Andrew Wiggins is starting the All-Star Game.

Even if you’ve really grown to appreciate Wiggins’ game, you know this is stunning news.

A few years ago, NBA fans and YouTubers across the world teamed up to try to get Zaza Pachulia into the All-Star game.. It almost worked. Would you believe me if I told you that BamBam, a Korean pop star and global ambassador for the Golden State Warriors, nearly singlehandedly gave Wiggins this All-Star nod?​

The All-Star starters are calculated by 50% fan vote, 25% media vote, and 25% vote from NBA players. It's a system designed to get the right players starting the All-Star game. By balancing (or limiting/diluting) the fan vote, it theoretically eliminates a world in which fans select undeserving players. No one wants Ben Simmons, Austin Reaves, and Luka Garza to represent the league as All-Stars.

Personally, I was bracing for the possibility of Ben Simmons making his season debut at the All-Star game. Honestly I feel a bit slighted that we didn’t get the chance to revel in the palpable tension of Embiid and Simmons playing together one last time.

Yes, all of this is arbitrary — All-Star doesn't mean much. It's fun and cute and great for marketing. The NBA can deploy the next great manufactured line of TikTokers to dance while a player you've never heard of wins the dunk contest.

In all honesty, I'm happy for Andrew Wiggins. It's always nice to win something you didn't deserve, especially when you can't give it back.

Shaq dunks on Ben Simmons

Shaq took a flamethrower and burned any bit of confidence Ben Simmons had left. A true ether:

Shaq is one of the most dominant players in NBA history. To hear him celebrate Embiid after bashing him for those few years was awesome.

"The difference between (Embiid) and his partner, is that he can take criticism without being a crybaby."

I would go so far as to say that Ben Simmons' biggest issue is that he doesn't show any emotion at all. Simmons is only as big of a crybaby as the reports make him out to be. We have not seen Ben Simmons’ face since the Hawks put the Sixers away... in June.

Make of Shaq's comments what you will. NBA players definitely care about what their elders have to say. I wonder if players and teams across the league feel the same way Shaq does, because this trade deadline could be a bit quiet...

Trades off the table

I pay close attention to Zach Lowe, probably more than any other non-newsbreaker in the NBA media landscape. Listening to him and Bobby Marks go back and forth on The Lowe Post last night painted a picture of a bleak trade deadline.

First and foremost: Lowe shot my John Collins-to-Detroit pipedream right in the heart. He believes Atlanta's interest in Jerami Grant is old intel and that they've since moved off of him. In fact, he even went as far to say "I'm not sure Detroit's going to move Jerami Grant."

Lowe and Marks also seem pretty certain that Ben Simmons won't be moved because the team trading for him doesn't know which Ben Simmons they're getting.

The above gif applies again.

I will lose my shit if the trade deadline is headlined by Dennis Schroder and Marvin Bagley III. Because I am a lunatic, I will jot down each of these 65 names who could be moved at the trade deadline and tally up how many actually get moved over the next 13 days.

About a year ago, Nacho Oubre was misfiring from three and looking lost in Golden State. He chaffed at the idea of coming off the bench and sought a big payday and a bigger role elsewhere. Golden State wasn't sad to see him leave. For reasons unknown to science, Oubre has bought in to a bench role in Charlotte, and if his team gets up approximately 20 points, Maximum Oubre activates.

In a 158-126 win over the frustrated Indiana Pacers, Oubre hit 10 of 15 threes and scored 39 points off the bench.

If history holds, whenever the Hornets move on from Oubre, they'll vault to the top of the conference. Before Golden State, Oubre left Phoenix — and they burned through the Bubble and went to the Finals the following year.

Jokic or Giannis?

Tonight, my girlfriend and I got home from date night and put on League Pass. I threw on Nets-Nuggets because the score looked close, and the screen froze on Joker's face mid-cutaway — making the MVP look a bit drunk and dazzled on the court.

"I can't believe a guy who looks like this is the best player in the world," I told my girlfriend.

"He's not — Giannis is definitely better," she replied with quickness.

A couple things...

You can't see it, but I'm throwing a huge fist pump in the air. I've successfully convinced her to watch enough basketball to the point in which she has reasonable NBA takes.

Also — is she wrong? Both have been historically dominant, but if they were traded for each other right now... I think the Bucks would be worse and the Nuggets would be better.

I'm still workshopping this. I'm not sure if I entirely believe it. It does make me grateful that the NBA has Jokic, Giannis, and Embiid all at the same time, though, because each are incredible to watch and we should not take them for granted.

Cleveland Is The Reason

The Cavs handled the Bucks — with Giannis, Jrue and Middleton all playing. Worst of all, they let an old man who looks like a cartoon turtle drop in this filthy shot:

Nets set the story straight

Ahh, the trade deadline posturing continues.

Of course the Nets won't trade Harden. Why would this even be a story? Oh, wait — because his former protege Shams Charania (a direct link to Klutch Sports) has been sloppy in his reporting, allowing Daryl Morey and the Sixers to pull Harden and the Nets into public rumors in order to gain leverage in potential Ben Simmons trades.

If this is how I sound right now, it's also how I feel:

I do believe I'm right. The Sixers, despite both Morey and Embiid saying that they're fine with playing this season with this roster, are still trying to get the Hawks and Kings to bite on a Simmons trade. What's the best strategy to get them to pull the trigger? Threatening to take Simmons off the table.

The Nets, caught in the crosshairs of all of this, rightfully set the story straight with Adrian Wojnarowski. James Harden could heel turn and ask out behind closed doors, but no reasonable team has the cap space to pay Harden outside of Brooklyn, and the Nets probably don't want to swap Harden for Simmons.

Links

Mark Schindler of BasketballNews.com on Cade Cunningham, carving up defenses with pace & creativity.​

Corey Tulaba of No Ceilings with an outstanding profile on Jaden Hardy, using the legendary scene from Saved By The Bell to perfectly explain his position.

The Ringer's Rob Mahoney on Seth Curry, the perfect blend of Steph and Dell.​

Nekias Duncan on Amir Coffey, the next Clipper to shine in the absence of their stars.

The Phoenix Suns are rolling along, racking up wins and holding the best record in the West. They just gave their GM (James Johnson) a multi-year extension. And, in case you forgot, the NBA is in the midst of an investigation of Robert Sarver, the Suns controlling partner who allegedly used misogynistic and racist language and created a hostile work environment.

Prior to this news coming out, my biggest criticism of Sarver was that he was cheap. I miss the simpler days.

At any rate, the league's investigation is churning behind the scenes prior to what I expect will be strongly worded denunciation of inappropriate behavior, an announcement of new systems to safeguard against future occurrences like this, and a possible monetary redistribution to programs that oppose misogyny and racism.

Why does it feel like you've seen this show before? Because the NBA already ran this show in 2018 under the title, Mark Cuban didn't realize all this gropey, skeezy, awful, inappropriate shit was going on with the Dallas Mavericks.

Cuban was able to plead ignorance and the accusations weren't specifically directed at him (as they are with Sarver). Cuban didn't have his controlling stake swiftly stripped like Donald Sterling, and neither will Sarver. Cuban apologized, opened his checkbook, and promises for change were offered.

So the Suns investigation has been rolling a minute, and what's the update we get from the worldwide leader?

As the NBA nears the fourth month of its investigation into the Phoenix Suns and majority owner Robert Sarver, the team is working toward creating a confidential internal hotline in the coming weeks for employees to report complaints, team sources told ESPN.

On Monday, a Suns executive explained to colleagues that the reason for creating the internal hotline is because "no one actually uses the NBA hotline at all."

Ah. I see. No one uses that phone line, so we'll just make a different one. People will definitely use this new anonymous tip line. I'd love to be in the office when that suggestion was floated. For sure. Especially when the article contains this nugget:

Suns employees were made aware of the NBA's hotline in a February 2018 email from team president and CEO Jason Rowley. It was noted in the email that the callers have the option to remain anonymous, but a disclaimer was included: "Note that if you make an anonymous complaint, someone could still guess your identity from the circumstances or other information you provide."

Yes, there is always a risk of being identified in any sort of anonymous reporting scenario. But if people don't trust the anonymous hotline set up by the league — what makes you think they are going to trust the one set up by the team itself? Especially when the team is still directly controlled by the person facing these allegations.

And futile gesture though this is, does it really take nearly four months to set up an anonymous tip line? Four months? Seriously?

I'll bet it took so long because Sarver didn't want to pay for it.

About last night…

Steph's shot is still shaky, Draymond is out, and Iguodala is very old. Klay is working his way back into shape — but that didn't stop him from tossing multiple behind-the-back passes for assists. But the highlight of the night is from the kid. Remember, Jon Kuminga re-classified in high school. The kid should be a college freshman.

Never meet your heroes, because they'll disappoint you. That might be true for everyone else on the Lakers, but Austin Reaves surely is still impressed by LeBron — or dumbfounded, because whatever LeBron just told him to do was not in the English language:

The Wizards conjured some serious magic — making a 35 point lead disappear and making the homeless man's Joe Ingles look 35% less lame in the process. Props to the Nard Dog. That's a Doc Rivers-level collapse for Washington.

Speaking of collapses... James Harden was reportedly crushed under the weight of trying to carry the Nets without his superstar companions against the Lakers. No wonder Harden may want to visit other strip clubs explore his options this summer. It's a heavy load.

​Cade Cunningham, the best rookie since... Michael Jordan? I find it hard to believe, but I'll be in the building Sunday evening for his highly anticipated matchup with Evan Mobley. For now, though:

Anthony Edwards joins... elite company? Also fairly shocked that Kobe never did this — seems like a very Kobe thing.

James Harden wants you to know that he's not getting the calls. And while he says, "I don't want to talk about it" — he really, really, has quite a bit to say.​

The gist of the complaint is inconsistency. Which, to some degree, is a fair point. When the school stops the bully who has previously operated with impunity, it's disorienting. You get used to playing a certain way and it's hard to adjust. If, in the past, you got an advantage from playing basketball like a dick — like, say desperately seeking contact at every turn and feigning astonishment when things don't go your way — why not take advantage of it?

Also, I would love for a whole harem to strippers to release a book about Harden called, "Desperately Seeking Contact, my nights with James."

Harden's standard style used to include a grubby, blood-thirsty craving for free throws, which led him to throw and contort his body in any variety of ways in order to draw fouls. And really, Harden still has the deep longing for the free points, he's just upset they're not coming his way.

