Welcome to the NBA Hangover. We jot down NBA stuff mostly from last night that we want to talk about. Check it out.
Fred VanVleet continues to be a key player for the defending champion Raptors.
(PHOTO CREDIT: Nathan Denette/AP.)
The defending champions are coming together. And once again, that went under the radar. These guys are used to it by now. After all, they already feel disrespected even though they are the ones teams have to go through to win the championship.
The Toronto Raptors are becoming healthier. They were actually at full strength until Patrick McCaw got knocked out of their game against Philadelphia on Wednesday night. But remember when three Raptors were out indefinitely? They are all back.
Marc Gasol (hamstring), Norman Powell (shoulder), and Pascal Siakam (groin) were all injured in the same game (December 18 against Detroit). The Raptors still played good defense during the time all three players were out but their offense wasn’t humming as much. After all, it’s tough to replace a franchise player’s scoring as well as a bench player who is starting to catch fire.
Powell and Siakam came back on January 12th to a close loss against San Antonio. Then Gasol came back the next game against the Thunder. With everyone healthy, the Raptors quickly came together and everyone started playing their best, it seems.
Nick Nurse has been amazing through it all as he continued to find ways to put his players in optimal positions defensively. They are versatile on that end of the court. OG Anunoby has filled in well after Kawhi Leonard left. Fred VanVleet and Kyle Lowry have wreaked havoc on the perimeter as well. Siakam, Powell, Terence Davis, and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson are all capable defenders. And Gasol and Serge Ibaka continue to give rim protection. Whether they go big or small, teams have a hard time scoring against Toronto. They are second in defensive rating at 104.1 points allowed per 100 possessions this season. And that’s with ALL the injuries they have gone through.
The Raptors have won their last five games, are currently third in the East at 30-14. No matter what you think of the Raptors, they deserve all respect in the world for being worthy champions AND worthy defenders of the crown.
Bullet Passes
Everyone’s talking about it so we have to talk about it, too! Zion Williamson had that three-minute burst where he exploded for 17 points. The rest of the game was mostly forgettable for the rookie but those three minutes were electric.
I was not exactly thrilled that he didn’t get to go back into the game and I honestly didn’t see any harm in him going back for the last two minutes or so (they got back in the game because of him and they had a chance to win). But whatever. I’m not the medical staff. I’m not an analytics expert. You just move on and look forward to Game #2 for Zion. Suffice to say, that debut was exciting, even if it just happened for those 3 minutes out of 18.
The Jazz are now second place in the West by themselves. It’s one thing for Denver to lose to Houston; the Rockets are still very good. But the Clippers probably should have thrashed the Hawks. But that’s why the games are played and you have to give Atlanta credit for enduring a 21-point deficit and coming back to beat the mighty Clippers. Even if the Clips were without three starters.
In a Sports Illustrated article about Chris Paul, it said that there was no chance he was opting out of his $44 million player option for next year.
I wouldn’t, either. WHO WOULD?!
In any case, it’s nice to see that Chris Paul took his OKC trade in stride. It’s come full circle for Paul returned to the city where he started his career (the then-New Orleans Hornets played mostly in OKC for Paul’s first two years of his career because of the devastation of Hurricane Katrina).
Russell Westbrook in January? Averages of 30.0 points, 8.9 rebounds, 8.3 assists, and 2.1 steals. He’s also noticeably shot way less threes this month (2.7 attempts but shooting .263) but his overall true shooting percentage (which calculates twos, threes, and free throws) is at .561, which is just above league average (.560). Not bad for Russ.
What you don’t give the Miami Heat is extra time on the court. The Heat defeated the Washington Wizards in overtime.
What’s the significance of that? The Heat are 8-0 in overtime games this season.
The Scoreboard
PHI 95 (29-17) @ TOR 107 (30-14)
SAC 106 (15-29) @ DET 127 (17-28)
OKC 120 (26-19) @ ORL 114 (21-24)
LAL 100 (35-9) @ NY 92 (12-33)
MEM 95 (20-24) @ BOS 119 (29-14)
WAS 129 (14-29) @ MIA 134 (31-13) (OT)
LAC 95 (31-14) @ ATL 102 (11-34)
MIN 110 (15-29) @ CHI 117 (17-29)
DEN 105 (30-14) @ HOU 121 (27-16)
IND 112 (29-16) @ PHX 87 (18-26)
SA 121 (20-23) @ NO 117 (17-28)
UTA 129 (31-13) @ GS 96 (10-36)
Watch This Play
De’Aaron Fox got him some Wood. Christian Wood, that is.
(VIDEO CREDIT: Bleacher Report.)
That’s how the quick brown fox does it.
Rey-Rey is on Twitter at @TheNoLookPass.
TNLP on FaceBook.