Cry Havoc
01-20-2017, 12:20 AM
Apologies for the late grades. Work has been kind of nuts this week. That said:
https://v.cdn.vine.co/v/avatars/DB92243E-7661-4036-9D6C-26476CA30D5A-353-0000001F69DF5A64.jpg?versionId=473mr75cNsZVuDuXhcx FeBB7WUFMO2lOhttp://cdn-img.easyicon.net/png/5697/569768.gifhttp://i.cdn.turner.com/nba/nba/.element/media/2.0/teamsites/spurs/Schad/img/PostgameTeams/SAS.png
AT&T Center
January 17th, 2017
Prologue:
As the midpoint of the NBA season drew near, both teams rolled into the Alamo... the SBC... the AT&T center as surprises in the West. Unfortunately for the TWolves, the "surprise" in their season is due to the fact that despite being loaded with talent -- including the best young big man in the league outside of one Anthony Davis in Karl Anthony Towns, the Wolves have had an abysmal season. What's worse -- much worse in some respects, is the fact that the Wolves are a dominant first half team, posting some of the best statistics vs opposition in the first half of anyone in the league. The 2nd half, particularly the 3rd quarter, is a different story. The Wolves fall apart every game like the guy at the bar when the lights come on and he gets rejected by the only woman left in the joint. At one point, they were historically bad in the 3rd quarter... that trophy has since shifted to the Brooklyn Nets, who are unspeakably terrible by every estimation of the word. For the Wolves to be mentioned in the same sentence as the Nets is an indication of how they are vastly under-performing. Pro-tip: Don't listen to Isaiah Thomas, who had Minnesota winning their division this season.
The Spurs, meanwhile, were expected to be good. They've been good and then some. On pace for well over 60 wins for most of the season, the Spurs are rolling and starting to put beat downs on opponents. Gone are the days of the 3rd quarter meltdown, in fact the Spurs have become the best 3rd quarter team in basketball. Statistically speaking they play an extremely tough 4 quarters of ball, and led by Kawhi Leonard, they show all indications of blasting past 50 wins yet again and making a possible run at #6, even as the Superteams in the League continue to loom large.
1st Quarter:
A tightly contested affair, the Spurs and Wolves were within 3 points for the entirety of the 1st save a short 5 point lead by the TWolves following a Gregg Popovich technical foul. Rubio drained the free throw, and rather than giving the Spurs players some space, Pop's anger seemed to agitate the refs, who called the entire quarter close to the chest. The TWolves shot 9 free throws in the first quarter, a trend that would continue for much of the game. Towns displayed why he is a phenom, showing great feel for the game and some nice moves. He can also run the floor -- with 3:41 to play Towns leaked out and caught a pass from Gorgui Dieng for an easy dunk (leading to the tech on Pop). However, with just 1:20 to play in the quarter, the Spurs rattled off 7 points to take a 30-27 lead, which was quickly undercut on a called foul with under a second on the clock to give the TWolves 3 freebies.
2nd Quarter:
The Spurs struggled out of the gate in the 2nd quarter, and Minny took advantage by using a lethal combination of getting fouled and then making their free throws. The Wolves went up 5 on a ridiculous alley-oop to Zach Lavine, and then after some back and forth the Spurs fell behind by 7 from a nice putback off the glass by Towns. The story of their offense largely boils down to free throws in this half however, Minnesota ended up shooting 23 free throws in the quarter. The Spurs managed to keep it close on contributions from Kawhi Leonard (4-4 shooting in the quarter) and LaMarcus Aldridge (also 4-4 shooting in the quarter!) with Tony Parker doing a little damage of his own. At the half the Spurs were down 55-50, but given the fact that Minnesota had already shot 31 free throws, it was a hard fought battle just to keep the game within striking distance. Would we see the Minnesota Timberwolves or the Minny TPups in the 2nd half?
3rd Quarter:
Well, the 3rd quarter didn't look so good for much of it. Minnesota allowed the Spurs to tie the game at 73, before re-opening the lead to 6 behind the strength of the aforementioned Dieng, Towns, and the Canadian Michael Jordan Andrew Wiggins. The amount of length Minnesota has is truly amazing. They play fast and they can swarm to the ball when they're being aggressive. The Spurs only weapon for much of the 3rd was one LMA, who was beating up the entire Wolves roster inside and educating the young Towns quite effectively. As the 3rd quarter drew to a close, though... Kawhi Leonard decided he had had enough. He canned a monster 4 point play, and the Spurs closed the quarter hard to end up 2 at the buzzer, 92-90.
