Last Night In The NBA: Things Were Absolutely Insane On One Of The Wildest Nights Of The Season
Good morning everybody happy Saturday and welcome back to another edition of Last Night In The NBA where we bring you up to speed with everything that went down from the night before in the Association. I have to say, Friday night was one of the craziest night this league has had since the season first started and we have a ton to cover. If you're hungover and don't feel like moving much this morning well this is the perfect blog for you because we had a total of 11 games last night and I'm not going to make you wait any longer. If you missed the action here's what happened
Memphis Grizzlies (2-6) 86 vs Orlando Magic (3-6) 118
As we know, there are going to be games like this for the Grizzlies this season. Young teams are inconsistent, especially on the road where MEM is now 0-3, and overall this was a night where they just didn't have it. Ja Morant, a player who has been awesome ass season long had just 8 points on 3-13, they finished with just three players in double figures
and honestly while the Grizzlies made a legit effort to climb back into this game by the break, they scored 8 points in the fourth quarter. You read that right. 8 points. Losing a quarter 34-8 is pretty damn hard to do, but I guess it helps when you shoot 37/37% with 18 TOs. I've to help spinzone that for any Grizzlies fan out there but that is so bad I don't think I can, I'm sorry.
For ORL, a lot of MEM struggles had to do with this defense and I'll remind you it's one of the best in the entire NBA. They had 10 blocks as a team to go along with 10 steals and a lot of that came from Jonathan Isaac who if you haven't been paying attention to this season it's time to start. This man is turning into a legit monster
He was so raw when he got drafted I'm pretty sure this is what ORL envisioned Isaac would turn into. He's athletic as fuck, a defensive beast with unreal length and he's starting to put it together on the offensive end. You combine that with Aaron Gordon getting back to normal
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and Vucevic looking like an All Star
while also dominating the glass 57-36 and only turning it over 9 times, and that's how you find yourself on the right end of a massive blowout.
Detroit Pistons (4-6) 106 vs Indiana Pacers (5-4) 112
The good news for Pistons fans is Blake Griffin will be back in no time. The bad news is they are now 1-4 on the road and are below .500 on the season. That might be a little depressing so ignore that for a moment and instead focuz on the play of Luke Kennard and Andre Drummond, two guys off to a great start this year
a big fourth quarter was a last ditch effort to try and steal this game after they blew their early 8 point lead, and a large part of this loss has to do with the fact they scored just 37 points between the 2nd and 3rd quarter. IND is too good to have down quarters like that on the road, everybody knows that.
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For IND, still without Myles Turner, it didn't really matter because they got great balance with 7 players in double figures on 51% shooting.
Shoutout to their bench who combined for 52 points which is a great number, and they were efficient too which ultimately proved to be the difference
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The Pacers have done a great job surviving even with main guys missing real time, are 4-1 at home and are right in the thick of things in the East. Pretty impressive and sort of the same deal we saw last year once Oladipo went down.
Cleveland Cavaliers (3-5) 113 vs Washington Wizards (2-6) 100
Alright so maybe these two teams aren't the sexiest matchup, but they still played an entertaining game so what's the difference. This was close heading into the final quarter, and if I'm a Cavs fan I'm pretty happy with how my starting 5 looked in this one. That lineup actually isn't dogshit which is a pleasant surprise
This was actually a close game heading into the fourth quarter which then saw CLE put the clamps on defensively allowing only 16 points which has to be what Cavs fans want to see, and look they are a young rebuilding team so you take any road win you can get. Both Love and Thompson look damn good to start the year and it sure looks like CLE is going to hang onto both, so if the young kids continue to develop like this who knows maybe the Cavs won't be a team that opponents just walk over. They play hard and at this stage that's all you can ask for.
For WSH, a tough loss because it's not like they completely laid an egg. They had three dudes over 20 points
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unfortunately for them they didn't get much else. Isaiah had just 11 points on 5-9 and their bench basically gave them jack shit, and this was a very familiar case of the Wizards running out of gas in the fourth quarter. Tell me if you've ever heard that before.
Sacramento Kings (3-6) 121 vs Atlanta Hawks (3-5) 109
Ah a matchup of two teams that had all the hype in the world yet have started the season not coming close to living up to it. Fortunately for SAC this was a night where their offense actually clicked, finishing with 55/58% with great balance from both units
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The thing with SAC is we already knew they could score. The question was always if they could ever figure out how to be respectable on the defensive end, and for the most part they were by their standards. That's a step in the right direction and in a plot twist 2 of their 3 wins have come on the road. Who saw that coming?
