Welcome to the NBA Hangover. We jot down NBA stuff mostly from last night that we want to talk about. Check it out.
Norman Powell has had a great season, even with the injuries.
(PHOTO CREDIT: AP.)
I really wish we could ban injuries. More on this in a bit.
It’s easy to notice another jump in Pascal Siakam‘s game. Multiple times this season, he was being talked about to win the Most Improved Player award for the second straight year. It’s not completely unprecedented as Leilani Mitchell in the WNBA won the award twice although 9 years apart.
But somewhat under the radar outside of Canada, Norman Powell started to have a string of good games. Powell has shown flashes in previous playoff years; the guy could get buckets. But his career has been defined with inconsistency.
Because he was starting to get a lot more buckets this season, his playing time increased. He scored 20 points in three straight games before he went down with a shoulder injury. Upon his return, he promptly went for 20 points or more in 5 straight contests. He averaged 17.5 points in January, which is more than double his scoring average from last season (which was also a career-best). Unfortunately, he fractured his hand so he sat out most of February.
Powell came back in the 28th of Feb and went for 22 points. Then in games from March 2-8, he won Eastern Conference Player of the Week by averaging 31.3 points as the Raptors went undefeated (this included a career-high 37 points against the lowly Warriors). But once again, injuries came into play as he sprained his ankle early in a game against Utah on Monday night. He is currently day-to-day.
Despite all the injuries, Powell has played in 44 out of a possible 64 games and has averaged a career-best 16.4 points per game. He’s been able to shoot better consistently and, as a result, has gotten more opportunities to play. It’s easy to say that he could win MIP because he just got to play more but he got to play more because he’s showing results. He’s shooting over 50 percent for the season, nearly shooting 40 percent from behind the arc in 5.4 attempts per, and making 68 percent of his shots at the rim, which is a huge improvement. While Siakam and Fred VanVleet get plenty of credit for filling the scoring void that Kawhi Leonard left, Powell should also get a gold star for improving his game and getting more buckets.
But we really should ban injuries. I hope Powell can stay healthy for the rest of the year.
Bullet Passes
Terry Rozier went for 40 points against Atlanta. Too bad, they fell short against the Hawks in a double overtime marathon. Trae Young himself went for 31 points and a buck-60 worth of dimes (if I have to explain this to you, we’re never going to be friends).
Also, I really should bring this up more often every time the Hawks play the Hornets.
After not losing consecutive games all season, the Milwaukee Bucks have lost three straight games. Giannis Antetokounmpo is also sitting out so that MAY have something to do with it. Suddenly, the Lakers are only one game back in the loss column for complete home court advantage in the playoffs.
But at the same time, shouldn’t this really shift the narrative again for Giannis and the MVP award? The last two games have been without Giannis.
Or does it change anything since the Lakers are catching up on the deer? This MVP award talk is more complicated than it should be. Of course, I’m still picking Giannis for MVP.
This should’ve been a candidate for Dunk of the Year but they called an offensive foul:
JAMAL MURRAY DESTROYED DJ WILSON 😱 #SCtop10 pic.twitter.com/1khQf8Ja4M
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) March 10, 2020
I wonder if it’s the elbow coming down. Or whatever the hell verticality rule it was. I don’t see how this was a charge, honestly, because we see that on almost every facial dunk in the history of facial dunks.
The Scoreboard
CHA 138 (22-42) @ ATL 143 (20-46) (2OT)
MIL 95 (53-12) @ DEN 109 (43-21)
TOR 101 (46-18) @ UTA 92 (41-23)
Watch This Play
Instead, we’ll give you Sterling Brown handing it to Michael Porter, Jr.
Sterling Brown with the 🔨@harleydavidson | #FearTheDeer pic.twitter.com/8xo5QjUSiV
— Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) March 10, 2020
This should’ve been Murray in this section, though. But this one wasn’t bad, either. Denver won, at least.
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.