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11.15.17

S.E.: CELTICS.

J.S.: STOP.

S.E.: CELTICS.

J.S.: STOP.

S.E.: ….CELTICS.

 Are the Celtics the best team ever?   

We are 15 games into the season and the Boston Celtics are the best team ever.

We are 15 games into the season and the Boston Celtics might be the best team ever.

We are 15 games into the season and Jayson Tatum is already the best rookie ever.

We are 15 games into the season and Brad Stevens is already the best coach ever.

We are 15 games into the season and the Boston Celtics don’t even need Gordon Hayward.

We are 15 games into the season and Marcus Smart is the worst offensive player since the Great White Invasion of the 1950s.

Also, we are 15 games into the season are really good despite Marcus Smart’s 28 percent field goal percentage and Kyrie Irving has reached basketball nirvana and Brad Stevens is Coach of the Year.

Bring on the Warriors.

Stan Van Gundy joins Steve Kerr, Greg Popovich in important stuff

*picture credit: Hoops Habit

S.E.: So, Stan decided to buck the trend and write for a real publication?

J.S.: He must really hate Derek Jeter.

Let’s get real for a second.

Stan Van Gundy published an article on TIME Inc. in which he discussed his views on today’s heated climate of politics, race and sports.

After Trump’s instigative remarks about kneeling during the national anthem, Stan decided to have an open conversation with his team and invited a well-respected author to come talk about WTF is happening in America.

It actually has little to do with basketball, but he does touch on all the current, positive things happening in the sports community to push for social justice and change in America.

It serves as a good reminder that the NBA has always been heavily intertwined with progressivism when it comes to race.

Some 50 years ago, for example, Bill Russell was named the first black coach in major American sports history, while Boston was still 15 years away from the public school busing disaster.

LeBron James is clearly not caring about anything anymore

You’ve probably heard the story a hundred times (because the internet is just a bunch of drama queens, us included), but we need to just run through it because it’s another classic Knicks story of deceptive greatness resulting in massive failure.

Ahead of Cleveland’s trip to Gotham, LeBron James indirectly trash talked rookie Frank Ntilikina by saying the Knicks should have picked Dennis Smith Jr. instead of him during this year’s draft.

A quick study on his comment:

• Dick move, but so far it’s a valid point.

• He would clarify later that he was attacking Phil Jackson, not Frank. You can’t attack one without the attacking the other in this situation, but nice try.

And it was too late. The moment he stepped foot into The Garden, he heard it from the raucous crowd. Whatever he did mean or did not mean, it didn’t matter anymore -- it was on.

And the Knicks showed up to play. Closter’s own Frank had five steals in the first half. Kanter got into a scuffle with LBJ, which further ignited the crowd and helped the Knicks build a 23 point lead.

But here’s the lesson that we feel everyone should know by now: When you poke a LeBron, you get a LeF*ckYou 3-pointer in the face to seal the game.

The Knicks died out in the fourth quarter and Cleveland, which looked absolutely horrendous for three quarters, won the game. The Knicks, who had a

99.2% chance of winning the game

entering the fourth, lost the game.

A quick Google search will show you that the Knicks are specialists in blowing 20 plus point leads:

To add salt to the wound, LeBron called N.Y.C. his #favoriteplayground and crowned himself King of N.Y. on his Instagram. A savage move that was unfortunately backed up on the scoreboard.

Sorry Knick fans, you can’t change who you are.

• Ben Simmons got one of the softest technical fouls you’ll see all year.

• LAKERS PICK WATCH: The Lakers are 6-8 and the middle Ball is intertwined in a bizarre story involving sunglasses, China and Donald Trump.

• NETS PICK WATCH: The Nets lost to the Celtics last night and are now 5-9.

• ANDRE DRUMMOND FREE-THROW WATCH: Andre Drummond is shooting 63.2 percent and the Pistons are 10-3.

• Rudy Gobert is out four to six weeks with a bruised knee caused by Dion Waiters that kind of looks intentional.

• HASSAN WHITESIDE MILESTONE ALERT: Hassan Whiteside is very good at some stuff, but he is very bad at passing the ball. He has 97 career assists in 225 careers games. He had six assists in his first 68 career games.

• Dennis Smith Jr. recently had a shaky landing after he dunked the ball. This posed the question -- how often do professionals discuss how to land and fall properly? [Tap Here]

• Here’s a good Lee Jenkins profile of Blake Griffin, who does standup on off days. [Tap Here]

LAST NIGHT'S SCORES

Boston 109, Brooklyn 102

Toronto 129, Houston 113

San Antonio 97, Dallas 91

#throwbackeveryday

November 15, 1995: Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf, who averaged just over three assists per game in his career, put up 30 points and 20 assists in a 137-127 Denver Nuggets win over the Phoenix Suns.

Much like Colin Kaepernick today, Mahmoud consistently chose to stay in the locker room or sit during the playing of the national anthem. You can read more about it

here

.