There was one game that Los Angeles
Lakers’ perennial All-Star Anthony Davis new he had to be at his best. The
first game against the team that drafted him No. 1 overall in 2012 and who he
demanded to be traded from last season. He was booed throughout the game but
would have the last laugh as he had a game for the history books.
Those boos did very little to distract
Davis, a six-time All-Star as he went for a season-high 41 points on 15 for 30
from the field and 10 for 12 from the free throw line with nine rebounds and
three steals in leading the Lakers (17-2) to a 114-110 win at the New Orleans
Pelicans (6-13) for their ninth straight victory on Wednesday night, tied for
their longest winning streak in last 10 seasons.
Davis, who spent seven seasons with the
Pelicans capped off his stellar performance by intercepting All-Star guard Jrue
Holiday’s inbounds pass in the final five seconds remaining and connected on a
pair of free throws that sealed the win.
“Man, it feels good,” Davis said to ESPN’s
Jorge Sedano after the victory. “I’m glad we got the win.”
“They (Pelicans) was on it the whole game,
you know. They made shot after shot, big shots. They’re a great team. A young
who plays hard, plays together, and likes to run. And they was shooting lights
out and they gave us a run for our money and we just a resilient team. We
showed our resiliency tonight and was able to bounce back and get the win.”
The Lakers needed every bit of what Davis
gave them at the offensive end on Wednesday night because the Pelicans as he
mentioned were at the top of their from the opening tip as they hit a franchise
record nine three-pointers in the first quarter as they led after the opening
period 38-25 and trailed 64-54 at intermission.
The Lakers used a 9-0 scoring run to start
the fourth period led by four-time Kia MVP LeBron James who had 15 of his 29
points in the fourth quarter to go along with 11 assists and five rebounds on
10 for 18 shooting and reserve forward Kyle Kuzma chipped in with 16 points,
hitting two key triples in the final period as the Lakers outscored the
Pelicans 35-21 in the fourth quarter.
If there is anyone who understands the
situation that Davis went through on this night in returning to a team that
once loved you and at that moment despises you for leaving is LeBron James who
went through far worse in his first game against the Cleveland Cavaliers in
Dec. 2, 2010, where he was not only booed but simply got hatred like nothing
seen before. James, who sat out the fourth quarter scored 38 points in leading
the Heat to a blowout win on 15 for 25 shooting.
“It’s the only reason I’m here. The only
reason I came to New Orleans” James, who had his eight 25-point, 10-assist game
so far this season, second only to the nine by Luka Doncic of the Dallas Mavericks
said after the win.
“Anytime you can go back to a place where
you made a mark and you started your career. You’ve played significant minutes
and gave a lot to the community and gave a lot to the franchise you want to
come back and play well, and you want to win because at the end of the day
that’s what its all about. So, we knew that as his brothers and we want to try
and fulfill that goal that he had set.”
In achieving that goal, Davis, according
to the Elias Sports Bureau set a new NBA record for most points in first game
versus his former team, amongst active players with those 41 points. The
previous mark was 39 held by current Brooklyn Net in 2014 Kia MVP and two-time
Finals MVP Kevin Durant, who scored that in his first game against the Oklahoma
City Thunder on Nov. 3, 2016. Durant had been tied with former All-Star guard
and then New Jersey Net Stephon Marbury and current general manager of the
Boston Celtics Danny then of the Sacramento Kings each scored 39 points in
their first game against their former teams in the Minnesota Timberwolves and
Celtics in 2000 and 1989 respectively.
Davis achieved this performance as
mentioned as he was constantly booed from the moment he took the court from
warmups by the fans who packed the Smoothie King Center to every time he
touched the ball during the game.
He was very loose during warmups as he
shared a happy moment with his former teammate in Holiday, who had 29 points
and 12 assists on 12 for 23 shooting, including 4 for 6 from three-point range
in the Pelicans third consecutive loss.
That said, according to Marc J. Spears,
Senior Writer for ESPN’s “The Undefeated” Davis was what he called “nervous,
nervous” to where he was wrapping out loud on the team bus heading to the
arena. He also had a lot of extra security, according to Spears.
That looseness along with Lakers head
coach Frank Vogel telling him to just go out there and have fun, and how his
teammates played in the comeback Davis said was a big help to him.
“They said in the timeout when we cut it
to like four that we not losing this game,” Davis said to Sedano. “You know,
all night they was making sure that we didn’t lose this game for return here.
It was a hell of a night. You know I love these guys that I played with last
year. They like to battle but overall this was a fun night.”
“Coming in, knowing what was going to
happen with the boos, I just tried to play through it, calm my nerves and just
play basketball. I know they passionate about their team and, you know, when
everything went down last year it was tough for both sides. You know, oth sides
moved on and both sides are happy.”
The reason for both sides being happy is
when the trade between the Lakers and Pelicans was done over the summer, the
Lakers acquired in Davis that second superstar to pair alongside James in their
pursuit of that 17th championship in franchise history. The Pelicans
got three young players in Brandon Ingram, who had 23 points and 10 rebounds in
the loss, along with Lonzo Ball, who was out because of injury, Josh Hart, and
draft picks as they try to build for the future.
That moment that Davis and Holiday shared
before the game also carried after the game where the two exchanged their
jerseys. Davis also payed a visit to the Pelicans locker room after the game,
where at first, he was nervous about walking into the locker room to give a
signed jersey to Holiday and to a security guard’s nephew. Before Davis walked
into the locker room, according to Spears, Pelicans’ No. 1 overall pick in
June’s draft Zion Williamson, who is still out recovering from knee surgery
came and embraced Davis.
Pelicans head coach Alvin Gentry during
intermission shared an embrace with Davis and told him after the game to come
to the locker room. Davis ask if all was going to be okay?
All was okay as Davis came into the
Pelicans locker room and took some time to be around some people that were a
big deal to him during his time in New Orleans.
Wednesday night’s contest between the Los
Angeles Lakers and New Orleans Pelicans was a big deal with the return of
Anthony Davis to the place he called home for seven seasons.
The Pelicans faithful at the Smoothie King
Center booed Davis throughout the game for wanting to be dealt to the Lakers
and join forces with LeBron James in pursuit of a championship.
He responded with as mentioned 41 points
and led the Lakers to their ninth straight win and improved to an NBA best 4-0
this season after trailing by 15 points or more, being the only team to be
undefeated when facing that kind of deficit this season.
Davis also got a chance after the win to
say hello to as mentioned some people that meant a lot to him like Holiday, who
was his teammate for six years and who he still keeps in touch with.
“I love him. That’s my guy,” Davis said to
Sedano about Holiday. “You know, six years together…He’s a guy who competes. He
competed tonight. He made it tough for us. Anytime I get a chance to play
against him now, it’s nothing but fun. He was guarding me, you know, I had to
guard him.”
“It’s a brotherhood. You know, it’s bigger
than basketball. And I know some people didn’t like it but me and him have a
bond that, you know, that’s not just the game of basketball. It’s outside of
it. We have a real friendship and it showed tonight.”
Information,
statistics, and quotations are courtesy of 11/27/19 9:30 p.m. “Los Angeles
Lakers versus New Orleans Pelicans,” on ESPN, presented by State Farm with Mark
Jones, Jeff Van Gundy, Mark Jackson, and Jorge Sedano; 11/27/19 12 a.m. and 6
a.m. editions of ESPN’s “Sportscenter,” from Los Angeles, CA with Neil Everett
and Stan Verrett; https://www.nba.com/games/20191127/LALNOP#/boxscore/recap; https://www.espn.com/nba/team/schedule/_/name/lal; and https://www.espn.com/nba/standings.
It has not been a solid start for the
Western Conference Finalist from a season ago in the Portland Trail Blazers.
They have dealt with injuries to key personnel. Their new additions have so far
not panned out like they had hoped and the addition of future Hall of Famer did
very little to quiet their critics. They did show some signs of improvement
after two close losses to close out last week and this week seemed to have
turned a corner winning two games against inferior opponents.
The Trail Blazers (7-12) snapped a
four-game losing streak with a resounding 117-94 win at the Chicago Bulls
(6-13) on Monday night led by their newest addition in future Hall of Famer
Carmelo Anthony, who signed a non-guaranteed contract with the team last week
led the way with 25 points, with 12 points coming in the opening period and
eight rebounds, on 10 for 20 shooting, including 4 for 7 from three-point range
in his fourth game.
CJ McCollum was second in scoring with 21
points, while starting small forward Rodney Hood had 16 points with six
rebounds. Starting center Hassan Whiteside contributed a double-double with 13
points and 12 rebounds with two block shots. All-Star lead guard Damian Lillard
had 13 points with 12 assists and reserve big man Skal Labissiere had 12 points
and eight boards off the bench to help the Trail Blazers conclude their
six-game road trip at 2-4.
