The last two days have been as much fun as I have had in a really long time watching January NBA basketball. With the new load management rules that disallows star players resting just for rest and they need to hit a certain number of games to qualify for All-NBA teams (65 games), the games and matchups on a given night have been insane to watch. Over the last two days, I watched the entire Celtics-Thunder game, went to Bulls-Knicks at the garden and got to watch the 4th quarter and OTs of Pistons-Jazz and Magic-Kings. I am not going to breakdown every play of every game but I am going to give you my thoughts of the game and what entertained me.
The Celtics-Thunder game was the most excited I have been for a non Knicks or Warriors game or a game that had other implications such as traded players, beefs, and playoff games. This game lived up to the hype. Both the Celtics and the Thunder play great team basketball on both sides of the ball. The ball movement and defensive rotations are the best in the league from both teams and shows in their respected records. The Celtics starting 5 is ridiculous and Porzingis and White are both playing better than Jaylen Brown. This Thunder team is awesome considering where they were the last few years. Chet makes this team a legitimate contender and J-Dub continues to get better.
Derrick White and Jrue Holiday are known as two of the best perimeter defenders in the entire NBA. Neither one of them had a shot at stopping Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Shai had 36 6 and 7 and is looking like the best player on this planet at the moment. The way SGA gets buckets is pure beauty and there isn’t a shot SGA can’t make. He is so smooth driving and has been the best post player in the NBA for a guard this year. Giddey has also been playing a lot better and had his best game of the season. The Thunder went up 18 early in the fourth and the Championship DNA of the Celtics came into play and they got the lead down to 2 at a point. But Chet hit two huge threes in the clutch for the Thunder to keep the lead. Jalen Williams had the biggest bucket of the game, taking Tatum, who locked up SGA in the 4th, off the dribble for a little jumper in the paint. This Thunder team is unreal to watch and they play basketball the perfect way. The entire game felt like a playoff game and I would dream of this being a Finals matchup even though it is unlikely.
The Bulls-Knicks game was a great game even though the Knicks ended up winning by 16. The first half was close and Derozan hit 3 threes. The Bulls have a bunch of gritty guards but do not have a complete team to compete with the Knicks, especially without Vooch. OG Anunoby makes such a big impact for the Knicks even without scoring. By looking at the boxscore, you would not be able to tell how big of an effect OG had on this game until you see he was a +35 in the game. OG is so good both on-ball and off-ball defensively and provides the Knicks the 90s-basketball DNA Thibs wants to play. Randle has looked great the past month and has been hustling harder than I have ever seen in a Knicks jersey. Isaiah Hartenstein is an absolute beast and needs to get paid this offseason The Knicks are trending in the right direction after the trade and should be right around the 4 seed by the All-Star break. If they get one more guard off the bench that is a shot creator like Malcolm Brogdon or Jordan Clarkson, the Knicks are dangerous and no one will want to see them in the playoffs.
I got home after the Knicks game and my roommate had on the Jazz-Pistons game and the Lakers-Heat game. The Jazz-Pistons game had one of the crazier endings I’ve seen to an NBA regulation. In the final 32 seconds of the game, the two teams hit two threes each by four different players to send the game to OT. Clarkson started it adding to his 36 point performance to put the Jazz up three. Bogdanovic, who also had 36 points, got an offensive rebound off a miss and then tied the game up with 15 seconds left. The Jazz drew up a pick-and-pop with Clarkson and Lauri and Lauri put the Jazz up three with 5 seconds left. With no timeouts, Alec Burks dribbled down the entire court and nailed a buzzer-beater to send the game to OT. It felt March Madness-esc. The Jazz ended up winning in OT but it really was a great game between two teams most people would not be watching. Colin Sexton has been playing his best basketball since before his injury in Cleveland and Simone Fontecchio is a great role player.
The last game I watched was the end of the Magic-Kings game. In this double-OT thriller, there were an abundance of crazy individual performances. The entire crunch time and both overtimes seemed it was Malik Monk and Sabonis against Paolo Banchero. The Magic had no guards besides Suggs since Fultz and Cole Anthony did not play and Franz and Gary Harris got hurt. The lineup that featured Chuma Okeke and Trevlin Queen was surprisingly great and got the lead for the Magic. When the Kings battled back, Paolo took over and scored 18 straight points for the Magic over the end of the 4th and both OTs. Malik Monk had 11 of his 37 points in the 4th quarter and was the go-to ball handler over the clutch player of the year last year DeAaron Fox. Sabonis was dominant and took over the game. Domas ended with 22 points, 23 rebounds, and 12 assists. The shot making from both teams were insane as the Magic hit a franchise record 25 threes. Unfortunately for the Magic, they did not have enough to outlast the Kings and lost in double OT. Considering both teams were on the second night of a back-to-back, the pace, intensity and gameplay was great. The fatigue was not noticeable in double OT and it was so worth it to stay up watching the end of the Kings-Magic double OT thriller.
To end it, I want to reiterate that the rules that Adam Silver has placed this year to limit load management has made the league better. Combining that with the insane amount of talent in the NBA makes every day a crazy day in the association. The only thing that would make yesterday better was if Stephen A. Smith can acknowledge the two all-stars on his team and not demand a trade every single pregame show. The NBA is watchable at all times and not just playoff basketball.
JakesTakes 
Leave a comment