Week 7 had the conclusion of the NBA Group Cup play. Injuries continue to be a major factor for some teams throughout the league and to wrap it up we had Roze's 5 Things.
Conference Standings
Eastern Conference
- Cleveland Cavaliers 21-3
- Boston Celtics 19-5
- Orlando Magic 16-9
- New York Knicks 14-9
- Atlanta Hawks 13-11
- Miami Heat 11-10
- Milwaukee Bucks 11-11
- Brooklyn Nets 10-13
- Indiana Pacers 10-14
- Chicago Bulls 10-14
- Detroit Pistons 10-15
- Toronto Raptors 7-17
- Philadelphia 76ers 6-15
- Charlotte Hornets 6-17
- Washington Wizards 3-18
Western Conference
1. Oklahoma City Thunder 18-5
2. Dallas Mavericks 16-8
3. Memphis Grizzlies 16-8
4. Houston Rockets 15-8
5. Golden State Warriors 13-9
6. LA Clippers 14-10
7. Minnesota Timberwolves 12-10
8. Phoenix Suns 12-10
9. Denver Nuggets 11-10
10. Los Angeles Lakers 12-11
11. San Antonio Spurs 11-12
12. Sacramento Kings 11-13
13. Portland Trail Blazers 8-15
14. Utah Jazz 5-17
15. New Orleans Pelicans 5-19
Reaction
In the eastern Conference the Cavaliers extend their lead to 2 games after the Celtics dropped to the Grizzlies and Cleveland beat the Hornets yesterday. 41 points from Evan Mobley as well, WOW. The magic put same some space between them and the Knicks with New York losing yesterday to the Pistons, Cade Cunningham had a monster triple double in the win. The Hawks have also sneaked into the 5th seed with 6 straight wins. The Hornets have started the tank dropping their last 8 games. I'm still convinced the Pacers are not going to get it going this year. I think Tyrese Haliburton just hasn't been good and the overall offense of their team has dropped significantly with their defense not improving either a little scared for them as a whole. 76ers are still struggling and Joel Embiid hasn't played since November 20th.
In the West the Thunder are at the top with some space in between them and the Mavericks and Grizzlies. The Rockets fall after dropping 2 straight. The Warriors skid continues as they fall to the 5th seed and The Clippers are keeping pace with the 6th seed. The Play-in in the West would featured a fun collection of games with the Timberwolves, Nuggets, Suns, and Lakers. The Spurs seem to be falling off the pace after Wembanyama missed a couple games and it seems like for the Kings it's just not going to happen with DeRozan. Blazers, Jazz, and Pelicans rounding up the bottom.
News Recap
Tuesday December 3rd
- Hawks 6 game win streak
In the last 6 games the Atlanta Hawks have won all of them and it's because of their defense. They have a defensive rating of 105 which would be amongst one of the best in the league. They're outscoring opponents by 18 points in the paint and only giving up 42 points in that area as well. Dyson Daniels has been awesome, but getting back Deandre Hunter has been really good for Atlanta on both ends of the floor and Jalen Johnson is proving to be a cornerstone player for the franchise. He's averaging 19 points, 8 assists, and 7 rebounds in the last 6 game on 59/41 shooting splits. They're executing super well in the half court, which has slowed their pace down a little bit and Trae Young is averaging 13 assists throughout the win streak as well. The Hawks are fun to watch. Trae Young seemingly makes every pass perfectly, Jalen Johnson puts up 20-8-7 like it's nothing, Deandre Hunter, and Bogdan Bogdanovic are hitting every three, Risacher has started to get a feel for everything, and Dyson Daniels seems to get every key steal and clutch defensive stop when needed. Again, the Hawks are fun they're a mismatch for a lot of teams. They're beaten the Celtics and Cavaliers a combine 3 times already this season. Dangerous in the East.
2. Giannis attacking the paint
Giannis is leading the NBA is scoring currently and is doing with relentlessly attacking the basket. He's taking the fewest threes in his career and is averaging the most points for his career as well. The shift from taking less threes has been put all into attacking the basket over and over again. He's leading the league in dunks, field goals made from less than 5ft, field goals attempted form less than 5ft, He's also leading the league in field goals made. He's getting to the foul line at the highest rate in the NBA. He's shooting 72% from 5ft or less. 13 of his 20 shots a game are 5ft or less from the basket. He's also shooting 48% from 15-19ft. He's using the mid-range more of a weapon for himself this year as well. The free throw percentage is a little down, even by Giannis standards, but he's also drawing the most fouls a game as well so far this year. Even by Giannis standards his paint production has been unbelievable and a reason why the Bucks have been able to get back to .500 in the East .
3. The Jonathan Kuminga Player Development profile
Jonathan Kuminga is one of the more interesting player in the NBA and one the most polarizing players in the NBA given the gauge of his trade value around the league. He's been very up and down this year for the Warriors. He's 6'7 has been improving his jump shot and is super athletic. He's attacks the basket very well, when under controlled, and has shown the ability to be a good defender. He's shooting 67% at the basket, but below 40% in every other area on the court. He's shooting 33% on catch and shoot threes this year. He had a career-high 33 points against the Rockets and showed the ability to handle and facilitate the offense as well. I think he'll get judged mainly because he was the pick in front of Franz Wagner, but he has talent. It's just will the full potential show and what's the ceiling realistically if he shot the ball very well I think he could make an All-Star, but I don't think it's likely. His develop has been on of the more public ones recently given the spotlight on the Warriors and his public dislike for how Steve Kerr has used him at times. Overall, he's a very intriguing player though.
4. Dallas's resurgence
The Dallas Mavericks have found their footing and won 7 straight games and are 9-1 in their lest 10 games. The defense has come alive, the role players around Luka and Kyrie are playing really well, and offense overall is making a ton of shots. The Mavericks are showing their defensive ability from last season with a 108 defensive rating in the last 10 games. PJ Washington since his return has been awesome on both ends of the floor. The Mavs are using him really nice on the offensive end by posting him up on smaller guards and he's hitting a ton of corner threes as well. Naji Marshall, Quentin Grimes, and Spencer Dinwiddie have all been fantastic all shooting well over 40% from three in the last 10 games. Kyrie Irving will be an All-Star this season, he's having most efficient season of his career and has been awesome when Luka has missed time. Luka after a slow start to the year by his standards, has come back from the wrist injury in shape and he's starting to turn it on more. He's averaging 31-10.5-9.5 on 50/43 splits since returning from injury and has looked really good. If their is a team that can crash the party this year in the West it's the Mavericks.
5. Jayson Tatum's playmaking ability
The Celtics are a top three offense in the league and part of this is due to the absurd shooting that they have displayed as a team this year. Another reason is Jayson Tatum's decision making. He's averaging a career-high 57 assists and overall making some great decisions in the pick and roll. He's been efficient in all types of play types, Pick and roll, isolation, post-ups, it's been awesome to watch and the best part is he has a pulse on the offense as a whole. He knows when to ask for a pick and roll, or set-up a play if they seem a little stagnant. His off hand passing has been really fun to watch as well and is a reason why He's averaging 5.7 assists a game. His turnover ratio is a little above 2:1 and overall turnover percentage has been lower then in years past. His playmaking gives the Celtics offense an added layer of unpredictability and has allowed him to manipulate the defense even more. 27 years old and has been special so far this year.
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