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: Monday, December 28, 2020 9:28 AM
To: Kelcey Wright Johnson
Subject: IMHO
Annnnndddd…. we’re back. Seriously, we made it! The NBA is back! I don’t want to speak for you, but in this wicked 2020 we all lived through, it feels pretty comforting to be able to flip on my TV late on a Sunday night and have the Lakers beating the heck out of the T-Wolves on in the background while I casually scroll Twitter and anxiety shop on Amazon.
That being said, we are barely one week into this season. Sooooooo much is going to happen and change and be different by the end of the season, not to mention even one week from now. But let’s go ahead and jump to conclusions, since that’s what we in the media do!
There are a lot of ways you could go with this, so I’ll leave it as open-ended as possible: Which team’s start has given you the biggest surprise thus far?
From: Kelcey Wright Johnson
Sent: Monday, December 28, 2020 11:57 PM
To: Lang Whitaker
Subject: Re: IMHO
Jumping to conclusions? Sure. *JUMPS IN HEAD FIRST*
With the way the Cavs have started the season, they may be bringing another championship back to Cleveland.
Just kidding—but seriously, as I write this on Monday night, how are the Cavs, Magic, Pacers and Hawks the only undefeated teams in the NBA? Four teams that either didn’t make the playoffs last year, or got knocked out handily in the first round, now have the best records in the league.
Another surprise? The Clippers? The Mavs? What the heck? Was? That? I mean, I know Kawhi didn’t play but come on… anyway, I can’t jump too far ahead of myself here, because as you said, everything could (and will) change by next week.
And hey, next week is a new year! Do you have any New Year’s Resolutions for any teams moving into 2021?
From: Lang Whitaker
Sent: Tuesday, December 29, 2020 11:17 AM
To: Kelcey Wright Johnson
Subject: RE: IMHO
This whole week in the NBA has been a blur, with wild stories and storylines and twists and turns. And we’re only one week in!
My first New Year’s resolution is for the Houston Rockets, who have to figure out what they’re doing going forward. For week one, with Wall and Cousins out, they were able to kinda fall back on the ball-dominant James Harden offense, which was fun to watch, even though Harden showed up clearly not in prime condition. But once those guys are back, I’m not sure what the Rockets are going to do. Wall is the type of player who needs the ball in his hands to be successful, and same goes for Harden. So, Houston, I believe, we may have a problem.
Then there’s the Warriors. I know Klay Thompson is out for a while, and Draymond Green has missed these first few games, but the Warriors are giving up, on average, 130(!) points per game. Sure, they’re missing two elite defenders, but man, 130 points is a lot of bingo. So maybe they can resolve to play some defense?
One other resolution, for our own Memphis Grizzlies: We either need to go all-in or not at all. And I’m talking about, of course, hair coloring. Look, Justise Winslow showed up this season with a patch of green hair, which is a nice burst of Christmas cheer. Ja Morant turned up for the season opener with a red braid right in the front of his head, and Brandon Clarke grew out his braids and frosted the tips a bit. So there’s a lot happening here, and I get it: With the pandemic ongoing and everyone stuck at home, I guess we are all more willing to be adventurous with our looks. But I think, for the sake of teamwork, either we should be all in or all out. So, I wanna see Grayson get a gold stripe, maybe see Gorgui turn up with a rat tail. Let’s all go crazy with our hair! (OK, except for you and me.)
Kelcey, I was watching the Spurs/Grizzlies game the other night, and I noticed Bryn Forbes wasn’t playing for the Spurs. That’s weird, I thought, because it seems like Bryn Forbes has been part of the Spurs rotation for like seven years now. Then I grabbed my MacBook and went to the google, where I found out Bryn Forbes is now on the Milwaukee Bucks!
With the short offseason and turbo-charged draft and free agency, there are probably more than a few players in new places that moved under the radar. Is there anyone in a new home that surprised you?
From: Kelcey Wright Johnson
Sent: Tuesday, December 29, 2020 9:35 PM
To: Lang Whitaker
Subject: Re: IMHO
Lang,
Forget Grayson or Gorgui—I think we are all in this together; you and I have to show up to the games with full heads of pink hair. Thems the rules, man.
Jokes aside though, it’s funny you bring up Forbes, because when the Hawks came to FedExForum for their first preseason game, Rajon Rondo checked in and I was like, “Wait, what?” I think I completely missed that deal—I assumed he was still on the Lakers … or Celtics … but now the Hawks.
Now that I think about it… I was surprised to see Jae Crowder in a Suns uniform at the beginning of the year, too. I was just getting used to seeing him in a Heat uniform. I do follow him on Instagram, though, and he had posted a screenshot of a FaceTime call between him, Devin Booker and Chris Paul when the announcement was made—so I did know about the signing, but I definitely forgot.
Another under the radar move this off-season was Aron Baynes to the Raptors. I mean, hey, we were still tagging the Suns on Twitter on the anniversary of Ja Morant dunking on Baynes a year ago. Oh, he’s not on your squad anymore, Phoenix? Weird.
The worst part of this though? When Nick Young signed his deal to go play overseas in China this week, I had either forgot about him (or forgot that he wasn’t playing) or wrongly assumed he was just on the end of someone’s bench somewhere. I guess similar to JR Smith, I just always assume they make their way back on a roster. Wait, is JR Smith playing anywhere this season?
I clearly need to buckle down and go read some of the rosters this year. Are there any players that you *sometimes* forget are either still in the league, or not in the league anymore? Or am I just losing my marbles?
From: Lang Whitaker
Sent: Wednesday, December 30, 2020 9:05 AM
To: Kelcey Wright Johnson
Subject: IMHO
First of all, I’m in on the hair thing. What do we have to lose? It’s just color or bleach or something (I say, as I realize I have no idea how you really go about changing your hair color). I’m fully in favor of getting weird, if it helps generate some team chemistry. I mean, I can always wear a hat.
As for old faces in new places, I hear you. When I started working at SLAM a million years ago, I was the same age as most of the guys I was covering. This worked in my favor, because I was into the same things they were into—I listened to the same music, played the same video games, wore throwback jerseys, had a T-Mobile Sidekick, etc. Now I’m older than everyone in the league, and while I can’t connect on an age level with these guys, I can offer perspective and experience and institutional knowledge.
When this season started, I found myself looking at the list of veteran players and being excited that many of them were just still in the NBA. I’m speaking of players like Chris Paul and Carmelo Anthony, as well as Grizzlies legends Marc Gasol and Andre Iguodala. I love it when players can no longer rely on athleticism, and instead are able to get by on guile and smarts and charm.
I know youth is something to be celebrated, particularly here in Memphis, where we started this season with the second-youngest roster in the NBA. Let’s not forget our old acquaintances, and let’s end 2020 by giving the old dudes a shoutout.
Kelcey, 2020 was brutal, but we made it!
Let’s hope 2021 is better. Onward.