Morning Coffee – Sat, Apr 25

Don't drink Lysol. Or do it, I don't know. But seriously don't. Or do it. We don't know that it won't work. Or do we? We do, but do it anyways. If you want to. Or not.

Don’t drink Lysol. Or do it, I don’t know. But seriously don’t. Or do it. We don’t know that it won’t work. Or do we? We do, but do it anyways. If you want to. Or not.

A closer look at the NBA’s big new bet with Microsoft – The Athletic

“Gaming” is a key word here, buried among other promotional phrases. As Silver told Thompson (emphasis mine), “I think that part of that challenge will be met by this relationship with Microsoft, because the way to keep people of any age for watching longer is to create more engagement with them, to deliver to them more of the content that they want, and I think part of this relationship, it also goes to the enhancements around our telecast, whether that be on a separate screen or whether that be part of the telecast itself, in terms of deeper content about particular players they’re interested in, data around those players and in some cases, gaming content, and that can either be fantasy content or sports betting content.”

The NBA has wanted in on sports betting, but, and I say this as someone who once had an NBA gambling column, pro basketball betting is a niche market. Gambling on NFL lines is normal for a lot of American sports fans. The games are rare, big events and the scores are smaller, so it’s all easy to track. It’s not abnormal for NFL fans to bet the line on a nothing NFL game as part of an entertaining Sunday. It’s not so normal for general NBA fans to sweat out the end of Hawks vs. Wizards on a Tuesday night.

So how can the NBA get more people betting, err, monetarily engaging with its games? It looks like the plan is to go for a streamlined daily fantasy approach. Maybe tracking the line isn’t a normal habit for most NBA fans, but plenty of people keep tabs on their favorite player’s stats. If the NBA, in partnership with Microsoft, can make daily fantasy betting frictionless and fun, they can potentially normalize bets on whether, say, Stephen Curry scores over 30 points in a given game. Beyond that, they can give the viewer plenty of information on individual players, and new in-game data that might inspire that kind of engagement. “Daily fantasy” also has the benefit of sounding more benign than “gambling” or “betting.” It comes off like a game you play with your buddies, versus an unseemly personal addiction. It’s a type of betting the NBA can embrace and encourage without tarnishing its image.

Toronto Raptors Report Cards: What grade does Patrick McCaw deserve for the 2019-20 season? | NBA.com Canada | The official site of the NBA

He played 9:47 in a loss to the LA Clippers on December 11, which was Kawhi Leonard’s first game back in Toronto. Two days later, he played 29 minutes in a win over the Brooklyn Nets, which began a stretch of 19 games in which he averaged over 28 minutes a game with 11 starts. Dating back to that game vs. Brooklyn, McCaw ranks seventh on the team in minutes per game ahead of Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, Terence Davis, Matt Thomas and Chris Boucher, four other reserves looking to work their way into the back end of the regular rotation.

Surely McCaw has done enough in those minutes to warrant the consistent burn from Coach of the Year candidate Nick Nurse… right?

This is where it gets tricky.

On the season as a whole, the 6’7″ wing has shot just 41.4 percent from the field. He’s certainly not out there for his scoring, but among the 242 players averaging at least 20 minutes per game, only four of them are fewer points than McCaw (4.6 PPG). Though he’s been given a larger role than in seasons past, his rebounding, assists and steals per minute are all about on par with his career averages, and it all adds up to a Player Efficiency Rating of just 7.3. Of the 271 players in the NBA this season who have played at least 800 minutes, McCaw’s PER ranks 268th ahead of only Terrance Ferguson, Treveon Graham and Jordan Poole.

Of course, there’s far more to a player’s worth than PER. It would be foolish to look at one data point and use that as the over-arching indicator – positive or negative – of a player’s overall contributions.

Surely a player like McCaw shines beneath the surface in a way that’s not reflected in his overall stats… right?

Since that Brooklyn game, which appears to be the moment when McCaw’s role flipped, the Raptors have been significantly worse whenever he’s been on the floor. While Toronto has outscored teams by a resounding 11.1 points per 100 possessions in the minutes McCaw has been on the bench, that number dips all the way to just plus 1.9 whenever he’s been on the floor. That net negative on/off swing of 9.2 points is by far the worst of any Raptor who has logged at least 250 minutes over that span.

How 2000 Slam Dunk Contest helped put Raptors, Canadian hoops on map – Sportsnet.ca

For Glen Grunwald, the Raptors’ GM at the time, the answer to the “Where were you when…?” question is even easier than it is for the rest of us. He was in Oakland to watch the contest unfold live. And, as he recalls, the unforgettable trip started with a quick trip for Big Macs.

