The NBA retroactively gave Rockets star Russell Westbrook a flagrant foul for his shove of Mavs guard Luka Doncic during Sunday’s game.
Houston Rockets guard Russell Westbrook was retroactively given a “flagrant 1” foul by the NBA league office on Tuesday for his shove of Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic during Sunday’s game in Houston.
The action was ruled a common foul on the floor. The upgrade does not carry any direct game consequences, of course, since the game is long over. However, it does count as one flagrant foul “point” for Westbrook.
NBA players earn an automatic suspension when they reach six flagrant foul points over each regular season. Naturally, a flagrant 2 foul — which also means an ejection during that game — would count as two points.
It represents the first flagrant of the 2019-20 season for Westbrook, who led the NBA in flagrant fouls last year with four.
HOU’s Russell Westbrook assessed Flagrant 1 upon league review for his contact against DAL’s Luka Dončić at 8:42 of 3rd qtr on 11/24/19.
The contact didn’t appear to be malicious. In a transition sequence early in the third quarter, Westbrook sprinted to try and pick up Dallas guard Tim Hardaway Jr., who was open in the right corner. Hardaway had 19 first-half points, so reducing his open shots was a priority for Houston.
Doncic passed the ball to Hardaway, and Westbrook then pushed Doncic in the back in a desperate attempt to get him out of the way. The goal was to contest Hardaway’s shot, or at least chase off the three-point line.
The push caused Doncic to stumble, however, and his momentum carried him out of bounds. A foul was immediately called.
Doncic led the Mavs (11-5) in Sunday’s victory with 41 points and 10 asssists, while Westbrook had 27 points and six assists for the Rockets (11-6) in the 137-123 loss (box score).
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:
Leonard hasn’t been super effective in the three games that he’s played since returning from a left knee contusion. The Clippers managed to win all three contests (over the Boston Celtics, Houston Rockets and New Orleans Pelicans), but Leonard seems a bit limited. Sure, Kawhi at 70-80 percent is better than most players at 100 percent, but we dropped him down our rankings a bit as he gets back to full strength. It’s worth noting that Leonard has been much less efficient than usual this season, which is something that the 28-year-old will surely work on. He’s shooting just 43.5 percent from the field and 30.0 percent from three-point range – both of which would easily be career-lows for Leonard. He’s only appeared in 12 games, though, so perhaps it’s just a small sample size. Fortunately for the Clippers (and basketball fans in general), Leonard and Paul George are finally playing together and it’s been fun to watch. So far, L.A. is undefeated when they have their two stars in the lineup at the same time.
Monday’s game against the Chicago Bulls was a perfect example of how adding Carmelo Anthony may help the Blazers win some additional games this season. Lillard scored just 13 points on 40.0 percent shooting from the field and 25.0 percent from three, but Portland still won because Anthony had 25 points on 50.0 percent shooting from the field and 57.1 percent from three. Lillard has been outstanding for the Blazers this year, but one player can only do so much. If Anthony continues to score this efficiently, it’ll be difficult for defenses to shut down Carmelo, Lillard and CJ McCollum. Lillard recently missed a game due to back spasms (insert joke about Dame carrying the Blazers on his back) and the point guard said that the issue is going to linger for a bit, so that may be why he’s struggling as of late. On the season, Lillard ranks fifth in Offensive Box Plus/Minus (6.9), seventh in Win Shares (2.4), seventh in Value Over Replacement Player (1.1) and 10th in Player Efficiency Rating (25.0).
This is Butler’s first time cracking our MVP rankings this season, but he’s been playing well all year for the Heat. Butler’s decision to leave the Philadelphia 76ers for Miami was one of the biggest surprises of this past offseason, but the 30-year-old forward has fit in perfectly with the Heat’s culture. With Butler leading the way on the perimeter, Miami currently has the second-best defense in the NBA (allowing just 100 points per 100 possessions). This has helped the Heat get off to a 12-4 start, which is the second-best record in the Eastern Conference. Over the weekend, Butler returned to Philadelphia to face off against the Sixers for the first time since his departure and while he would’ve loved to have a monster showing and get the win, he finished with just 11 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals while shooting 30.8 percent from the field (including 0-2 from three) in a losing effort. Still, Butler is having a strong campaign and he has the Heat near the top of the East, which is why he’s in our Top 10 this week.
