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Let’s pay tribute to the NBA commissioner who made the league what it is today, get ready for Zion to return and figure out what to do with an underachieving team, all on our first NBA Four Point Play of the new year.
Let’s pay tribute to the NBA commissioner who made the league what it is today, get ready for Zion to return and figure out what to do with an underachieving team, all on our first NBA Four Point Play of the new year.
The Brooklyn Nets reserves did their best to keep their team in the game, but the Dallas Mavericks proved to be too much to handle.
Luke Doncic found himself in foul trouble during the Mavericks’ matchup with the Nets on Thursday, but Brooklyn could not capitalize as Dallas won 123-111.
A large part of why the Nets couldn’t exploit Doncic’s foul trouble was the fact Spencer Dinwiddie ran into foul problems of his own.
Dinwiddie still led Brooklyn in scoring with 19 points and was efficient inside the arc (6-for-10), but he did not fare well from 3-point territory (1-for-4). Unfortunately for the Nets, Dinwiddie was not alone in his long-range struggles.
Joe Harris and Rodions Kurucs — the latter of which started in place of the injured Garrett Temple (right knee contusion) — each went 1-for-6 from three. Of the starters, Taurean Prince experienced the most success from deep. He went 3-for-9. Theo Pinson also struggled from three, finishing 1-for-5.
defense
➡️➡️➡️
offense@tpinsonn | #WeGoHard pic.twitter.com/zsUt2Am7Os— Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) January 3, 2020
Dzanan Musa and Timothe Luwawu Cabarrot each went 2-for-3 from the perimeter. Musa scored 14 points off the bench, while Pinson and Wilson Chandler each pitched in 11 to match Harris and Prince’s output.
Musa from DEEP 👌 pic.twitter.com/ILjH4rWBzh
— Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) January 3, 2020
DeAndre Jordan started over Jarrett Allen for the first time since November. Jordan seized the opportunity and logged a double-double (10 points and 10 rebounds). Allen, meanwhile, scored nine points and grabbed six boards despite playing three more minutes.
these two 𝑣𝑖𝑏𝑖𝑛𝑔 tonight pic.twitter.com/Hn6pWOIBbW
— Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) January 3, 2020
TACKO FALL, Y’ALL
It’s that time of year again. The All-Star game is right around the corner next month and the turnaround for voting is quick.
Fans have just under a month to get their votes in. Voting began on Christmas Day and ends Martin Luther King Jr. Day on January 20.
The NBA released the first returns on Thursday, and as expected, they are wild. Twitter is already going bonkers with takes about why fan voting is a sham and why it needs to be abolished immediately.
Here’s an early look at how things are shaking out.
The first returns from #VoteNBAAllStar 2020!
Make YOUR vote count twice today by voting here ➡️ https://t.co/VMuxMjeZQO pic.twitter.com/qRzXqLxMti
— NBA (@NBA) January 2, 2020
Now, before you get into a tizzy about why everyone doesn’t love your favorite player the same way you do, remember: Fan voting only accounts for 50%. Player voting (25%) and media panel voting (25%) make up the other half.
Plus, there are about three more weeks left for fans to continue to vote for their favorite players. What the vote looks like now isn’t what it’s going to look like next week or over the next couple weeks.
Also, keep in mind, these votes are only for the starting lineups. Coaches get to pick the reserves. Once the reserves are picked, all players are put into a draft pool and picked by the top two leading vote getters.
Basically, don’t get too upset just yet. Let’s get into some of the early takeaways.
Did anyone have Team Antetokounmpo going up against Team Doncic at the beginning of the season? It’s reasonable to think that last year’s MVP might be a leading vote getter, but I couldn’t have imagined Luka Doncic would be LEADING him.
Doncic has the most votes with 1,073,957 and Antetokounmpo is right behind him with 1,073,358. Foreign voting is definitely part of that, but they’ve both been playing out of their minds.
It’s dope to see that actually recognized. Take that, you “popularity contest” truthers.
This makes perfect sense — the Lakers have been one of the best two teams in the league in one of the NBA’s glitziest markets with two of the league’s best players.
James has 1,020,851 votes and Davis has 955,246. Both make sense. What wasn’t expected, though, was that the third forward, Kawhi Leonard, would be more than 200,000 votes behind Davis. That’s wild.
TRAE YOUNG HIVE STAND UP! The fans got this one right.
Look, the Hawks suck — we get it. BUT Trae Young absolutely deserves to be an All-Star starter. He’s averaging 28.5 points and 8.3 assists while hitting 36% of his threes on the worst team in the league. It ain’t his fault, y’all. He’s doing all he can.
Plus, let’s be honest, trying to watch Kyle Lowry flop all over the place and make the right pass to start the All-Star game? Nah. Give us Trae Young 40-foot moon bombs and nutmegs instead. Please and thanks.
I’ve got no idea who is voting for Kyrie Irving at this point, but they’re voting for the wrong guard. Spencer Dinwiddie deserves way more love than he’s getting.
He’s 10th in voting with 94,618 votes while Kyrie Irving, who hasn’t hooped since November 14, has 432,481. Irving is great — he’s an alien with the best handle we’ve ever seen. But Dinwiddie has been the Nets’ best player this season.
And it’s not like he hasn’t been fun. he’s dunking on dudes, hitting clutch threes and putting up big numbers. Most importantly, he’s led the Nets to a 12-9 record without Irving after a 4-7 start. We’re voting for the wrong guard here.
Alright, we get that he plays for the Hornets and all. Charlotte isn’t the biggest market, they don’t have many big players of note, and they won’t make the playoffs. All that is true.
At the same time, we have a responsibility to get him into this game off of this play alone.
Devonte' Graham came up clutch 💪
He put up 40 points in the Hornets' 20-point comeback win over the Nets. pic.twitter.com/sa0Icwpgje
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) December 12, 2019
I’m sorry, y’all. Those are the rules. Vote for Devonte’ Graham.
