Welcome to the NBA Hangover. We jot down NBA stuff mostly from last night that we want to talk about. Check it out.
The Utah Jazz just had their five-game win streak snapped.
(PHOTO CREDIT: Joel Auerbach/AP.)
So why are we talking about the Utah Jazz? They just lost a game to the Miami Heat, who are nearly invincible at home?
Well, they’re still 6th in the West but they had actually been winning some games quietly. They took advantage of an extremely soft schedule and won the games that they were supposed to (Wolves, Warriors, Magic, Hawks, Hornets). And they came very close to winning a game in Miami, which, like I said, is a very tough one.
They also made some moves last night. They said goodbye to Dante Exum, who did not work out for them during his tenure. The injuries certainly played a huge part in that. In comes Jordan Clarkson from Cleveland in this deal. We know what Clarkson can do. All he does is get buckets. Not really known for his defensive prowess but maybe some influence from his new team can help him out.
The Jazz also waived Jeff Green, who has been the most inconsistent player in the league for years. They then picked up Rayjon Tucker from the G-League. Tucker is a rookie playing for the Wisconsin Herd (the Milwaukee Bucks‘ minor league affiliate) and averaged nearly 24 points there.
Both of these moves are to fortify the Jazz bench, who are second-to-last in bench scoring at 26.9 PPG. They had also moved Joe Ingles to the starting line-up and he has played better since then. Mike Conley has struggled all year and he is currently out with a hamstring injury. Royce O’Neale was designated back to the bench but is back with the starters with Conley out.
So I’m sort of watching out for them. The Lakers are in a bit of a swoon. The Clippers are not going to have Kawhi Leonard every game so they’re going to take a few losses. The Mavericks have played well but they don’t have Luka Doncic at the moment. And 8 of their next 9 games are against teams under .500. They had been playing better offensively in the last two weeks and they can have a bit more target practice in the next few games as well.
While Conley has struggled, the Jazz have still been a top-heavy team with Donovan Mitchell and Bojan Bogdanovic carrying the offensive load. Let’s see if the bench shapes up in the next few weeks.
Bullet Passes
The Denver Nuggets have won 7 straight games. Jamal Murray and Jerami Grant made some plays on each end.
(VIDEO CREDIT: NBA BandWagon Fan.)
They really have found their groove. There was kind of a reason why I didn’t mention that team when I was talking about the Jazz making a move.
The Blazers losing to the Pelicans really disappointed me because they were also a team quietly winning games beforehand. They had won four straight games before that loss.
Still, they’re holding on to the #8 spot in the West.
It was nice to see LaMarcus Aldridge go for 40 points in the Spurs‘ annihiliation of the Grizzlies.
That Raptors team keeps fighting. They were able to take the Pacers to overtime on the road before falling short. Give the Pacers credit, though. Aaron Holiday made some big plays for them (19 points, 10 assists) and Myles Turner was huge (24 points).
The Wolves have lost 11 straight games. I am just crestfallen for those guys.
The Scoreboard
WAS 121 (9-20) @ NY 115 (7-24)
ATL 118 (6-25) @ CLE 121 (9-21)
PHI 125 (22-10) @ DET 109 (11-20)
CHI 95 (12-20) @ ORL 103 (13-17)
TOR 115 (21-9) @ IND 120 (21-10) (OT)
UTA 104 (18-12) @ MIA 107 (22-8)
SA 145 (12-17) @ MEM 115 (11-20)
DEN 113 (21-8) @ PHX 111 (11-19)
HOU 113 (21-9) @ SAC 104 (12-18)
NO 102 (8-23) @ POR 94 (14-17)
MIN 104 (10-19) @ GS 113 (7-24)
Watch This Play
I know I made the Jazz the main subject here. This one, though, is not flattering. Derrick Jones, Jr. dumped on Rudy Gobert here.
(VIDEO CREDIT: NBA BandWagon Fan.)
So bring Jones back for the dunk contest. I’m sure he’ll do better now. I think.
Rey-Rey is on Twitter at @TheNoLookPass.
TNLP on FaceBook.