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A Pair of Guards sign with Contenders, Curry Delivers in the Clutch

A Pair of Guards sign with Contenders, Curry Delivers in the Clutch

February 11th

Games of the day

Last Night’s Top Games!

In a game highlighted by the back and forth antics of Jusuf Nurkic and Draymond Green, Steph Curry stole the show with a game winning 3 from DEEP. (I’d also like to say going for the steal was a bonehead move from Bradley Beal). This was a huge win for the Warriors, as they’re now tied for 10th and a play in spot, while winning a game in the season series with a team they’ll be fight for position with.

In a game against the 2 seed in the West, Luka showed just how dominant he can be with the right pieces around him. Against the (overrated) defense of SGA and Lu Dort, Dallas dropped a franchise high for points in the first quarter (47). Luka dropped a casual 32/8/9 in just 31 mins, including a pair of lobs that got PJ Washington and Daniel Gafford their first points as Mavericks. These inter-conference matchups are super important for playoff seeding, and while Dallis is 6.5 games out of first, a top 4 seed is now only 1.5 games ahead of them.

🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀

League News

Leonard’s 9th career POTW (via NBA)

Young’s 7th career POTW (via NBA)

Around the League

Kawhi Leonard and Trae Young have been named Players of The Week for Week 14.
A pair of huge signings happened yesterday: Spencer Dinwiddie signed with the Lakers, and that’s a huge pickup for them. LA has missed real solid guardplay this season, and Dinwiddie is a better scoring option than any other guard on the roster currently. The defense he brings is questionable, but how much worse can the Lakers get defensively? Philadelphia signing Kyle Lowry is a much more balanced move, as it shores up the Sixers while they try to wait for Joel Embiid to return. Philly just needs to tread water in hopes the reigning MVP can return at a level similar to what he was playing at before, and Lowry fills the spot of the recently traded Pat Bev. The former All Star is nowhere near the player he used to be, but can still spot up behind the arc, playmake at an above average level, and be at least a net positive defender.
Injury Updates: OG Anunoby (elbow) will miss 3+ 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 4 weeks. Marcus Smart (finger) will be out 3 weeks. Chris Paul underwent surgery on his left hand and will miss 1-3 weeks. Gabe Vincent (knee) will be out at least 3 weeks. Mitchell Robinson (ankle) underwent surgery and will be out 4-6 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

Brooklyn traded Spencer Dinwiddie for Dennis Schroder and Thaddeus Young. The Bucks traded Cam Payne for Patrick Beverley. Philly traded Marcus Morris and Furkan Korkmaz for Indiana’s Buddy Hield. Minnesota traded Troy Brown Jr and Shake Milton and a 2nd round pick to Detroit for Monte Morris. Utah traded Simone Fontecchio to Detroit for Kevin Knox and a 2nd round pick. Memphis traded Xavier Tillman to Boston for Lamar Stevens and two 2nd round picks.
The Lakers signed Spencer Dinwiddie. The Sixers signed Kyle Lowry. 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. Joe Harris, Spencer Dinwiddie, Danilo Gallinari, 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.

🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀

NBA MVP Race

1. Nikola Jokic, Denver Nuggets

Last week’s ranking: No. 1

Season stats: 26.3 ppg, 12.2 rpg, 9 apg

His case: Jokic helped the Nuggets to their eighth win in 10 outings Thursday with 24 points, 13 rebounds and nine assists against the Lakers on the road. Despite squandering a 15-point lead in the second half, Denver closed on a 10-2 run in the final 2:18 for the win.

This season, Jokic has 32 games with 25 points or more, five-plus rebounds and five-plus assists. He had 32 such games in total last season.

2. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma City Thunder

Last week’s ranking: No. 2

Season stats: 31.1 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 6.6 apg

His case: Scored 28 points in combining with Jalen Williams (26 points) and Chet Holmgren (22 points) for 76 of his team’s 117 points in a loss to Utah that snapped a three-game winning streak.

Gilgeous-Alexander is the eighth player in NBA history to produce 30 games with 30-plus points in the first 41 games of the season. He’ll lead OKC on Saturday into what should be a fun road game in Dallas against Doncic (3 p.m ET, NBA TV).

3. Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks

Last week’s ranking: No. 4

Season stats: 31.1 ppg, 11.2 rpg, 6.4 apg

His case: Antetokounmpo was limited to fewer than 20 points for just the fifth time this season Thursday as the shorthanded Bucks suffered their worst home loss of the season to Minnesota.

Milwaukee rested Antetokounmpo for the final 16 minutes with the game out of hand, which means he’ll be refreshed for Friday’s home matchup against Charlotte. Before the loss to Minnesota, the two-time MVP had scored 33-plus points in his three previous outings.

4. Luka Doncic, Dallas Mavericks

Last week’s ranking: No. 6

Season stats: 34.6 ppg, 8.8 rpg, 9.5 apg

His case: Lit up the ailing New York Knicks for 39 points on Thursday to lead Dallas to its first three-game winning streak since early January. The performance marked Doncic’s 34th 30-point game of the season, which ranks No. 2 behind Gilgeous-Alexander, not to mention his 29th double-double.

The Mavs tip off a four-game homestand on Saturday against Oklahoma City and sit just a game behind Sacramento for the No. 7 seed in the West.

5. Jayson Tatum, Boston Celtics

Last week’s ranking: No. 5

Season stats: 26.9 ppg, 8.4 rpg, 4.5 apg

His case: Led by Tatum, the Celtics continue to take care of business at home, going 4-2 on this seven-game run that ended Friday against Washington. The 25-year-old has flirted in triple-double territory in each of his last two games.

Tatum has put together 33 games with six-plus made 3-pointers, which ranks No. 2 in NBA history for a forward or center behind Paul George (52 games).

THE NEXT FIVE

6. Kawhi Leonard, LA Clippers (Last week’s ranking: No. 8)
7. Domantas Sabonis, Sacramento Kings (Last week’s ranking: No. 7)
8. Kevin Durant, Phoenix Suns (Last week’s ranking: No. 9)
9. Donovan Mitchell, Cleveland Cavaliers (Last week’s ranking: Not ranked)
10. Anthony Davis, Los Angeles Lakers (Last week’s ranking: Not ranked)

🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀

Fantasy Leaders

Dejounte thanking ATL for not trading him 😂

Overtime Thoughts

Yeah I said it, Kyrie would have no hardware if it wasn’t for LeBron

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.