Week 6 recap and Roze’s 5 Things

Eastern Conference Standings - Through November 30th

1. Cleveland Cavaliers 17-3
2. Boston Celtics 16-3
3. Orlando Magic 14-7
4. New York Knicks 11-8
5. Miami Heat 9-8
6. Milwaukee Bucks 10-9
7. Atlanta Hawks 10-11
8. Indiana Pacers 9-11
9. Brooklyn Nets 9-11
10. Detroit Pistons 9-13
11. Chicago Bulls 8-13
12. Charlotte Hornets 6-14
13. Toronto Raptors 5-15
14. Philadelphia 76ers 4-14
15. Washington Wizards 2-16

Western Conference Standings 

1. Oklahoma City Thunder 15-4 
2. Houston Rockets 14-6
3. Memphis Grizzlies 13-7
4. Golden State Warriors 12-7 
5. Dallas Mavericks 12-8
6. Denver Nuggets 10-7
7. Phoenix Suns 11-8
8. Los Angeles Lakers 11-8
9. Los Angeles Clippers 12-9
10. San Antonio Spurs 10-9
11. Minnesota Timberwolves 9-10
12. Sacramento Kings 9-11
13. Portland Trailblazers 8-12
14. Utah Jazz 4-15
15. New Orleans Pelicans 4-16

Standings Reaction

The Western Conference obviously will be talked about more because it is clearly the better conference. The Warriors have slipped from 1st to 4th after dropping 4 straight games and having some offensive struggles and 4th quarter defensive issues. The Suns get back Kevin Durant and have regained their footing with some wins. The Rockets and Grizzlies are rolling along moving into 2nd and 3rd in the Western Conference and the Oklahoma City Thunder lead the way. Timberwolves and Kings need to start finding their groove if they want to compete for a play-in spot this year. This shouldn't come as a surprise, but the Pelicans will be the first contending team to pull the plug on their season at 4-16. In the Eastern Conference, the Magic are on furious run going 11-1 in their last 12 games and the Bucks have gotten back over .500 with their light schedule, that did include a nice home win over the Rockets. The Celtics are closer to the Cavaliers after they dropped two straight to the Hawks. The Nets and Pistons are still holding strong in the play-in without their best players and the Pacers need to figure out the defensive problems they have, but will look to get back Andrew Nembhard and Aaron Nesmith soon. Wizards are once again rounding out the bottom with a tanking masterclass.

News Recap

Sunday November 24th 

Grant Williams suffered a torn ACL and will miss the rest of the season. He's been solid this year for the Hornets, playing a little out of position at the center spot with Richards and Williams missing time.

Wednesday November 27th 

Cam Thomas will miss 3-4 weeks with a left hamstring injury. He's been awesome this year for the Nets and has a chance at winning most improved and being an All-Star this year in the Eastern Conference.

Saturday November 30th 

Jaxson Hayes re-sprained his ankle and will miss 2-3 weeks. Lakers center depth is already pretty low with no Koloko. Lakers have been looking for a center on the trade market as well. 

LaMelo Ball will be evaluated in 2-3 weeks with a left calf strain. He currently leads the league in total points and 3s made. 

Brandon Ingram changes agents and will move to Klutch Sports and Rich Paul. I don't think this is a coincidence as he is a free agent in 2025. 

Roze's 5 Things 

1. The Grizzlies recent offensive charge

The Grizzlies after a scorching 5 game stretch are now one of the top offensives in the league. They're 13-7 and did a nice job of keeping pace in the West before Ja Morant came back to the team. Since Morant has returned they've been amazing in transition and in the half court on offense. They average 121 points a game and have an offensive rating of 116, both are top 5 in the NBA. They have not been shooting well from 3, although Jaren Jackson Jr. has picked up his shooting numbers a little bit this season, but Bane, Morant, and Aldama as a whole on the season haven't been great. So how are they scoring so much? Well are starters they attack the paint relentlessly in multiple ways. They are top 5 in the NBA in drives per game, free throws attempted, offensive rebounds, and assists. Morant has been great in finding guys and making plays for his teammates, as he is averaging a career high 9.3 assists a game. they average almost 60 drives a game according to second spectrum. They also shoot 70% at the basket and attempt the most shots in the NBA at the basket. Teams have a lot of trouble dealing with their size and their relentless attack of the basket. It also doesn't stop with the starters. Scotty Pippen Jr, Jay huff, Jaylen Wells, and j\Jake LaRavia have been fantastic off the bench and when needed in the starting lineup. The Grizzlies offense is firing on all cylinders and are hopeful to keep this up for the rest of the season. 

