leading up to the holidays, which is where he got the idea, but a Rise of Skywalker poster where the Sky is removed and it’s Walker’s face, but on every character except Chewbacca.

Devin Booker

The only thing a permanently petulant, and permanently 16-year-old boy who has everything would or could want, the skin of the Suns Gorilla as a coat.

Andre Drummond

For Blake Griffin to no longer include him in his workshopping exercises. Drummond doesn’t have the stomach for roasts, comedic or large slabs of meat cooked over many hours. He doesn’t think the human body was meant to digest either.

Andrew Wiggins

An apology from Jimmy Butler. (Sorry Andrew, this is going to have the same result a kid wishing for a dog in a house full of people who are deeply allergic will).

Zion Williamson

In an attempt to keep Williamson’s holiday spirits up, his teammate Derrick Favors made him a little coupon book of “Derrick’s Favors” that Williamson can cash in whenever he likes. Some of Favors’ Favors include: “Smoothie King smoothie in Favor’s Favorite Flavor”, actually, the whole book is just Smoothie King coupons Favors cut out of local flyers. Most of them are expired.

Jayson Tatum

For Bill Simmons to stop sending him edible arrangements. He can’t get through that much cantaloupe in a week, week after week, no one can.

Steven Adams

Ever since Chris Paul gifted his teammates with custom-tailored suits, Adams has been finding the fits of his other clothes — the free ones he’s been given over the years — to be less than flattering. He would love for someone to custom tailor all of it. Custom-tailored t-shirt cannon t-shirts, custom-tailored flip flops, custom-tailored track pants, custom-tailored Rumble the Bison discarded jerseys because they wear the same size.

Seth Curry

World’s best brother award.

Jakob Poeltl

For “someone” (Patty Mills) to dress up like his beloved Krampus and chase him around until he’s screaming like his parents used to do back home in Austria.

Zach LaVine

He wouldn’t mind entering another Dunk Contest. It would be his third and he thinks that has a better ring to it. It’s not like he’s that busy with his day job. He just wants to be asked.

Tobias Harris and Boban Marjanović

Custom friendship necklaces that combine to make a basketball-shaped pendant, one side says, BE FRI And the other says, ST ENDS

Trae Young

Vince Carter keeps looking at him like he wants to transfuse his blood, so maybe a subtle screen of some kind he can put up around himself in the locker room.

Vince Carter

A transfusion of Trae Young’s blood.

Miles Plumlee

New shocks for his unicycle.

The post What to get your favorite NBA player for Christmas appeared first on Actu Trends.

[mcgiggers]

Miami - December 2019

Just back from Miami and a dizzying art viewing adventure that featured works by contemporary art rockstars, modern masters and the anointed next generation of art world influencers.  The two-and-a-half-day trek included visiting seven art fairs, two foundations, two museums and a handful of other pop-up venues. While the itinerary on paper was ambitious but manageable, everything this year seemed to be larger, from the size of the venues, to the number of exhibiting galleries and works on display, to the crowds of art fans and aficionados negotiating the corridors. Considering only the art fairs, the odyssey amounted to over 1000 gallery visits with each displaying 10 to 20 works at a time. Fully appreciating it all in the moment was sometimes a challenge, but thankfully moving from venue to venue allowed some time to recalibrate the senses and prepare to appreciate what was up next.

The journey unfolded with INK, Untitled and Scope art fairs on the day of arrival; the de la Cruz and Juan Carlos Maldonado foundations, the Rubell Museum and Institute of Contemporary Art Miami, the Gagosian and Jeffrey Deitch exhibit, and NADA and Art Miami fairs on the next day; and Pulse and Art Basel on the last day. Among the stops, the art fairs were more frenetic, overcrowded and most challenging to process in real-time while the other venues, notably the museums and foundations, were a welcomed oasis offering a more highly curated presentation in an environment more conducive to better appreciating the great works on display.

Each fair attempted to cater to a niche in the marketplace by recruiting the exhibitors that sponsored the artists whose works were consistent with the fair’s mission and appealed to their targeted audience. Art Basel stood out among all fairs on delivering quality works and superior presentation. Set in the city’s sprawling convention center, it is the anchor of the art week festivities and remains the premier show. Featuring leading modern and contemporary art, 270 or so exhibitors put forward a highly curated offering of 20th and 21st century works. This year, in addition to maximizing the use of the 500,000 square feet of ground floor exhibition space, the fair organizers expanded upwards to include an additional 60,000 square feet of space with a 26-foot-high ceiling and tasked 34 galleries to display large scale works. This new Merdians section of Art Basel was a monumental hit and featured fantastic paintings, sculptures and video installations, among other alternative medium offerings. Hosting approximately 180 galleries, Art Miami, the next largest fair in size, focused primarily on presenting the works of post-war contemporary artists with an emphasis on glitzier pop offerings. As for the other fairs, Untitled’s lineup of 125 galleries had a more international flavor; NADA delivered on championing new voices in contemporary art; Scope presented largely commercial offerings; Pulse was a mixed bag; and INK presented exclusively works on paper.