“I was in the arena with my oldest son, Gabe, who was seven years old,” Grunwald, the current president and CEO of Canada Basketball, said over the phone. “We flew out to San Francisco with Vince and Tracy [McGrady] on Larry Tanenbaum’s private jet, and I remember the flight was delayed while Vince and Tracy stopped at McDonald’s, which I couldn’t believe because Larry had great food on his plane, but it shows how young they were.”

Cousins McGrady and Carter — then 22 and 23, respectively — both represented Toronto in that 2000 Slam Dunk Contest. Also included in the six-man field were Ricky Davis, Steve Francis, Larry Hughes and Jerry Stackhouse.

By most measures, each of the participants put on a great show with McGrady pulling off Dominique Wilkins-esque two-handed windmills, Francis channelling Spud Webb with a series of awesome-looking self lobs and Stackhouse busting out a nice 360.

But all of that was overshadowed by Carter, the man the crowd wanted to see, to paraphrase what TNT broadcaster Marv Albert said upon introducing the Raptors forward before his first jam.

“I couldn’t believe the electricity because when I went there I was like, ‘If I never see another dunk contest again in my lifetime I would be fine,’” said Grunwald. “But it was an unbelievable experience. The arena was electric. It was loud and raucous and everyone was excited.”

Sports ticketing will look different as teams get creative without fans

“It’s going be like what the airline and cruise lines are going through,” longtime sports exec Dr. Harvey Schiller told CNBC in an interview. “They are going have to come up with some general refund policy depending on the league.”

The coronavirus is especially hurting the NBA and NHL, which are usually busy around this time as they gear up for playoff games and woo season ticket holders about renewal options for the next season. Clubs also lose the ability to continue tracking data from fans’ in-stadium spending habits and game day routines in an age of creating more personalized experiences in arenas.

In a various conversations with team executives, who spoke to CNBC on condition of anonymity, some clubs have already refunded fans who requested it, while other teams are offering discounted prices for ticket packages once fans are allowed back. 

But teams will not be able to retain fans’ money too much longer. With unemployment skyrocketing, affecting more than 20 million people within the last month, more consumers will demand refunds, setting off phase one of what some in the sports industry said will be a period of revamping ticket monetization concepts after the pandemic is over.

Schiller said teams would need to “get creative,” especially during a period of fan-free arenas, at least until new safety protocols are established and a coronavirus vaccine or treatment becomes available. And even when fans are allowed back in arenas, clubs won’t be able to offer ticket packages with just merchandise, food and beverage items included. Concepts for sporting events will have to change for a new generation of fans, while still retaining established customers.

For Joe Ingles, it's starting to feel like the NBA won't return this season | KSL.com

As the weeks have passed, the reality has started to sink in: the season might already be over.

“My personal opinion is every week we go along, it feels like it’s a less and less chance that we’re going to,” Ingles told local reporters on a virtual press conference.

That’s what Jazz players are coming to grips with. Even when they put on an optimistic front — like Jazz guard Mike Conley did last week, saying he was hopeful things would resume — it’s followed by talk of uncertainty. No one knows what’s going to happen, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has reiterated such time and time again, and that has left the players and league in a weird situation.

There’s no timeline. There are no answers. Everyone is waiting.

That has put the players in an odd situation.

“It’s a lot harder than it seems,” Ingles said. “We usually get a text message at eight o’clock at night that says be here to lift weights at 10 o’clock or whatever 11 o’clock, and a lot of our fitness in the way we get ready is with a team or with that group of guys. And it honestly, it feels like the offseason.”

Ingles said he was lucky that he has a gym in his home (along with the newly installed hoop) — things not all of his teammates have access to. But that doesn’t mean it’s been easy to leave his two young twins, Milla and Jacob, to train.

CA pays Sacramento Kings $500,000 a month for field hospital | The Sacramento Bee

The contract with the California Department of Public Health was signed on behalf of a Kings affiliated company, SBH Natomas LLC, by the team’s senior vice president and general counsel Jeffrey Dorso.

The agreements say the state will pay $500,000 a month, plus utilities, through June for use of the facility for a total of up to $3 million.

Newsom said at the arena in early April that Ranadivé offered up the facility “before we even asked.”

“The fact we’re here in such a short period of time and already seeing the construction is testament to your support and to the spirit that you have advanced,” Newsom said. “So I’m very very grateful to you.”

Ranadivé stood at the podium and praised Newsom in turn and said: “The Sacramento Kings have always believed it’s bigger than basketball and if we can use our platform to impact the world in a positive way and make a difference then that’s what we need to do.”

“The city has always been there for us, and we will be there for the city in any small way that we can,” Ranadivé said. “This where we’re standing right now is actually one of the iconic venues in sports history. This is actually where LeBron (James) played his first game, and now it’s going to be taking care of Californians. Its history of big moments continues. We thought we were done with this arena when we moved out, but in fact, the arena still lives on and hopefully will play its part contributing to the state.”

