Category: NBA

Who let off a gnarly fart on the Spurs bench? The 4 suspects in question

WHO DONE IT?!?!?

Somebody on the Spurs needs to watch what they’re eating, man.

Welcome to Fartgate, folks.

Spurs players were visibly upset by the bench ahead of their game against the Clippers on Monday. What was wrong? It looks like somebody let off one of those rotten egg farts that are likely to ruin your entire day once it hits your nose.

I can’t confirm that was the smell, obviously, considering that I wasn’t there. But judging by the way Victor Wembanyama covered his nose with his shirt and how Chris Paul walked away visibly angry, one can assume that this was a pretty funky one.

Look at how upset these dudes are.

We saw who smelt it. Now, we need to figure out who dealt it. I’ve got four suspects, ranked from the least likely to most.

Let’s take a look, shall we?

1. Victor Wembanyama is definitely innocent

Wembanyama was the first one who seemed to smell the fart. And you know what they say? He who smelt it, dealt it. Generally, I think that’s a fair rule.

But look at the disgust on this man’s face as he covers his nose with his shirt.

I think this is an innocent man.

2. Chris Paul is too mad to be guilty

We’ve seen Chris Paul upset before, but I don’t know if we’ve seen him this upset in a while.

It looks like he just got into it with Scott Foster. Only a psycho would get this mad about their own farts.

Now, don’t get me wrong. Paul might just be that kind of guy! But I just don’t see it here.

3. Silent but deadly from Julian Champagnie?

Ok. So here’s where things get really interesting. Julian Champagnie is clearly in the vicinity of the fart — let’s call it the Blast Zone.

HMMMM. CURIOUS.

There’s a chance he might be that awkward person who doesn’t react to funky farts because he doesn’t want to put anyone on blast.

There’s also a chance that he’s the one who let it rip. He’d be the prime suspect if not for this next guy.

4. Jeremy Sochan is too frolicky for it not to be him

It’s definitely Sochan. Just look at his face. He’s laughing while walking out of a cloud of nuclear gas.

Not only is he the farter here, but he’s also one of those dudes who think all of his farts are funny. Those are the worst kind of farters. They’re the sort of people who take pleasure in robbing you of one of your senses for the next five minutes because their flatulence just fried your nose. It’s awful.

I could be wrong here. But I think it’s pretty clearly Sochan. We’ll probably never know. I just hope everyone’s nose is OK after this.

James Harden morphed into Kawhi Leonard for one play and stopped the Spurs all by himself

What if James Harden played defense like this all the time?

James Harden has been maligned for most of his career as a generally poor defender.

At best, he wasn’t trying because of the offensive load he was taking on. At worst? He just didn’t care. Defense never seemed like it was his problem. Unless, of course, he was playing in the post. Then he took it personally. Just ask Daryl Morey.

But on Monday, Harden looked like an All-World defender for once. It was almost like he morphed into his teammate, Kawhi Leonard, to lock up Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs all by himself.

Harden registered four different deflections on this possession by my count.

That’s some incredible defense. It didn’t really amount to much in that quarter — the Spurs ended up dropping 40 points to start the game.

Still! That’s impressive work from Harden. And LA still ended up getting the win despite having to pull off a 26-point comeback.

Why the NBA has zero games scheduled on Tuesday night in 2024

The idea is to encourage fans to participate in the civic process.

If you tuned in to the NBA last night, you got to see every single team take the court. Tonight, on November 5, the opposite will happen.

Due to the 2024 presidential election, every single team in the league will have a night off on Tuesday. The league made a similar decision in 2022 for the midterm elections.

This is the first time that the league has scheduled no games for a presidential election, but the idea is to promote voting and once again “encourage fans and the broader NBA community to participate in the civic process” this year, per NBA.com.

Basketball will quickly return to its regularly scheduled programing with an enjoyable slate to look forward to on Wednesday.

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Christian Braun said Nikola Jokic scaring Anthony Edwards and Rudy Gobert over play prediction is normal

Nikola Jokic keeps finding new ways to amaze everyone.

The Denver Nuggets may have lost their first matchup this season with the fellow Western Conference heavyweight Minnesota Timberwolves in a thriller last Friday night, but reigning MVP Nikola Jokic still did enough to spook star Minnesota guard Anthony Edwards and reigning Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert during a key late-game sequence.

In the Minnesota locker room, Edwards and Gobert openly chatted about how Jokic knew one of their plays out of a timeout before they got into position. The two Timberwolves franchise players couldn’t believe that Jokic telegraphed precisely what they were planning to do.

While it’s not confirmed that the video below was the sequence, it sure seems like it is based on how Edwards and Gobert watch in clear disbelief as Jokic gives directions and tells the other Nuggets where to stand.

The Nuggets obviously got a stop on the play:

On Monday, as the Nuggets prepared for a home game against the Toronto Raptors, Denver starting shooting guard Christian Braun was asked about Jokic spooking Edwards and Gobert after their conversation went viral. Braun claimed that Jokic really does this kind of thing every game.

