With the team nearing full health, the Pelicans will be on the national stage on Tuesday against one of the early MVP favorites.
Who: New Orleans Pelicans vs. Dallas Mavericks
When: Tuesday, Dec. 3, 7:30 p.m ET
Where: Smoothie King Center
How to watch: TNT
While the New Orleans Pelicans obviously still aren’t at full strength (come back soon Zion), they are nearing something close to full strength, While Derrick Favors (personal reasons) and Kenrich Williams (ankle) both remain out, the team has welcomed back the former Lakers into the fold and appear to be closing in on full strength once again.
However, this comes at a point when New Orleans is stuck in its worst rut of the season. Sunday’s loss to the Thunder was the fifth straight loss and second-in-a-row against Oklahoma City.
The struggles continue to come in close games against New Orleans. The Pelicans have played in 45 minutes that the NBA deems as “clutch” minutes, tied for sixth-most in the league. In clutch situations, New Orleans’ net rating of -35.2 ranks 28th with only the Spurs and Warriors worse this season, both in fewer minutes.
They’re also shooting 28.8 percent from the field in those minutes, ranking them 29th in the league. Going hand-in-hand with that, the Pelicans rank 30th in offensive rating in the clutch.
All those struggles heading into Tuesday’s game don’t even address the fact they’ll be going up against one of the best players in the game currently in Luka Doncic. In his sophomore campaign, Doncic is putting up MVP-caliber averages at 30.6 points, 9.9 rebounds and 9.6 assists and has the Mavericks at 13-6 and in the top four in the Western Conference.
It all sets up for a particularly interesting night on national television for the Pelicans that could either be the start of a winning streak with a healthier roster or the continuing of recent struggles.
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:
Joel Embiid creeps into our MVP rankings for the first time, as he has led the Philadelphia 76ers to a 15-6 record, and four straight victories. It’s interesting that this is finally the week Embiid has broken into our weekly ranking series, considering the fact that last Monday, he started the week off with the worst game of his career, going scoreless against the Toronto Raptors on 0-for-11 shooting. However, in the three games after that horrific performance, Embiid has averaged 30.7 points, 14.7 rebounds and 2.0 blocks while attempting nearly 15 free throws per contest. Perhaps his horrid showing against Toronto was the best thing that could have happened for Embiid/Philadelphia, since it has unlocked a new level of aggression from the supremely talented center. If he can maintain that level of play, he’ll continue to creep up our rankings as the season progresses, as well as help the Sixers win a whole lot of games.
After suffering a scary next injury last weekend, Kemba Walker bounced back wonderfully this week, dropping 39 points against the Brooklyn Nets in his first game back on Wednesday, and averaging 24.0 points, 5.3 rebounds and 6.7 assists in the three outings since his return. Walker has helped push Boston to a 14-5 record this season not just with his All-Star-level play, but by being such a positive locker-room presence in the stead of the now-departed Kyrie Irving. Walker’s leadership has been huge for the Celtics, and head coach Brad Stevens has taken notice:
"He's one of the best leaders I've been around. He brings the most out of the guys he's playing with." – #Celtics Brad Stevens when asked about Kemba Walker's leadership.
Boston has two big games coming up this week, facing the Miami Heat and Denver Nuggets, two teams near the top of their respective conferences, and with a couple of big performances, Walker could shoot his way up this ranking ahead of next week.
It appears that after a worryingly slow start, the Portland Trail Blazers have finally turned things around, and a lot of that has to do with the consistently awesome level of play they’re getting out of Damian Lillard. The 29-year-old is averaging career-highs in points, assists and free-throw percentage this season, and with the addition of a motivated Carmelo Anthony (who just won Player of the Week in the Western Conference, by the way), Lillard should be able to help lead Portland right back into the thick of the cutthroat playoff race out west. Lillard ranks seventh in Value Over Replacement Player, sixth in Win Shares and 10th in Player Efficiency Rating in 2019-20.
