Top Stories

• LeBron 9 points away from 40k points

• Nuggets beat Heat in Finals rematch

• Wemby DOMINATES Chet

🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀

Games of the day

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

After a monster game against the Title-Contending Clippers, the Lakers needed OT to beat a team with less than 10 wins so far this year. AD was dominant, posting 40 points and 15 rebounds with 3 blocks, and LeBron added 31. 4 Wizards scored 20+ points, led by Jordan Poole’s 34 off the bench. LeBron had one of his patented chasedown blocks on Poole in overtime to help seal the victory (and give the Wizards the league’s worst record at 9-50)

In a rematch of last years Finals, Jimmy Butler and the Heat still couldn’t take down Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets. Jokic had an off night by his standards, only dropping 18/11/7, but it was Michael “never pass the rock” Porter Jr who paced the Nuggets with 30 points. Jimmy and Bam were the only players for Miami to score more than 20, but defense and team play still kept the game fairly close until the end. Too bad they still couldn’t beat Denver when it counted.

🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀

League News

Around the League

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

• Wemby has likely closed the door on the ROTY debate. Head to head matchups between players competing for an award are VITAL to swinging the narrative in your favor. And Victor did just that. He dominated Chet in EVERY statistical category (28/13/7/2/5 to 23/7/5/0/1). Not to mention the Spurs actually won the game. Wemby had a HUGE block on Chet to help seal the win for San Antonio. Wembanyama’s statistical dominance plus his individual dominance against Chet has completely turned the conversation in his favor. Throw in the fact that Chet isn’t even a real rookie and still isn’t as good as Wemby, and it’s really no longer a debate.

• Injury Updates: Trae Young (hand) had surgery and will be re-evaluated in 4 weeks. Dyson Daniels (meniscus) will be re-evaluated in 3 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 3-5 weeks. Marcus Smart (finger) will be out 3 weeks. Gabe Vincent (knee) will be out at least 3 more weeks. Mitchell Robinson (ankle) underwent surgery and will be out 2-5 weeks. 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

• The Hawks waived Patty Mills. The Free Agent market is still deep with vets like Nerlens Noel, 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, 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 last 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 the 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 last 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 last 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 last night against Devin Booker and the Phoenix Suns, 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 last 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)

🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀

Fantasy Leaders

Wemby and Vassell become the latest teammates in the Top 3

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.