2 years of GMIB
Thanks for coming along.
Good morning.
Music in the Tuileries, Edouard Manet, 1862
Sunday was the 2-year anniversary of the launch of Good Morning It’s Basketball on Substack. I left SB Nation in December 2019 as they (over-)reacted to California’s freelancer law and could no longer accommodate my contract in a way that worked for me. Going independent was a leap of faith that the newsletter I’d written as a free offering for a few years (1,253 issues worth) could, when combined with my other NBA coverage, be a legitimate business. And it has been: two years in, with a pandemic hovering over most of that time, the newsletter is about where I want it to be as a business concern. It’s sustainable.
Today’s newsletter is Issue No. 515 since launching on Substack. I haven’t consistently measured them, but I’d estimate that the average issue of GMIB is about 1,000 words long. One of the well-known strategies in newsletterdom is that supporters aren’t paying for a specific amount of content, they are paying for the authors’ voice(s). But I do think one of the values of GMIB is in the consistency of delivery. That’s been a conscious decision. Given how many subscribers open the newsletter everyday, I presume it’s appreciated.
What’s definitely appreciated is your support, whether you joined up this season or have been here since the beginning, whether you’re on a monthly sub or have gifted subs to friends. Truly, it’s kind of crazy to think about the fact that more than 1,000 people are paying real money to read my basketball thoughts every day. It’s humbling. I would never have imagined that when I started posting (bad) haiku about the Kings 16 years ago or when I was hustling a $10-per-post existence at AOL FanHouse. The sports internet … it’s been some crazy times and I assume it will continue to change in crazy ways.
So anyway: thanks for coming along on this ride. Hope you stick around. Hope we can get some more folks to join us. Let’s basketball.
This Must Happen
I usually oppose fan movements for unnatural All-Star voting results. But making Ben Simmons an All-Star starter at the behest of Klutch Sports, well that sounds like a mission I can get behind.
The NBA wouldn’t stop him, would they? Would the Sixers be able to convince the NBA or Simmons that he can’t play in the All-Star Game if he’s not available for the Sixers? With all apologies to my beloved Sixers fan friends, this is some incredibly ridiculous potential drama I can get behind.
Never mind that Klutch’s social media team did this for all of the agency’s clients, regardless of playing status or worthiness.
Scottie Lewis, a two-way player for the Hornets, currently has the fewest amount of retweets among the Klutch clients, with six. Simmons has by far the most, almost five times as many as LeBron James.
Sometimes the Internet just knows what we need, and it provides.
Scores
Saturday
Hawks 87, Knicks 101 — Kemba Walker had a triple-double. You can’t make this stuff up.
Celtics 113, Bucks 117 — Giannis Antetokounmpo was cleared from the protocols in time for Christmas Day, and we are all grateful, except for the Celtics and their fans. Giannis is incredible.
Warriors 116, Suns 107 — There is no question that right now these are the best two teams in the NBA. After going 2-1 against Golden State before Klay Thompson’s return to action — and losing this one at home with Jordan Poole and Andrew Wiggins out, too — you wonder if the Suns are going to prioritize a certain type of wing player on the fringe market. Anyways, great teams.
Nets 122, Lakers 115 — Welp. The story isn’t really changing for Lakerdom. In the first half, the Lakers were +3 in LeBron’s 19:30 on the court and -7 in his 4:30 on the bench. He sat the final 3:43 of the third quarter, and a 7-point deficit turned into a -16 point deficit.
LeBron led a 17-0 run to make the fourth quarter interesting, entertaining and close. But it wasn’t enough to overcome the Lakers’ all-too-real problems. You can tell LeBron is getting a little nervous about L.A. falling two games under .500. You can tell in the freneticism of his game. He’s almost always played hard. He’s playing a little desperate, a little heroic right now.
Anyway, Nic Claxton dunked on LeBron on for the go-ahead bucket in the final minute. Strange new world.
Mavericks 116, Jazz 120 — This game in one GIF. This happened in the final 10 seconds of a close NBA game.
Sunday
Magic 83, Heat 93 — Miami had a True Shooting percentage of 48% and won.
