🧾Box Scores🧾

Battle of LA was intense as usual

📈Fantasy Leaders📉

RJ and Ant make their Top 3 debuts

League News

• Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Tyrese Haliburton have been named Players of The Week for Week 9.

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

• Here’s a quick roundup of all the news from around the league: During their best season since Dwight Howard was leading the team as the best center in the league, the Orlando Magic have announced they will retire Shaquille O’Neal’s #32 jersey on February 13th. He’ll become the first player in franchise history to have his jersey retired by the team. Ricky Rubio announced his retirement after 12 seasons amid mental health issues. The Warriors are likely suitors in either a Zach Lavine or Pascal Siakam trade, especially with CP3 being out for the next month or so. It’ll be interesting to see how the rest of the year plays out for the league.

• Injury Updates: 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. LaMelo Ball’s (ankle) injury was described as “severe”, so expect him to miss some serious time. 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. We wish all these guys speedy and successful recoveries.

Trade News

• 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 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: 34.8 ppg, 11.8 rpg, 6.2 apg

His case: Racked up his seventh career triple-double Tuesday against Chicago, inflicting all the damage over the first three quarters. It marked his second career game with at least 30 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists.

Of course, only one player in franchise history (Wilt Chamberlain) has accomplished those numbers more times. Embiid’s latest statistical gem came after a four-game absence.

2. Nikola Jokic, Denver Nuggets

Last week’s ranking: No. 2

Season stats: 26.0 ppg, 12.2 rpg, 9.1 apg

His case: Called game with a buzzer-beater from the Chase Center logo Thursday to cap a 130-127 comeback win at Golden State. The two-time MVP finished with 34 points, nine rebounds and 10 assists on 13-of-16 shooting.

Jokic has missed five shots over his last four games, hitting 86.6%, which registers as the best for any player in the last 40 years (minimum 40 FGA) over a four-game span.

3. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma City Thunder

Last week’s ranking: No. 4

Season stats: 31.4 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 6.4 apg 

His case: Produced his eighth 30-plus point game in nine appearances in a loss Wednesday at Atlanta that snapped a five-game winning streak. Gilgeous-Alexander poured in 24 of his 33 points in the second half as OKC fell to 6-2 when finishing with 130-plus points.

The Western Conference Player of the Month for December, Gilgeous-Alexander and the Thunder play seven of the next nine games on the road.

4. Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks

Last week’s ranking: No. 3

Season stats: 31.1 ppg, 11.4 rpg, 5.8 apg

His case: Scored 29 of his 44 points in the second half of a thriller at San Antonio in his first matchup against Spurs rookie phenom Victor Wembanyama. The performance marked the two-time MVP’s fifth game this season with 40 points or more.

5. Luka Doncic, Dallas Mavericks

Last week’s ranking: No. 5

Season stats: 33.7 ppg, 8.3 rpg, 9.3 apg

His case: The NBA’s leader in 40-point games (7), Doncic carried the Mavericks during Kyrie Irving’s absence. The duo combined Wednesday to outscore the Portland Trail Blazers in the first half 52-47 on the way to a 126-97 win.

The Next Five:

6. Jayson Tatum, Boston Celtics (Last week: No. 6)
7. Tyrese Haliburton, Indiana Pacers (Last week: No. 8)
8. Domantas Sabonis, Sacramento Kings (Last week: No. 9)
9. Anthony Davis, Los Angeles Lakers (Last week: No. 10)
10. Anthony Edwards, Minnesota Timberwolves (Last week: No. 7)

🏀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