Welcome to the NBA Hangover. We jot down NBA stuff mostly from last night that we want to talk about. Check it out.
Paul Millsap always does his job quietly.
(PHOTO CREDIT: Bart Young/Getty Images.)
Paul Millsap hardly ever gets the credit he deserves. He probably likes it that way, anyway.
Every team he’s on seems to thrive on his presence. Millsap’s only missed the playoffs three times in his 13 full seasons as an NBA player. In his 14th season, he continues to be an excellent two-way player that few appreciate because he never played for a big market.
Millsap makes it easier for his teammates to operate on both ends of the court. He’s always been excellent on the defensive end (2nd team all-defense in 2016) and provides a fail-safe on offense. What I think goes unnoticed, sometimes (always; I mean, it’s Paul Millsap), is that he seems to add something to his game as his career goes on.
In addition to his lockdown defense, he became better at stealing the ball. He was fourth in steals in 2011-12. He extended his range more when he got to the Hawks in 2013-14. MIllsap wasn’t exactly a deadeye shooter from three for a lot of his career (.339 career percentage from three) but it helped in spreading the floor. This year? He’s somehow .488 from behind the arc.
We talked about his presence and how he makes his teammates better. Remember when we thought that the Hawks weren’t going to be much in the 2014-15 season? He was a huge part of that amazing 60-win team that season? He was an all-star every season with Atlanta. So it was not unreasonable that when the Nuggets got him, a lot of people thought they were going in the right direction.
The Nuggets barely missed the postseason in 2017-18. Millsap was hurt for most of that season and Denver got a little worse without him (24-20 without Millsap and 22-16 with him). Nuggets improved eight games the next season with Millsap mostly present. His presence also made the team much better defensively. They made the Top 10 in defensive rating last season and they’re currently tops in the league this season. And we KNOW Denver is NEVER known for their defense.
What Millsap provides for the team won’t be shown on the box score. His outright production isn’t as high as it used to be at age 34 (14.1 points and 6.1 rebounds in 26 minutes per game). But he’ll give the team presence on both ends, a quiet and confident leadership, defensive culture to a young team, and do all the dirty work that the gritty veterans do. We talk about Mike Conley being underrated for the last decade; I think Millsap is even more in that regard. I honestly can’t remember any of Paul Millsap moments. Sometimes, you’ll just see his box score and go, “Oh, I didn’t know he scored 25 points.” But that’s just what he does. What is that some people say, sometimes? He puts his hard hat on and goes to work.
We love our sexy highlights with LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Trae Young, etc. And then there are some who just goes about their business. Millsap is the best of that bunch. He’ll probably be underappreciated forever.
Bullet Passes
There were only two games on Tuesday night. The top dogs of the West did their thing. The more impressive win was the Clippers holding the top offense in the league, the Mavericks, to 99 points. I mean, when you have Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, and Patrick Beverley roaming around, it’s tough to score points against them.
Luka Doncic was held down pretty well. I mean, 22-8-6 is “held down” for Luka. But he didn’t make any three-pointer out of his eight attempts. He turned the ball over seven times. He did get his points from the line (14/16) but it wasn’t an easy day for the office for Doncic.
But, really, the entire Nuggets squad isn’t exactly a team that’s much on the radar, either. They probably won’t until they make the Western Conference Finals. Nikola Jokic is always a curiosity; we know what he can do. But Jamal Murray and Gary Harris don’t get as much pub as a Dame/C.J. tandem would. Will Barton was a Portland castoff and he doesn’t get as much credit for being a good two-way player. And the team is second best in the West at 13-3 behind the Lakers, who are only one of the most popular sports teams in the world.
Watch This Play
This dunk is PG-13.
PG13 FLIES IN. ✈️ #ClipperNation
He’s up to 17 PTS in the 1Q on @NBATV! pic.twitter.com/MpqLSB5Vec
— NBA (@NBA) November 27, 2019
Shoulder surgeries in the offseason? No problem for Paul George here.
Rey-Rey is on Twitter at @TheNoLookPass.
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