3 From deep

April 25, 2025

April 25, 2025

NBA Playoffs are in full swing. The WNBA Draft has come and gone and training camps have started with the regular season kicking off in early May. The FIBA3x3 season is in full swing starting this weekend. One new development is how the playoffs are being officiated. The play is far more physical than it has been in decades. It is more enjoyable to watch a truly competitive style being allowed but it seems to me that the refs are letting too many fouls go. It is one thing to be rough in trying to guard, prevent the entry pass but contact when players are attacking the rim and hugging your guy to prevent him from getting the ball is quite another. Adding in the injuries from what I believe is out of control physicality (I really hate that word but am at loss for an appropriate replacement) will have a serious effect on wins and losses.

Let’s go to our ‘3 From Deep’!

NBA Playoffs: There are an exceptional number of intriguing first round series. This is borne out with 4 of them being 1-1.

Pistons & Knicks: The NYK group may be in trouble. Detroit mucks things up and Game 2 was a prime example of them being able to dictate the pace of the game. Playoff KAT seems to have arrived or, to put it more succinctly, disappeared. The T-wolves have 2 tougher players in Randle and Divencenzo; not better but tougher. KAT likes to float when the game gets down to the wire instead of burying his defender in the post. Coach Thibs will have to adjust or he will be on the hot seat if the Knicks bow out early.

That all changed in Game 3. KAT had his best playoff performance in his career on both ends of the court. Jalen Brunson was named the NBA’s Clutch Player of the year in the morning and went out on the court and showed Detroit that he was certainly deserving of the recognition as he masterfully closed out the game against a hard nosed, determined Piston team that did not give up. One other thing is also on display: Cade Cunningham is a budding superstar! Game 4 will be electric!

Jimmy Butler’s tailbone crash in Game 2 vs. Houston is a prime example of the line being crossed with over the top physical play. Houston loves to get down and dirty but the Warriors are no slouches with the best defense in the league since Jimmy’s arrival. If they are fortunate enough to have Butler back for Game 3 I still favor GSW. Houston is no joke, though, and Green is a stud.
LAL rolled the Wolves in Game 2. Luka is phenomenal but the most irritating player to watch whine to the officials all the time. I thought LeBron would cry but he looks stoic compared to Luka. Minnesota had a ridiculous Game 1 and cracked down to earth in Game 2 with its 3 point shooting (21 for 42 to 5 for 25). Target Center will be rocking for Game 3.
Denver is in trouble. The Clippers are for real. The combination of Leonard, Harden and Zubac with a hard nosed supporting cast is making the Nuggets life miserable as they capitulated early to the surging LAC’s. The Intuit Arena is magnificent, by the way. One delicious storyline that is being kicked around is the possibility of a Freeway Series between the LAL’s and the LAC’s. But that is a longshot as the Thunder look like the team to beat in the West and perhaps in the league.

The WNBA season is so bizarre from this standpoint: March Madness ends, the draft takes place, training camp starts and the regular season begins barely a month after ‘One Shining Moment’ was played. So much happens so quickly.

Is Paige Bueckers going to rival Caitlin Clark’s impact on the league? I predict a CC Lite impact; it will be visible but the arenas will be packed again whenever Caitlin comes to town.
Canada has a different viewpoint of the season this year as they prepare for The Toronto Tempo’s arrival in 2026. I am not a fan of the team name but at least it’s not the Roughriders!

Charles Barkley and Steve Kerr are the clarion voices when it comes to articulating intelligently on 30,000 feet NBA issues.

Kerr correctly points out that players run more at a faster pace and cover more ground than in past eras. Plus the stratospheric level of athleticism adds to an even higher risk of injury. Should the NBA have fewer games, shorten the game time from 48 minutes to 40 or put more power in the hands of the officials? All options have major obstacles to overcome and I don’t look for any of these to be implemented in the near future.
This leads into a perspective Barkley has on the willingness of many players today to buy into the load management and slow return to play from minor injuries. Charles correctly points out that players in the past had inferior equipment, training and nutritional assets in comparison to today. Any working person could not be as conditional as some, not all, of the players today and keep their jobs. Add in the enormous paychecks that all NBA players receive and the lack of commitment to being on the floor with nagging but minor injuries casts a less than impressive spotlight on the NBA.

Join Ryan Reed and myself for ‘The Basketball Show’ on Sports1440, sorts1440.ca at 10am to Noon on Saturday and then listen on your favorite podcast network after.

We have a special lineup with 2 Albertans making major contributions in the big leagues:

Ross Shep’s Jermaine Bucknor will join us in hour 1. Jermaine is an assistant coach for the NBA’s Charlotte Hornets. Get this: -3 time provincial champ at Shep -All conference career at Tichmond University -10+ years as a player and coach in the top league in Germany -National team -Assistant with the NBA champion Celtics last year and now with Charlotte in their rebuild.
Yvonne Ejim from Calgary just wrapped up an epic career at Gonzaga and was drafted by the Indiana Fever. She joined us from her training camp.

I hope you can join us. We are proud to be western Canada’s top basketball show and work hard every week to prove it!

Have a great weekend on and off the court.

Yours in basketball,