Five NBA Things I may or may not have Liked: Funny Shots, Sad Seasons, and Sinister Substitutions

Heave-D'oh, Harden-Knock Life, Grizz Win, Anti-Nurse, 3/4th of the Scoring Title

Evan Mobley’s Heave-D’oh

Over an 82-game regular season, you’re going to get your fair share of unintentional comedy. There are just too many games, possessions, and random NPC players for there not to be. However, there are a few things you expect NBA players to have nailed down. The first is how many timeouts they have, which Kevin Durant went unpunished for forgetting on opening night, and the next is how much time is left in the game. These are the basics. Hey, can you remember one single digit number? Sure can, boss. Cool, can you look at that giant clock that’s plastered everywhere and remember that? Absolutely. Well, Evan Mobley might want to get his eyes checked.

I do love Mobley securing a rebound with 10.6 left in the quarter, taking one dribble, and launching a yolo-shot from the opposite 3-point line. Obviously, he must have thought that there was 1.6 or 0.6 seconds left in the quarter, but the comedy was not lost on anyone. Unfortunately, the NBA’s new heave rules will not protect Mobely’s 3-point efficiency, as the shot did not come with three seconds or less. For his folly, Mobley will forever have a 60-foot 3-pointer branded into his shot chart.

It’s the Harden-Knock Life

The Clippers have been an unmitigated disaster. They’re 4-11 with a net rating of -6.3, and own the 22nd-ranked offense and 24th-ranked defense. One of their key offseason additions, Bradley Beal, is already out for the season. Chris Paul and Brook Lopez look their age. And Kawhi Leonard is injured again. This is what we like to call a run-of-the-mill bad team, but it could be so much worse.

James Harden is having an exceptional season and has single-handedly kept the Clippers from the abyss. He’s averaging 26.5 points and 8.6 assists per game on 63.2% true shooting. At 36 years old, Harden is having one of the best old-man seasons ever, and he’d be a deserved All-NBA selection right now. If the Clippers ever turn things around, they’ll have Harden to thank for steering them through the storm. For as much shit as Harden gets for his playoff failures, his ability to show up every season and grind out a massive minutes load while producing elite offense is criminally underappreciated.

Grizzlies Win

Much like the Clippers, the Grizzlies are straight up not having a good time. Ja Morant has been ineffective and uninterested all season, and Jaren Jackson Jr. has largely been too. At 5-11 with a -4.9 net rating, the Grizzlies are fast approaching the dreaded lottery line, but last night, they showed some fight without their (less than) dynamic duo. The Grizzlies won 137-96 to end a five-game losing streak. Sure, it was the Kings, but it was both their highest scoring effort and best defensive performance of the season. 11 players played over 14 minutes, and six eclipsed double-figures in points, with Santi Aldama’s 29 points leading the charge. Considering how bad the vibes emanating from the Grizzlies’ two stars have been, a win like this has the chance to turn the season around. It’s proof that the rest of the roster isn’t completely shambolic and that the coaching staff has a real blueprint for success. A lot of teams will beat the Kings in their current state, but if Morant and Jackson can’t watch this game and decide to buy in, then all is lost anyway.

Nick Nurse, For the Love of God, Give Maxey a Break

I’ve touched on this before, but Nick Nurse needs to have his medical surname stripped from the records. Tyrese Maxey is currently leading the NBA in minutes per game (40.7), and leads the league in total minutes (610), despite playing one fewer game than the current maximum. Among players who have played 15 games, he has a 50-minute edge on second, which just so happens to be his teammate, VJ Edgecombe, and the next closest non-Sixer is Trey Murphy III with 534 minutes played. If you’re doing the math, that’s a 76-minute edge, which is more than two extra games played for everyone not named Tyrese Maxey. Somehow, someway, Nick Nurse has figured out how to play Maxey 17 games in 15 games.

At some level, I under Nurse’s impulse. The Sixers are a relatively mediocre team and have completely fallen apart without Maxey, but this minutes load is completely unsustainable. If he were to play a full 82 at this pace, a huge if, he’ll end up playing close to 300 more minutes over the second-place guy. Hopefully, the Sixers and their training staff are monitoring the situation and aren’t continuously pushing him into the danger zone, but Nurse needs to be held accountable if Maxey breaks.

SGA’s Lost Scoring Title

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander might have a hard time defending his scoring title. After averaging 32.7 points per game, he’s down to 32.0 this season and is currently behind Luka Doncic (34.6) and Tyrese Maxey (33.4). It’s still early, but his drop in scoring has nothing to do with his level of play and everything to do with how dominant the Thunder have been. This is not a typo; he has only appeared in seven of the Thunder’s 16 fourth quarters. Including overtime, Gilgeous-Alexander has played a total of 72.4 minutes after the third quarter and scored 84 points, which nets out to a truly ridiculous 41.7 points per 36 minutes. Just over the first three quarters, he is averaging 26.75 points per game and 33.31 points per 36 minutes. The fact that he is this close to the scoring title is incredible. If SGA loses out on the scoring title, chances are it’ll be because he helped build too many insurmountable leads to be bothered to play the final 12 minutes.

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