Siakam has emerged as an elite scorer this season, while continuing to play the strong defense that we’ve seen from him in the past. At the moment, Siakam is ranked ninth among all players in Defensive Win Shares (0.9), 16th in Win Shares (1.8) and 18th in Value Over Replacement Player (.7). Interestingly, Siakam’s stats (25.7 points, 8.4 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 2.3 threes, 0.8 steals, 47.4 FG%, 37.4 3P%) are actually very similar to the numbers of his former teammate Kawhi Leonard (25.7 points, 8.0 rebounds, 5.5 assists, 1.8 threes, 2.1 steals, 43.5 FG%, 30.0 3P%). Everyone expected the 25-year-old to take on a bigger role this season and show some progress in Leonard’s absence, but this kind of leap is just incredible. He’s becoming one of the game’s elite two-way players and he seems poised for superstardom. Not bad for someone who didn’t play organized basketball for the first time until he was nearly 18 years old!
Towns continues to shoot the ball extremely well, making 44.4 percent of his three-pointers on 9.0 attempts per game. He’s more than doubled his number of three-pointers per game this season, which has made him an even scarier offensive weapon for Minnesota. Believe it or not, Towns’ 57 three-pointers is third-best in the NBA behind only James Harden (79) and Devonte’ Graham (60). The 24-year-old’s game perfectly fits in the modern NBA. Between Towns’ strong play and Andrew Wiggins’drastic improvement, it’s possible that the Wolves could shock everyone and sneak into the playoffs for just the second time in 16 years. After winning three-straight games (including an impressive victory over the Miami Heat), Minnesota has the seventh-best record in the Western Conference at 9-8.
The Lakers’ roster features 11 new players (including Davis), but you’d never know it from watching this team play. Rather than struggling out of the gate as they try to develop chemistry and get everyone on the same page, L.A. opened their season by winning 15 of their first 17 games. Davis and LeBron James have been a terrific one-two punch out of the gate, bringing the best out of each other. Davis may not be posting the jaw-dropping stat lines we got used to seeing from him with the New Orleans Pelicans, but that’s because he has a better supporting cast now and the Lakers aren’t asking him to carry the team on his own. Still, he’s been a dominant rim protector (leading the league in blocks) and he’s capable of scoring from anywhere on the court (averaging a career-high 1.2 threes per game). It may be tough for Davis to win MVP because he’s playing alongside James (and vice versa, perhaps), but there’s no question that he’s having a terrific season. It’ll be interesting to see how this Lakers team looks at midseason once they’re even more cohesive (and once their schedule gets a bit more difficult).
Last week, we praised Harden’s offensive output and moved him up our rankings because the Rockets held the second-best record in the league and were in the midst of a seven-game winning streak. Unfortunately, Houston went on to drop their next three games to tough teams (the Denver Nuggets, L.A. Clippers and Dallas Mavericks). Harden continues to score at will, despite constantly being double-teamed by opponents. He recently voiced his displeasure with the constant double-teaming, telling reporters: “The whole season, they’re running doubles teams at me. I’ve never seen that in an NBA game where you’ve got really good defenders and someone else running at the top of the key. Y’all let me know the last time you’ve seen that.” He uses this to his advantage at times, drawing contact from both defenders and getting to the foul line (which he’s doing more often than anyone since prime Wilt Chamberlain). With the Rockets’ current losing streak, Harden dropped one spot this week, but there’s no question that he’ll be in the mix for this award come the end of the season as long as he stays healthy.