I suppose not liking Harden (or any athlete) falls into that ineffable bucket of mystery where a few select things get interpreted in such a way that you just can't appreciate their craft. Harden's skill level — particularly his creativity, passing, and playmaking — are top-level. But I don't care.

I don't like James Harden. I especially didn't like Houston-empowered James Harden. I don't like the heavy isolation, spread-floor, data-driven, pick and roll hunting-a-mismatch on repeat until you get a three, a drive, or a foul. It was like watching a horny, bearded, computer nerd play basketball.

I especially don't like all the ass-clown foul baiting.

But I do like that — in a delicious twist of irony — Nets coach Steve Nash has to try to defend Harden. Nash famously made it known that the common chicanery of Trae Young "isn't basketball." And now he has to defend one of the progenitors of the "non-basketball move" — one of the poster childs of these rule adjustments. He does a good job trying to diplomatically straddle the line between advocating for one of his stars and also agreeing that, yeah, sometimes Harden pushes the line.

But it used to be a part of the game. Because it was allowed.

A dear friend once gave me some sage advice that applies:

You'll have an abundance of what you tolerate.

It's probably frustrating for Harden. He probably does get fouled and have it not get called. Even if he's averaging more overall free throws than last year, there probably are missed calls. It's not fair.

But you know what else isn't fair? Falling down or whipping your head back or exaggerating contact in order to get cheap points.

About last night...

Aye, yo, Ayo Dosunmu!

Dosunmu started the game 9-9 from the field and finished with 24 points on 10-14 shooting. And he's doing it on both ends:

The Bulls nearly coughed away a 28-point lead in the second half, with a buzzer-beating three closing the score to just one point. The Thunder harassed Chicago's guards and made it quite the game. But I keep coming back to Ayo Dosunmu, who is living the life that we all envision ourselves having when we play 2K.

Hometown kid, plays for Illinois, gets drafted to the Bulls and shows out in his rookie season. When evaluating him pre-draft, I saw his height and lack of burst as major limiting factors in his development. I wasn't alone — The Ringer's Kevin O'Connor had him as the 31st best prospect. He was drafted 38th. Now, he's got the crowd yelling, "Aye, yo!"

Just this past Sunday, we sung the praises of Chris Paul — but we also said the Suns are the best team because you could make the case that either him or Devin Booker are not only their best player, but darkhorse MVP candidates in their own right.

The Jazz were without Mitchell, Gobert, Conley, and Bogdanovic — admittedly their four best players — and gave the Suns a game. I keep coming back to Booker and Paul, who have been so unbelievably steady for Phoenix over the past two seasons. CP3 is in his second prime, while Book may be at the apex of his first.

Their ability to get it done with the combination of Biyombo and McGee in Deandre Ayton's absence could have a drastic impact on their team moving forward. McGee and Biyombo do all the little things Ayton does at a fraction of the price. CP3 and Booker need their bigs to rebound, run, and roll. Could this extended showing for Biyombo prove Ayton to be expendable, freeing him up to sign with the only team with projected space for a max contract this summer?

Will Daryl Morey's blind love for James Harden cost the Sixers their future? Or is this a leverage play, signaling that the Sixers and Klutch Sports are working together to drive the price up for Simmons so he can get outta town sooner?

Last week, Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report (a reporter quickly becoming as credible as Shams and Woj) wrote about Pistons forward Jerami Grant, revealing that many teams are operating under the assumption that Grant is the grand prize of the upcoming trade deadline.

​Here's the full report from Fischer, so you can follow along.​

The Pistons are playing well in 2022, but seem destined to snag a top-3 pick and partner-in-crime for Cade Cunningham. Grant, truly, is Detroit's most valuable available asset: a 6'8" wing who defends, protects the rim, and can score with or without the ball. As the article notes, he fits on every team — but in my opinion, the team acquiring Grant may walk back that statement once he enters their building.

The word may in that last sentence is carrying some weight. Those who have watched the Pistons over the last season and half can appreciate Jerami Grant's development from signature defender and slasher to primary scoring option. For stretches, Grant was the Bugatti in a trailer park — the only real NBA-caliber scorer on a team afraid of putting the ball in the hoop.

If you've watched Jerami Grant over the last season and a half, you also know that being in that role for too long has prompted him to force mid-range jumpers and take precious development reps away from Saddiq Bey and Cade Cunningham.

I can see it now: Grant catches on the wing, jabs to his left, backs up, does his super loose crossover, sprints into the lane, stops on a dime, and continues to add to the pile of bricks the Pistons have been building for the entire game. Meanwhile, Saddiq Bey stands in the corner, part-human and part-scarecrow.

A team trading for Grant needs to have a clearly defined role for him before they make the deal. Teams like Atlanta and Memphis have their stars, and need Grant's cutting, screening, scoring off-ball, and on-ball defensive chops. If Grant walks in and starts firing like he has in Detroit, that's not good.

Let me be clear about something: the mid-range is not a bad shot if you have the right players taking them. Phoenix leads the league in both mid-range shot attempts and wins. They have Devin Booker and Chris Paul taking the majority of those shots. The same goes for the Bulls with DeRozan and LaVine, and the Nets with Kevin Durant and James Harden. On the contrary, teams like the Rockets, Thunder, and Magic find themselves in the top-10 of three-point attempts but bottom half of the league in three-point percentage. Sometimes doing the right thing is actually wrong.

Jerami Grant is a good NBA player who has worked his way from Process Sixer to the featured player on a terrible team. What the Pistons should know and capitalize on is that Grant's presence on the floor will hinder the development of their young players going forward. The top-3 pick Detroit is aiming for? All three candidates play Grant's position. It's time to move on from him.

But where will Grant go? And which teams are smart enough to have pre-installed packages for how they see Grant helping them contend?

From Fischer:

The Lakers, Trail Blazers, Knicks, Jazz, Wizards, Celtics, Pacers, Timberwolves and Kings have all signaled interest in the 27-year-old.

I spend my entire day thinking of Jerami Grant trades, so I won't take up any more of yours. But it's important to distinguish just what kind of grand prize Jerami Grant is. Do teams see him as the Powerball, or a $25 gift card to the local smoothie shop?

About last night...

Jayson Tatum. That's it.

Tatum, at age 23, is the Celtics' all-time leader in 50 point games. He's also scored 50 points five times over the last two seasons, which is more than every other player. The Celtics are the only team in the NBA that has two players who have scored 50 points in a game this season.

One more for the road:

Before DeMar DeRozan was the mid-range maestro, he made a living off dunking on people's heads. Jalen Suggs got retribution for LeBron, Embiid, Rubio, Turner, Harrell, Gobert, Kyle Singler, Anthony Tolliver, Timofey Mozgov, and Tristan Thompson.

Sorry DDR, it's your turn:

We fell into it again. We were quick to write Jalen Suggs off. He's good! And the 2021 rookie class continues to look better by the day.

Scores, stats, & notes

Knicks 110, Clippers 102 — RJ Barrett with 28 points, 14 rebounds, and six assists. A true third-year leap.

Celtics 116, Wizards 87 — "Did you know Jayson Tatum and Bradley Beal are friends?" is the new "Did you know Matt Stafford and Clayton Kershaw went to high school together?"​

Heat 113, Lakers 107 — Miami almost blew a 23-point lead. Jimmy Butler now has more triple-doubles in a Heat uniform than LeBron James. Box score watching tells me that this was Westbrook's best game of the season! 24-9-9, three turnovers.

Magic 114, Bulls 95 — DeRozan scored 41, Coby White scored 22, and that was the majority of the scoring for Chicago. Mo Wagner scored 23 off the bench and got into it with DDR.​

Trail Blazers 114, Raptors 105 — Toronto chopped a 34-point deficit down to just four with under 90 seconds left. It feels as if the Raptors need to acquire one more guy. Two to three of their core guys play over 40 minutes a game, it seems.

Hawks 113, Hornets 91 — Kelly Oubre saw what Grayson Allen did and one-upped him. Here's the video. I hope De'Andre Hunter is okay. This tweet was responsible for about five minutes of laughter. Why is he wearing that?

Sixers 115, Spurs 109 — I think Joel Embiid is just good for 38, 12, and six assists now. I think that's the world we live in.

Mavericks 104, Grizzlies 91 — The Luka-Ja debate isn't real. 37 points, 11 rebounds, nine assists from Doncic. Only an intergalactic superstar makes plays like this:

Timberwolves 136, Nets 125 — Anthony Edwards was helped off the court with a leg injury... when he wasn't in the game. Really, really hope he's okay:

Nuggets 117, Pistons 111 — Dwane Casey almost figured out a way to score four points on one possession in the clutch. Props to him for trying. Jokic with 34-9-8.

Warriors 94, Jazz 92 — Holy shit, Jordan Poole:

About last night...

In last year's Finals run, Chris Paul got injured and contracted COVID. He looked completely worn down by the end, and his Suns felt the wrath of Giannis' historic dominance.

This season, 36-year-old Chris Paul has looked as youthful as ever, and the Suns have the best record in the league thanks to his mastery of the point guard position. Check out what the Point God has been doing lately:

You and I both know the Suns are an excellent team. Wanna know why? Because you could make an argument for CP3 or Booker being their best player on any given night. It's not a Tatum-Brown situation, where both are so similar that they can feel redundant.

Both Paul and Booker are masters of the mid-range, but Paul's dime-dropping has been on another level. With last night's performance, CP3 passed Isiah Thomas for fifth-most games with 15+ assists in NBA history.

The Suns are another six-game winning streak. They're the only team yet to reach double-digit losses, sitting at a comfortable 36-9 — and it would take Golden State, Memphis, or Utah going on a crazy streak to usurp them from the top spot.

Is it coincidence that Phoenix has became one of the best regular season teams over the past two years? No, it's not — because Chris Paul, the Point God of the Suns, gets the absolute most out of his squads.

Yesterday, we talked about Grayson Allen and his inability to lean into the villain role. It appears we didn't go at him hard enough:

Caruso continued to play in the game, which makes this even crazier. The Bulls are now without Ball and Caruso for an extended period of time, along with Patrick Williams. LaVine is still working his way back from a knee injury.

The injury to Caruso puts the Bulls at an even tougher spot, now that the Bucks are only a half-game back in the standings.

According to Adrian Wojnarowski, the NBA does in fact take into account how long Caruso will be sidelined for when deciding how long Allen will be punished. The main issue lays in the fact that Allen has done this so many times before, and that Caruso told the press that Allen didn't come to help or check on him after the incident.

