AN ARENA NEAR YOU – Welcome to the latest edition of the CSN Insiders Notebook. It's impossible to look at the NBA season these days and not think about playoffs or ping-pong balls. We've got plenty of time to talk about the lottery, so we'll focus this week's notebook on the former.
As much as teams want to be playing their best this time of year, they also want to go into the postseason as rested as possible.
The San Antonio Spurs have set the tone for this by sitting key players from time to time, often falling on the night of a nationally televised, hyped matchup.
But the Golden State Warriors took it to another level in resting four of their top six players (Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and Andre Iguodala) in a national televised matchup against -- who else? -- the San Antonio Spurs. And remember, they were already without Kevin Durant (knee), so this game had the potential to get ugly real quick.
Indeed, it was that kind of game as the Spurs had no trouble beating the Warriors 107-85.
It's not hard to understand why Kerr would make such a decision. The San Antonio game was their 10th since the All-Star break, seven of which were on the road.
And of those three games at home, two came right after the break.
He's trying to win a title and knows he needs his best players at their peak health-wise in the playoffs.
And with the grind that they were nearing the end of schedule-wise, there's a certain amount of logic to his decision.
But here's the problem.
What's best for the Warriors isn't necessarily what's best for the NBA's fan base, which is getting tired of shelling out big bucks to see stars who don't play because their coach felt they needed a night off.
And when you look at this 10-game stretch, had Kerr sat them for one game after their Feb. 28 game at Washington, his players would have had four days off before returning to the floor, which is one day less than they'll have after skipping out on the Spurs game this past weekend.
But what makes the resting of players late in the season stink so much is that coaches often choose to do it for road games, knowing full well that game may be the only shot fans in that market get to see the marquee players of opposing teams.
"I genuinely feel bad for the fans who bought tickets to see Steph, Klay and Draymond play, but I have to do what I have to do," Kerr told reporters after the game. "Our team has been through the ringer here the last couple of weeks. The travel has really worn us out. We needed to get through this game, and I'm really happy those guys will get several days rest before our next game. We needed to do this."
And the league needs to do something before fans decide to take matters into their own hands -- and specifically, their wallets.
There are only so many of these late-season superstar no-shows fans will stomach before they'll take their entertainment dollars and become no-shows themselves.
This week we start off with the hottest 1-2 punch in the NBA right now, John Wall and Bradley Beal. Or is it Beal and Wall? CSN's Mid-Atlantic J. Michael gets us up to speed on the Wizards' dynamic duo, which has fueled one of the best in-season turnarounds we have seen this season.
Eastern Conference
Beal leading Wizards' magical turnaround
After 10 games post-All-Star break, Beal has taken what he still considers a snub to the next level.
He's averaging 28.3 points on 53.6 percent field goal shooting, 44 percent from three-point range, 85.7 percent free throws, 3.9 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.2 steals.
His backcourt mate Wall hasn't been half-bad, either. His shooting percentages have dipped slightly, but he's at 24.4 points and 11.9 assists per game.
"They play both sides of the basketball," coach Scott Brooks said. "They can score. They can help the team score with their playmaking."
The Wizards are averaging 115.1 points per game since the break, third best in the NBA. -- by J. Michael
Sanders in, Bogut out
We hardly knew thee, Andrew Bogut!
Bogut's career as a Cleveland Cavalier didn't even last a minute -- seriously.
The veteran big man, who signed with Cleveland after being waived by Dallas, suffered a broken bone in his leg just 58 seconds into this debut for Cleveland and was later ruled out for the rest of the season.
Still in need of rim protection, the Cavs waived Bogut and signed Larry Sanders, who hasn't played in an NBA game in two years.
"Everyone deserves a second chance and it looks like he wants to get back to playing the game he loves," LeBron James, speaking to reporters, said of Sanders recently. "You don't know how much you can get out of a guy that's been out so long, but I'd love to see it. Why not?"
At this point, adding Sanders is a high-reward, low-risk addition for the Cavs.
He replaces Bogut, so it's not like he's got huge shoes to fill.
And if he can play even remotely close to the level he was at prior to walking away from the game, this will be a great addition for Cleveland not only now but also going forward. Cleveland reportedly signed him to a two-year deal with a team option for next year. -- by A. Sherrod Blakely
Discipline issues in Atlanta?
The Hawks already punished starting point guard Dennis Schroder for being late returning to the team after the All-Star break.
Now comes word that Thabo Sefolosha was benched recently because he was late to a shootaround before playing the Raptors.
For a team that's trying to find an identity through what has been a season of transition (Al Horford signed with Boston; Jeff Teague was traded to Indiana; Kyle Korver was traded to Cleveland), something like this doesn't help.
Despite the suspensions, the Hawks are still finding ways to play winning basketball.
After finishing in a four-way tie for the third-best record in the East last season, the Hawks aren't that far off a similar pace this season. They have won three straight and are currently fifth in the East.
The status of Mike Dunleavy is unknown as the Hawks try to compete for a top-four seed. He has been out indefinitely since last month because of right ankle inflammation. Dunleavy was injured while playing with the Cleveland Cavaliers but was acquired in a trade for Korver. He'd missed four games before the deal was made.
Not passing a physical has been known to void transactions (see Donatas Montiejunas trade from the Rockets to the Pistons being rejected last year) but Dunleavy's injury seemed minor. -- by J. Michael
Raptors in trouble without Kyle Lowry?
Toronto general manager Masai Ujiri may have called Kyle Lowry's right wrist surgery a temporary setback, but the Raptors in danger of dropping farther down the standings than anticipated.
