in Lists, NBA

4 NBA Storylines From The Weekend: The Timberwolves are Weirdos and The Cavaliers are Frauds

From the Mavericks wilting to the Timberwolves being exposed, here are the best storylines from this NBA weekend

nba storylines

We’re at the last leg of the 2023=24 NBA season. Teams are playing for real now. No one’s breaking scoring records anymore. Every night is warfare. I love this point in the season where the NFL is over and the NBA televises games all weekend long. You learn everything you need to know about these teams in the final 20 or so games.

I was going to write about the Celtics beating the brakes off the Mavericks and Warriors but no one should’ve been surprised by this. They are the best team in the NBA on an 11-game winning streak beating up on the 8th and 9th best teams in the West. Of course this happened.

Anyway, here are the 4 NBA storylines from the weekend:

1. The Mavericks aren’t good enough

nba storylines

Dallas blacked out in February going 8-3 in the month, including a 7-game win streak with wins over the Sixers, Knicks, Thunder and Suns. When no one was looking, the Mavericks surged up the standings.

And now they’re currently sitting at the 8th seed after a disgusting weekend where they lost to the Boston Celtics on ESPN Friday night and then a Joel Embiid-less Sixers team on Sunday afternoon.

Let’s start with the positives.

I love the 2-man game between Luka Doncic and Dereck Lively II. Lively is always right where Luka needs him to catch a lob. You can tell Luka genuinely enjoys playing with Lively as you can always see him hyping the rookie up and embracing him going to the sidelines every time out. Luka decided to adopt a 20-year-old 7-footer and I’m happy for their relationship.

When Lively is healthy and in the lineup, he’s a real difference maker for this Mavs offense that stands around watching Luka most of the game. I guess I couldn’t go long enough without getting negative but man, it really stood out this weekend just how sludgy and stationary their offense is.

The whole 4th quarter is Luka going one-on-one, hoping to get to the basket or draw a double to kick it to someone or the other 4 guys playing hot potato around the perimeter nervously trying to get the ball back to Luka.

I liked the acquisition of PJ Washington from Charlotte. Honestly, anyone was better than that loser, Grant Williams. But he’s nowhere near the level of scorer he’d need to be to cancel out how little he provides defensively. He’s averaging 11.6 points a game since averaging in Texas. I promise you, PJ is letting ballhandlers blow right past him for more than 11.6 points a game.

Again, this team lost to the Sixers without Embiid and Dallas was trailing the entire game—usually by double digits. Their defense is weird. They have the 22nd-ranked defensive rating, worse than the Blazers and Nets—despite having great rim protectors and guys like Derrick Jones Jr and Josh Green who can lock guys up on the perimeter.

They just like, don’t care. All you have to do to score on the Mavs is make their defense rotate once and the whole thing collapses. They never know which guys are supposed to rotate or they rotate super late, giving up wide-open shots constantly. It’s as if they believe Luka and Kyrie can get them a bucket whenever so they don’t sweat giving up shots but that’s how you lose basketball games.

If Dallas doesn’t figure out how to get a stop, they may be stuck slapboxing in the play-in tournament against Kevin Durant, Steph Curry and/or LeBron James. Astronomically more championship experience in the 7th, 9th and 10th seeds than on the Mavs. Tim Hardaway’s son isn’t going to inspire the guys in the huddle after the Warriors go on a 15-0 run.

 

2. The Cleveland Cavaliers are soft as shit

nba storylines

On Friday night, the Cavs beat the Detroit Pistons 110-100. Good for them. They beat one of the worst basketball teams in NBA history. This is how you get the 2nd best record in the Eastern Conference. You beat the teams you’re supposed to. Even with Donovan Mitchell out. Wow. Look at them go.

On Sunday night, the Knicks came into Cleveland’s house. With about 20 games left in the regular season, this was the Cavs opportunity to establish themselves to the whole league but also to prove they’ve surpassed New York.