Alex Caruso stayed in the game with a broken wrist. And he didn't just sit in the corner, or switch onto a less formidable opponent. He tried to get after Giannis, Middleton, and any other Buck that got in his way:

The NBA needs to set a harsh precedent for Allen. The play opens the conversation as to why the league hasn't been fining or suspending player for dirty plays in the past. I know there's a segment of NBA fans who want it to go back to the late 1980s, where punches and body slams were the norm — but that's the past, and for now, the feel-good Bulls are without another key cog in their machine. And that makes me sad.

SCORES, STATS, AND NOTES

Bucks 133, Kings 127 — Allen dodged the game with "right hip soreness" and coach Mike Budenholzer told the media "Grayson has been nothing but great for us." Without Giannis, Middleton and Holiday stepped up with a combined 60 points and clutch plays down the stretch. Tyrese Haliburton racked up 24 points and 12 assists in the loss.

Cavaliers 94, Thunder 87 — Evan Mobley pulled in 17 rebounds! If you've ever played basketball in the pool, or on a short rim against children, you know exactly how Jarrett Allen feels in this very moment:

Suns 113, Pacers 103 — The Pacers, without six of their top guys, have been giving good teams hell lately. The Suns held on, but this was one closer than expected. Mikal Bridges led the way with 23, and Bismack Biyombo dropped 21 and 13 boards in Ayton's absence.

About last night...

Grayson Allen's flagrant foul on Alex Caruso last night was ugly. Unless you remember who Grayson Allen is, and then it's just another smudge on his record:

Some would give Allen the benefit of the doubt. He doesn't explicitly try to take Caruso out of the air. Oh wait, he actually did. That other arm comes in and pulls Caruso to the ground, slamming him down in what looks closer to a WWE finishing move than a basketball play.

I have always loved Grayson Allen as a basketball player. The tripping, the shoving, the "I didn't do what you think I just did even though every replay shows I did exactly what you think I did," I could live without that stuff.

For as long as we've known Grayson Allen, he's always been stuck in the middle. He's either the nice guy who's just trying to do his job, or the dude who goes to the most extreme limits to win — and trying to injure other players isn't beneath him.

The main issue with Allen being stuck in the middle between two on-court personalities is that he won't commit to either one. He plays clean just for long enough to make you forget his past, then he roundhouse kicks an opponent in the balls and table-tops a big man in weak-side help, then he redeems himself until we forget, and the cycle starts anew.

He'd be better off being a consistently dirty player, telling the media he idolized Bill Laimbeer growing up, and never apologizing for his recklessness. It's clear that's who he wants to be — so why keep running from it?

The MVP race is the NBA's premier telenovela. When we count Steph Curry out, he pulls something so grand that we can't help but bring him back into the light:

Steph's having a down year, but it's important that he's in the MVP conversation.

Let me remind you that Steph Curry on fire is still the NBA's premier run-to-the-closest-TV moment (although Ja Morant's in-air acrobatics and the Sixers in "Feed Embiid" mode have been close lately). It just doesn't happen as often, and that's okay. For now, we can celebrate Steph's game-winner as another moment of joy. His numbers may be down, but he's still among the NBA's best bucket fillers.

Scores, stats, & notes

Hornets 121, Thunder 98 — PJ Washington went 6-10 from the field, all threes. Josh Giddey eclipsed a new career-high of 21 points on 10-17 shooting! We will be spewing Giddey propaganda for eternity, I believe.

Lakers 116, Magic 105 — Where does LeBron rank among centers in the NBA? He played the second half exclusively at the five, leading the comeback to beat Orlando with 29 points.

Clippers 102, Sixers 101 — Morey's comments about improving the roster around Embiid hit even harder. 40 and 13 for Embiid, and the Sixers gave up a 24-point lead in the second half to lose to a beaten-down Clippers squad.

Hawks 110, Heat 108 — Don't look now. Atlanta's won three in a row, and held on to this one after almost blowing an 18-point lead. 28 for Trae, and the Hawks narrowly escape with the dub.

Trail Blazers 109, Celtics 105 — Grant Williams' layup with 7:20 left in the game was Boston's last field goal. They made two free throws over the last seven minutes of the game, coughing up the game to Jusuf Nurkic (29 points, 17 rebounds) and the Blazers.

Raptors 109, Wizards 105 — Scottie Barnes looked awesome in 40 minutes of action: 27 points, 12-19 from the field, eight rebounds. Beal led Washington with 25 points and eight assists... and has decided to not sign an extension with the Wizards!

Bucks 94, Bulls 90 — You know those hand glove things that boxing trainers use with their fighters? That's Tyler Cook. Giannis hit him again, and again, and again, on his way to 30 points and 12 boards. DeRozan led all scorers with 35.

Nets 117, Spurs 102 — It's so cool when dudes get opposing triple-doubles. Harden's 37-10-11 looks a bit better than Dejounte Murray's 25-12-10, but both guys were on one. Here's out-of-shape James Harden on Jakob Poeltl:

Grizzlies 122, Nuggets 118 — Morant and Jokic. Electric. That's four straight triple doubles for Jokic, who posted a line of 26-11-12. Meanwhile, Morant erupted for 38 points on 15-26 shooting. A mix of floaters, pull-ups, and acrobatic finishes:

Jazz 111, Pistons 101 — Cade Cunningham is earning the Franchise Player title, and Detroit is on track to draft his perfect sidekick. He's the man. Look at this shit:

Warriors 105, Rockets 103 — The last two of Steph's 22 was by far the most important. Jalen Green finished 0-11 and made three free throws.

Daryl Morey went on Philadelphia's 97.5 The Fanatic for an interview yesterday, and it just about broke everyone's brain. He simultaneously expressed their desperation to help Joel Embiid via trade while confirming that he would love Simmons back on the team.

Weaving in out of questions like mom whose late to her kid's soccer practice, Morey did in fact make two things clear:

They would be ecstatic if Tyrese Haliburton was sent back in a Ben Simmons trade.

NBA fans need to stop listening to fake trade rumors concocted by Ballsack Sports.

Please watch the clip above. Daryl Morey name-dropped Ballsack Sports as a Twitter account making trade negotiations more difficult for him, and as a key point of frustration for fans. Morey went on to say that there's only one reporter who has been credible on the situation (signs point to PhillyVoice.com's Kyle Neubeck) and that was upset at Ballsack Sports' post in which they said the Sixers turned down a return of Buddy Hield, Tyrese Haliburton, and Harrison Barnes for Ben Simmons, Tobias Harris, and Matisse Thybulle.

Morey wouldn't want to make that trade, but he sure would love to get Haliburton. First, this tweet, out of context:

Next, this lengthy quote from Neubeck's piece plays as a direct challenge to the Kings (emphasis mine):

"I think with how great Joel is, our line has moved down a little bit. Because Joel has lifted us to contention by his sheer will of greatness this year, that does the number of deals we would do more likely. It's more likely that we can find ones that get us into the top few contention because of how great Joel is playing. So we are sitting right now at a better chance of a trade that actually helps Joel and the Sixers," Morey said. "[Before], we absolutely need to get an impact player, but there's an impact player that has to be in the top 30 of the league. Because Joel is playing amazing and has lifted us into probably five percent plus title odds just on his play, now we might be able to do it with a top-40 player who's a great fit. Or we could do it where we do a trade, it helps the team, it's a better fit, and maybe our future opportunities are still open because we get some draft picks as part of it."

​

"So it helps the odds enough this year and we maybe have a draft pick or a young player who can help us into the future, who might develop like if we got a player a caliber of a Maxey coming back. We might be able to say okay, we got a really solid player, maybe not in the top 30 but he's a little bit below that, plus a solid young player who over Joel's prime which we're sitting in might develop into that."

All of that sits very clear at the front of mind. Joel is playing amazing, we need to expand our scope of deals, and we'd be perfectly fine getting a young player (similar to Tyrese Maxey) who just so happens to be Tyrese Haliburton.

These quotes also create further questions.

What if it's not Haliburton, but the inclusion of Haliburton in the deal to a third team could get him who he really wants?

He mentions players who are not top-30, but could be top-40. Does that include John Collins? Shai Gilgeous-Alexander? Brandon Ingram?

The Philadelphia 76ers literally have a seven footer who can play like both Kobe and Shaq. Embiid's injury late in the season last year robbed him of true MVP contention. This year, he once again finds himself in the MVP race with that sloppy fat boy, and has an even better case: he's lifted these Simmons-less Sixers to the fifth spot in the East, only 2.5 games out from the first seed.

Nikola Jokic might be better in every single statistical category, but Embiid has looked like Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant this season:

The Sixers are getting desperate. Not Sacramento Kings-desperate, but desperate enough to expand their scope and use the Kings as a trade partner. After all of this time, this deliberation, dating back even prior to the release of ICYMINBA, Simmons could be sent to the unknown: the fourth team in California.​

About last night...

For NBA Draft fiends, we had some breaking news yesterday:

If Sharpe declares for the draft, he immediately jumps into the top-five conversation. And maybe, the no. 1 pick.

We've given out some oohs and ahhs to Paolo Banchero, Jabari Smith Jr., and Chet Holmgren. Chances are one of those three names still gets called first on June 23rd, but there's a lot to like about Shaedon Sharpe. He might be the first guard off the board, a 6'5 bouncy wing scorer like Jalen Green with the same sizzle but less flash. The same game, without the fame. Similar poise, without the noise. I love it when draft scouts describe players like they're narrating a cartoon.

Sharpe is good! He could choose to play at Kentucky and not declare for the draft yet. His stock can't get any higher by dominating college ball, and next year's crop of Scoot Henderson and Victor Wembanyama all but confirm he won't be the no. 1 pick. Why not try now?

The Pacers, without any of their best pace cars, walked into Chase Center and knocked off the Warriors in OT. Steve Kerr now joins Frank Vogel as coaches in jeopardy:

That's excellent satire from Faigen. No, Kerr is not going to coach on a game-by-game basis.

No Sabonis, no Turner, no LeVert, no Brogdon, no Warren, no McConnell, no problem. Chris Duarte picked up the slack with a career-high tying 27 points on 10-16 shooting. Rookie center Isaiah Jackson got in on the action, scoring 15 points and pulling down seven rebounds in fifteen minutes of action.

Scores, stats, & notes

Pelicans 102, Knicks 91 — A balanced attack from New Orleans allowed them to win at MSG. The Pelicans shot 50% from the field, and nobody scored more than 20 points. Knicks stay at the 11th spot in the East with a 11-14 record at home.

Suns 109, Mavericks 101 — Dear basketball gods, please give us a Suns-Mavs playoff series. Luka's 28-8-8 wasn't enough for the dub, while Booker paced Phoenix with 28 himself. The Point God had 11 assists with zero turnovers.

