Compare the above photo to what Team USA wore in the 2012 London Olympics:
(AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
Very similar, but I like this less-angular update. It’s extremely clean.
Team USA will also wear red and blue versions. Via Jordan Zirm of Stack:
I don’t like either of these as much as the whites, which really cause the blue numbers to shine. But the reds and blues are solid.
ASSOCIATED PRESS — With one comeback after another in the playoffs, the Denver Nuggets showed themselves to be a team that falls down but doesn’t stay down.
The Los Angeles Lakers noticed.
They watched the Nuggets repeatedly rally from big deficits against Utah and then the Los Angeles Clippers – and, obviously, are aware that the Jazz and the Clippers are no longer in the NBA bubble because of Denver’s comeback abilities.
So the Lakers knew that when it was their turn to face Denver, there would be no letting up no matter what the scoreboard said.
Game 2 is Sunday night. The Lakers know the job is far from over.
“No lead is safe with this team, in the game or in the series,” Lakers star Anthony Davis said. “They have proven that they are a second-half team, where they come out and just destroy teams in the second half and prove that even if they are down a series, they are a team that’s going to be resilient and keep fighting no matter what the score is, what the situation is.
“When we have a lead, we have to lock in even more.”
The Lakers did that in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals, turning an 11-point halftime lead into a 27-point bulge in the second half before easing to a 126-114 victory.
“That’s a historic type of resilient team,” Lakers coach Frank Vogel said. “We’ve got to understand that, both with the series lead 1-0 right now and wherever it goes, but also within games.”
Denver reached the Western Conference finals for the first time since 2009 by becoming the first team in NBA history to erase two 3-1 deficits in one postseason. The Nuggets trailed by 15 points in Game 5 against Utah in their first game facing elimination, then were down 16, 19, and 12 in the final three games against the Clippers.
The Nuggets are the first team with three 15-point comebacks while facing elimination in one postseason since play-by-play began being recorded digitally in 1997.
“This is an opponent we all greatly respect,” Vogel said. “Save for the comebacks, we respect what they are capable of doing on both ends of the floor.”
It won’t matter how resilient the Nuggets are if they don’t make things tougher for the Lakers defensively.
Davis shredded them so easily on his way to 37 points that the Lakers didn’t even need much scoring from LeBron James, who took only 11 shots and had 15 points and 12 assists. Los Angeles got plenty of opportunities in transition and in the paint, which were areas of emphasis for Denver.
“We were giving up layups after we scored baskets ourselves. So that indicates to me that our sense of urgency to get back was not anywhere remotely close to where it needed to be tonight,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said after the game.
When the Nuggets do get back, they need to do a better job of defending without fouling. They sent the Lakers to the line 24 times in the second quarter – Denver shot only 28 for the entire game – and both Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray had to go to the bench with three fouls in the period.
“We’ve just got to be better,” Murray said. “We’ve just got to be on point. We’ve got to talk more, talk earlier, point, whatever we’ve got to do.”
This is the first time in this postseason the Lakers will take the lead into Game 2, having dropped their opening games against both Portland and Houston. They didn’t lose again in either series.
Going into Sunday, the Lakers will have the second-best record in the postseason at 9-2, trailing only Miami. It’s a big turnaround for the Lakers, who struggled at times during the seeding games in the bubble – but, as James’ teams tend to do in the postseason, are hitting their best stride when the games matter most.
Denver is also used to playing from behind – much further behind. So even though things looked bad Friday, the Nuggets have been in much worse spots in the bubble and found their way out of them.
“We have proven it time and time again that we can learn from our losses and figure out what we need to do better going into the next game and give ourselves a much better chance to win,” Malone said.
When Boston first went to the NBA restart bubble in Orlando, Gordon Hayward was upfront: He was leaving the bubble for the birth of his fourth child.
Hayward ended up leaving the bubble for another reason — he severely sprained his ankle and was out for more than a month. During his rehab, Hayward left the bubble and spent time at home, returning a couple of weeks ago. Saturday he played his first game back for Boston, helping it to a win against the Heat.
Hayward’s wife, Robyn, has yet to have their son, but now Hayward does not plan to leave the bubble for the event, something first reported by Rachel Nichols of ESPN during Saturday’s game.
Gordon Hayward was originally supposed to leave the Bubble for the birth of his fourth child, but since he just got a bunch of unexpected time with his family due to his injury, he told me the current plan is to stay with the Celtics for as far as they go.
— Rachel Nichols (@Rachel__Nichols) September 20, 2020
Hayward confirmed this after the game. So did Robyn in a social media post, adding the reports she was in labor already were not true.
