Welcome to the Basketball Hangover. We’re here to talk about the daily happenings in the NBA!
Christmas Day games turned out lame but the Nets had quite the showcase.
(PHOTO CREDIT: Getty Images.)
Because it is the year 2020, we will continue to have dismal times. The NBA is not exempted from this.
Christmas Day games was always something NBA fans looked forward to. Unfortunately, all five games that were supposed to be a showcase for the league turned out to be blowouts.
The most interesting thing to me in these games, though, was the Brooklyn Nets. When I did my season preview, I had the Nets winning 46 games, which would be equivalent to a 52-win season in normal times. I cited that the injuries would be a worry to both Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving. But I also acknowledged that I might be lowballing them.
I think the lowballing is official. Man, they looked awesome the first two games. And granted, the first one was against the Golden State Warriors that resemble more of the mid-90s to mid-2000s dump than the glorious championship years. And sure, the Boston Celtics earlier on Christmas Day had no Kemba Walker to calm them down.
But the Nets just worked them. Kyrie and Durant have looked dominant in both games. Kyrie gets to spots whenever he pleases (37 points!) and Durant (29 points) would score when he felt the need to.
It’s one thing to have two stars like Kyrie and Durant. But it’s another to have a supporting cast that’s still a playoff team without those two. Spencer Dinwiddie is a big guard that put up all-star numbers last season. Caris LeVert is on the verge of becoming a star and he’s COMING OFF THE BENCH. Joe Harris is an assassin. DeAndre Jordan and Jarrett Allen are a good one-two punch in the middle. They have a sharpshooter coming off the bench in Landry Shamet. And the Nets still have Taurean Prince and a league mercenary in Jeff Green, who can still dunk on fools with the best of ’em.
That’s essentially two starting line-ups right there. So far, new coach Steve Nash has decided to play Durant and Irving together instead of staggering them and let LeVert do the damage with the second unit. It’s worked out so far but I like that the coaching staff is empowering LeVert.
It’s no surprise that Irving can still do his thing but Durant just came back from a devastating Achilles injury. While he doesn’t need that much of a burst in his offensive game as he can shoot over anybody, he did need more of his mobility on defense. So far, Durant has played tremendously on that end of the floor. We’ll see how he holds up throughout the year. As we know, Breanna Stewart had a remarkable comeback with her own Achilles injury. After sitting out the 2019 season, she came back better than ever and helped lead the Seattle Storm to the 2020 WNBA championship.
It’s way too early to say anything as we’re only four days into the season. But if this is any indication, the Nets might be the new juggernaut in the East.
Bullet Passes
Yeah, the Christmas Day games sucked. I don’t know how else to put it. The final score margins of the games were 13, 39, 28, 23, and 13. None of them were close.
I suppose it’s nice to see that 1-2 punch in N’awlins. Zion Williamson went for 32 points and 14 rebounds while Brandon Ingram had 28. But the Heat, even without Jimmy Butler in the second half, was too deep for the Pelicans. They had 6 players in double figs, led by Duncan Robinson‘s 23. Robinson also tied for the most three-pointers in a Christmas game with 7. Ingram made 7 himself last year.
The Golden State Warriors have looked terrible. Stephen Curry and James Wiseman seem like the only competent players on that team. Andrew Wiggins and Kelly Oubre, Jr. both go beyond the box score; they look way worse than the scoreboard.
Draymond Green is due back soon. He’ll bring some structure back to G. State. They SHOULD look better when he’s back in and it’ll limit touches for both Wiggins and Oubre.
Khris Middleton continues to be very underrated in this league.
The high-octane offense of Montrezl Harrell and Dennis Schrรถder should help the stars hold back a bit in this quick turnaround of a season. Kyle Kuzma has done well so far as he continues to grow as a two-way wing.
While Luka Doncic has had great stats so far, he’s admitted to being out of shape and his play has suffered because of it. It’s a bit baffling; wasn’t he just playing in the bubble a few months ago? Coupled with Kristaps Porzingis (yeah, I know) still hurt, the Mavs have to withstand both their star players’ struggles. They can’t get too deep into a hole as they start off 0-2.
Yes, the Clippers look great. I’ve mentioned about Paul George still being awesome. But we’ve gotten to the point where they have to prove this in the spring. It’s all about the ring now.
In other news, Kawhi Leonard took a nasty blow to the face. You can look it up yourself. I hope he’s ultimately okay; he was bleeding out so much after that hit.
Everyone seems to be very mixed about the jerseys worn on Christmas. Personally, my favorite ones were from the Pelicans.
Those Pelicans jerseys! pic.twitter.com/wsTHq3nmGf
โ ๐๐ฆ๐บ-๐๐ฆ๐บ๐ค๐พโ๐พ (@TheNoLookPass) December 25, 2020
NBA Scoreboard
Dec. 25, 2020
Watch This Play
The dragon is so slick that Lonzo Ball didn’t even know he got tricked.
GORAN DRAGIC, SIZZLING. #HeaTTwitter x #WontBowDown pic.twitter.com/8IliNMSO4I
โ Italo Santana (@BulletClubIta1) December 25, 2020
Gotta love those handles by Goran Dragic.
Everyone, please take care of yourselves during this pandemic. And that goes for everyone involved with the NBA as well.
You can find Rey-Rey on Twitter at @TheNoLookPass.
You can also check out Rey-Rey’s podcast, Rey-Rey Is Fundamental, for more basketball content and, really, whatever else.