LAST NIGHT IN THE ASSOCIATION: A terrifying development took place in the NBA last night… the Los Angeles Clippers appear to be figuring out how to play together. Facing the 11-5 Dallas Mavericks, who ranked first in net rating as of two days ago, in Dallas, Los Angeles took control of the game early and never looked back, winning the game 114-99, and becoming the first team to hold Dallas under 100 points all season.
🔥 Kawhi Leonard and Paul George combined for 54 points, five three-pointers, six assists and seven steals while Lou Williams added 21 points of his own. Los Angeles is starting to look as scary as many expected them to be once they landed Paul George.
🤔 Leonard and George also did a number defensively on 20-year-old phenom Luka Doncic, who had his worst game of the season. Against L.A., Doncic went 4-for-14, missed all eight of his three-point attempts and had seven turnovers. To his credit, even on a bad night, Doncic still managed to score 22 points, but overall, he struggled pretty mightily against one of the best teams in the league.
NOT A FAREWELL TOUR: Carmelo Anthony speaks to Shams Charania about landing in Portland and wanting to play beyond just this season.
Interesting tidbit from the article: Rival executives thought the Blazers would try and land Kevin Love or Danilo Gallinari via trade before they turned their attention to Carmelo.
TRADE RUMORS: Dallas is a potential destination for Andre Iguodala, who’s currently a member of the Memphis Grizzlies but only technically.
✈️ Another player who could be on the move is San Antonio’s DeMar DeRozan. We asked a bunch of executives what his trade value is right now.
TWO ALL-STARS RETURNING: Celtics All-Star Kemba Walker is probable to return to action today after suffering a scary neck injury over the weekend. Khris Middleton is set to make his comeback as well, after missing a few weeks of action.
KEMBA VS. KYRIE: The difference between the personalities of Kemba Walker and Kyrie Irving is stark, and Walker’s happier, more team-positive demeanor has made a huge difference for Boston.
BOOGIE A VALUED TEAMMATE: Despite his likely season-ending injury and the personal issues that were well-documented, DeMarcus Cousins has become a valued member of the Lakers.
MAJOR OLYMPIC ADDITIONS: Jamal Murray, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Nickiel Alexander-Walker have committed to playing for the Canadian Men’s Basketball Team next summer in the Olympic qualifying tournament, in hopes of getting Canada qualified for Tokyo.
🇨🇦 Canada’s track record at getting the country’s top players to join the National Team is terrible. We researched the topic a few months ago.
On the coaching side of things, Basketball Australia made it official that Sixers head coach Brett Brown will lead Australia at the Olympics. That could help them get Ben Simmons to commit to representing his country at the Tokyo games.
NEGATIVE VIBES: Brandon Ingram says he has no hard feelings towards the Lakers after they traded him, but he admits a negative energy surrounded the team last season.
FORMER ALL-STAR TO THE BENCH: Timberwolves point guard and former All-Star Jeff Teague is coming off the bench for Minnesota going forward… and it was his idea.
ANOTHER UNDRAFTED ROOKIE THRIVING: Raptors guard Terence Davis, an undrafted first-year player out of Ole Miss, is looking like another great find by Masai Ujiri and Co. Here, he opens up about his journey.
NEW SCHEDULE AND LOAD MANAGEMENT: Zach Lowe reports on the league’s potential new schedule changes and how the NBA is dealing with load management behind the scenes.
Speaking of which, James Harden is not a fan of the proposed in-season tournament. At all.
DEFENDING FREE THROWS: Royce Young goes in-depth on how teams defend against free throws. No, seriously. It’s super interesting and features a lot of trolling while opponents are at the foul stripe.
OH ME, OH MY: Former Clippers announcer Ralph Lawler, famous for his Oh me, Oh my call, still follows his former team religiously and misses his old gig.
HALL OF FAME GIF: Alonzo Mourning is the owner of one of the most hilarious NBA gifs ever. He was recently interviewed on the matter, and he admitted he finds it as funny as the rest of us do.
LAST NIGHT IN COLLEGE HOOPS: No. 1 ranked Duke lost to Stephen F. Austin last night – at home, no less – on one of the craziest buzzer-beaters ever.
SALARY QUIZ: WHO’S THIS NBA PLAYER? 🤔
Click here for the answer.
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