The League: Reign of The NBA

[nuka]

Quote: Originally Posted by lakers24

Demar DeRozan to have surgery on Left MCL; Out 1-2 months Marc Stein ESPN.com Nov 23, 2016 Toronto continues its run of bad luck this season with the loss of Demar Derozan to a torn left MCL. The Raptors have already been without All-Star point guard Kyle Lowry since the 3rd game of the season (still not due to return for a couple of weeks), now DeRozan will miss a minimum of a couple of months. DeRozan was having an incredible start to the 2017 season having had to step into the void left by backcourt running mate Kyle Lowry. DeRozan is averaging a career high 27.7ppg and recorded a career high of 46 just last week, November 18th, against the Denver Nuggets. Looking to combat their rash of injuries, Toronto has released forward Bruno Caboclo to open a roster spot for some free agent help. Sources indicate that Toronto is seriously considering signing enigmatic swingman Lance Stephenson to help fill the void left by DeRozan and Lowry.

noooooo

[lakers24]

Quote: Originally Posted by nuka

noooooo

Don't worry, I'm sure once they return they'll start racking up wins and make the playoffs. They are in the East

[lakers24]

11/27/16


11/28/16


11/29/16


11/30/16

[lakers24]

Monthly Recap: November


(So what do you guys think? Kind of rough, but I'm hoping to improve it a bit. Write-ups on the top storylines are to follow these btw)

[lakers24]

Harden and Westbrook Leading the Pack
By John Schuhmann NBA.com
@johnschuhmann
Dec 1, 2016

The MVP race is hot this year with no clear frontrunners for this years award. After last seasons unanimous MVP Steph Curry took control early and continually tightened his grip as the season progressed, this season seems to be taking a different direction. A lot of guys got of to hot starts and were caught during the latter stages of November. Some came on toward the end of the month. One thing is for certain though, this will be one of the best MVP races in recent memory.

This month is headlined by James Harden and Russell Westbrook who both are having phenomenal seasons and are putting up some ridiculous numbers:

1. James Harden - 31.8ppg, 7.6rpg, 7.1apg, 50%, 44% 3pt, PER: 32.1

Team Record: (11-7)

James Harden is having one helluva season post Dwight skipping town. Mike D'Antoni has revived a lot of players' careers, but this season has been about Harden's transition to PG more than anything or anyone else. After an initial period of adjustment, the Rockets have taken off and won their last 6 games in a row led by the MVP candidate. He's averaging career highs in points, rebounds, and field goal percentage and he's also fresh off of scoring a career high 53 points leading the Rockets to an epic 24 point comeback in Portland.

Standout MVP Performance

2. Russell Westbrook - 30ppg, 11.3rpg, 9.8apg, 47%, 35.5% 3pt, PER: 29.8

Team Record: (13-7)

Angry Russ is a sight to behold and is on track to be the first player to average a triple-double since The Big O. Russ has 7 triple doubles in his first 20 games and has led the Thunder to a respectable record despite the loss of arguably the second best player in the NBA in Kevin Durant and defensive dynamo Serge Ibaka. If Harden was having a normal year, Westbrook would be the runaway for number 1. As it stands now, Harden's efficiency gives him the slightest of edges between these two with how close they are. Can we have Co-MVP's?

3. Anthony Davis - 31.5ppg, 12.6rpg, 2.5bpg, 54%, 37% 3pt, PER: 33

Team Record: (12-7)

Davis started the season like gangbusters and while his production as dipped ever so slightly (now second in the league in scoring and 5th in rebounds), he's still having a monster season (as evidenced by his league leading PER of 33). The Pelicans have come back down to Earth as well after a hot start, but if they can somehow pick their level of play back up and sneak ahead of the Rockets or Thunder, don't be surprised if AD jumps ahead of the two guys above of him on this list even with their gaudy numbers.

4. LeBron James - 22.6ppg, 10.6rg, 9apg, 51% fg, 35% 3pt, PER: 27.6

Team Record: (14-2)

You can't have an MVP list without this guy hovering near the top. His prime years are coming to an end, but he's still arguably the best player in the NBA and will be for at least another year or two. His stats always show he's one of the most well rounded players in the league and his Cavaliers continue to steamroll the Eastern Conference in their effort to reach a third consecutive NBA Finals, and an 7th straight for LeBron. His efficiency has begun to slip a tad, but he's crazy good and dominant when he wants to turn it on. Just ask the Raptors after he dropped a 44 point triple double on them in early November.

