That news and much more from the world of pro basketball in Wednesday's NBA newsletter.
Good morning. On Sunday, after a long practice and team meeting, Brian Shaw told the media he thinks the Nuggets players might be trying to lose on purpose, given how bad their effort has been. On Tuesday, the Nuggets lost to the Sixers. Shaw might be onto something here.
He also might be on his way out the door. Traditionally, directly accusing your players of sabotage ends poorly. Shaw just might have pushed himself in front of Jacque Vaughn in the firing line with this episode; Denver's going nowhere fast, but the losing could be more respectable. Given the lackluster effort even some of the better, veteran Nuggets have trotted out -- looking at you, Ty Lawson -- it's not necessarily Shaw's fault. But as the adage goes, it's easier to fire a coach than your players.
Just remember: the Nuggets fired George Karl and let Masai Ujiri walk two years ago. Pay for good management, y'all. Alright, let's basketball.
VALAR MORGHULIS: Rudy Gobert has been denying would-be highlights all year. Damian Lillard is having none of that. N. O. N. E. of that. Blazers won in a squeaker.
ON A TUESDAY: Not much other action on Tuesday, little of it exciting. D.J. Augustin is the new Brandon Jennings as Detroit dismissed the Heat. The Celtics blasted the Knicks. And the Warriors crushed the Kings again. Here's our NBA Scores hub.
PEAK BAD BOOGIE: Sometimes, DeMarcus Cousins just refuses to give a damn. Right in front of his own bench and 20 feet away from the guy who signs his paycheck! A hero. (But seriously, c'mon man.)
FILM ROOM ALL-STARS: Mike Prada's 2015 Film Room All-Star team is led by Draymond Green, Gordon Hayward and Markieff Morris. Such a good read.
SOFT JUMPER CITY: Blake Griffin's Players Tribune piece on why he's so proud of his newly developed jumper. It's very funny.
HEARTWARMING: A Nets assistant, Jim Sann, recently had a heart attack at a team practice, and collapsed. The team's heroic trainer Tim Walsh employed a defibrillator and CPR to save his life. Sann said he knew he was still alive when he regained consciousness to sound of Kevin Garnett yelling. Wonderful story from Woj. Lesson: don't ignore chest pain!
SUPERCOOLBEAS ALERT: Andrew Crawford on Michael Beasley's Chinese resurrection at VICE Sports.
PRETTY MUCH: A series of heartbreaking losses could end costing the Suns a playoff spot.
NOW THIS IS INTERESTING: Most WNBA stars spend their offseason playing pro basketball in the Eastern Hemisphere, often in Russia. They do it because the WNBA doesn't pay super well but the other leagues do. That dichotomy came into full view this week as Diana Taurasi's Russian team (UMMC Ekaterinburg) offered her a big enough contract for her to sit out the WNBA season for the Phoenix Mercury. Taurasi says she will resume in the WNBA in 2016.
Taurasi is capped at $107,000 in WNBA salary, but makes $1.5 million in Russia. No wonder she'd be presented and would accept such an offer. Kate Fagan has an excellent story looking at how much of an existential crisis this could become for the WNBA. It should be very interesting to watch. Considering the NBA still financially supports the WNBA, expect to hear some members of the Board of Governors to call for ending the subsidies.
THE CLIPPERS! Zach Lowe has lots of reasons at to why one should not sleep on the L.A. Clippers this postseason.
THAT'D BE SOMETHING: The Pacers haven't ruled out Paul George returning to action. Indiana is 4.5 games out of No. 8 with a few teams in its way.
BY THE WAY: That deal is a two-year, $7.5 million extension for Nick Collison, who -- let's be honest, KD -- is a shell of his former self. But the deal avoids a cap hold on the vet and lets the team keep him cheaply as a back-up, which is smart.
DAP IS AN ARTFORM: Don't slouch on your dap when Russell Westbrook is around, Jeremy Lamb.
#KNICKSTAPE: Phil Jackson sat down with Harvey Araton to explain why it's so important to give the Triangle new life.
Happy Wednesday. See you next time.
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