Wednesday, November 6th, 2019

In today's email...

• Kawhi is missing tonight’s marquee matchup 

• Gordon Hayward brings out the worst in NBA media

• Steve Kerr gives non-Warriors fans a nod

• Trae Young disrespected LaMarcus Aldridge last night 

• Five early-season statistical absurdities

Tonight's must-watch games

 1.  Load management is going to lose the NBA some viewers 

Yesterday, the day before a potential NBA Finals matchup, the Clippers announced this buzzkill:  

On one-hand, load management definitely worked last year for Kawhi, and what worked for Kawhi worked for the world champion Raptors.But also, we really wanted to see Clippers-Bucks tonight, with Kawhi. The idea of load management has been a hot topic lately, with some truly boomer-esque opinions on the subject over the last year, which we've aggregated here: 

• Kobe Bryant:"As a competitor, I'm not ducking shit."

• Eric Spoelstra:"We're not doing load management, we're the Miami Heat."

• David Fizdale, on RJ Barrett's 37.1 minutes per game: “He's got the day off tomorrow. We gotta get off of this load management crap. Latrell Sprewell averaged 42 minutes for a season. This kid's 19 years old, drop it already.”

• CJ McCollum:"The race in the Western Conference is extremely tight. I don't know if we can afford to 'Kawhi it,' so to speak. You'll Kawhi your way out of the playoffs."

(Is 'Kawhiing it'

the new 'Schruting it'?

)

There are also some pretty funny other-side-of-the-spectrum opinions, too: 

• Paul Millsap:“If you want to manage my load by all means go for it. I am not going to turn it down.”

• LeBron:"Man I don’t care what y’all say I’m taking a “Load Management” game off tonight! I’ve earned it."

[READ:

There's no easy fix for the load management issue

]

2. Is “Is Gordon Hayward back?” back? 

Gordon Hayward had a marvelous game last night against the truly dreadful Cavaliers, tying his career-high with 39 points on 16 of 19 shooting (he made all 16 2-pointers), while also scoring the game-clinching basket on the same court in which he snapped his leg two years ago.It was probably his best game as a Celtic, and it led to some of the most predictable NBA headlines ever: 

• Gordon Hayward is finally, truly back

• Gordon Hayward dominated the Cavaliers, and it's safe to say he's back

• Gordon Hayward proves he’s back after career outing

• Is Gordon Hayward actually back?

• NBA expert declares Gordon Hayward ‘back’ after monster game vs. Cavs

Are we really that devoid of nuance? Did no one learn from last year, when, after every decent three-game stretch, Hayward was bombed with ‘safe to say your back, Gordon?’ only to struggle again for the next two weeks?Isn’t the truth somewhere much closer to -- hey, he may never be the same player he was in Utah, but he’s still smart and talented and capable of having superstar games sometimes?Imagine how exhausting it must be, after every single 20-plus point game, to have a dozen recorders shoved in your face, and to have a horde of people asking ‘feel good to be back, Gordon?’What happens if Hayward scores four points on 1 of 11 shooting on Thursday? Or if he shoots 37 percent over the next month? Will he still ‘finally, truly’ be back?[READ: Gordon Hayward is ready for you to stop talking about his leg]

3. LeMarcus Aldridge is simply too old for this

Trae Young, 21 years old, made LaMarcus Aldridge, 34 years old, dance during last night's 108-100 win over the Spurs.

4. Thank you, Steve Kerr

In an interesting interview in the Book of Basketball 2.0, Warriors coach Steve Kerr threw all of us -- the non-Warriors fans who were angry at Kevin Durant for ruining the NBA for two years -- a bone. At the 32:30-mark: 

“You add Kevin Durant to what we already had, it was unfair. It really was. I understand now, looking back, if you’re just an NBA fan and you’re not cheering for anybody and you just want to see competitive basketball, I get it. Kevin Durant, the most unstoppable force in the league, joined our team and our team was already damn good, and even set a record. It was, as a coach, incredible, especially that first year because Kevin was so engaged and so excited to play this new style, and we just rolled. We just rolled. It was a dominant team.” 

It takes a reasonable man not to double-down and tell us all to eNjoY gReatNeSs.

5. Five statistical absurdities

Less than 10 games into the 2019-20 season, we’re at that sweet spot where the sample size is decent enough to start judging players but also still small enough to have some insane statistical oddities. Here are five: 

1. Andre Drummondis averaging 19.4 rebounds per game through eight games. Pair that with his 21.4 points per game, throw those numbers in a black hole, and he’s basically new-age Wilt, especially since his Pistons (3-5) aren’t winning. Heyo! 

2. Karl-Anthony Towns (35.54), Kawhi Leonard (34.99) and Giannis (34.23) are all currently breaking the record for highest PER in a season.* The five highest PER seasons ever: Wilt (31.82), Wilt (31.74), MJ (31.71), LeBron (31.67) and MJ (31.63). 

3. Dwight Howard is shooting 78.6 percent from the field, which would crush the single-season record, held by, of course, Wilt, at 72.7 percent. 

4. James Harden’s ongoing assault on volume: He leads the league in points (36.6), shot attempts (168), 3-point attempts (95), missed shots (104), free throws (104), free throw attempts (113), turnovers (40), points (256) and usage rate (40.9). 

5. Jimmy Butler has 15 steals through four games, or 3.8 per game, which would rank as the highest mark ever.

*PER = an all-encompassing stat designed to measure a player’s overall impact; the higher the better. A 15 PER = a league-average player.

  Quick Hits 

• LeBron’s last three games: 30 PPG/11 RDB/13.3 APG

• Ja Morant’s dunks are reminiscent of early Russell Westbrook. 

• There’s a new billboard looming over Madison Square Garden of (New Jersey-native) Kyrie Irving, with the quote: “In my heart, I knew I always wanted to play at home”

• Some stupid Instagram brand thought Swaggy P was LeBron, and Swaggy P commented: “Aye @kingjames I’m the king now lol” Also, if you could go back to the 1980s and destroy the Internet, would you? 

• Isaiah Thomas, through four games in Washington: One start, 22 minutes a game, 43 percent from the field, 14.5 points per game.

• Inside the NBA’s “Who he play for?” is always worth your time.

 Concrete Reads 

• The Mavericks are giving Kristaps Porzingis the star treatment he should have received from the Knicks [The New York Daily News]

• The Clippers are already way ahead of the game [The Ringer]

• Steph Curry's place among all-time NBA greats is still being worked out [ESPN]