I don’t know LeBron James‘ intent, but – as great as he is – it’s practically impossible to believe he had the wherewithal and coordination to deliberately kick Andre Iguodala in the groin while attempting a game-tying 3-pointer with the shot clock off in the fourth quarter.
Still, this is another example how the NBA Finals have turned from last year.
LeBron James was on the cover of Sports Illustrated in high school – as a junior.
He has been in the spotlight ever since, somehow living up to the outsized expectations set while he was a teenager. His story has been told and retold – how he and his mom moved around Akron as she struggled to provide for him, how his athletic ability lifted himself and those around him.
But are we missing key details?
Upon passing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for most shots made in the playoffs, LeBron reflected on his journey.
To know where I come from, you guys know a little bit of the story. But you guys don’t know the full story about where I come from and the struggle that I had. You guys know about the single-parent struggle, and y’all done heard that story. But there’s a lot more to it, which I’ll talk about when I’m done playing ball.
But to know where I come from, small city 35 miles south of here, and to hear I’m in the same category or talked about and jumping these greats in the playoffs — it’s like I was a kid and I watched the playoffs so much and I was like, I would love to be a part of that, that moment, that atmosphere. I think it’s pretty cool. You hear the scoring, the field goals made, and for a kid that really doesn’t care much about scoring.
Like with LeBron’s secret motivation a couple years ago, I’m totally intrigued. When LeBron decides to share, I’ll be all ears.
Marcus Morris fouled Larry Nance Jr. in Celtics-Cavaliers Game 5 tonight. Nance didn’t like that, got up and shoved Morris. Morris and Terry Rozier didn’t like that, and both shoved Morris.
All three received a technical foul, which seems fair.
Andre Iguodala missed the Warriors’ Game 4 loss to the Rockets with a leg injury.
It’s not certain he – or Klay Thompson, who played through a knee injury suffered in Game 4 – will be available for Game 5 tomorrow.
Klay Thompson, who suffered a left knee strain during the first half of Game 4, is listed as questionable, the team announced Wednesday afternoon.
Iguodala missed Game 4 with a left lateral leg contusion and is questionable for Game 5.
Anthony Slater of The Athletic:
Warriors coach Steve Kerr on Iguodala:
He’s feeling a little better today, and he’s out on the floor. Not doing a whole lot, but making progress.
Kerr on Thompson:
Klay is moving around really well. I think Klay is going to be fine.
That sounds better than “questionable” for Thompson.
The Warriors need one, maybe both, of those two on the court. Golden State’s depth, especially on the wing, is looking shaky.
In Game 4, Golden State outscored Houston by 20 in the 31 minutes Stephen Curry, Thompson, Kevin Durant and Draymond Green played together. In the in the 17 minutes they played without even one of those stars, the Warriors got outscored by 23. Nick Young, who received more playing time when Thompson left the court area due to his injury, looked particularly overwhelmed.
James Harden‘s defense is a huge bellwether in this series. The Warriors spend a lot of focus trying to exploit him, and if that fails, the shot clock gets low before they move into another action. If Thompson is even just slowed, that’d make it easier for Harden to keep up.
Bucks guard Sterling Brown was tased and arrested – but not charged – over a parking violation in January.
As promised, Milwaukee released video of the incident.
Ashley Luthern of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
Brown:
The abuse and intimidation that Sterling experienced at the hands of Milwaukee Police was shameful and inexcusable. Sterling has our full support as he shares his story and takes action to provide accountability.
Unfortunately, this isn’t an isolated case. It shouldn’t require an incident involving a professional athlete to draw attention to the fact that vulnerable people in our communities have experienced similar, and even worse, treatment.
We are grateful for the service of many good police officers that courageously protect us, our fans and our city, but racial biases and abuses of power must not be ignored.
There needs to be more accountability.
The Milwaukee Police Department and local officials have acknowledged the challenges they are working to address, and we urge them to enact higher standards and more direct accountability. We all want to be able to trust each and every officer serving to protect us.
Incidents like this remind us of the injustices that persist. As an organization, we will support Sterling and build on our work with local leaders and organizations to foster safe neighborhoods and better our community.
The video isn’t jarring due to its unfortunate familiarity – particularly compared to the many videos we’ve seen of police brutality around the nation. The scene is far too familiar. Police escalate a situation and enact violence upon someone they encounter, disproportionately minorities.
The most shocking element of this incident is the response – how the police chief acknowledges his offers acted inappropriately and how STRONGLY the Bucks stand behind Brown. That is one sharply worded statement from the team.
Hopefully, this sparks change.
