Clippers HISTORIC Collapse against Lakers

February 29th

Top Stories

  • Clippers COLLAPSE against Lakers

  • Luka impresses on his birthday

  • Wemby vs Chet lll tonight

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Games of the day

The Battle of LA was entertaining as always. The Clippers dominated most of this game, starting the 4th quarter up 21. LeBron then put the team on his 40 year old back and dropped 19 points in the 4th alone, compared to the 16 the Clippers scored as a team. Bron was absolutely unstoppable, hitting 5 threes against every defender the Clippers sent at him. This was the largest 4th quarter comeback of LeBron’s career, and it’s only poetic it came against the rivals from across the hall, and one of his biggest rivals in Kawhi Leonard.

On his 25th birthday, Luka Doncic gave the Raptors the Luka Special: a 30/11/16 game in a fairly easy win for Dallas. Add in the fact that Kyrie scored 29 himself and it’s gonna be tough for any team to beat them, much less the lottery bound Raptors. Ex-Knicks duo RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley had 28 and 26 points respectively, but it wasn’t enough to keep Toronto from falling to 22-37.

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League News

Doncic’s 11th career POTW (via NBA)

Mitchell’s 6th career POTW (via NBA)

Around the League

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

  • The Rookie of the Year race has been a hot debate all year. If Chet Holmgren is going to overtake Wembanyama in voters’ minds, tonight is the game to do it. When the Thunder and Spurs meet for the final time, it will be April 10, so near the schedule’s end that other priorities might prevail over a pure head-to-head clash of the Nos. 1-2 rookies. Through the two meetings so far, Wembanyama has the edge in individual stats, averaging 16 points, 13 boards, 3 assists and 2.5 blocks. Holmgren — averaging 13, 8, 3.5 and 2 — has won both nights and was plus-41 in those games compared to Wemby’s minus-41.

  • Injury Updates: Trae Young (hand) had surgery and will be re-evaluated in 4 weeks. 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. Gabe Vincent (knee) will be out at least 3 more weeks. Mitchell Robinson (ankle) underwent surgery and will be out 2-5 weeks. Patrick Williams (foot) had surgery and will be out for the season. 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

  • The Pistons are going to buy out Mike Muscala. 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, 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

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

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

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

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

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

Getting real sick of seeing these 3

Overtime Thoughts

Luka = MVP

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.