Category: General NBA insight

Isaiah Thomas, Celtics: Thomas has scored at least 20 points in each of his last 16 games, the longest streak in the NBA this season. Thomas and Boston look for their seventh win in eight games when they visit Cleveland tonight at 8 p.m. on TNT.

Dirk Nowitzki, Mavericks: Nowitzki enters tonight’s game against the Lakers (10:30 p.m. ET, TNT) with 853 regular-season wins, tied with Derek Fisher for sixth place on the NBA’s all-time list. Nowitzki leads all active players, followed by San Antonio’s Tony Parker (803).

DeMar DeRozan, Raptors: With 29 points against Golden State on Wednesday, DeRozan (10,290) passed Chris Bosh (10,275) to become Toronto’s all-time leading scorer.

Malcolm Brogdon, Bucks: In his last four games, the rookie guard has made 18-of-23 shots from the field (78.3 percent) and averaged 10.5 points and 5.8 assists in 27.0 minutes.

New Orleans Pelicans: Winners of three in a row and four of five, the Pelicans are 13-13 since an 0-8 start.

Nicolas Batum, Hornets: He has scored at least 20 points in four straight games, averaging 21.8 points, 8.3 assists and 7.5 rebounds during this stretch. Charlotte has won four of five.

Alex Abrines, Thunder: The rookie guard from Spain has scored in double figures in three of his last four games, making 13-of-26 from three-point range (50.0 percent) in the four appearances.

Brook Lopez, Nets: The 7-foot center and nine-year veteran ranks 37th in the NBA in three-pointers made with 56. He entered the season with three triples made for his career – a total he exceeded against Chicago on Wednesday when he hit five in a 33-point night.

LaMarcus Aldridge, Spurs: Aldridge has totaled 60 points and converted 25-of-32 from the field (78.1 percent) in his last two games, both wins for San Antonio (26-6), which has matched its 32-game record from last season.

Tobias Harris, Pistons: After starting his first 31 games, Harris has come off the bench in Detroit’s last three games, averaging 23.3 points on 55.8 shooting.

— Via NBA News

50-Point Games: Sacramento’s DeMarcus Cousins (55 points vs. Portland on Tuesday) is already the fifth player with a 50-point game in 2016-17, joining Golden State’s Klay Thompson, Washington’s John Wall, Oklahoma City’s Russell Westbrook and New Orleans’ Anthony Davis. The NBA record for most players with 50-point games in a season is eight, set in 1989-90.

Tyler Johnson, Heat: He scored 32 points in Tuesday’s double-overtime loss to Orlando, the highest total for a Miami reserve in franchise history. His 13.4 points per game is the second-highest scoring average among players with no starts this season.

Deron Williams, Mavericks: Williams, who recently passed Derek Harper for 21st place on the NBA’s career assists list, is averaging 19.8 points (on 53.6 percent shooting) and 6.8 assists in his last four games.

Shaquille O’Neal: Miami will retire Shaq’s No. 32 jersey at halftime of tonight’s game against the Lakers (8 p.m. ET, TNT), while the Lakers announced this week that they will unveil a bronze statue of the Hall of Fame center at Staples Center on March 24, 2017.

Dennis Schröder, Hawks: In his last 12 games, the 23-year-old guard from Germany is averaging 21.8 points (on 53.1 percent shooting) and 7.6 assists.

Nikola Jokic, Nuggets: The second-year center’s run of six double-doubles in his last 10 games includes a 27-point, 15-rebound, nine-assist performance against Dallas on Monday, making him the first Denver player to reach those three totals in a game since Fat Lever in 1988.

Myles Turner, Pacers: The second-year center has scored in double figures in nine consecutive games, averaging 18.0 points while shooting 55.2 percent from the field.

Marc Gasol, Grizzlies: He scored a career-high 38 points and made 14-of-17 shots (82.4 percent) from the field in Wednesday’s victory against Detroit, becoming the first Grizzlies player to score 38 points or more while shooting at least 80 percent in a game since Shareef Abdur-Rahim on Jan. 7, 2001. Gasol raised his scoring average to a career-high 20.1 points.

Evan Fournier, Magic: In his last six games, Fournier is averaging 22.2 points and shooting 52.0 percent from the field.

Hall of Fame Class of 2017 Candidates: Muggsy Bogues, Tracy McGrady, Ben Wallace and former NBA referees Sid Borgia and Jake O’Donnell are among the first-time nominees for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

— Via NBA Broadcasters Bulletin

Boston Celtics at New York Knicks, noon ET, ESPN
Boston: Isaiah Thomas, who ranks seventh in the NBA in scoring at 26.6 points per game, is second in the league in fourth-quarter scoring (8.1), behind Oklahoma City’s Russell Westbrook (9.8). Thomas has scored at least 20 points in each of his last 12 games, the longest active streak in the league.
New York: Carmelo Anthony (23,112) needs 38 points to pass Elgin Baylor (23,149) for 28th place on the NBA’s all-time scoring list. Anthony and the Knicks host Orlando tonight before facing Boston on Christmas Day.

