Welcome to Layup Lines, For the Win’s basketball newsletter. Subscribe here to get it delivered to your inbox every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Have feedback for the Layup Lines Crew? Leave your questions, comments and concerns through this brief reader survey. Now, here’s Prince J. Grimes.
I have no clue what they put in the NBA gatorade coolers Tuesday, but the Association was absolutely on one last night. And that’s saying a lot for a league that’s almost always doing the most.
The main culprit in this case was a familiar character in the soap opera of the NBA, Draymond Green, who put Rudy Gobert in a headlock for absolutely no reason at all. But that was simply the main event to a card that also included Anthony Davis pushing down Santi Aldama in the Grizzlies-Lakers game, Desmond Bane getting in Davis’ face and D’Angelo Russell moving Bane out the way. And let’s not forget about Klay Thompson’s shoving match with Jaden McDaniels, which precipitated the chokehold.
The Warriors and Timberwolves got chippy just two minutes into their in-season tournament game 😳
Draymond Green, Klay Thompson and Jaden McDaniels were all ejected. pic.twitter.com/m7UvULewa2
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) November 15, 2023
Like I said, dudes were on one.
But if you thought Green putting Gobert in a headlock was just a random skirmish like the others, you’d be sadly mistaken. Those two have a history that makes it reasonable to question whether Green was actually protecting his teammate or simply capitalizing on an opportunity to attack the 7-footer. Whatever the reason, he took it too far — which he tends to do — and he’ll almost certainly be suspended for it, but maybe we should’ve seen something like this coming.
The Warriors Muse account on X (formerly Twitter) put together an incredible thread of the years-long back-and-forth between Green and Gobert, and while I won’t go through all of it here, their relationship has always been quite icy. Dating back to 2018, when Gobert first supplanted Green as the league’s Defensive Player of the Year, Green has been coming at Gobert non-stop.
Draymond Green-Rudy Gobert beef history:
A THREAD pic.twitter.com/S6ur5ZDjGX
— WarriorsMuse (@WarriorsMuse) November 15, 2023
Remember when Green made fun of Gobert for crying about an All-Star snub in 2019, and then poked fun about it again in 2022? There was also that time Green told the TNT broadcast crew to stop comparing him to Gobert. And that other time when Green literally said he thinks “Gobert is on the softer side.”
And Gobert hasn’t exactly been silent in all of this. He liked a tweet in 2019 making fun of Green for recruiting Kevin Durant. And last year, he seemed to subtweet Green after the Jordan Poole incident by saying “Insecurity is always loud.” Even after the latest altercation, Gobert called Green’s actions “clown behavior” and correctly pointed out how Green tends to get himself ejected from games Stephen Curry is not playing in.
So, as you can see, there is no love lost between these two. I have no clue what’s at the root of their beef, but the next time somebody tries to tell you Green was protecting his teammate when he came at Gobert, I wouldn’t be so quick to believe that. Also, in case you were wondering, the Warriors and Timberwolves don’t play again until March 24. So, there’s plenty of time for cooler heads to prevail.
Tyrese Haliburton is the new Chris Paul
Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images
I don’t know if you’ve been paying attention to the Indiana Pacers lately, but if not, you’re missing out something truly special. Tyrese Haliburton is playing like an absolute star right now, and that helped Indiana take down the Philadelphia 76ers Tuesday for just their second loss of the season.
The Pacers don’t win that game without Haliburton, who went off for 33 points on 11-of-18 shooting and 15 assists. But it’s not just a one-off thing for Haliburton. As FTW’s Mike Sykes wrote, he’s quickly becoming the NBA’s new Chris Paul.
One example of Haliburton’s rise are his numbers over the last two games. He has 58 points and 32 assists without a single turnover. And if that sounds good, it’s because it is. He’s the first person in NBA history to record that many consecutive assists without a turnover.
One to Watch
(All odds via BetMGM)
Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Minnesota Timberwolves (+6.5; +190) at Phoenix Suns (-150), 9:10 p.m. ET
Fresh off their win over the Golden State Warriors Tuesday, the Timberwolves fly down to Phoenix to put their 8-2 record and newfound grit on the line against a Suns team finally getting healthy. Tonight’s game will be the first time Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal all take the floor at the same time for Phoenix.
With how underwhelming the Suns have been thus far, and understanding it could take a while for their big three to gel, this spread would definitely be closer than 6.5 points under normal circumstances. But with Minnesota playing on the second night of a back-to-back, and the Suns being off since Sunday, this looks like a good spot for Phoenix to get back in the win column.
Shootaround
— Here’s Sykes on the laughable irony of James Harden saying he’s not in ‘James Harden shape’
— Bryan Kalbrosky has 5 reasons why your favorite team probably should NOT trade for Zach LaVine
— A hot mic picked up LeBron James’ funny reaction to a foul he commited on Jaren Jackson Jr.
That’s it from me y’all. Check back Friday for more Layup Lines.