Pacers 121, Warriors 117 — Steph's absurd line of 39-5-8 will get lost in the shuffle. What won't be lost is his dance after a vicious poster from GP2:

Barring an unforeseen bit of cohesion coupled with a playoff run, Frank Vogel is finished. No, it isn't fair, but in this kitchen, the manager who buys the rotten food gets to fire the chef who can't make something delicious with the garbage. The coach often ends up being the scapegoat in these situations, but the Lakers' mess is like climate change — there are a lot of interwoven components and everyone is to blame.

The team was looking to make an upgrade after a disappointing finish last season. They sought the input of key stakeholders and had the buy-in of LeBron and Davis to land Westbrook. Russ is a local kid who grew up a Lakers fan. He was excited to come home and chase a title with his friends. LeBron's oldest son loves Russ and wears his number. Everyone said all the right things. There were reportedly conversations about adjusting roles and playing style in order to sacrifice for the greater good. You sprinkle some shooting around all those stars (Kendrick Nunn, Carmelo, Malik Monk, Kent Bazemore when he isn't cross-eyed) and you're set, right?

Turns out, not so much. Defense has been an issue all season and the team hasn't been able to generate any real continuity for any length of time. The Lakers haven't been healthy all season, sitting near the bottom of the league in games missed due to illness or injury. So far 13 Lakers have missed time, costing the team a cumulative total of 173 games. Of course, other teams are dealing with similar issues — Miami and Milwaukee have lost more players and more time to injury setbacks than the Lakers and are performing far better. Denver and Memphis are the next teams on the list and they, too are handling their business.

Regardless, losing Anthony Davis is a significant setback. And as uninspiring as the Lakers have been, the return of their star forward theoretically solves a host of problems. The Lakers have found something — at least on offense — with LeBron at the five in the Russ/Bradley/Monk/Johnson lineup. Despite the spacing issues, that crew is blitzing teams, scoring 123.8 pts/poss with an effective field goal rate of 57.9%. Of course, they're allowing teams to post an eFG of 55.5% on the other side of the ball, so it's not all kittens and lollypops.

When AD returns, LeBron won't need to play center and Davis should be able to slot comfortably into Stanley Johnson's spot and provide a significant upgrade to a lineup that has outscored teams by 10.7 points (all numbers per Cleaning The Glass).

Should is doing some heavy lifting in that last sentence given what many predicted should happen with the Lakers this year. But it's not crazy that LeBron, Russ, and AD flanked by even average shooting could scare a team in the playoffs. Can a team with LeBron and AD — two of the top 10 players in the NBA — really not field a contender? Could this team really not put it together and finish in the top 5 out West? With ample evidence that what they've tried isn't working, isn't this Westbrook's last, best chance to start moving and cutting off the ball and trying every possession on defense?

It's been such an odd and vexing year for the Lakers that it's hard to feel comfortable predicting anything moving forward. But if the Lakers continue to stumble their way toward the playin tournament, and if they make another early playoff exit, one thing you can be sure of is that Frank Vogel is going to take the fall.

About last night…

My god. What a night in the NBA.

It makes sense that we start in Philadelphia, as Joel Embiid scored 47 points through three quarters, eventually returning to tie his career high of 50 — in only 27 frickin' minutes of game time. He scored 20 of Philadelphia's first 22 points. Not only that, but he had to survive a wicked first half from Mo Bamba (28 points, 7-8 from three).

Was that the best performance of the night? I'm not sure...

Nikola Jokic must have heard about Embiid's career-night, and raised him one. How about 49 points, 14 rebounds, and 10 assists — none more important than this 40-foot crosscourt dime to Aaron Gordon to win the game:

In a 13-game slate, we're going to get a lot of awesome highlights, memes, and key points to hit. There's too many to do individually, so here:

Tobias Harris screened his own teammate and made the face of someone who realizes he's about to play for the Sacramento Kings.

Cade was ejected on Sunday. Last night, Anthony Edwards and Jimmy Butler were ejected with the quickness. There's always a meme for that:

Brooklyn Nets' assistant coach David Vanterpool now has as many deflections as Thomas Bryant this season. Watch him tip this corner swing away from Kyle Kuzma. James Harden is playing Westbrook-level defense in the clutch as of late.

Trae Young, with the coolest nutmeg of his career:

Dejounte Murray did the same, but for an assist:

The Pacers, already without Myles Turner, are expected to also be without Domantas Sabonis for a period of time with an ankle injury "that is probably going to be significant," according to Rick Carlisle.

KPJ put the Jazz away with another stepback jay. Utah's collapsing. They're 1-6 over their last seven games, with losses to Houston, Detroit, and Indiana — and they added notorious trader Danny Ainge to their front office.

At last, Frank Vogel benched Russell Westbrook to close the game against Indiana. The staff was told, "You got to do what you got to do."

Scores, stats, & notes

Sixers 123, Magic 110 — 21 on good efficiency for Tobias Harris! Suggs and Anthony look good together for Orlando.

Nets 119, Wizards 118 — Kyrie Irving scored 30, LaMarcus Aldridge scored 27, and the Nets barely hung on to a dub.

Hawks 123, Timberwolves 122 — Trae's back up to stuff. 37 points, 14 assists, a completely dominant third quarter. I knew the Timberwolves were going to lose when KAT revealed he's been playing with fire because of astrology.

Hornets 111, Celtics 102 — LaMelo got his triple double (15-10-10) with 0.2 seconds left on the clock:

Heat 104, Trail Blazers 92 — Caleb Martin has been the ultimate find. 26 points, picking up the slack for the ejected Jimmy Butler. With Adebayo back in the lineup, Omer Yurtseven played seven seconds.

Bulls 117, Cavaliers 104 — The Bulls are back in the win column. DeRozan scored 30. Our guy Ayo Dosunmu with a nice 18 points on 7-8 from the field.

Bucks 126, Grizzlies 114 — It's so fun to watch Morant and Giannis duel. 33 and 14 assists for Morant, 33 and 15 rebounds for Giannis. The Greek Freak just had a little more help from his friends.

Mavericks 102, Raptors 98 — Luka Doncic (41 points, 13-24 FG, 14 rebounds, seven assists) has entered the All-Star conversation, and a bit more. The Mavs have won four straight and have been locking teams up. Toronto can't sustain playing seven guys. Both OG and Siakam played 43 minutes.

Spurs 118, Thunder 96 — Dejounte Murray (23-10-14) continues to roll.

Rockets 116, Jazz 111 — The Jazz are falling apart. Even without Mitchell, they have to put away Houston. For the past three seasons, Utah has dominated the regular season because they don't lose games they shouldn't. They are now.

Nuggets 130, Clippers 128 — A masterclass from Jokic was needed to finish this one off. Denver, with the win, is still desperate to get Bryn Forbes in the lineup.

Pistons 133, Kings 131 — Detroit won! Saddiq Bey (30 points) is back to doing his thing. Kelly Olynyk returned after missing 33 games and scored 22 points. The Pistons spoil Terence Davis' career-high 35 points. Marvin Bagley is going to look great in Pistons' blue and white.

Pacers 111, Lakers 104 — Sabonis triple-doubled, LeVert scored 30, and the Pacers got it done.

Slow night in the Association with only two games on tap. Let's recap some of the fun — and not so fun — stuff from the night.

Thibs and Knicks fans suffering

​Batman villain Tom Thibodeau hosted his former team and watched his Knicks cover their hands with butter and let a win slip clumsily through their fingers, and Thibs made faces:

The late-game offense was quite atrocious, with multiple players standing still and generally looking lost before Kemba Walker chucked up a three. You could feel the Alec Burks miss from deep coming well before it left his hands.

The Knicks bench scored 18 points. And a Knicks collapse wouldn't be complete without their fans engaging in the typical post-game self-flagellations:

Anthony Edwards, with the sauce

I'm not sure exactly how to describe this move. When Edwards caught the ball and went baseline, I instinctively braced for a dunk, but then he avoids contact with a step-back euro-step fading layup? Whatever you call it, it's nice.

Now, for some observations from the other coast, where the Warriors got a get-right game vs the Pistons.

Cunningham can play... offense

It's been a minute since I've checked in on the Pistons prize, and he's got a nicely developing offensive game. He had a quiet night, but still found time to show a nice little two-man game going with Beef Stew. Cade striped a couple of threes off the dribble and showed off some savvy passing — and then halfway through the second quarter the game was over. Like most rookies, he got wrong-footed or blown by or lost on defense a handful of times. Not that it's really fair to grade the kid's ability to stay alive in the Vitamix-swirl that is the Warriors offense.

McGruder's revenge

So, a while ago the Pistons played the Warriors and Rodney McGruder mixed it up with Juan Toscano-Anderson. And Klay was being interviewed during the game and lightly trashed Old McGruder, saying he'd be out of the league soon. Well, the Pistons love McGruder so much they tried to trade him — but couldn't because the tall man they wanted was too sickly — so now here his is knocking down shots with that hideous-looking jumper of his. It's like a full-body dry heave where he leans forward and sort of pukes the ball in the direction of the rim. But he drained 4-7 shots from deep, so eat that, Klay Thompson.

Warriors' rookies

The Warriors rolling meant that their rookies got a little run, and man, if Jonathan Kuminga gets a little seasoning, look out. He picked up some early fouls and had some mistakes and painful lapses, but my goodness is he an athlete. Andrew Wiggins would like you to know that Kuminga is "strong as shit." The kid brings a ferocious athleticism and ability to attack the rim that no one else on that team has. Also, Kuminga needs to start going by "Jon" because "Jon Kuminga" sounds way more badass. Whatever potion Kevon Looney drinks to make him look 47 years old, he must be sharing it with Moses Moody. Moody has my receding hairline.

But truly, we gotta give the people what they want — Steph and Klay, doing work.

If you go by Beef Stew, you better be ready to get cooked:

And Klay, giving Cory Joseph a taste to end the first half:

About last night…

While you were sleeping, the Nuggets, Celtics, and Spurs worked together on a financial scheme to get out of paying their taxes:

Denver got rich quick by adding Forbes, a player buried in the depth chart of San Antonio's youth movement. Forbes adds shooting to a team without Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. Meanwhile, the Celtics create another trade exception and save money towards their luxury tax. They're one more trade or release away from dipping under the tax. San Antonio gets Juancho and a distant future second round pick for their trouble.

