Tag: jarrett allen

Joel Embiid put Jarrett Allen on a poster and extended his MVP lead

We’re all witnesses to the big man’s all-time greatness.

We’re running out of superlatives to describe the Philadelphia 76ers’ mega-star Joel Embiid. Outstanding? Astonishing? Amazing? Incredible? Stupendous? Remarkable? Supercalifragilisticespealadocious? You get the point. There are only so many ways to compliment someone’s talents and efforts.

In the midst of an MVP-level campaign, we’re, at best, speechless over the rampage Embiid (+200 to win the award at Tipico) has unleashed on the rest of the NBA. Maybe there’s some residual anger and frustration left over from a former teammate. Perhaps he’s unleashed his complete skill-set, and this version — this version — is what that resembles. We’ll never know for sure.

On Saturday, with Cleveland (+2.5) visiting the 76ers, it was another episode of The Embiid Show. And along the way to a comfortable 103-93 win, he let an All-Star-level player and defender — Jarrett Allen — see what he’s all about firsthand.

Caution: Due to gratuitous violence, may not be suitable for younger viewers at home.

A dunk worthy of the King of the Monster’s full powers.

Here’s another angle: A perfect poster on your childhood bedroom wall angle.

Yikes, I’m not sure how you ever live that down if you’re Allen. In fairness to him, it’s Joel Embiid in supernova mode.

Under normal circumstances, this sort of dunk would’ve been praiseworthy enough in itself. But then Embiid went out and pieced together a 40-point, 14-rebound, and 10-assist triple-double. Video game numbers in every sense, and a historic 54-year-old benchmark that puts him right up with an NBA legend.

With the triple-double (and the dunk), Embiid also extends his streak of 25+ point games to 23. Three more tremendous efforts like this, and he surpasses Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s place on that list (25). Yes, the Laker talisman of yore, Kareem. The very same.

Embiid is a man on a mission, and no center, be it a young Allen, or two all-time greats like Wilt Chamberlain and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, are safe.

Gannett may earn revenue from Tipico for audience referrals to betting services. Tipico has no influence over nor are any such revenues in any way dependent on or linked to the newsrooms or news coverage. See Tipico.com for Terms and Conditions. 21+ only. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER (NJ), 1-800-522-4700 (CO).

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February’s best longshot bets for NBA award contenders

No one is a lock in February. No one.

The NBA is a beyond-individual-centric sports league. It is one of the few avenues where one phenomenal player can turn the tide of an entire game, or even a season, by himself. Sure, there’s something to be said about general team play and unity and chemistry, but if you don’t have a lights-out star, or a lights-out shooter, or a lights-out role player, you’re out of luck.

That sort of distinction makes the individual hardware the league hands out every spring that much more valuable and noteworthy. You were the best at your specific job, in an environment that, at any given time, only employs 450 people in the world? Incredible. High marks to you. Cherish every bit of your honor.

But while there are the obvious favorites for awards like MVP and Defensive Player of the Year, we would be remiss if we didn’t keep an eye on the long-shots, er, potential sleepers. These are the guys who may, in time, find themselves snatching up a trophy to put in their case (mantel?) when everyone with Basketball Brain least expected it. And that surprise achievement, Dear Reader, is an even more tremendous honor.

All odds and ends via Tipico Sportsbook.

The 2022 NBA All-Star Game’s 3 biggest snubs

Naming the three biggest NBA All-Star game snubs of 2022.

The 2022 NBA All-Star starters were announced Jan. 27, and lots of people had mixed feelings about the names that were called. Most notably, people voiced their displeasures with Andrew Wiggins’ selection as an All-Star starter, while the NBA’s best team, the Phoenix Suns, were left without one.

But the chatter around the 10 starters eventually faded away and the attention shifted to which of the remaining players would represent the East and West as reserves.

The TNT crew has finished the All-Star reveal process, and the rosters are officially in. Here’s a look at a few names that absolutely should not have been left off the list.

The Cavs humbled Giannis’s Bucks (again). Doubt them at your own risk

Another feather in the cap for one of the NBA’s best young teams.

The Cavaliers (+3.5) weren’t supposed to be this good this season. They weren’t even supposed to be the best or second-best team in the Central Division. Those labels belonged to the defending champion Bucks and the new-look chic-pick Bulls, led by DeMar DeRozan. Fun basketball stories where young, well-balanced teams come out of nowhere are rare.

Let’s face the facts: Most often in the NBA, you either have a superstar, face-of-the-league, bonafide top-five player, or you don’t matter in the big picture. That player can shift games on a dime, by himself, and everyone else is left weeping.

Unfortunately, no one told the Cavaliers, who got their arguable (early) signature win of the year over those same defending champ, Bucks.

A 115-99 home victory where Milwaukee was never really within striking distance over a balanced and deep Cleveland squad. A clinch of at least a split of the season series between the two teams (currently 2-1 in the Cavs’ favor). Their ninth victory in their last 11 games. And, only a couple of games (30-19) behind for that vaunted Central Division’s first place where, as mentioned, Cleveland was supposed to be dead and buried.

At this point in the year, in late January, that’s significant. That’s something that furls your eyebrow and piques the ol’ interest.

What might have been even more impressive was that the Cavs managed to beat the Bucks with each of their best players, Giannis, Khris Middleton, and Jrue Holiday playing together.

Something that hasn’t happened often this year.

How do the Cavs do it?

It’s simple. Lean on their point guard, their bigs, and a strong bench.

A top-five pick only two seasons ago, Darius Garland has been a revelation in his third year in the NBA. The Vanderbilt product is not only averaging almost 20 points a game (19.7), but he’s facilitating a well-balanced offense (eight assists per). He’s the perfect floor general and plus-shooter any good team would center their entire operation around.

