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A silent MVP
Jokić’s historic rise
Last time we checked, Nikola Jokić was the favorite to win the MVP award. He’s not an overwhelming favorite, and it feels like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has a real chance of winning again. But Jokić remains the quiet superstar, avoiding the national spotlight and simply maintaining the healthy work-life balance we should all aspire to. His resume this season is basically what we expect from him, which is crazy. Let’s compare this season to his previous MVP campaigns:
- 2020-21 season: 26.4 points, 10.8 rebounds, 8.3 assists, 64.7% true shooting
- 2021-22 season: 27.1 points, 13.8 rebounds, 7.9 assists, 66.1 true shooting percentage
- This season: 26.0 points, 12.3 rebounds, 9.2 assists, 65.1 true shooting percentage
Denver finished third in the West in his first MVP season and sixth in the West in his second MVP season. The Nuggets (46-20) are currently first in the West after beating Miami (35-30, eighth in the East) 100-88 last night. Jokić didn’t even have a big play, but they eventually headed to the finish when Miami ran out of offense.
Jokić’s dominance has become so seemingly easy that it eludes everyone as we look for other MVP candidates. It’s almost as if one of the most entertaining players has made domination boring, even if we marvel at what he creates on the basketball court. It’s an absurd paradox, but it exists.
Let’s say the betting favorite actually wins the MVP after this final month is over. And let’s say Denver is the favorite to cross the West and defend its title. At what point do we universally start putting Jokić in this conversation for top 10 players of all time? Yes, I can feel the reaction through the screen. “It’s too early for all this!” Of course…but is that the case?
We’re talking three MVPs, two Finals MVPs and two titles, if that’s how this season ends. And Jokić is only 29 years old. We can delve into nostalgia all we want, but its impact seems to be Steph Curry‘s daring shot became normal in 2013 and we no longer need to wait to call him the best shooter of all time.
The latest news from Shams
Isaiah Thomas’ Next Steps
In case you missed it, my colleague Jay King spent time with veteran Isaiah Thomas in Utah, where the 35-year-old plays for the Salt Lake City Stars of the G League.
I caught the double All-Star also recently, where he discussed not only his ability to consistently produce on the field, but also his desire to help teach the Stars’ young players how to become professionals. In three games so far with Salt Lake City, Thomas is averaging 32.0 points and 5.7 assists while hitting over 40 percent from 3.
We’ll see if Thomas’ performance leads to more NBA opportunities in the future.
About last night
LakersThe Dubs remain in Play-In territory
Yes, there is still a lot of season left and you never know when a team will run out, suffer a serious injury, or just completely fall apart. But last night’s NBA action finally made me believe that the Lakers (36-31, ninth in the West) will be relegated in this No. 9 vs. No. 10 matchup with Golden State (34-31, 10th in the West).
THE Nonconformists beat the Warriors, 109-99, thanks to a near triple-double of Kyrie Irving (23 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds). It happened one night when Luka Doncic had an off game, which for him means 21 points on 18 shots with nine assists but six turnovers. The warriors without Green Draymond or Steph Curry didn’t even have enough offense to score 100 points on a shaky Mavericks defense. This helped Dallas move 2.5 games ahead of the Lakers and 3.5 games ahead of the Warriors in the standings.
THE kings (38-27, sixth in the West) did their part by manipulating the Lakers once again this season. They swept the season 4-0 against the Lakers and help Domantas Sabonis extend his career unbeaten streak against Anthony Davis at 10-0, which is crazy to think about. Sabonis secured the victory with 17 points, 19 rebounds and 10 assists. Now the Lakers no longer have a tiebreaker against the teams ahead of them. And Sacramento beat the Suns in sixth place.
Seems like we’re destined for a LeBron James vs. Steph CurryLakers vs. Warriors, do-or-die match in the Play-In tournament.
The rest of last night:
Cavities 116, Pelicans 95: It seems like everyone’s started praising New Orleans (39-26, fifth in the West) the last few days, so, naturally, Cleveland (42-24, second in the East) won big. The Cavs dominated despite only three free throw attempts compared to 26 for the Pelicans.
Bulls 132, Pacers 129 AT: DeMar DeRozan hit a jumper with 0.1 seconds left to send it to overtime, then he scored nine of his 46 points in overtime. Chicago (32-34, ninth in the East) is 3.5 games behind the eighth seed.
Magic 114, Nets 106: Paolo Banchero led seven Magic players in double figures with 21 points and nine assists. Orlando (38-28, fifth in the East) is half a game behind the No. 4 seed.
Pistons 113, Raptors 104: Break the pistons! They won three of four thanks to 23 points and 24 rebounds from the 20-year-old Jalen Duren.
Jackets 106, Falcons 102: Deandre Ayton And Anfernée Simons combined for 69 points and 26 rebounds to overcome Defeat MurrayIt’s 40 pieces.
Hornets 110, Grizzlies 98: Would you rather fight 1,000 bear hornets or one hornet the size of a bear? I agree.
Can you celebrate?
Is marveling at a teammate’s posterization acceptable?
This happened the other night when the Kings crushed the Deer. With the game in hand, the Bucks rookie Andre Jackson Jr. I flew in for the tip dunk. The contact he made with Jalen Slawson on the jump, he catapulted him to Tom Chambers-ian heights, putting his chest over the edge. It was an impressive thing to see in real time, and we saw the Kings bench react. Courtesy of our guy, WorldWideWob:
Kevin Huerter got out of his seat. You see De’Aaron Fox start to react and then control yourself. Sabonis remained stoic and borderline catatonic. Here’s what Fox said afterward:
“Kev’s reaction was crazy. I don’t know if you saw, but I hit him in the head. He says, “He’s from upstate (New York). » I’m like, ‘Brother, I don’t care.’ WorldWideWob posted, and it’s the first thing people will see. How we react. But he sure got it.
I think when you win a match that’s basically over, you can react to a ridiculous moment like that. It’s not the Hawks bench that’s celebrating as their teammates were torched by Larry Bird for 60 points. But maybe Huerter needs to buy Slawson dinner or something to make up for it.
Bouncing passes
Screenplay (all times Eastern)
- Main screen: Suns-Celtics (7:30 p.m. TNT). The Suns (38-27, seventh in the West) would raise eyebrows in the West with a victory tonight.
- Second screen: Mavs-Thunder (10 p.m. TNT). Dallas (38-28, eighth in the West) is back-to-back, but that’s also a huge indicator for them against OKC (45-20, second in the West).
- League Pass Game of the Night: 76ers-Dollars (8 p.m.). Milwaukee (42-24, third in the East) got hammered on its road trip and needs a win to bounce back. Full program here.
(Top photo: Dustin Bradford / Getty Images )