It's interesting that this trade comes nearly immediately after it was announced Bol will be out for 8-12 weeks for foot surgery. The Celtics, by acquiring Bol and Dozier, gained two players who will not suit up for them this season and will be hitting free agency this offseason. Ahh, the sweet ingredients that go into meeting ownership demands of not paying the luxury tax unless they field a contender.

Reports are flying out of LA about Frank Vogel, and I'm not sure why. It makes zero sense that Vogel would be coaching for his job:

Frank Vogel isn't a perfect coach. But, as many others have pointed out, Vogel didn't construct this roster. Sure, it took him too long to realize that playing DeAndre Jordan and Dwight Howard were mistakes. But Vogel's switch to LeBron at center and their recent closing lineup of James, Austin Reaves, Talen Horton-Tucker, Malik Monk, and Stanley Johnson proved to be successful.

Would you look at that? The Lakers played better with youth around LeBron! Who could have thought of that?

The issue lays in the fact that Vogel only has those four young guns at his disposal right now, and the Lakers don't have any way out of it.

Don't fire Frank Vogel.

Scores, stats, & notes

Timberwolves 112, Knicks 110 — Evan Fournier led all scorers with 27. KAT's clutch bucket at the end was the difference maker. Quickley and Toppin only played nine minutes each. How the hell is Cam Reddish supposed to crack the rotation?

Warriors 102, Pistons 86 — Pistons not named McGruder or Stewart went 16-65 from the field. Klay scored 21 points. Killian Hayes played eight minutes and didn't return in the second half, with an apparent hip injury.

Nobody embodies the "next man up" mindset as well as the Miami Heat. Pat Riley probably flies his players to Cuba before each season, takes their passports and their shoes and hands them a tarp, some rope, and a knife before grabbing them by the face and saying, “See you at practice next Tuesday, 4:30 am, sharp. Do not let me down.”

Duncan Robinson uncharacteristically struggling? Just plug in Max Strus. Hit by the health and safety protocols? Just unearth a gem in Kyle Guy (now signed to a two-way deal). And if you happen to loose a blossoming franchise cornerstone in Bam Adebayo, don't fret. Just plug Omer Yurtseven into the hive-mind and watch as he seamlessly acclimates to the Miami way. Yurtseven is averaging 13.6 points and 13.9 rebounds per game over the last ten games and has more than adequately spelled Adebayo. The fact that this last addition comes with the ancillary benefit of making Doc Rivers extra cranky is just a bonus.

After wobbling their way to a 14-11 start, the Heat have turned it up by leaning on their cast of previous unknowns and their Navy Seal-level conditioning. Since the "Bambi learning to walk" portion of their season, the Heat have gone 13-5. And yes, there are some empty calories in the diet (facing Detroit, Orlando, and Atlanta twice, as well as Houston, Indiana, Washington and Portland). But they beat the Suns, played Golden State tight on the second night of a back-to-back, all with their skeleton crew. These guys just don't quit.

It's an ethos built and infused from the leadership on down. Pat Riley was a role player in the NBA who had to fight and scrap for everything he had. He's the quintessential grinder, and he's surrounded himself with like-minded people. Organizationally, the Heat just don't have an off switch. It wouldn't surprise me at all if Riley, Andy Ellisburg (GM), and Chad Kammerer (head of scouting) wake up every morning at 2am to watch clips of some game from the Polish league because they heard about some kid who supposedly sets the most beautiful screens with the lowest, widest leg-base they've ever found.

The Heat have surged to the fourth best point differential (+5.0) with both their offense and defense in the top 10 (offense is 3rd, defense is 8th). The defense has slipped over the last two weeks (ranking 15th over a six game stretch — all data per Cleaning The Glass).

But Bam Adebayo is healthy just in time to lock down that side of the ball before the All-Star break. Bam, Butler and Herro helped secure a win against Toronto that left them tied for first in the East.

The Heat don't feature the top-end talent of the other high profile teams in the East, but I guarantee you that none of them will be excited to draw Miami in the playoffs. Are you really betting against Riley and his band of underdogs and mercenaries? These guys don't blink. They don't stop. And they'll fight you until the last breath.​

About last night…

The NBA has tied themselves to Martin Luther King Day, and it's awesome. 13 games, nonstop basketball, hearing stories and positive messages from players and coaches all day... the league did a really good job.

First, the tweet:

LeBron and the Lakers delivered on their promise, getting the biggest win of the season so far with a 101-95 victory over the Utah Jazz. James was his usual self, scoring 25 with seven rebounds and seven assists. Stanley Johnson's 15 points (7-9 FG) were an awesome spark off the bench. Speaking of sparks, nobody has shined brighter in a single flash for LA this season than Russell Westbrook, whose dunk over Rudy Gobert last night felt like exorcism:

That's a big win for the Lakers. Anthony Davis figures to be back sometime soon. That would be an even bigger win for the Lakers.

NBA scuffles are a bit weak. Players aren't trying to lose money. So when they do happen, other players want to protect the brotherhood and make sure nobody gets hurt, fined or suspended. Steven Adams knows this, and promptly carried Tony Bradley from the situation:

Ja Morant can fight. Or so he says. It doesn't really matter, because if someone comes near him, he can spin out of trouble. Morant is the NBA's closest thing to a Super Smash Bros. character:

Scores, stats, & notes

Celtics 104, Pelicans 92 — Tatum, Brown, and Schroder combined to shoot 26-51 and scored 73 of their 104 points. That's a good sign!

Hornets 97, Knicks 87 — MB returned to his November performances. 38 points on 14-20 FG, 12 rebounds, and five assists at Madison Square Garden.

Wizards 117, Sixers 98 — Embiid scored 32, Maxey scored 18, and the rest of the Sixers fell short. Thomas Bryant is looking good for Washington! Also:

Cavaliers 114, Nets 107 — Darius Garland continues to be awesome. 22 & 12 against a former Cavaliers' superstar point guard. They look eerily similar here:

Grizzlies 119, Bulls 106 — The Grizzlies are 31-15, 9-1 in their last ten games. The Bulls, shorthanded without Ball, Caruso, and LaVine, are searching for answers.

Clippers 139, Pacers 133 — Nic Batum entered the time machine and came out scoring 32 points in a game in 2022.

Hawks 121, Bucks 114 — Atlanta stormed back into this one. Trae looked great. De'Andre Hunter and Onyeka Okungwu are real, impactful players for them. It came down to free throws: The Hawks made 30, the Bucks attempted 24.

Trail Blazers 98, Magic 88 — Nurkic scored 21 and pulled down 22 boards.

Heat 104, Raptors 99 — This is assault:

Mavericks 104, Thunder 102 — Luka is starting to turn it on. 20 points, 11 rebounds, 12 assists. Jason Kidd deserves credit for starting Jalen Brunson with Luka and moving Tim Hardaway Jr. to the bench. SGA's 34 points led OKC.

Suns 121, Spurs 107 — Devin Booker scored 48. It's the Suns' third game in four days, and Booker is averaging 37.7 points on 53% from the field over the last three.

Lakers 101, Jazz 95 — Good for the Lakers, man.

About last night…

Cade Cunningham and Devin Booker were going back and forth in their Sunday matinee matchup. The Suns were clearly outpacing the Pistons (as they should), but watching Cunningham blossom against one the best guards in the NBA was a joy. Booker flew in for a nasty one-hand tip dunk in the third quarter. The very next play, Cade came down and dunked on Jalen Smith's head — and then got ejected.

If you watch close, Cade immediately points in the general direction of either Jalen Smith, Devin Booker, or the Pistons' bench. The ref gives him his second technical foul, he tries to figure out what's going on, and then he goes over to dap up Monty Williams and leaves.

Well, who was he pointing at?

It's a bizarre situation. I don't think refs should be in the business of handing out T's to players who are not celebrating in an offensive manner — especially the only player in which every Detroit fan came to see. (They don't have too much else going on over there.)

Cade might get fined, the Pistons may have lost, but all of us are winners for another one of the great NBA memes of 2022:

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Rudy Gobert returned to the lineup for Utah. Guess what? They won! And it wasn't because of this shot:

That's a more-than-three-quarters-of-the-court one arm baseball throw off the glass. Gobert went 7-7 from the field for 18 points and 19 rebounds. He played good defense on Nikola Jokic, only holding him to 25 points, 15 rebounds, and 14 assists.

Scores, stats, & notes

Suns 135, Pistons 108 — Satisfying box score alert: Booker had 30, McGee and Payne each had 20, and Bridges and Paul each had 10. Cunningham and Cory Joseph each led Detroit with 21.

Rockets 118, Kings 112 — The formerly suspended duo of Christian Wood and Kevin Porter Jr. scored 23 each to beat the Kings. Check out Terence Davis, with the coast-to-coast crush:

Timberwolves 119, Warriors 99 — This is the Karl-Anthony Towns I want to see every night:

Jazz 125, Nuggets 102 — I've said it so many times. The Jazz get so much production. Their offense shines in games when Gobert (who had a plus-minus of +36) plays. Rudy might not be able to guard good centers, but boy, does he shut the game off for perimeter players in the paint. Ever since Jazz-Nuggets went crazy in the Bubble, I've been itching to see it again.

About last night…

We're 25 days from the Feb. 10th trade deadline, and the noise surrounding Ben Simmons continues to ramp up. Daryl Morey has imposed some restrictions on what the Sixers must get in return: a top-25 player, or a player on their way into that conversation. If you remember, Morey only deals stars for other stars. This restriction could be hindering the Sixers' ability to get a deal done, because as far as I see it, there's only one person who should be making the final call:

Joel Embiid.

Embiid's play of late (31.8 points, 9.9 rebounds, 53% from the field on 19.4 attempts per game since Dec. 16th) have allowed him to reenter the MVP conversation. He's doing all of this without Simmons.

If no Jaylen Brown or James Harden deals present themselves, the Sixers have two options they should take:

Trade Simmons for a package of helpful players (such as the Kings' rumored offer of Haliburton and Barnes).

Keep Simmons and don't mess anything up.

Embiid's 32 and 12 last night felt like routine. The Heat didn't have Bam, but they were favored to win at home — until Joel showed up and did his thing.

In my opinion, the Sixers should do whatever Joel Embiid wants. He's earned it. No matter who they bring in, he's the guy helping them reach their highest outcome. They were a ridiculous, bouncing Kawhi Leonard shot away from an Eastern Conference Finals appearance in 2019. Embiid's good enough to get them back there — and in a wide open field, the Sixers should add some help to confirm their contender status. Any player that comes back in a Simmons trade will play more than the zero minutes Ben gave the Sixers.