Here’s a fact: Carmelo Anthony has done absolutely nothing to deserve being placed on this list. Here’s another fact: It would be a top five most fun thing in the world if Carmelo Anthony was actually an All-Star this season.
He’s not a good player anymore, but if you put him on a basketball court he’s going to entertain you. And, honestly, what else is the All-Star game for? Let’s start the campaign right here. Let Melo in, y’all.
LeBron James and Anthony Davis head off the list for the Western Conference forwards. Meanwhile, in the East, the Celtics have five players with votes including Kemba Walker, Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Gordon Hayward.
It almost feels like the 1980’s again until you realize…wait…is that…DWIGHT HOWARD getting votes for the Lakers? So…who…the fourth guy is…ALEX CARUSO!?!?!?
WAIT. ONE. SECOND.
WHY, YES. YES IT IS.
Remember, there are still a few weeks left. Just keep voting. You’ve got three weeks to get your favorite players into this game. Things will even out…probably.
[jwplayer OczdvXun-q2aasYxh]
HoopsHype ranks the 12 players who have the biggest chance to make their first All-Star roster this season, including Luka Doncic.
All-Star appearances are often used as a way to partially define legacies, with players who rack up the distinction being rated highly in the minds of NBA aficionados. And although that is far from the best way to define someone’s career, All-Star berths do tell us a lot about which players are considered to be the most impactful (or, sometimes, popular) on any given year.
This season, various up-and-coming stars have the chance to make their first appearances in the prestigious exhibition; in fact, a few of them came quite close last year.
The first returns of All-Star fan voting came in today, with Giannis Antetokounmpo leading the way for the East and a player coming up at the top of this ranking coming in first for the West.
Below, we rank the 12 NBA players who have the best opportunity to make their first All-Star Game this season.
Not only did Malcolm Brogdon have to overcome the transition to a new team, he’s had to take over the role of a primary playmaker for the first time in his career as well, with Victor Oladipo still not back from injury.
And despite all that, Brogdon is still having his best NBA season.
The Virginia product is averaging 18.3 points, 4.5 rebounds and 7.6 assists in 2019-20 on 45.2/33.3/93.3 shooting splits; he’s one of just nine players putting up an 18/4/7 stat line this year, with names like LeBron James and James Harden joining him on the list.
Additionally, Brogdon’s impact has been far from empty, as the Pacers have been one of this season’s pleasant surprises at 21-12 through 33 games, which puts them sixth in the East.
Indiana took a risk offering Brogdon such a rich contract despite him having experience mostly as a secondary, or even tertiary, up until this season. Thus far, however, it’s worked out wonderfully for both parties.
Brogdon’s pick-and-roll partner in Indiana, Domantas Sabonis, also has a solid shot of making his first All-Star roster this season.
The 23-year-old has improved every single year since reaching the NBA, and 2019-20 has been no different, as Sabonis is averaging a career-best 17.4 points, 13.3 rebounds and 3.9 assists per contest.
Sabonis ranks fourth league-wide in nightly rebounds and fourth among centers in nightly assists, proving what a well-rounded big man he’s become. Those numbers and the effect they’re having on the Pacers’ strong season could be enough to push Sabonis towards his first All-Star berth, though the East’s depth in the frontcourt positions could have something to say about that.
Even so, the legendary Arvydas’ son is making a strong case for himself.
For years, we’ve waited to see Brandon Ingram start to reach the huge ceiling that many forecast he had when he was just an NBA prospect. Well, this season, we’re starting to see what a fully functional Ingram looks like and, we must say, it’s pretty scary.
Ingram has been nothing short of spectacular in his first campaign as a New Orleans Pelican, with averages of 25.3 points, 7.1 rebounds and 3.8 assists to his name, but perhaps even more impressive than that is the fact that after shooting just 32.9 percent from three over his first three seasons, he’s now hitting 41 percent of his outside looks, which has made him nearly impossible to defend.
According to Synergy, Ingram ranks as a “very good” scorer in four separate play-types: as the pick-and-roll ball-handler, as a spot-up shooter, in isolation and in transition. It’s difficult to get much more well-rounded than that.
There are a couple of things standing in Ingram’s way as far as his first All-Star appearance goes, however. For starters, the West is absolutely loaded on the wings, particularly with LeBron, Kawhi Leonard and Paul George absolute locks to make it every season. Second, the Pelicans have been one of the league’s most disappointing teams this year, even despite their recent good form, with a 10-23 record through 33 contests.
Regardless, Ingram’s numbers are so eye-popping that they could be enough to get him in as an All-Star reserve anyway.
For a while early on in the season, the Phoenix Suns looked like a new team, as they boasted a 7-4 record through 11 games with a +6.4 net rating (the league’s fourth-best mark to that point) to show for it, all with Devin Booker leading the way as the franchise’s lone star-level player.
Since then, however, things have fallen off a cliff for Phoenix. The Suns are 6-16 from Nov. 14 through Dec. 29, and have the NBA’s 10th-worst net rating in that stretch at -3.8. Overall, they now sit 10th in the West on a year where the bottom of the conference is weaker than usual, meaning the opportunity is there to sneak into the postseason for the first time since 2010-11.
Simply put, if Phoenix can’t at least hover close to the playoff line, that’s going to hurt Booker’s All-Star credentials. He’s been productive for years now, with this season being no different at 24.4 points and 6.3 assists per game, but if he can’t prove he’s an actual outcome-changer, there’s a good chance he gets ignored yet again once coaches have to decide who the All-Star reserves are going to be this year.
Fans are sort of ignoring Booker’s All-Star candidacy at this point, too, as the first fan-vote returns have Booker sitting ninth in the West among guards, behind… Alex Caruso.
Despite major injuries to Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, the Brooklyn Nets have remained afloat this year with a 16-15 record and a seventh seed in the Eastern Conference.