“I’m starting to get my feel and flow
back,” Anthony, who was 15 for 44 shooting (34.1 percent) in his first three
games with the team said to NBC Sports Northwest’s Brook Olzendam after the
win. “I told you before, I’m just taking it one day at a time, man.”
“The last game in Cleveland I was flat.
For me it was like three games in four nights come off of a year of vacation.
But tonight, felt like I had my bop. I had my bounce, had my pop. We got it
going. Tonight, was a game we had to win. It was a great game to end the road
trip.”
Head Coach Terry Stotts’ squad continued
their good vibes they got from their time in the “Windy City” as in Anthony’s
home debut with his new team tallied 19 points on an efficient 9 for 11
shooting in 25 minutes as the Trail Blazers registered a 136-119 win versus the
struggling Oklahoma City Thunder (6-11) on Wednesday night.
Lillard, who had missed a couple on the
road trip due to back spasms led the way with 27 points going 5 for 9 from
three-point range with five rebounds and five assists. McCollum chipped in with
22 points on 4 for 7 from three-point range. Whiteside had another
double-double of 21 points and 16 rebounds, while second-year reserve guard
Anfernee Simons scored 14 off the bench.
“I think guys are just starting to feel a
little big more relaxed and at ease,” Anthony said after the win. “When I first
got here last week, and met those guys in New Orleans, I think it was the hype
of the excitement of me coming to the team, guys not really knowing how this
was going to play out, how this was going to fit in, how I was going to fit
in.”
As from the fact that the Trail Blazers
registered two wins against two opponents that they better than, at least on
paper it was a sign that they had a focus and determination to get out of the
hole they dug themselves in to start this season.
For Anthony, these two games displayed the
kind of work the 35-year-old 10-time All-Star has put in to get back into “The
Association” after an unplanned year hiatus after he was basically casted off
by the Houston Rockets after they could not, or seemed unwilling to fit him
into their pecking order behind All-Stars James Harden, the 2018 Kia MVP and
nine-time All-Star Chris Paul, whose now with the Thunder.
Anthony had already had a difficult
divorce from the Thunder two seasons back after acquiring him from the New York
Knicks in the summer of 2017. He was dealt to the Atlanta Hawks in a massive
three-team deal in late July 2018, who waived him five days later.
When Anthony got into the doghouse with
the Rockets, he was basically banished from the team for more over two months
until he was shipped to the Bulls in a financial sweeping. The Bulls, who wooed
Anthony in the summer of 2014 when he was an unrestricted free agent, gave him
the pink slip after just a week.
Even after all that, Anthony kept himself
in shape by working with his personal trainer and sometimes playing pickup ball
with current and former NBA players in the summer and getting up shots at Sky
Lifetime Athletic in New York, NY.
In his first game with the Trail Blazers,
where he started at power forward in their 115-104 loss at the New Orleans
Pelicans (6-12) 10 days ago, Anthony played like a he was off for more than a
year scoring 10 points on 4 for 14 shooting in 24 minutes, though he was 2 for
3 from three-point range.
He looked much better two nights later
scoring 18 points with seven rebounds and four assists on 6 for 15 shooting in
the Trail Blazer’s 137-129 loss at the Milwaukee Bucks on TNT in 29 minutes of
work.
Anthony though seemed to take a step back
in the Trail Blazers’ 110-104 loss at the Cleveland Cavaliers (5-13) last
Saturday night where he had just 11 points on 5 for 15 shooting.
It was not just the fact that he
consistently made shots on his way to the stellar night he had at the Bulls on
Monday, it was the fact that Anthony took the shots that he wanted to, like
from the mid-range, which has become a frown upon shot in “The Association”
today. Also, that he as mentioned had a bounce to his step to where he even had
a monster dunk that came off of a right baseline drive that he threw it down
with two hands.
Also, on this night, Anthony (25,634
career points) passed Alex English (25,613) for No. 18 on the NBA’s all-time
scoring list.
Midway point of the fourth quarter when
Anthony exited the game for good when the outcome was decided the Bulls fans in
the United Center chanted, “We want ‘Melo!’ We want ‘Melo!’
“The support is unreal,” Anthony said to
Olzendam about receiving that support from the fans in the arena. “I think
everyone kind of appreciates me just staying humble. Remaining who I am.
Remaining true to myself.”
“The work I put in is leading me to this
moment and it’s one night, you know? I take it with a grain of salt but we move
on and we go home. It’s a long way back home.”
Along with the support he has gotten from
his peers and loyal fans, two people who have been in Anthony’s corner
throughout this long road back to playing in the league are his wife in actress
and entrepreneur Alani Nicole “La La” Anthony, who was in town working on the
Showtime series “The Chi” was at the game and on her phone facetiming with
their son Kiyan. At one point in the game Mrs. Anthony showed her phone to her
husband while he was on the sidelines during a timeout so he could say hello.
“I mean sometimes we don’t cherish these
moments, right? We take these moments for granted,” Anthony said, “but my wife
being here, my son is on facetime-I mean there here. The support is here with
my family…Just to have here, and my son on the facetime like that goes a long
way. Anytime we can get to share that, we will do it.”
It is not just Anthony that has found joy
again with this chance to finish his career on his own terms, the Trail Blazers
have found joy again, which is what winning will do for a team.
This is a team that has dealt with the
loss of starting big man Zach Collins, who injured his shoulder in the team’s
121-119 win at the Dallas Mavericks (11-6) on Oct. 27, that required surgery
that will have the former Gonzaga Bulldog on the shelf for four months. They
are also still without the services of starting center Jusuf Nurkic, who is
still recovering from a major leg injury sustained last March and there is no
timetable for his return.
The Trail Blazers were in need of just
another scorer to go alongside Lillard and McCollum, but they needed a spark
and Anthony has given that to them these last two games.
What has also been a major help for the
Trail Blazers is Anthony has come into this opportunity just simply wanting to
be part of a team again. He wanted to as previously mentioned have the chance
for a final chapter of his Hall of Fame career. To fit in with a team to where
he is not the star attraction. That he can play a role, whether he starts or
comes off the bench. Whether be played 35 minutes or 10 minutes.
It took Anthony doing a lot of
self-reflection and simply putting in the work as mentioned earlier and just
being ready for when that phone call came, which it did from the Trail Blazers.
“It was an embarrassment. It was an echo
hit. It was a pride hit,” Anthony said to TNT’s Allie LaForce before the Trail
Blazers contest at the Bucks last week about the dark feelings he had about not
being in the NBA. “You know, I felt like I didn’t want to be around nobody. It
was definitely an ego hit for me, and I think that was the hardest part to just
swallow my ego and let that go. And it went to do I really want to do this
anymore?”
Anthony also added that he asked that
question when he sat down with his family and with himself asking if putting
himself out there was worth it?
It clearly was to Anthony because he put
the work in not just in the gym staying in shape but getting his mental and
spiritual makeup right and getting the right people around him that wanted to
see him back on the NBA hardwood.
One person who has been in his corner over
the years, especially during his climb back into “The Association” is Anthony’s
good friend and former teammate Paul.
“‘Melo’s’ tough. Especially on that
mid-post where he’s built a career,” Paul, who had 16 points for the Thunder in
the loss on Wednesday night said. “He’s one of the best to ever play right
there so I love defending him. That’s my brother right there. We went to dinner
last night. I always want to see him do well, except against us.”
From the Trail Blazers side of things,
they have done something for Anthony that he clearly did not have in his last
two stops with the Rockets and Thunder, transparency of what his role was going
to be.
“I’ve approached the game differently. I
talked to Coach Stotts and I said, ‘Look, the only thing I would like for you
to do for me is just be transparent with me,” Anthony said to LaForce. “If you
want me to do XYZ, I don’t have no problem doing it. Just let me know up front
and we both can be transparent, and we can make this thing work.”
Coach Stotts was transparent with him
letting Anthony know what his role was going to be, what is expected of him and
that they were ready for him to join up like “yesterday.”
It took some time, a very long time over a
year. But Carmelo Anthony is back on the NBA hardwood with the Portland Trail
Blazers and they are counting on him big time to help them get back on track.
After a rough beginning where they lost
their first three games with him in the lineup, they have won their last two
and seem to be finding their rhythm.
Whether that will equate to them first
getting back above the .500 mark and into the playoff picture in the stacked
Western Conference remains to be seen.
The Trail Blazers at least have given
themselves some hope of this season and for Anthony, he has gotten that chance
to finish his career however this opportunity with his new team last on his own
terms.
