Making the Band. From Matthew Agnew:

Any chance the Raptors formula becomes the trendy new NBA team model of two pretty good players with a major focus on an unselfish, well-oiled second unit?

I could see this replacing the super team as it’s easier for struggling teams to adopt, instead of hoping for landing a LeBron or “The Brow” in free agency.

It’s a copycat league, Matthew, so if the Raptors win the title this season or make the Finals, sure. Their reserves have been outstanding this season. But I think that’s where most teams already are when it comes to roster building. Most of the league is never going to be in a position to realistically go after a LeBron or Kevin Durant when/if they hit free agency, anyway.

The Colossus of the Wasatch. From Travis Stevens:

Utah’s been on an absolute tear recently, winning 21 of its last 23. While Donovan Mitchell is getting a lot of attention for his phenomenal rookie campaign, the catalyst for the run was Rudy Gobert’s return from injury. Since he came back, the Jazz have the most stifling defense in the league by a long way (Defensive Rating of 98.7 since Jan. 1), which has pushed them into (arguably) the greatest mid-season turnaround in modern NBA history. Why, then, is Gobert only mentioned on the periphery of the Kia Defensive Player of the Year race?

Who are you asking/reading, Travis? Gobert is right at the top of the list for DPOY, as he was last year and the year before that, and as I suspect he will be for another 2-4 years. The only question with the Stifle Tower is the two lengthy stints he missed with his knee injuries; because of those, he can only max out at 56 games played this season if he posts for every remaining Jazz game. And some voters may — may — take that stretch of games missed into consideration when casting their votes.

But in terms of understanding Rudy’s significant defensive impact every time he steps out on the court, trust me — those of us who are paying attention understand how good he is.

Not Stanning for Stan. From Albertis McCray:

Since Stan Van Gundy has ruined this squad don’t you HAVE to trade Andre Drummond while he has value and get rid of the contract?

I mean, Blake Griffin is here for life, Reggie Jackson gets hurt too much … how will they get shooters?

He ruined the franchise with Blake trade …

“Ruined” is a bit strong; don’t you think? He took a shot. Where, exactly, where the Pistons going before the trade? It doesn’t look good now but let’s at least give Griffin a full training camp with this team before passing final judgment. And I’d be surprised if they move Drummond; he’s a favorite of owner Tom Gores. I mean, Drummond could do the exact same things for a contending team that Clint Capela does for the Houston Rockets, right? So the problem isn’t him; it’s the rest of the Pistons.

They’re not, in my view, good enough. And that’s on SVG, as is dealing Tobias Harris and your first for Griffin. Still wouldn’t use “ruined,” though.

Tip of the Cap. From Jon Kueper:

I really wanted to thank you, after reading the latest Morning Tip, for being able to write about something other than sports in a cohesive, fair and intelligent way. It’s not an easy thing to do, especially in a mainly basketball article, to be able to relate your views in a manner that demonstrates a great way everyone can support the topic you discussed.

I don’t even agree (and that’s the point right?) with every part of your “argument” or “stance” but I can only respect how well it was written. It is clear that you have past expertise in political manners or at least have been well educated in many political issues, and it is appreciated how much work you must have put in just to make sure you are writing the article the correct way. The time, effort and enthusiasm you put in your work is evident, and even though it is your job to do so, I can tell you don’t take shortcuts like many other writers. I appreciate how I learned something from your article.

Thanks, Jon. I don’t expect or want (really) people to agree with my all of my opinions. I can learn a lot from people with whom I disagree about things, as long as they come with facts and respect instead of invective and cursing. I truly respect those who genuinely have Second Amendment reasons for opposing most/all gun legislation or increased regulations or laws that would make it harder to buy them. I just disagree. Reasonable people do, every day.

This is Because He Never Watched “Futurama.” From Rick Belle Isle:

How does Charles Barkley’s work on NCAA compare to Nostradamus? Asking for Arizona fans.

Like Nostradamus, Chuck has been known to fall in love with talent over chemistry. Which explains why neither did all that well in chemistry in high school.

Send your questions, comments and … that’s terrific bass! to daldridgetnt@gmail.com. If your e-mail is funny, thought-provoking or snarky, we just might publish it!

MVP WATCH

(Last week’s averages in parenthesis)

1) James Harden (29.5 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 8.3 apg, .418 FG, .933 FT): There’s no one left to endorse Harden for MVP other than Kermit the Frog.

2) Kevin Durant (26 ppg, 5 rpg, 6 apg, .526 FG, 1.000 FT): To paraphrase Chris Rock in “I’m Gonna Git You Sucka:” How long for one rib?

3) LeBron James (32 ppg, 12.7 rpg, 9.7 apg, .569 FG, .643 FT): After a while you run out of words to describe how phenomenal this guy is, at 33, doing what he’s doing this season with all the miles he’s got on him.

4) Kyrie Irving (DNP-knee)

5) Anthony Davis (28 ppg, 13 rpg, 2.3 bpg, .529 FG, .870 FT): I hadn’t seen this when it came out; this is pretty funny.

