Last Night In The NBA: Luka Dazzles, The Jazz Have Big Time Problems, The Lakers Send Another Warning And More

Good morning everybody happy Tuesday and welcome back to another edition of Last Night In The NBA where we bring you up to speed on everything that went down from the night before in the Association. We’re in the home stretch of preseason basketball which is fantastic news because it means the regular season is only about a week away, and we had another 6 games on the schedule last night. But seeing as how pretty much all of you were probably watching playoff baseball and MNF, allow me to fill you in on what happened.

Atlanta Hawks (0-3) 87 vs Miami Heat (3-0) 120

Man, for a team that has been getting high off their own hype all summer, the Hawks really have an issue when it comes to winning fake basketball games. Just can’t seem to do it. I would understand if their regulars were getting the night off or something, but for the most part everyone other than Allen Crabbe and Kevin Huerter played in this game. You only score 87 points on 41/215% splits? That’s gross. Sure Trae Young did his thing

and Vince Carter showed why he’s ageless with 13 off the bench in 25 minutes but honestly it’s the same old story with the Hawks and something I talked about yesterday in their preview. Their defense STINKS and it’s going to be their achilles heel if they can’t at least be league average. It also didn’t help that they got jack shit from their two lottery rookies in this game offensively, but this was close after the first quarter. To then never score above 20 points on one end and then not able to stop a nosebleed on the other, well that’s how you get blown out by 30+.

For MIA, they had their full squad for the most part and we’re seeing why this may end up a 5-6 seed when it’s all said and done. They can defend, they’re balanced, and they have a couple young studs poised for breakout years

I actually really like Meyes Leonard for this team and the opportunity he’s going to have in Whiteside’s minutes. He does a little bit of everything and showed flashes in POR, and I think he’s going to really flourish in this system. It’s also a good sign when you play this well and basically don’t need anything from Jimmy Butler

If this team also eventually trades for CP3? Well hey now.

Charlotte Hornets (1-3) 120 vs Memphis Grizzlies (2-1) 99

The Hornets won a game (sorta)!! This won’t exactly happen a lot during the year so Hornets fans should cherish every win they get even if it’s fake. This was by far Terry Rozier’s best performance as a member of this team

with him and Dwayne Bacon holding down most of the scoring

and surprisingly the Hornets got off to a good start, had a 10 point lead after one, and then did a great job not shitting their pants, especially in the fourth quarter where they really pulled away. It’s been a rough preseason for CHA thus far, so to end things with any sort of positivity has to feel good, especially when your $60M point guard finally plays well.

For MEM, see they’re sort of like CHA in that they may not win a whole lot, but different in a sense that they have young talent you actually want to watch. Despite the loss, their young guys still did some cool shit

Brandon Clarke balled out in Summer League and looks just as good in preseason, Morant showed off some of his playmaking abilities despite the loss, and while JJJ struggled we already know how good he is. But under 20 points in the first and fourth will bite you in the ass every time, as will 37/28% splits with 21 TOs. Classic sign of a young team, this certainly won’t be the only time a showing like this happens, but again they’re worth watching because of that high lottery talent.

Oklahoma City Thunder (2-1) 70 vs Dallas Mavericks (1-3) 107

OK so Steven Adams, Chris Paul, and Andre Roberson didn’t play for OKC and that should be noted. Having said that, holy christ was this a pathetic offensive showing from the rest of the Thunder players, most of them regular rotation guys. You score 70 points? In a game where you were trying? Woof. Two guys in double figures

absolutely nothing from any of the second unit players, this was about as bad as it gets for an NBA team on that end of the floor. They finished with 32/14% splits and 21 TOs and frankly this was never close. Only 38 points in the first half and 32 in the second, if I was Billy Donovan I would just burn the tape. Sure they were decent defensively, but I’ll remind you the key to winning in basketball is actually getting the ball through the hoop.

For DAL, you should probably get used to Luka and Porzingis making sweet music together because they’re both healthy, they both look great physically, and they are both poised for huge years seeing as their chemistry already looks great

To be honest they didn’t really shoot the ball as a team all that well either, but when you’re playing a team that can’t throw a pea in the ocean I suppose it doesn’t really matter. Hell Luka and Porzingis weren’t efficient, just 11-31 and they still won by 30. That feels weird, but it happened.

