Top Stories

• Pelicans lose to Magic, lose Ingram as well

• Injured Knicks fall short vs Nuggets

• What direction should Atlanta move in?

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Games of the day

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

Paolo Banchero had his 2nd career triple-double, and he won the matchup of star Power Forwards, as the Magic beat the Pelicans last night. Jalen Suggs led the Magic in scoring with 22, while Paolo had 20/10/11. Zion had 20 as well, and Brandon Ingram added 14 before he went down with an injury. While defending a Suggs drive, BI had a nasty hyperextension of his left knee. The injury was bad enough to where he had to be carried off the court by a pair of his teammates. Hopefully the injury isn’t serious, as the Pelicans need him to continue their playoff push.

The Knick’s injuries are finally catching up to them, as Denver was too much for them to handle last night. Michael Porter Jr absolutely TORCHED them, ending the game with 31 points on 13-16 shooting from the field, and 3-6 from 3. The Joker did his usual thing with another triple double, 30/14/11 on over 50% shooting. Jamal Murray had 23, but ended up spraining his ankle with less than a minute to go in the game. Jalen Brunson had 26 points, and Tom Thibodeau continues to play his starters heavy minutes, as Miles McBride played all but 4 minutes this game, while Brunson and Hart played in the high 30’s. New York needs to get healthy fast, at least to be able to compete with the best in the NBA.

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League News

Around the League

• Jalen Green and Jalen Brunson have been named Players of The Week for Week 21.

• The Atlanta Hawks are stuck in limbo, and they need to find a way out. They’ve been the definition of middle of the pack since they drafted Trae Young (instead of Luka Doncic). They haven’t been good enough to make a real playoff run, save for the cinderella run to the ECF in 2021. Other than that one year, they’ve been a Play-In team, but not bad enough to build through the draft. They went all in on winning by bringing in Dejounte Murray, traded away John Collins, and traded for a few role players. They’ve hit on a few draft picks in Jalen Johnson, Onyeka Okongwu, and AJ Griffin, but they still haven’t been able to find success. It seems like it’s time to make some big changes this offseason. Trae Young might be out the door according to a few reports, and Atlanta may look to build around Murray and their young players. Murray’s shooting splits and defense are much better than Trae, while the gap in their playmaking isn’t as big as you might think. Look for some big changes in the ATL later this year, and you might even see Trae in San Antonio with Wemby…

• Injury Updates: Ausar Thompson (blood clot) is out for the season. Christian Wood (knee) underwent surgery and will be out multiple weeks. Bilal Coulibaly (wrist) sustained a fracture and will be out for the season. Alperen Sengun (ankle and knee) is likely out for the season. Saddiq Bey (knee) tore his ACL and is out for the season. Benedict Mathurin (shoulder) underwent surgery and is out for the season. Ben Simmons (back) is out for the season. Karl-Anthony Towns (knee) underwent surgery and will be re-evaluated in one month. Evan Mobley (ankle) will miss at least one week. Josh Richardson (shoulder) had surgery and will be out for the season. Russell Westbrook (hand) underwent surgery and is expected back by the playoffs. Scottie Barnes (hand) underwent surgery and will be out 4 weeks. Trae Young (hand) had surgery and will be re-evaluated in 3 weeks. Dyson Daniels (meniscus) will be re-evaluated in 1 week. 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 more weeks. Marcus Smart (finger) will be out 1-2 weeks. Gabe Vincent (knee) will be out at least 1 more week. Mitchell Robinson (ankle) underwent surgery and will be out 2-3 weeks. Tari Eason (leg) had surgery and will be out for the season. Patrick Williams (foot) had surgery and will be out for the season. 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

• Isaiah Thomas was given a 10-day contract by the Phoenix Suns. The Bulls are likely gonna trade Zach LaVine in the offseason. The Free Agent market is still deep with vets like Kemba Walker, Nerlens Noel, Dwight Howard, Rudy Gay, Blake Griffin, Tyreke Evans, Austin Rivers, 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 Kevin Porter Jr and Darius Bazley.

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NBA MVP Race

1. Nikola Jokic, Denver Nuggets

Last week’s ranking: No. 1

Season stats: 26 ppg, 12.3 rpg, 9.2 apg

His case: The defending champions fell right back into their dominating ways coming out of the All-Star break, winning 10 of 11 games heading into this past Friday’s game vs. the Spurs. Over that span, the two-time MVP has averaged a 25-point triple-double while shooting 60.5% from the field.

2. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma City Thunder

Last week’s ranking: No. 2

Season stats: 31.1 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 6.4 apg

His case: Gilgeous-Alexander produced his 12th showing with 30-plus points in his last 14 outings and his 49th 30-point gem this season as Oklahoma City moved back into pole position in the West. The 25-year-old carved up the Mavericks last Thursday for 31 points, nine rebounds, five assists and two steals.

3. Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks

Last week’s ranking: No. 3

Season stats: 30.8 ppg, 11.2 rpg, 6.4 apg

His case: Milwaukee dropped three of its previous four before last Thursday’s 114-105 win over the Sixers, a game in which Antetokounmpo scored 13 of his 32 points in the final frame. The performance gave the two-time MVP his fourth-straight game with 30-plus points.

Antetokounmpo has an NBA-leading 31 games this season with 30-plus points and 10-plus rebounds.

4. Luka Doncic, Dallas Mavericks

Last week’s ranking: No. 5

Season stats: 34.3 ppg, 9 rpg, 9.8 apg

His case: Although Dallas remains eighth in the West, the Mavericks captured four straight victories before last Thursday’s loss to Oklahoma City with Doncic lighting up the scoreboard for triple-doubles in three of those four outings.

He strung together seven consecutive triple-doubles before Wednesday’s win over Golden State. A hamstring injury sidelined the 25-year-old for the loss last Thursday in Oklahoma City.

5. Jayson Tatum, Boston Celtics

Last week’s ranking: No. 4

Season stats: 27 ppg, 8.3 rpg, 4.9 apg 

His case: Tatum helped Boston become the first team to clinch a playoff spot with a 26-point performance last Thursday in a win over Phoenix, giving the Celtics their eighth-straight win at home. Tatum and Jaylen Brown combined for 63 points on 59% shooting as Boston moved to a league-best 30-3 at TD Garden.

When Tatum scores, the Celtics win. Boston owns a record of 19-4 when the 26-year-old racks up 30-plus points.

The Next Five

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

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Fantasy Leaders

Joker and Luka return again

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.