Is Luke Walton To Blame For The Kings’ Poor Record? | Weekly Round-Up
The Kings shouldn't have fired Luke Walton, unvaxxed players not allowed in Canada, "The Sweater," and more in this week's round-up.
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Hey all,
Welcome to the Weekly Round-Up on the Old Man Game Newsletter, where I share with you the best and most crucial NBA stories from the week, plus some other cool stuff.
This week, I want to start off by talking about Luke Walton’s firing.
Earlier this week, the Sacramento Kings relieved Head Coach Luke Walton from his duties after the team lost 7 of 8 games.
But here’s the question I have: is it really his fault the Kings suck?
The last time they made the playoffs was in 2007. 2007! That’s the year Kevin Durant was drafted.
And during that timeline, they only won 35 or more games twice.
So, is it Walton’s fault that they’re not meeting expectations? Or is it the management’s fault?
Bill Simmons, on Twitter, broke down all of the bad moves that the team has made in recent years, which most definitely contributed to their poor records:
“Last 4 years: Sac took Bagley over Luka, spent lottery picks on THREE point guards, froze on trading Barnes when he had legit trade value, spent actual money on T. Thompson, gave Bogdanovic away for NOTHING… but hey let’s change coaches again. An ongoing ownership catastrophe.”
If you can tell, I’m on the side of the management ruining the team. But what are your thoughts on this?
Blog Post of the Week
How To Use Deliberate Practice To Get Better Faster
In this featured blog post, I explain what deliberate practice is and how you can use it to level up your basketball skills quicker.
The Wire
Kyle Lowry On How Tough It Was To Be A Raptor, But Not Be Able To Play In Toronto Last Season
Via The Undefeated:
“It was ridiculous. I had a house in Toronto. I still have stuff in the storage up there that was in my home, my kids’ stuff, paintings and schoolwork. It just sucks that I didn’t have a chance to play a game there since February of 2020. We were going on a West Coast trip and we had played Utah and then the pandemic hit. My kids were already on spring break and then I didn’t go back. I went straight to my hometown of Philly and it was definitely tough.”
Warriors’ Haters Beware: Klay Thompson Is Making A Return In A Short Few Weeks
Via Dime:
“Klay Thompson came through well after a week of 5-on-5 scrimmaging and has been cleared to be a full-time participant in all future Warriors’ practices, sources tell The Athletic. Thompson is trending toward a potential return the week before Christmas Day, those sources said.”
Un-Vaxxed Players Will Soon Not Be Allowed To Play To Canada
Via CBC News:
“Unvaccinated professional and amateur athletes will no longer be able to travel to Canada as of January 15, minister of public safety Marco Mendicino said on Friday.
Currently, NBA and NHL players who have yet to receive one of Canada's approved COVID-19 vaccines are able to enter the country under a national interest exemption.
But Mendicino said that is changing due to the wide availability of vaccines.”
LeBron’s Not Dirty, Tried To Get Stewart’s Number To Apologize After Incident
Via the Pat McAfee Show:
“You could tell, right after the play happened, it looked inadvertent,” Shams Charania said. “And I’m told LeBron James had made clear, whether it was on the court or postgame, that was an inadvertent hit to Isaiah Stewart, that he didn’t mean to do that… it was not intentional. But as soon as it happened, you could see him kind of say, ‘Yo, listen, I’m sorry, man.’
“I’m told LeBron James did try to track down Isaiah Stewart’s number postgame to apologize to Stewart again and let him know it was an inadvertent hit to his face.”
LaMarcus Aldridge On The Psychology Of Adjusting To Bench Role
Via New York Post:
“It’s very difficult. You’ve been one type of player or a certain type of player your whole career. It’s definitely different coming off the bench and not playing much,” Aldridge said. “So it’s been difficult. … I’m still trying to figure it out and navigate it and find my spots. And I’m just trying to find my ways to try and help out.
“It’s an ongoing battle. It’s not, you fix it and it’s done. You still have moments where it’s still tough to not be out there at times, and it’s still tough to not start at times,” Aldridge said. “But I came back to win, and I wanted to be here and try to win it all. So, if that’s my role, it is what it is.”
Old Man Game Cheese
Scary Terry With The Yo-Yo
Zia Cooke Shows Off Footwork and Balance
Just For Fun
Iman Shumpert Is A 2-Time Champion
Kuzma’s Sweater Laughs
Final Thoughts
Well, that was, once again, a jam-packed week.
Anyway, hope you all have a great rest of your week and I’ll see you all again next week!
Nam
P.S. Need a gift for a basketball player? Awesome! Our Basketball Gift Guide is now up. It lists items such as basketballs, apparel, sneakers, and other gear, that basketball players (and fans) will want and love. Click here to check it out!