Welcome to the NBA Hangover. We jot down NBA stuff mostly from last night that we want to talk about. Check it out.
Spencer Dinwiddie went from castoff a few years ago to possible all-star this season.
(PHOTO CREDIT: Andy Marlin/USA Today.)
Spencer Dinwiddie has been scorching this season. He was supposed to play back-up to Kyrie Irving at the one, just as he played back-up to D’Angelo Russell last season. But opportunity came with Irving’s injury and just as he showed in the 2018-19 campaign, he can get it done.
And get it done, he has. He went for 39 big points in a victory against Atlanta on Saturday despite being in foul trouble. This followed a 41-point performance in a loss against San Antonio. Before that, he went for 31 in an overtime win against New Orleans. That is an average of 37 points in the last three games.
But this season, he has averaged 22.7 points and 6.2 assists. He’s in the Top 20 in both categories. GET HIM TO THE ALL-STAR GAME.
Dinwiddie has become the #1 option with Irving out with a shoulder injury. Also remember that Kevin Durant and Caris LeVert have been out with their own injuries. It’s fallen to Dinwiddie since to make something happen. He’s a big point guard that’s hard to stop from going to the rim (his drives feel so easy for him). He doesn’t have the greatest three-point shot (.308) but he has that option to let it fly from there. And he’s not a sieve defensively, either.
Plus let us remind y’all that he averages 6.2 dimes. He has a fantastic connection to his big men Jarrett Allen and DeAndre Jordan.
It’s another case where it feels like another player out of nowhere is putting up excellent numbers. Dinwiddie was a second round pick by the Pistons before he got traded to the Bulls for Cameron Bairstow, who now plays in Lithuania. Both Dinwiddie and Bairstow were waived by their teams. Oh, and Dinwiddie was actually waived TWICE by the Bulls. Isn’t that amazing?
Dinwiddie has improved his scoring average every season he’s been in the NBA. He had great production off the bench last season (16.8 PPG) and has only followed it up with this incredible campaign. He even won Eastern Conference Player of the Week last month and is probably in line for a Most Improved Player award this season.
I’m on the Spencer Dinwiddie All-Star train. He deserves that spot.
Now I’m salivating on how the prospect of the Nets with Irving, Durant, and LeVert all healthy.
Bullet Passes
Trae Young DID score 47 points against Dinwiddie and the Nets but the Hawks just can’t win.
I saw something on Twitter about how Trae Young is posting up “empty stats” because his team ain’t winning. People should probably watch the game when it comes to calling empty stats. As always, there is context when it comes to those sort of things.
Trae is doing EVERYTHING to make sure his team stays afloat. You can tell when someone is stat-hunting or when someone just feels listless when they’re playing ball. James Harden in 2015-16 comes to mind. He averaged 29-6-7 that season but it felt like he was going through the motions (that DEFENSE, my gosh) as the Rockets went to .500 and was 15 games worse than the previous season.
Yes, Trae is also terrible defensively. But without Trae, that team is even worse than the 6-24 record they are now.
So Isaiah Thomas got ejected from the Wizards‘ game against the Sixers. He went up to the stands to confront the fan, which is basically a no-no for the player. But let’s have Isaiah explain his actions.
Isaiah Thomas said the fan he approached in the stands gave him two middle fingers and yelled “Fuck you, bitch!” three times: pic.twitter.com/z1Fk4LVKdW
— Fred Katz (@FredKatz) December 22, 2019
And in the end, the fan claimed all he wanted was a Wendy’s Frosty (which fans receive when the opposing player misses two free throws).
There is no need to shout that kind of thing to a human being. Seriously. I was afraid it was gonna be a lot worse than that considering what Isaiah Thomas has been through in his life.
Also, isn’t a Frosty like a dollar? Are we also sure he said those things because he wanted that Frosty?
And NBA teams and sponsors should do something better for freebies. I guess missing free throws is fine but I think the home team’s fans should only get free stuff if the home team wins. I like the home team holding their opponents to a certain number of points is pretty good.
Speaking of Harden, it’s no secret how his game turns off a lot of people. I’ve also seen peers not be impressed with his scoring. He scored another 47 in their game against Phoenix, bringing his average up to 38.8 points.
I don’t know. I’ll always be impressed by it. He would be third in best scoring average in a season in NBA history should the season stop now.
After all, this game has always been and will always be about buckets.
Kawhi Leonard just destroyed his former team, the Spurs, in his usual robotic way. So he had five dunks. I was wondering why people were keeping track of this on social media before it was known that the Clippers had the most dunks in a basketball game since dunks were kept track (1996-97 season). The Clips had 20 dunks against the Spurs.
The battle for the #8 seed is juicy in both conferences. Portland is currently #8 in the West at 14-16. I love that they’re gaining traction but they’re still on pace for only 38 wins.
I thought the East wasn’t so weak anymore but #8 Orlando is 12-17. They are on pace for 34 wins. Gross.
SO a 35-win team can probably get in the playoffs. Yikes.
The Scoreboard
UTA 114 (18-11) @ CHA 107 (13-19)
ATL 112 (6-24) @ BRK 122 (16-13)
CHI 119 (12-19) @ DET 107 (10-19)
WAS 108 (8-20) @ PHI 125 (21-10)
MIL 123 (26-4) @ NY 102 (7-23)
SAC 115 (12-17) @ MEM 119 (11-19)
LAC 134 (22-9) @ SA 109 (11-17)
HOU 139 (20-9) @ PHX 125 (11-18)
MIN 106 (10-18) @ POR 113 (14-16)
Watch This Play
Giannis Antetokounmpo has his older brother, Thanasis, on his team. And he, too, can sky.
(VIDEO CREDIT: NBA BandWagon Fan.)
It must run in the family.
Rey-Rey is on Twitter at @TheNoLookPass.
TNLP on FaceBook.