Top Stories

• Wemby gets his 5×5

• Multiple fights last night

• Warriors extend Steve Kerr

• KD passes Carmelo for 9th All Time in Scoring

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Games of the day

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

The matchup between Jimmy and Zion was overshadowed by the brawl that ended with 4 players and a fan ejected. It all started with Kevin Love wrapping Zion up in a play that wasn’t dirty but was slightly excessive. From there Naji Marshall came to stick up for his teammate, and that ended with him and Jimmy Butler literally going at each other’s throats. From there the teams scuffled, and as it was cooling down 6’0” Jose Alvarado got into it with 6’10” Thomas Bryant, leading the teams to go at it again. A fan even got involved by throwing stuff into the fight. (He was caught on camera and ejected from the arena, and will likely face a lifetime ban).

The 2nd fight of the night again overshadows a Warriors win (they’re 8-2 in their last 10). At the end of a game that was already decided, Lester Quinones tried to lay the ball in because there was a 2 second difference between the game and shot clock, and if the Warriors didn’t shoot it, they would be charged with a turnover. Miles Bridges took offense to this shot attempt and let Quinones know about it, which led to known antagonist Grant Williams to get all up in his face. Quinones responded with “You’re a b****”, only causing Williams to try and come after him. Grant got himself ejected, and the teams dribbled the less than 15 seconds on the clock out with no further issues.

I wrote all that about Wemby chasing history on Thursday for him to go and get the elusive 5×5 last night. He posted 27/10/8/5/5 in a narrow loss against the Lakers. He’s the 15th player to ever have a 5×5, and is also the youngest of that elite group.

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League News

Around the League

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

• Kevin Durant continues to move up the list of all-time scoring at record pace. After last night’s game, he currently sits at 28,296 points, passing Carmelo Anthony and sitting behind Shaquille O’Neal. If Durant can keep up his elite scoring, he can end up AT LEAST #4 on the list. To pass Shaq, Wilt, Dirk, Jordan, and Kobe, all KD has to do is average at least 25+ a game for the next 2 seasons (provided he plays all 82 games or at least close to it). If KD can keep this level of scoring up until he’s 40, he’d pass Kareem and Karl Malone to be 2nd All Time behind LeBron. It’s unlikely that KD will play 82 games a year for the next 5 years, but he’d only have to average 25. If he averages more it might make up for some games he could miss.

• Injury Updates: Patrick Williams (foot) had surgery and will be out for the season. 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, 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

Wemby and Joker back to back days 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.