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‘Stupid’ rule could cost Tyrese Haliburton money and Joel Embiid MVP; LeBron’s ‘ominous’ Lakers warning
‘Stupid’ rule could cost Tyrese Haliburton money and Joel Embiid MVP; LeBron’s ‘ominous’ Lakers warning
While the upcoming trade deadline is the primary focus in the NBA right now, there are a few debates bubbling away in the background — from new rules impacting the MVP race to whether the league needs to do anything to address a sudden surge in scoring.
Plus, just when it looked like things were starting to move in an upwards trajectory for LeBron James and the Lakers there has been more drama.
PACERS STAR COULD BE COUNTING THE $62M COST OF ‘STUPID’ RULE
The NBA’s new collective bargaining agreement is having “unintended consequences” already and it has Golden State Warriors big man Draymond Green claiming “bulls***”.
In case you missed it, when the NBA and player’s union agreed to the new agreement in April last year it also included a player participation policy which had a direct impact on eligibility for some of the league’s major end-of-year awards.
Most notably, it set a 65-game threshold for players to be eligible for MVP, Defensive Player of the Year and All-NBA honours. Players also needed to be on the court for a minimum of 20 minutes in all of those 65 games to be eligible.
The change was part of the league’s move to address concerns over load management, with NBA commissioner Adam Silver saying in June 2022 that the league wanted a “system where our best players are incentivised to be on the floor”.
In the case of reigning MVP and Philadelphia 76ers big man Joel Embiid, however, there is a debate as to whether the new system is incentivising players to be on the floor to their detriment.
‘Stupid’ rule could cost Tyrese Haliburton money and Joel Embiid MVP; LeBron’s ‘ominous’ Lakers warning
Embiid, having already been dealing with a lingering injury heading into Wednesday’s game against Golden State, went down in the final minutes of the game as Jonathan Kuminga fell directly onto his compromised knee.
Sixers writer Kyle Neubeck described it as “absolute stupidity all around”.
“You can’t say the Sixers could have predicted that specifically, but when a gigantic man is favouring one leg as a result of a knee injury, you are playing with fire,” he wrote.
“Hard to believe the guy who looked like a giraffe on ice skates ended up in a dangerous situation.”
Embiid is now undergoing an MRI and has already been ruled out of Philadelphia’s game against the Jazz on Friday, meaning he can only miss five more games before being made ineligible for postseason awards — including MVP.
That is despite Embiid having what former teammate JJ Redick described as “arguably the best season of his career” on his podcast in December last year.
The fact that Embiid played through his knee complaint on Wednesday says more about Philadelphia’s situation than his MVP case given the team was already without guard Tyrse Maxey and needed the superstar big man to be a chance against a desperate Golden State.
ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne said as much on ‘NBA Today’ but added that the 65-game MVP threshold had to also be a factor for Embiid, who now looks little chance of being eligible for the award.
“He’s not playing because of the 65 games but it’s always front and centre in that discussion. You can’t separate it,” Shelburne said.
“He’s playing because the Sixers need him. They need him out there to win… but 65 games is in your head because this is a guy who didn’t get Rookie of the Year when he certainly was the best rookie that year but he didn’t play enough games.
“He’s already lost one MVP where he probably didn’t play enough games and I think that affected his votes.”
Golden State’s Green was far more direct in his opinion on the matter, believing the NBA’s rule change was in a lot of ways forcing players to push through injuries.
“Joel playing tonight felt very much so because of the 65-game limit,” Green said on his podcast.
“What I think is actually quite bulls***, guys have faced those rules before but those same All-NBA teams, those same MVP awards, lists, Defensive Player of the Year, those lists are the same. I once lost a Defensive Player of the Year Award to Kawhi Leonard and I think he played 51 games.
“In turn, you get Joel who comes out there tonight and he forces it. The freak play with him and JK diving for the ball, but maybe it’s not as bad if the knee isn’t already banged up. I don’t really bang with it. Now we got one of our premier faces in this league, the MVP of our league, possibly hurt for an extended period of time because he’s forcing it.”
It is not just Embiid though. Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton, who is enjoying a breakout season that saw him named a All-Star starter, described the rule as “stupid” earlier in the week.
In the case of Haliburton, he suffered a hamstring strain and now can only miss five more games before he too becomes ineligible for post-season awards — including All-NBA honours.
That would end up costing Haliburton $41 million ($A62m). How does that work?
Well, the Indiana guard signed a five-year max contract extension with the Pacers this past offseason which starts at 25 per cent of the 2024-25 salary cap if he doesn’t make an All-NBA team.
If he does, that figure rises to 30 per cent, which is equivalent to a $USD41 million difference.