The Lakers lost to the Nuggets by 37 points. Everyone else is going to trash the Lakers. I'm here to celebrate the Nuggets! Look how cool this play from Bones Hyland was:

If you're going to play with Jokic, you must possess insane spatial awareness and creativity. Hyland has exactly the right blend of funk, jazz, and R&B to fit in Denver. Bones led the Nuggets with 27, Uncle Jeff Green scored 26, and Jokic sat back and dropped a 17-12-13 triple-double.

Jokic is good enough to lift up a Nuggets team without Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. Their ceiling is so incredibly high when healthy, and I hope their group gets a chance to live it out.

Scores, stats, & notes

Raptors 103, Bucks 96 — Pascal Siakam's second career triple-double was a treat: 30 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists. Clutch buckets down the stretch to beat the Bucks.

Trail Blazers 115, Wizards 110 — Anfernee Simons continues to shine: 31 points, 11 assists. 26 of those points came in the first half:

Knicks 117, Hawks 108 — RJ Barrett continues to blossom. In the last nine games, he's averaging 23.7 points and the Knicks are 6-3. If he's going to pop and become the guy New York took at no. 3 in 2019, things change for the Knicks.

Nets 120, Pelicans 105 — James Harden propelled the Nets to victory, putting up 27-8-15. Kevin Durant is undergoing an MRI to find the severity of the right knee injury he suffered in the second quarter. You can watch this video of the injury, it wasn't gross like ankle injuries are:

Sixers 109, Heat 98 — The Heat have this guy Omer Yurtseven who appeared out of thin air and has been balling in Adebayo's absence. Doc Rivers hates him:

Cavaliers 107, Thunder 102 — Darius Garland, again. 18 assists to go with his 27 points. Evan Mobley is still amazing. I love how every box score is led with Garland and the other players in double figures are all 6'11 or taller. Mobley, Allen, Love, Markkanen all shine.

Celtics 114, Bulls 112 — The Celtics move to 22-22 with the victory. Tatum led their balanced attack with 23 & 12 boards. The Bulls, without Ball & LaVine, got a combined 40 points and 15 assists from their backcourt of Coby White and Ayo Dosunmu.

Spurs 101, Clippers 94 — Seven scorers in double figures for the Spurs. Tongue twister. I saw somewhere that the Clippers could get Kawhi back, or they could shut both him and George down for the rest of the season. That would make sense if Oklahoma City didn't have all of their picks.

Nuggets 133, Lakers 96 — Now, the Lakers. Westbrook with zero turnovers! LeBron with 25 and nine assists! Dwight Howard went 6 of 8 from the field! Their fans make great songs! (NSFW)

Mavericks 108, Magic 92 — Shoutout to Marquese Chriss, man. We talked about him yesterday but he earned a two-year deal after balling out during his ten-day contracts.

About last night…

This isn't news — but Luka Doncic is a player worth staying up and watching.

It had been a while since I caught a full Mavs game, and an ever longer time since I'd seen this version of Luka:

That's the assist that gave Luka his 40th career triple-double. He finished with 27 points, 12 rebounds, and 10 assists in a rout of the red-hot Grizzlies.

Memphis' win streak is snapped at 11. It's a schedule loss — this was their eighth game in 12 days, the third game in four nights. When you're tired, and Luka's rolling, you're going to lose. I don't feel any worse about Memphis and I don't feel any better about Dallas. If Luka is an all-time great, he's gotta get back to racking up performances like this on a nightly basis.

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The battle between Darius Garland and Dejounte Murray needs some shine. In previous years, nobody could blame you for skipping a Cavs-Spurs game in January. But now, both teams have dynamic, playmaking point guards who can get their own whenever they want. Here's Garland, with patience:

Here's Murray, who, if you recall, is the Spurs' starting point guard:

Murray finished with 30-14-8. Garland posted 32-4-8. Both have made massive individual leaps this season — DG is just blessed to have two 7-foot defensive unicorns behind him.

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Scores, stats, & notes

Magic 116, Hornets 109 — Would you be surprised to know that LaMelo Ball is awesome, even in a loss?

Pistons 103, Raptors 87 — Dwane Casey moves to 8-3 against his former franchise. Detroit got their best games of the season from Hamidou Diallo, Killian Hayes, and Trey Lyles. If you still have any doubts about Cade Cunningham... keep them to yourself:

Suns 112, Pacers 94 — Devin Booker scored 35. Ayton dropped 27 on 12-18 shooting, and him and Jalen Smith pulled down 12 rebounds each. CP3 pulled out the Shammgod:

Sixers 111, Celtics 99 — Embiid scored 25 with 13 rebounds, and had this to say after the win:

Warriors 138, Bulls 96 — Yikes. Jonathan Kuminga led all scorers with 25. Andre Iguodala, who made one of the best passes in NBA history, made another one of the best passes in NBA history:

Heat 124, Hawks 118 — Jimmy Butler hates Max Strus. Or loves Max Strus. Yeah, I think it's that:

Cavs 114, Spurs 109 — Mobley and Allen combined for 32 points and 22 rebounds. Their consistency is the backbone of Cleveland's success. Also, Darius Garland made a half-court shot look as cool as it could possibly look:

Mavericks 112, Grizzlies 85 — It's rare for Dallas to get seven guys in double figures. Marquese Chriss was an amazing pickup for the Mavs: 15 points on 6-7 shooting. He rebounds, rolls, and hits open threes. Every team could use that.

Kings 126, Rockets 114 — Sacramento's De'Aaron Fox heard the trade rumors. They don't matter. He's gonna ball anyway. 11-18 shooting for 27 points, six rebounds, 8 assists. Here's the full story:

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Yesterday marked a big milestone. A player that many teams were interested in was traded. This, my friends, is the most wonderful time of the year:

Trade season.

I love trade season. I wake up a bit happier, more energized. I'm more productive. The air smells great. I dress a little bit better. Everything just feels right.

From now until Feb. 10th, and a few days after, front offices across the NBA are in nonstop meetings, phone calls, and group chats deciding how they really feel about their team. The tolerance for bias and bullshit is at its highest in training camp, and gets paper thin in February. General managers make ultimate decisions on players and their franchise's future. It's a high stakes game we're playing, baby, and if you can't handle the heat, get out of the kitchen.

The two notable deals from yesterday — New York's surprise acquisition of Cam Reddish for Kevin Knox and a protected Hornets first round pick, and Bol Bol's arrival in Detroit being voided after a failed physical — paint a picture of a vast trade landscape that is only getting started. The protected pick acquired by Atlanta could be the keystone to their potential acquisition of Ben Simmons and/or departure from John Collins. The Pistons will again canvass the league for upside swings. The Knicks appear to be more future-focused than they previously appeared.

Reddish is the first real domino to drop. Who's next? Here's all of the stuff that has been brought up in reports from ESPN's Zach Lowe, Bobby Marks & Adrian Wojnarowski, The Athletic's Sam Amick and Shams Charania, and Bleacher Report's Jake Fischer.

The other names that seem most likely to be traded, besides the aforementioned Simmons and Collins, are Jerami Grant, Myles Turner, Caris LeVert, Eric Gordon, Christian Wood, Terrence Ross, Dennis Schroder, and Buddy Hield.

The Simmons situation has revealed that both De'Aaron Fox and Tyrese Haliburton are on the table for Sacramento, along with Hield, Harrison Barnes, and Marvin Bagley.

The Lakers' only hope at a deal is to swing Talen Horton-Tucker and Kendrick Nunn to a willing suitor.

With Damian Lillard out in Portland, we could see any of CJ McCollum, Norman Powell, Jusuf Nurkic, or Robert Covington out the door.

A few teams should look into Phoenix's Jalen Smith as a rotation big stuck at the bottom of the depth chart.

The Mavericks have several suitors for Dorian Finney-Smith.

Memphis, Chicago, and Utah each should go all-in on a 3-for-1 deal to confirm their contender status.

And while it's unlikely, there's still the potential for moves including Domantas Sabonis, Karl-Anthony Towns, Jaylen Brown, Bradley Beal, or even James Harden.

Are you out of breath? Because I am. The title conversation is wide open, with many perennial playoff teams underwhelming and many lottery loungers at the top of the table. The West is top heavy. The East is deep. There's a lot going on, which means this trade season could bring fireworks.

Keep your phone on you and your Twitter notifications on. You never know when lightning is going to strike.

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About last night…

The Bucks destroyed the Warriors. It was over right as it started. With 5:59 left in the second quarter, Milwaukee was up 60-28. At halftime, it was 77-38. Giannis put up 30-12-11 in just under 30 minutes played.

This is an interesting Finals preview. Nobody can stop Giannis, but I trust Draymond Green to do something to contain him. Green's Defensive Player of the Year case is getting stronger with each absence. Milwaukee, without Holiday, played like the best team in the league last night.

Something else to watch: the Warriors just didn't have it. Steph was 4-11 from the field for 12 points. Klay is still working his way back to greatness. Wiggins and Kuminga were alright, but the rest of the Warriors were just flat.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander put up a masterful performance at Barclays Center, finishing with 33 points, 10 rebounds, and nine assists. He's such an easy player to get excited about. He's as elite of a driver as we have in the league, with every single finish in his arsenal:

The Nets lost the lead four minutes into the game and were never able to recover. Kevin Durant rested against his original squad, though I'm not sure he still knows any of the Thunder players or staff anymore.

It's not news, but I had the realization yesterday of just how dire the Nets look without two of their three stars in the lineup. De'Andre Bembry, Kessler Edwards, Day'Ron Sharpe, and Bruce Brown started next to Harden. With Milwaukee as dominant as they were against Golden State and Brooklyn's roster so depleted, it's becoming clearer by the day that the Bucks are far and away the best team in the East.

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Scores, stats, & notes

Bucks 118, Warriors 99 — Bobby Portis' emergence as a super important role guy in Milwaukee cannot be understated. Every one of his buckets makes the crowd go nuts. He is human momentum.

Grizzlies 116, Timberwolves 108 — That's 11 in a row for Memphis, who were led by... John Konchar? Yep. 15 points, 17 boards. Morant finished with 16-8-9. 25 of Anthony Edwards' 30 points came in the first half.

Pelicans 113, Clippers 89 — The Pelicans hit on Herb Jones in this year's draft. He's a starter who is super efficient and hounds offensive players for 32 minutes a night.

Thunder 130, Nets 109 — Let's take a second to appreciate Cam Thomas for his ability to always be himself: 21 points, 8-18 from the field, zero assists. Lu Dort finished with 27 points. ICYMINBA darling Josh Giddey posted 19 and 7 assists.