“I’m gonna be patient. I know what I can
still do from a basketball standpoint. It’s just I have to humble myself. I
have to get rid of my ego. I have to get rid of my pride,” Anthony said.
He also added after the Trail Blazers’ win
versus the Thunder on Thursday, “I wanted to come in, just play basketball and
find my joy again, and the excitement of playing basketball, what it should be.
I’ve found that early on so far. I’ve found that happiness, that joy, in the
way guys were able to open this up to me with open arms and bring me in here as
one of their own.”
Information, statistics, and quotations
are courtesy of 11/22/19 1 a.m. edition of “Inside the NBA,” presented by Kia
on TNT with Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith, Charles Barkley, and Shaquille O’Neal;
11/22/19 www.nba.com
story “Carmelo Anthony Hoping To Craft Own Ending To Career,” by Steve
Aschburner; 11/25/19 8 p.m. “Portland Trail Blazers versus Chicago Bulls” on
NBC Sports Northwest with Kevin Calabro, Lamar Hurd, and Brooke Olzendam;
11/26/19 6 a.m. edition NBATV’s “Gametime,” presented by Kia with Matt Winer,
Dave Joerger, and Kevin McHale; 11/28/19 2:30 a.m. edition NBATV’s “Gametime,”
with Matt Winer and Dennis Scott; https://www.nba.com/games/20191125/PORCHI#/boxscore;
https://www.nba.com/games/20191127/OKCPOR#/boxscore; https://www.espn.com/nba/recap?gameid=401160907;
https://www.espn.com/nb/standings; https://www.espn.com/nba/team/schedule/_/name/por;
and https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carmelo_Anthony#Personal_life.
After a stellar rookie season in which he
won Kia Rookie of the Year for the 2018-19 NBA season, the question was for the
new sensation of the league in Dallas Mavericks’ swingman Luka Doncic is how
will his game improve in his sophomore season? By what he displayed this week,
it is only getting better, and better and better.
In the Mavericks (9-5) 117-110 win versus
their interstate rivals in the five-time champion San Antonio Spurs (5-10) on
Monday night, Doncic registered his sixth career triple-double with a
career-high of 42 points, 12 assists and 11 rebounds on 14 for 27 shooting,
including 5 for 13 from three-point range and 9 for 13 from the charity stripe.
Right from the start of the game, Doncic
was on scoring a career-best 17 in the opening period in route to his
career-high scoring performance, but he was also had his fingerprints on the
outcome of the game in the final minutes.
Doncic said to FOX Sports Southwest’s Jeff
“Skin” Wade after the win that recently he had a dream that he scored 16 points
in the first period and said, “So, I scored 17. So, dreams do come true. But
no, an amazing win. Just amazing.”
The 20-year-old Slovenian hit a
three-pointer with 26.5 seconds left that put the game out of reach at 115-110.
He also outfought three Spurs in Rudy Gay and All-Stars LaMarcus Aldridge and
DeMar DeRozan for a loose ball in the closing seconds that he got to Seth Curry
for the final points of the night and gave the boys from “Big-D” just their
third win in their last 17 chances against the Spurs the past four seasons.
This was also the first time the Mavericks
scored at least 110 points against the Spurs since registering a 112-103 win at
their rival’s building on Jan. 8, 2010. A span of nearly 38 games in
succession.
To put into context how big that
three-point shot that Doncic made over Spurs guard Bryn Forbes that put the
home team ahead by five in the closing moments of the fourth period, in the
first three quarters the Mavericks were 16 for 34 from three-point range, but
went just 1 for 7 from long distance in the fourth period, while committing
five turnovers.
The Doncic express did not let up as two
nights later he was at it again as he authored another triple-double of 35
points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds on 10 for 11 shooting, including 6 for 7
from three-point range and 7 for 8 from the charity stripe as the Mavericks
blew out the depleted five-time defending Western Conference champion Golden
State Warriors (3-13) 142-94 on ESPN.
After joining four-time Kia MVP and three-time
Finals MVP in LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers as the only players in NBA
history to have a 40-point triple-double before the age of 21 on Monday night,
Doncic, who did it at 20 years and 263 days old set a new record against the
Warriors for registering a triple-double in the least amount of minutes on the
hardwood at 25:30. James had his at 20 years and 100 days young and his
30-point triple-double in under 30 minutes was done in 27:46 in a game last
season, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. Houston Rockets perennial
All-Star and 2018 Kia MVP James Harden also had a 30-point triple-double in
under 30 minutes at 29:34 seconds as well last season. The reigning Kia MVP in
three-time All-Star Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks (12-3) became
the latest to join this exclusive club earlier this season when he registered
30 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists in his team’s season-opening 117-111 win
at the Rockets (11-4) on Oct. 24 on TNT.
“Oh, he was awful. He didn’t impress me at
all,” Warriors head coach and eight-time NBA champion as a player and coach
Steve Kerr jokingly said after the loss about Doncic. “He was fantastic. Tough
to lose by 48 points but, you know, a break here or there and it only would
have been 42 points. Nobody caught the sarcasm? I was trying to be funny.”
As he did on Monday night, Doncic put his
stamp on the right from the jump with 33 points, six assists and five boards in
the opening half, falling one point shy of tying the franchise record for
points in a half (34) set by the recently retired future Hall of Famer Dirk
Nowitzki in the Mavericks 96-85 win versus the Utah Jazz on Nov. 3, 2009.
In the opening period, Doncic set a new
career-high for points in a quarter with 22, with five assists and five
rebounds saying after the win, “I see (the stats), but I don’t know what to
say. It’s great to ready about. I just enjoy the basketball.”
One person who is enjoying the kind of
basketball Doncic is playing right now is his head coach Rick Carlisle, who
said after the win versus the Spurs on Monday night “It’s not surprising to
me,”
“You know, this guy can do anything he
wants to on a basketball court. And, you know, he’s having one of those magical
runs right now.”
“It’s a phenomenal thing to be part of.
And, you know, his teammates we’re all just, you know along for the ride here.”
Doncic’s teammates are more than just
along for the ride. They are a huge reason he registered the 14th
and 15th triple-doubles of his young career these last two games.
As incredible as Doncic was in the victory
versus the Spurs on Monday night, the Mavericks do not send the Spurs to their
sixth straight defeat without the career-high night of 22 points on 8 for 10
shooting buy fourth-year forward Dorian Finney-Smith out of the University of
Florida.
While Doncic’s aforementioned
three-pointer in the final seconds were that sealed the victory, Finney-Smith’s
off-balance 20-foot jumper at the expiration of the 24-second shot clock after
picking up a loose ball lost on a shot attempt by Kristaps Porzingis, who had
18 points and 10 rebounds on the evening put the Mavericks ahead 112-107.
“I mean, it’s all special. You know, it’s
a rival, you know? We always want to win every game, but I will say Dorian
Finney-Smith. That’s it,” Doncic, who became the first Maverick to author a
40-point triple-double said to Wade about his teammate’s performance.
What made the Mavericks win versus the
Warriors even more impressive beyond Doncic’s triple-double is they had six
guys score in double-figures on Wednesday night as opposed to getting just
three including from Doncic’s previously mentioned 35.
Tim Hardaway, Jr., whose father in former
Warriors’ All-Star lead guard Tim Hardaway, Sr. was in attendance at the
American Airlines Center had 20 points, going 4 for 4 from three-point range.
Reserve guard Jalen Brunson had 15 points, five assists and five rebounds off
the bench, while Porzingis had his second straight double-double of 14 points
and 10 rebounds with two block shots. Veteran guard Courtney Lee had 12 points,
going a perfect 4 for 4 from three-point range while fellow reserve center in
Boban Marjanovic had 10 points and six rebounds.
That offensive balance is how the
Mavericks shot 56.7 percent on the evening, outscoring the Warriors 44-16 in
the opening period, with Doncic as mentioned contributing half of the scoring
with 22, marking the seven straight game he has scored at least 10 points in
the first quarter. They made a franchise-tying record 22 threes in 38 tries,
shooting 57.9 percent from distance on the night. They had 33 assists on their
51 made field goals, committing just 11 total turnovers, outrebounding the
Warriors 50-34, and recording seven block shots.
It is very rare for a player to have the
kind of performances that Doncic has put up in the last two games is special,
and it has gone on the last 10 games.
To bring into context, Doncic joined
James, the Houston Rockets’ 2017 Kia MVP Russell Westbrook, and Hall of Famers
great Michael Jordan, and Oscar Robertson as the only players in NBA history to
average a 30-point triple-double in a 10-game stretch. Westbrook and Robertson
are the only ones to do it twice.