4th Quarter:
And then the TPups emerged, full of wide-eyed terrible basketball, like the kid at the YMCA who says he's good and then has to look at his hands to dribble. The Spurs jumped out to the largest lead of the game to that point, 100-92, and the Spurs then unloaded a 20-2 run in the 4th to completely dismantle the younger TWolves. Everyone got in on the action. Patty, LMA, Kawhi, Tony, Dedmon, and David Lee all scored buckets in the 4th. The Wolves made a go of a comeback, but never got closer than 7, and the Spurs won 122-114, in a game that was closer than it should have been. With the win, the Spurs moved to 32-9 on the season, 1.5 games (but 3 losses) ahead of the Houston Rockets for the 2nd best record in the NBA.
Game Grades
Player of the Game
http://files.shandymedia.com/styles/page/s3/images/photos/thefumble/kawhi-leonard-channels-allen-iverson-crossover-1.png
Kawhi Leonard: A+
You'll pardon the massive graphic in the middle of this post -- but that's how big Kawhi was in this game. He completely eviscerated the TWolves defense, and as is becoming common, Sean Elliottttt was repeatedly heard on TV yelling, "Just give this man the ball, they can't stop him." And it was certainly the case on Tuesday. Kawhi demonstrated tenacity with the ball and his increasing aggression as the season rolls forward has to be terrifying for the rest of the league. Leonard scored 34 points in 39 minutes of play, on a truly absurd 17 shots. Pair that up with a fine 7 rebounds, 5 assists, on just one turnover, and this statline was completely dominant for Leonard. On defense, Kawhi held his opponent - rising star Andrew Wiggins, to 10 points, including a truly embarrassing steal on Wiggins in the open court leading to a fast-break jam, and Kawhi was a predator on the court against Minnesota. You know that moment in the movie where you realize the gravity of the superpower that a hero or villain has just received? Yeah, we passed that point some time ago in Spurs land. We're living in the Kawhi era. If he hasn't hit his prime yet, it is a scary thought for the rest of the league.
http://i.imgur.com/lHeCes8.jpg
Look at that shot chart. That's a beautiful shot chart.
Highlight Zone:
https://streamable.com/gq126 Kawhi rips it away then flushes it down.
LaMarcus Aldridge: B
A point of clarity: Normally when your big man gets 4 rebounds in a game he logs 36 minutes in, it's going to be hard to get a great game grade. But that has to be couched in the idea that LMA - and many of the Spurs - were working against the whistle-happy refs the entire night. LMA was called for touch fouls and many of the starters spent the evening in foul trouble, even Kawhi. But what we saw on offense from LMA was a fantastic sign -- his aggressiveness and decision making was near-instant. LMA catch the ball, LMA make something happen. And each time, the defense of the TWolves looked completely out of their depth, particularly when he posted up Towns on the low block. LMA shot 12-20, and even though Towns got 27 points of his own, that is something that you have to live with from such a talented big man. But make no mistake: LMA won the battle in the post Tuesday night.
Tony Parker: C+
Tony Parker was outplayed by Ricky Rubio on this night. But the Frenchman fought hard, and played some physical defense throughout, picking up 5 fouls in the process. Truthfully, there's not a lot to do on a night when a pass happy guard like Rubio is handed 14 free throws. Still, Parker has certainly had better nights on defense than this. One bright spot -- Parker showed some of the best flashes of speed I've seen from him all season, getting to the hoop effortlessly even through the tremendous wingspans of the Wolves big men. Parker finished 6-13 for 14 points and 5 assists on a relatively pedestrian night as a PG for the Spurs.
Danny Green: C+
This was easily the toughest game grade of the evening. Danny Green was a gigantic pest in this game. He was everywhere on the court, disrupting Minnesota's offense and getting into the passing lanes. Green managed FOUR steals and a block in this affair... and that's where the story ends. No one is a bigger proponent of defense than yours truly, but come on, Danny. Wide open look after wide open look in this game went clang. It is necessary for our starting 2 guard to shoot better than 1-8 from the field if we are going to beat the best teams in the League. That said, you cannot discount anyone playing defense on a night where the TPups light you up for 114.
Pau Gasol: F+
Literally the only thing saving Gasol from the absolute toilet of grades was the 5 rebounds he grabbed. In 17 minutes of play, Pau posted a -6 and looked lousy doing it. 1-2 from the field, 1 assist, 5 boards, bleh. Let's move on.