Nuggets 140, Trail Blazers 108 — Denver's box score is amazing. Barton with 21, Jokic with 20, Jeff Green with 19, Campazzo with 18, Bones Hyland with 17, and Zeke Nnaji with 16.

Steph Curry hasn't quite been himself this season. The NBA's all-time three-point king — who has never shot under 40% from distance in any full season of his professional career — is hitting only 38.4% of his long balls this year.

Through his first 23 games, Steph was his usual spit-out-your-milk self, dropping in 9 triples on three separate occasions, averaging 5.5 made threes a night and hitting at a healthy 41.6% clip.

In the 14 games since he's been in quite the slump, shooting a James Harden-like 33.1% from distance. He even air-balled two fairly clean looks in Memphis a couple of nights ago. During his last 4 games, the numbers will scare your dad: Curry is shooting an abysmal 31.3% from the field and 20.5% from deep. Somehow, the Warriors are 2-2 in those games. 

While his three point rate over the last 14 games is nearly 10% lower than his career average, 33.1% happens to be Harden's three point percentage this present season. Harden's rate is down 3.1% from his serviceable but unimpressive 36.2% career average.

But he's not the only high-wattage shooter who has struggled with his outside shot this season. A host of additional NBA stars have seen drop-offs even more significant than Curry and Harden. Check this out:

Steph (rightly) generates the buzz — he's the best shooter to walk the earth and he's in the midst of the biggest slump of his career. But his current rate of 38.4% is as good or better than everyone else's career mark on this list.

Harden's Nets remain contenders due to the intergalactic sublimity of Kevin Durant, but the errant shooting of the other men on this list help explain the floundering of their respective teams. That and the overall unpredictability of another COVID-infused season mixed with a greater allowance for physical defense.

It seems like Bradley Beal missed what Westbrook had to offer, so he decided to mirror his old teammates' outside shooting ability. His Wizards, despite their strong start, have sputtered to nearly .500 (21-20) and sit in 9th place in the East. Paul George and the LA JV team are actually .500 (21-21) as they weather the loss of Kawhi Leonard in 8th place out West. The Clips are, however, only 2 games out of 5th place in the jumbled bottom of the West. Lillard and the Blazers are staring down a lost season, sitting in 10th place out West (16-24) as they prep for more time without their star. Dame hasn't played since New Year's eve, and the Blazers are 4-7 without him.

Curry and the Warriors? They're doing just fine, despite their recent wobbles. In years past, the Warriors pushed out to leads and tried not to give up too much ground when Steph sat. With added depth this season — and now the joyously triumphant return of Klay Thompson — Golden State is quite comfortable playing the long game.And if the Warriors look this good when Steph Curry is quite literally having his worst shooting season ever, just imagine what happens when his long game ticks back toward his career averages.

ABOUT LAST NIGHT…

Believe it or not, this is real: 

You're reading that right. In under 12 minutes of action, the Nets capitalized on a 43-8 run against the East-leading Chicago Bulls. Kevin Durant finished with a game-high 27 points, while Harden chipped in 25 points and 16 assists.

Is Kevin Durant the MVP candidate hiding in plain sight? Many would choose him if the season ended today, but the Warriors' dominance (even in a down Steph year) has propelled #30 to the lead as far as narrative is concerned. My vote would go to KD, as he's a guaranteed 27 & 6 assists at this point and hasn't turned in a bad performance yet.

One last quip from the Nets, who are ha ha so funny:

If your team is on a winning streak, and you lose to the Sacramento Kings... the streak never happened.

In the last three games, Westbrook is averaging 7.7 points, 10 rebounds, and 8.3 assists. That's weird. He's also shooting 20% from the floor on 13.3 attempts per game.

The Kings looked like an awesome basketball team. That's great! It's too bad they're going to trade for Ben Simmons and Tobias Harris:

Who's the only team that would do that? Sacramento, who can trade Hield, Haliburton, Barnes, and some other stuff and get it done.

SCORES, STATS, AND NOTES

Celtics 119, Pacers 100 — Boston gets a much-needed blowout win, thanks to the star duo: Both Tatum and Brown finished 11-19 from the field, combining for 67 points. Schroder was the only other Celtic in double figures (23 points). 

Hornets 109, Sixers 98 — Joel Embiid's first lost to Charlotte, ever. He started 13-0 vs. the Hornets, but fell victim to Gordon Hayward's hot first half: 22 points, 9-9 from the field.

Wizards 112, Magic 106 — Kyle Kuzma has been... awesome this year? He was one assist away from a triple double in a comfortable victory over Orlando:

Heat 115, Hawks 91 — Alright, man. 

Knicks 108, Mavericks 85 — RJ Barrett has been hot as of late. Another 32-point performance, this time on 13-22 shooting with seven rebounds. Julius Randle was two assists away from a triple double. 

Rockets 128, Spurs 124 — Dejounte Murray is a mad man: 32 points, 10 rebounds, 11 assists. Even though he was one of seven Spurs in double figures, the Rockets were able to hold on.

Cavaliers 111, Jazz 91 — Rudy Gobert's importance to Utah's system is glaring in his absences. For Cleveland, Darius Garland's star is trending upward: 11 points, 10 rebounds, 15 assists. Evan Mobley also dropped 15-10-7. It would be an awesome time to be a Cavs fan.

Nets 138, Bulls 112 — Derrick Jones Jr. left the game after playing only 36 seconds with a leg injury. That's enough bad vibes to doom the Bulls, who are still 1.5 games ahead of Brooklyn after the loss.

Kings 125, Lakers 116 — What LeBron is doing is insane. 34 points on 13-29 from the field. He isn't slowing down: he's second in the NBA in points per game (29.1) and could easily catch Durant. He's having an All-NBA second team season at minimum. James has also found his new favorite toy: Austin Reaves, the crafty, deceptively-athletic (insert any other superlatives for white NBA players) rookie wing who cuts at the right times.

First things first, I think Jalen Green is going to be a very good NBA player.

Someday.

Currently, he's taken the mantle for "Worst Green in the NBA" from Old Uncle Jeff.

Right now he's taking his lumps and highlighting just how vast a difference there is between rookies and experienced pros. Do you remember when Jalen ripped through Summer League, scorching the competition and leading many people to peg him as the favorite for Rookie of the Year? Well, times have changed, and right now Jalen's not even in the top five of most people's rookie ranks.

He's missed time with a hamstring injury, which hasn't helped him find a rhythm. Houston is a terrible team, with no intent to field even a mediocre team this season. In the 27 games Green has played, he's experienced only 3 wins. All that losing takes a toll.

Overall, he looks like a pretty standard perimeter-based rookie — he's shooting a lot with low efficiency, he over-dribbles, and he's mistake-prone.

But potentially worst of all — the kid is hopelessly, miserably, unforgivably lost on the defensive end of the floor. On defense he's two scoops of Jeff Green with not even a sprinkle of Draymond Green. Defense is perhaps the biggest reason that Draymond mentioned how unlikely it is that championship-contending teams count on rookies for significant minutes. The game is too fast, the reads are too sharp and the opponents are too skilled to even allow a second of indecision. In the NBA, if you pause to think about what to do, you're finished.

Speaking of Draymond, if you think he gets mad at the little lapses here and there on his current team, he may blow a few blood vessels if he had to suffer Jalen Green's version of defense for thirty minutes a night. They could never mic Draymond up for a game like this because nothing he would say would possibly be appropriate to hear.

With Jalen Green, all the classic sins of rookie defense are present: guys slip backdoor, he gets beat off the dribble, and he's late on rotations (when he rotates at all). It's Trae Young-playing-defense levels of bad. But Trae's diminutive frame gives him an inherent limitation — Jalen Green is 6'4" and wildly athletic.

It's the same baptism by fire that has welcomed many a young guard to the league. By all accounts the kid is a hard worker. He's an immense talent with a desire to be great. He'll learn and improve. There are still flashes of light in the darkness.

Being a rookie is hard enough and being in Houston does not make it any easier. Things are pretty grim in Space City. Two-thirds of the local strippers have had to find other work since James Harden left town. Sengun is hurt. Josh Christopher is an even worse defender than Jalen Green. The Rockets look so bad that another Green — Gerald — has seen enough awful basketball to make him think he can still play in this league. So he's giving up his role as Houston's player development coach to attempt an NBA comeback. And in a "we might as well make the food as disgusting as the team" attempt, the Rockets are unveiling new and horrifying forms of cuisine:

The Houston Rockets unveiled new culinary options at Toyota Center for Friday’s home game versus Dallas, including a jumbo mac-and-cheese hot dog complete with Fruit Loops and bacon toppings.

I guess that's one way to approach organizational synergy.

The NBA should make a rule that if Tilman Fertitta wants to keep Jalen Green, he has to eat one of those Frankenstein-ed food disasters on the jumbotron after every home loss with his bare hands and no napkin.

Maybe that could get a smile out of poor Jalen. He sure hasn't had much to smile about so far.

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About last night…

The Pelicans won off a buzzer beater in front of their own crowd. For one night, all of the Zion concerns are ridden. Thank you, Brandon Ingram:

New Orleans needs some joy. Brandon Ingram's 33 points and 9 assists were joyful. All indications are that New Orleans is looking to buy, not sell, in this upcoming trade season. There's a world in which the situation around Ingram gets better even without Zion.

For NBA anarchists like me, I want to see Brandon Ingram swapped with Ben Simmons. That would make me happy. The Pelicans would have two true NBA unicorns on the floor at the same time in Zion's return.

The Grizzlies keep rolling and keep earning their spot in this newsletter. They've won ten straight, and last night's victory over Golden State was their biggest win yet.

Even a game without a crazy Ja Morant highlight is worth showing. No words left to describe him. It's the other guys, guys like Ziaire Williams and Tyus Jones stepping up, that make them so dangerous.

Steph posted 27-10-10. Klay scored 14. The rest of the Warriors... didn't report as well. Both teams were missing important pieces (Draymond for GSW, Brooks for MEM) but Morant Madness is real, and I think the Grizzlies are playoff ready.

Moments like these are our raison d'etre...

Scores, stats, and notes

Wizards 122, Thunder 118 — Lots to unpack here. First, KCP and Montrezl Harrell got into a physical altercation at halftime of the game. What? And then KCP finishes off OKC with a bank three... I rhyme, but I'm not a rapper.

Suns 99, Raptors 95 — In non-mascot related news, Phoenix rallied in the fourth quarter to put Toronto away. CP3's 15 and 12 sealed the win.

Bulls 133, Pistons 87 — First place Chicago cruises to a 46-point victory. 8 guys in double figures — they're not losing to bad teams.

