NBA Click & Roll: 8 or 24? Which Kobe was the best Kobe?
Welcome to Paste BN Sports' NBA Click & Roll newsletter.
Every Wednesday we'll bring you exclusive content from Paste BN's NBA reporters Sam Amick and Jeff Zillgitt, including updates on all their exploits on the NBA beat. Plus, you'll have all the top NBA moments spoon-fed to your inbox.
QUICK DISH: THINGS YOU MAY HAVE MISSED
For at least one more night, the NBA belonged to Kobe Bryant. The top five moments from his dual jersey retirement included a helicopter, a Shaq reunion and an Iverson sighting. There was also this behind-the-scenes look at how wild the "Kobe Land" circus was.
No debate dominated recent airwaves like No. 8 vs. 24. Which number meant more? Kobe made his pick.
The other barbershop debate to come out of the event: Kobe vs. Jordan, 1-on-1. The first time they played, Kobe thought he was going to destroy MJ.
- There was still a game to be played Monday night at Staples Center, and even though the Warriors won, Kevin Durant got posterized.
He made up for any embarrassment by kissing a courtside fan after she got hit in the face with a ball.
- Bah, humbug. Steph Curry is going to miss the Warriors' Christmas Day showdown with the Cavs due to his ankle injury.
- Dennis Rodman is talking about North Korea again because "for some reason, (Kim Jong Un) likes me." That's reassuring.
- Is Kyrie making another "Flat Earth" statement with his shoes?
- Rather than make us interpret, LeBron simply explained why he wore one black and one white shoe in the nation's capital.
- Shoes or no shoes, no human should be able to finish this bonkers one-handed alley-oop like LeBron did.
- We have to admit we love Joel Embiid's trash talking. We also can't help but admire how petty Russell Westbrook is.
- The Knicks could've been petty. Instead they paid a nice video tribute to Carmelo Anthony in his return.
POWER RANKINGS
The Rockets still haven't lost with Chris Paul in the lineup, the Cavaliers are looking like the best team in the East and the Thunder still aren't what we thought they'd be. They come in at Nos. 1, 3 and 17, respectively, in this week's power rankings. Oh, and how 'bout them Pacers? They're No. 8 -- again -- proving those preseason predictions wrong.
JUMPING TO CONCLUSIONS
THE CAVS ARE GOOD, BUT ...
As part of our weekly feature, Paste BN Sports' NBA insiders will offer exclusive opinions right here.
Conclusion: January will determine how good Cleveland really is.
The Cavs have won 18 of their past 20 games and moved from 5-7 to 23-8 – just 2½ games behind the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference. But next month, the Cavs face a much more difficult schedule than they did in the previous five weeks. Cleveland plays 14 games in January – almost all against playoff-bound or playoff-caliber teams: Portland, at Boston, at Orlando, at Minnesota, at Toronto, at Indiana, Golden State, Orlando, Oklahoma City, at San Antonio, Indiana, Detroit, at Detroit and Miami. For good measure, the Cavs start February – just days before the Feb. 8 trade deadline – against Houston.
Our other Week 9 conclusions? Victor Oladipo will be taking home some hardware and the Clippers will make a significant deal before the deadline.
This week's full conclusions here.
MVP RACE
"LeBron James dominates” doesn’t exactly make for the sexiest of headlines. He’s been doing this for 15 years. Isn’t it time for another story line? No. No it's not.
But no matter how impressive James' campaign has been, he's still No. 2 in our MVP rankings.
ROOKIE POWER RANKINGS
Warriors rookie Jordan Bell won't find himself in any Rookie of the Year races due in large part to his 12.3 minutes per game, but the 38th overall pick has been everything the Warriors wanted -- and then some. Those cash considerations the Bulls traded him for on draft night are looking worse by the day. Check out our full rookie power rankings.
MORE KOBE, MORE LEBRON:
Though it's tough to see past their 10-18 record, the Lakers are actually well positioned to move past the Kobe Bryant era, as Sam wrote this week from Los Angeles. The man responsible for orchestrating the Lakers' renaissance? That's former Bryant agent Rob Pelinka, now the Lakers GM. He explained his vision for the Lakers in a lengthy sit-down with Paste BN. He also shed light on his current dynamic with Bryant.
The Lakers and Cavs met last week, which stirred up all kinds of rumors about LeBron's potential free agency this summer. James and Lonzo Ball's first on-court matchup, as Jeff reported from Cleveland, was unfortunately shrouded by questions about LeBron's future. While so many are focused on James' future team, not many realize that he'll likely finish as the only NBA player in the top-10 in both scoring and passing.
Check back next week for everything you missed around the Association.