Bench
Dwayne Dedmon: B+
If we can get 19 minutes of this kind of play out of Dedmon every game, particularly going forward, it will be a huge boon to the team's success chances. On a night when defense was in short supply, Dedmon was doing man's work on the inside, tying the Spurs game high with 7 rebounds. Dedmon posted a +15 for the game, and whenever he set foot on the court, the team seemed to get a lift. It's hard not to be excited about the prospect of our diamond in the rough (ok, ok, maybe he's more of a topaz), as he should have more playing time in the future: At the time of this writing it was disclosed that Pau Gasol will be out for some time with a broken finger.
David Lee: B+
This guy has to be one of the most likable bench players we've had in a while. He is exactly the kind of player we were hoping to find a few years ago, when they signed Jeff Ayres to a contract... a guy who promptly threw away more chances to be productive in a system than anyone in Spurs history outside of Richard Allen Jefferson. Lee excels at moving without the ball, and has a pretty decent shot from everywhere on the court. His presence coincided with a huge 20-2 Spurs run, and the stats simply don't tell how valuable he was on Tuesday evening in San Antonio. +20 in 15 minutes... somewhere a boy named Matt is stewing in jealousy
Patty Mills: B
On a night when the Spurs needed some youth to keep up, Patty Mills did not excel, but he sufficed. Mills came into the game and immediately began firing away. He drilled his first two 3 point attempts, and looked to catch fire. Unfortunately, that was the best quarter of the game for Patty, as he finished 4-10 (3-5 from 3) for 11 points in 19 minutes of action. His +11 was strangely higher than any starter in the game but was 4th overall on the team -- Manu, David Lee, and Dedmon all posted higher +/- scores for the evening.
Manu Ginobili: B
Manu was a floor general tonight. His pedestrian 2 assists notwithstanding, this was one of the few games of the season where Manu played completely within himself. He scored only 9 points, but steadied the ship of the Spurs when it was rocking, and left the Spurs with an 8 point lead as he checked out after playing for 20 minutes. His 9 points might not scream at you, but Manu was a valuable addition to the Spurs tonight, and played with veteran tenacity on both sides of the ball.
Jonathan Simmons: D+
Not his game, not his night. JSimms didn't appear to be comfortable on the court, but to his credit he didn't try to Westbrook his way into a bad night. He only took one shot, which was a layup on a nice pass by Tony Parker, and only saw a few minutes in the 1st and 4th quarters. That said, I'm not too worried about his future prospects with the Spurs.
Bertans and Kyle: Inc
Coaching:
Gregg Popovich: C+
Not a bad night for our snowy-haired leader. Pulling Pau and parking him on the bench was a great move, as it was clear this was not his night against a hyper-mobile team like the TWolves. Still, I would really have liked to see the bench get more burn -- they completely annihilated the Wolves in the 4th. Which, upon reflection, makes sense, and hints at why the Wolves struggle so badly this season: They ran a SEVEN man rotation against the Spurs. Only Bjelica and Shabazz Muhammed got any burn off the bench. Small wonder that when our high-energy unit went into the game, the doors fell off the Timberwolves' chances of winning.
News and notes from around the league:
Due to my tardiness in getting this out, I can have the opportunity to say CONGRATULATIONS Kawhi Leonard! Leonard has been selected to his 2nd straight All-Star game, garnering the 3rd most votes in the West. He joins Anthony Davis and Kevin Durant in the frontcourt, and Steph Curry and James Harden in the backcourt, robbing NBA fans around the world of being able to see the awkwardness of Harden, Westbrook, and Durant on the court together at the same time.
As mentioned above, Spurs Forward Pau Gasol will miss an indefinite amount of time after fracturing the fourth metacarpal in his left hand.
LeBron James -- never one to shy away from assessments or bold statements -- called Gregg Popovich "the greatest NBA coach of all-time" after his game against the Phoenix Suns. Poor Phoenix, even when they're not playing the Spurs they can't get out of the way of the greatness that is this franchise. :lol
Rookie Joel "The Process" Embiid and 4th year player Giannis Atenokupmeofjherifuopepo are having breakout seasons in the NBA this year. Despite being limited in minutes, Embiid is posting 20 PPG and 8 RPG to go with 2.4 blocks per. Meanwhile, Alphabet (an official nickname according to basketball reference) is throwing up gaudy fantasy stats for the young talented Bucks: ~24 and 8, with 5.6 assists, 1.8 steals, and 2.1 blocks per.
