LEBRON PUTTING HIS FANS FIRST
Forget load management; aging Lakers superstar says he’s playing unless he’s hurt
It was nice to hear Lebron James speak recently of his obligation to paying fans.
The NBA season is too long, most would agree, but until that changes, the answer shouldn’t be superstars often sitting out games.
Only Karl Malone has come close to doing what Lebron James is accomplishing this deep into his career, but that doesn’t mean James wants to rest much. While one Los Angeles team is all about “load management” with Kawhi Leonard, the other takes a different approach, thanks to James.
“If I’m hurt, I don’t play. If not, I’m playing,” James told ESPN back in November.
That stance hasn’t wavered since then, even if load management is all the rage and even though the Lakers are off to a great start and might not need Lebron every night.
“If I’m healthy, I play,” James told reporters on Sunday.
“That should be the approach. I mean, unless we’re getting to, like, late in the season and we’ve clinched and we can’t get any better or any worse, it could benefit from that, but why wouldn’t I play if I’m healthy? It doesn’t make any sense to me, personally.
“I mean, I don’t know how many games I got left in my career. I don’t know how many kids that may show up to a game and they’re there to come see me play and if I sit out, then what? That’s my obligation.”
It’s the right thing for one of the five best players in NBA history to say and it’s yet another sign that he gets it. Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson and Larry Bird felt the same way.
The approach might be rubbing off. Lebron’s running mate and fellow superstar Anthony Davis, who has missed quite a bit of action over the years due to various ailments, decided to stay in Sunday’s game against Atlanta despite tweaking his ankle.
Davis did say he got by mostly on adrenalin, though, and sure enough, he was held out of the lineup for Tuesday’s game against Indiana. Even so, sitting due to a legitimate injury is far different than simply being rested because the schedule is too tough. A greyer area is how to treat a star like Leonard, who might be managing his previous leg issues for the rest of his career to some degree.
STERN REMAINS IN SERIOUS CONDITION
Former NBA commissioner David Stern remained in serious condition in a New York hospital following emergency surgery, the league said in an update on Tuesday. Stern, who headed the NBA for 30 years, suffered a sudden brain hemorrhage last week while eating a meal.
“He’s receiving great care and surrounded by his loved ones,” the NBA statement read.
Stern was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2014.
SUNS GETTING A BIG LIFT
Phoenix held the fort quite well without 2018 No. 1 overall selection Deandre Ayton, but that doesn’t mean they won’t welcome the big man back.
Ayton was due back on Tuesday night following a 25-game suspension for testing positive for a diuretic.
The Suns went 11-15 without Ayton, who averaged 16.3 points and 10.3 rebounds as a rookie and added 18 and 11 in his season debut before the suspension.
Former Celtics centre Aron Baynes and Charlotte castoff Frank Kaminsky filled in for Ayton, along with Dario Saric, but they’re completely different players.
Phoenix had lost four of five before Tuesday, but head coach Monty Williams cautioned that Ayton shouldn’t be treated as a saviour.
TRADE CHATTER HEATS UP
Now that more than 100 players who signed in the off-season can be traded, it seems like the rumour mill is picking up steam.
Julius Randle has been bandied about as a potential name being dangled by the New York Knicks, and even long-standing players could be up for grabs.
The New York Times reported that the struggling New Orleans Pelicans are willing to engage in talks for star guard Jrue Holiday after resisting since the Zion Williamson lottery win.
Holiday was an ALL-NBA third team choice a year ago and is one of the best two-way players in the league. He would be in high demand.
There seems to be more parity than usual this year, and no lone powerhouse like during the Golden State days, so that could encourage more teams to make moves.
Each conference has two squads with at least 20 wins, which is a rarity for mid-december in most years.
AROUND THE RIM
Washington will be without rookie forward Rui Hachimura for at least five games after he suffered a groin injury in a game against Detroit on Monday. The No. 9 pick of the 2019 draft is averaging 13.9 points and 5.8 rebounds per game ... It was the night of the rally as Oklahoma City came back from 26 down to beat Chicago and Houston stormed back from a 25-point deficit against San Antonio on Monday to win by two points. The Spurs have been playing some extremely competitive basketball lately. The team recently played an NBA record four straight overtime games ... Thursday’s Lakers-versus-bucks clash will be the first time in league history that two teams that each had fewer than five losses at this point in the season or later meet in a game ... In case you missed it, Milwaukee won’t have starting point guard Eric Bledsoe in the lineup for two weeks and Charlotte lost standout rookie forward P.J. Washington for a number of weeks due to a fractured finger . ... In bigger news, Minnesota superstar Karl-anthony Towns has a knee injury, per the Athletic.