Of the seven triple-doubles Doncic has registered
this season, five of them he has scored 30 or more. He is the youngest player
in NBA history with consecutive 35-point triple-double performances and is the
only player in “The Association” averaging at least 29 points, 10 boards and
nine assists.
In the latest segment of ESPN’s “NBA: The
Jump” “Something, Nothing or Everything,” on Thursday, ESPN.com’s Zach Lowe
said what Doncic did on Wednesday night “everything.”
He added, “This is ridiculous what this
guy’s doing. Luka Doncic looks not a star. Not an All-Star. This version of
Luka Doncic looks like a generational superstar, and that frankly is unexpected
at this stage of in his career…. This is not just an All-Star. This looks like
a generational superstar.”
Hall of Famer and former Rocket Tracy
McGrady agreed saying that Doncic is becoming his “favorite” player to watch.
“I actually like tuning in watching this
kid because he does everything and it’s crazy that the pace he plays with, he’s
able to be so effective. He’s not the quickest. He’s not the fastest. He’s not
the most athletic, but he’s just such a cerebral player. And with Steph (Curry)
being out. I know Kyrie (Irving) is out right now, Westbrook is still playing.
I’m gonna say this-He’s the best point guard in the game right now, with Steph
being out. He’s the best point guard.”
Last season, Luke Doncic of the Dallas
Mavericks showed in winning Kia Rookie of the Year that they are in very good
hands with the retirement of Dirk Nowitzki. What he showed in this past week
with back-to-back triple-doubles scoring 42 and 35 points respectably, they
have a generational player who not only can lead them to championships if he
remains healthy and productive but he can be the future face of the National
Basketball Association.
What we have to remember is that he is
doing this at just 20 years of age and it is just as important that the team be
constructed well around him by owner Mark Cuban and head coach Rick Carlisle
moving forward.
“In the big picture this is an awful lot
to ask of a guy 20 years old,” Coach Carlisle said on Monday night. “It’s hard
to fathom how much that kind of production takes out of you in an NBA game.
It’s a lot emotionally. It’s a lot of weight to carry.”
“As we move along, finding balance just to
help, you know, Luka with the load is important and I’m looking at that all the
time.”
Information, statistics, and quotations
are courtesy of 11/18/19 8:30 p.m. “San Antonio Spurs versus Dallas Mavericks,”
on FOX Sports Southwest with Mark Followill, Derek Harper, and Jeff “Skin”
Wade; 11/18/19 11 p.m. edition of “Mavs Live,” presented by Frontier
Communications with Dana Larsen, and Cedric Ceballos; 11/19/19 5 a.m. edition
NBATV’s “Gametime,” presented by Kia with Matt Winer, Wes Wilcox, and Kevin
McHale; 11/21/19 3 a.m. edition NBATV’s “Gametime,” with Matt Winer and Dennis
Scott; 11/21/19 2:30 a.m. FOX Sports 1 news crawl; 11/21/19 3 p.m. “NBA: The
Jump” on ESPN, presented by Michelin Wiper Blades with Rachel Nichols, Zach
Lowe, and Tracy McGrady; 11/22/19 1 a.m. edition of “Inside the NBA” on TNT,
presented by Kia with Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith, Charles Barkley, and
Shaquille O’Neal; https://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/DAL/2010_games.html;
https://www.nba.com/games/20191120/GSWDAL#/recap/boxscore; https://www.espn.com/nba/recap?gameid=401160836;
https://www.espn.com/nba/player/gamelog/_/id/3032977/giannis-antetokounmpo;
https://www.espn.com/nba/player/stats/_/id/3945274/luka-doncic;
and https://www.espn.com/nba/standings.
After a stellar rookie season in which he
won Kia Rookie of the Year for the 2018-19 NBA season, the question was for the
new sensation of the league in Dallas Mavericks’ swingman Luka Doncic is how
will his game improve in his sophomore season? By what he displayed this week,
it is only getting better, and better and better.
In the Mavericks (9-5) 117-110 win versus
their interstate rivals in the five-time champion San Antonio Spurs (5-10) on
Monday night, Doncic registered his sixth career triple-double with a
career-high of 42 points, 12 assists and 11 rebounds on 14 for 27 shooting,
including 5 for 13 from three-point range and 9 for 13 from the charity stripe.
Right from the start of the game, Doncic
was on scoring a career-best 17 in the opening period in route to his
career-high scoring performance, but he was also had his fingerprints on the
outcome of the game in the final minutes.
Doncic said to FOX Sports Southwest’s Jeff
“Skin” Wade after the win that recently he had a dream that he scored 16 points
in the first period and said, “So, I scored 17. So, dreams do come true. But
no, an amazing win. Just amazing.”
The 20-year-old Slovenian hit a
three-pointer with 26.5 seconds left that put the game out of reach at 115-110.
He also outfought three Spurs in Rudy Gay and All-Stars LaMarcus Aldridge and
DeMar DeRozan for a loose ball in the closing seconds that he got to Seth Curry
for the final points of the night and gave the boys from “Big-D” just their
third win in their last 17 chances against the Spurs the past four seasons.
This was also the first time the Mavericks
scored at least 110 points against the Spurs since registering a 112-103 win at
their rival’s building on Jan. 8, 2010. A span of nearly 38 games in
succession.
To put into context how big that
three-point shot that Doncic made over Spurs guard Bryn Forbes that put the
home team ahead by five in the closing moments of the fourth period, in the
first three quarters the Mavericks were 16 for 34 from three-point range, but
went just 1 for 7 from long distance in the fourth period, while committing
five turnovers.
The Doncic express did not let up as two
nights later he was at it again as he authored another triple-double of 35
points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds on 10 for 11 shooting, including 6 for 7
from three-point range and 7 for 8 from the charity stripe as the Mavericks
blew out the depleted five-time defending Western Conference champion Golden
State Warriors (3-13) 142-94 on ESPN.
After joining four-time Kia MVP and three-time
Finals MVP in LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers as the only players in NBA
history to have a 40-point triple-double before the age of 21 on Monday night,
Doncic, who did it at 20 years and 263 days old set a new record against the
Warriors for registering a triple-double in the least amount of minutes on the
hardwood at 25:30. James had his at 20 years and 100 days young and his
30-point triple-double in under 30 minutes was done in 27:46 in a game last
season, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. Houston Rockets perennial
All-Star and 2018 Kia MVP James Harden also had a 30-point triple-double in
under 30 minutes at 29:34 seconds as well last season. The reigning Kia MVP in
three-time All-Star Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks (12-3) became
the latest to join this exclusive club earlier this season when he registered
30 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists in his team’s season-opening 117-111 win
at the Rockets (11-4) on Oct. 24 on TNT.
“Oh, he was awful. He didn’t impress me at
all,” Warriors head coach and eight-time NBA champion as a player and coach
Steve Kerr jokingly said after the loss about Doncic. “He was fantastic. Tough
to lose by 48 points but, you know, a break here or there and it only would
have been 42 points. Nobody caught the sarcasm? I was trying to be funny.”
As he did on Monday night, Doncic put his
stamp on the right from the jump with 33 points, six assists and five boards in
the opening half, falling one point shy of tying the franchise record for
points in a half (34) set by the recently retired future Hall of Famer Dirk
Nowitzki in the Mavericks 96-85 win versus the Utah Jazz on Nov. 3, 2009.
In the opening period, Doncic set a new
career-high for points in a quarter with 22, with five assists and five
rebounds saying after the win, “I see (the stats), but I don’t know what to
say. It’s great to ready about. I just enjoy the basketball.”
One person who is enjoying the kind of
basketball Doncic is playing right now is his head coach Rick Carlisle, who
said after the win versus the Spurs on Monday night “It’s not surprising to
me,”
“You know, this guy can do anything he
wants to on a basketball court. And, you know, he’s having one of those magical
runs right now.”
“It’s a phenomenal thing to be part of.
And, you know, his teammates we’re all just, you know along for the ride here.”
Doncic’s teammates are more than just
along for the ride. They are a huge reason he registered the 14th
and 15th triple-doubles of his young career these last two games.
As incredible as Doncic was in the victory
versus the Spurs on Monday night, the Mavericks do not send the Spurs to their
sixth straight defeat without the career-high night of 22 points on 8 for 10
shooting buy fourth-year forward Dorian Finney-Smith out of the University of
Florida.
While Doncic’s aforementioned
three-pointer in the final seconds were that sealed the victory, Finney-Smith’s
off-balance 20-foot jumper at the expiration of the 24-second shot clock after
picking up a loose ball lost on a shot attempt by Kristaps Porzingis, who had
18 points and 10 rebounds on the evening put the Mavericks ahead 112-107.