The Raptors have lost 15 of their last 25 and entered Tuesday three games behind the first-place Celtics in the Atlantic.
While there are a number of problems Toronto is grappling with now that Lowry will be out for a significant amount of time, too much one-on-everyone basketball has been a problem.
The Raptors' reliance on so much isolation basketball from DeMar DeRozan to get buckets has strangled the offense without Lowry, their All-Star point guard, there to help distribute and take off some of the scoring burden.
"DeMar is going to get his offensive game going no matter what, so we can't just rely on him to carry us throughout the whole game," coach Dwane Casey said recently. "We can't just give him the ball and just go stand in the corner and be like, ‘Take us home.'"
In a 104-89 loss to the Miami Heat, the Raptors had an NBA-low seven assists on 33 field goals. In a loss two weeks ago to the Wizards, they were stuck on three assists in the fourth quarter until garbage time allowed them to inflate it to 11. The franchise low is six. -- by J. Michael
Western Conference
Spurs' Aldridge out indefinitely
Injuries are a given that every team has to go through to some degree, but the absence of San Antonio's LaMarcus Aldridge is a much more serious matter.
He is out indefinitely because of what team officials describe as "a minor heart arrhythmia."
"Somebody says a heart, you start thinking a little more possible long-term kind of stuff, that's a little scary," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich told reporters after San Antonio's 112-102 loss at Oklahoma City last week, a game in which Aldridge told the team that "he felt a little odd."
This was not the first time that Aldridge had a heart-related issue.
As a rookie in 2007, Aldridge was diagnosed with Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, which occurs when an extra electrical path in the heart causes a rapid heartbeat.
Aldridge's heart condition was known when he came into the NBA, but it wasn't considered too serious because whenever he had an episode it didn't keep him sidelined for very long.
Still, the fact that hasn't been considered a major setback in the past doesn't make it any less scary for Aldridge or his teammates.
"It's a sensitive issue, so we want to make sure that he's fine," Spurs guard Manu Ginobili told reporters over the weekend. "The most important thing is to have him healthy. We'll wait as long as is necessary for him to feel secure and sure, and the team, too."-- by A. Sherrod Blakely
Yet another knee injury for Parsons
The Memphis Grizzlies were hopeful that Chandler Parsons' long history of knee problems was a thing of the past.
Nope.
The veteran forward finds himself once again sidelined because of a knee-related injury. The Grizzlies announced that the 6-foot-9 forward is out indefinitely with a partial meniscus tear in his left knee.
This is Parsons' third injury to his left knee in three years, the kind of track record that no player wants to claim as their own.
You have to wonder just how many times can the 28-year-old work his way back onto the floor after what's believed to be a season-ending injury.
"To suffer a setback like this after working so diligently to rebound from the injury to his right knee is obviously tough," Memphis general manager Chris Wallace said. "That said, we know he will continue to work tirelessly to return to the court with his teammates and contribute. Chandler has the full support of myself, Coach Fizz and the entire team and we are all focused on getting him healthy." -- by A. Sherrod Blakely
Thunder's Gibson making most of starting role
When the Thunder traded for Taj Gibson from Chicago, it became a matter of when -- not if -- he would be inserted into the starting lineup.
Head coach Billy Donovan made the call prior to the Thunder's 102-92 win over San Antonio on March 9. The move had a two-fold objective: To provide more toughness and experience with Gibson with the first unit, while strengthening the bench by pairing former starter Domas Sabonis with Enes Kanter
And to prove it was no fluke, Gibson helped Oklahoma City knock off Utah 112-104. Gibson had 15 points on 7 for 9 shooting along with six rebounds. Just as important, the Thunder were plus-22 when he was on the floor -- tops among all players. -- by A. Sherrod Blakely
Rubio quietly leading T'wolves playoff push
Karl-Anthony Towns has been playing at an all-NBA level since the All-Star break, and Andrew Wiggins has elevated his play of late as well.
NBA
But Minnesota's clawing its way back into the playoff picture has been fueled by the defense with major contributions from Ricky Rubio.
Since the All-Star break, Rubio has a defensive rating of 99.0 -- almost 10 points better than his defensive rating this season.
With Towns' ability to protect the rim and Rubio's improved defense at the point of attack, the Timberwolves have been one of the league's top defenses since the break. Minnesota's defensive rating of 100.0 since the break is second in the NBA only to San Antonio (98.6).
Seeing Rubio on the floor, let alone making a major impact, was not how this season was supposed to play out for Minnesota.
They drafted Kris Dunn with the fifth overall pick, a player many anticipated would be a Rookie of the Year candidate.
But Dunn's minutes have been few and far between, in large part because of Rubio's play, which has been better than expected. -- by A. Sherrod Blakely
Clippers getting hot at right time
Injuries and inconsistent play both have been common themes with the LA Clippers this season. They lost four of their first five after the break and have since bounced back with wins in four of their last five.
Not including Monday's game against Utah, the Clippers close out the season with 10 of their last 15 games at home, which bodes well for a team that's looking to fight off Utah for the No. 4 seed and with it, home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs. The Clippers have won each of their first two matchups with two remaining.
But before the Clippers can even begin to think about that final stretch of games, they must somehow navigate their way through a stretch in which they play seven games in 11 days that began with Monday night's game against Utah.
On top of that, Doc Rivers is trying to balance that pursuit of the No. 4 seed in the West with trying to manage his players' minutes so they get the proper amount of rest between now and the playoffs.
"It's just dicey," Rivers told reporters recently. "We're just trying to do the best we can." -- by A. Sherrod Blakely
