This article is part of our Rebound & Rant series.
One could argue that every R&R is a Crazy Old Man Edition. I am 47 years old, which by RotoWire NBA standards is like 147. But this has been a pretty good NBA season for old farts like myself. Let's revel in the elderly joy of the uncontrollable rant! I apologize now for the excessive use of CAPITAL LETTERS and exclamation points.
Chris Paul
The 31-year-old vet (he seems older, doesn't he?) was already having a monster season BEFORE Blake Griffin got injured (again), and now he's going to get even better. Heck, on Tuesday, the Clips first game this season without Griffin, Paul was two boards shy of triple-double, posting 16 points, 15 assists, eight boards, two made treys and a steal. Last year, in 48 games played while Griffin was out, Paul averaged 21.0 points, 10.8 assists and 4.7 rebounds. That's a nice lift relative to career averages of 18.7 points, 9.9 assists and 4.4 boards per game.
Cavs Resting Their Stars
In my day, no one wanted to get Wally Pipp'd….or to put that in today's terms, Tony Romo'd. Pipp was the NY Yankee 1B before Lou "Iron Horse" Gehrig. But now we give trios of super stars a day of rest 25 games into the season!?!
I get it, it was a Memphis back-to-back and LeBron is a 14 year vet. But did Cleveland also need to sit Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving? Heck, Irving sat out the FIRST GAME OF THE BACK-TO-BACK TOO!?!?!!! If CAL RIPKEN were dead, he'd be rolling over in his grave!
A disappointed fan from last night's game. Do you agree with the Cavs resting healthy players? pic.twitter.com/cQ4s7Kz7Py
— Cavaliers Nation (@WeAreCavsNation) December 15, 2016
The new CBA is supposed to help. Next year, the NBA is cutting the preseason short and starting the real season a week early. But the league admits some back-to-back's will still occur.
So why not shorten the season? In the early 60's, they played 80 per, not the current 82. Or how about just playing your bench more!?! EVERYONE SHOULD EARN THEIR PAYCHECK!!! Insert cranky old man noise here.
DeMarcus Cousins
DeMarcus is going to make for an excellent old man, because he's already going off on crazy old man rants. Don't believe me? Well, he had a pretty decent excuse after his "semi-ejection" versus Portland Tuesday night. He exploded for 55 points versus the Blazers, only to be ejected for throwing his mouth guard, then reinstated once the refs realized his mouth guard only accidently went free. I LOVE his epic post-game rant:
That is RIDICULOUS!!! BTW, Sacramento won 126-121. Despite his craziness, Boogie is a fantastic fantasy center. If this bothers any owners in your league, trade for him NOW!
Golden State Dancing Mom
Let's not only shed light on the crazy old men. There are plenty of wonderful older ladies. In fact, did you know Golden State recently gave the floor to the gloriously crazy Dancing Mom from November? Really? The Warriors put her front and center Tuesday night for their holiday dance floor routine. Enjoy:
💃 💯 pic.twitter.com/1xlPyt9fyf
— GoldenStateWarriors (@warriors) December 21, 2016
Don't remember her original performance? I'm here to please:
Craig Sager
As you probably know by now, the NBA lost reporting legend Craig Sager to cancer. As both a huge NBA fan and a fellow Northwestern alum, I grieve over his loss. Of course, a man with his joy for life would be the perfect college mascot, and while at Northwestern, Sager was Willie the Wildcat. Please view this Northwestern memorial:
Craig Sager was Willie the Wildcat during his time at Northwestern.
2016 Willie is honoring Sager tonight. 👏 https://t.co/gBemA10qR5
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) December 18, 2016
Stan Van Gundy
Detroit Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy is my favorite cranky old man coach, just barely beating out Gregg Popovich. SVG is generally one rant ahead of Pop. Maybe it's because Coach Van Gundy has had worse teams. I love his blunt assessment of the Pistons recent woes:
Stan Van Gundy was not happy with the Pistons' most recent loss. pic.twitter.com/9FYMor2R7f
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) December 20, 2016
Honestly, could he be more honest? I don't think so.
Tim Duncan and Gregg Popovich
OK, now my tired old eyes are getting misty. I can't promote SVG without also showing some love to my favorite coach, Gregg Popovich. On Sunday, the Spurs organization hosted the much deserved retirement ceremony for instant HOF-er Tim Duncan. I can't lie, I shed a tear at multiple moments during the procession. Many SA elite spoke, but hands down my favorite moment was from Coach Pop speaking honestly and earnestly to the big crowd.
I wanted to talk about how old man, 39-year-old Vince Carter is still fantasy relevant. That was true for a few weeks of the season, but he's returned to expected ways, ranking 264th over the past 30 days via Yahoo. Still, the man can drain a three or drive to the hoop. He had a pretty good November (9.4 points, 1.2 treys, 3.9 rebounds per game). Since this is the crazy old man rant, let's enjoy some November highlights:
Well, this crazy fantasy train has hit the END OF THE LINE! CHOO-CHOO!!! I hope everyone has an amazing holiday season!
PS – Here is the full DeMarcus Cousins sequence from Tuesday's win:
PEAK BOOGIE: DeMarcus Cousins scores 54th point, spits mouthguard, gets ejected, sprints to locker room, gets un-ejected! (full sequence) pic.twitter.com/kNQ7TRQCOs
— Ben Golliver (@BenGolliver) December 21, 2016
It also seems crazy to show Coach Pop without actually showing MVP-Old-Man, Mr. Fundamental Tim Duncan's actual retirement speech to the San Antonio faithful. Here is Tim Duncan's meaningful farewell:
