Every game is a gamble. So they say.

Now that news of Dwight Howard signing with the Los Angeles Lakers (albeit the non-guaranteed contract) dawned on us. The next important question is: how will this change the 2019-20 NBA season? Howard was with the Lakers in 2012-13. Hopes and expectations were high then but left abruptly after the team’s first-round loss. 

This can be one of the most surprising returns throughout NBA history, especially after Howard telling the fans that he already put the Lakers behind him.

Sports analysts are also quick to note that the Howard re-sign is nothing compared with the Anthony Davis trade. The latter potentially changed the 2019-20 season by making Lakers a playoff contender now. Will Howard be an integral part of the strategic roster of LeBron James-Davis tandem? 

That’s one question we have yet to answer. The same applies to how the trades, signings, re-signs, draft picks would change the coming season.

Here are some of the most intriguing NBA off-season moves.

Riskiest: Kemba Walker leaving Charlotte Hornets

Walker left the Hornets after low-balling him for Boston Celtics, who also lost Kyrie Irving. Walker was the only franchise player and losing him would mean the next season’s chaos of a team. 

Most Rewarding: Kawhi Leonard signing up with Los Angeles Clippers

Even long before the finals win for Toronto Raptors, Leonard has already eyed the Clippers. The addition of Leonard, who signed a four-year maximum deal with the players, and Paul George, among others, made the Clippers as an early favourite to win the title.

Riskiest: Hoping for Isaiah Thomas’s comeback season

The future of the Washington Wizards is bleak, with a roster of players that can be easily mistaken as a G League frontrunner. The only extenuating feature of the Wizards is Bradley Beal, its #9 first-round draft, Rui Hachimura, and the recently-signed Thomas.

Most Rewarding: Brooklyn Nets signing Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant

Irving and Durant are the duo to watch out for—a tandem that was not expected until it happened with the Nets. These two alone makes the team one of the NBA elite. DeAndre Jordan, Garrett Temple, and Wilson Chandler make the defence all the more exciting.

Riskiest: Cleveland Cavaliers losing three players but did not sign new members

Kevin Love has a disappointing performance in the 2018-19 season, and the Cavaliers is ready to give him up. This makes sense as the team is trying to shift its focus on developing the young rosters of players. It drafted three new names such as Darius Garland, Dylan Windler, and Kevin Porter Jr. And unless these players perform, the Cavs will be one of the terrible NBA teams this upcoming season.

Most Rewarding: New Orleans Pelicans signing Zion Williamson

Williamson was this season’s first pick overall. A lot is expected from him, having shown his speed and leaping ability comparable to that of Charles Barkley. Playing together with seasoned players such as JJ Redick and Derrick Favors, this can be the Pelicans success formula for this season despite losing Davis to the Lakers.

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Tipping off on October 22, 2019, a Tuesday, the NBA released on August 12 a complete game schedule for the NBA 2019-20 season. It is still two months away. But it won’t hurt if you start circling certain dates on your calendar, so you can have something to look forward to.

From one look at the game schedule alone, you’d know which games your favourite NBA team would likely win or lose against a stronger rival. Any benevolent fan can easily discern rest days, air travel, recovery and, the most important of all, national TV opportunities allowed for or required from the NBA team he or she roots for.

Then again, no fan would miss their best-loved teams.

Here Are the Most Anticipated Games for This Season

1) Los Angeles Clippers vs Los Angeles Lakers on October 22, 10:30 pm ET

Anthony Davis was one of the biggest trades that happened this season, so fans are looking forward to seeing him play along with LeBron James. The most significant free agency move, though, was Kawhi Leonard. The two NBA Finals hopefuls will definitely set this season ablaze, making it the most exciting unveiling to date.

2) New Orleans Pelicans vs Toronto Raptors on October 22, 8 pm ET

Before James and Leonard’s face-off, the feature attraction of the opening night aside from awarding the championship rings to the last season’s champion, Toronto Raptors, is Zion Williamson’s debut. He would be the first overall #1 draft pick who is playing on the opening night since 2008. At the Las Vegas summer league, Williamson played for only 9 minutes.