Golden State Warriors at Cleveland Cavaliers, 2:30 p.m. ET, ABC
Golden State: The Warriors have climbed to second in the NBA in defensive rating – allowing 100.8 points per 100 possessions – which matches their No. 2 ranking in offensive rating. Golden State has held each of its last three opponents to 90 points or fewer.
Cleveland: Kyrie Irving set a career high with 13 assists in Wednesday’s victory over Milwaukee, which came four days after he had equaled his previous career high of 12 assists in a win against the Lakers. Irving has also scored at least 20 points in 15 of his last 16 games and in a team-high 22 games overall.

Chicago Bulls at San Antonio Spurs, 5 p.m. ET, ABC
Chicago: In a conference call with international media this week, Jimmy Butler discussed playing on Christmas Day, the key to his emergence as an All-Star, his admiration for Kawhi Leonard and Manu Ginobili, and more. Click here for the transcript.
San Antonio: Kawhi Leonard has scored at least 30 points seven times in 28 games this season. He entered the year with four 30-point games in 324 career appearances.

Minnesota Timberwolves at Oklahoma City Thunder, 8 p.m. ET, ESPN
Minnesota: The Timberwolves are attempting to become the first team in NBA history to have three players – Karl-Anthony Towns (22.1 ppg), Andrew Wiggins (21.9) and Zach LaVine (20.7) – who were under the age of 22 at the start of the season each average at least 20 points for the season.
Oklahoma City: Enes Kanter (12.6 ppg) ranks third on the team in scoring despite placing seventh in minutes per game (19.4). Kanter’s seven double-doubles are good for second on the Thunder behind Russell Westbrook, who is tied for the league lead with 23.

LA Clippers at Los Angeles Lakers, 10:30 p.m. ET, ESPN
Clippers: Chris Paul (7,970) needs 18 assists to pass Rod Strickland (7,987) for 10th place on the NBA’s career list. Paul is 30 assists from 8,000 for his career.
Lakers: Earlier this month, Lou Williams had the highest-scoring four-game stretch for a bench player (137 points) since at least the 1970-71 season. For the season, the 30-year-old guard leads the Lakers in scoring with a career-high 18.8 points, coming off the bench in all 31 appearances.

— Via NBA Broadcasters Bulletin

The new Collective Bargaining Agreement was ratified this week by the NBA players and NBA Board of Governors. The new agreement will take effect on July 1, 2017 and run through the 2023-24 season.

The parties voted based on a term sheet that outline the key deal points. Once the NBA and NBPA finish drafting and execute the complete agreement, specific details will be released.

Shortly after Darryl Dawkins’ and Moses Malone’s sudden heart-related deaths sent “shock waves” through the NBA community in August of 2015, Adam Silver picked up the phone and called Michele Roberts.

The NBA commissioner and NBA Players Association executive director both agreed that something had to be done before the NBA lost another beloved retired player due to health. Soon after that, today’s stars and the game’s biggest name from the past, Michael Jordan, joined the cause.

With Jordan, now the league’s most famous owner, working over his fellow co-owners to lend a very influential assist along with current stars like Chris Paul, LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony voicing their desire to take care of the previous generations of NBA players, the NBA will become the first professional sports league to offer retired players medical benefits as part of a comprehensive and enhanced player retirement package.

— ESPN.com

Our Quick Take: This is long overdue, and the right move. Looking forward to hearing the finer details once they become official.

Raptors scoring guard DeMar DeRozan and Rockets do-everything guard James Harden were named NBA Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week today, respectively, for games played Monday, Dec. 12 through Sunday, Dec. 18.

DeRozan led Toronto to a 3-1 week, averaging a league-high 31.5 points on 60.5 percent shooting to go with 4.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists. This marks the second time this season he has scored at least 30 points in four consecutive games. DeRozan also shot over 50.0 percent from the field in all four games. On Dec. 16, he tallied 34 points, five rebounds, three assists and two steals in a 125-121 loss to the Atlanta Hawks. On Dec. 18, he finished with 31 points, three rebounds and three assists in a 109-79 victory over the Orlando Magic.

Harden led Houston to a 4-0 week behind averages of 27.0 points (third in the West), a league-best 12.8 assists, 9.8 rebounds and 1.0 steals. He recorded back-to-back triple-doubles in victories over the Sacramento Kings and New Orleans Pelicans, giving him six for the season and 15 for his career. Harden surpassed Hakeem Olajuwon for most triple-doubles in Rockets franchise history. He tallied at least 20 points and 10 assists in three of four games, giving him 18 such games this season, tops in the league.

Other nominees for the Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week include Golden State’s Kevin Durant, the LA Clippers’ Blake Griffin and Chris Paul, Portland’s Damian Lillard, Utah’s Rudy Gobert and Washington’s Bradley Beal and John Wall.