For ATL, you're going to see a common theme in this blog of guys having ridiculous performances yet still losing. That's pretty much what happened with Trae Young
30/12/5 in 40 minutes is pretty good if you ask me, and if only the Hawks gave him some help outside of Jabari Parker
and Kevin Huerter
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I've said it before, but Jabari Parker has been really good for the Hawks this year. I figured he was pretty much cooked after the Bulls stint didn't work out, but he's become a legit option for ATL while they play out John Collins' suspension. If only Cam Reddish would snap out of his shooting slump, don't google his numbers they are gross, this team might really have something.
Golden State Warriors (2-7) 119 vs Minnesota Timberwolves (5-3) 125 F/OT
Sigh, the Warriors keep embarrassing themselves. Maybe that's a little harsh because on paper this GS team should lose to MIN on the road, but it's still weird to see the names of these two teams and then a score like that. The only thing you really need to know about the GS side is DLo came back and dropped 52/9/5 yet lost
that's brutal. No other starter really showed up which isn't a surprise since they are barely NBA players, and they shot just 41/28% splits with 19 TOs so maybe they were a bit lucky to even make it to OT when you think about it.
For MIN, it's a weird night not only when MIN actually pulls out a win in OT, but it comes with Andrew Wiggins dropping 40 and looked pretty damn good including a dagger three late
He didn't have to do it alone with KAT and Robert Covington chipping in for 37. But back to Wiggins. Did you know he's shooting 61% in clutch time situations? It's a huge reason why MIN is 3-0 in those games.
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Much like SAC, their issue is on the defensive end, and while they did give up a ton of points they locked down when it mattered most, allowing just 24 points in the fourth and 9 in the OT. That's a positive sign.
Toronto Raptors (6-2) 122 vs New Orleans Pelicans (1-7) 104
I mean this isn't exactly a shocking result, and I'm not sure what you're supposed to do with Siakam and OG combine for 65 points. To say Siakam has taken a leap this year would be a massive understatement. This dude has exploded in his new role with Kawhi gone
just a casual 44/10. No big deal. It was also a nice night for OG as well
and this was important because TOR got almost nothing from their starting backcourt, and really opened things up in the second quarter with a massive 45 point performance. NO never really recovered from that and when you're a good team like TOR you can't expect them to blow leads like this, even on the road.
For NO, look their record is a disaster, we all know it. Once Zion went down they were sort of doomed, but you know who continues to look awesome and make himself a fuck ton of money? Brandon Ingram
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the biggest change to his game has to be his 3PA, he's now a willing shooter from deep with 10 more last night and it changes everything for him offensively. Sure he was a -25 on the night but don't focus on that. Focus on the points instead.
Sprinkle in a little Jrue Holiday
and the Pelicans have legit pieces, they are clearly just having a problem putting it all together, especially defensively. I'm not sure when Zion gets back, but they desperately need him.
New York Knicks (2-7) 106 vs Dallas Mavericks (5-3) 102
So we can all agree that Porzingis won the break up between these two teams, but I'm happy that the Knicks pulled this one out. They got off to a great start and had great performances form their starting group
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and what a performance from Franky Smokes. He was EVERYWHERE defensively and it's about time they made this dude a starter. His defense is so legit you can live with his offensive limitations, and for a team that desperately needs stops he's the perfect guy. You would think for the Knicks to pull off a win like this on the road that RJ Barrett would have to carry them but he only went 1-9 so that didn't happen. I know this was a therapeutic win for Knicks fans and who knows how many they'll have so I'm happy for them.
For DAL, all you need to know is Luka/Porzingis. They are one of the most unstoppable duos in the league, and combining for 66 points pretty much backs that up
Year 2 Luka is such a goddamn monster it's ridiculous. His level last year was already historic, but what we're seeing in Year 2 is a different level. Talk about nailing a draft pick, Luka is going to own the NBA for the next decade.