“I mean, it’s all special. You know, it’s
a rival, you know? We always want to win every game, but I will say Dorian
Finney-Smith. That’s it,” Doncic, who became the first Maverick to author a
40-point triple-double said to Wade about his teammate’s performance.
What made the Mavericks win versus the
Warriors even more impressive beyond Doncic’s triple-double is they had six
guys score in double-figures on Wednesday night as opposed to getting just
three including from Doncic’s previously mentioned 35.
Tim Hardaway, Jr., whose father in former
Warriors’ All-Star lead guard Tim Hardaway, Sr. was in attendance at the
American Airlines Center had 20 points, going 4 for 4 from three-point range.
Reserve guard Jalen Brunson had 15 points, five assists and five rebounds off
the bench, while Porzingis had his second straight double-double of 14 points
and 10 rebounds with two block shots. Veteran guard Courtney Lee had 12 points,
going a perfect 4 for 4 from three-point range while fellow reserve center in
Boban Marjanovic had 10 points and six rebounds.
That offensive balance is how the
Mavericks shot 56.7 percent on the evening, outscoring the Warriors 44-16 in
the opening period, with Doncic as mentioned contributing half of the scoring
with 22, marking the seven straight game he has scored at least 10 points in
the first quarter. They made a franchise-tying record 22 threes in 38 tries,
shooting 57.9 percent from distance on the night. They had 33 assists on their
51 made field goals, committing just 11 total turnovers, outrebounding the
Warriors 50-34, and recording seven block shots.
It is very rare for a player to have the
kind of performances that Doncic has put up in the last two games is special,
and it has gone on the last 10 games.
To bring into context, Doncic joined
James, the Houston Rockets’ 2017 Kia MVP Russell Westbrook, and Hall of Famers
great Michael Jordan, and Oscar Robertson as the only players in NBA history to
average a 30-point triple-double in a 10-game stretch. Westbrook and Robertson
are the only ones to do it twice.
Of the seven triple-doubles Doncic has registered
this season, five of them he has scored 30 or more. He is the youngest player
in NBA history with consecutive 35-point triple-double performances and is the
only player in “The Association” averaging at least 29 points, 10 boards and
nine assists.
In the latest segment of ESPN’s “NBA: The
Jump” “Something, Nothing or Everything,” on Thursday, ESPN.com’s Zach Lowe
said what Doncic did on Wednesday night “everything.”
He added, “This is ridiculous what this
guy’s doing. Luka Doncic looks not a star. Not an All-Star. This version of
Luka Doncic looks like a generational superstar, and that frankly is unexpected
at this stage of in his career…. This is not just an All-Star. This looks like
a generational superstar.”
Hall of Famer and former Rocket Tracy
McGrady agreed saying that Doncic is becoming his “favorite” player to watch.
“I actually like tuning in watching this
kid because he does everything and it’s crazy that the pace he plays with, he’s
able to be so effective. He’s not the quickest. He’s not the fastest. He’s not
the most athletic, but he’s just such a cerebral player. And with Steph (Curry)
being out. I know Kyrie (Irving) is out right now, Westbrook is still playing.
I’m gonna say this-He’s the best point guard in the game right now, with Steph
being out. He’s the best point guard.”
Last season, Luke Doncic of the Dallas
Mavericks showed in winning Kia Rookie of the Year that they are in very good
hands with the retirement of Dirk Nowitzki. What he showed in this past week
with back-to-back triple-doubles scoring 42 and 35 points respectably, they
have a generational player who not only can lead them to championships if he
remains healthy and productive but he can be the future face of the National
Basketball Association.
What we have to remember is that he is
doing this at just 20 years of age and it is just as important that the team be
constructed well around him by owner Mark Cuban and head coach Rick Carlisle
moving forward.
“In the big picture this is an awful lot
to ask of a guy 20 years old,” Coach Carlisle said on Monday night. “It’s hard
to fathom how much that kind of production takes out of you in an NBA game.
It’s a lot emotionally. It’s a lot of weight to carry.”
“As we move along, finding balance just to
help, you know, Luka with the load is important and I’m looking at that all the
time.”
Information, statistics, and quotations
are courtesy of 11/18/19 8:30 p.m. “San Antonio Spurs versus Dallas Mavericks,”
on FOX Sports Southwest with Mark Followill, Derek Harper, and Jeff “Skin”
Wade; 11/18/19 11 p.m. edition of “Mavs Live,” presented by Frontier
Communications with Dana Larsen, and Cedric Ceballos; 11/19/19 5 a.m. edition
NBATV’s “Gametime,” presented by Kia with Matt Winer, Wes Wilcox, and Kevin
McHale; 11/21/19 3 a.m. edition NBATV’s “Gametime,” with Matt Winer and Dennis
Scott; 11/21/19 2:30 a.m. FOX Sports 1 news crawl; 11/21/19 3 p.m. “NBA: The
Jump” on ESPN, presented by Michelin Wiper Blades with Rachel Nichols, Zach
Lowe, and Tracy McGrady; 11/22/19 1 a.m. edition of “Inside the NBA” on TNT,
presented by Kia with Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith, Charles Barkley, and
Shaquille O’Neal; https://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/DAL/2010_games.html;
https://www.nba.com/games/20191120/GSWDAL#/recap/boxscore; https://www.espn.com/nba/recap?gameid=401160836;
https://www.espn.com/nba/player/gamelog/_/id/3032977/giannis-antetokounmpo;
https://www.espn.com/nba/player/stats/_/id/3945274/luka-doncic;
and https://www.espn.com/nba/standings.
Two years ago, the Western Conference
runner-up from last season tried to acquire a perennial All-Star via trade and
in free agency last summer. In a moment of necessity, the two sides got
together via a phone call and came to the conclusion that they needed each
other.
Out of basketball for more than a year,
future Hall of Fame forward Carmelo Anthony, arguably one of the best scorers
of this generation needed a team to believe in him again and he found one in
the struggling Portland Trail Blazers (5-9), who had lost six of their previous
seven games before a come from behind 121-116 win at the five-time NBA champion
San Antonio Spurs (5-9), where they overcame a 15-point deficit in the fourth
period by outscoring the Spurs 31-20 in the final period in the first game of a
six-game road trip.
The 35-year-old 10-time All-Star, whose
averaged 24.0 points, 6.5 rebounds and 4.8 assists in his career, had not
played since Nov. 8, 2018 being essentially dismissed by the Houston Rockets
after 10 games a season ago in Nov. 2018 was given the opportunity that he had
been hoping for from Trail Blazers’ President of Basketball Operations Neil
Olshey-all be it on a non-guaranteed contract to a team that is fighting both
injuries and inconsistent play in the early part of this season.
According to ESPN’s NBA Front Office
Insider Bobby Marks, the three-time Olympic gold medalist will be paid $14,490
each day he is on the Trail Blazers roster, with that one-year non-guaranteed
deal being fully guaranteed if he is still on the roster on Jan. 7, 2020.
This was great news to Many of Anthony’s
NBA peers and friends, who have expressed their feelings in prior months about
him still being good enough to play in “The Association.”
Future Hall of Famer and recently retired
Miami Heat three-time NBA champion Dwyane Wade said on his Twitter account
@DwyaneWade, “It’s about damn time!!”
Los Angeles Lakers forward, four-time Kia
MVP and three-time Finals MVP LeBron James said @KingJames, RIGHT!!!! (hand
clap emojis).
Spurs’ reserve forward Rudy Gay said
@RudyGay, “Welcome back Melo.”
Rising star player for the Utah Jazz
Donovan Mitchell said @spidamitchell, “Bout time!”
Former teammate of James with the
Cleveland Cavaliers just two years ago and now member of the Washington Wizards
in two-time All-Star guard Isaiah Thomas said @isaiahthomas, “Hell yeah.”
“I love it,” NBA champion with the Boston
Celtics and current ESPN NBA analyst Kendrick Perkins said on Friday’s addition
of “NBA: The Jump” on Anthony joining the Trail Blazers.
“This is two situations where Portland
needs ‘Melo’ and ‘Melo’ needs Portland. And I’m happy for ‘Melo.” I’m happy he
has his opportunity, and I think he’s gonna come in and help them.”
“Now, ‘Melo’ went from being a role player
on somebody’s team to he possibly could be the second option.”
Anthony completed his physical on
Saturday, according to a league source, before his one-year, non-guaranteed
contract was finalized and could be one the court as soon as Tuesday night when
the Trail Blazers visit the New Orleans Pelicans (4-9) at the earliest, but not
at the surging Rockets (11-3), who took down the Trail Blazers 132-108 on
Monday night, extending their winning streak to eight games.