While not all fairs hit the mark, there were highlights throughout. At Art Basel, the showstoppers included: Jenny Holzer’s “Red X”, 2016, redacted US government document, oil on linen (80 x 62 x 1.5 in.); Christopher Wool’s “Untitled”, 2018, oil and etching on paper (23.5 x 18.75 in.); Elliott Puckette’s “Untitled”, 2019, gesso, kaolin and ink on board (50 x 42 in.); Leon Polk Smith’s “Constellation Six Circles”, 1969, acrylic on canvas (72 x 64 x 1 in.); and Martha Tuttle’s “Arrangement 6”, 2019, wool, linen and pigment (32 x 25 in.).  Highlights at the other fairs included: Richard Gorman’s “Big Red”, 2005, woodblock print, edition of 40 (59 x 42 in.) at INK; Michael Berryhill’s “Wedge”, 2017, oil on linen (20 x 17 in.) and Megan Rooney’s “Flowing in silk flowers bought for someone else”, 2016, pencil, ink, pastel and acrylic paint on magazine pages (24.5 x 31.5 in.) at NADA; Mr. Brainwash’s “Pop Scene (PS19060)”, 2019, silkscreen on paper (36 x 36 in.) at Art Miami; and Zuzanna Kozlowska’s “Beauty is a state of mind”, 2019, iron (8 x 10 x 14 ft) at Pulse.

Beyond the fairs, the de la Cruz collection, the Rubell Museum and the ICA Miami featured top-notch contemporary offerings staged in fabulous venues. Notable works included: Nate Lowman’s “Mellow Yellow”, oil, dirt and dental floss on canvas (57 x 28 in.) and Gregg Ligon’s “Masquerade #4”, 2006, silkscreen and coal dust on canvas (78 x 52 in.) at the de la Cruz Collection; and Jeff Koons’ “Three Ball 50/50 Tank (Dr. J Silver Series)”, 1985, glass, steel distilled water and three basketballs, ed.1/2 (60.75 x 48.75 x 13.25 in.) at the Rubell Museum; and many fantastic works making up the Sterling Ruby retrospective at the ICA Miami.

With all that was on display at the fairs, foundations and museums, one of the works that garnered the most attention (and press) was Maurizio Cattelan’s “Comedian”. On view at Art Basel, it consisted of a banana duct-taped to a gallery wall. It was a limited-edition work that came with a certificate of authenticity by the artist and instructions on how to replace the banana once it over ripened. At least three sold for between US$120,000 and US$150,000 each and one was eaten for fame.

 The banana on the wall at Art Basel was not the only thing that was slowly rotting. In Dinoland, the euphoria of a surprisingly strong start was dissipating. After surviving and succeeding despite numerous injuries, most notedly to Kyle Lowry and Serge Ibaka, the Raptors went on an Art Miami week three-game skid, their longest since November 2018, and were a Zach LaVine runner shy of dropping a fourth. The question remains as to whether this is a speed bump or reality setting in. Can Crazy Eyes really carry the team? Is the Extraterrestrial One a good enough sidekick? Can Steady Freddie stay healthy? Meanwhile, Kyle is a bull in a china shop with the most argued calls per second of play in the league and the G-Man flirts in and out of consciousness. With K’Why returning to face the Raptors in Hogtown on Wednesday, team chemistry will again be put to the test. Depending on how the wind blows after that, things may get shaken up before the next major art fair.

 For more information on any of the artists, works or venues mentioned, or the fate of the Dinos and pending changes, “Just Google It”.

 There you have it sportsfans,

 MC Giggers

(www.mcgiggers.tumblr.com)

Reporter’s Certification

I, MC Giggers, hereby certify that the views expressed in this report accurately reflect my personal views and that no part of my compensation was or will be, directly or indirectly, related to the specific views expressed herein.

I also certify that I may or may not own, directly or indirectly, works of artists mentioned in this report and that I may or may not have a strong bias for such artists and, more generally, for “Pictures of Nothing”.

[flauntpage]

We’re Gonna Ban These Words From Sports Writing and Broadcasting

Thought-provoking tweet here by Troy Machir, who is the Senior Digital Editor at NBC Sports Washington:

You get to ban one word from the entire lexicon of sports. What word are you banning?

