Tag: NBA bubble

Lou Williams revealed how fan chatter led to the Clippers’ failure in the 2020 NBA bubble

Look away, Clippers fans. This isn’t pretty.

Despite his elite play and appearing confident on the court, Lou Williams revealed that off-the-court murmurs got to him and his Los Angeles Clippers teammates.

The ongoing pandemic of 2020 significantly impacted play across multiple professional sports leagues, including the NBA. The NBA suspended play in March of 2020 and resumed games in July with a new setup based in Walt Disney World.

Nicknamed “the bubble,” the makeshift format allowed play to continue, albeit without fans and several players who opted out. Since that season wasn’t under typical conditions, fan chatter started to build up that any team that might win the NBA Finals that year wasn’t really a champion.

According to Williams, who spoke about the 2020 season on a recent episode of Trae Young’s From The Point podcast, the talks among fans got back to the Clippers and affected the team. The Clippers lost to the Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference semifinals despite having a 3-1 series lead.

Warning: NSFW language.

Around the 13:30 mark of the episode, Williams says the team “just wasn’t built for the bubble” and indicates that it was disappointing because they had championship aspirations, but they really didn’t want to be there.

That revelation is making the rounds on social media again, including where Williams says that pressure from fans and the perceived disrespect of a potential championship didn’t sit right with players.

Sending thoughts and condolences to Clippers fans everywhere.

On this day: NBA suspends season following Rudy Gobert’s positive COVID-19 test in OKC

What was your initial reaction to the Thunder’s home game against the Jazz being postponed?

On this day three years ago, Oklahoma City set off a chain reaction that led to the United States essentially shutting down due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

On March 11, 2020, the NBA postponed the Utah Jazz vs. Oklahoma City Thunder game due to Rudy Gobert testing positive for COVID-19. Gobert was the first known NBA player to test positive for the virus.

Later that night, the league suspended its season. In the following days, sport leagues throughout the country followed suit. They either suspended or canceled their seasons.

The Thunder entered that date just one game behind the Jazz for a top-four seed in the Western Conference standings. It was billed as a critical game for OKC’s chances of earning homecourt advantage in the playoffs with roughly a month left in the regular season.

The league resumed its season five months later on July 30 in a bubble environment at Disney World in Florida. The Thunder were one of the 22 teams invited to the bubble, and teams weren’t allowed to leave it until their season concluded.

The league scheduled eight regular-season games for all 22 teams and also introduced the play-in tournament concept during the bubble.

The Thunder’s season ended in a Game 7 loss of their first-round series against the Houston Rockets. The only Thunder players remaining from that roster are Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Lu Dort.

Following their exit, the Thunder blew up their roster and shifted to development mode. Chris Paul was traded to the Phoenix Suns. Steven Adams was traded to the New Orleans Pelicans. Dennis Schroder was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers and Danilo Gallinari signed a deal with the Atlanta Hawks. The Thunder also changed head coaches, going from Billy Donovan to Mark Daigneault.

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NBA preview: Teams we’re excited to watch in 2020

The NBA season is almost here! Charles Curtis, Mike Sykes & Bryan Kalbrosky share the 3 teams they’re excited to watch in 2020.

The NBA season is almost here! Charles Curtis, Mike Sykes & Bryan Kalbrosky share the 3 teams they’re excited to watch in 2020.

Barack Obama will make an appearance on ‘The Shop’ with LeBron James

Just in time for election day.

LeBron James has had some esteemed guests come on his barbershop-themed talkshow “The Shop” over the years.

Stars like Drake, Kevin Hart, Snoop Dogg, Jon Stewart and more have all stopped by and made appearances just chopping it up with LeBron James and other hoopers.

None of those names quite hit like Barack Obama, though. The former President of the United States will be James’ next guest on the show this upcoming Friday, October 30th, just in time for election day on November 3.

Obama announced his appearance on Tuesday morning with a tweet along with a quick clip of the episode. They’re talking about everything from the NBA bubble to social justice and the election.

Sounds like a good conversation. Who knows? Maybe we’ll get some more details on how Obama stopped the NBA bubble from collapsing.

This should be a good one.

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Lu Dort was one of young players who showed out most in bubble, The Athletic writes

Oklahoma City Thunder guard Luguentz Dort’s defense on James Harden made him one of John Hollinger’s breakout young players in the bubble.

Oklahoma City Thunder guard Luguentz Dort found himself in the company of Denver Nuggets guard Jamal Murray and Miami Heat guard Tyler Herro in a post-bubble column by The Athletic’s John Hollinger.

Hollinger looked back at nine young players who broke out in the bubble. The undrafted rookie was among those who showed out most.

The writer recalled how much tougher guard James Harden’s life became with Dort guarding him.

“The Houston Rockets paid Dort the ultimate compliment during the first-round playoff series: They set ball screens for James Harden. So stout was Dort’s on-ball defense against the league’s iso maestro that they reverted to a tactic they had largely abandoned, just to get Dort off of him.”