5. Damian Lillard - 25.1ppg, 6rpg, 9.6apg, 43% fg, 37% 3pt, PER: 24.3

Team Record: (14-6)

Damian Lillard was the leading candidate here for about two weeks, mainly because the Blazers had a ridiculous start to the year and were leading the West until about a week and a half ago. After that though, the Blazers have been around a .500 team and Damian suffered an ankle injury the sidelined him for two weeks. In his place CJ McCollum had a decent stretch of games highlighted by a 51 point outburst. This in turn has affected Damian's MVP chances, but make no mistake, he's not out of the running just yet. Never count out Dame Dolla, he loves it.

[benrich315]

This is dope man, loving the video updates and the overall layout. Nicely done, keep it up

[lakers24]

Cavs continue to pace NBA
By John Schuhmann NBA.com
@johnschuhmann
Dec 1, 2016

The Cavs are back to cleaning house around the league and are still slightly ahead of the Warriors so far a month into the season. The movement below them and the Warriors continues to be fluid as there are a ton of teams crowed together record wise.

This weeks biggest jumps comes from the Chicago Bulls, Boston Celtics, and Washington Wizards. The biggest drops are the Indiana Pacers, Sacramento Kings, and Los Angeles Lakers:

1. Cleveland Cavaliers (14-2)

Last Month: 2
LeBron and Co. picked it back up to finish off the last two and a half weeks of November, reclaiming their place atop the power rankings. James won the Eastern Conference Player of the Month award and the Cavs already hold a sizeable lead over the 2nd best teams in the east (3 games up in the win column, 4 up in the loss column).

2. Golden State Warriors (14-4)

Last Month: 3

The Warriors sputtered through the first month by this teams standards. Losing to the Lakers twice in Los Angeles was a big reason the team has, by its own admission, not lived up to the hype. But they've also missed All-Star forward Draymond Green for a couple of weeks which has hurt them more then anticipated. Still, it should be obvious how ridiculous this team is even with those losses as following that last LA defeat, Kevin Durant scored a career high and NBA season high 68 points against the Minnesota Timberwolves. That was the highest point total amassed by any player since Kobe Bryant scored 81 points against the Toronto Raptors in 2006. Oh yeah, and they still have this guy named Stephen Curry who scored 31 that game as well.

3. LA Clippers (13-6)

Last Month: 9

Amazingly, the Clipps have remained healthy throughout the first month of the season. Blake is doing Blake things, CP3 is CP3, and DeAndre Jordan is well on his way to his 1st All-Star appearance. All is well in Lob City and if they can stay healthy, are they the 2nd best team in the West over San Antonio?

4. Portland TrailBlazers (14-6)

Last Month: 4

Even with a downturn from their hot start, an injury to Damian Lillard, and absolutely no defense (gave up 53 to Harden and 50 to PG13 in consecutive games), they still keep manufacturing wins. CJ McCollum also seems to have turned into an All-NBA caliber player after his excellent November culminating with a 51 point outburst.

5. Chicago Bulls (11-6)

Last Month: 22

The Bulls are showing everyone that shooting 3's is an overrated concept even today. They are the antithesis of most great teams today, yet, here they are 5 games over .500. It probably won't last long though with the loss of Jimmy Butler to a broken leg for the next two months.

6. Oklahoma City Thunder (13-7)

Last Month: 12

Russell Westbrook is dominating in ways we haven't seen in decades and the Thunder are right there fighting for a top seed in the Western Conference. No one expected the Thunder to be this good and you have to wonder how far one player can take a team.

7. Houston Rockets (11-7)

Last Month: 8

MVB! MVB!! MVB!!! That's the buzz in Houston and around most of the NBA currently with the re-energized James Harden. Losing Dwight Howard and bringing in Mike D'Antoni to pair with injury prone, none defensive players was supposed to cause even more of a stepback for the Rockets, but James Harden is just that good. Is this team overachieving? Yes. Harden however is not and that has made this possible. I'll give anything to see a Harden vs. Westbrook playoff series.