https://v.cdn.vine.co/v/avatars/DB92243E-7661-4036-9D6C-26476CA30D5A-353-0000001F69DF5A64.jpg?versionId=473mr75cNsZVuDuXhcx FeBB7WUFMO2lOhttp://cdn-img.easyicon.net/png/5697/569768.gifhttp://i.cdn.turner.com/nba/nba/.element/media/2.0/teamsites/spurs/Schad/img/PostgameTeams/SAS.png
AT&T Center
January 17th, 2017
Prologue:
As the midpoint of the NBA season drew near, both teams rolled into the Alamo... the SBC... the AT&T center as surprises in the West. Unfortunately for the TWolves, the "surprise" in their season is due to the fact that despite being loaded with talent -- including the best young big man in the league outside of one Anthony Davis in Karl Anthony Towns, the Wolves have had an abysmal season. What's worse -- much worse in some respects, is the fact that the Wolves are a dominant first half team, posting some of the best statistics vs opposition in the first half of anyone in the league. The 2nd half, particularly the 3rd quarter, is a different story. The Wolves fall apart every game like the guy at the bar when the lights come on and he gets rejected by the only woman left in the joint. At one point, they were historically bad in the 3rd quarter... that trophy has since shifted to the Brooklyn Nets, who are unspeakably terrible by every estimation of the word. For the Wolves to be mentioned in the same sentence as the Nets is an indication of how they are vastly under-performing. Pro-tip: Don't listen to Isaiah Thomas, who had Minnesota winning their division this season.
The Spurs, meanwhile, were expected to be good. They've been good and then some. On pace for well over 60 wins for most of the season, the Spurs are rolling and starting to put beat downs on opponents. Gone are the days of the 3rd quarter meltdown, in fact the Spurs have become the best 3rd quarter team in basketball. Statistically speaking they play an extremely tough 4 quarters of ball, and led by Kawhi Leonard, they show all indications of blasting past 50 wins yet again and making a possible run at #6, even as the Superteams in the League continue to loom large.
1st Quarter:
A tightly contested affair, the Spurs and Wolves were within 3 points for the entirety of the 1st save a short 5 point lead by the TWolves following a Gregg Popovich technical foul. Rubio drained the free throw, and rather than giving the Spurs players some space, Pop's anger seemed to agitate the refs, who called the entire quarter close to the chest. The TWolves shot 9 free throws in the first quarter, a trend that would continue for much of the game. Towns displayed why he is a phenom, showing great feel for the game and some nice moves. He can also run the floor -- with 3:41 to play Towns leaked out and caught a pass from Gorgui Dieng for an easy dunk (leading to the tech on Pop). However, with just 1:20 to play in the quarter, the Spurs rattled off 7 points to take a 30-27 lead, which was quickly undercut on a called foul with under a second on the clock to give the TWolves 3 freebies.
2nd Quarter:
The Spurs struggled out of the gate in the 2nd quarter, and Minny took advantage by using a lethal combination of getting fouled and then making their free throws. The Wolves went up 5 on a ridiculous alley-oop to Zach Lavine, and then after some back and forth the Spurs fell behind by 7 from a nice putback off the glass by Towns. The story of their offense largely boils down to free throws in this half however, Minnesota ended up shooting 23 free throws in the quarter. The Spurs managed to keep it close on contributions from Kawhi Leonard (4-4 shooting in the quarter) and LaMarcus Aldridge (also 4-4 shooting in the quarter!) with Tony Parker doing a little damage of his own. At the half the Spurs were down 55-50, but given the fact that Minnesota had already shot 31 free throws, it was a hard fought battle just to keep the game within striking distance. Would we see the Minnesota Timberwolves or the Minny TPups in the 2nd half?
3rd Quarter:
Well, the 3rd quarter didn't look so good for much of it. Minnesota allowed the Spurs to tie the game at 73, before re-opening the lead to 6 behind the strength of the aforementioned Dieng, Towns, and the Canadian Michael Jordan Andrew Wiggins. The amount of length Minnesota has is truly amazing. They play fast and they can swarm to the ball when they're being aggressive. The Spurs only weapon for much of the 3rd was one LMA, who was beating up the entire Wolves roster inside and educating the young Towns quite effectively. As the 3rd quarter drew to a close, though... Kawhi Leonard decided he had had enough. He canned a monster 4 point play, and the Spurs closed the quarter hard to end up 2 at the buzzer, 92-90.
