Top Stories

• Wolves blow out Clippers

• Controversy in Knicks/Rockets

• Wemby dominates

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Games of the day

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

The most anticipated game of the day did not disappoint (until the 3rd quarter). These top seeds in the Conference were going at it throughout the first half, with the Clippers being up 4 at the half. The Wolves flipped the game around in the 3rd quarter, outscoring LA 40-19, and that put the nail in the coffin. The Clippers were never able to recover, and other than Kawhi/PG/Harden, no other Clippers had very good nights. Minnesota was led by a balanced attack from Anthony Edwards and Karl-Anthony Towns who had 23 and 24 points respectively. Rudy Gobert had 4 blocks and 10 rebounds, and held the paint down for the sole possessor of the #1 seed in the West. A WCF matchup between these 2 teams could be fireworks.

This great back and forth game was ruined by quite possibly the WORST call that I’ve ever seen in real time. After Jalen Brunson hit TWO big shots to tie the game, Aaron Holiday chucked up a prayer from near half court with less than a second left in the game. Jalen Brunson contested the shot well, and made contact with Holiday AFTER the ball had been released. The refs called a foul, and after review, Holiday got 3 free throws, and the refs even called the game over with 0.3 seconds left, denying the Knicks the very miniscule, but not impossible, chance to tie the game. After the game, Ed Malloy, ONE OF THE REFS WORKING THE GAME, said the call was wrong. The officiating this year has been questionable, but this game was absolutely horrible.

Victor Wembanyama is absolutely insane, posting the first Triple-Double with points, rebounds, and blocks in 4 years. He also added in 5 assists and 2 steals, absolutely filling the stat sheet. Behind this monster game, the Spurs actually WON for once. Wemby is having one of the most impressive rookie campaigns we’ve seen in the last 20 years, and just narrowly missed the cut to be the first rookie All Star since Blake Griffin in 2011.

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League News

Around the League

• Luka Doncic and Donovan Mitchell have been named Players of The Week for Week 16.

• Giannis and Jokic faced off in a highly anticipated matchup, and it was slightly underwhelming. Milwaukee jumped out to an early lead, and really never looked back. Jokic did his thing with 29/12/8, but he didn’t really have any help, as Jamal Murray only had 3 points. Giannis had a monster game with 36/18/5. The Buck’s defense was active, and with Pat Bev playing, they held Denver to just 95 points. With the end of the season in sight, Milwaukee needs to fix their defense if they wanna be the ones to come out of the East, because Boston will likely be the team they have to beat.

• Injury Updates: OG Anunoby (elbow) will miss 3+ 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 miss 1-3 weeks. Gabe Vincent (knee) will be out at least 3 weeks. Mitchell Robinson (ankle) underwent surgery and will be out 4-6 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 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.

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NBA MVP Race

1. Nikola Jokic, Denver Nuggets

Last week’s ranking: No. 1

Season stats: 26.3 ppg, 12.2 rpg, 9 apg

His case: Jokic helped the Nuggets to their eighth win in 10 outings Thursday with 24 points, 13 rebounds and nine assists against the Lakers on the road. Despite squandering a 15-point lead in the second half, Denver closed on a 10-2 run in the final 2:18 for the win.

This season, Jokic has 32 games with 25 points or more, five-plus rebounds and five-plus assists. He had 32 such games in total last season.

2. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma City Thunder

Last week’s ranking: No. 2

Season stats: 31.1 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 6.6 apg

His case: Scored 28 points in combining with Jalen Williams (26 points) and Chet Holmgren (22 points) for 76 of his team’s 117 points in a loss to Utah that snapped a three-game winning streak.

Gilgeous-Alexander is the eighth player in NBA history to produce 30 games with 30-plus points in the first 41 games of the season. He’ll lead OKC on Saturday into what should be a fun road game in Dallas against Doncic (3 p.m ET, NBA TV).

3. Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks

Last week’s ranking: No. 4

Season stats: 31.1 ppg, 11.2 rpg, 6.4 apg

His case: Antetokounmpo was limited to fewer than 20 points for just the fifth time this season Thursday as the shorthanded Bucks suffered their worst home loss of the season to Minnesota.

Milwaukee rested Antetokounmpo for the final 16 minutes with the game out of hand, which means he’ll be refreshed for Friday’s home matchup against Charlotte. Before the loss to Minnesota, the two-time MVP had scored 33-plus points in his three previous outings.

4. Luka Doncic, Dallas Mavericks

Last week’s ranking: No. 6

Season stats: 34.6 ppg, 8.8 rpg, 9.5 apg

His case: Lit up the ailing New York Knicks for 39 points on Thursday to lead Dallas to its first three-game winning streak since early January. The performance marked Doncic’s 34th 30-point game of the season, which ranks No. 2 behind Gilgeous-Alexander, not to mention his 29th double-double.

The Mavs tip off a four-game homestand on Saturday against Oklahoma City and sit just a game behind Sacramento for the No. 7 seed in the West.

5. Jayson Tatum, Boston Celtics

Last week’s ranking: No. 5

Season stats: 26.9 ppg, 8.4 rpg, 4.5 apg 

His case: Led by Tatum, the Celtics continue to take care of business at home, going 4-2 on this seven-game run that ended Friday against Washington. The 25-year-old has flirted in triple-double territory in each of his last two games.

Tatum has put together 33 games with six-plus made 3-pointers, which ranks No. 2 in NBA history for a forward or center behind Paul George (52 games).

THE NEXT FIVE

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

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Fantasy Leaders

Wemby is a fantasy cheat code

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