JaVale McGee has been an enigma — more often a punchline for on-court gaffes than receiving praise for his athletic ability — during his nine-year NBA career, which has included stints with five different organizations. However, the 7’0″ center has put his skill set together to be a productive part of the Warriors‘ early run the playoffs, Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated writes.
In his first postseason with the Warriors, McGee is averaging 8.2 PPG, 3.4 RPG, and shooting the basketball at an efficient .760 clip. As McGee explains to Spears, the perception of him being a distraction has fueled him to work harder to disprove detractors: “I haven’t done [anything]. Nothing at all. I have the same perception of guys doing bad stuff, getting DUIs and things like that. I have nothing like that. It’s frustrating knowing how hard you work,” McGee said. “That is just the misconception of what people see. It’s just a testimony to keep working hard, stay positive and eventually things will work out for you.”
The Warriors swept the Trail Blazers in the opening round and currently hold a 1-0 lead over the Jazz in the Western Conference semifinals. McGee’s energy and production have been a huge reason for the team’s postseason success.
Here are additional news tidbits from the Pacific Division:
- The Lakers saw two key departures from the organization this week. Tim DiFrancesco, the team’s strength and conditioning coach the last six seasons, has resigned, according to ESPN’s Baxter Holmes. In a separate update, Holmes wrote that Yuju Lee, the Lakers’ director of basketball analytics, left the team after four seasons in lieu of accepting a demotion. These departures are another change for a Lakers team that saw a significant overhaul when Magic Johnson took over as president of basketball operations in late February.
- Several NBA.com writers discussed several potential directions the Clippers may go in now that they have been eliminated from the postseason. The collection of scribes discuss Blake Griffin‘s potential plans in free agency, Chris Paul‘s future, and injuries decimating the team.
- After the Kings missed their 11th consecutive postseason, Keith P. Smith of RealGM analyzes the team’s various needs ahead of the 2017/18 offseason. Sacramento’s offseason objectives will include acquiring a point guard, trying to replace the departed DeMarcus Cousins, and figuring out Rudy Gay‘s contract situation where the oft-injured forward holds a player option for next season.
Draft Dennis Smith Jr, bring over Bogdanovic that is all.