NBA Jammed: All the news and buzz from the second week of the NBA season
DANTE Exum attends a college called “Dante Exum”, finals MVP misses shots due to pink eye and women on Tinder predict NBA fortunes.
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DANTE Exum attends a college called “Dante Exum”, finals MVP misses shots due to pink eye and women on Tinder predict NBA fortunes.
Here’s your weekly dose of NBA news, social media buzz and quirky titbits in our weekly NBA Jammed column.
WE JUST LOST AN AUSSIE
It’s widely recognised that Americans are, well, a little USA-centric.
But that’s no reason to claim every NBA player as their own.
The pre-game notes provided before the Cleveland Cavaliers’ game against Portland last week included a Matthew Dellavedova from ... the USA.
Given the notes accurately list the college of even the assistant coaches and team’s athletic trainer, as well as Anderson Varejao’s Brazilian heritage, Dellavedova should probably be offended.
DANTE EXUM ATTENDS HIS OWN SCHOOL
Dellavedova isn’t alone in completely befuddling the Yanks by - gosh darn it - daring to hail from anywhere other than the USA.
Exum was listed on today’s game sheet from Utah’s clash with Indiana as being from a little-known college called “Dante Exum”.
Sportsmen usually have to wait years to have schools or buildings named after them, so Exum must be held in very high esteem in Indiana.
It's where he learned Xenopus is a genus of frogs. RT @jonrinehart Prior to NBA, Danté Exum attended his own school pic.twitter.com/O9Z7UuiOKo
— Jody Genessy (@DJJazzyJody) November 11, 2014WOMEN OF TINDER PREDICT NBA FORTUNES
Trying to pick winners in NBA games is fraught with danger, particularly when you’ve got players like LeBron deliberately avoiding scoring to teach his teammates a lesson.
So why not turn to the women of Tinder - the dating app - for some crystal ball action on the chances of each team this season?
One US blogger did exactly that and received some amusing (and often quite accurate!) responses, included the two below.
Based on no scientific evidence whatsoever, using the NBA as a lead-in question on Tinder would probably yield better relationship results than mindless get-to-know-you chatter.
Don’t know who Anthony Davis is? Thanks but no thanks.
HATS OFF TO CARMELO
NBA player press conferences are ground zero for horrific fashion decisions.
But Carmelo Anthony might have trumped them all with his latest offering - a tie-dyed hat that would be more at home at the Spring Racing Carnival in the early ‘70s.
Hats off to Carmelo Anthony—and send them to him, because he has clearly run out of wearable options. pic.twitter.com/OQ8hvIHemY
— Triangle Offense (@Tri_Offense) November 10, 2014You can’t see it in this Tweet, but the Knicks star’s hat also featured a matchstick, tucked into the left side of the band.
Your move, Russell Westbrook.
GINOBILI TROLLS OUR MAN PATTY
It’s Patty Mills’ tradition to use Twitter to announce to the world every time it’s a San Antonio Spurs game day.
So veteran teammate Manu Ginobili had a bit of fun at Mills’ expense today when the Aussie point guard pumped up the Spurs’ game against the LA Clippers.
@Patty_Mills Welcome back Patty! I guess you are back today, right?
— Manu Ginobili (@manuginobili) November 10, 2014Mills is, of course, still out of action while recovering from shoulder surgery.
THE NBA’S SILENT SHOT-KILLER ... PINK EYE
What’s worse than having to publicly admit you’ve got a nasty case of pink eye?
Ask NBA Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard, who has conjunctivitis (also known as pink eye) so bad that it’s destroyed his shooting accuracy.
After missing San Antonio’s season-opener with the nasty infection, Leonard returned and is shooting a career-worst 30.8 per cent from the field, and averaging three points fewer than his output last season.
Leonard says he knows exactly what’s causing his shooting woes.
“My right eye, the vision’s not all the way back yet,” Leonard told the San Antonio Express-News.
“Hopefully I can heal up soon. I’ve just got to keep competing so I can get used to it and get my rhythm going.”
Given how contagious conjunctivitis is, it’s only a matter of time before the Spurs are unable to score at all.
LAKERS HIT BACK AT BARKLEY
The Los Angeles Lakers have stunk, so far this year.
And no one is more accutely aware of how much they’ve stunk than the players who’ve done the stinking.
So the LA players didn’t take kindly to NBA legend Charles Barkley announcing on TV that he wouldn’t eat another meal until the 0-5 Lakers won their first game of the season.
Thankfully for Barkley, they won their next game, which prompted Ed Davis, who had 10 points and five rebounds in the watershed win against Charlotte, to come out swinging.
Charles your fat a$$ can eat now
— Ed Davis (@eddavis32) November 10, 2014Well played.
DELLY A DOGGED DEFENDER
Life might suck right now for Cleveland’s resident Australian Matthew Dellavedova, who is facing a lengthy stint on the sidelines with a knee injury.
But he might get a kick out of another NBA star rating him as the toughest defender in the league.
Washington Wizards guard Bradley Beal said in a recent interview that our man Delly was his most difficult opponent, mainly because it’s like basketball spawned the ultimate mosquito.
“Dellavedova from Cleveland is a great defender. He’s a pest, he annoys you,” Beal said.
“I give credit where it’s due, man, ’cause he’s definitely one of the toughest that I’ve been against.”
WAITERS WALKS INTO ANTHEM STORM
Onto Americans again, and if you want to get them all riled up, mess with their national anthem.
Cavaliers player Dion Waiters got everyone hot under the collar when it was reported that missed a pre-game national anthem “because of my religion”.
“That’s why I stayed in the locker room,” he said.
Taking Waiters’ comments to mean that he believed in his Muslim faith but not AMERICA, plenty of people took offence, until Waiters clarified later in the week that he meant that he was simply completing his pre-game prayer ritual and had lost track of time.
Waiters took to Twitter to claim he had been misquoted.
Lol I wasn't going to even say anything about the situation but whoever made that up about me & the national anthem is a damn lie....
— Dionwaiters3 (@dionwaiters3) November 8, 2014I can't believe yall believe everything yall hear smh I guess ppl listen to anything now a days!!! I love everything about America!!!!!!!
— Dionwaiters3 (@dionwaiters3) November 8, 2014
Basketball racism scandal involving star Boomer erupts
One of Australia’s greatest Indigenous basketballers has been left shattered after allegedly being racially abused during a game. A club sponsor is now being investigated.
Who is the real Josh Giddey? Big sis tells all on Boomers Paris star
Boomers Paris Olympic standout Josh Giddey carries himself with a reserved maturity and class that belies his tender years. But big sister Hannah says that’s not quite the Josh she knows.