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Today would have been the 86th birthday of John Havlicek, who died in 2019. Havlicek had one of the more underrated careers. He won eight championships in 16 years (six with Bill Russell) and scored 26,395 points. He still ranks 22nd in points but finished his career third in scoring behind Wilt Chamberlain and Oscar Robertson. He was a 13-time All-Star, made All-NBA 11 times and was All-Defense eight times. Just an unbelievable resume.
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Never stop ranting
Poking more holes in the stupid 65-game rule
The good news is that it feels like there are enough loopholes or exceptions in the 65-game rule that Victor Wembanyama could still qualify for awards, despite his rib contusion injury. The Spurs super-alien left Monday’s game against the 76ers after 16 minutes, failing to meet the requisite 20-minute threshold for it to count toward the 65-game minimum.
Wemby has played 20 or more minutes in only 61 games. However, some things have come to light that could help get him to 65:
- Players are allowed limited exceptions for playing between 15 and 19 minutes in games. Wemby has two of those games that would get him to 63, assuming both exceptions are granted.
- Apparently, the NBA Cup final game counts towards the 65-game threshold. Even though it doesn’t count as a real game (or a real title if you ask James Dolan). Wemby played in that Cup final. That puts him at 64.
Wemby is doubtful for tonight’s game against Portland because of the rib contusion. But this doesn’t appear to be a very serious injury. If he misses tonight’s game, Wembanyama will need to play at least 20 minutes in either Friday’s game against Dallas or Sunday’s game against Denver.
So just to recap, Wemby doesn’t have enough 20-minute games to get to 65, but he might meet enough exceptions to get there.
Also, Luka Dončić is one game short of 65 and is out for the rest of the regular season with a hamstring injury. But he’s going to appeal the two games he missed for the birth of his child by using an Extraordinary Circumstances Challenge. His appeal will delay awards voting until it’s figured out, according to Marc Stein. Also, Cade Cunningham played in 61 of the first 68 games this season before his lung collapsed, and now he doesn’t get any exceptions or extraordinary circumstances. Also, Anthony Edwards played in 58 of the first 68 games before a knee injury and an illness forced him to miss time.
By the way, did you know that you only need to play in 58 games (or 70 percent of your team’s games) in a season to qualify as the scoring leader, rebounding leader or any of these stat average leaders? So Luka might be the scoring champ but ineligible for awards. And Wemby might be the blocks champ but ineligible for Defensive Player of the Year.
The point of the season awards is to 1) reward players for their excellent performances and 2) tell the story of what happened that season. When you start eliminating Cunningham and Dončić (maybe) and Wemby (maybe) and Edwards from the awards, you start affecting the story of the season. The idea that someone else might win Defensive Player of the Year over Wembanyama on a technicality is ridiculous. He’s going to run away with that award if eligible.
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My friend Ian said this regarding the 65-game rule: “The praise would be universal and immediate if (NBA commissioner Adam Silver) flipped it.” He then asked a great follow-up question: “Who would complain?”
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I legitimately don’t know. This rule had good intentions for fixing an issue the league had. But it’s punishing the wrong people. It’s punishing the players (who want to play) more than the teams. Move some of this stuff over to the Player Participation Policy and fine the teams when players are held out. Don’t penalize players for getting injured if their seasons are still great enough to warrant award consideration.
Here’s a breakdown of who is and isn’t eligible for awards.
The last 24
🩺 Done coaching? Doc Rivers has one year left on his Bucks deal but might be eyeing retirement. “I have seven grandkids now,” he says.
🏀 Pointing fingers! There is a medical dispute between the Lakers and Mavs. Did Dallas scan the wrong area of Austin Reaves?
🐂 Keeping Billy. Bulls CEO Michael Reinsdorf has one demand for a new lead executive: Billy Donovan must be the coach.
🤝 International goodwill? EuroLeague and the NBA — which has said it wants to start its own league on the continent — will meet this week about how they might work together, our Mike Vorkunov reports.
