Welcome to the NBA Hangover. We jot down NBA stuff mostly from last night that we want to talk about. Check it out.
Zach LaVine helped the Bulls rally against the Cavaliers.
(PHOTO CREDIT: Nam Y. Huh/AP.)
So we’re not sure if Zach LaVine is going to make the all-star game. The stats you see right in front of you seem worthy of it, though.
Averages of 25.0 points, 4.7 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 1.4 steals.
Those are fantastic numbers. Of course, LaVine’s reputation is that if you ask him to guard a lamp, the light bulb would get stolen. But that’s probably a little undeserving. He’s showed some improvements on the defensive end. His on-ball defending has been okay but he’s still prone to too many lapses. The Bulls do play better defense when he’s off the court but the offense is abysmal when he’s not playing. He did say that he is tired of people talking smack (paraphrasing) about his defense. The steals have improved, at least.
Zach has gone beyond being a dunker; he’s averaging 17.2 points for his career. For him to get to the next level, he has to be a defensive stopper; his athleticism certainly can make him very good on that end of the floor. But the case you can make for him is that he has been clutch this season. He had his signature game in a late November game where he scored 49 points (13 threes) and made the game-winner. He made crucial free throws and the pass that led to a game-winning bucket against Washington. He scored the game-winning three-point play against the Clippers. And of course, the 21-point fourth quarter against the Cavs on Saturday night.
I don’t know if he’ll make the team with so much talent in the East. Like LaVine, Trae Young‘s defense gets ridiculed but his stats are overwhelmingly good (28.8 points, 8.5 assists) and he’s pretty much the main reason the Hawks offense hums. Kemba Walker is having a great season with Boston. Jimmy Butler is doing fantastic with Miami. The Nets haven’t done very well but Kyrie Irving has the star power and Spencer Dinwiddie has his own case of making the team. Ben Simmons, of course, starts at point guard and it’s hard to leave him off. Kyle Lowry is still really good. So yeah, it’d be tough for LaVine to make the team.
But at least, we’re starting to notice how good he is.
Bullet Passes
Again, it is really terrifying how the Lakers can seemingly just flip on the Nintendo Switch and punish opposing teams defensively.
Speaking of guys that have the reputation of not defending, Kyle Kuzma drew a second half assignment against Russell Westbrook and did really well. Then his offense woke up right after that. He’s doing what he can to contribute to the team and people really have to stop being harsh about him.
That loss by the Rockets have put them down to #6 in the West. The jockeying for position in the middle of the playoff picture is violent.
Devin Booker. 39-10-9 in a win in Boston. You know, he seems to do really well in Boston; remember that he scored his 70-point game there.
Extremely happy to see Markelle Fultz score 23 points. Including this devastating dunk.
It seemed like happy vibes in Minnesota. They got Karl-Anthony Towns back (even though he shot badly, he ended with 12-6-6). And Andrew Wiggins got his first NBA triple-double (18-10-11). Unfortunately, they lost to Toronto.
Speaking of the Raptors, Norman Powell has scored 20 points or more in the four games he’s played since he’s come back.
The Scoreboard
LAC 133 (30-13) @ NO 130 (16-27)
MIL 117 (38-6) @ BRK 97 (18-23)
PHX 121 (18-24) @ BOS 119 (27-14)
DET 136 (16-27) @ ATL 103 (10-33)
PHI 90 (28-16) @ NY 87 (11-32)
CLE 116 (12-31) @ CHI 118 (16-28)
TOR 122 (28-14) @ MIN 112 (15-27)
LAL 124 (34-8) @ HOU 115 (26-15)
ORL 95 (20-23) @ GS 109 (10-34)
POR 106 (18-26) @ OKC 119 (24-19)
SAC 101 (15-27) @ UTA 123 (29-13)
Watch This Play
Come on, Zach.
Zach. LaVine.
See this at All Star weekend: https://t.co/XeTIaCKArt@nbcschicago | #RunWithUs pic.twitter.com/iAcsGvzCXr
— Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) January 19, 2020
Please do the dunk contest again.
Rey-Rey is on Twitter at @TheNoLookPass.
TNLP on FaceBook.