“I just like, you know, the fact that
Carmelo Anthony-whose been a great player in this league found a home,” Kenny
Smith of TNT’s Inside the NBA said on Thursday. “Now, we’re really gonna see is
this the end for Carmelo or not? I think in Houston last year it was too short
to tell what was going on.”
While there might be a lack in confidence
in what Anthony might have left in the tank or the kind of impact he can have,
the Trail Blazers understood that Anthony was the best option available. The
Trail Blazers needed to add someone who would respect the best players on the
team in four-time All-Star Damian Lillard and his backcourt mate CJ McCollum
and would bring a much-needed boost of positivity to their locker room.
Lillard, according to Chris Haynes of
Yahoo Sports was notified about the signing of Anthony on Wednesday night and
reportedly was “supportive” of an addition that seemed like a dead end, which
he said on the “Joe Budden Podcast” back in September.
“I tried two years ago, I tried to get
‘Melo’ to come to Portland, and he went to OKC [Oklahoma City Thunder],”
Lillard said. “Then after that, I tried to get him to come to Portland again,
and he went to Houston. So, at this point, the team or me, I’m like, ‘He ain’t
coming here.’ He deserves to be in the league, but like he ain’t coming here.”
He added about the addition of Anthony to
ESPN’s host of “NBA: The Jump” Rachel Nichols by saying on Friday, “I believe
he can help us. Obviously, I’d like to see our early season struggles turn
around, and hopefully we can be part of a great bounce back for ‘Melo’ as
well.”
That is something they would not find in
the NBA’s G-League; with a veteran journeyman looking for their own opportunity
or via the trade market until Dec. 15 when close to 40 percent of “The Association’s”
players who signed new contracts this summer, which includes several Trail
Blazers like Mario Hezonja, Rodney Hood-who was re-signed, Pau Gasol, and
Anthony Tolliver.
The Trail Blazers pulled the trigger on
signing Anthony thanks to McCollum telling Olshey and head coach Terry Stotts
throughout this past offseason that Anthony’s was in great shape through
observance of his workouts in New York and that he could have a serious impact
on the team.
McCollum tried to entice Anthony to join
the Trail Blazers after they expressed interest in him the summer of 2017 with
a photoshopped Instagram post of the future Hall of Famer in a Trail Blazers
jersey on his account @3JMcCollum.
Also, Olshey had stayed in touch with Leon
Rose, Anthony’s agent of CAA Sports and in the days leading up began to talk
more seriously about the possibility of Rose’s client signing with the Trail
Blazers. Those reasons kept on piling up from starting power forward Zach
Collins being is out until March after having surgery on his left shoulder; starting center Jusuf Nurkic is still
rehabbing a fractured leg sustained in late March, and there is no timetable
set for his return; and Gasol, who is still out because of a foot injury with
also no timetable for a return to the hardwood.
The team has been unable to maintain
double-digit leads in games so far this season as opposing squads have sent
double, sometimes tripe teams and even using Box-in-One schemes against Lillard
and McCollum making their teammates be the ones to make plays and shots to beat
them.
The defending NBA champion Toronto Raptors
(9-4) implored that strategy and held Lillard and while he did have 10 assists,
he was held to just nine points on 2 for 12 shooting, which ended a streak of
230 consecutive games in which he scored in double figures.
“They do need a third scorer and they do
need to score in different ways,” Smith said. “They all iso, but they iso at
the three-point line-McCollum and Damian Lillard. Now, they’ll get those in
between possible baskets to get those 12 to 13 that he can possibly get.”
Those reasons allowed discussions between
Olshey and head coach Terry Stotts about Anthony joining the team to continue
and ultimately okaying the decision.
The non-guaranteed deal will allow the
relationship between Anthony and the Trail Blazers a chance to evolve and if
Anthony is on the team after early January his full-season minimum salary will
be guaranteed.
This is a gamble that has very little risk
and could be a very big reward for both the Trail Blazers and for Anthony. The
only thing at stake for both sides is time.
The Trail Blazers need a big-time
offensive threat who can space the court with their shooting. That can get to
the foul line late in games and who can take some offensive pressure off of
their top offensive guns in Lillard, and McCollum.
Anthony is a long way from the 10-time
All-Star who can get buckets at the drop of a hat, but no one expects him to be
that anymore—which also has to include him.
“He’s not gonna come in and turn their
season around,” Smith said. “He’s there to make things a little bit easier for
McCollum and for Lillard.”
He still believed that he was a Top 10
player upon being dealt to the Oklahoma City Thunder from two summers back,
which played a part in him resisting coming off the bench. That resulted in
just a one-year stay with the Thunder as he was first traded to the Atlanta
Hawks and then waived. He eventually landed with the Rockets as an unrestricted
free agent, who wanted him to acquire him the prior summer but could not
workout a deal with his former team the New York Knicks.
Anthony’s stay with the Rockets was a
little different and even shorter. The scars from his time in the “Big Apple”
when current Rockets head coach Mike D’Antoni was there, which did not allow
any wiggle room after a slow start, and Anthony’s time in Houston lasted on 10
games as he was told to leave the team and was eventually dealt to the Chicago
Bulls on Jan. 21 and then released.
The former No. 3 overall pick in the 2003
NBA Draft is no victim because he contributed to the circumstance he is in now
because he was not willing to adapt to no longer being the best player on a
team.
No one wanted to sign him after the 2019
trade deadline, even after he accepted coming off the bench in eight of those
10 games with the Rockets after starting all 1,054 games he played his first 15
seasons; nor the buyout market or during this summer of free agency, even after
he sat down for an interview with Stephen A. Smith of ESPN’s “First Take” this
summer.
Even before signing with the Trail
Blazers, again on a non-guaranteed one-year deal, Olshey and Stotts took turns
conversing with Anthony on Thursday and heard what they needed to.
Olshey, who has known Anthony since his
youth as a camper at the ABCD All-American camp in Northern New Jersey always
knew he was a gym rat, which has been seen in clips on social media of him
working out vigorously. That did not change, which was an important factor in
the Trail Blazers taking a chance on him because they need him to get into game
shape very quickly.
It was also reported that before Anthony
signed his deal, Olshey needed to hear from him that he was eager to play and
impact winning, and not to simply return into the NBA lifestyle or to take a
farewell victory lap.
To put into perspective the kind of uphill
battle Anthony is facing as he begins this opportunity with the Trail Blazers,
in the 10 games he was with the Rockets a season ago, their ranked 25th
in defensive efficiency (112.2 points) with him on the court and No. 3 (102.3
points) with him off the floor.
The counterpunch to that is in the last
two seasons, Anthony has averaged 15.9 points and 5.8 rebounds, making on
averaged 2.2 threes per game at a 35 percent clip.
That scoring is something the Trail
Blazers could use greatly as well as someone with just some veteran savvy at
the power forward spot. They have tried Collins, Hezonja, Tolliver and even
rookie First-Round draft choice Nassir Little at that spot and it just has not
worked.
“I just don’t think he’s able to be good
enough offensively to overcome his defensive shortcomings,” ESPN’s Brian
Windhorst said on Friday about Anthony’s joining the Trail Blazers. “I’m hoping
that he just helps them enough, but my heart says he wants to work but my head
says its not gonna.”
“In this day in age, once there’s a weak
link on the court, you hunt that man out and punish him. And maybe not in the
second quarter, but when it matters.”
Sources close to the situation suggested
that the message from Olshey to Anthony went like this, “Anthony needed a home
where he could have a definitive role for a winning organization, needed the
best players to respect and embrace him. And the Blazers needed someone with
stature to walk in the door and shake up the locker room.”
Well Carmelo Anthony, a NCAA champion;
aforementioned, 10-time All-Star; six-time All-NBA selection and 2013 NBA
scoring champion has a home for now with the Portland Trail Blazers and a definitive
role as the No. 3 scorer next to Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum. A locker room
that will embrace him when he walks in.
It is now on him to get into game shape as
quickly as possible. Be a major impact on a team that needs it in a major way
and not be a distraction.
Anthony got his chance after a long wait
to get back into the NBA, which he has earned and deserves. What he does with this
opportunity we shall see.
“Bottom line, this experiment seems worth
a try, and personally I expect ‘Melo’ to be a gracious team player for as long
as it last,” Nichols said on Friday, “and yeah I can hear some of you right now
chuckling out there as I say that. But I promise you, this is a man who loves
the game of basketball. Who has spent more than a year in a purgatory he never
expected, and whose going to appreciate the chance to end his career if not
exactly on his own terms-at least getting to end it as opposed to just watching
it waft away.”
