The National Basketball Association has been filled with all sorts of action these past few weeks, from the NBA’s new in-season tournament to players being traded. The NBA has seen highlights from the New York Knicks and Milwaukee Bucks.
On Sunday afternoon, the Knicks’ wore their City Edition jerseys and unleashed all of their firepower as they blew out the Charlotte Hornets 129-107. Julius Randle, RJ Barrett and Jalen Brunson all scored 20 or more points on at least 50% shooting.
Mitchell Robinson’s offensive rebounding and Immanuel Quickley’s production off-the-bench are additional noteworthy stats that have played a crucial role in the Knicks’ current success. LaMelo Ball also had a sharp shooting performance with 32 points on 65% shooting.
Speaking of shooting, James Harden was traded from the Philadelphia 76ers to the Los Angeles Clippers just after Halloween, and there haven’t been any treats, so far. In four games, Harden is averaging 13.5 points, five rebounds, four assists and a 0-4 record.
Before trading for Harden, the Clippers were 3-2 and now they’re 3-6, 11th in the Western Conference. A week ago, Harden stated in a press conference “I’m not a system player. I am a system.” To the Clippers’ utter dismay, the system hasn’t proven to be successful.
The Golden State Warriors have been on a skid recently, losing their last three matchups. On Nov. 8, the Warriors took on the Denver Nuggets in Colorado and lost 108-105.
As the final buzzer sounded, Klay Thompson couldn’t get off his game-tying shot in time. The other missed shots were by the referees, missing two potential game-changing calls: an out-of-bounds call and a goaltending call.
The Warriors also lost to the Cleveland Cavaliers 115-104 where Draymond Green was ejected from the game because the NBA referees made a retroactive call. As the Warriors were on defense, Green shoved Donovan Mitchell, but there was no call on the initial play. A couple plays later, the referees used that play by Green as a reason to give him his second technical foul and being thrown out of the game.
San Antonio Spurs’ Victor ‘Wemby’ Wembanyama is still adjusting to the league with up and down performances. He shot 3-of-12 against the Pacers last Monday and 4-of-14 against the Knicks last Wednesday.
If Wembanyama learns to use his height correctly and gains more weight, he’ll be a force in the league, but until then, he’s going to have to play smarter.
The Milwaukee Bucks were off to a 5-2 start but have lost their last two due to poor defense. According to a video by ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, the Bucks’ defense has gone downhill as they’ve been allowing opposing teams to get off to hot starts and letting games slip away from them.
The Bucks rank sixth among the league in most opposing points allowed with 119.3, and Giannis Antetokounmpo wasn’t happy after the 112-97 loss to the Orlando Magic. Damian Lillard’s absence posed a conflict on both sides of the court.
Overall, it’s been a thrilling week of NBA basketball and there have been a lot of surprises. Teams and players have been on a roller coaster all season long, and the question remains as: to which team’s players will use the time they left to improve?