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🏀 The Isiah Thomas & Michael Jordan Beef is Back

🏀 The Isiah Thomas & Michael Jordan Beef is Back

Chris Lesiak
November 10, 2022

The Warriors need every bit of Steph Curry's brilliance, Isiah Thomas re-ignites MJ beef, and checking in on some of the biggest trades last summer.

Finish the week off strong!

STEPH CURRY

The Warriors Need Every Bit of Steph Curry's Brilliance

People love to debate what constitutes a dynasty in professional sports, but it’s certainly how the Warriors envision themselves. Unfortunately, trying to win now and win in the future are two strategies that are often in opposition to one another, and the Warriors are seeing that firsthand with their 4-7 start.

Thankfully for the Warriors, Steph Curry, as he so often does, is playing out of his mind. Curry is averaging 32.6 points per game on remarkably efficient shooting while also providing 7.1 rebounds and 6.9 assists per game. With numbers like that, a 4-7 record is unacceptable, and a lot of that falls on how the Warriors play when Curry is off the court.

Anytime a player of Curry's caliber is on the bench, it’s going to negatively impact the team, but we’ve seen a seismic decrease in net rating efficiency compared to last year. Last season the Warriors barely got by without Curry and had just a -2.4 net rating, but this season their net rating is down to -20.1. So while yes, at any given time, Curry can explode for 47 points on an 83/58/86 shooting split (2P/3P/FT), as he did on Tuesday night against the Kings, it isn’t sustainable. Steph is doing his part, it’s on the rest of the team to do theirs.

ISIAH THOMAS VS MICHAEL JORDAN

Isiah Thomas Re-Ignites Michael Jordan Beef

Isiah Thomas and Michael Jordan had one of the fiercest rivalries in the NBA, so it’s no surprise that there’s still bad blood between the two all these years later.

While speaking to Cosmote TV during the recent NBA preseason games in Abu Dhabi, the Pistons legend called out Jordan while describing how The Last Dance left a bad taste in his mouth. He said: “Then [MJ] comes on television and he says that he hates me and then he calls me an assh--e. And then I proceed to watch a whole documentary about him being an assh--e.”

The Last Dance was an international phenomenon that celebrated MJ’s greatness while also not shying away from some of MJ’s faults. Faults that included lashing out at his teammates and most famously, punching Steve Kerr. It also dealt heavily with the Bulls-Pistons rivalry and the contentious relationship between the two stars.

Even though Thomas threw the latest shade, he also appears ready to move on, so long as he receives a public apology from MJ. That is unlikely to happen, and therefore, in IT’s words: “This beef is gonna go on for a long long time.”

NBA SUMMER TRADES

Checking in on Some of the Biggest Summer Trades

This offseason saw an unprecedented number of star players moved for an equally impressive amount of assets in return. Here’s how some of those big-name players have adjusted to life on a new team.

Donovan Mitchell

The whole world may have thought Donovan Mitchell was bound for the New York Knicks, but the Cavs swooped in at the eleventh hour, and it couldn’t have worked out better for them both. The Cavs are 8-2 despite Darius Garland missing substantial time, and that has everything to do with Mitchell. He’s been sensational in his short time in Cleveland, averaging career-highs in scoring, efficiency, assists, and even blocks.

Rudy Gobert

At this point, it’s fair to say the Timberwolves massively overpaid for the defensive juggernaut, but Gobert has lived up to his end of the bargain. Gobert has continued to be an impressive interior defender and is leading the league in rebounds at 13.9 per game. However, the early results show that Minnesota’s offense is worse when KAT and Gobert share the floor, which is certainly not what they envisioned. It’s still very early, but it’s not looking nearly as promising as Mitchell’s fit with the Cavs.

Dejounte Murray

There were plenty of questions about how well two ball-dominant guards would play alongside each other, but the early results are great. While Trae Young and Dejounte Murray have had to sacrifice some of their touches, their impressive numbers haven’t dipped much, if at all, as a result. Murray has also been a great addition to the Hawks’ defense and is second in the league in steals with 2.5 per game. It didn’t come cheaply, but Murray and Atlanta have to be happy with how it’s worked out.

THE RUMOR MILL

NBA Rumors: Execs Believe Knicks Are 'Hoarding' Draft Picks for 'Megastar' Trade

Lakers' Anthony Davis Trade Rumor: Should Mavs Be Interested?