🧾Box Scores🧾

Bucks trending upwards, and the Lakers are struggling to stay afloat in the stacked west

📈Fantasy Leaders📉

LeBron and Sabonis had a duel that went down to the wire, and Dame dominated earlier in the day.

League News

• Anthony Edwards and Joel Embiid have been named Players of The Week for Week 3.

• Draymond Green has been suspended for 5 games (without pay) following the scuffle in Tuesday night’s game. The suspension length is based partly on “Green’s past history of unsportsmanlike acts” according to the NBA. Draymond will miss out on a casual $769,970 from the 5 games. Jaden McDaniels, Klay Thompson, and Rudy Gobert were all fined $25,000 for their involvement in the scuffle.

• In other news, Paolo Banchero hit a game winner, KAT got posterized (on his birthday), and the Suns big 3 have yet to all play together.

• Injury Updates: Steph Curry (knee) will miss Thursday’s game against the Thunder. Ben Simmons (nerves) will miss time as he rehabs his back. Kelly Oubre Jr. was struck by a car when walking near his home in Philadelphia. His injuries are not considered season-ending, but the Sixers expect him to be back in a little over 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. Cam Thomas sprained his ankle and will be out for 1-2 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. Jamal Murray (hamstring) is expected to miss the rest of this month. CJ McCollum has a collapsed lung and will be out for awhile. Terry Rozier suffered a groin injury and had to be helped off the court, so he’s going to miss time. 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 Clippers signed Daniel Theis since Mason Plumlee will be missing time. 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. Nikola Jokic, Denver Nuggets

Season stats: 29.1 ppg, 12.9 rpg, 8.0 apg

His case: Back-to-back 35-point performances left Jokic laboring late last Wednesday, which likely played a role in some critical mistakes he made down the stretch. Still, the two-time Kia MVP produced his ninth double-double in leading Denver to a league-best 8-1 record at that time.

2. Joel Embiid, Philadelphia 76ers

Season stats: 31.7 ppg, 10.9 rpg, 5.9 apg

His case: Lit up Boston for 13 of his 27 points last Wednesday in the third quarter. The Sixers outscored the Celtics 56-40 in the paint with Embiid tallying his fifth straight double-double after none over the first two games.

He notched four blocks, too, after recording just three the previous three games combined. With the James Harden drama in the rearview, the big man should continue to roll. 

3. Luka Doncic, Dallas Mavericks

Season stats: 31.5 ppg, 9.3 rpg, 8.8 apg

His case: Dallas sits at No. 2 in the West, and Doncic deserves credit. In a loss to Toronto last Wednesday the 24-year-old delivered his 233rd game with 25-plus points, five-plus rebounds and five-plus assists.

Mavs coach Jason Kidd wants Doncic to simply participate on defense. He’ll continue to do that. Doncic swiped four steals against the Raptors.

4. Jayson Tatum, Boston Celtics

Season stats: 28.4 ppg, 9.7 rpg, 3.6 apg

His case: Racked up 30 points or more in four consecutive games before finishing Wednesday with 16 points in a loss to Philadelphia. While he struggled offensively in that game, Tatum made an impact on the glass with a season-high 15 rebounds (his fourth double-double of the season).

5. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma City Thunder

Season stats: 28.1 ppg, 7.0 rpg, 6.4 apg

His case: Who knows how long Gilgeous-Alexander remains in the top five? But he’s now scored 30 points or more 50 times since the start of last season, which ranks as the most in the NBA over that span.

The Next Five:

6. Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors
7. Anthony Edwards, Minnesota Timberwolves
8. Donovan Mitchell, Cleveland Cavaliers
9. Tyrese Haliburton, Indiana Pacers
10. Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks

🏀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.