Raptors 99, Cavaliers 144 — Cleveland had a few key players including Jarrett Allen and Isaac Okoro in the protocols. Toronto had … almost their entire rotation — not starting lineup, rotation — in the protocols. I’m not sure why the Raptors were made to play this game. Are teams being punished for calling up replacement players quickly?
Grizzlies 127, Kings 102 — Let’s check in on Alvin Gentry, about five weeks after taking over the Kings and following his first game back after 10 days in the protocols.
Yep, sounds about right.
Pelicans 112, Thunder 117 — I haven’t figured out the All-Star teams quite yet, but you’d better believe I am going to try really hard to put Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on my list.
Josh Giddey had zero points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists, becoming the second player ever to register a double-double without scoring. Weird player!
Pistons 109, Spurs 144 — Detroit is a broken team, but the Spurs had now scored 112+ in nine straight games and have the No. 2 offense in the league in December, No. 6 overall for the season.
Nuggets 103, Clippers 100 — If Nikola Jokic was in a funk, it only lasted two games. Sheesh.
Schedule
All times Eastern.
Rockets at Hornets, 7
Bulls at Hawks, 7:30, NBA TV
Celtics at Timberwolves, 8
Jazz at Spurs, 8:30
Grizzlies at Suns, 9
Mavericks at Blazers, 10
Nets at Clippers, 10:30, NBA TV
Links
Adrian Wojnarowski reports that the in-season tournament concept is gaining steam again, with a potential shortening of the season to 78 games to account for eight teams having extra tourney games in December. It sounds like it will be a fun thing in the mid-season portion but won’t create any new drama in the stretch run.
A bunch more players have entered the protocols since Sunday, including Draymond Green, John Collins, Kyle Lowry, Dejounte Murray, Miles Bridges, Lonzo Ball, Jae Crowder and Dillon Brooks. To state the obvious, a few of the players placed in protocols on Sunday played on Saturday.
Paul George has a torn ligament in his elbow and is out at least 3-4 weeks.
Congratulations to J.B. Bickerstaff for getting a long-term extension. Smart move for the Cavaliers.
If you drink, I offer a strong recommendation for Eddie Maisonet’s Sip Mightily newsletter.
One of the pandemic wrinkles happening is that broadcasters are also getting hit with positive tests, causing some strange situations. Hawks game host Lauren Jbara got a half-hour of notice that she was needed on play-by-play. Mavericks voice Mark Followill has had to do a solo broadcast and later had to sub in on the Pelicans broadcast.
Gary Payton II gets his athleticism from his mom.
And finally:
Be excellent to each other.
Tom, new subscriber here. Congrats on two years of success, and I'm looking forward to reading you in 2022. About that Cavs - Raps game, I think it's embarrassing for the league to have played that game. Virtually every Toronto rotation player is on the shelf. At what point do games get postponed if not then? The new look Cavs (who were minus three starters themselves) took them behind the woodshed and did what every fan with half a brain knew would happen. Before tipoff I told my wife that the Cavs would probably win this by 25, and I was really light on that guess. I don't understand. Heck maybe nobody does.
Tom, I have been a subscriber since becoming one first became an option , and I look forward to GMIB each morning. Your enthusiasm for pro basketball , and your well considered and researched opinions are much appreciated. Congrats on your success and a toast to greater impact going forward. That said, I'm baffled by your support of Ben Simmons in his unprincipled hold-out from the Sixers. I've been a 40 year season ticket holder who suffered through 4 years of paying premium prices for a G league product to garner "assets" like Ben Simmons, and then watched him sit out an entire year without adding anything to his skills and then play 4 years without ever attempting to incorporate an essential element , shooting, into his game, despite the obvious deleterious effect that absence had on his own and his teams chances of success. Finally when his stubborn refusal to expand his prodigious athletic skills led to the sad regression we all witnessed in the play-offs last year, he responded , not by committing to improve, and break out of the obviously toxic track he was on but rather by imploding the team from within. Additionally, bringing mental health care, and painting himself as a victim in some way ,only heightens the proof of his complete selfishness, and lack of concern for anyone other t Ben Simmons. He is an affront to the NBA , not an All-Star, and I can't figure out what the "joke" is with your suggesting a vote for him. Please explain.