Checking in ...
Most nights this month have been unexpectedly exciting and uplifting on NBA Twitter as countless teams scrap for playoff spots. But some likely chaos is coming to the platform that we need to discuss
Every single night lately, I sense it when I dial into the scoreboard-watching frenzy. Maybe it's prisoner-of-the-moment thinking, but I believe the feeling is real.
I'm convinced that the NBA public cares about March games more than it ever has … albeit without any definitive way to measure that.
The unusually bunched-up nature of the Western Conference standings strikes me as the most likely root cause, but the rush to inhale every score and process what the results mean for the West playoff chase in particular is a phenomenon I've never felt this acutely before. Maybe it’s a byproduct of where I live, too, with so much tension bubbling as the Mavericks suddenly face the very real prospect of missing out on the play-in round one year removed from a trip to the Western Conference finals. Yet even in the midst of the collegians' March Madness, which has been plenty bonkers itself, I find myself obsessing over every standings twist in the evenings alongside so many folks out there.
It's a compelling case in support of the NBA's implementation of a play-in tournament as part of the league's quest to make the regular season more meaningful. It's also an illustration of the fun we can have when NBA Twitter is at its best.
I started thinking about all this not just because of the calendar, but because NBA Twitter, as you've surely heard, seems poised to change in a big way very soon. Not for the better, either.
Unless it's an elaborate April Fool's joke, Elon Musk's long-threatened plan to strip verified Twitter users of their blue check unless they pay for it — $7 to $11 per month are the latest figures depending on how you sign up — is scheduled to go into effect April 1.
Which is Saturday.
There has been considerable resistance among the verified community, not surprisingly, to the looming change. I'm certainly not thrilled about it, either, but not really because of the added cost or the prospect of my ego being stripped of the status symbol that is verified status.
Twitter introduced the blue profile badges, remember, as a means to counter impersonation accounts and fake tweets — both of which have been a legitimate plague on NBA Twitter for years. Journalists like me were granted blue checks largely for authenticity purposes. To let the audience know users are who they say they are.
Only now, even if I agree to pay for the supposed status symbol, it won’t do what it’s supposed to do. Keeping my blue check can’t prevent anyone from creating a fake Marc Stein account that looks even more real than the usual proliferation of fakes. The new fee likewise doesn’t mean Twitter will be doing anything extra to certify one’s identity.
No longer will the blue check, in Elon’s universe, do anything but prove that you’re willing and able to pay the monthly fee for it.
An oft-forgotten fact: Shaquille O'Neal has said that he created his popular @SHAQ Twitter feed in November 2008 at least in part because he found out he was being impersonated on the platform. This piece from The New York Times last November revisited how the offending fake Shaq account was the first impersonation that Twitter had become aware of and a prime inspiration for the advent of blue checks.
In other words …
Blue checks, which are actually white check marks embedded in a small blue ribbon-themed badge next to a verified Twitter user's handle, were kinda birthed by NBA Twitter.
I frankly haven't figured out what to do yet. For all the talk going around that paying for a blue check is akin to paying for a badge of shame — social media’s new scarlet letter — instinct tells me that NBA fans who make Twitter part of their information consumption diet would prefer to keep seeing that check mark on the accounts of the reporters they rely on for NBA news updates. Since that generally refers to most of us in this community, I don’t want to do anything to contribute to the inevitable confusion forthcoming once news-bearing tweets start flying in from unverified accounts … especially when the circulation of made-up news, just as inevitably, is bound to increase.
I suppose there's a chance that Saturday's deadline will be pushed back again, as we've seen more than once in the Musk Era, but it sure seems for real this time given the notifications that have been going out recently warning various verified Twitter users: “Don’t lose your blue check.”
