Just as we thought things couldn’t get worse for the Philadelphia 76ers…they did. This week, multiple reports came out regarding the reckless behavior of the third pick of this year’s NBA draft, Jahlil Okafor. Okafor has been having a great rookie season at the individual level, averaging 18 points and 7.9 rebounds, but it appears the frustration of his team going 0-18 to start the season has been taking its toll on the center. Early Thursday morning, Okafor got into a street fight outside of a nightclub in Boston after somebody shouted the obvious, “The 76ers suck.” Another report came out a few days ago that Okafor got into an altercation with a heckler in October, ending in a gun being pointed at his head. Furthermore, another report stated that Okafor had been pulled over for going 108 miles per hour on the Ben Franklin Bridge a few weeks ago. All of this revealed in the same week! These are just reckless acts by the rookie, and they make a disastrous season so far for the 76ers even worse.
2) Ty Lawson
Lawson is…not the player we once knew. At least not so far this season. While it was clear he could never be the go-to guy on the Nuggets, he was always at least a very solid role player in the league. We can’t even say that about him this year, as he’s gradually been given less and less minutes and has pretty much worked his way out of the rotation entirely at this point. There have been three games he’s played in where he has been scoreless for the Houston Rockets, albeit one of those games he only played two minutes. This week, he has scored 4 points in only 17 minutes of action, and received a DNP-CD against the New York Knicks last night. It’s kind of sad to see a player that meant so much to his team in the past turn into a player that is completely on the back burner as of now. The Rockets’ failings cannot be attributed entirely to Lawson’s letdown season, however, and it’s kind of surprising to see the team has given up on him so quickly.
3) The Denver Nuggets’ third quarter vs. Dallas Mavericks
The Nuggets had an abysmal third quarter against the Mavericks on Saturday night, only scoring 5 points to the Mavericks' 25. This was by all accounts a horrible offensive quarter. The team shot just 10.5% from the field and had seven turnovers in those 12 minutes, and did not score until almost 9 minutes into the second half. While it was clear the Mavericks came out of halftime a more physical defensive team, the Nuggets' 5 points in the quarter was more a result of their inability to hit shots and move the ball than anything the Mavs were doing. Although the Nuggets won every quarter besides the third, they lost the game by 11 points…an embarrassing performance to say the least.
4) Jason Kidd
The coach of the Milwaukee Bucks lost his temper in a game against the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday, getting ejected after swiping the ball out of an official’s hands. It wasn’t a good look for Kidd, and it resulted in him getting suspended for the game against the Orlando Magic, which the Bucks lost. It’s one thing for a coach to let his players know that he’s willing to stand up for them, but it’s another thing to put your team at a disadvantage by missing games. It’s also not setting a very good example for a young team.
5) This play
HEADS UP MANIMAL https://t.co/p4Ebg3nD0B
— Hardwood Paroxysm (@HPbasketball) November 29, 2015
This clip, courtesy of Matt Moore of Hardwood Paroxysm, pretty much summarizes the game against the Mavericks on Saturday night. If Faried had been looking more towards Nelson it could have been a good pass and potentially resulted in a basket by Denver, but Faried clearly was facing away and not in any position to receive a pass in that moment. Will Barton's reaction is what every Nuggets fan probably did after watching this, and it won't be a surprise if this play ends up on Shaqtin' a Fool later this week.