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WIZARDS AND SPURS FINALLY WIN

📈Fantasy Leaders📉

Not 3 days after Giannis set the record, Brunson comes and obliterates it again

League News

• De’Aaron Fox and Julius Randle have been named Players of The Week for Week 6.

• The old generation finally faced off against the new, as LeBron James and Victor Wembanyama had their highly anticipated first matchup. The Spurs ended up snapping a 17 game losing streak against the Anthony Davis-less Los Angeles squad. Without Davis, the Lakers had no rim protection and the Spurs paraded their way into the paint all night. Devin Vassell scored a career high 36 points, and Wemby had some dominant moments in the paint on both ends. Is this the turning point of the Spurs season? Obviously they’re no championship contender, but they can still build a culture that keeps them respectable.

• In other news: Jaylen Brown welcomed Anthony Black to the NBA, Bradley Beal got hurt again 😬, and Pat Bev and Isaiah Stewart got into it pregame

• Injury Updates: Darius Garland (jaw) and Evan Mobley (knee) will both be out for at least 4 weeks. Mitchell Robinson (ankle) underwent surgery and will be out 8-10 weeks. Gary Payton ll (torn calf) is out indefinitely. Jalen Johnson (fractured wrist) will be reevaluated in 3-4 weeks. LaMelo Ball’s (ankle) injury was described as “severe”, so expect him to miss some serious time. Marcus Smart (foot) is expected to miss 3-5 weeks. Ben Simmons (nerves) will miss 2+ weeks. Robert Williams underwent knee surgery and will be out for the season. Jae Crowder had surgery for an adductor/abdominal tear and will be out for 8 weeks. Mason Plumlee (MCL) will be out for 2 months. Tyler Herro has an ankle sprain and will be in a boot for 10 days before being re-evaluated. Wendell Carter Jr. suffered a fractured hand and underwent surgery, so he’ll be out for 2-3 weeks. We wish all these guys speedy and successful recoveries.

Trade News

• The Knicks signed Taj Gibson since Mitchell Robinson will miss considerable time. The Pacers are signing James Johnson because they clearly don’t want another Giannis Incident. Look for more moves sooner than later with veterans like Malcolm Brogdon looking to be moved in the coming weeks.

• The Free Agent market is still deep with vets like Isaiah Thomas, Dwight Howard, Rudy Gay, Blake Griffin, Montrezl Harrell (he’ll be out for a few months), and John Wall ready to contribute to winning or to mentor young guys. There are a few younger names on the market, like Kai Jones (yikes), Kevin Porter Jr (yikes again), Sharife Cooper, and Darius Bazley.

NBA MVP Race

1. Joel Embiid, Philadelphia 76ers

Last week’s ranking: No. 1

Season stats: 33.8 ppg, 11.5 rpg, 6.4 apg

His case: The reigning Kia MVP dropped a 41-point double-double (his eighth straight) Wednesday night in logging his ninth consecutive game with 30 points or more. Embiid scored 19 of those 41 points in the opening frame and didn’t even play in the fourth quarter.

In fact, Embiid hasn’t played in the fourth quarter in four games this season. Expect much of the same Friday with a home matchup on deck against the struggling Pistons.

2. Nikola Jokic, Denver Nuggets

Last week’s ranking: No. 2

Season stats: 27.2 ppg, 12.7 rpg, 9.4 apg

His case: The two-time Kia MVP became the first player in NBA history to register at least 10 triple-doubles in seven consecutive seasons Thursday night with career triple-double No. 115. Jokic also logged his 35th career triple-double before the start of the fourth quarter.

Impressive. Concerning, however, is Denver’s 5-5 record this season when Jokic tallies a triple-double. The Nuggets owned a record of 27-2 in 2022-23 when that occurred.

3. Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks

Last week’s ranking: No. 5

Season stats: 32.0 ppg, 10.8 rpg, 5.0 apg

His case: Forget a game ball. Go snatch another MVP. Antetokounmpo appears to be trending towards more hardware after blessing the home crowd Wednesday night with a record-setting gem in a 140-126 win over Indiana.

Antetokounmpo scored a franchise-record 64 points, while also setting Milwaukee records in free throws made (24) and field goal attempts (32). He racked up 26 of his 64 points in the fourth quarter in earning a two-day rest ahead of Saturday’s clash with Detroit.

4. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma City Thunder

Last week’s ranking: No. 3

Season stats: 31.0 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 6.4 apg

His case: Gilgeous-Alexander came up short in an epic battle between point guards Thursday night but reeled off 43 points and nine assists with three steals. It marked Gilgeous-Alexander’s fourth 40-point outing of the season, and he’s also scored 30-plus points in 16 games.

Behind SGA, the Thunder cling to No. 3 in the West, having won four of their last six heading into Saturday’s road matchup against the Nuggets.

5. Luka Doncic, Dallas Mavericks

Last week’s ranking: No. 4

Season stats: 32.3 ppg, 8.1 rpg, 9.1 apg

His case: The new father showcased some Luka magic in logging his ninth-consecutive 30-point game with a 39-point, 13-assist performance Thursday night in a loss to Minnesota. Doncic is averaging 35.1 points, 10.7 assists and 8.3 rebounds over his last nine games.

But the setback to the Timberwolves broke a four-game win streak with Dallas prepping to hit the road for matchups Saturday and Monday at Portland and Denver.

The Next Five

6. Jayson Tatum, Boston Celtics (Last week: No. 7)
7. Tyrese Haliburton, Indiana Pacers (Last week: No. 6)
8. Anthony Davis, Los Angeles Lakers (Last week: unranked)
9. Devin Booker, Phoenix Suns (Last week: No. 10)
10. LeBron James, Los Angeles Lakers (Last week: No. 9)

🏀Highlights🏀

The highlights from the top games of the night!

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.