Friendly Bounce Open Run: LeBron flashbacks and crying for Anthony Davis

Welcome back to the Friendly Bounce Open Run.

LeBron flashbacks: @Matt_Cianfrone

These types of plays from LeBron James used to be normal. The freight train-esque takes to the basket that led to easy dunks as players bounced off of him were a staple of LeBron’s first stint in Cleveland.

In fact, it was part of the reason I was unhappy when LeBron went back home. The memories I have of LeBron as a Cavs were mostly based off a power and carelessness that caused young LeBron to just detonate on people night after night, something we didn’t really see in Miami.

So to see it again is great. To see people just bounce off the most devastating force we have in basketball today is fun. Hopefully it keeps up. There just isn’t anything else like it in the league right now.

Anthony Davis NOOOOOOOOO!!!!: @wcgoldberg

So this is what happened Saturday night. Anthony Davis took a nasty fall against the Chicago Bulls and didn’t play Wednesday in a loss to the…wait for it…Indiana Pacers.

Watch that game and tell me The Brow isn’t a candidate for Most Valuable Player.

(Thinking)

You know, I’m not that heartless. Don’t watch it. In fact, don’t watch any Pelicans games until Davis comes back. Just pretend he’s not hurt and out there doing Brow things.

If you were planning on watching the NBA All-Star Game, you won’t see Davis in that either. The Pelicans released a statement from Davis Wednesday night saying that he won’t participate in the game.

It was a great opportunity to see a potential MVP candidate play against–and with–some fellow All Stars and now we don’t get to see it. As great as this NBA season has been, it’s in spite of a ton of injuries. Now the basketball gods are taking The Brow away from us, for however brief a time it may be. Get well soon, Davis.

Celtics beat Hawks: or, the end of the world as we know it: @jackhaveitall

The Celtics were headed for a top lottery pick this year, and then they traded away their two best players in Rajon Rondo and Jeff Green, so of course they’re now winning. Last night they beat the Hawks on Evan Turner’s second game winner of the season and all of a sudden they’re just one and a half games out of the playoffs. At 20-31!

At this point I’m all in on the playoffs. It’s pretty clear that the Cs aren’t catching the likes of Philly, New York, Minnesota, and Los Angeles for a top pick. And if Brad and company are going to play tough enough to hang around the playoff race until the very end, which seems entirely possible in the Eastern Conference, then they might as well get in.

The difference between one of the last few slots in the lottery and one of the first few slots out of it is negligible. But getting back to the playoffs would be exciting, and based off last night, there’s no reason the Celtics couldn’t upset Atlanta in the first round.

WHATCHA GONNA DO, BROTHER, WHEN PLAYOFFS EVAN TURNER IS RUNNING WILD ON YOU???