A lot of that has to do with Spencer Dinwiddie putting the team on his back for most of the campaign. Dinwiddie is averaging 22.5 points and 6.8 assists per game in 2019-20, and is putting up career-best marks in catch-all advanced metrics Box Plus/Minus and Win Shares per 48 Minutes. And he’s doing that despite shooting quite poorly from beyond the arc this season at 29.8 percent.
Without Dinwiddie, the Nets would surely be sitting outside of the postseason picture out East, and that, plus a usual All-Star lock-in Irving missing so much of the year, could help the 26-year-old make the prestigious exhibition roster.
After a down sophomore season, at least relative to expectations following such a strong debut, Jayson Tatum’s career trajectory is back on the upswing thanks to his fantastic level of play in 2019-20.
On the year, the Boston Celtics forward is averaging 21.2 points, 7.0 rebounds and 2.9 assists nightly and playing some of his best defense since reaching the NBA. He might not be Boston’s best player, that honor would probably belong to Kemba Walker, but Tatum has been a huge part of the Celtics’ bounce-back season (they boast a 22-8 record through 30 outings) after what was deemed widely as a disappointing 2018-19.
Tatum ranks as a very good scorer, per Synergy, both out of the pick-and-roll and in isolation (both with passes included), placing in the 81st percentile and 80th percentile in the two all-important play-types, respectively. The Duke product is really starting to live up to the efficient bucket-getter potential he had coming out of college.
Similar to Tatum, Donovan Mitchell didn’t make the leap some expected as a sophomore last season. Also like Tatum, however, the third-year guard out of Louisville has placed himself right back on an upward trajectory in 2019-20 with an improved level of play.
Mitchell is averaging 25.3 points, 4.6 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game this year along with a career-high 55.4 true shooting percentage. He’s also posting career-best marks in Box Plus/Minus and Win Shares per 48 Minutes, which do a good job of measuring the nightly impact made by players.
Most importantly, Mitchell has the Jazz sitting at a 20-12 record and sixth in the West, even despite the poor play of the team’s big offseason acquisition, Mike Conley. In fact, once Conley went down and Mitchell took over more primary playmaker duties, his play got even better, so it’ll be interesting to see what happens once the veteran floor general gets healthy.
Sitting behind Hassan Whiteside for the last two-and-a-half seasons, Bam Adebayo seldom got the chance to show off his immense skill level, besides a random flash here or there. This year, though, as a full-time Day-1 starter, that’s no longer the case, as Adebayo has taken his new role and run with it.
Playing over 30 minutes nightly for the first time in his career, Adebayo is averaging 15.6 points, 10.5 rebounds, 4.6 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.3 blocks per game while shooting over 56 percent from the floor. Adebayo’s explosion this year has helped the Miami Heat far exceed even the loftiest expectations, as the team sits second in the East at 24-8 through 32 games.
Sure, the addition of Jimmy Butler has played a huge part in that, but without Adebayo performing like an All-Star, on both ends of the floor, Miami wouldn’t be where they’re at today.
Arguably 2018-19’s biggest All-Star snub, Rudy Gobert has maintained a strong level of play this season, but hasn’t quite improved upon his play from last year, which could mean the big Frenchman just misses out on being an All-Star again.
Gobert is averaging 14.8 points per game this season (down from 15.9 last), to go along with 14.2 rebounds (career-high mark) and 1.9 blocks nightly. The big man is also sixth in Win Shares in 2019-20 and 12th in Value Over Replacement Player. What’s more, the 27-year-old is making another strong case for Defensive Player of the Year, which would be his third season in a row winning the award.
The 7-footer’s candidacy for All-Star status this season will be an interesting one to monitor, as it’ll really depend on how coaches and media view his defensive acumen and whether they believe he should be rewarded for that, because it looks like the fans won’t be helping Gobert make his first All-Star roster.
As of the first return of fan votes, Gobert did not rank among the Top-10 vote-getters among Western Conference frontcourt players. Mind you, Carmelo Anthony and Dwight Howard both did.
Yikes.
Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports
The Atlanta Hawks may be having a pretty disappointing season, but it’s impossible to fault Trae Young for that. The second-year guard ranks fourth in the league in scoring this year at 28.5 points per game and fifth in assists with 8.3 nightly.
His vision as a playmaker is nearly unmatched, he can hit reliably from deep three-point range (Young is shooting a healthy 35.5 percent from 25 to 29 feet from the basket) and he has the ability to draw fouls at a high rate (shooting over seven free throws nightly), where he sinks freebies at 84.5 percent, which gives his offensive efficiency a huge boost.
So although the Hawks have been disappointing in 2019-20, their most promising player has not been. The fans have taken notice, too, as the first returns of votes have Young as the No. 1 vote-getter among Eastern Conference guards, ahead of Kyrie Irving and Kemba Walker.
He still might not be a lock to make it because of the media and coaches vote accounting for 50 percent of the total, but the fans are doing their best to push the talented floor general in.
A surefire lock to make his All-Star debut this season, barring injury, is Toronto Raptors swingman Pascal Siakam. After a Most Improved Player campaign last year, Siakam is making the rare case to win the award again this year thanks to another massive leap in his level of play.
On the year, Siakam is averaging 25.1 points, 8.0 rebounds and 3.6 assists nightly while hitting a career-best 39.2 percent of his triples. Siakam’s big improvement has made the sting of Kawhi Leonard’s departure hurt a little less, as the Raptors boast a 23-11 record and the league’s No. 6 net rating at +6.0.
Siakam has missed Toronto’s last seven games due to injury, and in that span, the team’s net rating has dropped and their record is just 4-3, including a blowout loss to the Celtics, which goes to show how important the 25-year-old to the team’s chances of Eastern Conference contention later in the year.
Without question, Luka Doncic is posting one of the best sophomore campaigns in league history, averaging 29.0 points, 9.5 rebounds and 8.9 assists per contest while shooting 47.1 percent from the floor and 80.6 percent from the foul stripe (on over nine attempts per game).