— Troy Machir (@TroyMachir) August 15, 2019

Good topic, much more interesting than the typical day on Twitter, which consists of liberals and conservatives yelling absolute nonsense at each other.

The worst word that immediately came to my mind, in response to that question, was “exposed.” I hate that term in sports.

“He got exposed.”

“She got exposed.”

“Gabe Kapler’s managing has been exposed.”

We say that as if people are completely incapable of adjusting or responding when things work against them, like it’s some finite judgment being passed. Once you’ve been “exposed,” there’s no recovering. You are forever a failure.

Here are some more good suggestions, after the jump:

Any sport’s name used as to describe itself: we are a football team. We have football players.

— Doug Roberson (@DougRobersonAJC) August 15, 2019

Yes. Agree with Doug here.

“That guy is a football player.” 

“He does a great job at scoring the basketball.” 

I’m not sure why we started saying things like this in the first place. Maybe to try to spice up otherwise bland nouns.

Outcoached. I’ve heard dozens of talk radio hosts use this term in reviewing games and not one could elaborate why.

— Jeff Hamlin (@hamlin37) August 15, 2019

“Outcoached” is another good one, similar to “exposed.” People like to call the radio and say “Brett Brown got outcoached,” simply because the Sixers lost the game. If you’re gonna go down this road, you have to give specific examples, i.e. Nick Nurse started going big with Serge Ibaka and Marc Gasol on the floor together while Brett failed to make the proper rotational adjustments. Something like that.

Physicality Mainly bc it’s not a fucking word to begin with…

— The Fixer, Esquire (@TheFixerESQ) August 15, 2019

“Physicality.”

I don’t know how many times I heard other writers use this word in press availability during the 2018 Sixers/Heat playoff series. We’re talking NBA playoffs. Of course there’s going to be “physicality,” with an elevated sense of urgency in the postseason.

Yankees

— Michael Carey (@MexCarey) August 15, 2019

Yes.

We should remove “Yankees” from sports writing and commentary.

I also saw somebody mention this:

“Plays the game the right way”

You could use this phrase to describe the way Bryce Harper “hustles” and slides, or maybe Mike Trout or whatever. Or, in the NFL, a boring linebacker who just goes out and racks up tackles without any sort of fanfare of controversy. Some people say this term is “racist” because it’s used in a derogatory sense to elevate white players who run hard and play hard, while the “latinos” or whatever (Jean Segura) do not. That’s another topic for another time.

“Must.” As in “must win” or “must make.”

— James (@bischplease) August 15, 2019

We spoof this all the time.

Is this a “must win” game?  You’ll hear it early and often in the NFL season, or when the Sixers lost game one against the Nets and Raptors, yadda yadda yadda.

Warrior. Please. It’s a sport/game. Not life and death

— brian (@unixsadm) August 15, 2019

Yeah, I tend to cringe when people use terms like this to describe athletes. “Soldier” is a good one. It was Kellen Winslow who went on a tirade years ago, calling himself a soldier, which seemed off-base because he was a football player and other Americans were over fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Trickeration

— Chris Altruda (@AlTruda73) August 15, 2019

Trickeration is not even a word.

“____-gate”

— tyler stapp (@tystapp11) August 15, 2019

Deflategate.

Spygate.

Burnergate.

Bountygate.

It gets old after a while.

Anyway, we’re getting rid of all of these words from sports writing and commentary.

Thank you.

The post We’re Gonna Ban These Words From Sports Writing and Broadcasting appeared first on Crossing Broad.

We’re Gonna Ban These Words From Sports Writing and Broadcasting published first on https://footballhighlightseurope.tumblr.com/

[foodoliplife]

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[jessicakehoe]

Here’s All the Culture News You Missed This Week

Desperate Housewives announced a reunion The cast of hit show Desperate Housewives, which wrapped in 2012, will reunite on Sunday, April 12 to raise money for the Actors Fund. The organization, which represents members of the entertainment community, is raising funds for those who have been affected financially as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. Actresses Marcia Cross, Vanessa Williams, Brenda Strong, Dana Delaney and Eva Longoria are confirmed for the online reunion, while while Felicity Huffman and Teri Hatcher declined. (Schitt’s Creek star Emily Hampshire is also raising money for the Actors Fund by hosting a weekly YouTube talk show.)

