Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James and Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic have played in some great games so far this season.
After the Los Angeles Lakers and Dallas Mavericks have combined for two of the best games so far in the early season, the NBA decided that they will no longer make the mistake of having another showdown between LeBron James and Luka Doncic live in the obscurity of NBA League Pass.
The NBA announced on Tuesday that they have flexed the Sunday, Dec. 29 game between the Lakers and Mavericks to ESPN. The game, which was scheduled to be played at 5:30 p.m. local time will now tip-off at 6:30 p.m. local time to accommodate the national television audience.
The Lakers won the first game against the Mavericks back on Nov. 1, a 119-110 overtime thriller. But Luka Doncic and the Mavs exacted some revenge on the Lakers on Dec. 1, snapping L.A.’s 10-game win-streak at the time.
Even though Luka Doncic is currently nursing an ankle injury, the Mavericks notched perhaps an even bigger win last night as they snapped the 18-game win-streak of the Milwaukee Bucks on Monday night. Doncic suffered the injury on Dec. 14 and was given a two-week timeline, which means he should be ready to return for another showdown with LeBron.
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 our 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:
A 42-point, 11-rebound performance against the Minnesota Timberwolves was enough to vault Kawhi Leonard back into the Top 10 of our MVP rankings for the first time in a few weeks, and served as a reminder of how dominant the 2019 Finals MVP can be when he gets going. This season has been a bit of a slog for Leonard, as his career-low 49.4 effective field goal percentage would attest to, but the Los Angeles Clippers’ load management plan with him resembles that of the Toronto Raptors last year, and should help Leonard look fresh by the time the playoffs roll around. Of course, the Clippers hope their strategy pays off like Toronto’s did in 2018-19.
Kemba Walker has arguably been an upgrade over the departed Kyrie Irving for the Boston Celtics, and is well on his way to earning All-Star honors for the fourth year running thanks to his exquisite level of play this year. Walker is shooting a career-high 40.7 percent from three in 2019-20, and is posting career-best marks in multiple advanced metrics, including Box Plus/Minus and Win Shares Per 48 Minutes. Walker has helped push the Celtics to a 17-7 record and the East’s No. 4 seed through 24 games.
Considering the standard the big man set over the past few seasons, Joel Embiid’s play this year has been a bit disappointing… and Charles Barkley and Shaquille O’Neal were sure to let him know that during a segment on TNT last Tuesday. How did Embiid respond? By having his best game of the season on Thursday, against a very good Celtics team, no less, exploding for 38 points, 13 rebounds and six assists on 12-of-21 shooting. Head coach Brett Brown joked after the game that he was considering hiring Barkley and Shaq as motivational coaches. Maybe not the worst idea.
After a hot start from the three-point line this season (39.3 percent from deep over his first 17 games), Pascal Siakam has gone cold over the past eight outings, shooting just 31.1 percent from the outside during that stretch. That cold spell has coincided with the Raptors’ worst stretch of the season, with Toronto going just 4-4 over their last eight, and that’s probably not a coincidence. The Raptors will need Siakam to find his outside stroke again if they want to get back to their elite early-season form.
The league leader in nightly steals, Jimmy Butler’s addition to the Miami Heat has transformed the team from a mediocre mess to the league’s No. 7 squad in net rating. Miami is probably still a piece or two away from being legitimate title contenders, but with Butler as the centerpiece, they’ve become one of the more entertaining, and tough to beat, teams around the Association this year. Butler averaged 23.3 points, 8.3 rebounds and 6.7 assists over three games last week.
A frontrunner for Defensive Player of the Year who also happens to be averaging over 27 points, Anthony Davis has been an absolute force on both ends of the floor this season. Davis is 18th in nightly steals this year and second in blocks while his 27.4-point-per-game average is good for seventh in the league. For a big man to be able to score down low with such ease, have a respectable jumper, draw a lot of fouls and make them at over an 85 percent rate is legitimately unfair. If the Los Angeles Lakers do win a title this year, Davis could be the difference-maker.
