Mon, Jan 6th, 2020

Poor Kevin Love šŸ˜„ā€” the Knicks arenā€™t laughable anymore ā€” a 1951 barnburner

January 06, 2020

Monday, January 6th, 2020

  • Kevin Love deserves no oneā€™s sympathy

  • Ja Morant gets the Lou Williams nod of approval

  • The Knicks are suddenly competent

  • A six-OT game played out 69 years ago today

  • Paul George completes an all-time circus shot

Tonight's must-watch games

Tap to set a reminder

 1. The Lead: Kevin Love, who willingly signed a $120 million contract, is acting like a hostage

You know what demographic of humans has it really bad?The Kevin Love demographic -- the rich 6-foot-10 handsome male sector of this world. Heā€™s had a really tough year.Letā€™s take a look back. 

July 24, 2018 -- Kevin Love signs a four-year, $120 million extension that obviously prioritizes his bank account over playing for a winning team.Dec. 9, 2019 -- News leaks that Kevin Love wants a trade to a contender.Dec. 13, 2019 -- Kevin Love commits a 3-second violation that would make Wilt Chamberlain swoon.Dec. 31, 2019 -- Kevn Love throws a temper tantrum on the bench. When threatened with a fine, he reportedly responds, ā€˜I have plenty of money.ā€™Jan. 4, 2020 -- Kevin Love demands the ball at the end of a gameā€™s first half, clapping deliberately in Collin Sextonā€™s face before throwing an errant bullet pass to Cedi Osman with three seconds left on the shot clock.Jan. 4, 2020 -- In the fourth quarter of the same game, Kevin Love walks with the conviction of a wounded sheep toward his own bench as Dennis Schrƶder cruises in for a layup.Jan. 5, 2020 -- Kevin Love posts a picture of himself and Collin Sexton on Instagram, writing, ā€˜A lot of non truths being shared...but Iā€™ve learned that we live in a world where people remember accusations and not rebuttals.ā€™

To summarize:

Kevin Love acts a certain way in public over a sustained period, doesnā€™t try for long stretches in a job where heā€™s making a lot of money, then denies any culpability and blames the media.

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 2. Game sees game 

This -- the crossover, the nod -- is why weā€™re addicted to the NBA. He made the shot, of course.

 3. This sucks to say, but the Knicks under Mike Miller are only kinda bad 

Under the adroit misguidance of clueless but sympathetic figure David Fizdale, the Knicks were 4-18, and perhaps on their way to a season of true disaster.Since Dec. 6, though, when the doofuses running the Knicks fired the doofus coaching the Knicks, this team has been so ā€¦ drama-free and capable of winning.Last night, on the road against the Kawhi-less Clippers, the Knicks scored 45 points in the first quarter, blew a 16-point lead, almost overcame a 16-point deficit, and eventually lost, 135-132. It was the type of lively game that never would have happened in November.Interim coach Mike Miller (not the former LeBron crony) is now 6-8 as coach of the Knicks, and the advanced stats pre- and post-Miller are strikingly different:Offensive rating:

Defensive rating:

  • Under Fizdale: 112.9, 25th

  • Under Miller: 110.5, 21st

Net rating:

  • Under Fizdale: -10.9, last

  • Under Miller: -1.1, 17th

 4. 01/06/1951: A six-overtime slugfest 

(The Rochester Royals: 1951 champs)

On this day 69 years ago, the Indianapolis Olympians (defunct since 1953) beat the Rochester Royals (now the Kings), 75-73, in a six-overtime regular season game.

With 78 total minutes played, it remains the longest NBA game ever played, though the true spectacle is how few points were scored in such a ridiculously long contest.

The game (played pre-shot clock) was tied at 65 at the end of regulation. Hereā€™s how the overtimes played out:

IND:   2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 2ROC:  2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 

You can check out the full box score

. The Royals went on to win the title that year, still their only championship in team history.

5.  Quick Hits 

6.  Off the press