Desperate Housewives Cast Reuniting for Coronavirus Relief Livestream — Minus a Few Stars https://t.co/tgH2L2hULG

— People (@people) April 9, 2020

Serge Ibaka launched an online talent show Toronto Raptor—and street style star—Serge Ibaka has launched a talent show on Instagram Live, called ‘How Talented Are You?’. The show title is a nod to Ibaka’s popular cooking series on YouTube, called ‘How Hungry Are You?’, and invites people to submit videos showcasing their special talent in order to participate in the show. “While we are all social distancing and in quarantine, I’d like to bring positivity and reward talent and creativity,” wrote the basketball player on Twitter. Once the talent show is wrapped, the Ibaka Foundation will donate $20,000 to COVID-19 relief efforts in the winner’s city or region. The winner will also receive a signed #9 Ibaka jersey.

Can you sing? Are you a beatmaker? Do you do art? Are you a baller? What kind of talent do you have?

So excited to present "How talented are you?", a live talent show on IG Live. pic.twitter.com/D4eQktogGZ

— Serge Ibaka (@sergeibaka) April 6, 2020

Drake invited Architectural Digest into his Toronto home This week, Architectural Digest published never-seen-before images of Drake’s mansion in a leafy neighbourhood in Toronto. Although the online reaction to the marble, gold and chandelier-filled home was far from complimentary, the musician is clearly proud of his space, designed by Canadian architectural and interior designer Ferris Rafauli. “Because I was building it in my hometown, I wanted the structure to stand firm for 100 years. I wanted it to have a monumental scale and feel,” Drake said in the magazine. “It will be one of the things I leave behind, so it had to be timeless and strong,” adding that “it’s overwhelming high luxury.”

View this post on Instagram

Mega recording artist Drake (@champagnepapi) returned to his hometown of Toronto to once again plant roots there, building a 50,000-square-foot ultra-luxe pleasure dome. The stately manor, as envisioned by Canadian designer @ferrisrafauli, is a marvel of old-world craftsmanship, constructed of limestone, bronze, exotic woods, and other noble materials. “Because I was building it in my hometown, I wanted the structure to stand firm for 100 years. I wanted it to have a monumental scale and feel,” Drake says of his passion project. “It will be one of the things I leave behind, so it had to be timeless and strong,” he adds. Take a look inside our May issue cover story through the link in our profile. Photo by @jasonschmidtstudio; text by @mayer.rus; styled by @colinking; fashion styling by @mellanysanchez

A post shared by Architectural Digest (@archdigest) on Apr 8, 2020 at 5:01am PDT

The Call Me By Your Name sequel was confirmed Speaking to Italian newspaper La Repubblica, Luca Guadagnino, the director of Call Me By Your Name, confirmed that a sequel was officially in the works. Not much is known about the film yet, but Andre Aciman’s sequel to the original novel, Find Me, came out last fall and will likely serve as the template for the film’s narrative. The second novel takes place 10 years after the events of the first, and according to Guadagnino the cast from the first film will all reprise their roles. “Of course, it was a great pleasure to work with Timothée Chalamet, Armie Hammer, Michael Stuhlbarg, Esther Garrel and the other actors,” he said in the interview. “Everyone will be in the new movie.” Stay tuned for more updates.

Some peachy news: Timothée Chalamet and Armie Hammer are back for the "Call Me by Your Name" sequel https://t.co/MSt76Z4vwR pic.twitter.com/DdM3vIUnwa

— Variety (@Variety) April 5, 2020

ICYMI, Schitt’s Creek came to an end this week after six glorious seasons. Catch our interview with the show’s lead hairstylist here and get a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the hour-long documentary, Best Wishes, Warmest Regards, here.

The post Here’s All the Culture News You Missed This Week appeared first on FASHION Magazine.

Here’s All the Culture News You Missed This Week published first on https://borboletabags.tumblr.com/

[gyrlversion]

The Toronto Raptors win their first NBA championship

In photos: Raptors dethrone Warriors for first NBA title

Kawhi Leonard celebrates after the Toronto Raptors won the NBA title with a 114-110 Game 6 victory over Golden State on Thursday, June 14. Leonard was named Finals MVP.

In photos: Raptors dethrone Warriors for first NBA title

The Raptors celebrate with the Larry O’Brien Trophy.

In photos: Raptors dethrone Warriors for first NBA title

Golden State players react as they realize their reign is over late in Game 6. This was the fifth straight season that the Warriors played in the NBA Finals.

In photos: Raptors dethrone Warriors for first NBA title

Raptors fans celebrate during a viewing party outside Toronto’s Scotiabank Arena.

In photos: Raptors dethrone Warriors for first NBA title

Toronto point guard Kyle Lowry cherishes the victory.

In photos: Raptors dethrone Warriors for first NBA title

Leonard and DeMarcus Cousins battle for a loose ball late in Game 6 as the Raptors led by one and the last few seconds ticked away.