Even with an injury-related two-minute performance on Saturday bringing down his averages, Luka Doncic still ranks third league-wide in nightly points, 18th in rebounds and third in assists, and he’s done it all as a 20-year-old. The timing of Doncic’s injury is particularly brutal because it seemed like the Slovenian prodigy was about to take off, as his final game prior to getting hurt was a 41/12/11 explosion against the Detroit Pistons. If we can take solace in anything, it’s that Doncic should only miss around two weeks of action with the ankle sprain, which is a relief considering how ugly the injury looked.
They say Father Time is undefeated, but LeBron James is doing his best to prove that old saying wrong. Turning 35 years old in a few weeks, James is leading the league in assists while pouring in over 26 points nightly and snatching over seven boards per contest, and making over half of his field-goal attempts. LeBron’s level of play is so ridiculous, it truly makes you wonder how he does it, when he’s one of just three players left from his draft class, and the other two, Carmelo Anthony and Kyle Korver, are clearly on the tail end of their respective careers.
You know James Harden is on another level with his scoring when he can drop 55 points one night, follow that up with 54 points in his next outing, and the NBA world sort of just keeps spinning without talking about it as much as it deserved to be discussed. In total, Harden averaged 43.8 points over four games last week, to go with 8.0 assists, 1.8 steals and 1.5 blocks while shooting 52.1 percent from the floor and 48.2 percent from three. Oh, and he did that while shooting fewer than seven free throws nightly, so, in this case, people can’t complain about the aesthetics of his performances. After a slow start to the year with his three-point shooting, Harden is making over 39 percent of his triples over the last month, an impressive mark considering the difficulty of his usual shot attempt.
Like Happy Gilmore learning how to putt, Giannis Antetokounmpo’s improved three-point stroke this season has somehow made the Greek superstar even more effective, which is scary considering he’s coming off an MVP campaign as is. Antekounmpo has 43 made triples this year. That’s as many as sharpshooting teammate Khris Middleton, and more than noted shooters like Jamal Murray and Seth Curry. Because of his improved shooting, according to Box Plus/Minus and Win Shares Per 48 Minutes, Antetokounmpo has been even better this season than he was last. If he’s able to keep this up, there’s little doubt the 25-year-old will be a frontrunner to take home his second consecutive MVP award at year’s end.
You can follow Frank Urbina on Twitter: @FrankUrbina_.
With the baby-faced assassin sidelined with an ankle sprain, the Boston Celtics may have it easier than they expected on Wednesday.
After two straight losses for just the second time this season, the Boston Celtics could use an easier game after a scheduling quirk left them with a five-day gap between games.
The time off will help a banged-up Marcus Smart and Robert Williams III return to health, but the path to their next win just got easier with news that baby-faced assassin Luka Doncic will likely miss Boston’s looming match against the Dallas Mavericks Dec. 18.
Doncic, who has emerged as one of the youngest MVP candidates in league history this season after some weight loss and skill development pushed the Slovenian sensation into the stratosphere in 2019-20.
Rick Carlisle in text message to reporters: "Luka Doncic will not travel to Milwaukee due to a right ankle sprain. He will stay in Dallas with Casey Smith and receive treatment. There will be no further updates until Wednesday night." https://t.co/KUK24jREa8
Then, after lighting up Mexico City in the first of two tilts south of the border, the 20-year-old stepped on the foot of another rising star, the Miami Heat’s Kendrick Nunn, while slashing to the cup Saturday night, and managed to sprain his ankle in the process.
For Doncic and an ascendent Mavericks, the injury is a blessing in disguise, as there were concerns it could be a high ankle sprain or worse, potentially requiring an extended rehabilitation as we are seeing with the Sacramento Kings’ De’Aaron Fox.
Luka Doncic went back to the locker room after appearing to have turned his right ankle. pic.twitter.com/hp7lG13w3j
While it’s unfortunate the two unexpectedly excellent franchises will not meet at full strength, at least both will likely be healthy soon if not on the night of their next meeting.
