Author: John Robbins

Live sports are back! Mike Malone wasted no time and set NBA twitter on fire, which it so desperately needed. The Nuggets came out with a lineup that has to have left Darryl Morey shaking in his boots.

It will be interesting to see how this lineup would fare against a Houston Rockets lineup who is running 6’5 P.J. Tucker at center. Seriously, talk about a difference is play style. Granted, Jamal Murray was not playing in this scrimmage. It is serious news that the rookie, Bol Bol who was so highly thought of throughout his entire high school career and in his short stint at Oregon last year is making his NBA debut outside of the G League.

At one point Bol Bol was looked at as a potential top 5 pick all the way up until his injury in the beginning of his freshman year at Oregon. He fell to the 44th pick in the draft and it was painful to watch him slip and slip as he remained the only player in the draft room to not be taken. A prospect of his caliber with a chip on his shoulder that big? Watch out. Bol Bol was electric on Wednesday afternoon showing his signs of absurd potential he has showed his whole life. He is a 7’2 athletic freak playing small forward. He showed off his range in this one as well as his ability to protect the rim logging 2 threes and 6 blocks to go along side his 16 and 10. But more importantly he logged 32 minutes showing that the Nuggets are confident enough in what could be their secret weapon this coming playoffs to fully unleash him. I mean have you ever seen anyone play like this guy?

I mean this dude is straight out of a basketball fan’s wet dream. He can shoot, dribble, block shots, and is maybe the most unique player in the league. He is literally a 7’2 sharpshooting rim protector who plays small forward. I cannot emphasize Bol Bol’s raw potential enough. If he can stay healthy and improves like many think he will, the Nuggets may have just found Nikola Jokic the true second star they so desperately needed for the future.

Now do I think this somehow elevates the Nuggets to the level of the Lakers or Clippers, no. However, in a season that truly has a feel to it that anything can happen the Nuggets continue to add wild cards in Michael Porter Jr. and now Bol Bol who have some of the most raw potential in the whole league. Anything can happen in 2020 and Bol Bol certainly makes the NBA more exciting.

For any questions you may have about the playoffs in the bubble, go check out this pod where Brob breaks it down.

Jayson Tatum is a superstar. His beard is filling in and he is no longer a player who could be this or could be that, he is here. It happened over night, he is no longer a player with just great potential, he is a superstar right now. Tatum is coming off his most impressive month as a pro, putting up over 30 points, 8 rebounds, and 3 assists a night. He did so while shooting 49% from the field and 48% from 3, earning his first player of the month award. Statistics aside, he is now operating as the de facto number 1 for the Celtics and thriving in doing so. But guys put up huge numbers all the time what’s the big deal you may ask? Tatum is not having a good stats bad team season which is truly setting him aside from other young guys like Devin Booker or Trae Young. The Celtics are a serious threat to win the East as they sit at 3rd in the standings. Last year and to an extent at the beginning of this year, the Celtics were lacking an identity to a degree, guys did not know their place in the offense and their status on the hierarchy. That has come to an end as guys like Jaylen Brown are coming to a realization that Tatum is that dude and adjusting to their roles. Brown is excelling himself and he and Tatum are one of the league’s best defensive wing tandems to go along with their offensive prowess. Jayson Tatum is not afraid of the moment, in case you needed a reminder this is the same guy who at 20 years old went head to head with Lebron James in game 7 of the Eastern conference finals.

Two years later and that dude is one of the best players in the NBA. That is a guy I want on my team when it is all on the line, fearless. He went at Lebron and the best team in the West this past month putting up 41 points while drawing double teams constantly throughout the night.

Tatum has superstar written all over him and could legitimately average 30 a game for the next 10 years. With the East wide open this year, Tatum has the capability of being the best player in any given series and makes the rest of the NBA have to take the Celtics seriously for years to come.

— John Robbins