It might feel like it was just yesterday, but Vince Carter was traded from Toronto to New Jersey 15 years ago Tuesday.
It was the end of the ascent of the Raptors, a team that seemed on the cusp of the NBA Finals even after Carter’s famous miss a few years earlier against Philadelphia.
The Nets, a division rival that hilariously ended up a playoff opponent and victor 11/2 years later — in no small part thanks to the former Air Canada — flat out stole Carter, who had demanded a trade for various reasons and re-emerged as an all-star player after a few months of the worst play of his career as the end neared in Toronto.
The Raptors had to pay Alonzo Mourning not to report, got next to nothing on the court from a pair of journeymen (Eric and Aaron Williams), misfired on one of the draft picks acquired from the Nets (Joey Graham after flopping on the seventh pick and selecting Charlie Villanueva) and didn’t even use the second first-rounder from the deal. It was dealt away in order to shed the final year of Jalen Rose’s contract, which helped convince Bryan Colangelo to come aboard as president and general manager to try to rescue the franchise (it also allowed the Raptors to sign Jorge Garbajosa and Anthony Parker, and Eric Williams and Matt Bonner turned into starting centre Rasho Nesterovic, which at least means the deal, in a roundabout way, brought back the guts of an overachieving playoff team).
It took nearly a decade for the Raptors to recover from the heist, though. And longer than that to get casual sports fans to be interested in them or basketball once more.
In the 25 years the Raptors have been around, few moments have been as important and defining as the Carter trade was.
At least everyone has finally moved on.
A quick look at the top Canadians in the NBA this season:
■ Andrew Wiggins, Timberwolves: Still playing well, but Wolves stink.
■ Jamal Murray, Nuggets: Shooting has been off since injury.
■ Shai Gilgeous-alexander, Thunder: Stuffing the stat-sheet nightly.
■ R.J. Barrett, Knicks: Too much pressure on the youngster, but he’s handling it well.
■ Kelly Olynyk, Heat: Rare recent goose egg (0 points in 18 minutes vs. Grizzlies).
■ Tristan Thompson, Cavs: Continues to put up numbers on woeful Cavs.
■ Cory Joseph, Kings: About to return to bench with De’aaron Fox recovered from injury.
■ Dillon Brooks, Grizzlies: Dropped 27 points on Washington this week.
■ Brandon Clarke, Grizzlies; Should make first-team all-rookie.
Dwight Powell, Mavericks: Lost alley-oop partner when Doncic got hurt.
■ Chris Boucher, Raptors: Forcing his way onto the court.
■ Nickeil Alexander-walker, Pelicans: Looking for more playing time.
Five surging squads (before Tuesday’s games)
1. L.A. Lakers — Lebron, Anthony Davis and Co. have won seven straight and might be the class of the West.
2. L.A. Clippers — Stingy as ever defensively. Kawhi and Paul George are starting to figure out how to blend together.
3. Indiana Pacers — Playing best basketball of the season. Everything going right on both ends of the floor during three-game winning streak.
4. Charlotte Hornets — Yes, really. One of league’s biggest surprises, given pre-season expectations.
5. Milwaukee Bucks — The Bucks finally lost a game, so we’re dropping them. Expect them to rise back up.
Five slipping squads (before Tuesday’s games)
1. New Orleans Pelicans — Make it 12 losses in a row for the still Zion-less Pelicans. Might be time to move Holiday and Redick.
2. Cleveland Cavaliers — These guys don’t even pretend to play defence. How do you shoot 48 per cent and still lose? I just told you.
3. Golden State Warriors — It still seems strange to see the Warriors on this side every week. All dynasties crumble.
4. Minnesota Timberwolves — Continue to resemble a group that’s never heard the word defence. Even Robert Covington can’t save the day.
5. Atlanta Hawks — John Collins won’t solve all of the problems, but he’ll be warmly welcomed back soon.