As if that wasn’t enough to earn the young Slovenian his first bid to the All-Star Game, his massive popularity globally has already made him one of the league’s most marketable stars. The first returns on fan All-Star voting bear that out:
Leaders in fan voting for first return of NBA All-Star voting: Dallas' Luka Dončić and Milwaukee's Giannis Antetokounmpo.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) January 2, 2020
So… yeah, there’s no doubt Doncic will be an All-Star in 2019-20, an honor that will likely become an annual occurrence for the burgeoning superstar.
You can follow Frank Urbina on Twitter: @FrankUrbina_.
The two stars of the Los Angeles Lakers are currently in the lead to start in the 2020 NBA All-Star game in Davis’ hometown of Chicago.
The NBA opened voting for the 2020 NBA All-Star Game on Christmas Day and Thursday delivered the first returns after over a week of voting, with the Los Angele Lakers star duo of LeBron James and Anthony Davis leading the voting for the Western Conference frontcourt. But LeBron’s streak of consecutive seasons being an All-Star captain is jeopardy as the Western Conference has a new top vote-getter in the first returns.
Luka Doncic of the Dallas Mavericks is the NBA’s leading vote-getter, with just about 50,000 more votes than James through the first week of voting. Meanwhile, Giannis Antetokounmpo looks poised to remain the captain from the Eastern Conference as the reigning MVP leads the East in votes.
However, while James may not be a captain, the Lakers are well-represented the votes. And in some ways that are tongue-in-cheek. Dwight Howard cracked the top 10 in Western Conference frontcourt voting despite playing just 20 minutes a game and Lakers reserve guard Alex Caruso got more votes than Phoenix’s Devin Booker, among other strong guards in the West.
Below are the full results the league released on Thursday.
Western Conference Frontcourt Guards 1. LeBron James (LAL) 1,020,851 1. Luka Dončić (DAL) 1,073,957 2. Anthony Davis (LAL) 955,246 2. James Harden (HOU) 749,080 3. Kawhi Leonard (LAC) 740,657 3. Damian Lillard (POR) 202,498 4. Paul George (LAC) 280,894 4. Stephen Curry (GSW) 191,149 5. Karl-Anthony Towns (MIN) 173,129 5. Russell Westbrook (HOU) 189,005 6. Kristaps Porzingis (DAL) 171,749 6. D’Angelo Russell (GSW) 122,499 7. Nikola Jokić (DEN) 160,934 7. Donovan Mitchell (UTA) 108,349 8. Carmelo Anthony (POR) 142,292 8. Alex Caruso (LAL) 92,233 9. Brandon Ingram (NOP) 118,188 9. Devin Booker (PHX) 91,817 10. Dwight Howard (LAL) 69,785 10. Ja Morant (MEM) 77,081 Eastern Conference Frontcourt Guards 1. Giannis Antetokounmpo (MIL) 1,073,358 1. Trae Young (ATL) 443,412 2. Joel Embiid (PHI) 606,534 2. Kyrie Irving (BKN) 432,481 3. Pascal Siakam (TOR) 544,302 3. Kemba Walker (BOS) 432,031 4. Jimmy Butler (MIA) 431,483 4. Derrick Rose (DET) 233,669 5. Jayson Tatum (BOS) 364,137 5. Zach LaVine (CHI) 174,991 6. Tacko Fall (BOS) 110,269 6. Ben Simmons (PHI) 159,065 7. Bam Adebayo (MIA) 104,086 7. Jaylen Brown (BOS) 156,537 8. Gordon Hayward (BOS) 75,420 8. Kyle Lowry (TOR) 154,139 9. Andre Drummond (DET) 68,076 9. Bradley Beal (WAS) 149,640 10. Domantas Sabonis (IND) 67,482 10. Spencer Dinwiddie (BKN) 94,618
[lawrence-related id=24361,12915]
The Mavs have lost back-to-back games. The Nets have lost three in a row. Both teams are also dealing with injuries heading into Thursday.
One team’s skid is going to come to an end on Thursday.
The Brooklyn Nets have lost three in a row. It started with the New York Knicks the day after Christmas, then the Houston Rockets, followed by the Minnesota Timberwolves.
The Dallas Mavericks have lost back-to-back games. They lost to the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday, then dropped their New Year’s Eve matchup with the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Now, the argument could be made the Mavs are primed for a breakout game because of their recent rough patch. Though, the same could be said for the Nets, too.
However, Nets fans know all too well injuries are plaguing Brooklyn like no one else. This makes it hard to imagine the Nets will bust out. But, the Mavs are in a similar position. Kristaps Porzingis (right knee soreness) and Tim Hardaway Jr. (left hamstring soreness) both missed the game in Oklahoma City. Not to mention Luka Doncic hasn’t quite been himself since returning from his ankle injury (25% from three post-injury, 32.6% pre-injury).
If Porzingis remains sidelined, Jarrett Allen and DeAndre Jordan have a chance to run wild in the paint. Maxi Kleber and Dwight Powell are solid, but that’s not a pair Brooklyn’s frontcourt should struggle against if Dallas’ best rim protector is out, or even not at full strength. (Porzingis is averaging 2.1 blocks per game.)
Of course, the Nets can overwhelm the Mavs if their 3-pointers start to fall. Specifically, if Brooklyn’s 3-point shooters in the starting lineup — Joe Harris, Taurean Prince, Garrett Temple and Spencer Dinwiddie — are on. Because, Wilson Chandler and Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot have had some solid nights of late, but those two alone can’t make up for a 1-for-10 performance from Prince against the Knicks or Dinwiddie’s 0-for-7 night in Houston.
The Nets’ 3-point shooting has swung in the right direction since facing the Knicks, improving from 26% to 28.2% to 36.6% on Monday. They can’t afford to have that percentage to go back in the other direction.
Brooklyn has a reasonable chance to start 2020 on the right foot, but the Nets can’t expect Dallas to hand them a win just because the Mavs have struggled of late, too.
Tip-off time is 8:30 p.m. EST.
Each week, HoopsHype’s staff gives our Top 10 candidates for this year’s Most Valuable Player award. Which stars have stood out thus far?