The Bucks have now won 13 of their last 14 games (including eight-straight), climbing to No. 1 in the Eastern Conference standings. Not only have they lost just one game in the month of November, they’re winning convincingly – as evidenced by their +9.3 average point differential, the highest in the NBA. That’s in large part due to Antetokounmpo, who continues to dominate on both ends of the floor. On Monday, he had perhaps his best outing of the season in a win over the Utah Jazz, finishing with 50 points, 14 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 threes, 2 steals and 0 turnovers. The Jazz entered the game with the NBA’s top-ranked defense (allowing just 99.3 points per 100 possessions), yet Giannis did whatever he wanted against them. Antetokounmpo became just the second player in NBA history to hit all of those statistical marks in a single game, joining Michael Jordan (who did it against the Cleveland Cavaliers in 1989-90).
Recently, a courtside fan captured a funny interaction between James and a referee, with James saying, “I know you’ve been reading and they’re saying that I haven’t been playing defense these last couple of years, but it’s a new year!” Well, this season, it seems that James’ main focuses are defending and facilitating. His much-improved defense is perhaps the starkest difference between 2018-19 and this year. James ranks fifth in the NBA in Defensive Win Shares (+1.0) and 20th in Defensive Rating (101.9), and his effort on that end of the floor has been significantly better. Perhaps Anthony Davis deserves credit for this, as he’s been saying since the offseason that he was going to hold LeBron accountable and push him to play at an All-Defensive-Team level like he’s capable of doing. After Monday’s games, the Lakers actually have the best defense in the NBA (allowing just 99.7 points per 100 possessions). As for LeBron’s playmaking, he leads the league in assists per game (10.8) and assist percentage (50.7) by wide margins. In fact, he’s been involved in 49.0 percent of the Lakers’ points, which is easily the highest percentage among all NBA players this season. Los Angeles has won eight-straight and sit at 15-2, which is the NBA’s best record.
Early in the season, people were praising Doncic’s game while wondering when the sophomore would come back down to the Earth. Well, rather than regressing, Luka has only gotten better and he’s even closer to averaging 30-10-10. Doncic currently leads all NBA players in Win Shares (3.6), Box Plus/Minus (14.2), Value Over Replacement Player (2.2) and Player Efficiency Rating (33.3). In fact, his 33.3 PER puts him on pace for the best single-season efficiency rating of all-time. He makes the game look incredibly easy, destroying teams offensively. Not only does he have the league’s second-best scoring average (30.6), he ranks second in the NBA in assists per game (9.8) and assist percentage (48.9), showing just how many buckets he’s creating for himself and others. Doncic secured this week’s top spot after delivering an MVP-like performance in Dallas’ win over James Harden and the Houston Rockets, finishing with 41 points, 10 assists, 6 rebounds, 5 threes, 2 steals and 1 block. And his production is translating into victories for the Mavs, as they’ve now won five-straight games. Dallas is 11-5, which is the fourth-best record in the Western Conference. Right now, Doncic may be the frontrunner for the Most Valuable Player award and the Most Improved Player award.
Dallas Mavericks veteran wing Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 31 points during a huge victory over the conference rival Houston Rockets on Sunday.
Dallas Mavericks veteran wing Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 31 points during a huge victory over the conference rival Houston Rockets on Sunday.
After joining the team last season as part of the trade that sent star big man Kristaps Porzingis from the New York Knicks to the Mavericks, Hardaway was sidelined for the final 11 games of the 2018-19 season due to injury that required surgery. But after his recent hot streak, the wing has been named to the starting lineup for Dallas.
This is especially good news because Hardaway has been very impactful when on the court with Luka Doncic so far this season.
The former University of Michigan star has connected on 23 three-pointers during the 206 minutes he has played with the 2018-19 Rookie of the Year, including 16 long-rate shots assisted by Doncic. In fact, nearly half of the three’s Hardaway has made this year have been assisted by the 20-year-old Slovenian superstar.
Dallas has outscored opponents by a ridiculously dominant 25.9 points per 100 possessions during those minutes, the best net rating in the league (!) among all two-man lineups that have played at least 150 minutes together.
During their victory over the Rockets, Hardaway made his presence known as a spot-up threat from downtown. Considering the amount of attention that defenses must provide on Doncic, it has been important for the wing to find a niche on the perimeter and fire off the catch from his star teammate.
Hardaway is averaging 1.46 points per possession on spot-up attempts, per Synergy, which currently ranks in the 97th percentile. There are currently 140 players who have had 35 possessions as a spot-up shooter but none have been more efficient than Hardaway has been thus far.
