It’s Sunday afternoon. Everything on my phone is on edge about America stealing the Venezuelan president.
On my TV screen, the New York Giants are about to end their wasted 2025 season with a victory over a Cowboys team that wasted their 2025 season.
Welcome to Hoop Diaries, let’s talk about the return of GOAT Kawhi, my genius solution to the NBA’s tanking problem and, of course, Knicks corner.
Kawhi Leonard: Return of the GOAT
We all laughed at Kanye West when he randomly accused Chris Paul of sleeping with his wife in the midst of one of his funnier, less nazi-adjacent Twitter rants.
But Chris Paul, at best, is annoying to have around.
To the point where Clippers coach Ty Lue sent him home from the team. DNP: coach is fucking tired of hearing you.
League sources say the acerbic nature of Paul’s perspective was met with increasing resistance from those around him. Head coach Ty Lue and his staff, specifically, were known to be at wit’s end when it came to dealing with Paul. Some teammates took exception with his disparaging tone.
League sources say Paul had several meetings recently with Clippers officials regarding their concerns with his approach, with one source indicating that there was a request for him to stop with the “locker room lawyering.” League sources said Paul was openly critical of the team in a film session on Tuesday, but — as Frank indicated — the decision to move on from Paul had already been made. (The Athletic)
Chris Paul, averaging a career-low 32% shooting from the field, at 40 years old, objectively one of the worst players on the team, was running around the Clippers facility micromanaging a team built around Kawhi Leonard and James Harden, two of the most quiet, laid-back superstars ever.
And would you look at that, the moment Chris Paul is no longer on the end of the bench complaining about everything to anyone, Kawhi Leonard magically transforms back into his 2019 Finals MVP form as the Clippers currently ride a 4-game winning streak back into the bottom of a Western Conference full of teams that lack a player as talented as Kawhi.
Here’s what Kawhi did against the first-place Detroit Pistons on Sunday night:
- 55 points (career-high)
- 17-for-26
- 5-for-10 from 3
- 16-for-17 free throws
- 11 rebounds
- 5 steals
- 3 blocks
God mode.
KAWHI LEONARD TONIGHT:
55 POINTS
11 REBOUNDS
5 STEALS
3 BLOCKS
65% FGpic.twitter.com/lli0cRdA9s— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) December 29, 2025
When healthy, every Kawhi jumpshot goes in.
Every opposing team’s offense is stifled by Kawhi stuffing passing lanes and protecting the rim.
Kawhi Leonard is one of the few basketball players I’ve seen warp reality on a basketball court, altering back-to-back-to-back possessions on both sides of the floor.
Kawhi leads the NBA, shooting 98% from the free throw line, 123-for-126. He’s missed only 3 free throws in 126 attempts.
The Clippers are 10-21, having now won 4 games in a row, including huge wins over the Rockets, Lakers and Pistons, 3 title contenders.
Kawhi Leonard is why you align with a sketchy “green bank” to hand the star $48 million under the table, off the books.
Thankfully for the Clippers, the NBA, faced with stacks of evidence against Steve Ballmer, will sweep this under the rug right alongside the draft pick Miami gave to Charlotte for Terry Rozier, who is fighting for his life in court.
There are no scandals in the NBA and there is no war in Ba Seng Se.
[Disclaimer: I wrote this a week ago, since then, Kawhi’s scored 33, 45 and then 22. The GOAT is back.]
How To Solve Tanking
Adam Silver and the NBA are attempting to tackle the NBA tanking problem.
Teams intentionally losing games, an open secret for years, now, in desperate need of a solution, thanks to Chauncey Billups manipulating betting lines as the head coach of the Portland Trailblazers, sitting players under the guise of “tanking”, when in reality, he was feeding inside info to bettors.
Never thought Kash Patel would fix the NBA but, in fairness, I never thought about Kash Patel at all until like 6 months ago.
Adam Silver would install some lazy half measure but I have the real solution to the NBA tanking problem: The NBA Draft Tournament.
A 6-team tournament, 6 worst records, two worst records get first round byes.
Pair it with the play-in tournament.
Attach whatever Sprite or Miriam Adelson Israel blood money to the big event and bam, NBA makes money and makes these teams earn the no. 1 pick.
I know your first reaction: “Why would players play hard just to help their organizations draft their replacements?”
I have answers.
1. It’s a showcase. These are nationally televised games, opportunities for players like Marvin Bagley on the Wizards or Trey Murphy on the Pelicans to showcase their talents for either their current teams or the 29 other GMs watching the games.
These guys on atrocious teams won’t be playing for their replacements; they’d be playing for their own careers.
