We had a packed 10 game Saturday night slate in the NBA last night so lets jump right into it
Raptors Edge Kings in Overtime
The Raptors took on the Kings last night in Toronto and came away with a 131-128 victory behind RJ Barrett’s 31 points. They also got 22 points from Ochai Agbaji, Grady Dick, and Chris Boucher added 24. This win marked just the second of the season for Toronto who have a variety of young talent and still seem to be trying to find themselves and their identity early in the season. But with the talent they have, I expect them to be a pretty competitive team this year. For Sacramento, this loss moves them back down to 3-3. Demar Derozan returned to his longtime home court and scored 33 points, De’Aaron Fox added 24 points but shot a shocking 0-11 from 3 point range. The Kings will look to bounce back on Monday on the road against Miami, while the Raptors will look to build off of that win against the Nuggets on Monday.
Celtics Take Care of Hornets Again
The Celtics continued their winning ways on Saturday, beating the Hornets for a second straight day, this time with a score of 113-103. This game is just a bit of a lopsided matchup and the Celtics did a good job taking care of business with the favorable back-to-back this weekend. Jayson Tatum gave the Celtics 29 points and Payton Pritchard added six 3-pointers to lead Boston to the victory. Lamelo Ball has looked like an absolute star throughout the early stages of the season and that was no different tonight as he scored 36 points and hit 6 3-pointers. The talent around Lamelo and Brandon Miller is quite limited in Charlotte and the expectations over there shouldn’t be very high but Lamelo Ball is must see TV so far this season which is at least something to keep Hornet fans entertained.
Grizlliers take down 76ers and more Embiid Drama
The Grizzlies beat the 76ers last night 124-107 and Joel Embiid somehow made the night about himself again despite him not logging 1 minute of game time yet this year. Earlier in the day he was talking negatively about Philadelphia fans saying he doesn’t want to play because of “how much he has done for this city” and then he shoved a reporter after the game. Combine that with the technical foul he received on the bench a couple of games ago and he is putting together a real stinker from the sidelines this season. But back to the players that are actually playing basketball, Jaren Jackson Jr led the grizzlies with 27 points and 6 rebounds but they had 7 different players in double figures including 20 off the bench fromJay Huff. Grizzlies will look to carry the momentum into their matchup against Brooklyn on Monday and the Sixers, who fell to 1-4 with this loss, face a tough matchup in their next game against the 5-1 Suns on Monday night. We’ll see if Embiid returns if they can start putting together some wins because they need it.
Cavs Stay Undefeated While Bucks Continue to Search for Answers
The Cavaliers stay undefeated with a 1 point victory against the Milwaukee Bucks who fall to 1-5. The Giannis trade rumors are not going to get any quieter if the Bucks keep losing games, especially when they are losing games while him and Dame combined for 75 points and Dame hit 10 3 pointers. They really just have no depth, no Kris Middleton, and no identity, and things are going south early for Milwaukee. For the Cavs, Donovan Mitchell scored 30 and they had six players in double figures. They improve to 7-0 and look to keep rolling on Monday when these two teams face off again.
Spurs Edge Timberwolves
The Spurs took on the Timberwolves on Saturday night in what was the second half of a back-to-back for the Timberwolves who fell to the Spurs by a score of 113-103. Keldon Johnson led the Spurs with 25 points off the bench, Jeremy Sochan added 19 points and 10 rebounds, and Wemby scored 17 points, a steal, and 2 blocks. This is a good sign for the Spurs who were able to come away with a win in a game where Wemby didn’t light it up by any means against a good Timberwolves team. The Timberwolves struggled shooting the ball in this one as they shot just 29.7% from 3 as a team. and they got outrebounded 44 to 32. Anthony Edwards and Julius Randle both contributed 21 points but they will look to bounce back on Monday against the Hornets at home while the Spurs will look to carry the momentum into the Intuit Dome on Monday night against the Clippers.
Heat Cruise Past Wizards in New Mexico City Game
The Heat played the Wizards in the New Mexico City game and the Heat came away with a 118-98 victory led by Bam Adebayo and his 32 point 14 rebound performance. Jimmy Butler added 18 and Tyler Herro and Alec Burks both scored 15 points including 5 three pointers from Burks. The Wizards struggled offensively shooting just 41% from the field and 20% from 3. This just is not a very good basketball team in Washington and I expect these times of games to happen relatively often throughout the season.
Nuggets Bounce Back Against Jazz
The Nuggets bounced back on Saturday with a 129-103 victory against the Jazz after their late game collapse to the Timberwolves on Friday. Jokic had 27 points, 16 rebounds, and 9 assists, and the Nuggets got good contributions from Christian Braun, Michael Porter Jr, and Julian Strawther who all scored 17 or more points in the win. The Jazz fell to 0-6 with this loss and its looking like a lost season already in Utah. There have been trade rumors for an extended period of time now surrounding Walker Kessler and with how this team looks, I expect those conversations to continue and we probably will see him on the move at some point in the near future.
Suns Stay Hot, Beat Blazers
The Suns stay hot as they beat the Trail Blazers on Saturday night to improve to 5-1. Phoenix was a team who couldn’t really put it together last year and they didn’t really do anything major to make me think that this year would look that much different as they kind of just decided to run it back, but they have looked much better this year so far and may be the championship contender they were supposed to be last season. They had five players score 15 or more points led by Devin Booker’s 28 point 9 rebound and 9 assist performance. They will look to keep up the winning ways in their next game against the Sixers on Monday. The Blazers fell to 2-5 with this loss in which they shot just 33.3% from the field. This team has a roster and a combination of talent where they could be a relatively competent team and maybe fight for a play-in spot but I don’t really see that happening and I would expect more of the same with what we saw tonight.
Thunder Stay Undefeated Against Clippers
The Thunder continue to look like the juggernaut that I and probably a lot of others expected them to be. They have a unbelievable amount of young talent and they play well together and continue to be one of the most well-rounded teams in the NBA as they improved to 6-0 on Saturday night against the Clippers. All five starters were in double figures led by Shai with 25 and Lu Dort with 16. They held the Clippers to 31% shooting from 3 point range as LA was held to just 92 points at home in the loss. James Harden struggled to shoot the ball as he was just 4-13 from the field and 2-9 from 3. With Kawhi on another hiatus, this team probably goes wherever James Harden takes them. They look to right the ship on Monday at home against the Spurs, while the Thunder look to stay hot against the Magic on Monday.
Warriors Stifle Comeback, Beat Rockets in OT
The last game of the night was the Rockets and the Warriors. Going into the season, I think a lot of people thought it was another year of competence because of the greatness of Steph Curry, but I don’t think many people believed this team could go very far in the playoffs. I think the tune has changed already. The Warriors are 5-1 now after they beat the Rockets 127-121 in overtime on Saturday. The Warriors have been missing Steph for the previous 3 games now including this one, and have won them all. Going into the season, I would’ve guessed they were bottom feeders if Curry missed time, but with the emergence of Buddy Hield who seems to fit like a glove in the Golden State offense, and the continued development of Jonathon Kuminga, the Warriors just might have a shot at making another run. They have only lost once in six games, they have an identity, and they seem to have a decent amount of depth when they are healthy. I wouldn’t close the door on Golden State deep playoff runs just yet. As for the Rockets, they fell to 3-3 with the loss despite outscoring Golden State by 28 points in the second half. Tari Eason led them in scoring with 27 and Jabari Smith added 21 points and 7 rebounds. They look to bounce back on Monday against the Knicks at home.