“I think it’s a stupid rule, like plenty of the guys in the league,” Haliburton said to James Boyd of The Athletic.
Taking last year as a case study, five different players including Giannis Antetokounmpo would not have been eligible for All-NBA had these rules been in place.
ESPN personality Michael Wilbon said the league is facing a “real tough balancing act” given the move was meant to appeal to fans and sponsors growing frustrated with star players sitting out games.
Front officer insider Bobby Marks suggested having a tiered approach, although NBA executive vice president Joe Dumars indicated the league won’t be making any changes for next season.
“Any time you put something in there are going to be some unintended consequences,” he told Malika Andrews of ESPN.
“We knew that going in. We put the threshold in that you can miss up to 20 per cent of the season and still be eligible. But we always knew that there could be a situation where one of the players went past 20 per cent of the season who is having a good year. But you can’t not put that rule in because of the one or two guys that it may effect.
“There have been no discussions about that [a change].”
THE DIFFERENT SIDES OF NBA’S SCORING DEBATE
Earlier in the week it was Joel Embiid dropping 70 points and Karl-Anthony Towns scoring 62. Then it was 73 from Luka Doncic and 62 from Devin Booker.
Four historic individual performances that shone a spotlight on some of the most talented players in the NBA right now — and, potentially, one of the biggest issues in the league too?
READ: Shaq O’Neal has come again as he raises question whether Stephen Curry should be in…
That is what some of the leading voices in the NBA are trying to work out right now.
Are the kind of 50 and 60-point explosions that used to be crowning moments in steps towards superstardom now the new normal?
“I think there are absolute changes (to be made),” Golden State coach Steve Kerr said before the Warriors’ game against the Lakers, according to The Mercury News.
“You’re not going to make changes to the scheme. Where you’re going to make changes is with the defensive positioning rules that are in place.
“I wish I could tell you the number of times a player wildly drove into us, ran into us, and I went to the ref and the ref used the expression, ‘illegal guarding position.’
“The way we’re interpreting the rules is favouring the offence. Just as we did 20 years ago as a league, when we wanted to open up the game, we changed the interpretation. So we could easily go back and give leeway to the defence.”
It is not the first time Kerr has called out the state of NBA officiating, having previously described the league as a “parade to the free-throw line” after a loss to the Nuggets.
Crucially, Kerr wasn’t so much criticising the referees themselves as he was the rules themselves and how they influence the way officials interpret the game.
As John Hollinger pointed out in a comprehensive column for The Athletic, this is a multi-faceted issue that isn’t necessarily going to be solved by making just one change.
Funnily enough, there was a similar conversation happening in NBA circles around this time last year, when the average NBA team was scoring at a rate of nearly 114 points per 100 possessions — ranking the highest such mark in league history.
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Sports
“How young is too young” Underage Driver Wrecking Dale Earnhardt Jr’s CARS Had Caused Commotion
“How young is too young” Underage Driver Wrecking Dale Earnhardt Jr’s CARS Had Caused Commotion
Young drivers entering NASCAR is not new. While prime examples include Chase Elliott, who debuted in the K&N Pro Series at 15, and 17-year-old Connor Zilisch who competes in Xfinity, from time to time, people still wonder if the organization’s age limit is too low. Case in point, recently an underage driver wreaked havoc at a Dale Earnhardt Jr-owned CARS Tour race. The unfortunate incident inevitably saw fans questioning NASCAR’s age-related stance.
And it’s safe to say that the driver being who suffered the aftermath of the wreck wasn’t happy either!
When stock car racing took root in the late 1940s, NASCAR’s premier series was limited to people 21 or older. Usually, drivers between 35-45 years of age were regarded as prime. But the turn of the 21st century has encouraged youngsters to try their hands at the steering wheel. Take Dale Jr, for example, who got his NASCAR debut at 22!
However, now the age limit may be further plummeting down even lower! Although the sanctioned age to drive full-time in NASCAR’s top-three touring series is 18, other affiliated series are flexible. And this flexibility put Late Model sensation Landon Huffman in serious danger.
Notably, when Dale Earnhardt Jr announced his CARS Tour ownership alongside three other veterans, he gave an interesting insight. He grew up racing Late Model races on the West Coast, and hence underlined experience as important. “What seems so simple to us, because we have been around it our whole lives, is not so simple to the weekly competitor who is struggling to get to the track or has a question about what is right or wrong or what he should or shouldn’t do,” the JR Motorsports team owner opined.
But something happened recently that directly contradicted Dale Earnhardt Jr’s philosophy, as an inexperienced racer sparked chaos at a CARS Tour race at Ace Speedway. Late Model sensation Landon Huffman washed up against an unexpected debacle. While battling for the lead, an underage racer violently pushed Hoffman’s car to the wall, as the latter’s roof came off. Huffman shared the video on X.