Each week, HoopsHype’s staff gives the Top 10 candidates for this year’s Most Valuable Player award. This list highlights stars who are in the mix for the 2019-20 MVP award due to their impressive play.
Which stars have stood out? Here are our latest MVP rankings:
The past week-plus has been the perfect encapsulation of the Philadelphia 76ers’ 2019-20 season. The team was able to start off that stretch with a massive win on Christmas against the Milwaukee Bucks, on a night where Joel Embiid dropped 31 points and 11 rebounds against one of the league’s title favorites, but followed that up by losing their next three games, two on the road by one point apiece, and then a blowout at the hands of the Indiana Pacers in a game Embiid was forced to sit due to injury. Prior to going down, Embiid was averaging 30 points and 11 boards over a three-game stretch, so Philadelphia has to hope their star center doesn’t miss much time with what’s being described as left knee soreness.
There’s no question Nikola Jokic got off to a frighteningly slow start to his 2019-20 campaign, but recently, the stud Serbian center has started to resemble his old self again, which is great news for the Denver Nuggets and bad news for teams in the Western Conference below the two-L.A.-team tier. Over the past three weeks (a 14-game span), Jokic has averaged 22.4 points, 9.7 rebounds and 7.4 assists per game on fiery shooting splits of 55.9/41.4/84.6.
Portland Trail Blazers point guard Damian Lillard has been performing at an elite level this season, and yet, his team can’t seem to garner even the slightest amount of momentum in 2019-20. Portland – losers of five straight, including an embarrassing 117-93 loss to the New York Knicks – are 14-21 on the season and have the league’s 12th-worst net rating at -2.0, which puts them behind the Orlando Magic and Chicago Bulls this year. What has to be especially frustrating for Lillard is the fact that with him on the floor, the Blazers are 11.6 points per 100 possessions better than when he’s on the bench, meaning the team gets absolutely destroyed in the minutes they’re without their All-NBA-caliber floor general. Luckily for Lillard and Co., however, the bottom of the Western Conference playoff race is a mess right now, so they’re still merely 1.5 games out of the eighth seed. They can thank Lillard for that.
Even though he’s shooting at pretty horrific rates, primarily from three where he’s sinking just 27.6 percent of his looks, Jimmy Butler still ranks 10th in VORP this season, as well as 10th in BPM, ninth in WS/48 and 12th in PER, proving what an immense impact he’s having for the Miami Heat. It’s scary to think about what would happen to those marks if Butler is able to relocate his formerly semi-respectable outside stroke, too. Regardless, Butler is a lock to regain All-Star status this season after he missed the festivities last year, as his Heat boast an impressive (and unexpected) 24-9 record through 33 contests.
As far as statement games go, no one on this list had a more important one over the past week than Kawhi Leonard on Christmas. Facing off with the Los Angeles Lakers and their two own MVP candidates, Leonard was spectacular, dropping 35 points, 12 rebounds, five assists and five triples while shooting 11-for-19 from the floor. Leonard’s Los Angeles Clippers came out on top against the Lakers for the second time this season that night by a final score of 111-106, raising questions about what a series would look like between these two super talented teams. One thing is for sure, though: Leonard has been playing at a scary level over the past month and a half.
Since sustaining the groin injury in mid-December, LeBron James’ shooting marks have plummeted, as the four-time league MVP is shooting 39.8 percent from the floor and 24.2 percent from three in those five contests. Regardless, James is still playing insanely well on the year as a whole, especially when you consider the fact that he just turned 35. James leads the league in nightly assists this year, and as he’s taken a bit of a backseat to his new super teammate, he’s posting a career-best 51.2 percent assist rate. Leave it to LeBron to set career marks in his 17th season.
That aforementioned super teammate of LeBron’s we referenced, of course, is Anthony Davis, who, for the first time in his career, gets to play for a legit title contender. And with the way Davis is playing on a team expected to compete for a championship, it’s a shame we haven’t gotten to see this version of the superstar power forward sooner. Davis is shooting more than eight free throws nightly and sinking them at an 85.3 percent rate, which is insane for a big man, and just part of what makes him such an efficient/special scorer. Couple that with his otherworldly defense and it’s easy to see why many thought Davis could one day become a perennial MVP candidate. That day seems to have arrived.
In the four games he’s played since returning from an ugly ankle injury, Luka Doncic is putting up 27.3 points, 9.0 rebounds and 9.3 assists per game, so it looks like the Dallas Mavericks didn’t rush their burgeoning superstar back too quickly. On the year, the 20-year-old ranks third league-wide in scoring, 22nd in rebounds and third in assists, an absolutely absurd feat for someone in just their sophomore campaign. It hasn’t taken long for Doncic to become one of the most entertaining players in the league, thanks to his audacious step-back jumpers and wonderful playmaking prowess.
As the decade came to a close this week, it was fun to look back at some of the absurd numbers James Harden put up in the 2010s. Two immediately stand out: The Beard ranks second in wins over the last 10 years, trailing just LeBron, with 502, and he leads the entire league in points scored over the decade with 19,578. People may complain about his style of play, but there’s no doubt Harden is one of the most special talents the NBA has ever seen. Also noteworthy: Harden is shooting 45.3 percent from three over the past 13 games and shooting just 8.4 free throws nightly in that stretch, so it looks like his game continues to evolve, which is downright scary for opponents.
The no-brainer MVP favorite at this point in the season is still Giannis Antetokounmpo. Harden’s individual numbers (at least scoring-wise) might be more impressive, but Antetokounmpo is also one of the most impactful defenders in the league while averaging over 30 points per game – a ridiculous combination for a single player to possess. Antetokounmpo is even becoming a respectable outside threat, hitting over a third (33.1 percent) of his outside looks on the year. But by far the most impressive aspect of the Greek Freak’s campaign so far is the level at which he has the Milwaukee Bucks performing, who are 31-5 and have by far the league’s best net rating at +12.5. The next highest team in that stat, the Boston Celtics, are at +7.8, which goes to show Milwaukee’s level of dominance on the year.
