The NBA season is 10 days old. For this week’s QTNA, we consider the fallout from Stephen Curry’s injury, Joe Mazzulla’s views on fighting, Zach LaVine’s “non-tradable” contract, and the early panic among a few recent champions.
Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla suggested in a radio interview that fighting would be allowed in the NBA. Too much dip on his chip or is he onto something?
Yes.
For starters, Mazzulla is at least interesting. Characters in coaching have become somewhat legislated in recent years and this has been capped by coaches no longer wearing suits on the sidelines – dressing as an expression of one’s personality.
But for Mazzulla, at 35 years old, he is the youngest coach in the NBA, and perhaps he has no knowledge of the game of yesteryear, where physicality was legislated as part of the game, and referees allowed players to control themselves to a high degree . He just sees it as another element to get fans involved.
“The biggest thing we’re robbing people of, from an entertainment standpoint, is not being able to fight anymore,” Mazzulla told 98.5 the Sports Hub in Boston. “I wish you could bring the fight back. …What’s more fun than a little scuffle? How come they’re allowed to clear the benches in baseball?’
The answer is layered, complicated and uncomfortable. But let’s start here. America doesn’t want black men fighting, and fighting in front of fans who pay a lot of money – the NBA sells intimacy, which can make fighting difficult. The Malice at the Palace – which took place 20 years ago next month – left a lasting impression in the eyes of the viewing public, and we know all the code words that have been used and would be used if the NBA didn’t have a firm grip on physical play.
To be honest, it wasn’t exactly “allowed” at the time. That wild scene in Auburn Hills just exploded on a Friday night and the sports world hasn’t been the same since. But in baseball, especially after hitters are punished with 100 MPH fastballs, vigilante justice is accepted as part of the game. For many reasons, the culture of the NBA doesn’t allow the guys of the game to protect the night on their terms.
If we go back to the late 1990s, when the scores started to plummet and the games lost their grace, there were some incidents that were notable. The 1997 Knicks-Heat brawl in Game 5 of the East Semis, in which Miami’s PJ Brown tossed Charlie Ward upside down, WWE style, changed the tone of that series. There were so many suspensions in Games 6 and 7 for players participating or just coming off the bench that then-commissioner David Stern had to issue the penalties in alphabetical order because the Knicks wouldn’t have had enough active bodies!
Less than a full year later, Alonzo Mourning and Larry Johnson couldn’t contain their disdain for each other in the final seconds of Game 4 of their first-round series, each throwing a series of haymakers. By the way, no one has landed. The only thing that actually landed was Knicks coach Jeff Van Gundy on Mourning’s leg, like a puppy fitting in a bag. The visual, while hilarious, put the league in a position where it had to curtail such black eyes.
Today’s game is actually still quite physical inside, and with the floor spread, a wind-up is more likely to impact a player compared to the confined spaces of decades before. But the NBA is wrong to believe that fans don’t appreciate physicality. You’d find out who the real tough guys are if players knew officials and teammates wouldn’t be so quick to rush in and shut things down; Statutory violence also works in other sports, most notably the NFL. Some villains who aren’t afraid to really mix it up aren’t that bad in this NBA.
Zach LaVine’s contract was deemed non-tradeable this offseason. How should he be judged now?
Two things are undeniable truths in the NBA. First: Contracts are always non-tradeable in the summer, as players are usually rated based on their maximum hit first, and second, if at all. The second truth: once a season starts, the contract continues to expire. Clearly, yes. But it’s a reminder that we have to be careful when evaluating a good player on his contract, because LaVine — if you give him a playmaker in the backcourt who allows him to flow — is the best version of right now is itself.
He has two more seasons on the books after this season — with a $48.9 million player option in 2026-27 that certainly seems like a gamble — but he’s playing good ball so far. Josh Giddey and Lonzo Ball are forward-thinking guards as well as creative passers. LaVine is the perfect target.
He has always been an efficient jump shooter, but he loads up on 3s and takes almost eight per game at 44%. LaVine is at 51.3% overall (a career high), showing that he doesn’t force his offense and lets the play dictate his movements.
Now, there’s nothing to indicate that the Bulls still don’t want out of the LaVine business, but the prospects who were concerned about the surgery that ended his season after 25 games should have their fears allayed. His defense and durability will be fair questions, but health-wise he has shown the ability to bounce back from debilitating injuries.
Stephen Curry sprained his ankle and will be re-evaluated on Friday. Is there a silver lining?
Well, it certainly tests the whole “strength in numbers” thing and puts a lot of attention on head coach Steve Kerr. But Kerr seems up to the task, and the Warriors have a hellishly active defense, exemplified by suffocating the New Orleans Pelicans at home Tuesday night and Draymond Green putting on a defensive masterclass in the rematch 24 hours later.
Moving Jonathan Kuminga to the bench in the absence of Curry and Andrew Wiggins seems like a risky move at first glance, as Kuminga and the Warriors couldn’t agree on a rookie roster addition, but it seems like the right move. Even without the two mainstays of the 2022 title team and De’Anthony Melton, the Warriors still look deep, as if Kerr can roll out a 10-man rotation with room to spare. All four of the Warriors’ wins have been by 15 points or more, albeit against lesser competition, and the only loss came when Curry shut out against the Clippers on Sunday night.
Curry is the only major spade in the deck, but there are a lot of face cards that can make an impact or even control a quarter. We know Green is capable of keeping the defense on edge for long periods of time, and now Buddy Hield is showing he can thrive in a winning situation.
The youngsters, Brandin Podziemski, Trayce Jackson-Davis and Moses Moody, have developed into reliable contributors. It begs the question, especially if we have to assume Curry will be back healthy and playing at his usual high level soon enough: Will the Warriors be willing to sacrifice some of their future to score right now?
The West is stacked and the young players are going to be expensive as the extension approaches, so one would assume the franchise will become more aggressive if they can keep this up.
But in the meantime, the strength in numbers once again sounds pretty good.
The Bucks and Nuggets look nothing like champions of recent vintage. Which one should panic?
Believe it or not, it looks like the Nuggets. After all, Nikola Jokić is still in his prime and he needed an every-ounce performance to beat the pesky Brooklyn Nets on the road in overtime. It feels like you risk wearing him down before you even reach the playoffs, and it seemed clear he was tired at the end of the second round against the Minnesota Timberwolves. So it’s worth watching.
Whatever gas Russell Westbrook has in the tank, he will be a wild card as a playmaker some nights. Even though his shooting is poor – and honestly, the Nuggets’ roster shoots poorly, aside from Jamal Murray – there’s a sense that the Tasmanian Devil element of chaos that Westbrook brings is worth the small investment.
For the Bucks, the bench is an issue, but once Khris Middleton returns from offseason surgery, Taurean Prince will go from an overloaded starter to a valuable reserve. Only Bobby Portis is currently productive on a top-heavy roster. It’s easy to point to Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard given last year’s uneven run, but they’re far from a problem. And even if Middleton’s health is a question mark the Bucks can’t afford, until then we won’t know what steps they should take — even with limited resources.
So we’ll wait for both before we completely panic.
