5. The Dunk Contest will be fun, for the first time in a long time.
2000 in Oakland, All-Star weekend. It’s All-Star Saturday and Vince Carter, Tracy McGrady and Steve Francis are headlining the contest. Say no more. The greatest dunk contest in a long time had a lot of hype behind it for these young players who were not yet stars.
The next day, McGrady, Carter and Francis were household names thanks to their epic performance along guys like Larry Hughes, Jerry Stackhouse and Ricky Davis.
Now fast forward 15 years later and there is finally a dunk contest that should have both the pre-dunk hype and post-contest buzz like 2000 had.
Victor Oladipo’s flash, Zach LaVine’s skill , Mason Plumlee’s power and Giannis Antetokounmpo’s grace will all be on display. The young bucks are all up next.
4. John Wall, Best point guard in the NBA.
Not only did he have a fantastic near triple-double in last night’s Washington Wizards win over the Los Angeles Lakers, John Wall put on a small display to everyone who the best point guard in the NBA right now is. It is John Wall.
He’s the only point guard in the league averaging 17+ points per game, 10+ assists per game and 4+ rebounds per game. He’s also top 5 amongst point guards in value added to the team, estimated wins added and assists per 48 minutes. He also has the most double-doubles this season for point guards.
3. Problems in Big D?
3 straight losses. Fine, it’s the dog days of the NBA season so losing 3 now might not be that big of a deal. If you’re in the Eastern Conference.
In the West, dropping 3 straight, including 2 losses to divisional opponents, isn’t ideal for for the Mavs. Coupled with their sub-par rebounding and points allowed number, the Mavs need to get something going.
Post-Rajon Rondo trade, the Mavericks biggest concerns were that they lost rebounding and interior defense. Now would you look at that, the Mavericks rank in the bottom 10 of both of those statistics.
This is their longest losing streak of the season and it doesn’t get any easier because coming up their next 3 games are all road games against 3 teams in the playoff hunt. At the Houston Rockets, Miami Heat and Orlando Magic. Time to turn it around.
2. LeBron James is hitting his stride.
You don’t believe me? Check this out.
1. Chicago Bulls versus Golden State Warriors is so fun to watch.
Enjoy.
3 Biggest NBA stories of the day.
Slam Dunk contest participants.
John Wall vs Steph Curry Horse during All-Star Weekend.
Virtual look at the Kings new arena.
Statline of the night.
John Wall. 36 minutes, 21 points on 8-12 shooting, 13 assists, 9 rebounds, 3 steals.
Scores
Toronto Raptors at Indiana Pacers. Raptors defeat Pacers 104-91.
Cleveland Cavaliers at Detroit Pistons. Cavs beat Pistons 103-95.
Milwaukee Bucks at Miami Heat. Bucks beat Heat 109-102.
Memphis Grizzlies at Dallas Mavericks. Grizzlies defeat Mavs 109-90.
Chicago Bulls at Golden State Warriors. Bulls beat Warriors in overtime 113-111.
Washington Wizards at Los Angeles Lakers. Wizards defeat Lakers 98-92.
