The Portland Trail Blazers are one of the hottest teams in the NBA. The Charlotte Hornets are not.
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Another night, another couple of players getting in one another’s face and getting chucked. These are angry times in the NBA.
Klay Thompson hadn’t come off the bench for the Golden State Warriors since his rookie season. Rookie Brandin Podziemski replaced Thompson in the opening lineup in Golden State’s victory at the Utah Jazz on Thursday. Thompson didn’t chafe at the idea, as Warriors coach Steve Kerr looks for a way to spark his team.
“I thought about Manu Ginobili,” Thompson said. “That guy has four rings and a gold medal, and he came off the bench his whole career. And I don’t think anyone looks down on his Hall of Fame candidacy because he’s one of the greats.
“I embraced it before tip.”
Thompson admitted it was a mental adjustment for him, but that it also gave him a chance to approach the game a little differently.
“Coming off the bench gave me fresh legs, especially on a back-to-back, that was nice to come in with a fresh, clean slate,” Thompson said.
Kerr didn’t commit to this being a permanent lineup change.
“It doesn’t mean it’s permanent,” Kerr said. “But I like that lineup with BP and the other four. And Klay coming off the bench gives us a lot of firepower. We’ll give it a little look and we’ll see how it goes from there.”
The Denver Nuggets breezed to easy victories earlier this week, so it was only natural they would bank on another one against a scuffling Chicago team on Friday night. The Nuggets instead escaped with an overtime win, so at least the lesson of not taking a struggling team lightly came with a victory. The Pelicans are seven games under .500 and trade rumors ahead of Thursday’s deadline have only grown.