Meanwhile, center Jarrett Allen is a young and quiet All-Star-level player as a direct complement. He averages a nightly double-double (16 points, 11 rebounds) and anchors the NBA’s third-best defense by efficiency (behind only the Warriors and Suns). Next to him, Evan Mobley, a rookie top-five pick, looks like a monster early in his career. Most young big men aren’t averaging 15 points and eight boards and making it look easy like Mobley does. He’s a consensus bet (-250) to win Rookie of the Year, and no one is remotely surprised.

Throw in a bench led by former championship team centerpiece Kevin Love (who had 25 against Milwaukee), among others, and you’ve got the makings of a squad that can throw any variety of lineups at the opposition.

If they’re smart, no one in the NBA will overlook these young-buck (pun not intended) Cavs anymore. If they do, they risk another slick pass from Garland zipping by their head, an Allen or Mobley block on their shot, or a smooth Love trey drained in their face.

These Cavaliers might not have a true superstar, but they’re deep, they’re young they’re hungry, and it might only be a matter of time on the former prospect.

Cleveland’s got themselves an actual NBA team. And the world is still spinning.

Gannett may earn revenue from Tipico for audience referrals to betting services. Tipico has no influence over nor are any such revenues in any way dependent on or linked to the newsrooms or news coverage. See Tipico.com for Terms and Conditions. 21+ only. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER (NJ), 1-800-522-4700 (CO).

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Ranking the likeliest players to make All-Star debuts this season

HoopsHype ranks the 14 players who are likeliest to make their All-Star debuts in the 2021-22 season.

Being selected as an NBA All-Star is one of the highest honors a professional basketball player can attain, and as such, when a player makes their All-Star debut, it is seen as a huge deal by the player, his team and his fans.

There are a lot of players making strong cases to make the All-Star for the first time, so we decided to rank the 14 guys we believe have the best chances to earn that distinction this season.

Check it out below.

Ranking the likeliest players to make All-Star debuts this season

Being selected as an NBA All-Star is one of the highest honors a professional basketball player can attain, and as such, when a player makes their All-Star debut, it is seen as a huge deal by the player, his team and his fans.

There are a lot of players making strong cases to make the All-Star for the first time, so we decided to rank the 14 guys we believe have the best chances to earn that distinction this season.

Check it out below.

ESPN’s Zach Lowe reflects on potential Jaylen Brown trades for the Boston Celtics

Trades, of course, require two (or more) teams to agree on the deal, and that isn’t always a breeze.

The Boston Celtics are dominating the NBA media sphere at the moment, and for all the wrong reasons. After dropping yet more winnable games and making seemingly little progress despite some fairly substantial changes to the team’s front office, coaching staff, and rotation depth, analysts are beginning to wonder if trading as high a profile player as All-Star forward Jaylen Brown might actually be on the table.

One such thought experiment was conducted by host of the semi- eponymous ESPN “Lowe Post” podcast Zach Lowe with his guest, the esteemed Jeff Van Gundy. The former head coach and broadcaster debated if there were any potential trade packages out there that would be a solid deal for both sides, and found it was not such an easy task even if one believes such a move to be a wise one.

We, for the record, do not — but let’s look at some of what Lowe and Van Gundy had to say about several proposed trade packages.

Nets vs. Cavaliers: Lineups, injury report and broadcast info

All you need to know ahead of Monday’s Nets-Cavs game.

The Nets lost their spot at the top of the Eastern Conference following Chicago’s win on Sunday, but Brooklyn still has the joint-best record in the East. They can improve that mark on Monday night in Cleveland.

A victory can also make it three consecutive wins in a row for Brooklyn. With Kevin Durant (28.6 PPG) returning to the lineup and James Harden (21.2 PPG, averaging 28,4 PPG in his last five games, the team is finally hitting their stride. Even so, with Cleveland getting Jarrett Allen back in the lineup, the Nets’ plans of retaking the first seed can get ruined.

The Cavaliers unfortunately still don’t have the services of Evan Mobley (elbow), Collin Sexton (knee) and Lamar Stevens (ankle). On the other side, the Nets won’t have Kyrie Irving (ineligible), Joe Harris (ankle), Bruce Brown (hamstring) and Nicolas Claxton (illness).

Here’s when you should tune in to see the game:

  • Date: Monday, Nov. 22, 2021
  • Time: 7:00 p.m. ET
  • TV Channel: YES Network

Probable starting lineups

Brooklyn Nets

  • James Harden
  • Patty Mills
  • Jevon Carter
  • Kevin Durant
  • Blake Griffin

Cleveland Cavaliers

  • Darius Garland
  • Isaac Okoro
  • Lauri Markkanen
  • Kevin Love
  • Jarrett Allen

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NBA weekly awards: Jarrett Allen, Gary Payton II and more

HoopsHype chooses major award winners for the week in the NBA world, headlined this week by Jarrett Allen as MVP.

It’s time for the second edition of our NBA weekly awards series, where we pick a winner for every top accolade, from weekly MVP to Coach of the Week.

This week has a very Cleveland Cavaliers flavor to it, as two young Cavs frontcourt players made their way onto our ranking.

Without further ado, let’s jump right in.

NBA weekly awards: Jarrett Allen, Gary Payton II and more

It’s time for the second edition of our NBA weekly awards series, where we pick a winner for every top accolade, from weekly MVP to Coach of the Week.

This week has a very Cleveland Cavaliers flavor to it, as two young Cavs frontcourt players made their way onto our ranking.

Without further ado, let’s jump right in.