According to most advanced metrics, Karl-Anthony Towns has hovered around Top-5 player status this season, and just by looking at his raw averages, it’s easy to see why. Towns is distributing the basketball better than ever before this year (career-high 22.1 percent assist rate) while continuing to protect the rim and knock down threes at ridiculous paces (he’s launching nearly nine threes nightly and making them at a 42.1 percent clip, the ninth-most accurate mark in the league). Most importantly, Towns’ play has pushed the Minnesota Timberwolves to a 10-9 record, placing them 7th in the Western Conference playoff race. The Wolves will need Towns to maintain his level of form in order to reach the postseason with how loaded the West is, but considering how easy Towns is making it look, that shouldn’t be a problem for the big man.
Raptors swingman Pascal Siakam is playing at such an insane level that there’s actual talk out there that he might deserve to take home Most Improved Player honors for the second year in a row. Siakam is shooting 6.5 threes per game (up from his previous career-best of 2.7) and knocking them down at the most accurate rate of his career, a healthy 39 percent. The 25-year-old is one of the most impactful two-way wings in basketball, capable of doing a multitude of things, including make plays for others, throw it down in transition and knock down open threes, all while being a multi-positional defender on the other end of the floor. Siakam has been so good that even without team leader Kyle Lowry around due to injury for the last few weeks, he still has Toronto, who have won seven games in a row, absolutely humming. The trajectory Siakam is presently on is downright scary.
The No. 2 option on the best team in the league (by record, at least), Anthony Davis is performing at a ridiculous level considering it’s his first time suiting up for a team with championship expectations. Davis ranks eighth league-wide in nightly scoring and is tied in first in blocks per game, which just goes to show how much of an impact he makes on both ends of the floor on a nightly basis. The Los Angeles Lakers will want him to improve his three-point shooting a bit (34.4 percent for the year), but other than that, it’s been smooth sailing for Davis, who set the record last week for highest scoring performance in a player’s first game against their former team, when he dropped 41 on the New Orleans Pelicans.
Davis’ super teammate, LeBron James, also had a great week, averaging 27.5 points, 5.3 rebounds and 11.0 assists over four games. James currently leads the league in nightly assists while ranking 11th in points per game. It’s crazy to see how productive he remains despite being in Year-16, not just statistically, but with his ability to much such a strong impact on winning. This upcoming week will be a big one for LeBron and Co., as, after a relatively soft schedule in November, they’re set to face the Nuggets, Jazz, Blazers and Timberwolves, giving them the chance to silence those who believe their 17-3 record is mostly a byproduct of a weak strength of schedule.
Posting one of the greatest statistical second-year campaigns of all time, Luka Doncic has absolutely exploded as a sophomore. Even Dallas Mavericks legend Dirk Nowitzki admitted to being surprised by how quickly Doncic has acclimated to the NBA game, and with good reason; 20-year-olds shouldn’t be as productive as Doncic has been. Doncic currently ranks third in the league in scoring, 17th in rebounds and second in assists while guiding (carrying, really), the Mavericks to a 13-6 record, including a huge road win against the Lakers on Sunday. The contest featured a near Doncic triple-double and a step-back three over LeBron that will be featured in Doncic’s 2019-20 highlight tape for eternity.
Luka Doncic hits a stepback three in Lebron's face, so smooth he almost makes those jerseys look good pic.twitter.com/BiXakyvYCd
James Harden’s scoring has been so otherworldly that he dropped 60 points on Saturday and didn’t even win Player of the Week for the Western Conference. His game may not be the prettiest (he currently has the second-highest nightly free-throw attempt average… ever), but there’s no doubt he’s a maestro when it comes to putting the ball in the hoop. The only thing preventing Harden from ranking higher on this list is the fact that the Houston Rockets have a worse record and a lower net rating than those of the No. 1 ranked player’s team. Even so, barring injury or an unpredictable drop in form, Harden will be one of the top finalists for MVP come the end of the season.
