Top Stories

• Warriors/Lakers full of Mishaps

• Wolves beat Jazz

• Embiid recovery progressing well

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Games of the day

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

In a highly anticipated matchup for seeding, Anthony Davis got hurt in the 1st quarter and didn’t play for the rest of the game. LeBron did his thing, finishing with 40 points, but the biggest story of the game was the 4th quarter. LeBron hit a TOUGH 3 from the corner over Steph, but replay review showed that his foot was out of bounds, so the 3 points were taken away. The next possession, Draymond Green stepped out of bounds and the Lakers were awarded possession. These 2 reviews alone took over 10 real minutes and about 20 seconds of game time. Once the game finally continued the shot clock failed to start on 4 consecutive possessions for the Lakers, leading to over 10 more minutes of delay. The shot clock malfunctions led to both teams playing without a 24 second count for the last few possessions as the Warriors stole a win in LA.

Anthony Edwards led the Wolves into Utah in a vital game for them. They almost need to win out for the rest of the year to have a chance to regain the #1 seed, as Denver and OKC are rolling right now. Edwards continued his string of elite performances, ending the night with 31/10/5 to go along with 2 steals and 2 blocks. Naz Reid had 22 and 12, while Mike Conley added 25 in his return to Utah. Minnesota again played without Towns and Gobert, but even without their bigs they held Utah to 45% from the field and 23% from three.

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League News

Around the League

• Luka Doncic and DeMar DeRozan have been named Players of The Week for Week 20.

• Joel Embiid has been re-evaluated by doctors and they are “happy with the progress” the 76ers center is making following meniscus surgery on his left knee, Philadelphia head coach Nick Nurse said Saturday. When asked if he believes that Embiid will be back with the team before the playoffs, Nurse was cautious. “I’m still hoping so and pretty confident, yes,” the coach said. Embiid’s status has been up in the air, with an expected team medical update never coming on the evaluation after the Feb. 6 surgery. Embiid said on Feb. 29 that he believed that he would be back for the playoffs, but the team’s silence on the same topic had created some questions about where the rehab process was. Embiid has missed 21 games since tearing the meniscus against Golden State on Jan. 30. In the time since, Philadelphia has fallen from third in the Eastern Conference to eighth, going 7-13 in the 20 games leading into last night’s win against Charlotte.

• Injury Updates: 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. John Wall is interested in signing with the Heat. The 76ers are signing Kai Jones, which will be interesting. 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 on 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 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. The Bucks moved back into second in the East, but face tough tests up next against Phoenix and Boston.

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 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 Thursday in Oklahoma City. The MRI on that left hamstring came back clean, but he’ll be re-evaluated over the weekend.

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 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

Anthony Edwards had one of his best games of the season last 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.