Welcome to the NBA Hangover. We jot down NBA stuff mostly from last night that we want to talk about. Check it out.
Caris LeVert had an indelible 51-point effort against the Celtics.
(PHOTO CREDIT: Mary Schwalm/AP.)
Amazing performance by Caris LeVert against the Celtics. He scored 26 points in the 4th quarter. Then he scored every single point in overtime for the Nets (that would be 11 of them).
He took out his entire bag for this game. LeVert went around the Celtics a lot to get to the hole. He went to the post. He did some clever cutting. And he went to town from the arc in the 4th. This was the guy last season that we saw do wonderful things before that terrifying leg injury.
It’s no wonder Kyrie Irving mentioned his name when he was talking about building this team. LeVert can be a force offensively on the wing. They seemingly have all the pieces and potential to be a championship team with Irving, Spencer Dinwiddie, Kevin Durant, and LeVert leading in offense.
LeVert has the potential to become a really good defender, too. Sometimes, he has been taken out because he hasn’t lived up to what he can do on that end. But we’re certainly seeing what he can do when it comes to buckets. Maybe a big game like this will get him going for the rest of the season. He did have games of 37 and 34 points in the last few weeks.
Hopefully, he’s been able to get past the leg and thumb injuries that have plagued his last two seasons. We still don’t know the difference between the Nets from last season and this season due to all the injuries. But we’ve gotten some previews with career games from LeVert, a career year from Dinwiddie, and some brilliance from Irving.
Let’s see them scare the Bucks, Raptors, or Celtics. That would be really fun.
Bullet Passes
Tim Duncan coached his first NBA game as Gregg Popovich was not available to do it due to personal reasons. I love Tim as much as everybody but man, would I love to see Becky Hammon succeed Pop as coach in San Antonio.
Also, this Timmy pic on the Spurs site is cracking me up for some reason.
We watched the Sixers build an 11-point lead against the Lakers and we’re just so confident with their switch, especially since the Sixers didn’t have Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons. Sure enough, the Lakers flicked it on and led by 11 at halftime. The Lakers pretty much cruised from there.
Yup. It’s a long season. These losses matter even though we think this is the dog days of the league. The Nuggets losing to the Warriors is going to be huge come seeding time.
The Scoreboard
SA 104 (26-34) @ CHA 103 (21-40)
BRK 129 (27-33) @ BOS 120 (41-19) (OT)
MIN 139 (18-42) @ NO 134 (26-35)
LAC 109 (42-19) @ OKC 94 (37-24)
GS 116 (14-48) @ DEN 100 (41-20)
TOR 123 (43-18) @ PHX 114 (24-38)
PHI 107 (37-25) @ LAL 120 (47-13)
WAS 126 (22-38) @ SAC 133 (27-34)
Watch This Play
Man, oh, man. This might be the best defensive play of the season. Marcus Smart rejects Jarrett Allen‘s DUNK head-on! Not from behind. Right in front!
(VIDEO CREDIT: Chaz Clavant.)
That’s amazing.
GG.
Rey-Rey is on Twitter at @TheNoLookPass.
TNLP on FaceBook.
I sign off “GG” which means “good game” but also to honor Gianna “Gigi” Bryant.