Jaylen Brown: Amid pandemic, 'people of color are suffering the most,' says NBA star – CNN

“As a Georgia native, I feel uneasy that I have family and I have friends there that will be the first to go back out into society,” he told CNN’s Christina Macfarlane.

“I don’t want to see Georgia be… the guinea pig for what the economy is trying to do and start back up.”

Brown speaking out is nothing new. He is a vice president of the National Basketball Players Association’s Executive Committee and has engaged in social justice discussions for years.
“I just feel obligated,” Brown said of using his platform to influence society. “Coming from the community that I come from, even though I might have raised my social mobility by being an athlete and being able to have a certain level of economics, I come from humble beginnings.”

Most recently, he wrote an op-ed for Britain’s Guardian newspaper, in which he argued that Covid-19 has exposed America’s inequalities. While some players are practicing trick shots on social media, Brown is using his quarantine time differently.

“I think systemically there are aspects of our health care that need to be addressed,” Brown said. “I think that there’s been like elephants in the room in this country for a long period of time.”
He added: “When I watch President Trump and I watch some of these government officials, it just causes more anxiety and more panic, because I don’t feel like people are on the same page. I think that we should be united in our stance. It’s not a political game.”

Blunt statements like that from a young man, who’s already achieved so much on a basketball level, be it money or stardom, reveal his desire for something more. Something bigger than just himself or the game of basketball.

Miami Heat President Pat Riley addresses NBA shutdown – South Florida Sun-Sentinel

Miami Heat President Pat Riley said in a video released Friday by the team that he is waiting to take his guidance from NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, while also appreciating there are greater factors in play amid the league’s shutdown due to the new coronavirus pandemic.

“We’re waiting for probably the most challenging decision that Adam Silver, the commissioner, and his staff, not only in our sport, but in every other sport [face],” Riley said in the video shot at his Miami home. “But he is being very, very cautious. I think that’s great. And he’s going to rely on the science.

“I think we have to rely on the science, because this will be an unprecedented move when he decides to start this thing back up.”

The NBA has been shut down since the Heat’s March 11 loss to the Charlotte Hornets at AmericanAirlines Arena. Silver said there is no timetable on how the league might proceed going forward.

There has been speculation of an NBA willingness to play through August, or even beyond, to complete the season and playoffs. In the interim, players have been asked to shelter at home, with the expectation of an extended training period before any potential resumption of play.

Riley praised the work of his staff in the interim, noting the efforts of coach Erik Spoelstra, strength coach Eric Foran and trainer Jay Sabol, after the league on March 15 ordered all team facilities closed.

“From that point on,” Riley said, “we simply started to develop a strategy to stay connected with our players, to engage our players and send out memos to them. And I think Coach Spo and Eric Foran and that whole staff downstairs, Jay Sabol and his group, have done an incredible job of conditioning our players with Zoom videos, four or five days a week, sending out letters, sending out motivational statements, Jay Sabol checking in every single night with our guys to see if they’re OK.

“So we’ve been monitoring that, as we can.”

How much does winning the 2019 NBA title help future Toronto Raptors teams? – Raptors HQ

Tier 2: I’m Better Than You Thought
Pascal Siakam and Fred VanVleet
This is a tricky one to navigate. Previous to the title, both Siakam and VanVleet were regarded as good up-and-coming players, Siakam’s Most Improved Player regular season had firmly put him on the radar, but still, neither guy was unanimously seen as a core-championship piece.

Both players faced adversity in the playoffs. VanVleet was awful offensively for the first 14 or so post-season games, while Siakam tended to start hot in a series, and then struggle to adjust once an opposing coach worked to take away his favourite moves.

Still, Siakam’s Game 6 performance in the Finals, where he scored the de-facto clincher over one of the best defensive players in the game, and VanVleet’s Final’s MVP vote-worthy performance proved to the league they were real.

Did it change them? From a confidence point of view, probably not — both are already incredibly confident, and were competing without the playoff scars that Lowry and DeMar DeRozan had. They hadn’t yet been given a reason to believe that as featured players they couldn’t get it done.

VanVleet though has seemed a bit like Lowry. He’s as intense on the court as ever, but being a champion has allowed him to take a deep breath. He seems to be walking a little lighter, and to let the ebb and flow of the game wash over him a little easier. The hint of hero-ball he sometimes had, largely disappeared as well.

For Siakam, it’s harder to say. His role in his next playoff series is going to be totally different. He’s going to be, if not ‘The Man’, then at least ‘The Man-1A.’ He seems more mature than before, but hasn’t lost his sense of joy for the game.

We may not know whether his playoff experience means he feels more pressure to try to “be Kawhi” until we’re actually in the thick of it.