8. San Antonio Spurs (11-8)

Last Month: 6

They finally look like a Poppovich coached Spurs team again. Now we can expect the yearly 50+ win season, top 4 seed, and at worst 2nd round of the playoffs. It most be amazing to be a Spurs fan knowing there are no true bad years for this organization.

9. Boston Celtics (10-8)

Last Month: 15

Boston started really slow but has finally clawed back above .500. They'll hopefully maintain their current pace, but the Al Horford addition hasn't been as beneficial as many expected. Isaiah Thomas also seems to not have knocked off the off-season rust yet either.

10. Memphis Grizzlies (10-9)

Last Month: 10

Marc Gasol has a renaissance at the age of 31. Mike Conley lives up to his contract. Zach Randolph can win the 6th man of the year award. All of these possibilities and I can't confidently say which is even close to realistic for this team. Memphis will make the playoffs, I'm concerned for their future though. Because as currently constructed, they don't have much of one.

11. Washington Wizards (11-6)

Last Month: 18

John Wall and Bradley Beal look like their 2014-2015 versions and Washington is tied for 2nd in the East after one month. The cool thing is that they are just as good as Toronto and Boston when it comes to who the 2nd best team in the conference is. Can they make a trade for someone like Paul Millsap to increase their potency or are they good enough now to make a run at the ECF?

12. New Orleans Pelicans (12-7)

Last Month: 5

AD and Co. continue to play above their talent level and hope to have a great December to increase the likelihood of a 2nd playoff appearance in the Anthony Davis era. If AD holds up health wise and keeps his current level of play he'll finish with the highest PER ever recorded for a player in NBA history.

13. Detroit Pistons (10-10)

Last Month: 13

So the Pistons are moving into new arena next season in dowtown Detroit. They'll be leaving a building where they've won all three of their NBA titles and where they've played for over a quarter century. This is great news for the Pistons off the court, but on the court the team is pretty average. Andre Drummond is still an awful FT shooter and the roster overall is still pretty average.

14. Charlotte Hornets (11-7)

Last Month: 7

Kemba is averaging 21.5ppg and 6.5apg along with 2.5spg and Charlotte is hanging right in the playoff race even with a lot of important pieces missing time at some point or another during the first month. Walker will need to will a few games for this team to climb higher then they are. If he does expect him to be in New Orleans representing the East in mid February.

15. Orlando Magic (10-8)

Last Month: 16

I find myself still trying to figure out exactly what the Magic are and what are they trying to accomplish. I'm really perplexed because it makes no sense. Mario Hezonja (5th pick in 2015) is in the doghouse, Aaron Gordon still is being played out of position, Nic Vucevic is coming off the bench, and they owe Bismack Biyombo a ton of money. What is Rob Hennigan trying to create here for the Magic?

16. Milwaukee Bucks (8-8)

Last Month: 17

Giannis is still playing incredible basketball but has missed a few games due to injury. Jabari has slowed down a bit and they still need more shooting for this roster. They may also need a better C option moving forward, but whatever it is, Milwaukee needs to be a bit more patient waiting on these Bucks to turn into contenders even out east.

17. Indiana Pacers (9-10)

Last Month: 1

The Pacers illusion to start the year is long gone. This team is the definition of inconsistent and to be honest, it's partly Paul George's fault as he's seemed a bit out of sorts a lot of nights since they've had this downturn the last few weeks. Give him credit though for calling out his teammates and then going out and netting a career high 50 in Portland last night.

18. Minnesota Timberwolves (8-10)

Last Month: 24

Kat is averaging 21ppg, LaVine 18.4ppg, and Wiggins 17ppg. The problem lies with the supporting cast as the teams 4th leading scorer is averaging only 7.7ppg. That player is Ricky Rubio. The Wolves have virtually no bench and they have regressed on defense. Maybe Thibs can swing a deal to bring in some bench help and vets.

19. Miami Heat (8-10)

Last Month: 19

The Heat are in the mix for the playoffs only being 2 games under .500 but is that really beneficial for this organization? I know that some teams take pride in not "tanking," but this may be one of those times a team makes a trade at the deadline for "flexibility" even though we all know it's really to lose more games.

