Let’s look at some winners and losers from a packed day of basketball…
Winner: The Harden-Embiid Partnership
Amid rumors, he could be back with the Rockets, James Harden combined with Joel Embiid for another impressive performance on Sunday. The Beard and The Process (the worst comic book duo of all time) combined for 64 points on 19-of-38 shooting, while Harden added 13 assists. After some struggles early in the season (mostly due to injuries), the Sixers are now at the top of the East. Philly is just two games behind No. 1 Boston in the losing column, despite Embiid and Harden only playing 15 games together. And in those 15 games, the team has a stellar net rating of 9.8 with their all-star duo on the ground. Both have playoff demons to answer for in the spring. It would be unfair to say that these two haven’t impressed to close out 2022, though.
Loser: Knicks Declaration Game
Too bad for New York to lose. O Knicks now down three in a row after an eight-game winning streak against most meh competition – despite the Cleveland game, I don’t want to take away what the Knicks did last month. The rotation has tightened and it looks good. Julius Randle is finding its place next door Jalen Brunson🇧🇷 And RJ Barrett is playing better too. This group is clearly better than what we’ve seen in the last two seasons. They will have more chances in the spotlight to prove they can get along with the East’s elite.
Winner: The Dirk Statue
That fadeaway is art.
Mavs honor Nowitzki before Lakers game
Jerome Miron/USA TODAY Sports
Loser: Doubling Luka Dončić
O lakers kept sending two to Luka for Christmas, and handed out gifts to his shooters like the Amazon Prime delivery gu – I mean Santa Claus. Dallas shot 18-for-44 from three as Luka generated great look after great look. It seems counterintuitive, but I really think teams need to let him score 50 and try to stay home in the crowd. The Lakers especially can’t afford to get into a three-point shootout. It’s a math problem that Los Angeles will almost always never be on the right side.
Winner: GMs in DMs from Rob Pelinka
The Lakers have to make a play, right? lebron james it was an added two in a nine-point loss to Dallas. 🇧🇷Russell Westbrook was somehow minus 30 in 24 minutes.) The Lakers are not an entirely lost cause. LeBron can still shoot. This team can’t be left behind much longer. Just swap out the damn first round picks.
Loser: People Who Wrote About Milwaukee’s Improved Three-Point Defense
It’s me, I’m the loser. O dollars spent this season trying to take the deep ball out of opponents, and for the most part, they were much more successful than in previous years. That all ended against the Celtics, who shot 39 set against the Bucks and hit 19 of them. (That’s about six more than Giannis and company typically give up.) Boston’s offense, which was down 139 points, looked like the unit that was on historic pace to start the season rather than the one that stumbled a bit in December. . My desire to see these teams meet in the playoffs is not gone. And obviously, Chris MiddletonGiannis’ absence once again played a significant role for Milwaukee, especially with Giannis having an ineffective night.
It will be very interesting to see what adjustments the Bucks make for their upcoming matchup, or if simply having a healthier squad will make a big difference. It should be encouraging for Boston to continue to generate good looks against Milwaukee. The gap in the East has narrowed since the beginning of the month, but Boston sent a message to just about everyone with a very convincing win.
Winner: Rivalries
Klay Thompson celebrates after the Warriors defeat the Grizzlies on Christmas Day.
Darren Yamashita/USA TODAY Sports
in the next warriors🇧🇷Grizzlies game can’t come fast enough. Small talk! Technical! Taunting! It was an absolutely emotional game between two teams that don’t like each other. Even without Stephen Curry on the ground, Golden State and Memphis absolutely delivered in terms of entertainment.
Loser: “I’m fine in the West”
I do not care Ja Morant saying he’s not worried about anybody in the West — actually, that pleases me. I love how much the Grizzlies talk. I even love how far they go on the Warriors even though they haven’t won anywhere near their level. But for Memphis to lose to a Warriors team without Steph, and then for people to have the gall to blame the refs or call Klay “weird” for getting a few words back… get a grip! Grizz has to hold the very full L they got for Christmas. Let it feed more hate, even. But they have to start with accepting that loss.
Memphis didn’t look serious defensively, often botching simple actions like guard screens and letting the Dubs players grow confident with easy looks. Jaren Jackson Jr.🇧🇷 apparently Freaky Friday is back to the rookie version of JJJ, who can’t play 30 seconds without committing fouls. Snipers could not shoot. The Warriors played with something to prove at Christmas and earned every one of their taunts against the Grizzlies. Memphis will get its chance at redemption, and at the end of the day, the playoffs are the only score that matters. The reality though is that the Grizz asked for this particular Christmas game, antagonized the Warriors on multiple occasions, and was convincingly beaten by a team that is normally a JV team without Steph. Hard to get a more complete L than that, no matter how much some try to spin it.
Winner: Slam Dunks
Aaron Gordon caused at least a few thousand people to accidentally wake their sleeping family members with uncontrollable screams when he briefly turned around Landry Shamet on Landry, please don’t hit your dunk late in the night against the Suns. That was one of the best in-game jams I’ve ever seen. Poor Shamet, who played one of the best games of his career and put his body on the line against a much bigger human at a key moment with nothing to show for it except being on the wrong side of a long stream of photos, videos and gifs.
Loser: Young Thug’s verse on “Mixtape”
“I’m kidding you like I’m Chris Paul” means something very different in late 2022 than it did earlier this spring. CP3 just hasn’t been able to consistently take over games for the Suns so far this season. With Devin Booker Leaving Sunday’s game after re-injuring his groin, Phoenix fought valiantly against Denver. At the end of the fourth and in OT, Paul was unable to gather enough magic to close out the game. He missed a free throw and some midrange jumpers in the final minutes of the quarter, then made two more free throws and a bar three in the extra period. Paul looked gassed and was struggling to cross the middle of the court.
It’s asking a lot of CP to carry the team with Booker out. At the same time, the Suns desperately need him to serve as a star in late-game situations, especially when players like Damion Lee and Shamet have kept the team afloat until then. It was only earlier this year that Paul shut out the Pelicans with a 14 out of 14 elimination game performance. Will we see this version of CP3 again? Hope so. For now, Paul is going through the worst shooting and scoring season of his career. With Phoenix on the ropes and dealing with injuries, it’s a necessity for him to bounce back.
Winner: Nikola Jokić’s MVP Case
Joker scored 41 casual points, 15 rebounds and 15 assists against the Suns. Last year, the NBA didn’t even give the man a game for Christmas, the first for a defensive MVP since the league’s Dec. 25 header. It’s unfortunate that Jokić was relegated for the last game on Sunday night, because his display of brilliance deserved a better display. Jokić is now averaging 25.4 points, 11.0 rebounds and 9.4 assists per game. Nobody else in the league meets those standards. And of all players who have scored at least 25 a night, Jokić is first in field goal percentage. The guy is a machine, and his game hasn’t dropped since last season. It’s no surprise that with his best teammates finally healthy, Jokić has the Nuggets in first place. On the NBA’s biggest day, nobody surpassed Jokic.
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