Top Stories

• Joker and Wemby duel

• Warriors outlast Mavs

• Embiid’s return game

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Games of the day

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

Wemby might be the best 19/20 year old i’ve ever witnessed with my own eyes. Against the reigning champs he dropped 23 points, 15 rebounds, 8 assists, and 9 blocks. He was a block and 2 assists away from becoming the 5th player in NBA HISTORY to have a quadruple double. If he’s doing this in his rookie season, imagine the force he’ll be 5-10 years on the future. Despite Wemby’s statline, the Spurs still lost cause of the Joker. He dropped 42/16/6 despite the defense of Wemby, and the Nuggets pulled out a narrow victory.

Steph Curry and Luka Doncic faced off in a close game, in which the Warriors defense sealed the game late. Curry only scored 13 points, but it was a complete team effort from Golden State that won the game. 6 players scored in double digits, led by Andrew Wiggins 23. Luka had 30/12/11 to lead Dallas, and Kyrie had 27, but the others for the Mavs couldn’t produce. Gafford and Washington Jr were the only other Mavs to score in double digits, with 10 and 20 respectively. Dallas is now only .5 games ahead of New Orleans for the 5 seed, so they need to keep things together to keep their spot.

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League News

Around the League

• Luka Doncic and Dejounte Murray have been named Players of The Week for Week 23.

• The reigning MVP returned and immediately elevated the Sixers. They beat the OKC Thunder (who admittedly didn’t have their 2 best players, but Maxey didn’t play either). He scored 24 points in 30 minutes, and also had 6 rebounds and 7 assists. The Sixers trailed by 11 points with 7:27 left before they went on a quick run. Kelly Oubre Jr. hit a 3 that got the comeback rolling, and Embiid capped it off with a series of free throws. Embiid hit two for a 106-105 lead and added two more that made it 108-105. He made all 12 foul shots on the night. The Sixers crashed in the East standings without him. They are currently eighth, 1 1/2 games behind Miami. With a healthy Embiid, the 76ers at least have a better chance to win a series or two in the playoffs. As it stands now, they’d have to play Miami in the Play-in, only to play Milwaukee in the first round if they win. If they lost to Miami, they’d play the winner of Atlanta-Chicago, and if they won that game they’d play Boston in the first round. Not exactly the matchups anyone wants to play, but with a healthy Embiid on the team, things can be competitive.

• Injury Updates: Jeremy Sochan and Devin Vassell will both miss the rest of the season. Malik Monk (knee) will miss 4-6 weeks. Kevin Huerter (shoulder) is out for the season. LaMelo Ball (ankle) is out for the season. Brandon Ingram (knee) will miss at least 2 weeks. 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 2 weeks. Josh Richardson (shoulder) had surgery and will be out for the season. Scottie Barnes (hand) underwent surgery and will be out at least 2 weeks. Trae Young (hand) had surgery and will be re-evaluated in 1-2 weeks. Jarred Vanderbilt (foot) will miss at least 2 more weeks. Julius Randle (shoulder) will be out 1-2 more weeks. Marcus Smart (finger) will be out 1 more week. Gabe Vincent (knee) will be out at least 1 more week. 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 News

• Rajon Rondo announced his official retirement. 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: 26.1 ppg, 12.2 rpg, 9 apg

His case: The two-time MVP continues to grind through left hip soreness and lower back pain. But Denver has won four of its last five going into Friday’s game vs. Minnesota. In the four games Jokic has played over that span, the 29-year-old averaged 29 points, 12.5 rebounds, 7.8 assists and 1.5 steals per game.

The Nuggets suffered a setback last Wednesday, losing to Phoenix for the second time this month. A loss to Minnesota Friday night hurts his case as well.

2. Luka Doncic, Dallas Mavericks

Last week’s ranking: T-3

Season stats: 33.1 ppg, 9.1 rpg, 9.8 apg

His case: There’s still work to do, but the wins are finally starting to match the 25-year-old’s otherworldly production. Throughout Dallas’ 9-1 run, Doncic has posted 29.8 ppg, 9.8 rpg, 10 apg and 1.7 spg.

Of course, the team’s only loss over that span came March 14 at Oklahoma City in a game Doncic missed due to a sore left hamstring.

3. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma City Thunder

Last week’s ranking: No. 2

Season stats: 30.4 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 6.3 apg

His case: The injury report going into a home clash Friday with Phoenix didn’t look good with Gilgeous-Alexander listed as doubtful due to a right quadriceps contusion. He suffered the injury more than a week ago but continued to try to play his way through the pain.

The latest setback comes at a crucial time. After the matchup against the Suns, the Thunder play five straight on the road, including games at New York (a win), Philadelphia (a loss), Boston and Indiana.

4. Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks

Last week’s ranking: T-3

Season stats: 30.7 ppg, 11.5 rpg, 6.4 apg

His case: Antetokounmpo fights hard. But the two-time MVP needs help with Milwaukee dropping two in a row despite the eight-time All-Star averaging 31.3 points and 16.3 rebounds in his last three games.

Antetokounmpo scored 20 straight points in the third quarter of Thursday’s loss at New Orleans yet didn’t take a shot in the fourth quarter until 28.7 seconds remained. By comparison, Zion Williamson scored 11 of his 28 points in the final frame.

5. Jayson Tatum, Boston Celtics

Last week’s ranking: No. 5

Season stats: 27.3 ppg, 8.3 rpg, 4.9 apg

His case: Tatum and the Celtics suffered their second loss to Atlanta in four days Thursday, falling 123-122 in overtime in a game featuring the second-most lead changes (41) since the 2000-01 season. The five-time All-Star dropped a team-high 31 points with 13 rebounds.

But the loss marked the first time since March 7 that Boston suffered defeat in a game that featured Tatum, Derrick White, Jrue Holiday, Jaylen Brown and Kristaps Porzingis in the starting lineup.

The Next Five

6. Domantas Sabonis, Sacramento Kings (Last week’s ranking: No. 6)
7. Kevin Durant, Phoenix Suns (Last week’s ranking: No. 8)
8. Devin Booker, Phoenix Suns (Last week’s ranking: No. 9)
9. Anthony Davis, Los Angeles Lakers (Last week’s ranking: unranked)
10. Kawhi Leonard, LA Clippers (Last week’s ranking: No. 7)

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Fantasy Leaders

Wemby and Jokic put up crazy numbers

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.