In a vicious West and hungry top of the East, both teams will need their best players available to hang onto their respective positions.
While we might not get the flash and fanfare that has accompanied the nascent star as Dallas has made its rounds, a consolation prize is there for the taking.
Wednesday night should be a chance for the Celtics to pad their resumé a bit, and grab a tighter hold on having one of the top seeds by season’s end.
It’s one of the best sports photos of all time — Dwyane Wade with his arms spread out wide just after getting a pass off to his then-Miami Heat teammate LeBron James, who’s in mid-air about to throw down a vicious dunk.
It’s possible Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic is well aware of that shot — and if he was a fan of the game growing up, that makes sense, that photo was everywhere when it was snapped by AP Photo’s Morry Gash — because while he was playing in Mexico City, he appeared to recreate it with teammate Kristaps Porzingis.
Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James is having the best Year 17 season ever and according to one metric, the best current season in the NBA.
LeBron James, by all accounts, is having the best Year 17 season that the NBA has ever seen through the first 24 games of the 2019-20 season. While he is leading the league in assists for the first time in his career while being part of one of the NBA’s best defenses for the first time in a while, and scoring 26 points per game, a new metric released on Wednesday measures him as the most impactful player in the league today.
ESPN released its first Real Plus-Minus estimates for the 2019-20 season and LeBron James was comically ahead of everyone else in the league, with a rating nearly three points higher than the two reigning MVPs, James Harden of the Houston Rockets and Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks.
Obviously, one number is not everything but it’s still a pretty remarkable statement on the player that James still is to this day. Conversely, Anthony Davis rated out 10th among power forwards in Real Plus-Minutes, something James and the Lakers would obviously dispute if someone were to suggest there were eight power forwards better than The Brow.
Still, James has been incredible this season. And another reason the rating is so high could be how James has been able to play arguably his purest style of basketball, facilitating and leading the Lakers to one of the best offenses in the league despite the fact they’re not a heavily pick-and-roll dependant team, which has become the league-wide norm.
After many questioned whether James could get back to the heights he displayed throughout his career after suffering an injury last year that ended his streak of eight straight trips to the NBA Finals, he’s proven once again that he can perform at a level higher than most had assumed was attainable.
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 our 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:
One of the most productive players in basketball, Karl-Anthony Towns is putting up insane numbers for the Minnesota Timberwolves this season, ranking 10th in points per game, ninth in rebounds per game and ninth in three-point percentage (minimum: 100 attempts) on the year. The advanced stats love Towns’ prowess as a scorer, as evidenced by Synergy Sports ranking the Wolves big as an excellent producer in five separate play-types: as a spot-up shooter, on put-backs, in isolation, coming off screens and as a cutter. Towns would rank higher on this list if his team hadn’t just lost four games in a row by a combined 44 points. Minnesota needs to get their star center some help.
Another star player putting up big numbers for a losing team, Damian Lillard and the Portland Trail Blazers have had a tough time getting on track this season, sitting at 9-15 through 24 games. It’s impossible to fault Lillard for that, however, considering how productive he’s been on the year. This season, the Blazers are 12.9 points per 100 possessions better with Lillard on the floor, proving how valuable he’s been to the team. The problem is, Portland completely falls apart during stints with Lillard on the pine, and that’s something that could cost the Blazers a shot at the playoffs. We’ll see if that affects the star floor general’s future with the team, though Lillard has stated multiple times how much he loves it in Portland.
The Boston Celtics are excelling as a team, so it’s tough to pick just one of their players to honor in these rankings, but when forced to choose, Kemba Walker was the clear choice. Walker has acclimated wonderfully to life on a winning team, putting up impressive numbers for Boston while proving to be a fantastic teammate, which could not be said about the All-Star point guard he replaced over the offseason. The Celtics only played twice last week, but they were both matchups against top playoff teams in their respective conferences, the Miami Heat and the Denver Nuggets. Boston battered both opponents by a combined 32 points with Walker leading the way, averaging 23.5 points and 5.0 assists on fiery 51.5/47.4/100.0 shooting splits.