Jumior’s popular driver also proclaimed his intense dislike for NASCAR’s falling age limit. He wrote in another tweet, attaching his car’s picture after the wreck, “Led over half of the second twin and then this. Exhibit A why kids under the age of 14 should not be driving late model stock cars”.
Huffman’s views echo some veteran drivers’ opinions. Last year, Tony Stewart was baffled at some racing series picking up 12-14-year-old kids. “It makes zero sense to me,” he had said at the time. On the other hand, RFK Racing owner Brad Keselowski also empathized with the children, who he believes are missing out on their teenage growth. “We hurt them in their ability to develop their own lives,” he shared.
But that’s not all. After Huffman’s terrifying accident, NASCAR fans are also getting active on the same topic. Looks like Dale Earnhardt Jr’s series got a few raps for allowing children to compete.
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Chase Elliott is F**kingly Rich- Expensive things owned by Him Exposed
Being the son of former NASCAR champion Bill Elliott and a six-time recipient of the NASCAR’s Most Popular Driver award, Hendrick Motorsports driver Chase Elliott remains one of the wealthiest drivers on the grid. Part of that wealth funds the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series champion’s lavish lifestyle.
Elliott, who has a net worth of $12 million (according to Celebrity Net Worth), indulges in a lifestyle filled with luxury and opulence, owning several expensive items that offer a glimpse into his extravagant world.
In this article, we take a closer look at the lavish lifestyle of Chase Elliott: The 28-year-old driver resides in a luxurious mansion situated in the Georgia mountains in Dawsonville, Georgia. The three bedroom, fourbathroom mansion spans three floors, boasting an open-concept layout on the main floor with a kitchen, living room, and half-bathroom, while the second story houses three bedrooms.
2. Motorhome
To navigate the demanding NASCAR season schedule, Elliott owns a luxurious Prevost motorhome, estimated to cost between $800,000 to $2 million. Customized to his preferences, the 47-foot motorcoach features a front entrance with driver and co-driver seats, a lobby area equipped with two televisions and a video game console, and an iPadcontrolled system for managing lights, temperature, and security.
3. Private Jet
Elliott’s passion for flying is evident in his ownership of a $1.8 million Cessna Citation 525 private jet. Beyond mere transportation, Chase Elliott has admitted that flying serves as a distraction for the Hendrick Motorsports driver, allowing him to focus on activities away from the racetrack
4. First car
Right off the bat, Chase Elliott made his stance clear when he revealed during an appearance in the Pat McAfee show that the Hendrick Motorsports driver was not a car collector. While the fact may come as a surprise for many given Elliott’s profession, he admitted that racing was his “speed fix.”
However, Chase Elliott did own a car once, and a very special one at that. A teenage Elliott, who was still coming through the ranks of Super Late Model Racing, was gifted a Chevrolet Silverado pick-up truck by his parents Bill and Cindy Elliott.
In addition to his lavish possessions, the former Cup Series champion enjoys spending time on the golf course, indulging in his passion for the sport.
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Mercedes declares its prestaties Hamilton: “Lewis has become the slachtoffer van”
Lewis Hamilton probably imagined his last year at Mercedes differently. The Briton performs very poorly in the slow W15 and is regularly unable to keep up with teammate George Russell . The result? 27 meager points and ninth place in the championship. But why is that? Andrew Shovlin, Mercedes’ Trackside Engineering Director , tries to explain it using the set-up. Hamilton experiments quite often.
“It’s mainly about learning more about the car,” Shovlin told Auto, Motor und Sport . “Lewis is often open to major changes to the set-up this year. He wants to know better how he can get the most out of the car. Lewis has sometimes fallen victim to that, but if you don’t change anything, you don’t learn anything. It would be wrong to say: ‘it is what it is, let’s make the best of it’.
Shovlin also believes that Mercedes should come up with a solution. It’s not entirely Hamilton’s fault. “The bottom line is that we need to find a better balance. Then we don’t have to constantly deal with compromises. Often we solve one problem and get another in return. The goal should be to have a strong front axle without that it is at the expense of stability at the rear. The car must also turn well in the slow corners without causing oversteer in the fast corners.”
Mercedes just hasn’t found that balance yet, Shovlin admits. “We have not yet managed to be competitive everywhere and we cannot achieve that in one race. That is what we are currently working on. We no longer want to choose between being fast in slow or fast corners. If If you adjust the car low to the ground, you are fast in the slow corners due to the downforce produced. However, in the fast corners there is a possibility that you will hit the asphalt. The reverse works exactly the same you get maximum downforce in the fast corners, but you pay the price in the slow corners. It is difficult to find the compromise over an entire lap.”
