“I think music has a lot to do with this now. You know, especially with this culture. Everyone holding a gun in the video is okay. You know, bling on your teeth is okay. Pants half down your ass, that’s okay. So, that’s like okay now. Back in the day there was a motherf*cker on the beach in a silk shirt talking about some ‘Yeah, baby, let’s party like we’re in the 80s.’ Everybody had on sick shirts and everybody was dressed the same. “It’s just a product of what we listen to. The culture now is ‘shoot them up, bang, bang, shoot them up, bend you over, I got this amount of money, I’m on private jets, that that that.’ That’s what the younger generation is. Sadly to say it shouldn’t be based on our music, but it is mostly based on what we listen to and that’s how it is.”
Source: Erikas Polockas @ TalkBasket

What’s the buzz on Twitter?

Ira Winderman @IraHeatBeat
Grizzlies injury report for Wednesday at Heat (all are out):
Steven Adams – RT Knee PCL Sprain
Brandon Clarke – LT Achilles Tear
Jake LaRavia – Back Soreness
Ja Morant – Not With Team
Vince Williams Jr. – RT Shoulder Soreness – 5:12 PM

Memphis Grizzlies PR @GrizzliesPR
.@memgrizz status report, March 15 at @MiamiHEAT:
OUT
Steven Adams – RT Knee PCL Sprain
Brandon Clarke – LT Achilles Tear
Jake LaRavia – Back Soreness
Ja Morant – Not With Team
Vince Williams Jr. – RT Shoulder Soreness – 5:01 PM

Mike McGraw @McGrawDHSports
From Pat Bev Podcast:
“I’m calling other NBA players, like, ‘Zach cold, bro.’ It is so effortless and it looks so nice. I’m not doing anything but just telling him, ‘Keep being aggressive.’”
Zach LaVine averaging 31.4 pts, shooting 58.1% since Beverley joined #Bulls – 4:01 PM

Nate Duncan @NateDuncanNBA
With news that Ja Morant has entered counseling in Florida, it’s hard to imagine him making All-NBA, which I think would have been likely without these incidents. Not making All-NBA would cost him about $39 million, reducing his contract from a projected 5/$233m to 5/$194m – 8:46 PM

Rob Schaefer @rob_schaef
5. The Patrick Beverley Game
Beverley’s best game as a Bull to date. 16 pts, 10 reb, 5 ast. Was all over the offensive glass (5 OReb) and made 4 of 5 3s, including dagger late. All you can ask for
Next up: Home for the Kings and their top-rated offense on Wednesday pic.twitter.com/AhwzY9oops – 12:17 PM

KC Johnson @KCJHoop
LaVine on what Beverley brings: “Energy. Heart. Toughness. Vocal. He gets us going. You can see how much he cares about winning and his teammates. We definitely needed someone like that. It shows with the impact he has on the game.” – 11:17 PM

KC Johnson @KCJHoop
Bulls 119, Rockets 111
Bulls move into 10th
LaVine 36 pts, 9 rebs, 5 assists
DeRozan 27 pts, 7 rebs, 5 assists
Vucevic 18 pts, 11 rebs, 6 assists
Beverley 16 pts, 10 rebs, 5 assists
Drummond 11 pts, 5 rebs – 10:24 PM

Darnell Mayberry @DarnellMayberry
In his return to Houston, where he spent the first five seasons of his career, Patrick Beverley is having his best game as a Bull.
Beverley has 16 points, nine rebounds and five assists. He’s 6-for-7 from the field and 4-for-5 from 3-point range. He’s been huge tonight. – 10:16 PM

Julia Poe @byjuliapoe
Patrick Beverley sinks a 3-pointer to take a 115-106 lead with 2:06 remaining.
That’s the only 3-pointer scored in this fourth quarter. – 10:14 PM

Mike McGraw @McGrawDHSports
#Bulls finally stumbled their way into the lead with 4:10 left, but I like how they’re helping each other on defense. LaVine moved over to force a miss and they survived Beverley’s futile flop. Zach has 34 pts – 10:12 PM

Julia Poe @byjuliapoe
Patrick Beverley picks off a steal, then Caruso comes flying up the court with him to score the tying layup.
102-102 with 6:21 to go. – 10:02 PM

Jonathan Feigen @Jonathan_Feigen
That would have been a sure, easy win of a coach’s challenge, but not worth it just to get possession. Eason called for a double dribble but Beverley had knocked the ball loose. – 9:53 PM

Jonathan Feigen @Jonathan_Feigen
Jabari Smith Jr. seemed to have a breakaway but took his time too much. Beverley caught him and nailed him as he went to the rim. Looked like he was going for the ball as Smith gathered but a pretty hard hit. – 9:23 PM

Julia Poe @byjuliapoe
Patrick Beverley just came full-court to block the absolute stuffing out of Jabari Smith Jr., but he came down right on top of him and Pat Bev got called for the foul as a result. – 9:22 PM

KC Johnson @KCJHoop
Rockets 55, Bulls 54 at half
LaVine 20 pts, 3 assists
DeRozan 12 pts
Beverley 8 pts, 4 rebs
Rockets 9-16 from 3 – 9:02 PM

More on this storyline

Amid the controversy, however, George made sure to let Morant know that he still has his back and he supports him in his healing process. Furthermore, the Clippers leader gave the Grizzlies’ best player some words of encouragement and advice to help him as he tries to move on from the fiasco. “One thing I don’t want him to be is not himself. We got to respect who he is as a person, so I don’t want him to now shape to be someone that he’s not just because the microscope is on him,” George shared in his “Podcast P” show. “He’s gonna have to cut ties with some people. I think as a young kid that’s maturing, growing up and becoming a man, you’ll realize some people are good for you and some people aren’t. And that’s a part of life. No love lost. It’s part of maturation as a man, like you wanna grow. The plan is to always grow, and so I think he’s going through that phase and understanding that like, ‘I can’t have the influence that I have around because I’m someone that’s putting the influence on the next generation.’ “But it’s love here kid. We stand behind you, on your future.” -via Clutch Points / March 14, 2023