Last Night In The NBA: Overtime, Guys Getting Tossed And Some Rookies Looked Great
Good morning everybody happy Tuesday! Welcome back to another edition of Last Night In The NBA where we catch you up on everything that went down from the night before in the Association. On a night where there were four games on then schedule, I am happy to report that all four of them were close, thrilling, and absolutely in no way a waste of time watching. I know preseason basketball gets a bad rap by some in the internet, but basketball is basketball and frankly it was awesome. I will not apologize for spending my Monday night watching it, and if you perhaps went a different direction, here’s everything you missed
Orlando Magic (0-1) 114 vs Philadelphia 76ers (2-0) 120
Finally playing an NBA team this preseason, not much changed for the Sixers. Granted the Magic won 25 games last year but listen who am I to judge. Overall PHI looked dominant, and as usual their main three guys showed up in a big way
12/6 for Fultz, 9/5/7/2/1 for Siummons, and 21/7/2 for Embiid. The three headed monster in Philly has looked great this preseason, and we obviously need to talk about the biggest news of the entire night. Markelle Fultz not only had the confidence to take 4 3PA, he actually made one. He form looked great, he shot it with confidence, and any person out there (I’m talking to you fellow Celtics fans) that are rooting against this kid or want bad things to happen to his career can fuck right off. I despise the Sixers as much as anyone, but I want all these kids to turn out to be legit so there can be a legit rivalry for the next 10 years. So I was happy to see things fall for Fultz, I honestly hope he goes out and shoots like 40% from deep this season.
As a team, while they still have a bit of a TO issue with 19 more last night, when their offense is clicking like this, it’s not going to matter. I’m talking 47/36% splits, 14 3pM, and 30-36 from the FT line. It was clear right from the jump that the Magic had nobody who could even remotely stop Embiid in the post, but then you look at the second unit and guys were effective there as well. Shamet with 12 big points off the bench, and Korkmaz continuing what we saw in Summer League with 18 points and 3 3PM. This Philly team is deep, and while the 114 points to the Magic is a little concerning, there isn’t much to nit pick with this team right now.
For ORL, I was very excited to see Mo Bamba play. He’s so intriguing to me as a prospect, and this is especially true since he reworked his shot with the same Drew Hanlen that has apparently fixed Fultz. How did it look in his debut? Pretty damn good
You can see right away bigs are going to attack him given his slender frame, but overall I thought Bamba held his own. He finished with 12/3/2 on 4-5 shooting in his 17 minutes, and in my opinion it’s only a matter of time before he finds himself the starter. Maybe they trade Vucevivc at the deadline since he’s an UFA or something, but I need more Mo Bamba minutes immediately.
Other than him it was a relatively quiet night for guys like Jonathan Isaac who played just 9 minutes because of an ankle sprain which is NOT what you want to hear as a Magic fan considering he’s dealt with ankle injuries in the past. I also felt like even though Aaron Gordon had 10/7/4 on 4-9 shooting, he’s trying to force things a little too much as a playmaker, resulting in his 3 TOs. He spent a slot of time on the perimeter which is something I think we’ll see a lot this season, he just needs to slow down. This play right here though was a great example of his playmaking development
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New York Knicks (1-0) 124 vs Washington Wizards (0-1) 121 F/OT
Overtime preseason basketball let’s goooooo!!!!! I don’t know about you, but I crave preseason OT basketball. I need it. This may be confusing to you since the games don’t count and it seems pointless but listen, I have waited a very, very long time for basketball to be back in my life and when God blesses me with free basketball, I will not complain.
Obviously for the Knicks, it all starts with Kevin Knox. The prized rookie made his debut last night and did not disappoint. His 13/10/3 on 4-9 shooting in a team high 26 minutes led the way, and I know Knicks fans are trying hard this morning to not overreact, but I say go for it
He gave you a taste in the Summer League, and he’s not backing it up against a pretty talented Washington team. What’s not to love? He’s not the only rookie that showed out either too. Alonzo Trier had a nice 13 off the bench including this little shake and bake on Kelly Oubre
In a common theme so far, the Knicks turned it over a shit ton with 19, but they fought until the end, and sure maybe this shouldn’t have even reached OT, but once they got there, scoring 16 points is no joke. This may have been a tough game to watch since both teams combined to take 90 FTA (!!!!), but that’s the underlying beauty in these fake games.