2. The Nets are FUN!

If you have not been paying attention to what's happening in Brooklyn, you need to. The Nets have a record of 9-11 on the season, yes that record sucks, but boy are they are a fun team to watch. They completed a very impressive 3 game winning steak before losing to the Orlando Magic on Friday. They beat the Kings, Suns, and Warriors all on the road during that three game winning streak and they've been doing it behind the 3 point line. Jordi Fernandez has his team playing some awesome basketball. The nets are taking 40 threes a game as a team and making 39.4% of them, both one of the best in the league. There's no telling what happens at the trade deadline with Dorian Finney-Smith, Ben Simmons, Cam Thomas, Denis Schroeder, and Cam Johnson, but it's been fun so far. They're 2nd in the league in assist pre game and move the ball great on offense. Schroeder, Johnson, and Finney-Smith are all shooting the ball very well so far, as all three are above 40% on volume. Sure Thomas takes some wild shots every now and then, when he's healthy, but they play hard and move the ball. They're at a major talent deficit and all Fernandez is trying to accomplish is getting his identity down. They're pretty bad on defense, but that's expected with a weird collection of players on the roster. I absolutely love what's happening in Brooklyn and wanted to give them a shout out the way they've competed so far this season. 

3. The All-Star Game

As recently discussed the All-Star game is having another format put in place. BOO! I'm not sure why they are doing this, but now it is 3 teams of 8 players and the winner of the rising stars challenge, who will compete in a pick-up style tournament. The semi-finals games will be played to 40 points and the championship will be played to 25 points. Personally, I absolutely hate it. For starters, I'm not sure why we are rewarding the rising stars winner, unless one of them is an All-Star, it feels like they should be separate from the actual All-Stars. I would assume a majority of those guys playing in the rising star want to be an All-Star one day and I know them playing will hopefully increase the energy extorted from the actual All-Stars, but it feels like there should be a earned right into the All-Star game. 2nd, I'm not exactly sure why we are having them play a game to 40 and 25 points. I know players want to rest and I don't blame them, but if they're going for a pickup style to the game then having a game played to 40 and then 25 feels weird, if anything should be the other way around. Finally, and probably the main problem I have with it, is why in the world are we changing it again. The Elam ending they had was entertaining and 4 years ago you had Kyle Lowry taking charges, Giannis and Lebron guarding each other. The NBA had real competition amongst its best player and had them playing for a good cause with the charity at the end of the quarters. I really think they should do that with East vs West and if they want to entice the players to go a little bit harder, they should have the winner get home-court for the NBA finals, like baseball does. The All-Star is mostly for a break after a long 50-55 game stretch for players, so I don't have a problem with what they did last year with the score being 211-190, or whatever is was, but I like the traditional East vs West with the best 12 players from league playing an NBA game against each other, not whatever they put in place for this year. 

4. The Henderson, Sharpe, and Simons back court in Portland

I think it is too early to start judging 2nd year and guys and some of the younger players on the roster, but I'm a little concerned with what's happening in Portland. They're  8-12, but that's mostly due to the others guys like Camara, Ayton, Clingnan, and Banton playing well. Let's start with Scoot Henderson and move to the others. 