Last season, the Knicks beat the smiles off the Cavs faces in a 4-1 first-round gentleman’s sweep. The narrative going into that series was Cleveland’s size being a problem for the Knicks. Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley are both 6-foot-10 centers who are annual All-Defensive candidates.

The Knicks Mike Tyson’ed them regardless.

On Sunday night’s ESPN national TV broadcast, Darius Garland, Isaac Okoro and the boys were supposed to treat the Knicks the same way the Celtics did earlier that day winning by 52 against the Golden State Warriors who beat them in the Finals two years ago.

It would be an even bigger moment with Donovan Mitchell out nursing a knee injury. The Knicks are missing Mitchell Robinson, Julius Randle and OG Anunoby, 3 members of their starting five are gone. Cleveland should have won easily.

AND THEN JALEN BRUNSON GETS HURT IN THE FIRST MINUTE OF THE GAME:

Jalen Brunson leads this Knicks team in minutes, field goal attempts (and makes), free throw attempts and assists. He is entirely in charge of everything this team does. He is the oxygen in their lungs. The sun providing energy.

Anddd the Knicks beat the Cavaliers 107-98 without 4 of their starting 5 players on the court. Cleveland not only lost to the 2016 Villanova Wildcats, two guys who look like John Wick villains and Precious Achiuwa but this happened in the final minutes of the game:

Josh Hart hit a big 3 in front of the Cavaliers bench and chained checked their best player on their home court in front of their hoes.

Whoever the Cavs play in the playoffs is getting a first-round bye. This front office needs to find underground fight clubs or dudes who live in their cars. Someone on the Cavs needs to be intimidating. Evan Mobley’s goofy ass sure isn’t.

Speaking of which, here’s Evan Mobley explaining why the team lost to Donte DiVincenzo and Bojan Bogdanovic:

I know this reporter gave a super-leading question to Evan by implying Jalen Brunson’s injury specifically messed up their rhythm but damn. Mobley has to say anything other than “yea” here. You cannot say you lost to your big brother again because a stoppage in the first minute threw off the next 47.

Small dick energy over there.

 

3. Minnesota Timberwolves under the magnifying glass

nba storylines

The Timberwolves went into the weekend as the no. 1 seed in the Western Conference. Then they lost back-to-back games to playoff teams. First, a Friday night 120-124 overtime loss to the Sacramento Kings. Followed by an 88-89 early 2000’s-ass TKO to the Los Angeles Clippers.

I want to talk about how weird the T-Wolves played in that Clippers game but their loss to the Kings made me realize what was happening all season long.

See, the Timberwolves figured out their roles, and what is expected of them on a nightly basis. Last season, Rudy Gobert, Karl-Athony Towns and Anthony Edwards were repellent players together. But after doing the work this offseason, they came back as the best defense every night because they cared about it. Sometimes it’s that simple. Especially when you have the talent on the roster. Do you guys care enough to bust your asses traveling to Oklahoma then Oregon then Arizona night after night.

And now we’re at the final 20 games of the season when every team cares. You’re not surprising anyone or catching them sleeping. The Sacramento Kings are a well-oiled machine that’s revving up for the postseason. No one’s goofing around anymore.

But I won’t focus too long on the Kings loss because I know Anthony Edwards left work early to see the birth of the kid1  but it was strange when he returned against the Clippers.

Anthony Edwards subbed into the 4th quarter with about 7 minutes left in the game. Here’s what he did coming in with his team up 76-74 against a Clippers team they’d need to get past to make the NBA Finals:

  • turnover
  • foul
  • missed shot
  • turnover
  • a rebound (!)
  • missed 3
  • a dunk with 3 seconds left in the game to bring the score from 86-89 to 88-89. They lost 88-89.

Last season, De’Aaron Fox made his first All-Star team and was unstoppable in clutch time. But it was also Fox’s 6th year in the NBA.

