🧾Box Scores🧾

Wizards win the battle of the bottom, Lakers get embarrassed by Philly

📈Fantasy Leaders📉

Reggie Jackson with his first and likely ONLY appearance in the Top 3

League News

• Devin Booker and Paolo Banchero have been named Players of The Week for Week 4.

• LeBron and AD faced off against Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey in a marquee matchup between stars. The game ended up being a 44 point blowout, the worst loss of James’ career so far. Reigning MVP Joel Embiid dropped the easiest triple-double of his life, finishing with 30-11-11 in just 30 mins of action. Tyrese Maxey dropped 31 and 8 as well. James and Davis finished with a COMBINED 35 points in a horrible game for LA. It makes you wonder, is this how the Lakers show up against real competition, or was it just a fluke game from Philly?

• In other news: The Orlando Magic are the 2 seed in the East, Pat Bev and Austin Reaves got into it, and Jordan Poole passed up an open shot just to get embarassed by Ausar Thompson.

• Injury Updates: Jalen Johnson (fractured wrist) will be reevaluated in 3-4 weeks. LaMelo Ball (ankle) was helped off the court and is expected to miss some time. Jaden McDaniels sprained his ankle and will be reevaluated in 1-2 weeks. Marcus Smart (foot) is expected to miss 3-5 weeks. Bradley Beal (hamstring) will be re-evaluated in 2 weeks. Ben Simmons (nerves) will miss time as he rehabs his back. 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. 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

Last week’s ranking: No. 1

Season stats: 27.5 ppg, 13.1 rpg, 8.9 apg

His case: The two-time MVP and reigning Finals MVP rebounded from an ejection Monday at Detroit by logging his sixth triple-double two days later at Orlando.

Still, dropping three of the last four in Denver’s current five-game road trip jeopardizes Jokic’s standing.

2. Luka Doncic, Dallas Mavericks

Last week’s ranking: No. 2

Season stats: 30.5 ppg, 8.3 rpg, 8.1 apg

His case: Leave it to Doncic and the Mavs to provide an early Thanksgiving feast on Wednesday with a nailbiter of a win over the Los Angeles Lakers. The 24-year-old racked up 30 points, 12 rebounds and eight dimes, including one zipped right in between James’ legs.

3. Joel Embiid, Philadelphia 76ers

Last week’s ranking: No. 3

Season stats: 31.9 ppg, 11.3 rpg, 6.1 apg

His case: The NBA’s scoring leader missed his first game of the season Wednesday at Minnesota, but the 29-year-old was well-rested for Saturday’s game against the surging Oklahoma City Thunder, where he dropped 35/11/9.

The reigning MVP poured in 32 points in each of his last three appearances before sitting due to left hip soreness that he’s battled for more than a week. Embiid still ranks among the leaders in double-doubles (10).

4. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma City Thunder

Last week’s ranking: No. 5

Season stats: 30.4 ppg, 6.1 rpg, 6.3 apg

His case: Behind Gilgeous-Alexander, the young Thunder ride a league-best six-game winning streak thanks to the 25-year-old notching his third 40-point game of the season on Wednesday that included a season-high 12 assists.

That’s 20-plus points in 13 of 14 games so far and 30-plus in nine outings. He’s taking advantage of every opportunity, too, sinking 42 of 43 free throws over his last five games.

5. Jayson Tatum, Boston Celtics

Last week’s ranking: No. 4

Season stats: 27.9 ppg, 9.1 rpg, 4.1 apg

His case: The 25-year-old tallied his 5,000th career point at TD Garden to join Celtics greats Paul Pierce and Antoine Walker as the only three players to accomplish that feat.

After racking up a season-high 45 points in a loss Monday at Charlotte, Tatum was listed as questionable for Wednesday with an illness. He shook that off with a 23-point, 11-rebound performance as Boston snuffed out Milwaukee’s five-game winning streak.

The Next Five:

6. Anthony Edwards, Minnesota Timberwolves (Last week: No. 6)
7. Tyrese Haliburton, Indiana Pacers (Last week: No. 7)
8. Kevin Durant, Phoenix Suns (Last week: unranked)
9. Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks (Last week: unranked)
10. LeBron James, Los Angeles Lakers (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.