The NBA season is 10 days old. For this week’s QTNA, we reflect on Stephen Curry’s injury impact, Joe Mazzulla’s take on fighting, Zach LaVine’s “no sell” contract and early panic for some recent champions.
The coach of the Celtics Joe Mazzulla suggested that fighting should be allowed in the NBA in a radio interview. Too much dip on his chip or is he onto something?
Yes.
For starters, Mazzulla is interesting if nothing else. Characters in training have been somewhat legislated over the last several years and it has been limited by trainers no longer wearing suits on the side – dressing as an expression of their personality.
But for Mazzulla, he is the youngest coach in the NBA at 35 years old, and perhaps he has no knowledge of last year’s game, where physicality was legalized as part of the game, and officials allowed players to control themselves to a large degree. He just sees it as another element to engage fans.
“The biggest thing we’re robbing people of, from an entertainment standpoint, is you can’t fight anymore,” Mazzulla told 98.5 the Sports Hub in Boston. “I wish you could bring back fighting. … What’s more fun than a little riot? How come in baseball, are they allowed to clear benches?”
The answer is layered, complicated and uncomfortable. But let’s start here. America doesn’t want to see black men fighting, and fighting near fans paying top dollar – the NBA sells intimacy, which could make fighting difficult. The Malice at the Palace — which happened 20 years ago next month — left a lasting impression in the eyes of the viewing public, and we know all the code words that were used and would have been used if the NBA hadn’t kept a firm grip on physical play.
To be fair, it wasn’t exactly “allowed” back then. That wild scene in Auburn Hills just exploded on Friday night and the sports world hasn’t been the same since. But in baseball, especially after hitters are hit with 100 MPH fastballs, vigilante justice is accepted as part of the game. For many reasons, the culture of the NBA will not allow the magicians of the game to protect the night on their terms.
Going back to the late 90s, when scores started to decline and the games lost their grace, a few incidents were worth noting. The 1997 Knicks-Heat brawl in Game 5 of the Eastern semis, where Miami’s PJ Brown tossed Charlie Ward upside down WWE-style, changed the tone of that series. There were so many suspensions in Games 6 and 7 for players participating or simply leaving the bench that then-commissioner David Stern had to issue the penalties in alphabetical order because the Knicks wouldn’t have enough active bodies!
Then less than a full year later, Alonzo Mourning and Larry Johnson couldn’t contain their disdain for each other any longer in the final seconds of Game 4 of their first-round series, each throwing a series of haymakers. None landed, by the way. The only thing that actually landed was Knicks coach Jeff Van Gundy on Mourning’s leg like a puppy that fits in a purse. The sight, although hilarious, put the bond in a position where it had to limit such black eyes.
Today’s game is actually still very physical on the inside, and with the floor spread out there is actually more opportunity for a finish to impact a player compared to the confined spaces of decades past. But the NBA is wrong to believe that fans don’t appreciate physicality. You’d find out who the real tough guys are if players knew that officials and teammates weren’t going to rush in and stop things; legalized violence works in other sports, especially the NFL. Some villains aren’t afraid to really mix it up isn’t such a bad thing in this NBA.
Zach LaVine’s contract was deemed non-negotiable in the offseason. How should he be evaluated now?
Two things are undeniable truths in the NBA. First: Contracts are always unsalable in the summer, as players are usually valued by their cap hit first, and game second, if at all. The second truth: Once a season starts, the contract continues to expire. Obviously, yes. But it’s a reminder to be careful about judging a good player by his contract, because LaVine — when you give him a playmaker in the backcourt that allows him to flow — is the best version of himself right now.
He’s on the books for two more seasons after this one — with a 2026-27 player option worth $48.9 million that looks like a surefire bet — but he’s playing good ball so far. Josh Giddey and Lonzo Ball are forward-looking guards who are also creative passers. LaVine is the perfect target.
He’s always been an effective jump shooter, but he loads up on the 3s, taking nearly eight a game at 44%. LaVine is at 51.3% overall (career high), which shows that he doesn’t force his offense and lets the game dictate his moves.
Now, there’s nothing to suggest the Bulls aren’t willing to trade LaVine just yet, but potential suitors who were worried about the surgery that ended his season after 25 games should have their fears allayed. His defense and durability will be legitimate questions, but on the health front he has shown the ability to bounce back from debilitating injuries.
Stephen Curry turned his ankle and will be re-evaluated on Friday. Is there a silver lining?
Well, it certainly tests the whole “strength in numbers” thing, and pays a lot of attention to head coach Steve Kerr. But Kerr seems up to the task, and the Warriors have a hellacious, active defense, illustrated by suffocating the New Orleans Pelicans at home Tuesday night and Draymond Green putting on a defensive masterclass in the rematch 24 hours later.
Moving Jonathan Kuminga to the bench in the absence of Curry and Andrew Wiggins seems like a risky move on its face, considering Kuminga and the Warriors couldn’t agree on a rookie-scale extension, but it looks like the right move. Even without the two mainstays of the 2022 title team and De’Anthony Melton, the Warriors still look deep, as Kerr can develop a 10-man rotation with cap space to spare. All four of the Warriors’ wins have been by 15 points or more, albeit against lesser competition, and that loss was when Curry went out against the Clippers on Sunday night.
Curry is the one big spade in the deck, but there are plenty of face cards that can make effects or even control quarter. We know Green is capable of turning it on the defensive end for long stretches, and now Buddy Hield is showing he can thrive in a winning situation.
The youngsters, Brandin Podziemski, Trayce Jackson-Davis and Moses Moody, have developed into reliable contributors. It begs the question, especially if we assume Curry will return healthy enough and play at his usual high level: Will the Warriors be willing to sacrifice some of their future to run at the present?
The West is stacked and the young players will be expensive as they approach extension time, so one would assume the franchise will become more aggressive if they can keep this up.
But in the meantime, strength in numbers sounds pretty good, again.
The Bucks and Nuggets don’t look like champions of recent vintage at all. Who should panic?
Believe it or not, it seems like the Nuggets. After all, Nikola Jokić is still very much in his prime and he needed every ounce of performance to beat the pesky Brooklyn Nets on the road in overtime. It seems like you run the risk of wearing him out before you get to the playoffs, and it looked clear that he was tired at the end of the second-round series against the Minnesota Timberwolves. So it is necessary to look.
Whatever gas Russell Westbrook has in the tank, he will deliver some nights to be a wild card as a player. Even though his shooting is bad — and honestly, the Nuggets’ roster is shooting bad except for Jamal Murray — you get the sense that that element of Tasmanian Devil mayhem that Westbrook brings is worth the small investment.
For the Bucks, the bench is an issue, but once Khris Middleton returns from offseason surgery, Taurean Prince will go from overloaded starter to valuable backup. Only Bobby Portis is prolific now on a top heavyweight roster. It’s easy to point to Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard for last year’s uneven run, but they’re far from a problem. And even if Middleton’s health is a question mark the Bucks can’t afford, we won’t know what moves they’ll have to make — even with limited resources — until then.
So we’ll wait for both before we fully panic.