Robyn Hayward’s Instagram setting the record straight. pic.twitter.com/a8zpjY6tfF
— Abby Chin (@tvabby) September 20, 2020
I don’t envy the Hayward family having to make this choice. As a parent, I can’t imagine having missed the births of any of my children, but, like everything else in 2020, this is far from a typical decision at a typical time. The Haywards are making the best of it they can. They deserve support no matter what they choose.
“Yeah, right.”
That was Dion Waiters Jr.’s response to pretty much everything LeBron James during the Lakers’ practice on Saturday before Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals.
LeBron was getting up some corner threes and told Waiters Jr. he would make 100 straight.
“Yeah, right.”
When LeBron missed one, “I missed that on purpose.”
“Yeah, right.”
“I missed that on purpose, so you’d think I’m human,” LeBron joked.
little cheese giving bron an earful 🤣 🧀 🗣 👑 @dionwaiters3 @kingjames pic.twitter.com/2rTIDX63H8
— NBA Bubble Life (@NBABubbleLife) September 19, 2020
Got to love Dion Waiters Jr. — he’s got some of his dad’s spunk.
best buds in the bubble 👨👦🧀🧀 @dionwaiters3 pic.twitter.com/3DcdJWcWwx
— NBA Bubble Life (@NBABubbleLife) September 19, 2020
Families have been allowed in the bubble for teams for a couple of weeks, although LeBron’s sons are not there, with LeBron saying it’s not a great place for kids (he’s right, for anyone over about 7 or 8, there would be little to do).
On Boston’s first possession of the game, Marcus Smart drove right to the rim and got an and-1 on a reverse layup.
Next possession, Jaylen Brown got a bucket cutting for a layup, with the assist from Smart. Next possession, Brown drove the lane and banked in a floater. The next Boston bucket was a Jayson Tatum driving layup.
The first nine Boston points came with them attacking the heart of the Miami defense (going at Duncan Robinson in particular), and that continued all game with the Celtics getting 60 points in the paint.
“Boston came out with great force. You have to give them credit for that,” Heat coach Eric Spoelstra said after the game.
Throw in 31 quality minutes from Gordon Hayward in his return from a sprained ankle — providing more quality wing play and good decision making — and Boston raced out to a comfortable lead then hung on at the end for a 117-106 win in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals.
The Heat lead the series 2-1, with Game 4 not until Wednesday night (a little delay to allow the West to catch up).
After a sloppy Game 2 loss where the Celtics became passive in the face of Miami’s zone defense in the second half, followed by a postgame meltdown and meeting of the minds, the guys at the heart of the Celtics young core stepped up their game on Saturday night.
Particularly Brown, who had 26 points on 11-of-17 shooting and was getting to the rim all game. He also was playing smothering defense.
Jaylen Brown dunk count: a lot#Celtics pic.twitter.com/sLItIGvrrH
— Celtics on NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSCeltics) September 20, 2020
Smart — an All-Defensive Team player — had his best game of the series, blanketing Goran Dragic, who had been the Heat’s best scorer and shot creator through two games. Without Dragic breaking down the Celtics’ defense and getting points in the paint, Miami has to live by the three and the Celtics defenders did a better job staying home.
“Marcus’ ball pressure on Dragic was important,” Celtics’ coach Brad Stevens said postgame. “It’s something we need to continue to look at. Marcus did a great job on a guy who is playing better than I’ve ever seen him.”
Boston also got more minutes from Gordon Hayward than expected, minutes Stevens called a “stabilizing force” for the team.
“I’m extremely tired right now. My ankle is pretty sore,” Hayward said postgame, adding with the extra days off he should be good to go for Game 4.
Hayward’s presence also allowed Boston to play small ball without Daniel Theis or any true center on the floor, the Celtics switched everything defensively, and Miami didn’t take advantage. Look for Eric Spoelstra to turn to more Bam Adebayo against that small lineup next game.
“They got us on our heels. They were out there hooping and having fun. I guess that was the difference in the game,” Bam Adebayo said postgame.
Miami didn’t shoot the ball well Saturday night, hitting just 27.3% from three. Jae Crowder, who had been hot, was 2-of-8 from deep, while Tyler Herro was 4-of-12. Adebayo had 27 points and 16 boards to lead the Heat.
Boston had four players with more than 20 points: Brown (26), Tatum (25), Kemba Walker (21), and Smart (20).
Boston will need another game like that — and they will need to close better, Miami made it interesting late — to even the series on Wednesday.
Miami said postgame they saw what happened in this game as a challenge to them. Game 4 is going to be intense.