A destructive force on both ends of the floor, Giannis Antetokounmpo is an early frontrunner to win his second MVP trophy in a row. Over four games last week, the Greek Freak averaged 34.8 points, 11.3 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 1.3 steals and 1.5 blocks per game. The Milwaukee Bucks won all four games by a total of 63 points. And that’s why we rank Giannis No. 1 in this week’s ranking: Not only is he putting up insane numbers while defending at an extremely high level – he’s also the best player on the best team in the league. Milwaukee is tied with L.A. in record at 17-3, but is first in net rating by a long shot at +10.3. The next closest team in net rating are the Raptors, who are at +8.8. What’s more, the Bucks are 10.7 points per 100 possessions better with Antetokounmpo on the floor, proving his importance to the squad. Giannis is a force of nature, and if he keeps this up, he’ll be adding a second MVP trophy to his mantle.
You can follow Frank Urbina on Twitter: @FrankUrbina_.
LeBron James, Anthony Davis and the Los Angeles Lakers don’t want to sell themselves short this year even after Sunday’s loss.
Despite the fact that the Los Angeles Lakers are set to begin a brutal stretch of games away from the Staples Center against good teams and they lost one of their two home games over the next 10 on Sunday, they still have quite the goal for their games ahead: not to lose two games in a row.
Both LeBron James and Anthony Davis vocalized that goal to the media on Sunday afternoon following the Sunday’s second-half collapse against the Mavericks, according to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin.
“You don’t know until you [strive for it],” James said of the goal to avoid a two-game losing streak all season, which he says the team has eyed since opening night.
“Realistic is the mindset. It’s not about [accepting that] sometimes you lose games in a row. Just having that mindset and that approach.”
After the loss, the Lakers are now tied with the Milwaukee Bucks for the NBA’s best record at 17-3 through the first 20 games. But the Lakers will need that special mindset to get through what will be the toughest stretch of their season so far.
As mentioned above, Sunday’s game was one of two games in a stretch of 10 where the Lakers play eight games on the road. That includes what should be a competitive road trip this weekend against teams in the Northwest Division, starting with a Western Conference showdown against the No. 2 Denver Nuggets team who are 13-4 and also have one of the league’s best defenses on Tuesday night in the Mile High City.
With his shooting and defense, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope has been a key starter for the Lakers recently.
Los Angeles Lakers guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope made his ninth straight start Sunday against the Dallas Mavericks. The Lakers’ 10-game win streak ended as the Mavericks won 114-100.
Caldwell-Pope didn’t score in double figures for a third straight game in the loss. But during the Lakers’ win streak, Caldwell-Pope shined.
During those 10 games, Caldwell-Pope made eight starts. In his eight starts, he scored 11.8 points per game on 54% shooting from the field, per Basketball Reference.
Caldwell-Pope has showed he can be a key complementary starter recently. In the previous eight starts before Sunday, Caldwell-Pope shot 51.5% from the 3-point line. He scored seven points and went 1-of-2 from the 3-point line in Sunday’s loss.
While Caldwell-Pope is one of the Lakers’ best shooters, he is also a solid defender. He isn’t necessarily a lockdown defender, but he does well containing his opponents as best as possible.
In the video below, Caldwell-Pope struggled at first to get through Dwight Powell’s screen, but he recovered well and helped JaVale McGee force a bad pass from Luka Doncic.
Caldwell-Pope began the season on the bench, starting only one game in the Lakers’ first 11 contests. That was for good reason, though, as Caldwell-Pope didn’t show any sort of consistency.
He particularly wasn’t the threat he’s capable of being offensively, scoring 5.3 points per game in the Lakers’ first 11 games.
During those first 11 games, he posted three games where he didn’t make a shot from the field.
Now, though, as the Lakers lose their first game since Nov. 10, Caldwell-Pope has shown the Lakers are perhaps better off with him in the starting lineup.
During Caldwell-Pope’s previous eight starts, the Lakers shot an average of 40.5% from the 3-point line, well above their season average of 35.8%. During his eight starts over the 10-game win streak, Caldwell-Pope was the Lakers’ top 3-point shooter three times.
