Wed, June 17th, 2020

NBA bubble details — Kyrie’s latest idea — Celtics-Lakers

June 17, 2020

Wednesday, June 17th, 2020

  The Opening Tip

  • What rules will the NBA have to follow when it heads to Orlando?

  • In the words of Howard Bryant, Kyrie Irving has gone Full Dissident 

  • Both classic Lakers-Celtics series of the 2000s ended on this day

  • Manute Bol playing basketball was a marvel

1. The Lead: Key details from the league’s hefty handbook for life in the Orlando bubble 

Players in the bubble can only play one-on-one ping pong. For non-rule followers, there is a tattle-tale hotline.

The NBA sent a 113-page memo to its players on Tuesday

, which detailed in sometimes-absurd detail the protocols teams are expected to follow during the NBA’s return in Disney World, which is still scheduled to begin on July 31.

Key rules/instructions: 

  • There will be “frequent” COVID-19 testing, which is perfectly ambiguous. 

  • Players will have access to a players-only lounge, with TVs, arcade games, and ping pong. All the while, they are expected to remain six feet apart. 

  • When playing ping pong, players must keep competition one-on-one. No doubles. 

  • Entering another person’s hotel room is prohibited. 

  • Players will be able to ride certain roller coasters, and have been pre-approved to board based on height checks. (Joking.) 

  • There will be an anonymous hotline for players concerned about other players breaking the rules. 

  • Masks must be worn by all while indoors, except while eating, playing and isolating. 

  • Each team is allowed a crew of 37 players; the teams will split up into three resorts.

In short: It’s basically an overly-cautious, luxury high school trip, complete with no-entering-other-hotel-room rules. Wonder if they’ll have a chaperone tape the doors at night?The timeline:  

  • If a player has second-thoughts based on health or social justice priorities, he does not have to play, but must alert the NBA before June 24.

  • Mandatory workouts at team facilities will be held from July 1-11.

  • All teams will be in Disney by July 21. Players will be given the green light after two negative tests. 

  • After a week of scrimmaging, games will begin on July 31. 

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 2. Reports: Kyrie Irving wants to leave the NBA, slowly float away from earth, start new league, planet, species  

Kyrie Irving steps onto his virtual soap box… 

Kyrie: The NBA season is second to the grave injustices happening in our country right now.Other players: Yes, Kyrie, that is true.Kyrie: I am willing to give everything away to fight injustices in this country.Other players: Yeah, well, maybe not everything but…Kyrie: We need to start a new league. Come along brothers. Other players: Uhhhhhhhhhhh.

(Here’s the

story on Irving pushing for a new league from the New York Daily News, which also includes reporting that he's been pressuring his teammates not to participate in the NBA’s return plan.

To be fair, it appears Irving has

this idea since the start of the season. His hope for a players-run league

in response to the bubble.)

 3. 06/17/2008 & 06/17/2010: The Celtics blow out the Lakers for title No. 17; the Lakers outlast the Celtics for title No. 16    

On this day 12 and 10 years ago, the Celtics and Lakers finished their two most recent Finals series. One ended with anything’s possiblllllllllllllle and the other ended with Kobe passed me the ball!On 06/17/08:

  • Boston beat L.A., 131-92 in Game 6, in more of a celebration than an actual game. The real work was done in Game 4, when the Celtics took a 3-1 lead after coming back from a 24-point deficit. 

  • Paul Pierce (21.8, 4.5, 6.3) won Finals MVP.

  • Ray Allen made 22 3s in the series, then a Finals record. 

  • The most memorable play: Kevin Garnett’s one-handed and-one that gave the Garden a collective bump of adderall. 

On 06/17/10:

  • The Lakers beat the Celtics, 83-79 in Game 7, to clinch a repeat after the Celtics had gone up 3-2 in the series. 

  • Kobe Bryant (28.6/8/3.9) won Finals MVP. 

  • Pau Gasol (18.6/11.6/3.7) had his best moment as a pro.

  • The most memorable play: Metta World Peace’s prayer 3-pointer that gave L.A. a 79-73 lead with a minute left.

4.  The Grip Asks: Is Manute Bol’s 3-point shot the strangest sight in NBA history?    

Manute Bol made 43 3-pointers in his career. He made 10 during the 1992-93 season. Six of those 10, including the one above, came in one half of a game on March 3, 1993. We feel confident in saying he is the only 7-foot-7, 190-pound center to slingshot in six 3-pointers in one half of an NBA game.Which brings us back to our question: Is Bol’s trebuchet (Age of Empires reference) from deep the most surreal thing you’ve seen on a basketball court?Other nominees: 

5.  Off the Press  

  • Bill Russell’s hope for America: That this time will be different [The Boston Globe]

  • Would Kevin Durant have won a title with the Trail Blazers? [The Ringer]

  • Peering inside Germany’s basketball bubble [The New York Times]