Grind City Media’s Lang Whitaker and Kelcey Wright Johnson weigh in on the most pertinent news from around the NBA. What’s lit? What’s lame? Find out each week right here.
From: Lang Whitaker
Sent: Tuesday, September 1, 2020 9:05 PM
To: Kelcey Wright Johnson
Subject: IMHO
Kelc!
So as I sit here writing this email, the Nuggets are up 10 against the Utah Jazz, with a few minutes left to play in the first half. The Jazz have played OK in the bubble, although thus far they’re without their second leading scorer, Bojan Bogdanovic. The only other series left to be finished as I write this is Houston and OKC, which will be dunzo by the time our dear readers have a chance to read this column.
We’ve seen a lot of teams in the bubble playing without key pieces, whether it’s the Wizards with John Wall, the Nets without Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, even our own Grizzlies, who were without, well, most of our best players. Even these Nuggets have been dealing with injuries throughout the bubble.
So let’s start this week with this question: Which team in the bubble are you most excited to see back next season at full strength?
From: Kelcey Wright Johnson
Sent: Tuesday, September 1, 2020 9:32 PM
To: Lang Whitaker
Subject: Re: IMHO
Dear Mr. Whitaker,
With all due respect, there is only one right answer to this question:
BROOKLYN, STAND UP!
A new coach with two *SUPERSTARS* back in the line-up and with newly-confident Caris LeVert, plus five other guys who averaged double-digits this year. It’s a team that made the playoffs this season without Kyrie and KD. Now, they got swept in the playoffs but think about the scoring prowess that’s about to be inserted into this team.
On top of that, I loved watching LeVert blossom this year and I think with the addition of KD and Kyrie, it will only continue upwards as defenses narrow in on those two. I’m so excited for it.
I’m also excited to watch the off-the-court stuff with this team as well. In my mind, I’m thinking KD’s crazy Twitter plus Kyrie’s philosophical thinking could add up to some fun for us outsiders.
I hope you’re excited to see KD and Kyrie suit up with each other next season too. And because we’ve seen so many of these double-superstar teams like Houston with Westbrook and Harden, Lakers with LeBron and AD, Clippers’ Kawhi and PG… If you could wave a magic wand in the off-season (forget about salaries and free agency—this is magic we’re talking about) in an imaginary world, what two superstars would you love to see playing on the same squad?
From: Lang Whitaker
Sent: Wednesday, September 2, 2020 11:21 AM
To: Kelcey Wright Johnson
Subject: RE: IMHO
I know the postseason isn’t finished, but I think the correct answer is not Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, who have thus far seemed like an odd connection in L.A. Perhaps it’s because PG entered the season injured or because Kawhi has been battling wear and tear, but I still don’t feel like these two have a good rhythm together. As for who I’d like to see link up, I’d love it if the Thunder could add another big-time big man, like a Karl-Anthony Towns type. I just think Chris Paul clearly still has some gas in the tank, and he’s pushing the Thunder to the top of the Conference with Danilo Gallinari as his second option. I know the Thunder scored a ton of assets in return for the aforementioned Paul George
Meanwhile, last night the Utah Jazz blew a 3-1 lead against the Denver Nuggets and lost their first round series, in a Game 7 that had a heckuva dramatic ending. I wasn’t really rooting for either team in the series, but man it would’ve been cool to see Mike Conley hit that game-winner he threw up at the buzzer. While the Nuggets advance, I wonder what’s next for the Jazz? Conley has another year on his contract if he opts in (and I think he will), and Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell are a potent duo to build around, if they can get along. But this team, as currently constructed, clearly isn’t good enough to content for a title. So if you’re the Utah Jazz, what do you do to get better? From: Kelcey Wright Johnson Sent: Wednesday, September 2, 2020 7:09 PM To: Lang Whitaker Subject: Re: IMHO I thought your imagination would run a little wilder with the magic wand I handed over! My superstar duo would be LeBron James and Kawhi Leonard, or LeBron and Giannis on the same team. That would be mind-blowing! But to answer your question; it may seem like they need a defensive stopper in the guard position after we just watched Jamal Murray break NBA records scoring 40- and 50-point games night after night, but I don’t think that’s their biggest concern. They have a huge hole in their scoring load in the forward position. Royce O’Neale scored in double digits one game in the Denver series and never reached double-digits in rebounds or assists—however, he just signed a 4-year $36 million contract so I doubt he’s going anywhere. That leaves Joe Ingles. I know NBA fans love him, and he did have a 19-point game in the 135-125 overtime loss to Denver in game one, but he also had a zero-point game (while still playing 35 minutes). That type of inconsistency makes it difficult to move forward and become true contenders. He signed a one-year extension for $14 million, which brings him through the 2020-2021 season. His starting forward spot needs to be the first position Utah needs to look at upgrading in the off-season even though fans may be sad to see him leave after all these years. But the reality is that he averaged less points and less rebounds per game than he did the last two seasons and that forward position is too precious to waste on a strong Western conference team. Let me move your attention to the Eastern conference for a moment as I sit here and watch the Heat and the Bucks. How much trouble do you think the Bucks are in going up against Miami? From: Lang Whitaker Sent: Wednesday, September 2, 2020 9:41 PM To: Kelcey Wright Johnson Subject: RE: IMHO Well, you can’t spell trouble without bubble… or something like that. Though two games in their series against the Miami Heat, the Milwaukee Bucks haven’t looked great. Sure, the Bucks were a dominant regular season team, but so far the Heat have been more physical, tougher, and straight up hustled harder. I don’t think it’s hyperbole to say the Bucks have been outplayed and outschemed. Now, all that being said, the Bucks are one makeup call away from possibly having this series 1-1 after two games. The Bucks have had some moments in those games where they looked like the team that had the NBA’s best regular-season record, but they haven’t been able to string those stretches together for extended periods of time. So yeah, the Bucks are in trouble, but I’m not ready to count them out just yet. We’ll see if Giannis is able to rally his troops and lead them to the Conference Finals… where there’s another higher-seeded team that’s also on the ropes as I type this: Toronto. Are the Raptors in trouble, too? I guess we’ll have to figure all this out next week…
