This week on BallCourt - The World of Basketball, Coach Drew talks about the possibility of revival of a Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics rivalry. This rivalry has produced some of the best basketball championship challenges in history. Coach Drew walks through several of the historic games - and discusses what could be in 2020.
Listen to the podcast by clicking on the link above.
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Read moreThis week on BallCourt - The World of Basketball with Coach Drew podcast discusses the possibility of Giannis Antetokounmpo's free agency. Topics include:
- Giannis vs. Free Agency
- Is Small ball ever the answer? (Lakers vs Rockets)
- Ladies first: Cc’d c BBC
- A word from our Coach.
The Milwaukee Bucks did not take the court today for game 5 of the NBA playoffs against the Orlando Magic. Their absence is in response to the shooting of 29-year-old Jacob Blake, an African-American who was ultimately paralyzed from the waist down after an encounter with police. Multiple teams have discussed a potential boycott in light of these circumstances, including the Boston Celtics and Toronto Raptors, who are supposed to be playing tomorrow – however, the Bucks are the first team to put action behind those words. The Magic had initially started their pre-game warm-up, but ultimately left when Milwaukee didn't show up. Disappointing as it may be for some, this instance will most likely not be the last; if anything, it will serve as a catalyst that will push other teams to pursue a similar response. This could easily develop into a league-wide movement.
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With a 122-126 victory over the Memphis Grizzles on Saturday morning, the Portland Trail Blazers have officially clenched the 8th seed for the Western Conference playoffs. This game marks the first time the NBA has implemented a play-in format for the final playoff berth; in this case, the 9th seed Grizzles had to win Saturday's game in order to force a winner-takes-all match-up on Sunday – if they won that, then they would have made the playoffs instead. But, that didn't happen. The Trail Blazers, behind numerous big performances, managed to pull together a fourth-quarter rally to win the game by four. Players like CJ McCollum and Carmelo Anthony were major contributors in their late-game comeback, with McCollum scoring 12 of his 29 points in the final quarter (including 8 in the final 3:08), and Carmelo hitting a big 3-pointer with under 30 seconds remaining. Additionally, Damian Lillard tallied a double-double – 31 points and 10 assists – and Jusuf Nurkic put up 22 points and grabbed 21 rebounds. For the Grizzlies, Ja Morant led the way with 35 points and 8 assists, while Jonas Valanciunas scored 22 and grabbed 17 rebounds, but it wasn't enough. The Portland Trail Blazers will face the Los Angeles Lakers in the first round of the playoffs starting Tuesday.
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The NBA's developing plan for resuming the season has been a prevalent topic for weeks now, likely since the season was suspended in the first place due to coronavirus concerns. Several meetings were set up for this purpose, between players and executives alike, and many ideas were proposed.
One factor the league will have to consider when reopening will be an appropriate return venue – an arena where NBA games can be played safely while the pandemic unfolds. During the past few days, one particular location became a highly-favored option amongst the NBA: Orlando. The NBA is reportedly engaging in “serious talks” to restart the season at Walt Disney World. This option has gained traction because it is a private property with all of the necessary facilities to host the games and accommodate for league personnel.
Las Vegas is among other cities being considered. The NBA hopes to have players in training camp by mid-June, and playing televised games by mid-July.
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