While there is no way to shut down back-to-back-to-back league leading scorer, Dort managed to avoid mistakes of seasoned defenders who try to get in Harden’s way. Dort largely avoided jumping on pump-fakes. He moved well laterally and didn’t reach.

The Rockets won the series, but it came down to the final seconds of Game 7 in large part because Harden never had a truly Harden-esque game with Dort in front of him.

Hollinger noted Dort’s offensive shortcomings, but he’s not concerned. The guard out of Arizona State proved he has a spot in the league if his offense is not able to dramatically improve, and his skill set is something that should have earned him a place in the draft.

“We’re talking about an undrafted 21-year-old here, one whose defense alone should ensure him a place in the rotation for the next decade. Oklahoma City smartly inked him to a three-year deal during the hiatus, ensuring he’ll be a significant part of what is likely a rebuilt future around Dort, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the 800 draft picks the Thunder have accumulated.”

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Watch: Tom Izzo talks about what Michigan State, NCAA can learn from NBA Bubble

Michigan State Basketball head coach Tom Izzo says that his players and the NCAA have a lot to learn from the NBA’s bubble atmosphere.

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The NBA season has now concluded after the Los Angeles Lakers won the NBA championship, but the legacy of the 2020 NBA bubble season will continue as more sports organizations. look to adopt the successful, safe model for their own seasons.

While speaking to the media on Monday, Tom Izzo gave some great points on things that Michigan State Basketball and the NCAA can ‘steal’ from the NBA’s concept. Many of these ideas were logistical and aesthetic, but I thought he also made a very good point about how NBA players were bringing their own energy on the sidelines in lieu of a crowd and how important that might be in the NCAA season.

You can watch his full comments below:

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Russell Westbrook reportedly left $8,000 tip for bubble housekeepers

Westbrook left an $8,000 tip and a “virtually spotless” room at the Grand Floridian, per Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News.

Houston Rockets star Russell Westbrook reportedly left an $8,000 tip for housekeepers at the Grand Floridian hotel, according to Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News. Townsend was one of a small number of reporters actually on site in Florida for many of the NBA’s games.

“Moreover, I’m told, he left the room virtually spotless,” Townsend said of the nine-time NBA All-Star and 2017 MVP.

The Rockets stayed at the Disney World “bubble” complex from July 9 until Sept. 13, the day after their exit from the 2020 playoffs. Besides their usual work, the housekeeping staff had extra cleaning duties and personal responsibilities in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Thanks in large part to their hard work and dedication to protocols, it appears that NBA players and staff will make it more than three months at the bubble without a single positive coronavirus test. As such, leaders such as Westbrook understandably want to show their appreciation.

The Rockets actually had their bubble hotel (the Grand Floridian) all to themselves from Sept. 3 until their departure, since they were the only NBA team among the eight assigned there to win a playoff series. They may have led to an even greater appreciation for the workers on site.

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Danuel House Jr. speaks out: ‘The negativity won’t stop me’

In a cryptic story message on Instagram, the Houston Rockets forward seemed to address his personal controversy from the NBA bubble.

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In a cryptic story message on Instagram, Houston Rockets forward Danuel House Jr. appeared to address his recent personal controversy, which led to his early exit from the NBA “bubble” and the 2020 playoffs.

“The negativity won’t stop me,” House wrote. “Real blessings coming soon! Get to know me before you judge me. So, quit the corny stuff.”

House missed Houston’s final three playoff games after the NBA determined that he had close contact with an unauthorized person in the team’s hotel — allegedly, a female COVID-19 testing official. House left the league’s Disney World bubble at the conclusion of an investigation.

While testing officials are allowed at the bubble, they go in and out each day and (unlike players) do not live there. Thus, as with maintenance staff, the NBA has strict protocols in place to minimize the potential exposure of those workers to personnel living at the site. House violated those safety protocols, so he faced harsh discipline. Making matters worse, House initially denied the accusation before eventually confirming it.

The Rockets went 0-3 in their games without House, and All-Star guard James Harden called it “a distraction” upon Houston’s second-round exit at the hands of the Los Angeles Lakers. “Very, very disappointing,” Harden said. “It affected us. He was a huge part of our rotation.”

House reportedly apologized to the team before leaving the bubble.

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Now 27 years old, House averaged 11.4 points (35.8% on 3-pointers) and 5.8 rebounds in 31.0 minutes per game during the playoffs. The versatile 6-foot-6 forward is still under contract for two more seasons.

Even with his secure contractual status, though, the harsh comments by an established team leader in Harden left many wondering if the Rockets might look to trade House in the offseason as a result of the incident.

While it’s still too soon to say that won’t happen, it seems as though House is determined to try and make amends and move past it.

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The Nuggets badly need a game 4 win against the Lakers

The Nuggets have come back down 3-1 in their previous series, but Mike Sykes explains why Game 4 is a must-win against LeBron and the Lakers.

The Nuggets have come back down 3-1 in their previous series, but Mike Sykes explains why Game 4 is a must-win against LeBron and the Lakers.