3) Dallas Mavericks vs New York Knicks on November 14, 8 pm ET

Kristaps Porzingis used to play for the Knicks and is now with the Mavericks. In the 2016-17 season, he was very vocal about the organizational dysfunction within the Knicks team, raising the ire of then-President Phil Jackson. Jackson was later fired. There had been an awkward silence until Porzingis purportedly asked for a trade. In July 2019, he signed a five-year contract extension worth $158 million with the Mavericks. He and Luka Doncic could make up the dynamic duo of this season. This game will solidify the claim “once a Knick, always a Knick” is true or not.

4) Los Angeles Clippers vs Toronto Raptors on December 11, 7 pm ET

This is one game where the fans are caught in the cross-fire thanks to Leonard who played with Raptors for a season and gave it its first NBA championship. Fans could go hostile against Leonard—their hero turned villain, but who knows. Emotions would be high in this game for sure. There is no expecting another Malice in the Palace, but we all want to know how this game would turn out.

5) New Orleans Pelicans vs Memphis Grizzlies on January 20, 5 pm ET

This would be the first game that Williamson would go head-to-head against Ja Morant, the #2 draft pick. According to NBA surveys, the two are early favourites; Williamson voted as the Most Athletic while Morant was the Best Playmaker. This could be one of the league’s newest rivalries to watch out for.

 

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Well, almost.

The most infamous brawl in NBA history, as the Associated Press described it, happened on November 19, 2004, at The Palace of Auburn Hills. Thus, the epithet ‘Malice at the Palace.’

After 15 years, the Pacers-Pistons brawl remains the darkest hour of the league. The scuffle also changed the way the entire NBA deal with physical confrontations after that.

What happened at the Malice of the Palace?

NBA’s official rules state that:

Violent acts of any nature on the court will not be tolerated. Players involved in altercations will be ejected, fined and/or suspended.

There is absolutely no justification for fighting in an NBA game. The fact that you may feel provoked by another player is not an acceptable excuse. If a player takes it upon himself to retaliate, he can expect to be subject to appropriate penalties. 

Mark Montieth said that you can always ask ten people about what happened and you’d have ten versions of the ‘perfect storm.’ It forever tarnished the image of the entire league and its players. Here’s what transpired.

The Pistons and Pacers are two of the best Eastern Conference teams. The November 19 can be considered as a rematch from the prior season’s conference finals. On the one hand, you have the defending league champion (Pistons); on the other hand, you have a five-injured player deficit (Pacers). The situation did not stop the latter from leading the game with 15 points.

Ben Wallace took the final ball possession and attempted a layup. Stephen Jackson failed to stop him, but Ron Artest approached then gave Wallace a hard foul. Wallace was knocked off and reverted by shoving his hands on Artest’s face and neck. Artest ended up reeling. 

The brawl started. 

Soon, members of both teams were trying to appease Wallace as he was too ready to attack Artest. Artest clowned on him while Wallace was shouting at him. Someone threw something and almost hit Artest. Wallace also threw a towel at him. Artest retaliated but was restrained. A beer cup was seen flying and landed on Artest’s chest squarely, splashing the beer content on his face.

The brawl ensued.

This, by far, was the longest 4 ½ minutes in NBA. 

The punishments mostly profoundly affected the players, including their behaviours off-court to the point of calling them ‘thugs’ as well as the rest of the players on how they need to conduct themselves on-court.

Again, it boils downs to the rules. Then Commissioner David Stern reacted firmly with the suspensions of Artest, Jackson, Wallace, Jermaine O’Neal, and Anthony Johnson, among others. Legal charges were also implemented, resulting in probation, fines, community service, and anger management therapy.

The aftermath of the brawl

Long after the blame game was done and over, the entire league countered the adverse effects of the Malice at the Palace. 

Existing security guidelines were tightened while new guidelines were also introduced. NBA teams increased protective measures for both players and arenas. Each needed to employ at least three security guards to protect the players and the fans.

On the fans’ side, the size limits for alcohol purchases, which is now at 710 mL, were issued. This included the hard cap of two alcoholic beverages per individual. No alcohol must be sold after the third quarter of the game.

To wit, these changes had been the most significant lessons of this notorious NBA melee.

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Does the NBA become a better place after the slew of changes following the cringe-worthy brawl? Let us know!