Anthony Edwards and the Timberwolves Are on a Roll | HOOPS, 1/9/25
Edwards becomes the third youngest to 10K points, an overly moist court leads to Heat/Bulls being postponed, and more.
note: It feels great to be back after such an unexpected extended Internet outage. I appreciate everyone reading this for bearing with me.
The Tip-Off: A Mind-Blowing LeBron James Stat
On Dec. 30, LeBron James turned 41 years old and since then he has played in four games. He currently has the three highest scoring games over for a 41-year-old and his fourth is 13th highest.
James surpassed Kareem Abdul Jabar’s 24pts to reach the most points by a 41-year-old ever and seems to show no signs of slowing down, averaging 26 points per game since his birthday and throwing down insane windmill dunks.
Appreciate greatness while we still have the chance to watch it.
Recapping Thursday’s Four-Game Slate
Pacers - 114, at Hornets - 112
LaMelo Ball (33pts/8a, 27 min) came off the bench to provide a huge offensive boost to the Hornets’ second unit but it wasn’t enough as the Pacers snapped a 13-game losing streak and finally got coach Rick Carlisle to 1,000 career wins.
It was the second straight night of heartbreaking defeat for the Hornets who had Toronto’s Immanuel Quickley call game on them Wednesday, who have to be shaking their heads at the way everything unfolded. Brandon Miller (6pts/3r/3a) was ejected for arguing with the officials and not having him on the court down the stretch here certainly seemed to result in Charlotte settling for way more jump shots.
The craziest thing is that outside of Pascal Siakam (30pts/14r) and TJ McConnell (23pts/8a off the bench) the Pacers didn’t really have much. Everyone else just kind of chipped in bit by bit and that ended up being enough for them to finally get back in the win column.
Heat at Bulls - POSTPONED
This was one of the stranger scenes I can remember seeing at a basketball game as the tip-off was delayed 90 minutes, ultimately ending with the teams and league agreeing to postpone the matchup and make it up at a later, still-to-be-determined date.
The cause for all the madness? A wet court. Due to an unusually warm and rainy Thursday in Chicago, the ice under the court from a Wednesday night Blackhawks game was unable to re-freeze, leading to excessive condensation on the court.
Both teams went through their warmup routines but ultimate said the court didn’t feel safe for a full speed game.
"The players were complaining about it on both sides. We all went out there and pretty much immediately, we felt that it wasn't playable." - Heat coach Erik Spoelstra
Cavaliers - 122, at Timberwolves - 131
The Cavaliers were unable to mount a comeback after an abysmal third quarter and thanks to Minnesota’s season-best shooting performance. The Wolves shot a staggering 57% from the field and 53% from three as they came away with their fourth consecutive win. They are now 15-5 since Thanksgiving (best in the league) but more impressive than that, the Wolves started the season 0-7 vs. teams with a winning record and now, they’re 8-2 in the last 10 vs. teams with a winning record. It’s an impressive turnaround punctuated of course by Anthony Edwards (25pts/9a/7r) who became the third youngest player to reach 10,000 career points. But it’s also thanks to some huge supporting help. Julius Randle (28pts/11r/8a) is having the kind of all-around performances that can boost any team while Donte DiVincenzo (22pts) and Jaden McDaniels (26pts, 11-14 FG) are providing plenty of boosts as well.
On the Cavs’ side, this feels like it’s exactly the kind of game they were winning without issue last season. This year they just haven’t had the same magic. What’s worse is this was a very winnable game and it’s not like the Cavs played bad. Donovan Mitchell (30pts/8a/7r), Darius Garland (16pts/8a), Evan Mobley (19pts, 8-11 FG), and Jarrett Allen (11pts/10r) all looked good and played normal minutes, they just couldn’t answer for Minnesota’s lights out shooting.
Mavericks - 114, at Jazz - 116
I can’t quite put into words how fun it is to watch this Jazz team when they are rolling but man, they’re one of my favorites every time they have a game. I can’t believe how willing they were to just go right at this Mavericks defense, scoring 24 of their 34 first quarter points in the paint. Not only did they enjoy a 64-46 advantage in the paint, but they made Dallas pay for extremely sloppy play. Dallas committed 21 turnovers for 25 Jazz points, compared to just nine turnovers for Utah.
This feels like such an odd time for the Mavericks with trade rumors continuing to buzz around Anthony Davis and the uncertainty of what they may look like in the next few weeks but still, this was an extremely winnable game.
“My plan is to be here for the rest of my career” - Giannis
In the wake of Atlanta trading Trae Young to Washington, Giannis Antetokounmpo was once again asked about potentially leaving the Milwaukee Bucks either this season or in the off-season. And we got a much firmer Giannis than we have so far this year on the topic.
"There will never be a chance, and there will never be a moment that I will come out and say, 'I want a trade. That's not in my nature."
"My plan is to be here for the rest of my career. If they don't want me ... I'm not the one in charge. I am an employee."
"I am not [going anywhere]. I am invested in this team. I want to turn this team around. I want to play good basketball. I want to be healthy. I want to help my teammates. I want to win games. The last six games we've played, we're 4-2. We have a lot of games in front of us. I'm locked the f--- in. I'm locked in. My priority is just staying healthy."
- Giannis Antetokounmpo on his future with Milwaukee
I still don’t love the “I’m an employee so if they don’t want me that’s different” type of argument but I think it’s pretty clear that Giannis is focused on the Bucks and winning this season. They’re 11th in the standings despite him putting up some of the best numbers of his entire career (29.5pts/10r/5.5a per game) due to his time in and out of the lineup.
Who knows ultimately how this one will all resolve in the next few years but I have more reason to believe Giannis at his word than I would some other players who have said similar things.1
At the Buzzer
- Sabrina Ionescu to miss Unrivaled season due to injury
- Wolves hold moment of silence for Renee Good
- ICYMI: The Hawks traded Trae Young to the Wizards, I wrote a little about it here
- NBA introduces Gravity stat to track the defensive pressure drawn by a player
- Who are this season’s most improved shooters? John Schuhmann’s got you covered
Key Games This Weekend
Friday
Raptors at Celtics
Knicks at Suns
Rockets at Trail Blazers
Bucks at Lakers
Saturday
Timberwolves at Cavaliers
Clippers at Pistons
Spurs at Celtics
Hornets at Jazz
Sunday
Pelicans at Magic
76ers at Raptors
Knicks at Trail Blazers
Spurs at Timberwolves
Hawks at Warriors
Again, thank you for bearing with me. It’s good to be back watching 4+ games at a time. My phone data and one on the tv was doable but not ideal. More importantly, I hope everyone reading this is doing well and has had a good week. Enjoy the weekend and I’ll be back for another week of (hopefully uninterrupted) newsletters on Monday. Stay safe and take care.
I think Giannis and Devin Booker are the two I believe want to be with their teams the most. I would say Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving are two I don’t trust fully and then dead last on this scale would be Eric Bledsoe.