Anthony Edwards is in his 4th season. Feels like we’ve anointed this man way too early and now we’re watching the Timberwolves play some real, competitive basketball and he clocked out early in one game and was dribbling off his own feet in the other.

And if Edwards isn’t ready to be the guy yet, then Karl-Anthony Towns becomes that by default and we’ve seen more than enough evidence to know where that leads. Jimmy Butler will tell you all about it. KAT couldn’t lead his own Call of Duty clan, he’s certainly not carrying an NBA team on his back. When the game gets to clutch time, KAT is addicted to catching the ball around the 3-point line. Instead of setting up inside for way easier buckets, Towns is determined to drive to the rim but dribbles like he’s trying to stand on a bumpy subway line and he’s too cool to hold onto the rail.

Also, if you’re a regular Deadseriousness reader, you’ll know I’ve had nothing but venom to spit in Harrison Barnes’s face for being the obvious weak link on a Kings team that went to 7 games against the Warriors and needed someone to step up..

Here’s Barnes hitting a buzzer-beater at the end of the half against the Wolves.

*waves cartoonishly small celebratory flag* yay.

 

4. Victor Wembanyama is the GOAT

nba storylines

I won’t sit here and pretend I’ve seen a ton of the San Antonio Spurs this year. Gregg Popovich decided he was going to treat Wemby like some random second-round pick but Victor Wembanyama has done some wild shit despite having an arm tied behind his back by a coach ‘teaching’ him and a roster full of guys who are desperately auditioning to stay on this team so they can ride Wemby’s coattails.

But we’re at the finish line of Wembanyama’s rookie campaign and he’s decided to become the best player in the NBA. And it’s not as if his minutes have suddenly skyrocketed. He’s played around 31 minutes in the past couple weeks and looks like one of those guys, Nikola Jokic, Luka Doncic, Kawhi Leonard, who can completely control the game when he’s on the floor. He’s dictating everything.

The Spurs had no business beating the OKC Thunder 132-118.

But I think I understand what’s happening. Victor Wembanyama has dedicated his life to becoming the greatest basketball player of all time. He is fully cognizant of his own legacy in real-time. He knows he needs to start with a Rookie of the Year trophy. Wilt Chamberlain, Oscar Robertson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Larry Bird, Michael Jordan, Shaquille O’Neal, Tim Duncan, LeBron James and Kevin Durant. They all won Rookie of the Year.

So of course Victor saw the only person who could potentially take that honor away from him, Chet Holmgren, and put 28 points on his head with 13 rebounds, 7 assists, 5 blocks and 2 steals.

Wembanyama was created in a sketchy underground laboratory to be the best basketball player ever. There is no way in hell, assuming androids believe in hell, that Wemby was going to let Breanna Stewart with a chinstrap beard take any accolades from him.

Victor is going to be the best based solely on his defense alone. He’s going to average 10 blocks a game without leaving his feet. Layups, jumpers, floaters, Wembanyama can get his fingertips on any shot attempt. Playing against Vic is like playing against your older cousin who doesn’t want to hang out with you and he’s only on the court with you to avoid getting in trouble so he doesn’t let you get ANY shots off. Except he’s not anyone’s older cousin. He’s 20. And French.

Victor going to average a quadruple-double on a championship run and Nick Wright is going on TV to shout about how much better Wemby is than Nikola Jokic ever was.

We are witnessing history. The Cavaliers are historically lame.

 

 

Does this season just belong to the Boston Celtics?  Leave a comment below. Respond on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram. Or shoot me an email at Deadseriousmailbag@gmail.com. Let’s chat, bay-beeeee. Let me know what NBA storylines you want to talk about next week.

 

  1. The one he actually wanted.

Written by thelesterlee

Creator of Deadseriousness. Diehard Knicks, Yankees and Giants fan who wants to create a sports and pop culture space that isn't the same copy and pasted AI content you see everywhere else.

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