Good morning. Let’s basketball.

The Defense of Cadiz Against the English, Francisco de Zurbaran

Paul George is the best player in the Western Conference Finals. He wouldn’t be if teammate Kawhi Leonard were healthy, but you play the game in front of you, not the theoretical one that exists on paper. If the Clippers pull off this 3-1 comeback and make the NBA Finals — something that looked eminently possible on Monday as L.A. ran the show in Game 5 against Phoenix — Paul George may or may not be the best player in that series. Giannis Antetokounmpo is better overall; Trae Young is a better scorer. But PG-13 is playing the way his team needs him to play when they need him to play that way.

Monday’s elimination game performance might have been George’s best of the postseason — it’s right there with his effort in Game 6 (another elimination game) against Utah. On Monday, George had 41 points on 15/20 shooting (.825 effective field goal percentage, absolutely outrageous) with 13 rebounds, six assists and three steals. The one fault was six turnovers — that’s the thing about the Paul George the Clippers need Paul George to be right now, he can be the de facto point guard and the top scorer, but he’s going to commit some giveaways, he did it in Games 6 and 7 against Utah too, it’s the price of giving him the ball and a mission every possession for long stretches. He makes up for it on nights like this.

The broadcast crew (Mark and Jeff, has anyone introduced these guys to coffee or serotonin?) critiqued PG-13 throughout the first half as not being aggressive enough in looking to score. This was weird because Los Angeles had a perfect offensive first half, buoyed by genius stuff from Tyronn Lue. Without Ivica Zubac, Lue started really small — George, Reggie Jackson, Marcus Morris, Terance Mann and Patrick Beverley — and dared the Suns to feed Deandre Ayton on the block. (They didn’t. Not early, at least.) Once Monty Williams pulled Ayton, Lue brought in DeMarcus Cousins to damage Dario Saric. Somehow, L.A. kept getting beneficial size mismatches as Morris tortured Devin Booker and Cousins dominated Saric. The pair combined for 30 in the first half. PG-13 didn’t have to do much, and the Clips went into the break up seven with a 59-point half.

And then Paul George took over: 20 points on 7/8 shooting in the third, persistently rejecting every run Phoenix made to try to swing back the game and end the series. He did this in the fourth, too. The Suns closed to within four with seven minutes left and PG gave Cam Johnson a hard loose ball foul in what appeared to be an expression of frustration at not getting calls. Lue called a timeout. The Clippers came back completely calmed. In the ensuing back-and-forth, PG had a brilliant dribble-drive effort and a dime to the unassailable Reggie Jackson to get the lead back to 10. A couple minutes later, he got poked in the eye by Jae Crowder and turned it into a 4-point possession, putting L.A. up by a game-high 16. It was over at that point.

A perfect Paul George game, ignoring the turnovers: he fed the magically conjured mismatches in the first half and let them work, took over in the third and held off the comeback in the fourth. If you designed a dominant Paul George game in a lab, you’d get this.

This is peak Pacers Paul George. This is peak OKC Paul George. And this Paul George has a path to the NBA Finals and the NBA Championship that doesn’t involve Peak LeBron or the Hamptons-era Warriors. This is the realization of what we thought Paul George could do back in those moments.

The Clippers have to win two more here (something I bet the Suns will make very difficult), and the Bucks suddenly look like The Bucks. But the Paul George we’ve seen the last couple of weeks — at least since Game 6 against Utah — is a Paul George who can be a Finals MVP. Paul George can do this.

But Seriously, Ty Lue …

Lots of praise for Ty Lue this season was masked criticism for Doc Rivers. But it’s not about Doc: Ty Lue might be the best young head coach in the NBA. These line-up gambits are wild! Imagine having the confidence to play, what?, Terance Mann at center against Deandre Ayton down 3-1. And then going to DeMarcus Cousins knowing the Suns are going to put him in pick-and-roll every time? And to be erratic on minutes and DNP-CDs for guys like Cousins, Rajon Rondo and Patrick Beverley as the series dictate, but keep them all on board and seemingly happy. With your best player on the shelf? Incredible stuff.

