2021-22 NBA "REGULAR" SEASON THREAD

what would be the non-cowardly sports media response be?

"COVID denier returns to team and puts the league at unnecessary risk, scores 22"

"nets G kyrie irving -- who sucks and is bad -- made his season debut scoring x points and shooting y of z from the field."

media response has been mixed, it's the league being cowardly that i'm predominantly referring to

also should be noted that i love watching kyrie play but this has been tremendously frustrating and he's acting like an ass

should be forced to play the whole game with accordion folders full of "research findings" tucked under each arm.

which is also an old pete maravich drill

yikes

“Kevin Porter Jr., like his dad, pulled that trigger right at the right time”

I can’t believe this was actually said on the Wizards broadcast.. Completely inexcusable. pic.twitter.com/bZcWEVqPOP

— Braddeaux (@BraddeauxNBA) January 6, 2022

sounds like it was an honest fuckup but yikes indeed

I want to sincerely apologize to Kevin Porter Jr and clarify last night’s call. pic.twitter.com/UweFhFnkbt

— Glenn Consor (@glennconsor) January 6, 2022

xxp i think the main unreported story is how nets owner and vaccination advocate joe tsai was convinced to cave on this

given the way the virus has spead thru the fully vaccinated league i'm not sure you can say kyrie is really putting the players more at risk than they already have been. but it becomes a farce and a sideshow when you have one of the most recognizable players only playing road games bcuz he isn't complying with a basic local law in his home city

i agree with CAD that the story is that the league shouldn't have allowed the loophole and the nets shouldn't have taken advantage of it but I would be fine with literally any conversation about the nets or kyrie coming with an asterisk

i really don't buy that wizards announcer's explanation also. it's not like kevin porter jr is some rookie in the league, that was his third career game vs the wizards. the idea that one of their announcers would be going on three years thinking that his dad was an ex-wizard really strains the imagination. i guess that guy would rather cop to incompetence than malice but i really have a hard time seeing that one.

the alternative, that he wanted to have a go at KPJ's father's felony, strikes me as even more unlikely. i think it was his mind wandering while he was on air. Which is dumb! but i dunno if i'd ascribe maliciousness to it.

Yeah, that would be an AWFUL thing to say on purpose, or even as a "joke."

that would be a pretty weird description of manslaughter. otoh was 80s NBA kevin porter known for his timely shots?

announcers really don't need to be talking about relatives

right like what's even the reference

xxp he might be to a guy who has been calling wizards games for 20 years!

classic sign you're getting old is when a significant part of the league is the kid of someone you used to watch

i find it hard to believe the wizards announcer of 20 years is on his third game of calling kevin porter jr and thought his dad played for the wizards and it either never came up until that play or it did and no one bothered to correct him. local announcers love talking about that kinda shit

in any event if porter jr accepts his apology then i consider it wrapped up but it's either gross incompetence or gross malice, pretty bad either way

these guys say so many words over so many weeks and years sometimes their brains just don't work right and unfortunately something weird and inappropriate comes out, there's no need to resort to some bullshit 'explanation'

this guy being pilloried is more about twitter needing grist than any real desire on his part to tank his career by talking shit about a players father.

i really don't buy that wizards announcer's explanation also. it's not like kevin porter jr is some rookie in the league, that was his third career game vs the wizards. the idea that one of their announcers would be going on three years thinking that his dad was an ex-wizard really strains the imagination. i guess that guy would rather cop to incompetence than malice but i really have a hard time seeing that one.

the bongs are binging once more

oh man, my mother in law is gonna be fuckin LIVID

30 games!

Ain’t shit wild about it! It’s a real injury! Imagine having a 300 pound sloppy fat boy run full speed and make direct contact with your spine! I’ll be back soon like I said. https://t.co/jMdySrLxuw

— Keef Morris (@Keefmorris) January 7, 2022

not fair to call jokic fat at this point

the rest of it i agree with tho

Wonder what he took out there, the double space between sloppy and fat means he changed something

Could he press charges or sue jokic? Not that he would but is that possible in something like this?

i doubt anyone in the league wants that precedent

iirc there was talk about criminal charges between rudy tomjanovich and kermit washington but it never happened

yeah if it didnt happen there then its prob never gonna happen

it’s happened before in hockey but when players have hit each other across the head with sticks or done other stuff leading to like hospitalization. what jokic did was dangerous but don’t think it quite rises to that level…

morris is already set for life with league pension and free medical so that would take out a lot of the normal motivation to sue. maybe if it messed up a contract year it would be a different story tho morris had initiated with a p. agro hit on jokics ribs so idk

🚨 Kawhi Leonard could return this season as his ACL rehab is ahead of schedule, sources tell @ChrisBHaynes.

Full story ➡️ https://t.co/TIarYD9xmA pic.twitter.com/6mAtmKuXaH

— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) January 7, 2022

30 seconds after return:

Shams reports Kawhi has entered the protocols.

Lol jord let it go

Mike Miller could have sued Kobe, but he didn’t because it’s an asinine idea lol

its funny how intentionally launching a 95 MPH fastball at someone's dome is a criminal offense in every context except for a baseball game in progress

jokic is gonna take the shaq route and be doing wwe matches in 2029

“It was suggested to me this week by one league source to keep an eye on Atlanta as an emerging suitor for Philadelphia’s Simmons” 👀

- @TheSteinLine pic.twitter.com/TeSsRdPe3j

— NBA Central (@TheNBACentral) January 7, 2022

yeah i dont see it from phillys pov maybe in a worst case scenario where just no one is offering much

they don’t really need more shooting guards and the hawks have a ton of shooting guards

Should have done the dejounte deal

2 late B-)

Agree that the need is really at the 3, but their SGs are Seth and Shake Milton, which is fine but they're smallish and shouldn't preclude anything.

By my count, more than half the league — 311 total players at this point — have now entered the NBA’s health and safety protocols this season, with 252 coming in December and 50 coming so far in January. (The other nine were in Oct/Nov.)

— Baxter Holmes (@Baxter) January 7, 2022

doesnt seem great