He wore the LOX hat — but why?
In his exit interview after the Knicks embarrassed his Cavaliers with a five-game first-round series win as underdogs, Cavaliers star Donovan Mitchell wore a LOX hat to address the media.
It was a carbon copy of the hat artist and New York hip-hop legend Jadakiss wore in his famous, sold-out Verzuz rap battle with Cam’ron’s rap group Dip$et at Madison Square Garden on Aug. 3, 2021.
While wearing that hat and performing at The Garden, Jadakiss shouted: “New York, the real New York! I’m outside. I don’t live in Miami.”
That clip was edited next to a clip of Mitchell’s exit interview.
Mitchell, of course, is from Elmsford, has ties to Miami, and he almost became a Knick last summer.
His hat of choice sparked an ongoing debate on social media: Why would Mitchell wear that specific LOX hat in his exit interview? Does he still want to be a Knick?
Mitchell has one more year left on his deal before he can opt out and test free agency, but the real question hits closer to home: Should the Knicks even want Spida after disposing of his higher-seeded Cavaliers in just five games?
A lack of playoff success has been one of a number of indictments on the undersized Mitchell, a perennial All-Star, gifted scorer and easily one of the most electrifying players in the league.
The superstar guard will surely stuff the seats and his box score.
But can he win you a playoff series? Can he be the leader of your team?
Mitchell has yet to make it past the second round of the playoffs despite sharing the floor with the Defensive Player of the Year three of his five years with the Utah Jazz. In one of those seasons, his Jazz finished with the West’s No. 1 regular-season record but lost to a Clippers team without Kawhi Leonard for the final two games in the second round.
And this season, his Cavaliers lost the final two games even though Julius Randle only played 43 minutes combined.
Reminder: The Mitchell deal not only cost Cleveland three first-round picks and two first-round pick swaps — but they also gave up Lauri Markkanen, who blossomed into an All-Star this season in Utah.
While Markkanen’s Jazz exceeded expectations, Mitchell’s first season in Cleveland ended in five.
Mitchell is a star player but the jury is still out on his ability to be the best player on a championship-level team. That’s something the Knicks have to consider — even if he’s wearing a LOX hat in his interviews.
HIMOTHY
Jimmy Butler is very clearly him, and that’s going to be a problem for a Knicks team that suddenly finds itself within striking distance of its first Eastern Conference Finals appearance this century.
Butler has been on an absolute heater, and Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau knew it. Thibodeau has seen this type of fire in Butler having coached him twice: a long stint in Chicago followed by a cup of coffee in Minnesota. The day after Butler hung 56 points on the Milwaukee Bucks in a Game 4 stunner, Thibodeau cracked a joke at practice in Tarrytown when asked if he’d seen the masterpiece put forth by his former player.
“Who?” he deadpanned.
If he needs a refresher, Thibodeau and his Knicks will get one in Game 1 at The Garden on Sunday.
Butler’s Heat just laid waste to the East’s No. 1 seeded Milwaukee Bucks, a commendable accomplishment even if Giannis Antetokounmpo missed Games 2 and 3 with a back injury.
The Bucks could not game plan for the re-crowned “Himmy” Butler. The Heat star averaged close to 38 points against a Milwaukee defense that ranked fourth in defensive rating during the regular season.
Butler clearly smells blood, and if his Heat did away with the conference favorites in just five games, what’s in store for a Knicks team that turned heads by upsetting the Cavaliers in the first round?
“He’s unbelievable talent,” Thibodeau said. “If I’ve had a relationship with you, I want all those guys to do well, except when we play him. I know what he’s trying to do. And I know what we’re trying to do.”
The Kings were destined for greatness the second Mike Brown turned on the jets.
It’s a deserving Coach of the Year honor for Brown, and a wildly successful season for a Sacramento Kings team that snapped a 16-year playoff drought and finished third in the Western Conference this season.
There is no shame in losing to a perennial contender in your first playoff go-round. The Golden State Warriors (leading the series 3-2 heading into Friday night’s Game 6) have played these games many times over.
And there’s reason to be bullish on the Kings moving into the next echelon of Western Conference contenders in the years to come.
De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis are a duo made in matchup-nightmare heaven — and if this is the version of Fox SacTown’s getting for the foreseeable future, there’s no question the Tyrese Haliburton trade was the right call.
The Kings’ superstar guard averaged 30 points through the first five games of his first-round playoff series against the Warriors, which were also the first playoff games of his career. Meanwhile, Sabonis’ ability to be a wrecking ball in and around the paint ruins defensive game plans with his dominant rebounding ability.
Fox is the engine that fuels this motor — the source of light for the beam shooting into the Sacramento skies. That beam might shut off for the rest of the playoffs, but there’s good reason to believe the dark clouds that once hovered about that city may finally have moved elsewhere.