Meanwhile, the Dallas wing is producing 5.3 points per game as a spot-up shooter. That trails only five players in the NBA, though all of them have had more possessions finished on offense.
Considering that Hardaway has only started 3 of 16 games for the Mavericks, we determined what his production would likely resemble if he were to play first-unit minutes.
Based on these calculations, only San Antonio Spurs guard Bryn Forbes has been more productive as a spot-up shooter in 2019-20.
This is an especially notable improvement for him considering last season, among the 61 players who had as many opportunities shooting off the catch, only two had a worse three-point percentage than Hardaway.
Moving forward if the Mavericks continue to be in playoff contention, they will need Hardaway to keep up his hot hand from the three-point line. But with the remarkable success of Doncic and how much attention he draws from his defenders, that is far from out of the question.
We’re running out of superlatives for what Luka Doncic is doing this season.
We can at least confirm that he’s doing stuff that’s nearly unheard of in NBA history. As ESPN Stats and Info noted, his 30-point triple-double average over the past 15 games is tied with that Michael Jordan guy for the fourth-longest streak. And they tweeted he’s the second player to total 2,000 points, 500 rebounds and 500 assists before game No. 90 in their career. The first, of course, was Oscar Robertson.
And now, let’s turn to the impact he’s having on the Dallas Mavericks with his play. We don’t need words for this awe-inspiring chart that shows how, well, off-the-charts Doncic and the Mavs are on offense right now:
239 games down 991 remaining
Mavericks' offense is scoring 9.6 points per 100 possessions greater than league average. They are on a complete tear.
Mainly because Luka Dončić is averaging 32.5 points, 10.7 rebounds, and 10.3 assists per 36 minutes on 63.2% True Shooting pic.twitter.com/mNZhVwk0bO
Per Basketball Reference, Doncic is shooting better at the rim (72.5 percent versus 63.7 percent last year) and of course he’s better from three (34.7 percent over 32.7). There’s over a 10 percent difference in his free-throw shooting, too. And let’s give some credit to the presence of a healthy Kristaps Porzingis for the Mavs’ offensive success.
But what Doncic is doing has made this team a nightmare to defend. And that chart tells the whole story.
The Rockets made just 10-of-44 three-pointers in Sunday’s loss, but they primarily blamed their leaky defense — which allowed 137 points.
The Rockets gave up 45 points to the Dallas Mavericks in Sunday’s first quarter and couldn’t overcome that early deficit in a 137-123 home defeat (box score) at Toyota Center. It’s the third straight loss for Houston (11-6) following a recent eight-game winning streak.
The Mavs (11-5) were led by 41 points and 10 assists from second-year guard sensation Luka Doncic, along with 23 points and 13 rebounds from 7-foot-3 forward Kristaps Porzingis. They led for the entire game.
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“It’s one of those games where you’ve got to force yourself to have the juice to start,” head coach Mike D’Antoni said postgame. “A 2:30 start coming back from LA [Los Angeles], an emotional game on Friday, and we were flat and they weren’t. They punched us good, and we fall all the way back. A lot of times when you do that, you run out of gas. I had to play James [Harden] extra minutes early to get us stabilized, and you then don’t have the juice to finish it off. Above all, [Dallas] played really well.”
Mike D’Antoni on today’s loss to the Mavs, in which the #Rockets fought back but couldn’t overcome an 18-point halftime deficit:
The Rockets trailed by 16 points after the first quarter and by 20 in the third quarter before making a push, clawing back to within five on two occasions early in the fourth quarter. But as D’Antoni alluded to, the Rockets spent so much energy during the comeback that they didn’t seem to have anything left down the stretch.
James Harden led the way with 32 points and 11 assists, but he made just 2-of-15 (13.3%) from behind the three-point arc. Off the bench, Ben McLemore and Austin Rivers were a combined 0-of-9 on three-pointers.
Overall, despite numerous open looks Houston made just 10-of-44 (22.7%) from three-point range — while Dallas connected on 17 of their 44 attempts (38.6%). That 21-point gap on the same number of shots was much more than the final margin between the teams.
