Wed, Dec 4th, 2019

The Rockets are redefining weird

December 04, 2019

Wednesday, December 4th, 2019

  • James Harden and Russell Westbrook have created a basketball twilight zone

  • A good podcast on Dirk’s legacy

  • The City Edition Mavs jerseys are straight out of the early-2000s

  • 37 years ago, Adrian Dantley went off

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Tonight's must-watch games

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The lead: #KeepHoustonWeird 

Last night’s Houston-San Antonio game, a 135-133 double overtime win for the Spurs, was like watching a computer simulation with every James Harden-Russell Westbrook tendency cranked to the highest degree.First off: James Harden had a fourth-quarter dunk, GIFed above, that the refs disallowed, even after a long and tedious review. It ended up mattering, too, because the Spurs, down 15 at that point, went nuts and tied the game, sending it to overtime.Secondly: This first-quarter exchange between a forlorn heckler and Harden is perfect.Thirdly: Lonnie Walker IV, whose hair you just have to see to believe, was the one who ignited the Spurs’ fourth-quarter comeback, scoring the final eight points of the game. Plus, Jakob Poeltl (YA·KOB PUR·TUL) blocked Harden’s regulation game-winning attempt and his overtime game-winning attempt.Now, the stats: 

  • Harden finished with 50 points, despite shooting 11-for-38 from the field and 4-for-20 from 3. (His career-high for 3s attempted in a game is 23.)

  • His 28.9 shooting percentage is the worst-ever in a 50-point performance. 

  • The rest of his points came from his 24-for-24 mark at the free throw line, a regular season record for most takes without a miss. (Dirk went 24-24 in the 2011 Western Conference Finals.)

  • Russell Westbrook went 7-for-30 from the field, combining with his pal to finish the game 18-for-68. 

  • Westbrook finished with 19 points, becoming the sixth player since 1976 to shoot 30 times and score less than 20 points. (H/T Bill Simmons)

The piece-de-resistance: The Rockets are “hopeful” the NBA will retroactively award Harden his dunk and give Houston the regulation victory, or replay the final 7:50 of the game.

2. Dirk’s place among the all-time greats

In the latest Book of Basketball 2.0 episode, Bill Simmons and Marc Stein discuss the legacy of Dirk, his unlikely blossoming into an MVP, the vindication of his 2011 title run, his what-if with Steve Nash, and more. It’s a good conversation between two hoop lovers.This Stein quote stood out: 

“Nobody looked at the ‘98-’99 lockout-shortened Mavs and thought, ‘Oh yeah, we got two future MVPs here.’ Nash and Nowitzki. I mean, you didn’t even see it coming. Nobody. Dirk’s parents wouldn’t have said, ‘My son is going to be the MVP.’ Nobody saw it coming, what he became.”

 3. Six things that might have inspired the City Edition Mavs jersey

  1. A sleek Myspace font, complete with a picture of pimped out Spongebob.

  2. The GREEN TEA + ENERGY (NON CARBONATED) Monster energy drink, contrasted above.

  3. A paintball jersey that your friend Kyle used to wear to school, because he wanted everyone to know how X-TREME he gets on the weekends.

  4. An ambiguous non-NBA-sponsored jersey from the TJMaxx discount rack, which used to be $29.99, $19.99, $14.99 and $11.99, but is now $8.99, and still a few bucks too expensive.

  5. The custom spray-on t-shirt/tank top that every New England kid gets when he/she goes to Hampton Beach, which will thus be worn to every future trip to Hampton Beach, as if to say, been there, done that.

  6. Custom graffiti art by the kid in the back of your sophomore year geometry class who was at least 18 and on his second geometry go-around, who was actually pretty cool and willing to draw your last name in that font for free, though you had reservations about sitting with him because Mr. Buckley would tank your grade based solely on the stigma of association. Plus, one time, when your class was doing a math experiment with dry pasta, he dared a kid in your group to eat all the pasta in exchange for a free dime bag, and the kid actually ate the pasta, and after school they both went to the graffiti guy’s house to get the dime bag. So, in hindsight, he was an honorable guy who stuck to his word, but definitely failed geometry again.

4. 12/4/1982: The original A.D. drops 57

On this day 37 years ago, back when scoring 50 points actually meant something, Adrian Dantley, a 6-foot-3 forward who scored 23,177 points despite seven career made 3-pointers, dropped a career-high 57 points in a win over the Chicago Bulls.Dantley’s a Hall of Famer and an OG member of the Bad Boy Pistons, who got traded for Mark Aguirre midway through the ‘88-’89 season, right before the Pistons broke through and beat the Lakers. And, yes, he’s still mad about that. Take a few minutes to read his NBA Legends profile.

  

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  • David Fizdale and the Knicks are running out of chances and time [The Athletic]

  • The Blazers are letting Melo be Melo … and it’s working [The Ringer]