Most families land strictly in one of two camps: those who play Christmas music non-stop starting on Thanksgiving night, and those who wait until Christmas Eve to finally give in and say, “Hey Siri, play Christmas music.” . No matter what holiday you celebrate, those familiar tunes are ubiquitous this time of year and have NBA implications too.
For many years, Christmas Day has marked the unofficial start of the NBA season. By the time the first two months come to an end, the pretenders will likely have returned to where they belong, and the players who started the year completely out of shape Those who are taking the long-term pace have begun to look like themselves.
This weekend, we got a glimpse of what’s to come in the coming weeks leading up to December 25, with Nikola Jokic getting tired of the Nuggets losing and deciding to do everything in his power to prevent that from happening, including *gasp* scoring . ! We also saw Philadelphia’s Big Three, which has been more of a Big One or Big Zero for most of the year, finally overcome a complete game, giving Sixers fans enough hope for their hearts to break. again when the playoffs come around. time. Too soon?
So the next time you hear a Christmas jingle, tune out your ears and take solace in the fact that the NBA will soon be heating up, even while you’re freezing your you-know-what. Here are this weekend’s winners and losers.
Winner: Jokic’s one-man show
Nikola Jokic has so many otherworldly basketball talents that we sometimes forget: the guy can score at full speed. A last resort for most of his career so far, Jokic has been looking for his own shot much more often this season thanks to injuries and the overall poor performance of his Nuggets teammates. This change was never more evident than in Saturday’s loss to the Washington Wizards (not a typo), in which Jokic scored a career-high 56 points on 38 shots, the most he has scored in a NBA game, with Jamal Murray and Aaron Gordon left out.
Jokic was absolutely brilliant in every aspect, dominating the paint while also hitting three of his five 3-point attempts.
If you look at the stats, this might seem like a selfish game: if Jokic had done more to get his teammates involved, then maybe they wouldn’t have given the Wizards their first win since before Halloween (no, seriously) . As someone who watched every second of this game, I can assure you that was not the case. This man did everything humanly possible to lead his lethargic and unproductive teammates to victory, and they almost made it back before falling short.
As an encore, Jokic scored 48 points, 14 rebounds and eight assists the following night against the Hawks to ensure the Nuggets’ return to winning ways. There are simply no holes in Jokic’s offensive game, and he should currently be the favorite to win his fourth MVP award in five seasons.
Loser: Right oblique muscles
More like WRONG oblique muscles, right? In all seriousness, the frustration level must be off the charts for the Orlando Magic, who have now lost their two best players to the exact same injury: a right oblique tear. First, Paolo Banchero suffered his injury five games into the season, shortly after earning a 50th place finish against the Pacers. In his absence, the Magic (16-9) have continued to thrive thanks to the All-Star play of Franz Wagner, who now it will be at least a month away with its own indirect question.
I mean, come on man.
Banchero does not yet have a timetable for returning, so this could be a difficult stretch for the Magic. However, with the way Jamahl Mosley has coached, they can probably compete for the No. 1 spot with their two stars out running the offense through Goga Bitadze.
If the Wizards wanted to snap their 16-game losing streak, they were going to need a special performance. They certainly got it from Poole in Saturday’s 122-113 win over the Nuggets, when he scored 39 points, including a career-high nine 3-pointers. Denver didn’t play the best defense in the world, but some of the shots Poole made were absolutely absurd. According to NBA.com, five of his nine three-pointers came from at least 27 feet.
Poole has endured more than his share of terrible shooting performances, including the following night when he scored just nine points on just six shots against the Grizzlies, but when his performance works, it’s one of the most entertaining in the NBA. .
Loser: Jordan Poole, celebrant
As well as Poole played Saturday, the celebration after his ninth 3-pointer (in which he pinched his nose and weakly twisted his left hand over his head) needs a little more time in the shop. The still image captured by the photographers actually makes it look like Poole was trying to mask the stench of how poorly Washington had been playing recently.
fake images
It was actually some sort of aquatic-themed gesture that we’re still trying to figure out.