4th Quarter:
And then the TPups emerged, full of wide-eyed terrible basketball, like the kid at the YMCA who says he's good and then has to look at his hands to dribble. The Spurs jumped out to the largest lead of the game to that point, 100-92, and the Spurs then unloaded a 20-2 run in the 4th to completely dismantle the younger TWolves. Everyone got in on the action. Patty, LMA, Kawhi, Tony, Dedmon, and David Lee all scored buckets in the 4th. The Wolves made a go of a comeback, but never got closer than 7, and the Spurs won 122-114, in a game that was closer than it should have been. With the win, the Spurs moved to 32-9 on the season, 1.5 games (but 3 losses) ahead of the Houston Rockets for the 2nd best record in the NBA.
Game Grades
Player of the Game
http://files.shandymedia.com/styles/page/s3/images/photos/thefumble/kawhi-leonard-channels-allen-iverson-crossover-1.png
Kawhi Leonard: A+
You'll pardon the massive graphic in the middle of this post -- but that's how big Kawhi was in this game. He completely eviscerated the TWolves defense, and as is becoming common, Sean Elliottttt was repeatedly heard on TV yelling, "Just give this man the ball, they can't stop him." And it was certainly the case on Tuesday. Kawhi demonstrated tenacity with the ball and his increasing aggression as the season rolls forward has to be terrifying for the rest of the league. Leonard scored 34 points in 39 minutes of play, on a truly absurd 17 shots. Pair that up with a fine 7 rebounds, 5 assists, on just one turnover, and this statline was completely dominant for Leonard. On defense, Kawhi held his opponent - rising star Andrew Wiggins, to 10 points, including a truly embarrassing steal on Wiggins in the open court leading to a fast-break jam, and Kawhi was a predator on the court against Minnesota. You know that moment in the movie where you realize the gravity of the superpower that a hero or villain has just received? Yeah, we passed that point some time ago in Spurs land. We're living in the Kawhi era. If he hasn't hit his prime yet, it is a scary thought for the rest of the league.
http://i.imgur.com/lHeCes8.jpg
Look at that shot chart. That's a beautiful shot chart.
Highlight Zone:
https://streamable.com/gq126 Kawhi rips it away then flushes it down.
LaMarcus Aldridge: B
A point of clarity: Normally when your big man gets 4 rebounds in a game he logs 36 minutes in, it's going to be hard to get a great game grade. But that has to be couched in the idea that LMA - and many of the Spurs - were working against the whistle-happy refs the entire night. LMA was called for touch fouls and many of the starters spent the evening in foul trouble, even Kawhi. But what we saw on offense from LMA was a fantastic sign -- his aggressiveness and decision making was near-instant. LMA catch the ball, LMA make something happen. And each time, the defense of the TWolves looked completely out of their depth, particularly when he posted up Towns on the low block. LMA shot 12-20, and even though Towns got 27 points of his own, that is something that you have to live with from such a talented big man. But make no mistake: LMA won the battle in the post Tuesday night.
Tony Parker: C+
Tony Parker was outplayed by Ricky Rubio on this night. But the Frenchman fought hard, and played some physical defense throughout, picking up 5 fouls in the process. Truthfully, there's not a lot to do on a night when a pass happy guard like Rubio is handed 14 free throws. Still, Parker has certainly had better nights on defense than this. One bright spot -- Parker showed some of the best flashes of speed I've seen from him all season, getting to the hoop effortlessly even through the tremendous wingspans of the Wolves big men. Parker finished 6-13 for 14 points and 5 assists on a relatively pedestrian night as a PG for the Spurs.
Danny Green: C+
This was easily the toughest game grade of the evening. Danny Green was a gigantic pest in this game. He was everywhere on the court, disrupting Minnesota's offense and getting into the passing lanes. Green managed FOUR steals and a block in this affair... and that's where the story ends. No one is a bigger proponent of defense than yours truly, but come on, Danny. Wide open look after wide open look in this game went clang. It is necessary for our starting 2 guard to shoot better than 1-8 from the field if we are going to beat the best teams in the League. That said, you cannot discount anyone playing defense on a night where the TPups light you up for 114.
Pau Gasol: F+
Literally the only thing saving Gasol from the absolute toilet of grades was the 5 rebounds he grabbed. In 17 minutes of play, Pau posted a -6 and looked lousy doing it. 1-2 from the field, 1 assist, 5 boards, bleh. Let's move on.
