I admit it, I’ve never been a huge Luka Dončić guy (he finished with 36 points, 15 rebounds, 18 assists and 2 blocks and 2 steals), though to my credit (and so I don’t have to eat an egregious amount of crow) I always respected the talent. Well, respected the talent shining through what seemed to be a stage where he wanted to be a chain-smoking 10-pound ham in a five-pound bag that drew techs every five minutes… Certainly an entertaining endeavor to an extent, like choosing when to use accent marks with his name, but a basketball profile that gets tiring at times. However, I’m happy to report that while the techs kinda-sorta remain, Luka is looking fit, is looking fast (fast for him) and looking pretty engaged. And despite the tough loss despite fueling a crazy 30-0 run… what’s the difference with last year’s Luka?
Well, Kyrie Irving buying in so far is a big deal, but I think it’s still okay to feel some PTSD any time he opens his mouth. But just the fact that he hasn’t said anything controversial about some of the world events going on right now has to be an overall good sign. Also, who knew having a big man do some big man things would be such a huge deal? Dereck Lively (20 points, 16 rebounds, 7 blocks against OKC) has been that guy, and even though he makes me type Blake first every time, his stability at the five and nominal 9/8/1 with 2 blocks on a 25-minute average has been the glue that has kept the Mavs going. And so instead of a clip showing Luka dribbling like molasses, spinning, falling on a shot and then arguing for a foul the next five minutes, we get clips like this above… how the times have changed.
Here’s what else I saw this weekend…
The Clippers remain an enigma but are looking somewhat better. There’s been a mix of issues; even though Kawhi Leonard and Paul George are on pace to play the most minutes of their careers, George has been the most consistent of the two and has been pretty clutch including the game-winner above. Though it’s pretty obvious that they are still working things out with James Harden, there seems to be a noticeable drop-off between having Joel Embiid and then Ivica Zubac as your P&R buddy, but a 14/7/5 line the rest of the season seems way too pedestrian, even for a post-76ers Harden.
Also, this happened…
Good to see Draymond Green can add another wrestling move to his kit. Despite being human trash, I still commend him for being consistent human trash.
The modern-day NBA ironman is at again with Nikola Jokic currently leading the NBA in total points, rebounds and assists, and of course leading the league in triple-doubles. He of course had another triple-double in a loss against the Kings, going 36/13/14 on 13-for-23.
Kevin Durant continues to show us that the fountain of youth, is in fact, quite real, as over the weekend he reached 20th on the Sun’s all-time list of 30-point games. Just for context, he’s only played 26 games for the Suns…
Did you know? Karl-Anthony Towns is only one of two players that are averaging 50-40-90 shooting splits. Talk about a team that looked like a joke at times last year with weird rotations and a clunky offense, it does certainly look like the defense will be real and carry them to the play-offs with the offense really coming into its own. By the way, the other player that’s throwing up a 50-40-90? Naz Reid!
Talking about that defense too, Rudy Gobert gets his own blurb! 26 points, 12 rebounds and 3 blocks on 10-for-12 shooting certainly gets you there, that and also getting head-locked by Draymond…
The Anthony Davis roller coaster continues its journey, not only holding Alperin Sengun to 8-for-25 shooting, but also scoring 27 points, 14 rebounds, 3 assists and 5 blocks on 10-22 shooting in a win against the reeling Rockets.
And last but not least… okay, maybe the least part is true, but even though the Pistons have lost 17 straight, I’m still a believer in Cade Cunningham and went 7-for-19 with 21 points, 8 rebounds, 11 assists, 3 steals and just 1 turnover. The team is a dumpster fire, no doubt, but still some interesting pieces on it…
Jay is a longtime Razzball everything who consumes an egregious amount of Makers Mark as a vehicle to gain wisdom and augment his natural glow. Living in the D.C. area, he also likes spending time visiting the local parks and feeding lettuce to any turtles he encounters, including Mitch McConnell.