It’s also good to see JJ Barea back and looking like his old self after his achilles injury, he’s a guy that you don’t expect to be able to kill you but is actually a very solid backup PG.

Sacramento Kings (2-2) 128 vs Utah Jazz (1-3) 115

After looking pretty terrible in their two games against IND, the Baby Kings have rebounded nicely this preseason. To put up 128 even with some regular rotation players out was impressive, and it came from the usual suspects

Buddy Hield and Marvin Bagley were beasts and carried most of the load, with a little solid De’Aaron Fox 14/2/4 on 5-11 in 19 minutes mixed in. We know these dudes can play though, what impressed me was what they got from their bench. Three players in double figures, four with at least 8 points, and Bogdan Bogdanovic is ready to bank on himself in RFA and who knows a 27 year old shooter could find himself a nice payday this summer if he plays like he did in this game. The impressive part was only having 11 TOs as a team, at a time where everyone seems to be living in the 20s, especially young teams. It was also good to see SAC battle and not blow a lead like we’ve seen earlier in the playoffs, and it’s another thing to do it against a legit team like UTA. I’d say snagging 78 points in the first half is pretty damn impressive, but then not completely falling apart down the stretch is an encouraging sign moving forward.

For UTA, there’s really no excuse for a team that prides itself on defense, had everyone playing and playing legit minutes, to give up 128 at home. Offensively they were fine, they shot well enough and scored enough to win, but if they aren’t going to defend against this time of Western Conference competition, then what are they going to do against the good team. Could the Jazz be like the Hawks in that everyone is hyping them up and maybe they aren’t ready? People are talking about this team being a Finals contender, well not with defense like that.

Denver Nuggets (3-0) 107 vs Phoenix Suns (2-2) 102

Ok so it’s not great that with most of their regulars that the Nuggets had to work this hard to beat the Suns, but a win is a win and they got it with virtually nothing from Jokic in his 19 minutes. So how did they pull it out? Well new Nugget Jerami Grant looked great

their Murray/Harris backcourt combined for 34 points, and more importantly their wild card “rookie” MPJ looks like he’s not only healthy, but that he can really really play

To me, if he’s right and picks things up quickly and is able to stay healthy, he can absolutely impact things at the top of the conference. This team was already so deep, they add a unique talent like MPJ to the mix and their offense becomes even more dynamic. They took a risk when they drafted him, and everything we’ve seen from the preseason so far suggests that was a smart idea. Can’t wait to see MPJ during the year if he earns legit minutes,

For PHX, I mean credit to them for making this actually competitive basically the whole way. Down 15 at the half they clawed back and at least made DEN earn it which at this point is all you can ask. Sure maybe a little more than 8 points from Devin Booker, but at least Ayton was legit and Frank The Tank balled out on the bench

At this point I don’t even think Suns fans should care about wins and losses, they should just want to have a product worth watching where they are actually in games. Start there and then worry about wins later.

Golden State Warriors (1-2) 98 vs Los Angeles Lakers (2-2) 104

The Lakers beat the Warriors without LeBron and AD? Consider this too a warning, NBA. Despite shooting like shit and having a million TOs, they were actually pretty balanced and got some nice performances from guys who probably won’t see the floor much during the year

To be honest the Dwight/McGee frontcourt didn’t look half bad

and if AD is already an injury concern they’re role becomes pretty important moving forward. Granted the Warriors sat a bunch of guys, but still.

For GS, Curry led the way for the starters in his 21 minutes

but with Draymond and a bunch of other regulars getting the night off offense was hard to come by for the most part. GS shot just 36/25% and made only 9 3PM which for them is weird to see, but they did get a great performance from Damion Lee off the bench

Something tells me Steve Kerr is largely going to ignore what happened here, seeing as 5 rotation players got the night off. To only lose by 6 isn’t really that bad.

And that’s it! you are now all caught up with everything that went down last night in the NBA. We’re back tonight with another handful of games, and as always I’ll fill you in tomorrow if you can’t watch. Have a great Tuesday!