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Today's the Last Day of All-Star Weekend

Today's the Last Day of All-Star Weekend

February 18th

Games of the day

Last Night’s Top Games!

The Skills Challenge was Indy’s to lose, as between the clumsiness of Scottie Barnes on team All-Star and the nonchalant attitude of Anthony Edwards on team Top Picks (he only used his left hand for part of the competition). Team Pacers took the competition serious from the start, winning the first 2 rounds with ease. Team All Stars won the next to force a final round: a halfcourt shot competition. Tyrese Haliburton hit the shot that ended up winning team Pacers the competition.

Dame beat out Trae Young and Karl-Anthony Towns in the final round of the competition to win his 2nd straight. Lillard managed to edge out Young on his final shot, keeping the suspense at an all time high.

The greatest shooters in the NBA and WNBA faced off in what was arguably the most exciting part of the whole night. Sabrina put up the same score as the 3-Point Contest participants, but Steph is just in a league of his own. Once Curry gets cooking, there’s absolutely nobody who can keep up with him.

🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀

League News

Doncic’s 11th career POTW (via NBA)

Mitchell’s 6th career POTW (via NBA)

Around the League

Luka Doncic and Donovan Mitchell have been named Players of The Week for Week 16.
This weekend has led up to today, the NBA All Star game. Kawhi Leonard has been cleared to play in the game, and we learned that Bam Adebayo will be starting for the injured Joel Embiid. The West will have a tough game on their hands, as Anthony Edwards has vowed to only shoot with his left hand for the entire game. Not quite sure how effective or efficient he’ll be, but it’ll be entertaining to watch.
Injury Updates: Dyson Daniels (meniscus) will be re-evaluated in 4 weeks. OG Anunoby (elbow) will miss 2+ 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 be re-evaluated after the All Star break. Gabe Vincent (knee) will be out at least 3 more weeks. Mitchell Robinson (ankle) underwent surgery and will be out 2-5 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.
Phoenix signed Thaddeus Young. Milwaukee signed Danilo Gallinari. The Toronto Raptors signed Justice Winslow. 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: 26.1 ppg, 12 rpg, 8.9 apg

His case: They’ll say the sky is falling in Denver with the club mired in just its second three-game losing streak of the season. Against Sabonis and the Kings on Wednesday, Jokic snapped a 15-game run of games with 20 points or more.

The two-time MVP failed to post a double-double for just the ninth time this season while finishing 0-of-6 from 3-point range. Jokic needed this break.

2. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma City Thunder

Last week’s ranking: No. 2

Season stats: 31.1 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 6.5 apg

His case: The first-time All-Star starter owns the MVP momentum going into the break having spoiled Shaquille O’Neal’s Orlando jersey retirement night Tuesday with a 32-point effort in a 127-113 Oklahoma City victory.

The 25-year-old reeled off 13 points during a dominant five-minute stretch in the third quarter of that game. Second in the league in points per game, Gilgeous-Alexander ranks No. 1 in steals (115) and is just 14 points from passing Giannis Antetokounmpo (1,662) for the league lead in total points.

3. Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks

Last week’s ranking: No. 3

Season stats: 31.1 ppg, 11.2 rpg, 6.4 apg

His case: Antetokounmpo goes into All-Star break tracking toward becoming the first player in NBA history to average 30-plus points on 60% shooting in a season. But overall, the two-time MVP and the team need this time away to work on getting everyone on the same page.

Milwaukee’s 113-110 loss at Memphis on Thursday demonstrated the choppy waters the Bucks continue to navigate in the wake of the firing of first-year coach Adrian Griffin and the hiring of Doc Rivers.

4. Luka Doncic, Dallas Mavericks

Last week’s ranking: No. 4

Season stats: 34.2 ppg, 8.8 rpg, 9.5 apg

His case: Named Western Conference Player of the Week on Monday after leading the Mavericks to a 4-0 week in which he averaged nearly a triple-double, Doncic led his team to two more victories going into the break.

Circle the calendar for what should be a fun matchup coming out of the break on Thursday against Devin Booker and the Phoenix Suns (7:30 ET, TNT), followed by a four-game road trip.

5. Jayson Tatum, Boston Celtics

Last week’s ranking: No. 5

Season stats: 27.1 ppg, 8.6 rpg, 4.8 apg

His case: Kawhi Leonard is breathing down Tatum’s neck for this spot. But the 25-year-old lit up Brooklyn for 31 of his 41 points Tuesday in the first half, dialing up his third 40-point game of the season and 25th of his career.

Tatum torched the Nets again the next night, combining with Derrick White for 47 points in a game that all of Boston’s starters sat in the fourth quarter.

The next five

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

🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀

Overtime Thoughts

Getting traded for yapping and being fat is definitely a first

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.