Information,
statistics, and quotations are courtesy of 11/15/19 www.nba.com
stories, “Reports: Carmelo Anthony To Sign with Blazers” and “NBA Players React
To Carmelo Anthony Reportedly Signing with Blazers;” 11/15/19 3 p.m. “NBA: The
Jump” on ESPN, presented by Michelin Wiper Blades with Rachel Nichols, Brian
Windhorst, and Kendrick Perkins 11/15/19 1 a.m. edition “Inside the NBA,” presented
by Kia on TNT with Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith, Charles Barkley, and Shaquille O’Neal;
11/16/19 www.espn.com story, “Right Now, the
Trail Blazers and Carmelo Anthony Need Each Other,” by Adrian Wojnarowski; https://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore?gameid=401160802;
https://www.espn.com/nba/stnadings;
and https://en.m.wikipedia.com/wiki/Carmelo_Anthony.
Over the course of an NBA season, every
team will have some adversity to take on, whether that is a losing streak or
injuries to key personnel that will shelve them for a period of time. That is
what the defending NBA champion Toronto Raptors; their Atlantic Division rivals
the Boston Celtics; last season’s Eastern Conference runner’s up in the
Milwaukee Bucks and the Sacramento Kings are dealing with at the present
moment.
In their 122-104 victory at the New
Orleans Pelicans (2-8) on Friday night, the defending NBA champion Raptors
(7-3) lost both their starting lead guard in All-Star Kyle Lowry and big man
Serge Ibaka to injuries, that will keep them out indefinitely.
Lowry, whose averaging 21.8 points and 6.5
assists to start this season on 47.8 percent from the field and 42.6 percent
from three-point range will be on the shelf because of a fracture of the distal
phalanx in his left thumb sustained in the first quarter of the team’s win at
the Pelicans. The Raptors said on Saturday that he will be re-evaluated in two
weeks.
The Philadelphia native after hurting his
thumb went to the bench but returned to action minutes later and made two
threes in the second period before exiting midway through the quarter and went
to the locker room.
Ibaka, who is averaging 14.0 points and
6.5 rebounds this season on 52.4 percent shooting sprained his right ankle in
the same game and there is no timetable for his return to the Raptors lineup.
The Celtics have gotten off to a
surprisingly stellar start to this season at 8-1, which includes eight
consecutive victories after dropping their season opener at the Philadelphia
76ers (107-93) on Oct. 23. A big reason for that has been the return to
All-Star form of swingman Gordon Hayward, who missed all but one game two years
ago because of a serious ankle injury.
Unfortunately, the former Butler University
Bulldog will be on the shelf for roughly six weeks because of a broken left
hand, that was sustained after the 29-year-old collided with All-Star forward
LaMarcus Aldridge in the second quarter of the Celtics’ 135-115 win at the
five-time NBA champion San Antonio Spurs (5-5) on Saturday night. He left the
game and did not return.
“I feel bad for him. He was just getting
back to being himself,” forward Jayson Tatum said. “It’s a bummer.”
“He was frustrated. He was down,” Celtics
head coach Brad Stevens said after the game about Hayward, who he also coached
at Butler. “But this isn’t like last time.
That last time as mentioned Hayward missed
all but five minutes of the 2017-18 season after seriously injuring his ankle
in the opening period of the season opener at the eventual five-time defending
East champion Cleveland Cavaliers.
While he managed to return to the floor a
season ago, to play in 72 games, a number of them off the bench, his numbers of
11.5 points and 4.5 rebounds were far short of his averages he had with the
Utah Jazz.
He had gotten very close to playing at the
level the Celtics hoped he would with averages of 18.9 points, a career-high of
7.1 boards and 4.1 assists, on 55.5 percent from the field and 43.3 percent
from three-point range.
Just eight days ago in the Celtics 119-113
win at the Cleveland Cavaliers (4-6) on Nov. 5, Hayward tied a career-high with
39 points, with eight assists and seven rebounds going 17 for 20 overall from
the field, including a perfect 16 for 16 shooting from two-point range.
“The crazy thing is he was playing
unbelievable,” forward/center Enes Kanter, who just came back from a seven-game
absence with a left knee contusion in the Celtics 116-106 win versus the Dallas
Mavericks (6-4) on Monday night said Saturday. “I said in the beginning of the
season, ‘He’s back, 100 percent. And he’s going to shock the world.’ He was
shocking the world. Now he’s got that injury.”
The Celtics released a statement during
the opening period that said Hayward underwent successful surgery in New York
on Monday to repair that fracture in his non-shooting hand.
The Bucks (7-3) are also down an All-Star
as swingman Khris Middleton will be out reportedly 3-4 weeks with a left thigh
contusion that he sustained in the team’s 121-119 victory at the Oklahoma City
Thunder (4-6) on Sunday night.
According to Shams Charania of “The
Athletic,” the 28-year-old first-time All-Star selection a season ago, whose
averaging 18.5 points and 5.7 rebounds, on 46.8 percent from the field and 39.3
percent from three-point range does not have any “serious damage” in his left
leg.
The injury bug has also hit the slow
starting Sacramento Kings (3-6), who lost their starting lead guard in De’Aaron
Fox for 3-4 weeks after an MRI confirmed he suffered a Grade 3 sprain in his
left ankle at the end of practice on Monday afternoon.
The Kings stated that the third-year guard
they chose with the No. 5 overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft out of the
University of Kentucky will be re-evaluated in 3-4 weeks and his injury status
will be updated as appropriate.
Fox was averaging 18.2 points and seven
assists in 32.1 minutes so far through nine games of this season.
Houston Rockets’ reserve guard Eric Gordon
will be sidelined for six weeks following arthroscopic surgery on his right
knee on Wednesday to clean up what head coach Mike D’Antoni termed to reporters
on Tuesday morning loose “debris,” according to Jonathan Feigen of the Houston
Chronicle.
Gordon had an MRI done on that right knee
which provided answers as to why he has gotten off to such a poor start this
season.
“I haven’t been able to do all I really
want all year,” Gordon who is averaging just 10.9 points per game so far this
season on just 30.9 percent of his shots and just 28.4 percent of his
three-point attempts said. “I’ll be able to be more balanced, more athletic. I
knew I wasn’t on balance all year. I’ll be able to get it right, now.”
Coach D’Antoni echoed those same feelings
by telling reporters earlier this week, about Gordon’s injury, “It’s been
bothering him, actually, from the middle of last year. I think he’s probably
relieved that he can clean it up, get it going, so he can come back strong as
ever.”
He did have his best scoring and shooting
performance of the young season with 17 points on 6 for 11 shooting, including
4 for 7 from three-point range in the Rockets (7-3) 122-116 win at the New
Orleans Pelicans (2-8), their fourth straight victory on Monday night,
displaying confidence that things were turning around.
“I’ve just been banged up a little bit at
the beginning of this year and I’m just trying to come back right, get back in
rhythm, because I’m not going to have shooting woes like that for the whole
season,” Gordon said after the win. “I’m just going to try to continue to get
better.”
For these four squads, how they deal with
the losses of key personnel will play a major role in how their regular seasons
will go.
The defending champs have so far have gone
1-1, winning at the Los Angeles Lakers (7-2) 113-104 on Sunday night, but fell
at the Los Angeles Clippers (7-3) 98-88 on Monday night in the absence of Lowry
and Ibaka.
One big reason that the Raptors will be
okay without Lowry and Ibaka for the time being is because of their deep roster
led by rising star Pascal Siakam, whose averaging 26.3 points, 9.5 rebounds and
3.9 assists so far this season and guard Fred VanVleet, whose averaging a
career-high 15.8 points, 7.7 assists and 1.6 steals on 38.1 percent from
three-point range.
If head coach Nick Nurse’s squad can
continue to get that kind of production from those two and from OG Anunoby and
Norman Powell, and better play from All-Star center Marc Gasol, the Raptors
should be able to hold down the fort.
While the play of Hayward is a major
reason for the Celtics being in the position they are in the early part of this
season, the solid play of new addition of three-time All-Star lead guard Kemba
Walker and much more efficient offense from Tatum and Jaylen Brown has been a
major help as well.
The C’s will rely on that continued play
from Walker, Tatum, and Brown as well as more contributions from Kanter, as he
gets back into form in returning from injury, Marcus Smart, Daniel Theis,
Robert Williams III and rookies Grant Williams and Carsen Edwards.
In the Celtics win at the Spurs on
Saturday, Brown led the way with 30 points, going 10 for 18 from the field and
9 for 10 from the free throw line, while Walker had 26 points and eight assists
and Tatum had 19 points and seven rebounds.
Walker led the way in the Celtics win on
Monday night versus the Mavericks with 29 points, five assists and five boards,
going 8 for 14 from three-point range. Brown had a double-double of 25 points
and 11 rebounds, while Smart contributed 17 points and six assists, going 4 for
7 from three-point range.