MarkJonesESPN @MarkJonesESPN

Ty Lue is 10-2 when facing elimination folks. Dude is Elite. Tactics. Strategy. Adjustments. Player relationships. @boogiecousins told me tonight Lue holds everybody accountable. Finals MVP’s,AllStars, to the 12th man. No letting dudes slide in film sessions too. Elite.

June 29th 2021

55 Retweets427 Likes

Score

Clippers 116, Suns 102 (PHX leads 3-2) — As a lifelong Suns fan, this was such a frustrating game. Booker and Chris Paul didn’t have the pace or inclination to run Ayton pick and roll down L.A.’s throat early, instead settling for kick-out threes. It’s a credit to the Clippers that the Suns’ stars don’t appear to have the same level of confidence they did against the injured Lakers or the Nuggets. They are far more tentative in this series.

Schedule

Here’s the NBA and WNBA action for the day. All times Eastern.

Liberty at Dream, 7, ESPN3
Sun at Mystics, 7, ESPN2
Bucks at Hawks, 8:30, TNT (MIL leads 2-1)

We’ve also got men’s Olympic qualifying tournaments starting today. Like, a few minutes after this newsletter gets published. Everything is apparently available on ESPN+. The winner of each of the four mini-tournaments gets an Olympic spot. All times Eastern.

KAUNAS
Poland vs. Angola, 9:30 a.m.
Lithuania vs. Venezuela, 12:30 p.m.

SPLIT
Germany vs. Mexico, 10:30 a.m.
Tunisia vs. Brazil, 2 p.m.

BELGRADE
Dominican Republic vs. Serbia, 2:15 p.m.

VICTORIA
Greece vs. Canada, 7:05 p.m.
Uruguay vs. Turkey, 10:35 p.m.

In case you’re curious, the women’s qualifying tournaments were held in February 2020, before the pandemic.

Links

The Fever, who are 1-15 on the season, waived Lauren Cox, the team’s No. 3 overall pick in the 2020 draft. What an enormous failure it is to waive such a recent high pick when you’re in clear rebuild mode. I’m not really sure how Fever ownership can keep the status quo in the front office. And this is why it’s always a risk to hire a franchise legend like Tamika Catchings to run basketball ops. Those jobs often don’t end well.

Mike Sykes on the incredible amount of money Nike is making these days and why that’s concerning for consumers.

Say what you will about Patrick Beverley, but he’s an incredible showman.

Rob Lopez @r0bato

Patrick Beverley does not care for a Chris Paul foul

June 29th 2021

7 Retweets39 Likes

The WNBA players’ union announced on Monday that no players have tested positive for COVID-19 since their season began and that 99% of all WNBA players are fully vaccinated. That means there are only one or two at maximum players in the league who are not vaccinated. Just incredible work from the WNBA players, the union and the league. An example all these athletes and, uh, people in general should follow.

You like rumors? In The Athletic, John Hollinger floats that the Warriors are expected to package No. 7 and James Wiseman for a player and mentions Pascal Siakam. ($)

Excellent ESPN Insider profile of Reggie Jackson from Ramona Shelburne. I didn’t know Jackson was a military kid or that he had a longstanding friendship with PG-13. ($)

You can try to guard Jewell Loyd. But you probably will not succeed.

Canada’s men’s basketball team has a pretty strong roster going into the Olympic qualifying tournament, with R.J. Barrett, Lu Dort, Andrew Wiggins, Dwight Powell, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Cory Joseph and a few more names you know.

Ben Simmons officially withdraws from the Australian Olympic team. I think Australia still has a great shot at getting a medal.

David Gardner in the New York Times on the lucrative options now facing teenage NBA prospects. ($)

Scottie Pippen continues to say a lot. It kind of all needs to be processed, I think.

And finally: someone says the U.S. men’s Olympic team needs a stopper like Dillon Brooks …

o.m.g. @waldorfsfinest

I would’ve loved Dillion brooks on the Olympic team. Who they stopper?

June 28th 2021

17 Retweets519 Likes

… and the greatest poster of our time, who stars on the U.S. men’s Olympic team, is there to inform the masses.

Kevin Durant @KDTrey5

@waldorfsfinest U mean the Canadian Dillon brooks?

June 28th 2021

700 Retweets11,785 Likes

Blessings. Be excellent to each other.