Prior to last week, the Toronto Raptors hadn’t lost back-to-back games all season long. Now, they’re sitting on a three-game losing streak, and it happens to coincide with a slump from Pascal Siakam. Toronto’s burgeoning star swingman averaged 18.3 points over three games last week, shooting 38.9 percent from the floor and a paltry 14.3 percent from three-point range. Regardless, after losing Kawhi Leonard, the Raptors are still exceeding expectations this year with a 15-7 record and a Top-5 league-wide ranking in net rating, and Siakam has been unquestionably the reason why, which explains why we still rank him favorably for MVP.
After not making the Top 10 of our rankings last week, Heat forward Jimmy Butler surges into the Top 6 this time around thanks to an insane four-game stretch in which Miami went 3-1 and Butler averaged 27.5 points, 9.0 rebounds, 8.5 assists and 1.3 steals on 48.4/41.7/77.6 shooting splits. Butler earned Player of the Week honors in the East on Monday thanks to that impressive run. Despite shooting poorly on the season as a whole (43.2 FG%, 30.3 3PT%), Butler still ranks Top 7 in advanced metrics Value Over Replacement Player, Box Plus/Minus, Win Shares and Win Shares Per 48, which speaks to how incredibly valuable he’s been on both ends of the floor. Butler is one of just five players putting up a 20/6/6 stat line this season, and has Miami sitting preetty with a 17-6 and third in the Eastern Conference.
The reigning Player of the Week out of the West, Anthony Davis capped an impressive four-game week with a 50-point (20-of-29 shooting), 4-steal performance for the Los Angeles Lakers against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Davis has been spectacular all season long, making a strong case for Defensive Player of the Year while still ranking seventh in the league in scoring. In years past, there’s been a lot of preseason buzz about Davis turning the corner and becoming the best player in the league, and though that hasn’t happened quite yet, the 2019-20 version of Davis is the closest we’ve come to seeing it, with the Kentucky product playing the role of a legitimate two-way monster who is among the best scorers and fiercest rim-protectors in the league
Davis’ super teammate, LeBron James is also performing at an MVP level, which would explain why the Lakers are widely considered either the best, or second best, team in the league right now. The most impressive part of LeBron’s game is that although he looks like he’s playing in cruise control for the most part, he’s still producing at a ridiculous pace; James’ nonchalant nature of dominance has been downright scary in 2019-20. Per Synergy, the four-time MVP ranks as an excellent scorer out of the post, in spot-up situations, coming off screens and on put-backs. James turns 35 in a few weeks, and he’s still this good. Crazy.
Leading the league in scoring and nightly minutes played, James Harden is having yet another spectacular season for the Houston Rockets. While dropping a 50-spot against the San Antonio Spurs last Tuesday, Harden had a dunk called no-good by officials despite clearly going in, which you could argue cost Houston the game since the contest wound up going to double-overtime before San Antonio prevailed by two points. At the same time, you could also make the case that Harden’s (and Russell Westbrook’s) porous shooting that night were what ended up costing the Rockets the game. In fact, one troubling recent trend regarding the bearded superstar has been his shooting in general. Harden has made just 10 of his last 42 three-point attempts, good for a 23.8 three-point percentage, although he’s making up for it by averaging 16 free throws over his last three games while converting 93.8 percent.