You can follow Frank Urbina on Twitter: @FrankUrbina_.
Previewing Tuesday’s Dallas Mavericks at Oklahoma City Thunder sports betting odds and lines, with NBA betting picks, tips and best bets.
The Dallas Mavericks (21-11) and Oklahoma City Thunder (17-15) tip it off at Chesapeake Energy Center in Oklahoma City at 8 p.m. ET Tuesday. We analyze the Mavericks-Thunder odds and lines, with NBA betting advice and tips around the matchup.
Get some action on this game or others by placing a bet at BetMGM.
Mavericks
Thunder
NBA odds courtesy of BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports for a full set of today’s betting odds. Odds last updated at 11:45 a.m. ET.
Mavericks 113, Thunder 105
The MAVERICKS (-128) head to OKC looking to close out 2019 on a high note. It appears Doncic avoided disaster and will be in the lineup Tuesday, barring any kind of late decision to rest him as a precaution. Double-check before finalizing those tickets. Hardaway Jr. isn’t as much of a certainty, but his absence or inclusion in the lineup isn’t going to move the needle much on the chances of Dallas to win the game.
New to sports betting? A $10 bet on the Mavericks to win outright returns a profit of $7.80.
The MAVERICKS (-1.5, -115) will cost you a little less than the moneyline, so it’s not a bad way to go as long as Doncic is officially active. The Mavs have a 19-6-1 ATS mark in the past 26 road games, including a perfect 4-0 ATS as a road favorite. The Thunder (+1.5, -106) are a solid 4-1 ATS in the past five overall, but just 1-6 ATS in their past seven tries vs. Dallas. The Mavs are also 23-11-1 ATS in the past 35 trips to Oklahoma City.
The projected total of 217.5 is just too close to my predicted score. Like the line, there is a little bit of uncertainty as far as Doncic, too. But assuming he plays, this one will be in the high two-teens. If there is a lean, it’s to the Over (-115), which has cashed in each of the past six meetings in OKC.
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During the Warriors’ Saturday night tilt versus the Dallas Mavericks, Marquese Chriss shoved Luka Doncic and will now have to pay a hefty fine for the altercation.
In a down season, 22-year old journeyman, Marquese Chriss, has been a bright spot during the Warriors’ struggling season. The former lottery pick has bounced around the NBA over his young career, but through 30-plus games with the Warriors, it looks like he’s found a home in Golden State.
The former Washington Husky was brought in on a training camp flyer to start 2019 and now has found a solidified role off the bench in Steve Kerr’s offense.
Chriss is averaging 7.4 points per game on 49.1 percent shooting from the field, while adding 5.3 rebounds and 1.7 assists per contest in 2019 with Golden State— everything except for points is a career-high.
Chriss’ steady season hit a bump in the road Saturday night in the Warriors loss to the Dallas Mavericks. His night may look solid in the box score, tallying 16 points, five rebounds and two blocks in 17 minutes, but his game was defined by his scuffle with MVP candidate, Luka Doncic.
The Slovenian and Chriss got tangled up scrambling for a loose ball that ended with the Warriors center receiving a technical for shoving Doncic down the baseline to the floor.
Marquese just pushed Luka into the first row 😳 pic.twitter.com/VQhEWWVVxq
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) December 29, 2019
The technical foul wasn’t enough punishment for Chriss, as the NBA handed out a whopping $35,000 fine on Monday for pushing the Dallas Mavericks star.
The NBA has fined Warriors forward Marquese Chriss $35,000 for shoving Mavs' guard/forward Luka Doncic to the floor in this past weekend Warriors-Mavs game. pic.twitter.com/Ol8HzUDkZJ
— Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) December 30, 2019
According to USA Today’s Jeff Zillgitt, the fine’s large size was due to prior discipline handed out to Chriss.
Per NBA, Marquese Chriss' $35K fine "was based in part on the fact that Chriss has been disciplined on several prior occasions for physical altercations on the court."
* Suspended for on-court altercation w/Ibaka last season
* Fined $25K and $15 from two other altercations.— Jeff Zillgitt (@JeffZillgitt) December 31, 2019
After Chriss was hit with the fine, Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports reported that his camp would advocate for the fine to be reduced.
Yahoo Sources: The representation for Marquese Chriss is in communication with league and NBPA on clarification as to why client received such a hefty fine from the Luka Dončić altercation that didn’t even draw a flagrant foul during the game. Goal is to get fine reduced.
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) December 31, 2019
The tension was building the entire game in the Mavericks visit to Chase Center in San Francisco, starting with Draymond Green getting into it was Kristaps Porzingis, that even got Klay Thompson fired up on the bench. Chriss versus Doncic was just the main event.
Regardless of the fine, the play of Chriss in 2019 has built a case for him to receive a role in the Warriors’ future plans if he can continue his current pace.
With the recent decade now suddenly in the rearview mirror, we looked at the top player who defined the 2010s for each team in the NBA.
With the recent decade now suddenly in the rearview mirror, we looked at the top player who defined the 2010s for each team in the NBA.
The Atlanta Hawks were defined by their depth under former head coach Mike Budenholzer. It is what helped their entire starting lineup earn Eastern Conference Co-Players of the Month back in January 2015. But the best player during this era was Al Horford. The big man averaged 15.9 points, 8.4 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game from the 2010-11 season until he left the team during the 2016 offseason.
Even though he won the 2008 NBA championship and the Finals MVP in 2008, Paul Pierce went on to make the Eastern Conference All-Star team three more times this decade. Before he was traded to the Brooklyn Nets in the summer of 2013, he was averaging 18.9 points and 5.6 rebounds with 4.1 assists this decade. Pierce even had a chance to officially retire with the organization on a one-day contract in July 2017.
