Welcome to the NBA Hangover. We jot down NBA stuff mostly from last night that we want to talk about. Check it out.
The East has really gotten competitive.
(PHOTO CREDIT: Matt Slocum/AP.)
This seems to be the week when streaks go to die. The Mavericks stopped the Bucks’ 18-game winning streak. A night later, the Lakers’ 14-win road streak ended at the hands of the Pacers.
On Wednesday night, the Sixers’ home undefeated streak has been nixed by the Heat (whose own undefeated home streak was stopped by those same road juggernauts, the Lakers). The Heat are good, man, unlike what most of us thought before the season.
You look at the East from seeds 2-6 and they are only ALL a game apart. The Bucks are heads and shoulders above them but then we didn’t think the Raptors were going to beat them. So we should keep an eye on what these teams are capable of.
I keep thinking the Heat are overachieving. But then you realize that Erik Spoelstra is an elite coach so you kind of wonder if they’re actually correctly rated. There is NO doubt that Jimmy Butler is a Top 20 (maybe 15) player in the league and his work ethic and discipline fits in with the team’s goals.
Boston is not as talented as they were last year but then Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown are clearly becoming more comfortable with their expanded roles. Kemba Walker brings the calm to the team, as opposed to the more high-maintenance Kyrie Irving. And Gordon Hayward is back in the fold. It’s not so much that the Celtics lack talent but now it seems that they have the right talent going forward.
And we’ve gone over the Raptors before. They’re the champions and they’re one of the least respected champions in league history so they have something to prove. I love that Fred VanVleet (though he had been out with a knee injury) and Pascal Siakam have done extremely well in increased roles. Kyle Lowry remains excellent (triple-double in their win over Detroit). They still have that great defense in linchpins Marc Gasol, Serge Ibaka, and OG Anunoby. And while that game against Detroit wasn’t that great, Norman Powell has become a more consistent player this season. Don’t sleep on the champs.
The Sixers are the most frustrating team in the bunch. We had mentioned that Joel Embiid CAN dominate and while the stats still looked good, he didn’t exactly stomp the competition in his last two games. We know the Sixers can defend but it hasn’t exactly shown that consistency in their last few games. The talent is obviously there and their starting five is the biggest and most flair in the league.
And we talked about the Pacers last night. Probably not on the level of these four other teams but they will make teams work for every shot. Maybe having a healthy Victor Oladipo will put them in the same pedestal. I will say that we should give the frontcourt duo of Domantas Sabonis and Myles Turner more time. Sabonis has had a great year while Turner is still working his way through but they looked great against the Lakers on Tuesday night.
It’s a fight to see who breaks out of this pack. And like I said, who knows if they’re capable of beating the Bucks in the playoffs. One of these teams could be the actual best in the East and we might not know it yet.
Bullet Passes
While Seth Curry turned in another good performance with 20 points against the Celtics, we kind of have to watch out for Tim Hardaway, Jr., who has NOT shot well. He followed up a 1 for 10 game against Milwaukee with a 4 for 17 dud against Boston in a loss.
The Pelicans have FINALLY snapped their losing streak, which was at 13 games. Brandon Ingram had 34 points to lead New Orleans. We still think this team SHOULD be better than 7-22.
Good for Zach LaVine to find Wendell Carter, Jr. for the go-ahead and game-winning lay-up. I mean, someone had to win the game between the Bulls and the Wizards, right?
On Monday, the Thunder came back from 26 down to beat the Bulls.
On Wednesday, the Thunder came back from 24 down to beat the Grizzlies.
The lesson? Go up by 45 against the Thunder.
(Just kidding. Never give up. John Cena taught me that.)
I got a text from a good friend who is a big NBA fan but other things had kept her from keeping up with the league. She asked what happened to the Warriors (well, she used different words but that was what she essentially asked). I just said that everyone got hurt.
Seriously, life. Fast. We all know how that goes. The Warriors lost a total of 24 regular season games in two seasons (take your pick from 2014-15 and 2015-16 or 2015-16 and 2016-17) but we’re only in December 19 here and they’ve already lost 24 games. Rough.
The Scoreboard
CHA 98 (13-18) @ CLE 100 (7-21)
TOR 112 (19-8) @ DET 99 (11-17)
CHI 110 (11-19) @ WAS 109 (8-18) (OT)
MIA 108 (20-8) @ PHI 104 (20-9)
NO 107 (7-22) @ MIN 99 (10-16)
MEM 122 (10-18) @ OKC 126 (13-14)
ORL 104 (12-16) @ DEN 113 (18-8)
BOS 109 (18-7) @ DAL 103 (17-9)
GS 112 (5-24) @ POR 122 (12-16)
Watch This Play
Nikola Jokic made a one-legged three. Off the wrong foot.
(VIDEO CREDIT: NBA BandWagon Fan.)
That’s just Jokic, man. Doing all the weird things.
Rey-Rey is on Twitter at @TheNoLookPass.
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