At all of 20 years old, Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic has been one of the very best players in all of basketball this season, putting up otherworldly numbers on a nightly basis while leading Dallas to a 16-7 record and the league’s third-best net rating (+9.4). In Doncic’s rookie season, the Mavs’ net rating was No. 21 league-wide (-1.5) and the year prior to the Slovenian star’s arrival, it was No. 22 in the NBA (-2.9), which goes to show the absurd trajectory both Doncic and Dallas as a whole are on. The one slight criticism that can be made about Doncic recently is that he’s getting too emphatic with his in-game officiating complaints. That’s not to say referees can’t be criticized, but we don’t need another Chris Paul-type of star who becomes hard to watch due to constant complaining. Thankfully, Doncic admitted he’s been too animated with the officials, and that he’s going to try and tone it down moving forward. Good. We would also be remiss not to mention that Doncic recently brokeMichael Jordan’s record of most consecutive 20/5/5 games with 19 straight such games.
All you need to do is read the above stats recap to understand why we ranked Giannis Antetokounmpo at No. 1 of our MVP rankings for the second week running. If Antetokounmpo maintains the pace he’s on, he’ll become just the third player in league history to post a 30/13/5 stat line for an entire season, joining Wilt Chamberlain and Elgin Baylor on the illustrious list. Giannis’ impact is far from empty, too, as the Milwaukee Bucks are 20-3 and have the NBA’s No. 1 net rating at +12.9. The league’s second-best team in net rating, the Lakers, are just at a +9.4. As far as Antetokounmpo’s recent form is concerned, the Greek Freak had a marquee matchup against the Los Angeles Clippers and their super wing duo of Kawhi Leonard and Paul George on Friday. Antetokounmpo responded by scoring 27 points, securing 11 rebounds and holding Leonard to 17 points on 5-of-14 shooting. Outrageous averages and elite team success give Giannis the nod for No. 1 in our rankings.
You can follow Frank Urbina on Twitter: @FrankUrbina_.
A stellar third quarter from the Dallas Mavericks blew open Saturday’s matinee match-up against the Pelicans as New Orleans dropped its eighth straight game, 130-84.
A stellar third quarter from the Dallas Mavericks blew open Saturday’s matinee match-up against the Pelicans as New Orleans dropped its eighth straight game, 130-84. The 46-point loss is the worst regular season loss in franchise history.
The good: Luka Doncic
It should go without saying that one of the leading MVP candidates was a highlight on the day but he went nuclear in the third period. He finished the night overall with 26 points, nine assists and six rebounds and took a 12-point halftime lead and blew it up to 38 points by the end of the third.
Doncic controlled the game on the offensive end unlike many sophomores ever have in the NBA. He’s a certified superstar who can take over a game and end it in a snap of a finger. Few players can do that in the league. New Orleans learned Doncic was one of those today.
Honorable mentions: Brandon Ingram, the start time of the game
The bad: Errr….everything?
It’s hard to pick one thing that was standout bad on the day. The Pelicans self-combusted in the third period, shot an impossible-to-believe 3-of-32 from three-point territory and shot 36 percent overall from the field.
Dallas, meanwhile, had no struggles. The Mavericks bench outscored the Pelicans 65-28 and had a lead as big as 50 points on the day. There was nothing not negative from the Pelicans on the day.
The Ball: Another disappointing shooting performance
After having arguably his best game as a Pelican, Lonzo Ball had one of his worst games, going 1-for-9 from the field and 0-for-7 from three. He finished with four points, four rebounds and two assists and had a plus-minus of -21, which, if you’re looking for small positives, was the best mark of anyone in the Pelicans starting lineup.
In a media straw poll to replicate MVP voting, James Harden now ranks fourth behind Giannis Antetokounmpo, LeBron James, and Luka Doncic.
Despite historic scoring numbers at nearly 40 points per game, Houston Rockets star James Harden might not even be in the current top three of the media’s Most Valuable Player (MVP) race for the 2019-20 NBA season.
In an ESPN straw poll released Wednesday of 101 media members representing all local NBA markets, as well as national and international reporters, Harden ranked fourth in voting behind Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks; LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers; and Luka Doncic of the Dallas Mavericks.
In terms of first-place votes, Antetokounmpo had 48, followed by 29 for James, 14 for Doncic, and nine for Harden. The complete voting breakdown can be read in the ESPN story.