Stream the NBA on Fubo (try it for free!) and catch out-of-market games on League Pass
Horst’ing around
Bucks GM says Giannis not cleared to play
There has been a lot of controversy surrounding the Milwaukee Bucks lately. Giannis Antetokounmpo is fed up with being held out of games with a bone bruise stemming from a left knee hyperextension. He’s been animated in his claims that he’s healthy and being forced to sit out unfairly. Yesterday, Bucks general manager Jon Horst addressed the situation while speaking to The Athletic’s Eric Nehm and the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel:
“He’s not cleared to play yet in a game. And we’re going to continue to evaluate it. I don’t know what the outcome in that world will be, but the only lens has been to make our best professional judgment for him and for us.
“And it has nothing to do with draft picks. It has nothing to do with tanking. It has everything to do with the health of the player.”
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This is messy, and the kind of messy that helps lead to a breakup this summer. Many have questioned why Giannis would even risk playing and further injury with the way this season has gone. The Bucks (31-48) were eliminated from the Play-In Tournament back on March 28. However, the 31-year-old Giannis wants to play with his two brothers, Alex and Thanasis. They are both on the Milwaukee roster, and he’s never had a chance to play a professional game with Alex, who made his NBA debut last week.
The Bucks’ home finale is Friday, and there’s a chance Giannis could be cleared before then. Horst also said Milwaukee has given Giannis a rehab plan for the knee. However, there’s been some dispute over what’s happened during that, and the NBA has stepped in to investigate. My guess is that Giannis gets cleared for Friday so he can play with his two brothers. It also might be his last game as a Buck if that happens.
Tune out all the Bucks-Giannis talk and focus on their actions, our Sam Amick writes.
About last night
Celtics close in on East No. 2 seed
Celtics 113, Hornets 102: LaMelo Ball had 36 points after three quarters. The Celtics held him scoreless in the fourth. Charlotte had just 15 points on 7-of-21 shooting in the final 12 minutes. Jaylen Brown finished with 35 points. Boston can lock up the No. 2 seed in the East with a win over New York tomorrow.
Rockets 119, Suns 105: Amen Thompson put up 22 points, 11 boards and eight assists with three steals to lead a Houston comeback. The Suns led by 20 early, but the Rockets took the game with a 38-21 fourth quarter. Kevin Durant had 24 in his first game back in Phoenix.
Thunder 123, Lakers 87: Believe it or not, this game was tied at 42, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (11) and Drew Timme (10) were in a little duel. Then the Thunder went on a 51-20 run over the next 19 minutes to make it academic going into the fourth. SGA finished with 25 points in 28 minutes. Timme finished with 11. No Luka, Austin Reaves or LeBron James in this one.
Raptors 121, Heat 95: Toronto (44-35) stayed a game ahead of the Sixers by thwomping the Heat. The Raptors held Bam Adebayo to seven points on 2-of-13 shooting, and Scottie Barnes led everybody with 25 points. Miami (41-38) is a game and a half behind Charlotte for ninth.
Let’s head to the Dunk Tank!
- Bulls 129, Wizards 98: Rob Dillingham scored 26 points off the bench, and the Bulls were up by 37 after three quarters. This is a significant win by Chicago. The next game will tell you why. Tank score for Chicago is 0/10. Tank score for Washington is 10/10.
- Nets 96, Bucks 90: Milwaukee did a beautiful job tanking by losing to the Nets! That moves the Bucks within one game of a tie with Chicago. There is a decent chance they find their way to a 20.3 percent chance of a top-four pick. Tank score for Milwaukee is 10/10. Tank score for Brooklyn is 4/10.
- Wolves 124, Pacers 104: Ayo Dosunmu had 24 points, and Bones Hyland put up 19 off the bench. Minnesota had 16 steals in this game, winning without Anthony Edwards. Tank score for Indiana is 8/10.
- Pelicans 156, Jazz 137: Jazz guard Bez Mbeng played in his 13th game, and he’s played at least 43 minutes in three of them. He didn’t sit a single second in this one on his way to 26 points and five steals. Jeremiah Fears had 40 for NOLA. Tank score for Utah is 9/10.
- Warriors 110, Kings 105: Steph Curry had 17 off the bench in 25 minutes. Tank score for Sacramento is 6/10.
- Clippers 116, Mavs 103: Kawhi Leonard had 35 points, and Cooper Flagg finished with 25, including this poster on Brook Lopez. Tank score for Dallas is 6/10.