Top NBA Stories This Week
Today I'm starting a weekly article where I talk about the top story lines for every week in the NBA. There are around 50 games a week in the NBA so there always seems to be some interesting news. This will mostly be opinion based and I’ll just give my thoughts on the stories.
Draymond Green Indefinitely Suspended
On Tuesday night during the Golden State Warriors and Phoenix Suns game, Green was suspended indefinitely for punching Jusuf Nurkic in the face. Green has a history of making dirty plays since he came into the league and is widely known as one of the dirtier players in the NBA. He falls into that category of players you hate to play against but love having on your team because he makes dirty plays and is scrappy. This has been a weird season for him. Last month he made waves when the NBA suspended him for five games for choking Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert during an altercation on the court. So, this is his second suspension of the season already, but there is no timetable for his return this time. The Warriors organization has already come out saying Green will get help during his suspension in the form of counseling. It feels like at this stage of his career, Green is making things worse for his team rather than helping them win games. In the last five years, Green has been the only player in the last five seasons who has over 20 technical fouls, and he has 147. The Warriors aren’t having a good season, so these kinds of situations will get magnified and that is exactly what is happening. However, let's not forget that Green is undoubtedly a HOFer, despite his recent play.
Giannis Antetokounmpo Vs Pacers Rookie
Wednesday night, Giannis broke the Milwaukee Bucks franchise record and his career high in points with 64. With an accomplishment that big, not surprisingly he wanted the game ball because that’s a huge accomplishment. It’s also very normal for players to get the game ball after these kinds of moments. The Pacers, on the other hand, had different plans. They took the game ball and Giannis ran after them into the locker but wasn’t able to retrieve the ball. When he came back out, he had a shouting match with Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton and one of the staff members. According to Pacers coach Rick Carlisle at the presser, they kept the ball for their rookie Oscar Tshiebwe, who supposedly scored his first basket that night. Now usually I would understand giving the game ball to a rookie scoring his first basket and at first, I did understand. Then I did a little bit of digging. Tshiebwe scored his first basket the game before against the Lakers and not against the Bucks that night. This is nothing more than the Pacers being petty and not wanting Giannis to have the game ball because he did both accomplishments against them. Even if it was his first basket, I’m sorry but breaking the franchise record with 60+ points is more of a milestone than just scoring your first basket. By the way, he still has not registered his first official basket because both shots were free throws. According to Giannis, he said he got the ball back but that it doesn’t feel like the game ball. Justice for Giannis’ historic game ball.
Ja Morant Set To Return
Morant is set to return for Tuesday's game against the New Orleans Pelicans after being suspended for the first 25 games of the season. For those unaware, Morant was suspended for misconduct on multiple occasions that involved a gun. The Memphis Grizzlies have gone from being a top-three seed last season to now having the fifth-worst record in the league at the moment. We all know having Morant will help the team tremendously, but this hole might be too steep of a hole to climb out of. People underestimated how much of an impact Dillon Brooks had on this team last year as well now that he signed with the Houston Rockets and isn’t there to do their dirty work for Memphis anymore. Also, if there was any doubt about how important Morant is to this team, it's pretty evident now that he's a top-five point guard In the league.
That’s the top news this week for the NBA. I'll be back next Friday with the top stories of that week.