NBA short takes
Remembering broadcaster Craig Sager; Tom Thibodeau nearly coached Dwyane Wade in Chicago; and Dwane Casey's comparison of Zach LaVine to Rashad McCants.
• Longtime TNT sideline reporter Craig Sager died Thursday at age 65 after a two-plus-year battle with leukemia, just hours before the network's weekly doubleheader he regularly worked.
Some of those who played, worked or attended the Bucks-Bulls and Warriors-Knicks games wore bright, flowery shirts as an homage toward Sager's intentionally outrageous wardrobe.
Each shirt had this Sager quote on the back: Time is simply how you live your life.
"My good friend Mark Jackson once told me something," TNT analyst Reggie Miller said during the Bucks-Bulls game. "'Appreciate me while I'm here. Let's laugh together while I'm here. Let's cry together while I'm here.' And for the most part, we've all done that with Sager. This is sad. Trust me, this is sad, but we all appreciated him while he was here and that's why it makes it a little bit easier for us as he moves on."
• The Wolves last week played Chicago for the first time since the Bulls went and brought hometown hero Dwyane Wade back to town after Wade spent his entire career playing for Miami. The Bulls tried unsuccessfully to do that in 2010, just after Tom Thibodeau was hired as coach.
• Toronto coach Dwane Casey meant this as a compliment, only it didn't completely sound like it when he talked about the growth of Wolves guard Zach LaVine.
"He's learning to slow down and take his time. When I was in Minnesota, he reminds me of Rashad McCants, a guy who just wanted to play athletic, wanted to play 100 miles an hour. But Zach is slowing down and it'll be scary for the rest of the league."
High-profile victims in Minnesota include Timberwolf Mike Conley and Twins co-owner Jim Pohlad.
