Canada prevailed on home court, proving once and for all that not only are the celebrities north of the border funnier and more polite, but they’re also better ballers.
But things started out shaky for Drake and the Canadians at the Celebrity Game at Ricoh Coliseum on Friday. Weighed down by the key to the city their coach received just before tip-off, the home side came out flat, inexcusably looking like they hadn’t prepared a defensive scheme for the game at all. Jason Sudeikis opened the game with five quick points and the Canadians trailed 7-0 in a snap, but Drake opted not to call for a timeout to settle things.
The players ran with that trust, quickly cutting into the lead and tying things up midway through the opening quarter. THey took a 20-15 lead by the end of the first, quickly building on that in the second half thinks to the steady play of Win Butler and a major boost off the bench from Property Brother Drew Scott. A Milos Raonic dunk rocked the building and pushed the lead to 37-28 at the half.
That’s when the real MVP, Red Panda, took over. Meanwhile, Ricoh was flooded with celebrities not participating in the game. Odell Beckham Jr. gave dap to Draymond Green, who looked like he was auditioning as a Kitchen brother. Kyle Lowry showed up to support DeMar DeRozan, who was alate addition to Drake’s staff opposite Andre Drummond and Isaiah Thomas. Guy Fieri was even in the kitchen, so to speak, as was Olivia Wilde. Patrick Patterson wandered around as a media correspondent doing his best impression of Your Boy the Zubes.
The real change at the half, though, was a desperation play from USA coach Kevin Hart. The retired four-time Celebrity Game MVP made a triumphant return to the court to Rocky music, engaging in calisthenics during Marc Lasry free-throw attempts to warm up. That left Drummond to take over head coaching duties, and he’d pick up a costly technical in the fourth quarter. Hart, meanwhile, had a few nice plays but largely exhibited the poor shot selection that made him a curious MVP choice on multiple occasions in the past.
Drake didn’t counter Hart by entering the game himself, or even by inserting Steve Nash or Jose Bautista. He tried giving Tom Cavanagh’s jersey to a child at one point, but officials shut it down.
“They also didn’t have a coach who thought he was a star player and hurt the team,” Drake said after the game. Hart countered by citing asthma and a bad foot, but it’s clear he hurt the team, whatever the root cause.
Instead of subbing in a coach, Drake opted to lean on his most recently-removed NBAer, Tracy McGrady, who hit a pair of huge pull-up threes in transition in the third quarter. The Grammy-award winner strangely kept the better Scott on the bench (even with foul trouble, it was odd) and instead leaned on Joanthan, who at least hit a momentum three. Meanwhile, the offense began running through Stephan James, who heated up accordingly.
The US made a strong push in the fourth quarter, thanks in part to some Sudeikis magic and a surge from Terrence Jenkins. That’s when Drake turned back to Butler to settle things down, and Butler did just that. Canada locked down defensively, began forcing turnovers as they had early in the game, and held on for a 74-63 victory that was closer than the score might dictate.
Butler finished just 6-of-17 from the floor but had 15 points and 14 rebounds, earning himself MVP honors in the process. Butler followed Hart’s lead and retired from Celebrity Game competition immediately after the game. He had help, to be clear. McGrady finished with 18 points, 14 rebounds, and seven assists, while Kris Wu found a transition chemistry with Raonic and wound up with six points.
this was the strangest moment in Celebrity All-Star Game history pic.twitter.com/TZnCoa0Alt
— Kenny Ducey (@KennyDucey) February 13, 2016
On the U.S. side, Sudeikis finished with a team-high 14 points on 4-of-7 from outside, while Lasry, the Milwaukee Bucks owner, added eight points and four rebounds. Hart had four points and three rebounds in his 14 minutes but struggled defensively, getting roasted by Rick Fox on a high post-up and clowned by McGrady on a face-up.
With the win, Drake moves to 1-0 as a coach, and he mostly acquitted himself well. Butler sat a little too long in the second half but also looked gassed by the end, so maybe it was a smart move. He ran a few nice actions on baseline out-of-bounds plays, including a neat Wu-Raonic hand-off that didn’t work and a few quick plays that looked to leverage Tammy Sutton-Brown’s passing ability from the post. Other than the slow start and the over-avoidance of Scott’s foul trouble, there wasn’t much to quibble with. He even adjusted his starting lineup at halftime, opting to give Cavanagh the nod over Raonic after the former turned in a great first two quarters.
Eugenie Bouchard, by the way, struggled some but was the clear heartbeat of the team – and the arena – early. She was 0-of-2 in 15 minutes and Sudeikis murdered one of her shot attempts, but she’s clearly a prospect to watch if the league sticks with a U.S. vs. International format.
If that’s the case, expect Drake to be asked to man the sidelines once again. On a night he was given the key to the city, he was key in the country securing a victory. Sometimes, you just let your players play, and Drake left ego out of it and entrusted his players. (He even managed to hit on Cassidy Hubbarth, a bit of a risk if Canada had let the lead slip away. Shooters gotta shoot, I guess.)