Bench
Dwayne Dedmon: B+
If we can get 19 minutes of this kind of play out of Dedmon every game, particularly going forward, it will be a huge boon to the team's success chances. On a night when defense was in short supply, Dedmon was doing man's work on the inside, tying the Spurs game high with 7 rebounds. Dedmon posted a +15 for the game, and whenever he set foot on the court, the team seemed to get a lift. It's hard not to be excited about the prospect of our diamond in the rough (ok, ok, maybe he's more of a topaz), as he should have more playing time in the future: At the time of this writing it was disclosed that Pau Gasol will be out for some time with a broken finger.
David Lee: B+
This guy has to be one of the most likable bench players we've had in a while. He is exactly the kind of player we were hoping to find a few years ago, when they signed Jeff Ayres to a contract... a guy who promptly threw away more chances to be productive in a system than anyone in Spurs history outside of Richard Allen Jefferson. Lee excels at moving without the ball, and has a pretty decent shot from everywhere on the court. His presence coincided with a huge 20-2 Spurs run, and the stats simply don't tell how valuable he was on Tuesday evening in San Antonio. +20 in 15 minutes... somewhere a boy named Matt is stewing in jealousy
Patty Mills: B
On a night when the Spurs needed some youth to keep up, Patty Mills did not excel, but he sufficed. Mills came into the game and immediately began firing away. He drilled his first two 3 point attempts, and looked to catch fire. Unfortunately, that was the best quarter of the game for Patty, as he finished 4-10 (3-5 from 3) for 11 points in 19 minutes of action. His +11 was strangely higher than any starter in the game but was 4th overall on the team -- Manu, David Lee, and Dedmon all posted higher +/- scores for the evening.
Manu Ginobili: B
Manu was a floor general tonight. His pedestrian 2 assists notwithstanding, this was one of the few games of the season where Manu played completely within himself. He scored only 9 points, but steadied the ship of the Spurs when it was rocking, and left the Spurs with an 8 point lead as he checked out after playing for 20 minutes. His 9 points might not scream at you, but Manu was a valuable addition to the Spurs tonight, and played with veteran tenacity on both sides of the ball.
Jonathan Simmons: D+
Not his game, not his night. JSimms didn't appear to be comfortable on the court, but to his credit he didn't try to Westbrook his way into a bad night. He only took one shot, which was a layup on a nice pass by Tony Parker, and only saw a few minutes in the 1st and 4th quarters. That said, I'm not too worried about his future prospects with the Spurs.
Bertans and Kyle: Inc
Coaching:
Gregg Popovich: C+
Not a bad night for our snowy-haired leader. Pulling Pau and parking him on the bench was a great move, as it was clear this was not his night against a hyper-mobile team like the TWolves. Still, I would really have liked to see the bench get more burn -- they completely annihilated the Wolves in the 4th. Which, upon reflection, makes sense, and hints at why the Wolves struggle so badly this season: They ran a SEVEN man rotation against the Spurs. Only Bjelica and Shabazz Muhammed got any burn off the bench. Small wonder that when our high-energy unit went into the game, the doors fell off the Timberwolves' chances of winning.
News and notes from around the league:
Due to my tardiness in getting this out, I can have the opportunity to say CONGRATULATIONS Kawhi Leonard! Leonard has been selected to his 2nd straight All-Star game, garnering the 3rd most votes in the West. He joins Anthony Davis and Kevin Durant in the frontcourt, and Steph Curry and James Harden in the backcourt, robbing NBA fans around the world of being able to see the awkwardness of Harden, Westbrook, and Durant on the court together at the same time.
As mentioned above, Spurs Forward Pau Gasol will miss an indefinite amount of time after fracturing the fourth metacarpal in his left hand.
LeBron James -- never one to shy away from assessments or bold statements -- called Gregg Popovich "the greatest NBA coach of all-time" after his game against the Phoenix Suns. Poor Phoenix, even when they're not playing the Spurs they can't get out of the way of the greatness that is this franchise. :lol
Rookie Joel "The Process" Embiid and 4th year player Giannis Atenokupmeofjherifuopepo are having breakout seasons in the NBA this year. Despite being limited in minutes, Embiid is posting 20 PPG and 8 RPG to go with 2.4 blocks per. Meanwhile, Alphabet (an official nickname according to basketball reference) is throwing up gaudy fantasy stats for the young talented Bucks: ~24 and 8, with 5.6 assists, 1.8 steals, and 2.1 blocks per.