Scoot Henderson

Henderson was the 3rd overall pick last year after their was much debate between him and Brandon Miller about who should go 2nd. Ultimately, Charlotte chose Miller and the Blazers picked Henderson. Henderson as not been good, at any standard so far throughout his career. Sure, he's shown flashes of the talent and athleticism he has, but still looks pretty similar to last year. To start him not playing in summer league was pretty crazy to me after he shot 40% from the field and lead all rookies in turnovers, but that's a different thing. This year she's shooting 42/32 splits from the field and three, a marginal improvement, but nothing to flaunt.  The bad is his shooting around the basket. He's shooting 52% at the basket and 46% on 2s this season, wow. Not something you want from your rim attacking point guard. On top of that, he's still averaging 3.2 turnovers a game and the Portland Trailblazers have a defensive rating of 118 with him on the floor, highest on the team with more than 100 minutes played. The only thing that gives me hope for Henderson is he's shooting 46% from 3 on catch and shoot shots. He really struggled last year with this. but he's been much better with that number this year. He's still a little out of control on drives, which is highlights by his 1 for 15 shooting in the 5-9 foot area. The catch and shoot number should still give Blazers fans hope though, but it's rough for him since he entered the league. 

Anfernee Simons

Simons is not a young guy, he's in his 7th NBA season and 25 years old, but he was a key piece that the Blazers did not want to trade and in the Damian Lillard era and was someone, who was suppose to take CJ McCollum's place next to Lillard. Last year was his first year being the number one option, next to Jeremi Grant and he did fairly well. However, this year for him has been dreadful and specifically the shooting numbers. He's gone from 43.5% to 39% from the field and 38.5% from 3 to 32%. He's in a deep shooting slump and part of this could be the Blazers want Scoot and Sharpe to handle the ball more, but all of their assist numbers are low and they're aren't doing a great job of setting each other up for some baskets. Simons shooting percentage from 2 has decreased each of the last 3 years as well. He's also shooting 31% from 3 on catch and shoot shots, which is really bad for him. He's a really good shot creator, who's seen an increase in being guarded by the other teams best defender, but this feels like something else. It's possible the Blazers trade him, but I've really liked his game since he's come into the league. Hopefully he can turn it around. 

Shaedon Sharpe

Sharpe is the guy I think has the most promise amongst the three. He's 6'6 and has a good looking jumper and has shown the ability to be sloid with the ball in his hands. The shooting up the bounce is questionable with him making 31.4% of them and shooting 16% on 3.5 pull-up threes a game. However, he shoots 42% on 3 catch and shoot 3s a game and Has shown an improved handle to get to the basket. He's shooting 65% at the rim this year and 54% on 2s which I like a lot. The 6'6 size helps, but he's really improved off the bounce after playing a lot off the ball his first two seasons. I'd like to see him get back to cutting more on offense, he's was great at timing up cuts on drives and getting some lobs and dunks. The shooting splits of 42/28 aren't great obviously, but a little more cutting and less pull-up 3s and I like the direction he's headed. I don't mind him working on these shots, because I think he has the highest ceiling of the three. 

 5. The Zach LaVine shooting numbers

The thing is the Zach LaVine shooting numbers this season, spoiler alert they are fantastic. LaVine is shooting 51/43 splits, both the highest of his career, and his best numbers since the 2020-2021 season. He's been awesome this season for the Bulls and someone who is really fun to watch when he gets going. He's shooting 44% on catch and shoot 3s and 42.7%!! on pull-up 3s as well. Both are at 3.5 attempts a game. He's shooting 64% at the rim, 21/36 from 10-19 feet, 50% from 20-24 feet and 42% from 25-29 feet. These splits are absolutely insane and part of the reason why he's off the best shooting start of his career. LaVine has some trade value around the league and there's an expectation he will shopped by Chicago at the deadline. He's gotten a bad wrap his entire career for putting up numbers and being a lazy defender, which at times was warranted, but no one expected him to be as good as he was when Minnesota traded him to Chicago for Jimmy Butler. I'm a huge fan, he's also the reason why the dunk contest became super popular as well. Many did not believe he would be the same player when he tore his ACL in 2017. His hot shooting start this year has been awesome to see.