BY THE NUMBERS

$1 Billion + — Estimated value of the Grizzlies, per the Sports Business Journal, according to a valuation of the team by prospective owners Steve Kaplan and Daniel Straus, who started what is known as a “buy/sell” process in November to determine who’ll own the team. Under the buy/sell provision, the Grizzlies’ current owner, Robert Pera, now has the option of either buying Kaplan and Straus, two of the team’s limited partners, at that estimated price, or selling the team to them at that price.

19 — Consecutive losses for the Grizzlies before they ended their streak with an unlikely victory Saturday against the Nuggets. Memphis hadn’t won a game since Jan. 29, which was so long ago the Winter Olympics hadn’t even started yet. Memphis’ streak wound up tying for the 13th-worst in league history, still nine games short of the all-time record, 28, set by the 76ers over two seasons (March, 2015-December, 2015).

121 — Rebounds needed, in the last 10 games, by Russell Westbrook to average a triple-double for a second consecutive season. After posting his fifth consecutive triple-double in a well-earned road win at red-hot Toronto Sunday, Westbrook is averaging 25.3 points, 9.7 rebounds and 10.2 assists this season. OKC is now 84-18 in games where Westbrook gets a triple double.

I’M FEELIN’ …

1) When we were both much younger, I covered Jeff Bzdelik, now the architect of the Rockets’ much-improved defense as Mike D’Antoni’s top assistant, when he had just gotten the coaching job at UMBC, which had just gone Division I in the late 1980s. That night, UMBC lost by about seven zillion to Georgetown. The idea that the Retrievers would someday pull off the greatest upset in college basketball history was not worth wasting valuable brain cells in contemplation. But it’s why we love sports. Things like that can, and do, happen.

1A) And, love this dude.

1B) And, thank you, Jim Boeheim, for fouling when up three. Every time.

2) The Lakers will not make the playoffs this season, but they’re definitely going in the right direction, finally. Not sure if it’s for real or not — Isaiah Thomas won’t be there next season unless something goes wrong in the recruit game this summer, and Julius Randle may be pricing himself out of their range. But winning is never bad for young players to experience, no matter how it occurs.

3) Happy 1,000th Episode, Starters! I love anyone who loves hoop as much as you guys do.

NOT FEELIN’ …

1) That was a bad loss to Memphis, Nuggets.

2) Alvin Gentry may have been self-serving sticking up for Anthony Davis, but it doesn’t mean he was wrong, at least about one thing. As the pro game has gone smaller and smaller, teams just put guards and wings on big men, knowing that refs seem to let smaller guys get away with a little more when they’re trying to guard bigger guys. But if you do that, you’re penalizing a great player like Davis who can’t be guarded legally by almost any smaller defender. (Maybe P.J. Tucker.)

3) RIP, Henry Williams, the former UNC-Charlotte great and Charlotte Bobcats analyst, who passed last week after a long battle with kidney disease. By all accounts, he was a class person, on and off the court.

4) Guard. The Inbounds. Pass. Coaches rail all the time about their players allowing straight line drives to the basket, but they still allow straight-line passes for game-tying or game-losing opponent threes. Don’t get it.

5) We were all Toys ‘R Us kids. The world of my youth continues to recede into the fog of history.

TWEET(S) OF THE WEEK

https://twitter.com/Johnhenson31/status/974843412917743617

— Milwaukee big man John Henson (@Johnhenson31), Friday, 10:02 p.m., referencing his Bucks teammate and former Wahoo as 16th seed UMBC shocked the world and beat top-seeded Virginia in the first round of the NCAAs.

Thanks for passing to me sometimes 😎😏 https://t.co/NatVbdBBo8

— Joe Ingles (@Joeingles7) March 18, 2018

— Utah’s Joe Ingles (@Joeingles7), Sunday, 12:05 p.m., after getting the shade congrats from teammate Donovan Mitchell on setting the franchise’s single-season record (179) for threes in a season.

THEY SAID IT

“I’m not no sixth man. And I won’t be a sixth man (in the future). I just want everybody to know that, like clear as can be. I’m a two-time All-Star and a starter who has done things that a lot of people in this league haven’t done (when) given that opportunity.”

— Lakers guard Isaiah Thomas, to USA Today, on his future next season and beyond, regardless of whether it’s in L.A. or somewhere else.

“They shot 41 threes; we shot 18. We doubled them in the amount of points in the paint and it was 24-8 in free throws. That’s a joke. That is a complete joke. Our guys drove and got hit all game. Lou got killed and no call. Austin gets hit and no call.”

— Doc Rivers, knowing full well he was about to have his wallet lightened — and it was, to the tune of $15,000 — in postgame comments Thursday following the Clippers’ 101-96 loss to the Rockets.

“His interview will be a little different than the rest of the candidates, given that we like him and we’ve worked with him for two years now. It’s important to keep in mind he was not our head coach through the offseason so part of his interview would be, ‘If he was hired as the permanent head coach of the Suns, what would he do the same or what he would do differently? What support can we give him organizationally? What would his staff look like?’ I think all of that needs to be discussed.”

— Suns’ GM Ryan McDonough, to The Arizona Republic, on how the team will treat the post-season interview with interim coach Jay Triano.