Giannis? Harden? LeBron? Luka? This year’s MVP race looks like it’ll be as competitive as any in history. So far, though, there’s a clear leader. How do we know? We asked the people who will determine the winner. Here are the results of our MVP straw poll: https://t.co/IH8AIHfJDG
It is unclear how many of the 101 media members polled will actually have MVP votes in the spring, but it does seem to capture the current sentiment with the 2019-20 season about a quarter of the way complete.
Both the Bucks and Lakers entered Wednesday with 18-3 records, which is several games better than Harden’s Rockets at 13-7. The “team success” factor is often a persuasive argument for many voters, as it seemed to be when Antetokounmpo (on the 60-22 Bucks) edged out Harden (on the 53-29 Rockets) in the 2018-19 MVP race.
But the Doncic-led Mavs entered Tuesday with an identical record to the Rockets, yet Doncic had a combined 39 first- or second-place votes from the panel, as compared to just 25 for Harden. Thus, it’s harder to explain that disparity strictly through the lens of team record.
The interesting part about this is how the media views Kawhi Leonard. Do we view him as Toronto Kawhi or what the future holds? Not sure he would be in my top 5 in the MVP conversation based on his first 16 games. The Harden ranking is stunning (I had him no. 1). https://t.co/ea90uo1vKN
Doncic is averaging 30.7 points, 10.3 rebounds, and 9.4 assists, while Harden is at 39.5 points, 7.8 assists, and 6.1 rebounds per game. That 39.5 total would be the third-highest scoring season in league history, and the top mark since Wilt Chamberlain (44.8) back in 1962-63.
Now 30 years old, Harden won MVP in 2917-18 and has finished in the top two in voting after four of the last five seasons — which may contribute to voter fatigue about him. To that point, Rockets GM Daryl Morey has wondered aloud if voters will again “rob” Harden of the award.
Former MVP winner Russell Westbrook, who now stars alongside Harden in the Houston backcourt, recently suggested that media members were trying to “normalize” Harden’s historic numbers.
Russell Westbrook remains amazed by James Harden:
“A lot of people like to normalize greatness when you see it over and over again, but it’s not normal because there’s nobody else that can do it.” pic.twitter.com/KTnqmf0ncY
Fortunately for Harden and the Rockets, approximately three-quarters of the 2019-20 season remains to potentially change the current voting narrative. The easiest way for them to do that would be to win a higher percentage of games and potentially climb up the standings, which they’ll have a chance to do beginning with Thursday’s game at Toronto.
The New Orleans Pelicans didn’t have an answer for Luka Doncic and dropped their sixth traight/
The New Orleans Pelicans are still looking for the first win of the month after losing to the Dallas Mavericks 118-97 at the Smoothie King Center on Tuesday. The Pelicans are now 6-15 on the season.
Here was the good, the bad and the Ball from Tuesday’s game.
The Good: Luka Doncic
The Pelicans were the latest team to fail in their pursuit of slowing down second-year forward Luka Doncic. In just 28:29, Doncic scored a game-high 33 points on 9-18 shooting from the field, including 5-12 shooting from behind the arc. He also killed the Pelicans on the boards, grabbing 18 rebounds, more than the Pelicans’ two rebound leaders combined.
Saying he was “good” feels like a gross understatement.
The Bad: The Pelicans’ shooting
What’s been a strength of the Pelicans’ season failed them tonight, as they shot a lowly 26.8% from 3-point range on 41 attempts. Josh Hart led New Orleans in 3-point makes with three makes in six attempts. Jrue Holiday went 0-3 from behind the arc.
The Ball
Lonzo Ball ended his night with six points on 2-12 shooting from the field, including an abysmal 2-10 shooting from 3-point territory. The Pelicans allowed just 100 points per 100 possessions with Ball on the floor, but their offense was at its worst when he played. As a result, he ended the game with a -13.6 net rating.
The Pelicans will return to action on Thursday to take on the Phoenix Suns.
