Let’s go over some winners and losers from a busy day of basketball…
Winner: The Harden-Embiid Partnership
Amid the rumors he may have his eyes on the Rockets, James Harden combined with Joel Embid for another impressive performance on Sunday. The Beard and The Process (the worst comic book duo of all time) combined for 64 points on 19 of 38 shoots, while Harden added 13 assists. After some early-season struggles (largely due to injuries), the Sixers are now right in the mix with the top East. Philly is just two games behind No. 1 Boston in the loss column despite Embiid and Harden having only played 15 games together. And in those 15 games, the team has a stellar net rating of 9.8 with its star duo on the ground. Both have playoff fiends to answer for come spring. It would, however, be unfair to say that these two weren’t impressed to close out 2022.
Loser: Knicks declaration game
A bit of a shame for New York to lose. the Knicks have now lost three in a row after an eight-game winning streak against most competitors, despite the Cleveland game, I don’t want to take away what the Knicks have done over the past month. The spin has been tightened up and looks good. Julius Randle finds its place alongside Jalen Brunson. And RJ Barrett plays better too. This group is significantly better than the one we’ve seen the last two seasons. They will have more opportunities to prove they can hold on to the Eastern elite.
Winner: The statue of Dirk
This fade is art.
The Mavs honored Nowitzki before the game against the Lakers
Jerome Miron/USA TODAY Sports
Loser: Dubbing of Luka Dončić
the Lakers continued to send two to Luka at Christmas, and he handed out gifts to his shooters like Amazon Prime delivery guy gu – I mean Santa Claus. Dallas shot 18 of 44 from three, as Luka generated great look after great look. It seems counterintuitive, but I really think teams need to let him score 50 and try to stay home with the supporting cast. The Lakers definitely can’t afford to get into a three-point shootout. It’s a math problem that Los Angeles will almost never be on the safe side of.
Winner: GM in Rob Pelinka’s DMs
The Lakers have to move, don’t they? james lebron was a plus-two in the nine-point loss to Dallas. (Russell Westbrook It was sort of a minus-30 in 24 minutes.) The Lakers aren’t a totally lost cause. LeBron can still play. This team can’t afford to fall much further behind. Trade those fucking first-round picks already.
Loser: The people who wrote about Milwaukee’s improved three-point defense
It’s me, I’m the loser. the deer have spent this season trying to take the deep ball away from their opponents, and for the most part have had much more success than in years past. That all went against the Celtics, who threw 39 threes against the Bucks and hit a solid 19. (That’s about six more than Giannis & Co. typically give up.) Boston’s offense, which has lost 139 points, looked like the unit that was on a historic pace to start the season, not the one that stumbled a bit in December. My desire to see these teams meet in the playoffs hasn’t gone away. And obviously, Chris MiddletonThe absence of once again played a big role for Milwaukee, especially with Giannis having an ineffective night.
It will be very interesting to see what adjustments the Bucks make for the next game, or if just having a healthier team will make a big difference. It must have been encouraging for Boston to continue generating good looks against Milwaukee. The gap in the East has closed since the beginning of the month, but Boston sent a message to almost everyone with a very convincing victory.
Winner: Rivalries
Klay Thompson celebrates after the Warriors defeated the Grizzlies on Christmas Day.
Darren Yamashita/USA TODAY Sports
The following Warriors–grizzly bears the game can’t come fast enough. Trash talk! Techniques ! Taunt! It was an absolutely thrilling game between two teams that didn’t like each other. Even without Stephen Curry On the court, Golden State and Memphis absolutely delivered in terms of entertainment.
Loser: “I’m fine in the West”
That does not bother me Ja Morant saying he doesn’t care about anyone in the West – in fact, I welcome that. I love how much the Grizzlies talk. I even like how much they go to the Warriors even though they haven’t won near their level. But for Memphis to lose to a Warriors team without Steph, and then people have the temerity to blame the umpires or call Klay “weird” for answering a few words… pull yourself together! The Grizz have to hold the very careful L they took at Christmas. Let it fuel more hate, even. But they must begin by accepting this loss.
Memphis looked unserious defensively, frequently missing simple plays like guard screens and letting Dubs players get confident with easy looks. Jaren Jackson Jr.. Apparently Freaky Friday has returned in the rookie version of JJJ who can’t go 30 seconds clear. The shooters couldn’t shoot. The Warriors played with something to prove on Christmas and they earned every one of their taunts against the Grizzlies. Memphis will get its chance at redemption, and ultimately the playoffs are the only scorecard that matters. The reality, however, is that the Grizz asked for that specific Christmas game, upset the Warriors on several occasions, and were convincingly outplayed by a team that’s usually a JV team without Steph. Hard to take a fuller L than that, no matter how some may try to spin it.
Winner: Slam Dunk
Aaron Gordon caused at least a few thousand people to accidentally wake sleeping family members with uncontrollable screams when he briefly rolled over Landry Shamet in Landry, please don’t slam him with his late-game, late-night dunk against the Suns. It was one of the best in-game jams I’ve ever seen. Poor shame, who played one of the best games of his career and put his body on the line against a much bigger human in a big moment with nothing to show except being on the wrong side of a long photo stream, videos and gifs.
Loser: Young Thug’s verse on “Mixtape”
“I don’t give a fuck about you like I’m Chris Paul” means something very different at the end of 2022 than it meant even earlier this spring. CP3 simply hasn’t been able to resume games consistently for the Suns so far this season. With Devin Booker Leaving Sunday’s game after re-injuring his groin, Phoenix fought valiantly against Denver. At the end of the fourth and into overtime, Paul couldn’t muster enough magic to close the game. He missed a free throw and a few mid-range jumpers in the final minutes of the fourth, then clicked two more free throws and a pull-up three in the extra period. Paul looked gassed and struggled to get his body across the half court.
It’s a lot to ask CP to win the team with Booker. At the same time, the Suns desperately need him to provide like a star in late-game situations, especially when players like Damion Lee and Shamet have kept the team afloat until then. It wasn’t until the start of this calendar year that Paul closed out the Pelicans with a 14-of-14 playoff performance. Will we see that version of CP3 again? I hope. For now, Paul is ending the worst shooting and scoring season of his career. With Phoenix on the ropes and struggling with injuries, it is necessary for him to turn things around.
Winner: Nikola Jokić MVP Case
The Joker had 41 points, 15 rebounds and 15 assists against. the Suns. Last year, the NBA wouldn’t even give this man a Christmas game, a first for a reigning MVP since the league did on Dec. 1. 25 a quintuple header. It’s unfortunate that Jokić was relegated to Sunday night’s final game as his display of brilliance deserved a better showcase. Jokić is now averaging 25.4 points, 11.0 rebounds and 9.4 assists in a game. No one else in the league meets those criteria. And of all the players scoring at least 25 goals per night, Jokić is first in field goal percentage. The guy is a machine, and his game hasn’t dropped at all since last season. It’s no surprise with his best teammates finally healthy, Jokić has the Nuggets in first place. On the NBA’s biggest day, no one surpassed Jokić.
0 Comments