However, the Rockets were much more concerned postgame about their lethargic early defense than they were the bad shooting.
“Our defensive was not where it needed it to be from the beginning of the game,” said veteran defensive ace P.J. Tucker, who scored 16 points (7-of-10 shooting) in 36 minutes. “We knew they were one of the best first half teams in the league. We had to assert ourselves early, and we didn’t.”
P.J. Tucker on what went wrong for the #Rockets (11-6) in today’s 137-123 loss to Dallas:
“We scored 120 points, so obviously it’s defense. … Our defense has to be better. When we play great defense, we win. Period.” #OneMissionpic.twitter.com/YQZAxi3lcs
“We allowed them to do whatever they wanted to do [offensively] from the beginning of the game,” added Harden. “When you give a team like that comfort and the ability to do whatever they want, they gain confidence, and that’s what they did.”
As one might expect given the total of 123 points, the Rockets had plenty of stat-stuffers. Starting center Clint Capela had 21 points and 22 rebounds, which tied Dennis Rodman for the NBA’s longest streak (at seven games) since 1976 of consecutive games with at least 19 rebounds.
Clint Capela joins Dennis Rodman as the only players since 1976 to record 19+ rebounds in seven consecutive games. @EliasSportspic.twitter.com/kBJFGVRCSO
Danuel House Jr. returned from a one-game absence due to a sore shoulder and added 16 points, including three of Houston’s 10 three-pointers. Russell Westbrook had 27 points and six assists, and his 40% clip (2-of-5) on three-pointers was his best mark from three-point range since the season opener back on Oct. 24. Westbrook also had several acrobatic layups during Houston’s rally late in the third quarter and early in the fourth as the Rockets cut into the lead.
But none of it was enough to fully overcome the early deficit, and the Rockets are putting the blame squarely on themselves for surrendering 45 points in the first quarter.
“When you have to be perfect, it’s hard,” Rivers said. “We put ourselves in a hole to where we had to be perfect to win the game.”
Austin Rivers puts the blame on the #Rockets slow start, which had them trying to overcome an 18-point halftime deficit.
“It’s a game of runs, but when you have to be perfect, it’s hard. We put ourselves in a hole to where we had to be perfect to win the game.” #OneMissionpic.twitter.com/upPNj16Ip0
The Rockets return to action Wednesday at home versus Miami (11-4), which means it won’t be easy for Houston to snap its current three-game slide. The Heat crushed the Rockets by 29 points earlier this month, though that game was in Miami. Houston then won its next eight games.
Luka Doncic, James Harden and Russell Westbrook are three of the most skilled playmakers in the NBA.
This current era of NBA basketball has produced players who have pushed the boundaries of what it means to be a playmaker.
Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic is one of the most talented players in the league, and as a second-year player he has quickly elevated himself into the league’s upper echelon. On Sunday he joined the company of Houston Rockets guards James Harden and Russell Westbrook in a historic streak.
Doncic scored 41 points and tallied 10 assists in the Mavericks’ 137-123 win over Houston. Per ESPN’s Tim MacMahon, Doncic joined Westbrook and Harden as the third active player to post four consecutive games of at least 30 points and 10 assists.
Since the 1983-84 season, Michael Jordan is the only other player to accomplish the feat.
The only active players who have had streaks of at least four games with 30+ points and 10+ assists are all on the Toyota Center court. Luka Doncic just joined Russell Westbrook and James Harden in that club. Only other guy to do it since 1983-84: Michael Jordan.
As two of the best guards in the league, Harden and Westbrook are skilled at penetrating the lane and finding teammates. On top of that, both players always seem to find ways to score. Doncic has been compared to Harden in part because he uses a stepback jumper similar to Harden’s signature move.
Each of the three players are ranked in the top 15 of the league for assists per game, with Doncic being the highest at No. 2. Harden ranks seventh, and Westbrook ranks 15th.
The league’s leading scorer, Harden has put together two games this season where he’s had at least 30 points and 10 assists. Westbrook hasn’t posted any games with those numbers.
