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A great slate of MLK day games

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Trae vs Wemby was an absolute treat

League News

• Lauri Markkanen and Bam Adebayo have been named Players of The Week for Week 12.

• NBA All Star Voting for 2023 is now open! Click here to do your daily vote.

• The Miami Heat recently announced that they plan to honor Dwayne Wade with a bronze statue outside the arena. The statue is going to be unveiled in the fall of 2024, and as the GREATEST (not BEST) Heat player in franchise history, Flash certainly deserves it. Wade is one of the most underrated players of all time, and his career accolades speak for themselves: Wade’s basketball career spanned 16 seasons — 15 of them played in Miami — as he racked up three NBA Championships, a NBA Finals MVP, a NBA All-Star MVP, 13 All-Star selections, two All-NBA First Team selections, three All-NBA Second Team selections, three All-NBA Third Team selections, three All-Defensive Second Team selections, a unanimous All-Rookie Team First Team selection, a gold and bronze medal with Team USA, 19 Player of the Week honors, six Player of the Month awards, four Community Assist Monthly Awards, one Yearly Community Assist Award, and was a Magic Johnson Award winner which recognizes excellence on the court and cooperation and dignity with the media and public.

  Wade appeared in 1,054 career regular season games (909 starts) and averaged 22.0 points, 5.4 assists, 4.7 rebounds, 1.54 steals and 33.9 minutes while shooting 48%t from the field, finishing his career as one of only three players in NBA history to total at least 20,000 points, 5,000 assists, 4,000 rebounds, 1,500 steals, 800 blocks and 500 3-point field goals made, joining LeBron James and Michael Jordan. He scored at least 1,000 points against 10 different franchises and led the HEAT in points and scoring average for six consecutive years (2004-10), becoming the only player in franchise history to lead in each of those categories six-straight seasons. He capped his career scoring in double-figures 970 times, including 628 20-point games, 220 30-point efforts, 34 40-point games and three 50-point performances. After his retirement he was inducted into the Hall of Fame and named a top 75 player in the history of the NBA. It really makes you wonder, what other players, current or retired, deserve a statue or some form of recognition from a team? I can see Steph or LeBron getting statues, maybe even Giannis too once it’s all said and done.

• In other news: Kyle Kuzma became the latest player to get ejected after clapping at the refs, Draymond Green was welcomed back to playing by boos, and Anthony Davis BAPTIZED Chet Holmgren.

• Injury Updates: Desmond Bane sprained his ankle and will miss 6 weeks. Marcus Smart has a severe right ring finger injury and will be out 6 weeks. Tyrese Haliburton injured his hamstring, and will miss some time. Chris Paul underwent surgery on his left hand and will miss 4-6 weeks. De’Andre Hunter (knee) will be out at least 2 weeks. Gabe Vincent (knee) will be out 6-8 weeks. 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. Ben Simmons (nerves) will miss 2+ weeks. 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. Jae Crowder had surgery for an adductor/abdominal tear and will be out for 8 weeks. We wish all these guys speedy and successful recoveries.

Trade News

• The Detroit Pistons traded Marvin Bagley lll, Isaiah Livers, and a 2nd round pick to the Washington Wizards for Danilo Gallinari and Mike Muscala. The Bulls are looking to move Zach Lavine and possibly DeMar DeRozan. The Knicks signed and waived Taj Gibson in the span of a week. 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 Golden State Warriors are reportedly looking to clean house. Everyone not named Steph Curry is available for trade, and they’re hoping to be be able to move on from Andrew Wiggins and acquire “an offensive minded 7 footer.”

• The Free Agent market is still deep with vets like 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. 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: 34.6 ppg, 11.8 rpg, 6.0 apg

His case: Injuries are inevitable, and the league’s new rules mandating participation could derail Embiid’s candidacy before Philadelphia even reaches the All-Star break. For Embiid, that’s probably just fine as he and the third-place Sixers are eyeing a title over individual awards.

The big man currently averages career-highs in points, field goals made (11.6), free throws made (10.2), free-throw percentage (88.2%), assists (6.0), steals (1.1) and plus-minus (plus-9.1).

2. Nikola Jokic, Denver Nuggets

Last week’s ranking: No. 2

Season stats: 25.5 ppg, 11.8 rpg, 9.2 apg

His case: Jokic is gaining ground on Embiid and would probably be No. 1 right now if Denver didn’t lose two of its last three games going into Friday’s win against New Orleans. The Nuggets are now 4-3 in their last six games.

But Jokic is doing his part, averaging a blistering 79.7% from the field over that span and 80% from 3-point range (he’s attempted just five 3-pointers) with 1.3 steals and 1.3 blocks.

3. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma City Thunder

Last week’s ranking: No. 3

Season stats: 31.4 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 6.3 apg

His case: Gilgeous-Alexander led Oklahoma City to its largest margin of victory (62 points) in franchise history with 31 points on 11-of-15 shooting Thursday in just 21 minutes. In their 139-77 win against the Blazers, the Thunder became the first team since the Spurs in 1993 to shoot 50% or better in 10 straight games.

The 25-year-old has averaged 33 points per game on 61% shooting in his last 10 outings.

4. Luka Doncic, Dallas Mavericks

Last week’s ranking: No. 5

Season stats: 33.6 ppg, 8.1 rpg, 9.1 apg

His case: The 24-year-old has dropped fewer than 31 points just once since before Christmas, but the workload has taken a toll. Doncic missed Thursday’s 128-124 win against the Knicks with a sprained right ankle.

Currently ninth on the NBA’s all-time triple-doubles list (62), Doncic forms one of the league’s most formidable backcourt duos with Kyrie Irving, who lately has shouldered more of the scoring burden.

5. Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks

Last week’s ranking: No. 4

Season stats: 31.2 ppg, 11.5 rpg, 5.9 apg

His case: No doubt, Antetokounmpo and the Bucks demolished Boston on Thursday. The two-time MVP contributed 24 points and 12 rebounds against a gassed Celtics team that had outlasted Minnesota one night earlier in an overtime thriller.

Milwaukee had lost four of the previous five — all with Antetokounmpo racking up monstrous numbers. Still searching for consistency, the Bucks need the veteran’s leadership just as much as his production.

THE NEXT FIVE:

6. Jayson Tatum, Boston Celtics (Last week: No. 6)
7. Domantas Sabonis, Sacramento Kings (Last week: No. 8)
8. Anthony Davis, Los Angeles Lakers (Last week: No. 9)
9. Tyrese Haliburton, Indiana Pacers (Last week: No. 7)
10. Kawhi Leonard, LA Clippers (Last week: unranked) 

🏀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.

All Star 2023