“I’ve been wanting to do that for a while,” Poole said after the rare victory. “It was just a little ‘Drowning in Poole’ action. You can call it whatever you want.”
Unfortunately, Jordan, we call him a loser.
Winner: The Philadelphia Big Three (finally)
Well, it took about seven weeks, but we finally saw the first win for the 76ers’ Big Three: Joel Embiid, Paul George and Tyrese Maxey. The trio played in a previous game, a loss to the Grizzlies, but George did not finish that game due to a knee injury. Finally, in an actual regulation NBA basketball game, the Sixers beat the Bulls on Sunday, 108-100, and all three stars made it to the finish line.
The glorious stat lines were everything Philadelphia fans have been waiting for all season.
- Embiido: 31 points, 12 rebounds, four assists, two blocks (he’s back!)
- maxey: 25 points, 14 assists, 11 rebounds (first triple-double of his career!)
- Jorge: 12 points, seven rebounds, two assists (room for improvement!)
Of course, no one is celebrating too much as that brings the 76ers’ record to *checks notes* 7-15 on the season. But hey, to make a great Philly cheesesteak, you first need to make sure you have all the right ingredients.
We’re all familiar with “getting your money’s worth” after an ejection: the concept that since you’ve already been ejected from the game, you may as well continue to express your opinion to the referees. The problem is that sometimes getting your money’s worth actually leads to losing even more money. For example, Spurs big man Zach Collins, who decided to turn the tables on the referees before leaving the court after being ejected on Friday night, costing you a cool $35,000.
While we cannot condone such a display of complete disrespect, Collins’ actions led to arguably the best screenshot of the NBA season.
Collins isn’t the first NBA player to take a hit to his bank account thanks to an extended mid-digit this season (he joins Anthony Edwards and Russell Westbrook, who also received $35,000 fines), so we could have an epidemic of somersaults. in our hands. Stay safe out there, people.
Winner: Steph being Steph
I bet you all think I’m going to post that clip of Steph Curry shooting a 40-footer, right? Too easy. We all know you can do that and watch it regularly. What you may not see, or notice, is that Curry constantly sacrifices himself for the sake of winning by putting up barriers for bigger players. Draymond Green got all the praise for his game-sealing dunk and his subsequent tribute to Curry with his “night, night” celebration, but guess who completely took out 7-foot-1, 258-pound Rudy Gobert with a screen to open Green’s lane. on the edge? That’s right, Wardell Stephen Curry II’s 185 pounds.
Curry has 14 screen assists on the season, making him one of the most prolific point guards in the league (once you filter out players like Ben Simmons, Josh Hart, Lu Dort and Isaac Okoro, who would be described more precision as forwards). Last season, Curry was first among point guards with 79 screen assists. It’s rare that you find the most super superstars willing to get their hands dirty and bruise their bodies every night to win, but that’s exactly what Curry has done his entire career.
And yeah, okay, here’s the damn photo. Ridiculous.
Loser: Big Baller brand
Hey, remember LaVar Ball? Well, it turns out that, in retrospect, not even his own son was on board with his most notorious business venture. Bulls guard Lonzo Ball, who recently returned to the court after missing two seasons and almost three full years due to various knee issues, pointed to his father’s Big Baller Brand as a possible culprit for his inability to stay healthy. . The younger Ball called the first pair of sneakers his father’s company designed for him “kickball shoes,” adding that a later version of the shoe may have contributed to his torn meniscus as a rookie in 2018 with the Lakers.
“I think it’s a possibility, to be honest with you,” Ball said. he told ESPN. “It didn’t really hurt me like that until I started using them.”
Rough. Despite multiple public disagreements along the way, Bola said in 2019. that “in the end there is always love” between him and his father. That is, as long as you maintain the BBB (which still has an active clothing lineapparently) off his feet.