Caldwell-Pope’s role could end up being similar to the one J.R. Smith had with the Cleveland Cavaliers during the team’s 2016 title season. Smith shot 40.0% from the 3-point line during the regular season — it was the second-highest mark of his career from deep.
With the Lakers 20 games into the regular season, Caldwell-Pope is shooting a career-high 40.4% from the 3-point line.
Despite a slow start to the season, Caldwell-Pope has shown he will be integral for the Lakers’ future success.
The Lakers will play the Denver Nuggets on the road Tuesday at 9 p.m. EST.
Luka Doncic scored 21 of his 27 points in the 2nd half to propel the Mavericks past the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday.
After going 14-1 in the month of November and coming into Sunday’s game with a 10-game win-streak, the Los Angeles Lakers were given a cruel welcome to what will be a much tougher December schedule as Luka Doncic exploded in the second half to snap the Lakers win-streak on Sunday afternoon, 114-100.
LeBron James had 25 points, eight assists and nine rebounds while Anthony Davis had 27 points but the Lakers duo got little help with Alex Caruso the only player scoring in double-figures (10 points).
After a quiet first half with just six points, Doncic scored 21 of his 27 points in the second half to go with 10 assists and nine rebounds while the Mavericks dwarfed the Lakers output from the 3-point line. Dallas was 17 for 49 from the 3-point line while the Lakers were just seven for 27, outscoring them by 30 points form the outside.
For whatever reason, the Lakers didn’t begin the second half blitzing Doncic to force the ball from his hands as they did to begin the game and he exposed them. The Mavericks also had four other players in addition to Doncic who made multiple 3-pointer on the night, providing the firepower to give the Lakers only their third loss of the season.
And as will be a theme for the month of December, it’s not going to get any easier from here. L.A. is now headed out on three-game trip starting against a tough Denver Nuggets squad that will kick off a stretch of the Lakers playing eight of their next nine games away from Staples Center. To survive, they can’t make performances like Sunday’s the norm.
Los Angeles Lakers star Anthony Davis showed that people just can’t get as high as he can with an alley oop jam on Sunday.
The Los Angeles Lakers and Dallas Mavericks meeting once again resulted in another half of excellent basketball but also one of the highlights of the year, if not the highlight of the year so far, for the Los Angeles Lakers.
After the Mavericks wrestled control of the game with LeBron James on the bench, James and Anthony Davis led the Lakers back to take a 62-59 lead into halftime. The Lakers were hustling, James was diving on the floor and Davis led all scorers at halftime with 20 points, all the while making life difficult for Luka Doncic. But no play was better than LeBron’s lob pass to Davis who caught the ball at the high point far above where Doncic attempted to break up the pass.
Doncic has a knack for being in the right place at the right time but sometimes there are things instincts can’t take care of for you, as Davis’ incredible reach and athleticism showed on the above play.
James has 15 points, six assists and five rebounds at halftime while Doncic has just six points and five assists as he’s struggled early going one for six from the field.
The Los Angeles Lakers will have one of their key players in Sunday afternoon’s showdown against Luka Doncic and the Mavericks.
The Los Angeles Lakers will be close to full strength for Sunday afternoon’s matinee against the Dallas Mavericks. After being deemed questionable to play Sunday with an ankle sprain, Kyle Kuzma will play this afternoon against Dallas, according to Harrison Faigen of Silver Screen and Roll.
The Lakers may need Kuzma’s adding scoring punch against the league’s No. 1 ranked offense led by Luka Doncic and a willing supporting cast of 3-point shooters (Dallas is No. 2 in 3-point rate). L.A. have been able to hang their hat on the defensive end but their offense has seen quite the improvement over the last few weeks.
Also, the last game played between these two teams was one of the classic games of the young season back on Nov. 1 in Dallas. In addition to the recent history, the Lakers also have a 10-game win-streak they’re attempting to keep intact today.
Sunday, albeit against a good team, is one of few home dates the Lakers will get in December. Including Sunday, the Lakers play eight of their next 10 games on the road.
