Skip to main content

Extra Pass: Tune in to Nuggets-Warriors, Lakers-Jazz


 

Both airing at 11:00 AM tomorrow, catch the Nuggets-Warriors game on NBA League Pass or Lakers-Jazz on NBA TV Philippines, available on Smart GigaPlay app and Cignal TV.


MVP numbers guaranteed 


The Denver Nuggets are 32-25 and sixth in the West by the grace of Nikola Jokic. There's no one who’s single-handedly responsible for the success of their team more than Jokic has been this season. He should be leading all MVP discussions by a mile.


This is going to be a problem for Golden State. The Warriors have been successful themselves this season, maintaining second place in the West with a 42-16 record. The Splash Bros are just getting their act back together, so the Warriors are still far from their peak form. But they have no one to guard Nikola Jokic. 


With all due respect to Kevon Looney and Juan Toscano-Anderson, they don’t have the size or the bona fides to stop the prospective two-time MVP. Even with Draymond Green, Jokic could easily have his way against the Warriors’ frontline with the way he’s playing now.


Without Green, there’s no one stopping Jokic from dropping a triple-double and maybe going for 40 points. The Warriors have struggled this season against teams with imposing centers like Karl-Anthony Towns and Joel Embiid. They’re rare now, but the odd low-post center generally has a good time against the Dubs. The Nuggets already have a win against the Warriors this season when Jokic gathered 22 points and 19 rebounds against them in late December.


Still, the Warriors have every means to not let this game get out of hand. Steph Curry has been returning to his normal efficient level recently. He’s still far from where he was to start the season, but Curry doesn’t have to worry about any threatening defenders against Denver. He should be able to find as much space as he can sprint to tomorrow.


As the All-Star Game nears, we can’t be sure about the availability of both teams’ stars as they might opt to rest before flying to Cleveland. Regardless, this game should be the one you’re tuning into tomorrow.


The NBA’s telenovela


This season has proven that the Los Angeles Lakers have top billing in the NBA, regardless of their record. The Lakers are 26-31, barely hanging on to a Play-In spot in the West, and a lot of headlines recently have revolved around their struggles even with all the craziness of the trade deadline. 


The Lakers are a mess of a basketball team. They have two stars playing at a relatively high level in LeBron James and Anthony Davis. Around them is a hodgepodge of a squad that doesn’t fill in their weaknesses. On some nights, the Lakers can’t buy a shot from deep. Almost every night, the Lakers can’t get a big defensive stop. Is this Russell Westbrook’s fault? Not totally, but that shouldn’t matter for a team with two stars and a lot of veterans with playoff experience.


Tomorrow, the Lakers take on the Utah Jazz, who have experienced some drama of their own. Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert squabbling over roles isn’t as sensational as a once-great franchise disintegrating, but Utah has had to deal with some things internally as well.


The Jazz are still in a good position in the West at fourth with a 36-21 record. It’s far from their dominant form last year and that’s where their panic lies. If they can’t get back to the same level of cohesion as last season when they got bounced in the second round of the playoffs, what is it going to take for them to finally make the leap this season? That’s not going to be answered by a single game in February, but it could push things in the right direction.


This game could very likely end up with the Jazz overwhelming the Lakers as Utah plays the zippy, ball movement-heavy system that the Lakers have struggled to defend this season. It also could prove to be a statement game for the King and his crew. Time is running out on the Lakers. Can they achieve the turnaround that they promised their fans?



Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Bill Russell Once Explained Why He Didn't Bother With Celtics Fans: "When I Was A Star, The Fans Called Us The 'Boston Globetrotters' Because The Celtics Had Black Players."

  While the NBA is a beacon for freedom and tolerance in America, things didn't start off that way. In a place like Boston, during the 50s and 60s, racial tension was a pretty serious problem, and superstar big man Bill Russell had to deal with it on a game-to-game basis. Today, it can be hard for us to imagine just how difficult being a black basketball player really was back then. Fortunately, we have some clips: "The number one paper was the Boston Herald and they didn't like the idea of an NBA team having black players. Out there, the star was Bob Cousy. No matter what I did, Cousy was the star. I remember I had a game where I had 25 points, 25 rebounds, 10 blocks, and the Boston Herald said I was lucky to play with Cousy." Unfortunately, the media didn't give Russell his respect back then. Despite being the best player on the court, and on his team, Cousy and others always got the spotlight. Even the fans weren't very accepting of Bill: "I didn't...
Post a Comment
Read more

From Deep: At long last, Nikola Jokic's Nuggets can envision getting to the top of the mountain

  Jamal Murray tore his ACL on April 12, 2021. Leading up to that night, he'd been playing at an All-NBA level for two months: In a 25-game stretch, Murray averaged 24.1 points on .509/.459/.935 shooting splits, 4.2 rebounds and 5.2 assists. He was even more efficient than he was in the bubble playoffs, and his defense had improved, too. Murray only got to play with Aaron Gordon, the Denver Nuggets' big trade-deadline addition, for five games. They won them all except the one in which Murray got injured. In 110 minutes, their new starting five scored slightly more efficiently than any iteration of the Kevin Durant-era death lineup in Golden State and defended like a top-five team. Two Nikola Jokic MVP awards later, Murray is back. So is Michael Porter Jr., who signed a five-year extension about a year ago and needed back surgery nine games into the 2020-21 season. The Nuggets remember how easily everything slid into place with Gordon in the mix. Newcomer Kentavious Caldwell-Pop...
Post a Comment
Read more

Sixers' James Harden backs teammate Joel Embiid for MVP: 'He deserves it, man'

  James Harden has been a member of the Philadelphia 76ers for less than two months, but that's been more than enough time for him to appreciate the brilliance of Joel Embiid. The duo is expected to help the Sixers compete for a championship, but Harden believes another trophy should be on its way to Philly this year.  In an interview with Ramona Shelburne of ESPN, Harden backed Embiid for MVP, saying "he deserves it, man." "I've only been here for a few weeks, but I already see his mindset," Harden said. "He wants to win. Some guys just want numbers, but he has both. He has the mentality of winning, and he scores the ball at a high level. I think he's prepared himself, especially coming off last year, for this year to be one of his best years." This has indeed been one of Embiid's best years. He's averaging a career-high 29.8 points, 11.3 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 1.4 blocks while shooting 48.8 percent from the field and 35.8 percent f...
Post a Comment
Read more