For Braun, who is made better by Jokic’s uncanny intelligence and feel for the game, this is just a regular occurrence. That’s absurd, man:

At face value, it’s not surprising that a superstar like Jokic probably watches a lot of film and studies opposing teams’ tendencies. That’s a prerequisite task if you’re going to be an exceptional professional athlete. No elite talent goes out there every night and wings it that much.

But this Jokic instance felt a bit different. Basketball is much more of a free-flowing game than other sports, where film study comes in even handier. The Timberwolves hadn’t even entered their set yet. And Jokic knew exactly what they wanted to do before they initiated it anyway, much to the shock of Minnesota’s two best players.

Jokic is in Year 10 of an illustrious career. Somehow, he’s still finding new ways to shock and amaze everyone who watches him play.

How the election led to all 30 NBA teams playing in one night

NBA fans have the election to thank for something.

All the news leading up to the presidential election has undoubtedly been stressful for many people out there. But if you’re an NBA fan, the election has given you at least one thing to be grateful for.

Monday night will feel like a fever dream in the best way possible. All 30 NBA teams will be in action for the first time this season. The NBA made the scheduling decision to go completely dark on Tuesday in an attempt to give all of its fans time to vote.

A new NBA game will start every 15 minutes from 7 p.m. ET until 10 p.m. ET.

Shoutout to all of the NBA League Pass fiends out there. Tonight is your night, folks.

This isn’t the first time the NBA has done this. The league also took election day off in 2022. Just like this go round, all 30 teams played the night before.

Enjoy the basketball, folks.

NBA power rankings: Thunder rule, Bucks crumble

Welcome to HoopsHype’s bi-weekly power rankings! I’ll be here every other Monday to look around the league and rank teams based on a proprietary blend of championship potential, recent performance, secret spices, and more. While these power rankings …

Welcome to HoopsHype’s bi-weekly power rankings! I’ll be here every other Monday to look around the league and rank teams based on a proprietary blend of championship potential, recent performance, secret spices, and more.

While these power rankings are heavily correlated with the actual NBA standings, they are a little more forward-looking. For example, the 76ers are off to an atrocious start, but we know they’ll be better when their stars take the court.

This is, of course, a subjective exercise. Things are bound to change dramatically in each iteration, particularly early in the season. Little conclusively separates the vast majority of teams this early in the year, so if I have your favorite team ranked eight spots too low in your mind, I won’t argue with you!

Truthfully, the actual rankings are secondary to the meat of the article (even though I know the little number next to each team’s name is the only thing people care about). I want to use this space to write something interesting about each team. To kick things off, I looked at early season X-Factors for each squad, an outsized reason for a team’s initial success and failures. The small sample caveats still apply – we’re not even 10 percent into the season yet –  but wins and losses are actualized results. If a player shot 90 percent from three and helped his team steal a victory, that obviously won’t last, but it does still matter.

Stephen A. Smith reacted after ‘lying’ Kevin Durant called him a clown

Their beef is already in midseason form!

The NBA season is still early, but ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith and Phoenix Suns superstar Kevin Durant are already in the middle of a beef.

Last month during a segment on First Take, the sports commentator said that he doesn’t have much belief in a Suns organization led by Durant. This struck a nerve with Durant, who replied to a clip of the video posted on social media after it aired.

Durant was recently asked about the criticism from Smith, and he did not hold back with his thoughts. He called the ESPN talking head a “clown” and said that he never even sees Smith attending games or practices (via The Athletic):

“Yeah, Stephen A., I don’t understand how people even listen to Stephen A.,” he told The Athletic. “I’ve been in the league for 18 years. I’ve never seen Stephen A. at a practice, or a film session, or a shoot-around. I’ve never seen him anywhere but on TV talking s— about players. … He’s a clown to me. He’s always been a clown. You can write that, too.”

Smith predictably took issue with these claims and explained why Durant was perhaps incorrect in this assessment.

Here is more from Smith:

“I got bad news for Kevin Durant. If you’re expecting me to reciprocate with that kind of pettiness and childishness, it’s not going to happen … Respectfully, Kevin Durant, could you stop lying please? I’ve been an NBA reporter and I was a columnist for the Philadelphia Inquirer as well. Kevin Durant has seen me in the locker room when he was in Oklahoma City. He has seen me in the locker room when he was at Golden State. He has certainly seen me at games throughout his career. But unfortunately for him, I don’t have to be at shoot-around and I don’t have to be in the postgame locker room. I happen to have a hit show that’s been number one for twelve years. I have other things to do with my time. I go to games all the time. I’m not a beat reporter any more.”

Smith is absolutely correct in that his responsibilities at ESPN have grown far beyond anything that would require him to need locker room access.

But it makes sense that Durant would find it frustrating to hear Smith criticize his leadership abilities if he isn’t actually there to see what that even looks like.

Smith then wondered who is allowed to actually speak about Durant, as the NBA superstar has gotten upset when Charles Barkley and Shannon Sharpe (as well as current players like CJ McCollum) have called him out before as well.

He added that Durant is one of the greatest players to ever play the game but noted his “sensitivity” and “petulance” and “flagrant immaturity” as well.

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