Top Stories

• Zion runs through Clippers

• Suns somewhat recover against Hornets

• Durant set to pass Shaq

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Games of the day

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

Zion Williamson remembered his skillset in a win against LA last night. Zion had 34 points on 14-21 shooting, bullying everyone te Clippers matched up with him. PG and Kawhi were both too light to handle Zion, Daniel Theis and Zubac were too slow to keep up with him, and PJ Tucker was the best matchup but even he wasn’t strong enough to contend with Z in the paint. Zion shot all 21 of his shots in the paint and there was nothing the Clippers could do about it. You have to wonder how long the Ingram/Williamson pairing can go on, cause they’re almost wasting the best years of Zion’s career. They should either go all in on winning or trade everyone to rebuild.

After a rough loss, the Phoenix Suns (sort of) bounced back against the lowly Charlotte Hornets. While they won the game, the team shot poorly. The teams leading scorer was Devin Booker with 21 points on 6-18 shooting. Jusuf Nurkic was a monster though, scoring 13 points to go along with 21 rebounds. KD only had 13 points on 5-15 shooting, so while this counts as a victory for the Suns, it’s definitely a game they walk away from needing some serious improvements.

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League News

Around the League

• Luka Doncic and DeMar DeRozan have been named Players of The Week for Week 20.

• Kevin Durant heads into Sunday’s game against the Bucks needing 20 points to pass Shaquille O’Neal (28,596) for eighth place on the NBA’s all-time scoring list. It’s a list that we’re used to Durant rising quickly, and if he hadn’t missed almost 2 seasons with injury in the last 5 years he’d already be around 5th all time in points (assuming he averaged at least 26ppg and played all 82 for those 2 seasons). Even with the injuries, KD is still scoring at a historic pace. Just 2 seasons ago, KD ranked 21st all-time when he began the season in Brooklyn. By the time he ended the season in Phoenix, he had passed Alex English, Vince Carter, Kevin Garnett, John Havlicek, Paul Pierce, Tim Duncan, Dominique Wilkins and Oscar Robertson to reach 13th place. KD’s first full season with the Suns has seen him pass Hakeem Olajuwon, Elvin Hayes, Moses Malone and Carmelo Anthony to reach ninth place, with one more legend to pass – Shaquille O’Neal. Durant averaged 20.3 points in 2007-08 on his way to winning the Rookie of the Year award. Similar to LeBron James, that is the only season in which Durant averaged less than 25 points. He’s also won four scoring titles, but the key to Durant being on the verge of becoming a top eight scorer of all-time is his consistency. He’s a scorer with absolutely ZERO weaknesses in his game, and can hurt you from every spot on the floor.

• Injury Updates: Alperen Sengun (ankle and knee) is likely out for the season. Saddiq Bey (knee) tore his ACL and is out for the season. Benedict Mathurin (shoulder) underwent surgery and is out for the season. Ben Simmons (back) is out for the season. Karl-Anthony Towns (knee) underwent surgery and will be re-evaluated in one month. Evan Mobley (ankle) will miss at least one week. Josh Richardson (shoulder) had surgery and will be out for the season. Russell Westbrook (hand) underwent surgery and is expected back by the playoffs. Scottie Barnes (hand) underwent surgery and will be out 4 weeks. Trae Young (hand) had surgery and will be re-evaluated in 3 weeks. Dyson Daniels (meniscus) will be re-evaluated in 1 week. 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 more weeks. Desmond Bane (ankle) will miss 2-3 weeks. Marcus Smart (finger) will be out 2 weeks. Gabe Vincent (knee) will be out at least 1 more week. Mitchell Robinson (ankle) underwent surgery and will be out 2-3 weeks. Tari Eason (leg) had surgery and will be out for the season. 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

• John Wall is interested in signing with the Heat. The 76ers are signing Kai Jones, which will be interesting. The Bulls are likely gonna trade Zach LaVine in the offseason. The Free Agent market is still deep with vets like Kemba Walker, Nerlens Noel, Dwight Howard, Rudy Gay, Blake Griffin, Tyreke Evans, Austin Rivers, 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 Kevin Porter Jr and Darius Bazley.

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NBA MVP Race

1. Nikola Jokic, Denver Nuggets

Last week’s ranking: No. 1

Season stats: 26 ppg, 12.3 rpg, 9.2 apg

His case: The defending champions fell right back into their dominating ways coming out of the All-Star break, winning 10 of 11 games heading into Friday’s game vs. the Spurs. Over that span, the two-time MVP has averaged a 25-point triple-double while shooting 60.5% from the field.

2. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma City Thunder

Last week’s ranking: No. 2

Season stats: 31.1 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 6.4 apg

His case: Gilgeous-Alexander produced his 12th showing with 30-plus points in his last 14 outings and his 49th 30-point gem this season as Oklahoma City moved back into pole position in the West. The 25-year-old carved up the Mavericks on Thursday for 31 points, nine rebounds, five assists and two steals.

3. Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks

Last week’s ranking: No. 3

Season stats: 30.8 ppg, 11.2 rpg, 6.4 apg

His case: Milwaukee dropped three of its previous four before Thursday’s 114-105 win over the Sixers, a game in which Antetokounmpo scored 13 of his 32 points in the final frame. The performance gave the two-time MVP his fourth-straight game with 30-plus points.

Antetokounmpo has an NBA-leading 31 games this season with 30-plus points and 10-plus rebounds. The Bucks moved back into second in the East, but face tough tests up next against Phoenix and Boston.

4. Luka Doncic, Dallas Mavericks

Last week’s ranking: No. 5

Season stats: 34.3 ppg, 9 rpg, 9.8 apg

His case: Although Dallas remains eighth in the West, the Mavericks captured four straight victories before Thursday’s loss to Oklahoma City with Doncic lighting up the scoreboard for triple-doubles in three of those four outings.

He strung together seven consecutive triple-doubles before Wednesday’s win over Golden State. A hamstring injury sidelined the 25-year-old for the loss Thursday in Oklahoma City. The MRI on that left hamstring came back clean, but he’ll be re-evaluated over the weekend.

5. Jayson Tatum, Boston Celtics

Last week’s ranking: No. 4

Season stats: 27 ppg, 8.3 rpg, 4.9 apg 

His case: Tatum helped Boston become the first team to clinch a playoff spot with a 26-point performance Thursday in a win over Phoenix, giving the Celtics their eighth-straight win at home. Tatum and Jaylen Brown combined for 63 points on 59% shooting as Boston moved to a league-best 30-3 at TD Garden.

When Tatum scores, the Celtics win. Boston owns a record of 19-4 when the 26-year-old racks up 30-plus points.

The Next Five

6. Domantas Sabonis, Sacramento Kings (Last week’s ranking: No. 6)
7. Kawhi Leonard, LA Clippers (Last week’s ranking: No. 7)
8. Kevin Durant, Phoenix Suns (Last week’s ranking: No. 9)
9. Anthony Davis, Los Angeles Lakers (Last week’s ranking: No. 8)
10. Devin Booker, Phoenix Suns (Last week’s ranking: not ranked)

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Fantasy Leaders

It’s hard to believe this is Zion’s first time in the Top 3

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.