Before they were the franchise that managed to sign both Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving in the same offseason, the Nets were long led by Brook Lopez. He was a member of the team both in New Jersey and in their move to the new home in Brooklyn back in 2012, which was his first and only career All-Star appearance. During his tenure with the team this decade, the big man put up 19.7 points and 6.6 rebounds as well as 1.7 blocks per game.
During a tough decade for the Hornets, the one thing that kept them alive and interesting was star point guard Kemba Walker. He was a part of the team as a member of the Bobcats and then when they rebranded as the Hornets. Walker was a two-time All-Star as well as a two-time recipient of the NBA Sportsmanship Award. The guard averaged 19.9 points, 5.5 assists and 1.3 steals per game for the team during the decade before he joined the Celtics.
When former No. 1 overall pick Derrick Rose won MVP in 2011 at 22 years old, fans in Chicago fairly assumed they would have a new defining talent for their city. Unfortunately, serious injuries made the point guard become a less impactful player than projected. However, the blow was softened a bit with the sudden emergence of a late first-round pick in Jimmy Butler. The wing won the league’s Most Improved Player in 2015. He was a difference-maker on both sides of the ball, averaging 15.6 points and 1.5 steals per game with the Bulls.
Considering that Cleveland’s hometown hero LeBron James notably left the Cavaliers as a free agent in 2010, few would have expected him to still be the Player of the Decade for this franchise. After such an ugly exit memorialized forever with a public shaming by team owner Dan Gilbert, though, James is a player who more than made up for the first early goodbye when he actually returned in 2014. All that he had to do was win the city’s first championship in any sport since 1948. In the process, he averaged an absurd 26.1 points per game with 7.7 rebounds and 8.0 assists for the Cavs in the 2010s.
Even though he was drafted in 1998, the undisputed most important in the career of Dirk Nowitzki happened in 2011 when he won a title and NBA Finals MVP. While his best playing days may have been before this decade, he still managed to be a perennial All-Star. The face of the franchise, he also won the league’s award for Teammate of the Year in 2017. His presence was felt, too, during his final season in the league as he helped ease the transition into the new era led by fellow European star Luka Doncic.
The Denver Nuggets may have hit the lottery when they selected Serbian big man Nikola Jokic with the 41st overall pick in the 2014 NBA draft. Jokic is a talent like no other in the league and has become one of the more versatile players in recent memory. He has averaged 16.4 points, 9.6 rebounds and 5.3 assists for the Nuggets and the most exciting part is that he may still plenty of room to improve. At just 24 years old, the center could also be the best player of the decade in the 2020s for the Nuggets as well.
Despite not coming into the league until 2013, Detroit Pistons big man Andre Drummond has the second-most rebounds in the NBA since 2010-11. He has led the NBA in rebounds three times, twice earning All-Star considerations. Drummond has been consistent in his role and despite the team not being much of a contender, he has made his presence felt day in and day out.
The things that Golden State Warriors superstar Stephen Curry was able to accomplish during the 2010s were almost laughable. He was a back-to-back NBA MVP who won the championship three times. Curry led the Warriors to an unbelievable 73-9 regular season while topping the league in scoring and in steals in 2016 as well. He also connected on 3.8 three-pointers per game, which is 0.9 more than the next-best player during the decade. Curry has clearly redefined the way the game is played and is a generational talent unlike any we have ever seen step foot on a basketball court.
There has been no trade recently that changed the league quite like the one that sent the 2012 Sixth Man of the Year winner James Harden from the Oklahoma City Thunder to the Houston Rockets. He has been an All-Star every year for Houston and led the league in assists 2017. The guard then led the league in scoring in 2018 as the NBA MVP and then again in 2019. Harden has put up an absurd 29.6 points with 6.0 rebounds and 7.7 assists for the Rockets. In an age of analytics, he has been the darling for general manager Daryl Morey.
Former Indiana Pacers wing Paul George was a four-time All-Star with the franchise, winning NBA’s Most Improved Player in 2013. The two-way star also received All-Defensive team honors three times while with the team. He averaged 18.1 points, 6.3 rebounds and 1.7 steals per game for Indiana during his team with the Pacers. One of the other best factors about George is that his trade allowed Indiana’s front office to acquire two-time All-Star Victor Oladipo and potential first-time All-Star big man Domantis Sabonis.
Before there was Kawhi Leonard and Paul George on the Clippers, there was Lob City. None of the success happening for the franchise now would be possible if it weren’t for Chris Paul and Blake Griffin. The tide was turning when Griffin was drafted in 2009 and won Rookie of the Year in 2011. But it was solidified when they traded for CP3 in December 2011. Paul averaged an impressive 18.8 points and 9.8 assists with 2.2 steals per game when he was a member of the Clippers. He made the All-Star team five times in Los Angeles and twice led the NBA in assists during that time.
Unlike with Nowitzki, the peak accomplishments for Kobe Bryant occurred before 2010. But even during this decade, he added another NBA title to his arsenal and an All-Star appearance each year before retiring in 2016. Bryant averaged 24.2 points per game for the Lakers starting in 2010-11, which was above average for someone who was his age. Of course, there was little more memorable than Bryant scoring 60 points in his final professional game.
Former Memphis Grizzlies big man Marc Gasol averaged 15.7 points, 7.6 rebounds and 3.8 assists during his time with the Grizzlies this decade. He made three All-Star appearances while a member of the franchise, winning Defensive Player of the Year in 2013. The center was a fixture for Memphis, making the playoffs six times with the Grizzlies. Gasol, a World Cup winner with Spain, eventually won his first NBA title in 2019 with the Toronto Raptors after a midseason trade.
While it was obvious that James was the best player on the team, none of The Big 3 era Miami Heat would have been possible if it were not for Dwyane Wade. He was the instrumental player recruiting both James and Chris Bosh to Miami and even gave up more money in the process to allow it to happen. Wade also sacrificed his role as the key star to make room for more touches to both James and Bosh. This led to two more NBA Finals wins for Wade and All-Star appearances between 2010 and 2016. He was also able to come back to the Heat and retire with the franchise.
Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo has been one of the most dominant basketball players in recent memory. He has averaged 19.5 points, 8.6 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 1.2 steals per game since entering the league. After winning the NBA MVP in 2019, he has followed up with an equally impressive season so far this year. His play has been so sharp that one of the league’s most pressing questions, even now a year and a half away from his eligibility, is what will he decide to do as an upcoming free agent.
After trading away Kevin Love to the Cleveland Cavaliers during the 2014 offseason, the Minnesota Timberwolves were able to bounce back in some ways by grabbing No. 1 overall pick Karl-Anthony Towns. He has played the part of one of the elite big men in the NBA, averaging 22.5 points and 11.8 rebounds per game since entering the pros. Towns has also made 39.6 percent of his three-point attempts, showing his versatility as an offensive force.
His exit may have left a sour taste in the mouth of the New Orleans Pelicans, but Anthony Davis was absolutely stellar during his time with the team. He averaged 23.7 points and 10.5 rebounds per game and also led the league in blocks three times. Davis was a six-time All-Star for the Pelicans and while he now plays for the Los Angeles Lakers, his return will leave New Orleans in a fine place for the upcoming decade. Not only did the front office get an unreal surplus of draft picks in the deal but Brandon Ingram is playing like a potential superstar.
It was a relatively underwhelming decade for the New York Knicks under team owner James Dolan. The front office mortgaged quite a bit of their future to secure Carmelo Anthony via trade in 2011 despite knowing that the star would become a free agent that offseason. As such, the team was a bit of a one-man show under his leadership. He averaged 24.7 points as well as 7.0 rebounds per game on the Knicks, eventually leaving in 2017.
The Oklahoma City Thunder somehow drafted three MVP winners who all hit their primes during the 2010s. While none of them is still with the team, the one who made the biggest splash was Kevin Durant. The former No. 2 overall pick put up 28.6 points, 7.6 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game while also shooting 38.6 percent from three-point range. Even though point guard Russell Westbrook was the player who had the longest tenure with the team, it was obvious that Oklahoma City was the most successful version of itself with Durant on the roster.
Orlando Magic big man Nikola Vucevic might be the most underrated NBA player of the decade. He made just one All-Star appearance, finally earning the love last season. While he originally started his career in Philadelphia, he has found a niche in Orlando. The former No. 16 overall pick has averaged 16.8 points and 10.7 rebounds per game for the Magic.
His career may have started off defined by injury but since he has become a healthier player, there have been few with a higher ceiling than Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid. The big man has scored 24.2 points and pulled down 11.6 rebounds per game. He made the NBA All-Rookie First Team his first year in the league back in 2017. He has made the All-Star team, All-NBA Second Team and All-Defensive Second Team in both years since.
The Phoenix Suns have not had a decade many fans will want to look back on with fond memories. But the one takeaway is that there is at least some hope for the future due to the scoring punch of Devin Booker. He has been able to put up 21.7 points and 4.5 assists per game since he entered the NBA just two days before his 19th birthday. Booker put up 70 points back in March 2017 and at just 20 years old, he was the youngest player to put up 60 points in an NBA game. Back in March 2019, Booker had three games in a row where he scored at least 48 points.
There are few players in NBA history who have embraced their team’s city quite like Trail Blazers star has welcomed Portland into his life. After he was drafted No. 6 overall in 2012, he has turned his the Blazers into one of the most consistent contenders in the league. Lillard, who won Rookie of the Year his first season in the pros, is a four-time All-Star. He was honored with All-NBA 1st Team consideration in 2018 and led Portland to the Western Conference Finals in 2019. He has averaged 23.7 points and 6.4 assists per game for the Trail Blazers during his professional career thus far.
While the Sacramento Kings had a disappointing decade in many ways, their most feared player during the 2010s was undeniably DeMarcus Cousins. He was a force to be reckoned with on the Kings, averaging 21.1 points and 10.8 rebounds per game. He earned All-Rookie First Team honors in 2011 and he then took home All-NBA 2nd Team in 2015 and 2016. The big man was also disciplined and suspended a bit too often for comfort during his time on the Kings, eventually leading to an inevitable divorce of the two parties.
When he won NBA Finals MVP in 2014, it was clear that former No. 15 overall pick Kawhi Leonard was a special player in this league. But he was able to take his game to the next level during his time with the San Antonio Spurs, also winning back-to-back Defensive Player of the Year awards for his efforts in 2015 and 2016. Leonard, who led the league in steals in 2015, also came into his own on the offensive side of the floor while before his time in San Antonio came to a surprisingly ugly close that kept him sidelined for the majority of 2017-18.
While it was Leonard who was the undisputed best player of the team that won the Toronto Raptors their first NBA championship, veteran point guard Kyle Lowry was the heart and soul of the squad. After the team traded away his longtime teammate DeMar DeRozan during the 2018 offseason, the year was inevitably going to be an emotional rollercoaster for Lowry. But for him to respond by helping Toronto finally carry the Larry O’Brien trophy was an effort that solidified his place as the Player of the Decade for the Raptors.
If general fans valued defense the same way they value offense, Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert would be considered one of the Top 10 players in the NBA. After he led the league in blocks back in 2017, the French big went on to win Defensive Player of the Year in 2018 and in 2019. Gobert has actually averaged 2.2 blocks per game since entering the league in 2013. He has also pulled down 10.8 rebounds per game and has connected on 63.4 percent of his total field goal attempts.
Before his recent injury trouble, Washington Wizards point guard John Wall was an electrifying player. He has averaged 19.0 points and 9.2 assists for the Wizards since going No. 1 overall in the 2010 NBA draft. He made the All-Star team from 2014 until 2018, also grabbing All-Defensive 2nd Team honors in 2015 and All-NBA 3rd Team in 2017. Wall has averaged 1.7 steals per game, too, showing he can be a defensive stopper. Now he is on a tough contract, though he initially earned it with his previously fantastic play.
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