Photo by Cameron Browne/NBAE/Getty Images; Photo illustration by Dan Larkin
Welcome to the Morning Shootaround, where every weekday you’ll get a fresh, topical column from one of
’s NBA writers: Howard Beck on Mondays, Chris Mannix on Tuesdays, Michael Pina on Wednesdays, Chris Herring on Thursdays and Rohan Nadkarni on Fridays.
The most striking thing about the pandemonium that swept through Portland’s Moda Center on an April night in 2019 was that the man who sparked the happy mayhem did not participate in it.
Damian Lillard stood stoic, indifferent to it all. It’s there on tape, and in the iconic snapshot that followed his 37-foot, buzzer-beating, series-clinching shot to beat the Thunder in the first round of the playoffs.
May 21, 2021
Welcome to the Morning Shootaround, where every weekday you’ll get a fresh, topical column from one of
’s NBA writers: Howard Beck on Mondays, Chris Mannix on Tuesdays, Michael Pina on Wednesdays, Chris Herring on Thursdays and Rohan Nadkarni on Fridays.
NBPA executive director Michele Roberts has a very discrete definition of retirement. The search for Roberts’ successor as head of the NBA union was announced last year. before the pandemic quickly ended any hopes of a painless sendoff. Roberts’ term as the union head extends to next summer, when she’s expected to finally end what would be an eight-year tenure.
May 20, 2021
Luka Dončić’s career has been ahead of schedule ever since his first weeks as a rookie in 2018. So it wasn’t necessarily surprising last season when Dončić dazzled with 31 points per game in the first round against the Clippers.
Dončić’s buzzer-beater to beat Los Angeles in Game 4 was one of the defining images of the playoffs, and his 38-9-9 stat line in the final game of the series evoked memories of a young LeBron in Cleveland. A rematch with the Clippers now looms, and the Mavericks are once again regarded as underdogs. But it’s not unfathomable for Dallas to pull off the upset with enough Dončić magic.
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