For WSH, it was basically the same old Wizards doing same old Wizards things. You had Markieff Morris getting tossed, seriously, for talking shit to Mitchell Robinson, you had Beal struggling going 3-12, and Wall was nowhere to be found in the fourth quarer (because he only played 9 minutes but the joke still plays). The Wizards love to tell you how talented they are and how they are the team to beat, well maybe when all your main rotation guys outside of Wall play legit minutes, maybe beat the Knicks.
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On a night where we got our first look at some new Wizards, I suppose things were’t all bad
Rivers had 7/3/3/3 in his 23 minutes
And Jeff Green had 8 in his return to DC. This is going to be a big year for Kelly Oubre Jr who had a team best 15/8/4 in his 27 minutes.
I would imagine had Wall played the whole game this most likely ends up differently, or at least if I was a Wizards fan that’s what I would be telling myself.
New Orleans Pelicans (0-2) 102 vs Atlanta Hawks (1-0) 116
Wait, are the Hawks good? They won comfortably in a game in which Anthony Davis and the rest of the Pelicans main guys played? Sure maybe it was on a B2B but still. Weird stuff. Probably because John Collins was an absolute monster in his 18 points on 8-14 shooting
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He’s definitely a candidate for a breakout season in my opinion based on how good his rookie year was. Speaking of rookies, this was also our first look at Trae Young, and I’d say overall things went well. He finished with 11/8 which was nice, we got a taste of what his vision can do at this level, and while he didn’t shoot it all that well, just 5-16, I think this is more along the lines of what we’ll get on a nightly basis. He’s a much better passer than I think some want to admit, and his shot will eventually come around, he’s too good a shooter. I liked how he only had 2 TOs, so I would give him like a solid B for his performance last night.
Also, Vince hit a three which made my heart full.
For NO, sure AD and Jrue Holiday looked good combining for 29 points on 10-21 shooting, but everyone else….yeesh. As a team they finished with 36/20% splits and missed 11 FTAs. That’s going to do you in no matter who you play, even if it’s the lowly Hawks.
Really the only positive to take away for NO is that Julius Randle is not seriously hurt
I’m happy he’s OK, mostly because I am selfish and really want to see him do work next to Anthony Davis this season. They held it down in the first half of that game, with 27/14 between them both.
Sacramento Kings (1-0) 106 vs Phoenix Suns (0-1) 102
Now in years past, a SAC/PHX game would be something you avoided like the plague. Not anymore. No, now when these two teams match up it’s in my opinion must watch basketball. It may not be pretty basketball, but you have to watch it. I told myself I would learn my lesson when it came to the Kings, not to get sucked in by their young talent when it comes to win totals, but after one preseason game I feel like it’s happening all over again
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Fox looked great with his 12/3/5 on 5-10, then Marvin Bagley off the bench was decent, not great, but not terrible. The real kicker for me though was Harry Giles and his 14/6/3 in 23 minutes. Seeing as how he didn’t play at all last year, I feel like people forget just how good this kid was. The number 1 player coming out of high school, he has all the talent in the world, just never has been able to stay healthy. Now that he is, I’m buying all the stock.
Oh and a little 26 points from Yogi Ferrell out of nowhere certainly was a surprise. Between him and Frank Mason, the Kings definitely own the market on small scoring guards.
For PHX, since there was no Devin Booker in the lineup, it was all about Ayton. I’m going to go out on a limb here, but I’m thinking Ayton is going to be pretty damn good at this level
With Ariza in the lineup this bumped TJ Warren to the bench, and while he may not like that he was super effective, leading all second unit scorers with 16/4 on 6-7 shooting in 26 minutes. The Suns also got a nice showing from their other rookie Elie Okobo, who did a little bit of everything in his 8/5/3 and who knows could wind up winning the starting spot there since the Suns currently have no PG. It’s been written before, but no matter what their record is, once Booker is back the Suns immediately because a League Pass rotation favorite.
And that’s it! You’re not all caught up on everything that happened last night in the NBA. We’re back tonight with 5 more games including CLE/BOS, MIA/CHA, MEM/HOU, TOR/UTA, and DEN/LAL. Some good matchups in there, and as always if you can’t watch just make sure to check back here tomorrow morning and I’ll bring you up to speed.