LeBron James and Luka Doncic are set to do battle again after playing one of the league’s best games earlier this season.
LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers are back on the court for a Sunday matinee at the Staples Center when they host Luka Doncic and a strong Dallas Mavericks squad in just a few hours.
The Nov. 1 meeting between these two teams was a 119-110 overtime thriller with James and Doncic exchanging massive triple-double while each scoring over 30 points on the night. The biggest difference down the stretch was that LeBron had considerably more help from his co-star Anthony Davis, who scored 31 points while Kristaps Portzingis only had 16 points on 6 for 16 shooting.
Dwight Howard also played a major role for the Lakers in the Nov. 1 win, playing 27 minutes and anchoring the defense several times down the stretch and even taking Doncic in space on switches. Taking on Doncic will once again be the focal point for the Lakers defense, but it’s a job that is much easier said than done.
It will be interesting to see what kind of defensive coverages the Lakers throw at Doncic, especially with how he’s carried the team offensively. But given how great the last game was, expect LeBron and Doncic to have answers for everything thrown their way.
We’ve been telling you all season long about how the Clippers aren’t even close to being a finished product and that’s still mostly true.
But the havoc they wreaked against the Mavericks in Tuesday’s 114-99 win gave the rest of the league a glimpse at how scary they can be when they lock in.
Going into the game the Mavericks were scoring 117.4 points per 100 possessions. The Clippers held them to just 93.4 points per 100 — a full 24 points under their regular mark.
They took the most efficient offense in NBA history and tore it to shreds like it was child’s play. Luka Doncic might be the NBA’s best offensive player to this point and they made him look like a rookie again. And the scariest part of all is that they actually made it look easy.
Here’s how they did it
The key to neutralizing the Mavericks’ offensive attack is taking out their fulcrum in Doncic. He leads the league in touches with 98.6 per game. Whatever the Mavericks do runs through him.
The Clippers took that away by pressing him hard in the full court when he brought the ball up the floor. Even once he crossed half court, they kept the pressure on.
Just look at how far back Beverley is playing him. He’s not worried about what’s on the back end — just staying in front of the ball.
That’s not a normal coverage. It takes a lot to pressure the ball like this throughout a game. We don’t normally see teams employ this game after game because it wears guards down defensively, but the Clippers have the defensive depth to pull this out whenever they want.
What they really wanted to do was force the ball out of Doncic’s hands. When the Mavs tried to initiate screen and rolls, their bigs didn’t switch or drop back in coverage. Instead, the Clippers showed two and had the big men step up to force Doncic to get rid of it. Someone else had to make a play.
Even when Doncic didn’t have the ball, the Clippers still kept the pressure up and just threw everything out of wack.
The Mavs have good offensive players surrounding Doncic, but they’re not used to making plays themselves. The Clippers exploited that and forced them into 20 turnovers — Doncic had seven of them himself.
The Clippers’ ability to press is unfair
Watching them defend is like watching a game of NBA 2k. Someone is just perpetually mashing the steal button and not paying for their gambles. They’re always on the ball yet always somehow in the right passing lane.
This is a luxury most teams can’t afford. Playing an ultra aggressive style is hard. Not only because a defense can get burned for gambling, but it also takes a ton of energy to do it right.
The Clippers have the bodies to get it done. Beverley, George and Harkless all guarded Doncic when he had the ball for at least two minutes, per NBA.com’s stats tool.
“It’s good, you know, me pressuring the ball, Rodney [McGruder] pressuring the ball, of course, Kawhi guarding somebody so they turn their back,” Patrick Beverley said after the game. “PG is able to play that corner back type of defense and we get a lot of steals that lead to early offense.”
Beverley is absolutely right and it’s maddening. They shouldn’t be able to move like this.
The Clippers aren’t going to play this way for 82 games. It takes entirely too much energy and it’s impossible for bodies to fly around like this without risking injury.
But the fact that they have this type of defense in their bag is the scariest thing ever for NBA offenses. The rest of the league best beware.