In photos: Raptors dethrone Warriors for first NBA title

The scramble, after a Stephen Curry missed 3-pointer, led to a timeout called by Golden State’s Draymond Green with less than a second to play. The Warriors had no timeouts remaining, however, so they received a technical foul instead.

In photos: Raptors dethrone Warriors for first NBA title

Curry misses a 3-pointer in the game’s final seconds.

In photos: Raptors dethrone Warriors for first NBA title

Golden State guard Klay Thompson fell awkwardly in the third quarter and twisted his knee. He shot two free throws after the play and then went to the locker room. He did not return to the game after that.

In photos: Raptors dethrone Warriors for first NBA title

Toronto center Serge Ibaka takes a shot.

In photos: Raptors dethrone Warriors for first NBA title

Lowry drives to the basket during the first half of Game 6. He had 21 points and six assists by halftime.

In photos: Raptors dethrone Warriors for first NBA title

Three Raptors defend Stephen Curry in the first half of Game 6.

In photos: Raptors dethrone Warriors for first NBA title

Golden State fans hold a sign for star forward Kevin Durant, who ruptured his Achilles in Game 5.

In photos: Raptors dethrone Warriors for first NBA title

Curry rises for a shot during Game 5 on Monday, June 10. Curry had 31 points for the Warriors, who staved off elimination with a 106-105 win in Toronto.

In photos: Raptors dethrone Warriors for first NBA title

Lowry had a shot to win Game 5 at the buzzer, but it was blocked by Green.

In photos: Raptors dethrone Warriors for first NBA title

Leonard scores over Thompson during the second half of Game 5.

In photos: Raptors dethrone Warriors for first NBA title

Durant, playing in his first game since injuring his calf in the Western Conference semifinals, went down in the second quarter of Game 5. He left the game and wouldn’t return. Days later, it was confirmed that he had ruptured his Achilles tendon.

In photos: Raptors dethrone Warriors for first NBA title

Lowry, left, and Marc Gasol double-team Thompson during Game 4 on Friday, June 7. The Raptors frustrated the high-powered Warriors en route to a 105-92 victory.

In photos: Raptors dethrone Warriors for first NBA title

Toronto guard Fred VanVleet lies on the floor after he was hit in the face by an inadvertent elbow in Game 4. One of his teeth was also knocked out.

In photos: Raptors dethrone Warriors for first NBA title

Curry is surrounded by Raptors during Game 3 on Wednesday, June 5. He scored 47 points, a playoff career-high, but it wasn’t enough as the Raptors won 123-109.

In photos: Raptors dethrone Warriors for first NBA title

Leonard reaches for a loose ball during the first half of Game 3. He finished the game with 30 points, seven rebounds and six assists.

In photos: Raptors dethrone Warriors for first NBA title

Thompson, second from right, sat out Game 3 with a hamstring injury. He was one of several Warriors who missed time during the series. Center Kevon Looney fractured cartilage in his chest in Game 2 and didn’t return until Game 5. And Durant, of course, missed most of the series.

In photos: Raptors dethrone Warriors for first NBA title

In photos: Raptors dethrone Warriors for first NBA title

Leonard rises for a shot during Game 3. This was his first season in Toronto. He was traded in July by the San Antonio Spurs, and he now becomes a free agent.

In photos: Raptors dethrone Warriors for first NBA title

Warriors fans get ready for Game 3 at Oracle Arena. Next season, the team moves into a new arena in San Francisco.

In photos: Raptors dethrone Warriors for first NBA title

Warriors swingman Andre Iguodala broke the hearts of Raptors fans with a key 3-pointer late in Game 2. Golden State won 109-104 to even the series at one game apiece.

In photos: Raptors dethrone Warriors for first NBA title

Former US President Barack Obama waves to the crowd while attending Game 2 in Toronto.

In photos: Raptors dethrone Warriors for first NBA title

Siakam shoots during Game 1 on Thursday, May 30. Siakam scored a career-high 32 points as the Raptors won 118-109.

In photos: Raptors dethrone Warriors for first NBA title

VanVleet is fouled by Green during the second half of Game 1.

In photos: Raptors dethrone Warriors for first NBA title

Rapper Drake, a huge Raptors fan who sits courtside and often jaws with opposing players, celebrates during Game 1. Curry’s father, Dell, used to play for the Raptors, and Drake was wearing his jersey.

In photos: Raptors dethrone Warriors for first NBA title

Cousins tries to block an Ibaka shot during Game 1.

In photos: Raptors dethrone Warriors for first NBA title

A view of Toronto’s Scotiabank Arena before Game 1.

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