How I started this post about losing ourselves in the unexpected late March mayhem of a six-game Tuesday night with all sorts of postseason implications was a much more enjoyable topic. The last word nonetheless goes to my favorite assistant to the traveling secretary in Yankees history:
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An update on traveling calls
Back in early December, I wrote a story about the increase in traveling violations called by NBA referees after three games that featured 10 or more whistles for walking.
An update: The number of nightly traveling calls has indeed gone down with each passing month.
According to league data, there were 1.73 traveling calls per game in October, which then rose sharply to 3.42 per game in November and 2.7 per game in December.
In January (1.98) and February (1.85), traveling whistles fell below two per game. The figure has been in the 1.6-to-1.7 range this month.
As my December story explains, teams were told coming into the season that the referees would be keeping a closer eye on potential traveling misdeeds as one of the NBA's points of emphasis in its 77th season.
The obvious follow-up questions, then, looking at the monthly numbers: Are players really traveling less than they were in November and December? Or has penalizing players for an extra step quietly become less of an emphasis for officials?
The league maintains that the numbers were always destined to decline as the season wore on and players adjusted to the way games were being called.
Multiple teams I consulted, however, dispute that notion and say that referees are simply calling fewer travels after the initial wave.
"Make a big deal about it," said one team official, "then forget about it."
PS — I love passing more than anything else that happens on a basketball court … so this one play gets my blessing if (if!) a travel was potentially missed:
Numbers Game
🏀 .674
Teams that make more 3-pointers than the opposition had a .674 winning percentage this season entering Tuesday’s play (710-343).
🏀 17
Either LeBron James or Kevin Durant has been unable to play in the last 17 (yes, 17) scheduled games between their teams. Perhaps both will be healthy and available on April 7 to finally halt that unfortunate streak when the Lakers are scheduled to play host to the Suns in the second-to-last game of the regular season for both teams.
🏀 29
Denver's Nikola Jokić has posted a league-leading 29 triple-doubles, well ahead of Sacramento's Domantas Sabonis (12) in second place. The Nuggets are 27-2 in those games.
🏀 3
This could be the first season in league history in which California has sent all four of its NBA teams to the playoffs dating to the Kings’ move from Kansas City to Sacramento in 1985-86. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, there have been three California representatives in the playoffs in four previous NBA seasons: 1968-69 (San Francisco Warriors, San Diego Rockets and Los Angeles Lakers); 1991-92 (Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles Clippers and Lakers); 2005-2006 (Clippers, Lakers and Kings); 2012-2013 (Warriors, Clippers and Lakers).
🏀 185
The race for the NBA's first-ever Jerry West Trophy — to be awarded to the player regarded as the league's most clutch during the regular season — appears to have a clear favorite if "clutch" points turn out to be the deciding factor. Sacramento's De'Aaron Fox leads the NBA this season with 185 "clutch" points, which are defined as points scored when the scoring margin of any game is within five points with five or fewer minutes remaining.
🏀 159
Entering Tuesday's play, Chicago's DeMar DeRozan (159) was next in line after Fox, followed by Miami's Jimmy Butler (145), New York's Jalen Brunson (139) and Dallas' Luka Dončić (127) in the top five.
🏀 2
Philadelphia's Mac McClung appeared in only two NBA games before winning the slam-dunk contest at All-Star Weekend in Salt Lake City. On a two-way contract with the Sixers signed Feb. 14, McClung has yet to appear in a regular-season game with Philly and is not eligible to play in the postseason.
🏀 4
McClung is the fourth slam-dunk champion in league history to be listed at 6-foot-2 or shorter, joining three-time winner Nate Robinson (5-foot-9), Dee Brown (6-1) and my dear friend and Dallas neighbor Spud Webb (5-6).
I'm not on Twitter, so I'll continue to subscribe to the Line because I know I'll get my NBA news straight from a reliable source. Thanks Marc.
Come over to Mastodon! We are starved for a good NBA presence over there!
Actually, that’s why there isn’t one... because there isn’t one. No momentum, no built in audience. But you could be the leader!