Five NBA Things I may or may not have Liked: Fantastic Finishes, Gobertism, Liar, Liar, Lil Nuggets, Magical Streak

My favorite and least least favorite things from the week that was

January 5th, Fantastic Finishes

Monday had its usual share of uninteresting January slop, but it also produced some bangers. The Suns-Rockets game came down to a near buzzer-beater by Kevin Durant, while Nuggets-Sixers and Warriors-Clippers were decided by a point.

Durant’s game-winner was vintage. The Rockets ran the classic, “Get him the ball, get out of the way,” final shot play for Durant, and he delivered. I think he probably took the shot a bit earlier than he wanted, as the game was tied at 97, but he decided that capitalizing on an opening was more valuable than getting the last shot. That left the Suns with a second to get the ball in to attempt a game-tying three. Josh Okogie made an excellent defensive play on the inbounds pass to Devin Booker, but Booker, like a greedy wide receiver, wrestled the ball from Okogie’s grasp and had just enough time to contort and launch. He missed, but damn if it wasn’t close.

The Nuggets, who will get their own section, somehow beat the Sixers. Entering the contest, the Sixers were riding a three-game win streak, had just thoroughly beaten the Knicks, and were at home. The Nuggets were on the second night of a back-to-back, had just lost the Nets, and were down all five of their opening night starters. Considering the circumstances, the Nuggets would have been lucky to lose by single digits. Instead, their cast of back-ups and reserves rose to the occasion, forced the Sixers to force overtime, and then won the dang game. The performance nearly moved David Adelman to tears.

Finally, the Warriors and Clippers entered their clash playing some of their best ball of the season. Both teams were 6-2 in their previous eight games and looked to be turning the corner. The Warriors got out to an early lead, only to see it slip away just as fast. For most of the game, the Clippers were able to keep the Warriors at arm’s length and built a 13-point lead with 4:48 left in the game. However, instead of folding, the Warriors mounted a comeback.

Flash forward three and a half minutes, and a Steph Curry 3-pointer cut the lead to one with only 65 seconds left to play. Unfortunately, the next notable thing Curry did was commit a completely unnecessary foul to foul out. Undeterred, the Warriors kept fighting, and down 103-102, they had the ball with six seconds left to steal a victory. Jimmy Butler’s attempted game-winner would come up short, but as he was turning to shoot his 16-footer, the whole arena was on pins and needles.

Forever Rudy Gobert

There probably hasn’t been a more disrespected great player in my life than Rudy Gobert. He is a deserving four-time Defensive Player of the Year and is a living, breathing top ten defense. Since becoming a full-time starter in 2015-16, a span of 11 seasons, his team has failed to produce a top ten defense once, with an average defensive rating rank of 5.7 and a defensive rating that is 3.17 points better than the league average. This season, the Timberwolves have a defensive rating of 108.4 with him on the court and a defensive rating of 121.2 without him.

I’ll never fully understand why he has always been the butt of so many jokes, but it will nonetheless bug me. Even at 33, Gobert is still one of the best in the business, and during the Wolves’ national broadcast game against the Heat, we learned why. Apparently, he has really focused on his diet this year. He starts his day by downing a warm glass of water to aid with digestion, and he has honey and dried mangos at halftime to keep his energy levels up. However, the bit of excellent sideline reporting that really piqued my interest was that every day he goes outside and puts his bare feet on grass, even in the Minnesota snow.

Stuff like this can sound hokey, but in a sport like basketball, where the margins are so thin, and the pressure is so high, it’s cool to see a player going the extra mile to mentally and physically ground themself. It would stand in stark contrast to the intended effects, but Gobert creating an Instagram account just of his bare feet every morning would probably become a cult hit.

Giannis, Give it a Rest

Last week, I was critical of Giannis Antetokounmpo for breaking an unwritten rule, and this week, I’m going to lambast him for straight-up lying. Following the Bucks’ 120-113 loss to the Warriors, Giannis reportedly told The Athletic:

“There will never be a chance, and there will never be a moment that I will come out and say, ‘I want a trade.”

Look, I believe Giannis when he says he won’t come out and demand a trade publicly, but there was credible reporting over the summer that he had interest in a trade to the New York Knicks. Like, what are we even doing? I get it that he doesn’t ever want to be the bad guy, but he can’t routinely flirt with leaving and then say lies like this. The semantics of Giannis stepping in front of a microphone and asking for a trade, and doing so secretly behind closed doors, is an insult to our intelligence. That being said, I really wish there was a video of this interaction, as the whole quote is so eminently memeable.

“There will never be a chance, and there will never be a moment that I will come out and say, ‘I want a trade my own side of fries.”

Fighting Nuggets

The Denver Nuggets looked to be in a precarious situation. Aaron Gordon and Christian Braun were out with injuries, Cameron Johnson soon followed, and then the levee broke when Nikola Jokic went down with a hyperextended knee. To make matters worse, Jonas Valancunas went down with a calf injury the game after Jokic was injured. Needless to say, it was fair to fear a free fall, and for a second, it looked like it might happen.

The Nuggets lost to the Cavaliers and then the Nets, despite the returns of Braun and Gordon on minutes restrictions. Facing the second night of a back-to-back, the Nuggets punted their game against the Sixers by resting all of their healthy starters. The only problem was that they won that game. Then they headed to Boston to face the red-hot Celtics and won that game too. They face Atlanta and Milwaukee at home before heading to New Orleans and Dallas, and then welcome the Wizards and Hornets for a home back-to-back. For as perilous as the Nuggets’ proposition is, they’re still third in the West, and only a game behind the Spurs. Now, they’re also only a game and a half out of sixth, but if they can stack up four or five wins over this soft stretch of schedule, they might just be able to weather these Jok-less nights.

Magical Streak

The Magic have gone 11 consecutive games without being on any type of streak. That’s right, they haven’t won or lost more than one game in a row for almost an eighth of the season. Beginning with a win on December 20th, which ended a two-game slide, the Magic have been alternating wins and losses. On the heels of an overtime buzzer-beater win against the Nets to keep the good then bad times rolling, the Magic play the Sixers on Friday night, followed by a contest against the Pelicans. I’m not guaranteeing a loss and then a win, but the schedule does give them a realistic chance to push this non-streak streak to 13 games. In fact, if you count the loss that preceded this win-loss rally, they’re already at 12 games.

Thanks to the work of Luke McCartney, I can say with some level of confidence that the longest non-streak streak is 15 games, achieved by the 1997-98 Knicks and 2016-17 Pacers. The 2008-09 Bucks are third with 14, but the Magic’s current 12-game run is tied with 11 other teams for fourth. Clearly, 13 is the magic number for this type of run, and I’m hoping the Magic can make a push for the most mediocre run in history. If they are to do it, they’ll have to lose to the Sixers, then beat the Pelicans, then lose to the Grizzlies at home, and finally beat the Grizzlies on the road. It’ll be tough, but I think the Magic are made of the right stuff.

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