Philadelphia 76ers (5-3) 97 vs Denver Nuggets (6-2) 100
Man, three losses in a row for PHI and it very well could have been 4 if not for the Furkan prayer in POR. This one was especially tough because they dominated 75% of this game and looked like they were cruising to a much needed win. Embiid was a beast until the 4th quarter and Tobias had a double double despite not being able to shoot for shit still
and it got to the point where this team had a 19 point lead in the fourth quarter. No chance they blow that right? Philly? The team with the most talent in the East I've been told? The best team in the East? No way they would score just 13 points in the fourth quarter, all their stars pooped their pants and they had one of their worst losses in years. No way that happened don't even joke about that it's not funny. Don't you know Ben Simmons is hurt? How can you expect them to win any games despite having everyone else healthy and playing, don't be crazy. Wait, they really did only score 13 points in 12 minutes to lose this game? Damn
What happened to the All NBA Defender and Kawhi 2.0 Thybulle that Sixers fans told me so much about. A DNP-CD is what happened which is unfortunate because PHI's perimeter defense was dogshit. Way to go Brett Brown!
For DEN, this was the largest fourth quarter comeback in franchise history. They looked dead and suddenly something switched and they had a fourth quarter for the ages
in a battle between the leagues best centers, Jokic completely dominated Embiid in that fourth quarter and ultimately hit the game winner to cap off the great comeback. That was not the story in the first three quarters, and it's a little crazy that someone in Jokic's shape would be at his strongest in the fourth quarter but Embiid couldn't stop him to save his life which is not great!
Milwaukee Bucks (6-3) 100 vs Utah Jazz (6-3) 103
This is where the night started to get a little crazy because both the Nuggets finish and this finish happened basically right after one another. UTA did everything they could to blow this game and nearly undid all the good that Conley/Mitchell did
but then there was Bojan Bogdanovic. A few nights prior he buried the Sixers and last night he did the exact same thing to the Bucks
including the game winner. The ending was nuts, a brutal TO by UTA with 2.3 seconds left followed by a brutal MIL TO with 1.3 left that led to that shot in the corner. The Jazz now remain 5-0 at home and right in the thick of things out west, and defensively are just as nasty as we thought.
For MIL, Giannis did his thing
and then Bledoe and Middleton filled their secondary scoring roles nicely
but their issue was getting absolutely NOTHING from their bench, just 14 points total and as a team the 35/27% splits didn't help. It's not easy to beat MIL when their trio is rolling like they were in this game, but only scoring 35 ponits in the first half is a tough hole to climb out of.
Brooklyn Nets (4-4) 119 vs Portland Trail Blazers (3-6) 115
You want a good PG battle, look no further than Kyrie Irving vs Damian Lillard. My word did Kyrie ball out and rise to the occasion when the pressure was at its highest
it was clutch basket after clutch basket for Kyrie late in the fourth quarter including the shot to essentially seal it with 17 seconds left and this is exactly what BKN hoped for when they brought him in. It took him 27 shots to get there but whatever they won. As awesome as Kyrie was, he should be thanking Spencer Dinwiddie who was really the difference in this game
For POR, I mean what do they do now? They are 0-3 at home, 3-6 on the year and you almost feel sorry for Dame. Why? Because he's awesome and dropped 60 points in a LOSS
nothing else matters with this roster outside of Dame last night. They shot like shit as a team, yet still had a chance to win simply because of Lillard, but their last 4 minutes of this game was brutal. BKN decided to blitz the shit out of Lillard and nobody stepped up. Where was McCollum? Where was the bench? Brutal loss and maybe we all overrated this team? Very weird time in POR right now.
Miami Heat (6-3) 80 vs Los Angeles Lakers (7-1) 95
It may not have been pretty, but 7 in a row is 7 in a row and when AD/LeBron carry you like they did in this game that's all that really matters
the fourth quarter of this game was horrific,to the tune of 17-14, but hey at least the Lakers are showing they can defense against a good team. That's important for sure moving forward.
For MIA, Jimmy Butler certainly wasn't scared
but he didn't exactly get much help. MIA shot just 35/17% and had just 34 points in the second half which isn't going to cut it on the road agains the hottest team in the NBA. The defense is still legit which is nice, but offensively this was just one of those nights where they couldn't buy a bucket. Nunn, Herro, Olynyk, Robinson all had rough outings and that's going to kill you everytime.
And that's it! Fuck I'm exhausted. Hopefully this helped your hangover, now go outside and enjoy yourself. Have a great Saturday!