Smart’s production, along with the
double-figure scoring efforts by Theis and Brad Wanamaker of 11 and 10 points
respectably made up for the abysmal 1 for 18 shooting night by Tatum.
The other thing the Celtics have going for
them is their ability to defend and take care of the ball. They are in this
early part of the season No. 1 in “The Association” in assists/turnover ratio a
2.1 and in turnovers per game at 11.4. They rank No. 3 in opponent’s field goal
percentage surrendering only 41.7 percent and No. 8 in opponent’s three-point
percentage at 33.4 percent.
On top of that as former Celtic great and
now NBA analyst for ESPN Paul Pierce said on the Tuesday edition of “NBA: The
Jump” his former team has better leadership now with the addition of Walker,
who was acquired from the Charlotte Hornets a season ago.
“I mean, Kemba is known throughout the
league as being a great leader. I mean, he played on losing teams,” Pierce
said. “Stayed positive. Went out and played hard every night, and that can be
infectious. That could be the difference between losing and winning, and
chemistry, and that’s what he’s brought to the Celtics.”
The Bucks, like the Raptors and Celtics
should be more than okay without Middleton because they still have the reigning
Kia MVP in Giannis Antetokounmpo, who in the win at the Thunder on Sunday had
fifth consecutive 30-plus point performance with 35 points and 16 rebounds on
13 for 19 from the field.
Starting lead guard Eric Bledsoe picked up
the offensive slack in the absence of Middleton with 25 points and nine
assists, going 9 for 19 from the field, including 3 for 6 from three-point
range. Starting center Brook Lopez had 15 points, while Sterling Brown had 12
points off the bench.
Without Middleton, the reigning Kia Coach
of the Year Mike Budenholzer will count on Lopez, Bledsoe, Brown, second-year
guard Donte DiVincenzo, veteran guard George Hill, Wesley Matthews, Kyle
Korver, Pat Connaughton and Ersan Ilyasova to bring it offensively alongside
Antetokounmpo.
“The reality is he (Middleton) is their
really only other offensive threat who can create his own (shot),” ESPN NBA studio
analyst Amin Elhassan said on the Tuesday edition of ESPN’s “NBA: The Jump.” “He’s
was an excellent iso player last year. And he’s also their best shooter on
volume.”
“So, you’re talking about a really huge
piece out. The Celtics are winning. The Sixers are going to be good and Miami
(Heat) keeps winning too.”
For the Kings, life for them without Fox
in the lineup at first glance does not look promising, especially without
second-year forward Marvin Bagley III, who sustained a non-displaced fracture
of his right thumb in the season-opening 124-95 loss at the Phoenix Suns (6-3)
on Oct. 23 that has had him on the shelf these last eight games.
For first-year head coach Luke Walton, he
will have to decide on either starting Yogi Ferrell or veteran Cory Joseph at
the lead guard spot and hope the likes of Buddy Hield, Bogdan Bogdanovic,
Harrison Barnes, Nemanja Bjelica and Trevor Ariza can raise their games to a
level that can keep them afloat.
In their first game without Fox, the Kings
got it done in the second half of their 107-99 win versus the struggling
Portland Trail Blazers (4-7) on Tuesday night, outscoring them 61-50 in the
second half, including 35-21 in the third quarter.
The Kings overcame a 36.7 percent shooting
from the floor in the opening half to finish at 44.2 on the evening, while
holding the visitors to that same shooting percentage; outrebounded them 54-50;
forced 17 turnovers that they converted into 18 points; outscored them in
transition 17-9 and in the paint 40-30. The Kings also held the Trail Blazers
to 8 for 30 from three-point range.
“It’s what we’ve been preaching about
every game since Day 1 of training camp,” Coach Walton said after the win.
“I’ll be the first to admit it needs to get a lot better. We started the game
we couldn’t make anything. That’s why defense is important. Every night won’t
go like that but the competitive level that we played with on the defensive end
tonight, that needs to be a steady constant for us.”
Joseph started at the lead guard spot in
place of Fox, but produced just three points and three assists, on 1 for 6
shooting in 38 minutes. But that one field goal, which was a three gave the
Kings a 104-95 cushion that they would never relinquish. Ferrell was decent
with nine points and three assists in 16 minutes off the bench. Bogdanovic
picked up the playmaking duties with a team-high 25 points and 10 assists.
Hield scored 20, while Bjelica also had a double-double of 19 points and 12
rebounds in helping the Kings to their second straight win.
For the Rockets, the absence of Gordon
means comes at a real bad time because they are already without sharp-shooting
wing Gerald Green, who injured his foot in the preseason, that required surgery
that will keep him out the entire season.
Forward Danuel House, Jr., who replaced
Gordon in the starting lineup is expected to be out for the team’s next outing
at the Clippers because of a bruised back.
Ben McLemore, who signed with the Rockets
in the offseason is expected to move into the starting five, like he did in the
second half at the Pelicans but he like Gordon is struggling with his shot
making just 33.3 percent of his field goal attempts, and just 31.7 percent of
his threes in the early part of this season.
“Next guy up,” Coach D’Antoni said. “Chris
Clemons will fill in and help Austin (Rivers) with the point guard duties when
Russ (Russell Westbrook) is not there.”
While a concern for the Rockets will be on
how they can keep Clemons on the main roster before the 45-day allotment on his
two-way contract is exhausted, the main concern for Coach D’Antoni’s squad is
expanding on their current four-game winning streak with a squad that is
presently shorthanded and a rough schedule on the horizon with their next eight
opponents possessing a winning record.
That means the dynamic perennial All-Star
duo of 2018 Kia MVP James Harden and 2017 Kia MVP in Westbrook will have to
really raise their level of play of the Rockets who have to beat a team with a
winning record so far this season, dropping contest to the Bucks, Brooklyn Nets
and Miami Heat.
The Boston Celtics, Milwaukee Bucks,
Houston Rockets, Sacramento Kings, and the aforementioned defending NBA
champion Toronto Raptors have aspirations of playing beyond the second week of
April 2020. In the case of the Rockets, Bucks and possibly the Celtics, they
have hopes of competing for the Larry O’Brien trophy in June.
This stretch of games on the horizon,
without a major piece will play a major role in where they are positioned in
the playoff picture in their respective conferences of how far they can
possibly go in the 2020 postseason.
“We’ll find out where we are in April,”
Westbrook said. “Now…we’re figuring out how we can get better. We worry about
ourselves. We can’t measure our success by what other teams do. We measure
success by how we’re supposed to play. Win or lose, we know what we’re capable
of doing.”
“Ankle sprains happen a lot in the NBA.
But it is unfortunate that it is as severe as it is,” Coach Walton said of
Fox’s injured ankle after their win versus the Trail Blazers. “What’s important
is that our team comes together, grows, fights, and gets better. And he attacks
his rehab and gets back with us as soon as he can.”
“We’re going to have to find other guys to
step up, especially off the bench,” Coach Stevens said after the win against
the Mavericks on Monday.
Information, statistics, and quotations
are courtesy of 11/8/19 www.nba.com
story, “Kyle Lowry Out Two Weeks With Fracture In Left Thumb;” 11/11/19 www.nba.com
story, “Sacramento’s Fox Out 3-4 Weeks With Sprained Ankle;” 11/11/19 www.nba.com
story, “Khris Middleton To Miss 3-4 Weeks With Left Thigh Contusion;” 11/11/19 www.nba.com
story, “Hayward To Miss Roughly 6 Weeks After Hand Surgery;” 11/12/19 www.houstonchronicle.com
story , “Eric Gordon Out For Six Weeks as Rockets’ Schedule Gets Tougher,” by
Jonathan Feigen; 11/12/19 www.nba.com
story, “Gordon Hayward Has Surgery On Hand, Out Roughly 6 Weeks,” by Jimmy
Golen of “The Associated Press;” 11/12/19 3 p.m. edition “NBA: The Jump” on
ESPN with Rachel Nichols, Jackie MacMullan, Paul Pierce, and Amin Elhassan;
11/13/19 www.nba.com
story, “Rockets’ Eric Gordon To Have Knee Surgery;” https://www.espn.com/nba/recap?gameid=401160740;
https://www.espn.com/nba/team/stats/_/name/tor;
https://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore/recap?gameid=401160783;
https://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore?gameid=401160777;
https://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore/recap?gameid=401160783;
https://www.espn.com/nba/player/gamelog/_/id/3431/eric-gordon;
https://www.espn.com/nba/recap/boxscore?gameid=401160795;
https://www.espn.com/nba/team/roster/_/name/sac;
https://www.espn.com/nba/team/stats/_/name/tor;
and https://www.espn.com/nba/standings.