Grizzlies 116, Warriors 108 — Ja Morant has more to say:

Pelicans 128, Timberwolves 125 — Where is KAT getting this confidence from?

Clippers 87, Nuggets 85 — The Clippers came back from down 25 to beat Denver! Mr. October scored 11 of his 13 points in the fourth quarter run, including this punch on Jokic:

The Bucks dropped their second straight game to the young and impetuous Hornets, despite Giannis & Khris Middleton holding their own just fine. Giannis didn't help by settling for a couple of jumpers down the stretch of last night's game — particularly when he was mowing down or spinning past whichever Plumlee that was without any remorse. PJ Washington played tough with 5 fouls down the stretch and everyone watching endured two lengthy referee reviews down the stretch in order to watch Lamelo seal the game with a loping, looping, off-balance little floater across the lane. And while you can't blame poor Pat Connaughton for bumbling that pass with the high-heat from Giannis late in the game, how depressing is it to not even get a shot off. Yuck.

The Bucks struggles, most simply, are about missing Jrue Holiday. He is the connective tissue that holds the team together.

If you were missing your bones, blood, and cartilage, you'd just be a puddle of mushy sadness. And while the Giannis/Middleton Bucks still seemingly have a lot to offer, it's hard to undersell just how important Holiday is to the team.

Jrue Holiday is an easy player to miss if you're not paying attention. He's a mere 6'3" and he doesn't jump over the moon to haunt the dreams of Avery Bradley like some people. It's always hard to say a certain professional athlete "isn't athletic" — obviously Holiday is an elite athlete — but his game does not exactly prominently feature the burst and flash of some of his peers.

Instead, he keeps showing up, knees bent, in perfect guarding position, arm slightly extended and feet ready to seemingly effortlessly slide with his defender. The beauty of his work, is it doesn't look much like work. He seems to glide on defense, almost like he's skating across the floor, swiveling his hips, pivoting, and then raising an arm to contest a midrange jumper, time and time again. It seems like Holiday is never out of position, never late on a rotation — always making the right choice and executing the scheme to perfection.

On offense, he's similarly nondescript. He's not blowing by guys with a lightning-fast first step or a wicked crossover. He doesn't have the Svengali-like slither to his game like Kyrie Irving. And his shot is... fine. Some guys have a shot so pretty that I think they will never miss (Klay Thompson, Ray Allen, anybody from the Curry family), but there are other guys who are surprisingly effective with a more utilitarian approach. Jrue's shot gets the job done. It's serviceable. It always looks a little flat coming off his hands and it think its short, every time. But he's shot nearly 40% from deep both this year and last, and has a knack for big shots.

His basic box stats — unsurprisingly perhaps — are just like Jrue: solid, steady, reliable.

Here are my favorite numbers to measure his value this season: Jrue's plus/minus this year is an impressive +8.0. And the Bucks record when the play without Holiday? Three wins, seven losses.

See what I mean? That's a puddle of mushy sadness right there.

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"I just want to play basketball. When that happens, it will be a joyous day, not only for me — but for you guys."

Klay Thompson is the ultimate dude. He's supremely talented. He works his ass off and shows how much he cares at all times. He does not care in the slightest what anyone else thinks of him. He does exactly what he's feeling and exactly what he's asked.

Klay is the NBA's king of unintentional humor. He's himself. He pays no attention to how an NBA player should walk, talk, or act. He's not above anything — playing ping pong with Australian national team staff members, taking an interview about scaffolding in New York City, or signing a toaster. The coolest guy in the room is the one who's least concerned about being cool. And as Klay was given an extended introduction last night at Chase Center, he sat there with a straight face. Locked in. Stone cold killer. He didn't need to smile — we already were for him.

Klay scored Golden State's first bucket of the night. The excitement is different this time, and you can feel it:

In the second quarter, Klay brought the house down:

And by the third quarter, everything was back to normal:

Thompson finished with 17 points in 19 minutes, leaving with less than three minutes in the game to standing ovation.

Where do we go from here? Klay's back, now what? It just so happens that the Warriors have been the best team in basketball this season in his absence. Steph's gravity as an MVP candidate, even in a down year for him, creates so many openings for others. Draymond has been a sensational defender. Andrew Wiggins shook expectations and gets buckets. The Warriors are deep, with young players in the fold as potential trade pieces, and just brought back the third member of their big three.

Last night's Klay Day — a rightful celebration for a player who deserves it — answered most of the remaining questions for the Warriors. They're a better team with Klay on the floor. His shooting and defense give Steph room to breathe.

The last piece of the 2021-22 Warriors is James Wiseman. Will his return be as triumphant as Thompson? Owner Joe Lacob and GM Bob Myers have both paraded their young players (Wiseman, Jonathan Kuminga, Moses Moody) as their bridge to the future — will they burn it to get one more star? Do they even need to?

The Warriors are 30-9. Klay Thompson is back after 31 months, still knocking down shots. He's wearing a headband now. All is well in the universe, at least for this one night.

About last night…

Ja Morant is a frequent topic of discussion here at ICYMINBA. He is so good, and so electric, that it's impossible not to speak about what he is doing. Is there anyone else more fun to watch right now? Watch as he leaves Earth to pin this shot at the top of the backboard:

The Grizzlies blew out the Lakers (and almost coughed it up at the end). That's nine straight wins for Memphis. Remember when we had people telling Ja the Grizzlies were better without him? Dillon Brooks is expected to be sidelined for at least 3-5 weeks with an ankle injury. We'll see if that puts any wind in their sails.

It's crazy, because on any given night this would be The Ja Morant Highlight:

Sound the alarms! We have a real, player-for-player trade:

Neither player will be waived, which means... trade season is here! The Pistons, already a team that hurt to watch, traded away their worst perimeter player to take a flyer on Bol Bol. Is Bol Bol any good? Probably not. But by the end of this season, we'll know for sure. And that, my friends, is worth Brooklyn's second round pick this year.

This is one of the most important pieces of content we've shown you this year:

I wish we had more context. You can't blink fast enough to see how she ends up on the ground so quickly. Did a cord trip her? Was it her shoe? Was she off balance and just dropped? I have so many questions.

Scores. stats, and notes

Nets 121, Spurs 119 OT — Cam Thomas wins it with 1.4 seconds left. Durant who?

Clippers 106, Hawks 93 — A randomly quiet Trae Young game: 19 points, three rebounds, seven assists. Amir Coffey looks pretty good for LAC!

Wizards 102, Magic 100 — Kyle Kuzma finished with 27 points and 22 rebounds. Rui Hachimura returned to the lineup!

Raptors 105, Pelicans 101 — Fred VanVleet, again. 32 points on 8-17 from three. 29-10-7 from Siakam.

Timberwolves 141, Rockets 123 — KAT exploded for 40 points (15-25 FG), nine rebounds, and seven assists. That's important for him. There's no reason why Towns can't put up huge games consistently like Embiid and Jokic.

Nuggets 99, Thunder 95 — Jokic put up 22-18-6 in a close win. This play makes me so happy. Look at Mark Daigneault after Mann gets the steal:

Mavericks 113, Bulls 99 — The clash of streaks: Dallas wins' their sixth straight, snapping Chicago's nine game winning streak. Luka (22-14-14) shines with his third triple-double of the season. It's been a month since Chicago was held under 100 points.

Warriors 96, Cavaliers 82 — Curry's 28 paced the Warriors. Kevon Looney does his job: six points, 18 rebounds.

Trail Blazers 103, Kings 88 — Anfernee Simons is figuring it out. 31 points on 10-17 FG and 7-11 from three. Tyrese Haliburton with a smooth 17 points and nine assists.

Grizzlies 127, Lakers 119 — LeBron's 35-9-7 was the lone star performance for LA. Westbrook finished 2-12 from the field with 0 turnovers. Desmond Bane led Memphis with 23.

About last night…

Remember Lance Stephenson? The guy who starred for the Pacers more than a half-decade ago, creating his own book of tricks to annoy LeBron James in the playoffs — and eventually blowing in his ear?​

He's back. After stints with the Grand Rapids Gold and Atlanta Hawks, Stephenson — who earned the nickname Born Ready on NYC blacktops — has returned to the Pacers in a new light. Not as a dynamic scorer (although he did just drop 30 points vs. Brooklyn) or pest for opposing stars, but as a premier dime-dropper and pick-and-roll partner for Domantas Sabonis:

9 of Stephenson's career-high 14 assists came to a rolling Sabonis. 2020 and 2021 were weird years. But I did not have Lance Stephenson balling out in a Pacers uniform while wearing AND1 sneakers on my 2022 bingo card.

Sabonis finished with a career-high 42 points in a win over the Jazz. Most of his buckets were either from Stephenson or the fact that Utah, without Gobert, just let him spot up from the mid-range and top of the key. The Pacers are expected to be active ahead of the February 10th trade deadline, but moving Sabonis seems less likely by the game.*

*We're reverse jinxing a Sabonis trade

This play deserves 100 words in a casual Sunday edition of ICYMINBA:

LaMelo, when asked by The Ringer's Rob Mahoney about his ability to create plays out of nothing, retorted: “How do I even know how to do this stuff when I ain’t never heard of it or seen it or nothin’?” Every time LaMelo does something like this, that quote pops in my head. This play wasn't designed, and Ball didn't have time to think — it just happened. Greatness comes from years of hard work, but the most spectacular events occur from the unconscious.

Scores, stats, and notes

Grizzlies 123, Clippers 108 — The Grizz keep rolling. A 15-point win without Morant. Triple J with 26 to lead them. Marcus Morris scored 29 for LAC.

Hornets 114, Bucks 106 — Giannis scored 43, shooting 18-20 from the free throw line. Remember when he couldn't shoot? Rozier paced Charlotte with 28.

Pistons 97, Magic 92 — Somebody had to win, right? I was in the building for a Trey Lyles third quarter explosion. I'd bet the house on Gary Harris and Terrence Ross donning different uniforms on February 11th.

Pacers 125, Jazz 113 — Utah desperately needs Gobert. His importance is on full display when he's not there. 36 points and 9 assists for Donovan Mitchell.

Celtics 99, Knicks 75 — The sweet taste of revenge. No Evan Fournier (who scored 41 points in the last matchup and averaged 35 against Boston in the three previous matchups). Jaylen Brown notched his first triple-double (22-11-11).

Heat 123, Suns 100 — The Suns lost at full strength to the Heat. Tyler Herro (33 points, 12-20 FG) and Duncan Robinson (27 points, 9-17 FG) were red hot.