2. You can’t tank and intentionally pull your best players in close 4th quarters and rest your game-altering starters with fake injuries all season and then go into the NBA Draft tournament expecting to win 2-3 single elimination games in a row.
It forces organizations, even the shit ones, to develop winning habits throughout the season, or at the very least, it ends that lull in the final month of the season where everyone and their mothers are resting and Josh Giddey puts up MVP numbers for 3 weeks.
Waiting right here for the NBA to cut me my check. I’ll also take equity. We’ll negotiate. Have your people call my people.
The Sixers might win the East
For 3 straight games, the Sixers have had Joel Embiid and Paul George, healthy as hell with no minutes restrictions. The Sixers have won those 3 straight games, all on the road, including a 130-119 win over the New York Knicks on Saturday night.
Joel Embiid is averaging 28 points per game in his last 5, including a 34-point, 10-rebound, 8-assist game against the Grizzlies.
Joel Embiid against the Knicks:
– 26 points
– 10 rebounds
– 5 assists
– 9/15 FGIt’s starting to get scary again… pic.twitter.com/hIHtvtjQAD
— Aidan Doc 🧸 (@AidanDoc__) January 4, 2026
Embiid is no longer limping, laboring up and down the court. He’s the best player on the court again.
Well, he would be, if Tyrese Maxey hadn’t evolved into one of the best scorers in the NBA, dropping a game-high 36 points with 8 rebounds and 4 assists in the Sixers victory over the Knicks.
Tyrese Maxey has the 3rd most points in the NBA this season, behind only SGA and Donovan Mitchell. A defense capable of slowing down Maxey does not yet exist. He’s quick enough to catch defenders napping, blink and he’s at the rim with Tony Parker’s layup package. Contested his jumper means nothing. Might as well put a cone in front of him. All of his jump shots feel like he’s playing around in an empty gym.
And his new rookie running mate, VJ Edgecomb, matching Maxey’s urgency and shot making.
VJ Edgecombe with 26 points, 4 stocks, and 4 made threes in a road win in New York City.
Him showing flashes of being a shooter off the dribble changes everything. The footage of him dominating for the Bahamas was real. pic.twitter.com/wYV31Zs8rZ
— Ersin Demir (@EDemirNBA) January 4, 2026
Edgecomb is averaging 16.5 points on 38% shooting from 3 with 5.3 rebounds and 4 assists.
Shit, even Paul George is doing his little thing, Tobias Harris with a slicker handle.
If everyone is back, healthy, no visits to doctors to drain fluids from their knees, able to play as many minutes as needed on any given night, who is going to stop the Sixers?
The Cavs are battling for play-in position right now. The Celtics are one injury away from dropping to the bottom of the standings, the Magic and Raptors don’t know how to score points and the Detroit Pistons are a playoff run away from identifying the flaws in their roster and improving the following offseason.
The Knicks are our only chance to keep these Embiid jokes going.
Knicks Corner
The Knicks are falling off a cliff.
3 straight losses to potential playoff teams (San Antonio, Atlanta Philadelphia).
With Josh Hart out nursing an ankle injury, Mike Brown’s opened up the rotation, desperate to find his replacement, unable to find a player capable of providing what Hart does.
Rookie Mohamed Diawara, sophomore two-way player Kevin McCullar Jr., and Guerschon Yabusele are on the court, doing some stuff here and there but they aren’t Josh Hart.
Hart frustrates me.
On defense, he’s a ball watcher, like, you can’t even call them “back door” cuts. The front door is wide open, he greets you with hor d’oeuvres.
Offensively, singularly focused on getting the ball to his college teammate, often ignoring the hoop, left completely open for a 3, 99 out of 100 guards would take.
Sure, Josh Hart provides additional rebounding. He’s a threat in transition.
But his real contribution, what the Knicks cannot recreate in his absence, is an edge.
I love my sweet, sensitive baby boys but when KAT and Bridges are in their own little universes, daydreaming, when Brunson is getting physically shrunk to his human 5-foot-11 form, when OG gives up, when the bench is just chucking bricks at the backboard, Josh Hart is the maniac demanding urgency, forcing everyone to match his energy.
It’s a natural reaction. You see your teammate leap through the air to grab a rebound, slamming onto the hardwood, you sprint for the fastbreak, trying to make your teammate’s physical sacrifice mean something.
It’s really hard to get guys to care about January basketball. Josh Hart’s existence on the court forces everyone else to give their all.
Get well soon, Joshua. Big fan of your podcast. Love all the gay jokes. So funny.
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