20. Atlanta Hawks (8-11)

Last Month: 20

The Korver trade looks to finally be showing affects as the Hawks have now slipped to 3 games under .500. They've also made it clear to teams behind the scenes that Paul Millsap is definitely available, whether or not he i moved however is another thing.

21. Los Angeles Lakers (8-12)

Last Month: 11

The Lakers are well ahead of their pace last season when they only amassed 17 wins. The bigger news here is that with the loss of Julius Randle, LA has finally solved their issue of figuring who of their young core was actually capable of being a potential star in the future. D'Angelo Russell has turned into a scoring machine the last week and has this team winning games they were complete underdogs in. After putting up a crazy 54 points on the Golden State Warriors, D-Lo followed that up with a 41 point game against the Atlanta Hawks. If Ingram begins to fulfill his potential the Lakers will be back sooner than you think.

22. Sacramento Kings (7-12)

Last Month: 14

As expected, the Kings are starting to have their yearly unraveling around early December. Demarcus Cosuins continues to dominate, but he's clearly unhappy even with the Kings ready to do one of the stupidest things they've ever done by offering him a max extension this summer. Will Vlade and Vivek gain some sense before the deadline this year?

23. Denver Nuggets (6-12)

Last Month: 23

Nikola Jokic is a beast and the Nuggets look like they have something moving forward. With tradeable pieces like Danillo Gallinari and Wilson Chandler, the Nuggets have plenty of moves they can and should make. The question is whether or not they believe in Emmanuel Mudiay as their starting PG of the future. Sources are saying that some in the front office don't believe he is and want to shop him.

24. Toronto Raptors (7-11)

Last Month: 29

The Raptors really can't catch a break this season...maybe that was the wrong choice of words, but the injury bug has bit them hard so far. They've brought in Lance Stephenson to help and so far he's been playing great. They just don't have the firepower to keep up most nights though. Here's to Lowry's return from injury next week though.

25. New York Knicks (6-12)

Last Month: 21

Drama in NY are as common as drama with the Lakers in LA. It's a right of passage and comes with the territory of playing in these markets for these franchises. This year it's the issue everyone saw coming in the summer of 2014 except for Phil Jackson apparently. The Knicks need to rebuild around Porzingis, they need to trade Melo to expedite this, Melo has a no trade clause and is making nearly $25M though. Good luck in finding a team Melo wants to go to if he even wants to be traded. Basically, expect more drama as the season goes along.

26. Brooklyn Nets (6-11)

Last Month: 25

The Nets aren't the worst team in the NBA, which is amazing in itself. This roster is pretty bad and yet they are playing really great together under rookie coach Kenny Atkinson. Can they keep it up and make that pick Boston is getting this season less valuable? Find out next week on Billy King Worst GM Ever Z!

27. Phoenix Suns (6-13)

Last Month: 27

Devin Booker is having a bit of a sophmore slump for the Suns only averaging 15ppg and shooting just 40% from the field. The Suns rookies Dragan Bender and Marquise Chriss also seem to not be contributing much and I know the questions are starting to arise in the desert about the future of this team. Are the young guys on this team good enough to be all-stars in the future?

28. Utah Jazz (5-14)

Last Month: 26

Utah is struggling mightily without Rudy Gobert unfortunately. Gordon Hayward has picked up his level of play to compensate, but their defense has taken such a drastic hit it's hard to keep up without a dominate offense.

29. Philadelphia 76ers (5-14)

Last Month: 30

Joel Embiid is fun in every way imaginable. The guys plays is as great as his twitter feed is. The man has a new celebrity crush every week and he goes out and plays to win their heart over every night. Teams don't have an answer either for a 7'2" center who can shoot threes, take you off the dribble, or pull out a dream shake in the post. Let's not forget the play of Dario Saric either who appears to be worth the wait just as much as Embiid was.

30. Dallas Mavericks (3-14)

Last Month: 28

Unlike his predecessor in Dallas, Harrison Barnes is healthy and proving Dallas made the right decision in giving him that max contract last summer. He's averaging 16.4ppg right now and is handling being the 1st option on offense nightly pretty well for the Mavs so far. It hasn't amounted to much winning in Big D, but at least now the franchise knows they have a definite pillar to build around moving forward.

[lakers24]

Quote: Originally Posted by benrich315

This is dope man, loving the video updates and the overall layout. Nicely done, keep it up

Thanks for following!