In a recent podcast appearance, former NBA standout Shawn Marion compared Lonzo and LaMelo Ball to young NBA superstar Luka Doncic.
Lonzo and LaMelo Ball have drawn many comparisons both together and separate in their relatively young professional careers. The most recent comparison from Shawn Marion, though, might be the most generous one lauded upon them yet.
During an appearance on “The Full 48 with Howard Beck,” Marion compared the Ball brothers to budding superstar Luka Doncic.
“I got a chance to watch (Lonzo) play. I’ll say this one thing in comparison, Lonzo Ball, I think he has his own, he’s like Luka. They have their own way. They have their own…drive. They have their own pace. Watching Luka, you can not speed him up. His physical coordination is amazing. And he has another gear he can go. And he takes that challenge and loves that challenge.
When I watch Lonzo Ball and LaMelo Ball, I think they have their own pace. They know how to control the tempo of the game. They know the tempo of the game and I feel like they know exactly what the team needs and the time the team needs it. They means they know how to dictate and control…the pace of the game. It’s very rare to see young guys understand that, the temperment of the game like that. I’m not saying every time he make a pass it’s going to be automatically and assist.
But he knows when the tempo is getting out of control to a degree and he knows how to slow it down. That is very rare. That’s really hard to see. And his passing for his size and how he’s able to deliver the ball right in the pocket for guys to shoot the ball is pretty dynamic and really unique.”
While the idea of comparing either Ball brother to Doncic might raise some eyebrows, the manner in which Marion compares them makes sense. Marion isn’t the first person to compare LaMelo to Doncic as NBA scouts have done the same while evaluating his game with the Illawarra Hawks.
Neither Lonzo nor LaMelo will likely be a scorer to the level that Doncic has blossomed into even in his second year in the league as he’s averaging 29.9 points per game this season. Lonzo is averaging 11.1 points per game in his third year and LaMelo is averaging 14.7 points per game in the National Basketball League.
The way they can control a game and set up teammates, though, is similar. Both Ball brothers are averaging exactly 6.0 assists per game while Doncic is at 9.4 dimes per contest. All three have an ability to guide an offense that is rare to see from young players and show why all three are highly-touted prospects or, in Doncic’s case, an already impressive professional.
The hype around the Dallas Mavericks’ Luka Doncic has reached a fever pitch just a few games into the 2019-20 season, and as the headline above says, it’s justified.
His numbers — nearly a triple-double per game while scoring (as of Friday afternoon) nearly 30 points per game to go along with 1.4 steals per game — are beyond elite, especially for a 20-year-old. They’re backed up by an array of shots from everywhere on the court. He single-handedly humiliated the Warriors in one quarter.
The Mavericks were expected to be good this year, but this good? Nope. At 9-5 in the crowded West, Doncic deserves early MVP votes even with the Greek Freak and James Harden playing at elite levels.
Luka Doncic is a bad, bad man. On Wednesday night, if the Warriors had any doubts, he made sure they were eliminated.
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By now, it’s no secret that the Golden State Warriors are in the sunken place, but on Wednesday night, Luka Doncic — the Mavericks’ sophomore phenom — helped the team make the wrong kind of history.
Doncic recorded his seventh triple-double of the season and managed to accomplish the feat in record time. His 35-point, 10-rebound, 11-assist triple-double came in just 25 minutes of playing time. It was the least amount of playing time in which a player has recorded a 30-point triple-double in NBA history.
Even more impressively, Doncic’s magnificent effort helped him finish the game with a plus-minus rating of plus-45. The Mavericks pummeled the Warriors by a final score of 142-94. The 48-point loss was the worst loss the Warriors suffered since they were defeated by the Los Angeles Lakers by a final score of 126-70 back on April 21, 1973.
Interestingly enough, the 1973 defeat occurred in a playoff series that the Warriors would end up losing in five games.
Fortunately for them, Wednesday night’s obliteration at the hands of Doncic and the Mavericks was a regular season contest, so it only counts for one loss.
Golden State will have the opportunity to redeem themselves on Friday night when they pay a visit to the Utah Jazz.
