Top Stories

• PISTONS WIN 2 IN A ROW

• Lakers lose on Mamba night

• First of 3 Kobe statues unveiled

• Trade deadline madness is over

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Box Scores

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Games of the day

Last Nights top games!

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League News

Around the League

• Kawhi Leonard and Giannis Antetokounmpo have been named Players of The Week for Week 14.

• Deadline day in the NBA was very active, but the 2 teams that made the biggest splash were the Knicks and the Mavericks. New York traded away all their youth to be as good as possible now. They shipped out RJ Barrett, Immanuel Quickley, and Quentin Grimes to bring in OG Anunoby, Bojan Bogdanovic, and Alec Burks. That adds a DPOY level wing defender, as well as a pair of elite shooters to an already solid Knicks team. Could this be a year when the Knicks make the ECF or beyond? Dallas could be in a similar situation, trading Grant Williams, Richaun Holmes, and Seth Curry, managing to bring in PJ Washington and Daniel Gafford. Dallas gets a 6’10 shooter that can space the floor and pick and pop with Luka, as well as an elite rim protector and pick and roll partner for Doncic. Those pickups fit both teams almost perfectly on paper, but we’ll have to see exactly how well they mesh on the court. Track every deadline move here.

• Injury Updates: OG Anunoby (elbow) will miss 3+ weeks. Isaiah Stewart (ankle) will be out 1-2 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 6+ weeks. Marcus Smart (finger) will be out 6+ weeks. Chris Paul underwent surgery on his left hand and will miss 3-5 weeks. Gabe Vincent (knee) will be out at least 4 weeks. Mitchell Robinson (ankle) underwent surgery and will be out 8-10 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 Golden State Warriors are reportedly looking to clean house. Everyone not named Steph Curry is available for trade, and they’re hoping to be be able to move on from Andrew Wiggins and acquire “an offensive minded 7 footer.”

• The Los Angeles Lakers are linked to literally everyone, including but not limited to: Trae Young, Donovan Mitchell, Andre Drummond, Bruce Brown, Dejounte Murray, Tyus Jones, Collin Sexton, Dennis Schroeder, Dorian Finney-Smith, and Miles Bridges.

• 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.

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NBA MVP Race

1. Nikola Jokic, Denver Nuggets

Last week’s ranking: No. 2

Season stats: 26.3 ppg, 12.1 rpg, 9.0 apg

His case: Jokic followed up a 26-point, 16-rebound showing in a Saturday win over Philadelphia with a 25-point triple-double last Monday to spoil Doc Rivers’ Bucks debut. The game marked Jokic’s league-best 14th triple-double of the season. 

Lower back pain forced the two-time MVP to miss his second game of the season last Wednesday in what turned out to be a hotly contested loss to Oklahoma City.

2. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma City Thunder

Last week’s ranking: No. 3

Season stats: 31.3 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 6.4 apg

His case: Gilgeous-Alexander shook off back-to-back losses to Detroit and Minnesota by extending his career-long streak of 30-point games to eight last Wednesday in a win over the Jokic-less Nuggets. Oklahoma City won the season series vs. Denver 3-1, marking the first time it has done that since the 2016-17 season.

3. Joel Embiid, Philadelphia 76ers

Last week’s ranking: No. 1

Season stats: 35.3 ppg, 11.3 rpg, 5.7 apg

His case: A strange late scratch created the perception that Embiid was ducking a matchup in Denver against Jokic. But the reality, it appears, is he was dealing with a serious injury suffered two days prior in Indiana.

The Sixers are 4-9 this season without Embiid and are working to put together a treatment plan for him. An extended timetable for return could push Embiid off this list altogether given the league’s participation requirements.

4. Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks

Last week’s ranking: No. 4

Season stats: 30.9 ppg, 11.6 rpg, 6.1 apg

His case: Antetokounmpo continues to stuff the stat sheet. But the two-time MVP’s seven-game streak of double-doubles ended last Wednesday in Portland in a game where he missed two free throws with fewer than three seconds remaining and his team down three points.

5. Jayson Tatum, Boston Celtics

Last week’s ranking: No. 5

Season stats: 26.8 ppg, 8.4 rpg, 4.4 apg 

His case: In the middle of a seven-game homestand, Boston squandered an opportunity to run its winning streak to three in a row this past Thursday against a Lakers squad without LeBron James and Anthony Davis.

Tatum scored a game-high 23 points in the loss for a team that started 20-0 at home but has since lost three of the last five at TD Garden. Tatum produced his ninth 30-5-5 game in last Tuesday’s win over Indiana.

The next five:

6. Luka Doncic, Dallas Mavericks (Last week: No. 6)
7. Domantas Sabonis, Sacramento Kings (Last week: No. 7)
8. Kawhi Leonard, LA Clippers (Last week: No. 9)
9. Kevin Durant, Phoenix Suns (Last week: No. 8)
10. Devin Booker, Phoenix Suns (Last week: No. 10)

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Fantasy Leaders

Franz Wagner makes his Top 3 debut

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.

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NBA All Star 2024