Top Stories

• NBA is back!

• Isaiah Stewart suspended 3 games

• Nets fire Jacque Vaughn

• Suns sign Thaddeus Young

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Games of the day

Last Night’s Top Games! (link to the box scores of every game from yesterday)

The fight for the top seed in the West continues, with the #2 and #3 seeds facing off. Shai and the Thunder won this game fairly comfortably, as the Clippers stars didn’t play their best, with PG and Kawhi combining for only 34 points. OKC now has a solid grip on the 2 seed, and the Clippers are now tied with Denver for the 3 and 4 seed. With less than 30 games left in the season, every matchup between conference opponents is vital for seeding.

Nikola Jokic is starting to run away with the MVP award. He dropped arguably his best game of the season, with 21/19/15 shooting 100% FROM THE FIELD. That gives him his 4th career triple double on perfect shooting, breaking a tie with Wilt Chamberlain, putting Joker with the most all time. If he continues this level of play, that 3rd MVP award will be his for sure.

Wemby almost made history again last night, posting 19/13/4/5/5, sitting one assist shy of a 5×5 (at least 5 points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocks), a feat only done 21 times in NBA history. Hakeem Olajuwon has 6 of those games, including an absurd 38/17/6/7/12 game. Wemby has come close to a 5×5 twice so far this year, but the last player to have accomplished that statline was Jusuf Nurkic back in 2019. If any player is gonna have 5×5 in the near future, it’ll be Victor Wembanyama.

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League News

Around the League

• Luka Doncic and Donovan Mitchell have been named Players of The Week for Week 16.

• 4 days of no hoops was way too many. But we got 12 games today to make up for it. It was almost too much too keep up with, from Luka and Joker’s huge nights, to the other storylines around the league. Washington benched Jordan Poole, and in a recent GM poll it was UNANIMOUS that Poole has the worst contract in the league. Brooklyn fired HC Jacque Vaughn in a puzzling move for a franchise with no direction, but it was reported many of his players disliked his systems. For the meantime assistant coach Kevin Ollie has been promoted until they find a replacement. Isaiah Stewart was suspended 3 games for an altercation between him and Phoenix’s Drew Eubanks where Stewart threw a punch. (Throwback to when he fought 2 whole teams to go after LeBron). Stewart was arrested and released on bail, and earlier yesterday an assault charge against him was dropped. Adam Silver should put him and Draymond Green in an octagon for next All Star Weekend.

• Injury Updates: Dyson Daniels (meniscus) will be re-evaluated in 3 weeks. OG Anunoby (elbow) will miss 2+ weeks. Jarred Vanderbilt (foot) will miss “several weeks”. Joel Embiid (torn meniscus) will be out for 1-2 months. Julius Randle (shoulder) will be out 2-3 weeks. Desmond Bane (ankle) will miss 3-5 weeks. Marcus Smart (finger) will be out 3 weeks. Chris Paul underwent surgery on his left hand and will be returning soon. Gabe Vincent (knee) will be out at least 3 more weeks. Mitchell Robinson (ankle) underwent surgery and will be out 2-5 weeks. Zach LaVine (foot) underwent surgery and will be out for the season. Robert Williams underwent knee surgery and will be out for the season. Ja Morant had surgery on a torn labrum and will miss the rest of the season. We wish all these guys speedy and successful recoveries.

Front Office Moves

• Miami signed Delon Wright. The Free Agent market is still deep with vets like Nerlens Noel, DeMarcus Cousins, Isaiah Thomas, Dwight Howard, Rudy Gay, Blake Griffin, Tyreke Evans, Austin Rivers, Montrezl Harrell (he’ll be out for a few months), and John Wall ready to contribute to winning or to mentor young guys. Joe Harris, Spencer Dinwiddie, Danilo Gallinari, Victor Oladipo, and Killian Hayes were all cut or waived by their teams and are available to be signed. There are a few younger names on the market, like Kai Jones (yikes), Kevin Porter Jr (yikes again), Sharife Cooper, and Darius Bazley.

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NBA MVP Race

1. Nikola Jokic, Denver Nuggets

Last week’s ranking: No. 1

Season stats: 26.1 ppg, 12 rpg, 8.9 apg

His case: They’ll say the sky is falling in Denver with the club mired in just its second three-game losing streak of the season. Against Sabonis and the Kings last Wednesday, Jokic snapped a 15-game run of games with 20 points or more.

The two-time MVP failed to post a double-double for just the ninth time this season while finishing 0-of-6 from 3-point range. Jokic needed the break.

2. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma City Thunder

Last week’s ranking: No. 2

Season stats: 31.1 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 6.5 apg

His case: The first-time All-Star starter owns the MVP momentum going into the break having spoiled Shaquille O’Neal’s Orlando jersey retirement night last Tuesday with a 32-point effort in a 127-113 Oklahoma City victory.

The 25-year-old reeled off 13 points during a dominant five-minute stretch in the third quarter of that game. Second in the league in points per game, Gilgeous-Alexander ranks No. 1 in steals (115) and is just 14 points from passing Giannis Antetokounmpo (1,662) for the league lead in total points.

3. Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks

Last week’s ranking: No. 3

Season stats: 31.1 ppg, 11.2 rpg, 6.4 apg

His case: Antetokounmpo goes into All-Star break tracking toward becoming the first player in NBA history to average 30-plus points on 60% shooting in a season. But overall, the two-time MVP and the team need this time away to work on getting everyone on the same page.

Milwaukee’s 113-110 loss at Memphis last Thursday demonstrated the choppy waters the Bucks continue to navigate in the wake of the firing of first-year coach Adrian Griffin and the hiring of Doc Rivers.

4. Luka Doncic, Dallas Mavericks

Last week’s ranking: No. 4

Season stats: 34.2 ppg, 8.8 rpg, 9.5 apg

His case: Named Western Conference Player of the Week on Monday after leading the Mavericks to a 4-0 week in which he averaged nearly a triple-double, Doncic led his team to two more victories going into the break.

Circle the calendar for what should be a fun matchup coming out of the break on last night against Devin Booker and the Phoenix Suns, followed by a four-game road trip.

5. Jayson Tatum, Boston Celtics

Last week’s ranking: No. 5

Season stats: 27.1 ppg, 8.6 rpg, 4.8 apg

His case: Kawhi Leonard is breathing down Tatum’s neck for this spot. But the 25-year-old lit up Brooklyn for 31 of his 41 points last Tuesday in the first half, dialing up his third 40-point game of the season and 25th of his career.

Tatum torched the Nets again the next night, combining with Derrick White for 47 points in a game that all of Boston’s starters sat in the fourth quarter.

The next five

T-6. Kawhi Leonard, LA Clippers (Last week’s ranking: No. 6)
T-6. Domantas Sabonis, Sacramento Kings (Last week’s ranking: No. 7)
8. Donovan Mitchell, Cleveland Cavaliers (Last week’s ranking: No. 9)
9. Kevin Durant, Phoenix Suns (Last week’s ranking: No. 8)
10. Anthony Davis, Los Angeles Lakers (Last week’s ranking: No. 10)

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Fantasy Leaders

Luka continues to be the best player in fantasy hoops

Overtime Thoughts

Hoopgrids

Hoopgrids is a daily basketball trivia game. You cross match each category to find a player that fits both. The rarer the player, the lower the score. The goal is to get the lowest rarity score possible.