Weekly NBA Recap — Eleven Days Until Basketball
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Headline 1: “James Harden’s Blue Lives Matter Face Mask Has NBA Fans Fuming”
When he arrived to Orlando, James Harden sported a mask with a blue American flag and a skull-like design that covered his entire beard. While there was a somewhat justifiable outrage, I truly believe Harden wouldn’t wear a “Blue Lives Matter” mask in an NBA bubble with multiple “BLM” activists. This just goes to show how careful players have to be with actions as simple as buying a mask.
Headline 2: “Blazers’ Carmelo Anthony slims down ahead of switch to small forward”
Portland needs all the help it can get, especially with Trevor Ariza opting-out of the NBA Restart. I’m not sure I buy ‘Melo at small forward, however. That seems like a recipe to get the older, ball-stopping, isolation-loving version of Carmelo Anthony. Also, what was really shocking was Anthony’s admission that he hadn't played at a weight of 235–240 pounds since his early years in New York— which probably aided his precipitous downfall.
Headline 3: “NBA says races for Kia MVP, other individual awards is over”
Thank goodness I made my award predictions early. Find my full predictions here. The remaining eight games weren’t going to have much of an impact on the MVP race, anyways, unless Damian Lillard making the eighth seed somehow made him a dark-horse MVP candidate. The real tragedy was the stoppage of play post All-Star break, where playoff teams ramp up their performance to prepare for the Playoffs.
Headline 4: “Health experts on NBA’s restart plan: ‘Haven’t seen anything that’s this comprehensive’”
While I’m glad that epidemiologists approve of the league’s safety measures at the bubble, I feel as though there is an entire side of quarantine life that is being overlooked. Why aren’t psychologists and mental-health experts being consulted when players are being locked in hotel rooms, living monotonous lives, and being forced away from their families? This isn’t a COVID-19 issue, this is a mental health issue.
Headline 5: “Matisse Thybulle’s Vlog is the best content coming out of the NBA bubble”
Last one for the day. Players like Matisse Thybulle and JaVale McGee have tapped into their creative sides by making video content that gives insight into their new life in Orlando. They are extremely entertaining, and far more insightful than the edited, censored content put out by NBA teams. Go check out Thybulle or McGee on YouTube if you’re interested.
That’s a wrap, folks!
Spencer Young
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