Not so much. The loss of Pascal Siakam for at least two weeks is, to say the very least, bad. He’d been dominant.
Yeah, and it sure showed in the second and third quarters last night. You can’t play VanVleet for 48 minutes every game.
POR won another squeaker with Lillard being unselfish in the last seconds to feed Josh Hart for the winning three against Miami. The T-wolves lost to the Knicks, as they should have. They basically didn’t bother to defend the 3-point line, at least for the portion of the game that I saw, and NY rained down threes on them. It’s hard for me to gin up any enthusiasm for this Minneapolis team. Portland had it’s issues, but it was always a cohesive team with great leadership.
With a win over the Pelicans after a dominant performance by Myles Turner (whom, unfortunately, has made it pretty clear he wants to be a Laker, bless his heart), the Pacers are at .500 for the first time since February 24, 2021, with a record of 5-5.
While I sort of cocked an eyebrow at Anunoby’s claim of being the best defender in the NBA, it is notable that he leads the NBA with 3.1 steals per game, with a combined 40 steals and blocks this season. And he blocks threes as well as lay-ups.
40% from downtown isn’t too shabby either.
Last time there was a start like this was from John Stockton back in '91/'92, in an era of less steals and threes.
There’s been talk in my Pacers fan group on Facebook that we can trade Myles Turner for OG Anunoby. I’d like that, but I don’t think Raptors fans would.
In last night’s win over Houston, Toronto’s best +/- player was Thaddeus Young. They were +21 during Young’s 27 minutes of play.
Young did not score a single point.
It is truthfully said that the first impression one makes on another is a very important one but, in terms of the legacy of sports heroes, the last impression can be a very important one also.
LeBron James who will turn 39 this season is now out with yet another injury, an injury that could conceivably nag him for quite a while, and that is a pulled groin. He had the same injury in the 2018 season, and it impacted his season significantly. The Lakers, already a dismal 2-9, certainly aren’t going to improve during his absence, and the stats that he has dedicated himself to accruing will stop piling up until his return.
So, is his refusal to leave the stage going to damage his legacy if he continues on like this for another one or two or three seasons? Will the Lakers, in a year or so, be put in the embarrassing situation of having to tell him that he is no longer worth a max contract and is no longer running the team like he has pretty much run every team he has been on throughout his entire career?
I’m not sure anyone holds Michael Jordan’s forgettable last few Wizards years against him.
The number of epic athletes who’ve held on a few extra years in shit situations is truly massive, and I cannot think of a single example… not one… where it affected their legacy. See Jordan, above. Shaq stumbled around for his last two years playing badly for the Cavs and Celtics; no one cares. No one cares, or even remembers, Henry Aaron’s miserable last two seasons with the Brewers. No one talks about how in Wayne Gretzky’s last season he scored nine goals for a garbage fire of a team.
i accept that as a very good point.
Toronto needs to win some games on the road. They have three chances coming soon. (FWIW, 538 suggests the Raptors win all three.)
POR managed to come back to beat Charlotte, without Nurkic or Grant in the lineup. Barring any serious injuries, they could actually make the playoffs this year.
Amazes me how well they are doing.
Well… not exactly. 538 has them as a favorite in each of those three, but that their odds of winning all three is just 28 percent.
You’re right, of course. But a man’s reach must exceed his grasp, or what’s a Heaven for?
I continue to be mystified by 538’s love for the Sixers. They ALWAYS have them ranked higher than any reasonable observation would suggest is logical. There is just something about them 538’s methodology cannot get over.
Yeah, it confuses me. Raptors off to a poor start, looked pretty bad without Siakam.
Nice 28 percent chance you’ve got there.
Would be a shame if something…
happened to it.
I love my Pacers so much. We’re an exciting team this year.
Fun stat - former Raptors coach Dwayne Casey must be really inside Nick Nurse’s head, still - he’s 9-3 against the Raptors, despite his 107-209 record as Pistons coach.
Watching the game later.
On Sunday night, 76ers center Joel Embiid finished with a career-high 59 points, to go with 11 rebounds, 8 assists, and 7 blocks in a mere 36 minutes of work as the Sixers beat the Jazz at home, 105-98.
He scored 26 of Philadelphia’s 27 points in the fourth quarter, the day after leading his team to a victory over Atlanta with a 42-point performance.
Naturally, he set some records.
• He became the first player with at least 50 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists and 5 blocks in a game since blocks became an official stat in 1973-74.
• He became the first player to register at least 20 points and five blocks in a single quarter in the past 25 seasons.
• He became the first player to outscore both teams by himself in a fourth quarter (26-21) since Tracy McGrady in 2006.
• He became the fourth player – along with Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan and Bradley Beal – to score at least 100 points across a back-to-back since the NBA-ABA merger, and the first center to do so since Wilt Chamberlain in 1967.