I’m sorry, DeMar DeRozan. I recently made up my own NBA All-Star rosters (stay tuned on MMH for that one!) and left him off my first two drafts. I even left him off after I removed the conference designation. Yes, he’s the best player on the only team over .500 that doesn’t have an All-Star. Would you rather have him or Zach LaVine? LaVine is playing really well, but his team is under .500 and they aren’t that much less talented than the Spurs. If they even are at all!
Regardless, DeRozan deserves some love. He has reinvented himself on this Spurs team. He was a two-guard for his nine years in Toronto. Now, he’s playing power forward, essentially. Yet, the contradictions continue as he’s averaging 7 AST this year, which is one assist more than any other year. He’s also averaging a career-low in turnovers. He is using matchups to his advantage to create mismatches. He leads the team in minutes and the ages of the three guys after him are 24, 21, and 22. He is a stabilizing force for the 5th seed (death, taxes, Spurs) in a loaded Western Conference. Keep it up DeMar. Now, to the numbers!
Kyle Lowry notched a triple-double with a 20-11-10 when the Raptors beat the Rockets on Friday. Credit to the Raps, who started this season 1-1,000. They’ve really clawed back.
The Miami Heat silenced the mighty Jazz on Friday behind Jimmy Butler’s 33-10-8 and Bam Adebayo’s 19-11-7.
Clint Capela scored 17 PTS, grabbed 21 REB, and blocked 4 shots. Tony Snell balanced that out by playing 28 minutes and scoring 0 points. None! Not even a foul shot! Somehow, the up-and-down Hawks couldn’t beat the Thunder.
The Lakers snapped their mini-slump by beating the Trailblazers behind LeBron’s stat-stuffing line of 28-11-7 with 4 STL and 3 BLK. Perhaps the King has found his stroke from distance? He’s 5-10 from three in his last two games after shooting 20% over the previous nine.
It would seem LAL can win with any combo of Bron, AD, and Schröder, they just need two of the three on the floor. They are 2-0 since Dennis’s return.
Zion Williamson scored 23 PTS with 14 REB in the Pelican’s loss to the Spurs. That’s only Zion’s second double-digit rebounding game since 1/27.
Dallas snapped the Nets win streak on Saturday. Granted, the Nets were without Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving.
The Knicks keep hanging around. They are now 18-17, good for 4th in the East. Julius Randle has earned his All-Star spot.
Giannis Antetokounmpo had a 36-14 with 4 BLK as the Bucks got a big win over the Clippers on Sunday.
Bradley Beal breezed to 46 PTS and 7 REB, but the Celtics squeaked past the Wizards by one last night.
Devin Booker dropped 43-5-5 in the Suns’ victory over the T’Wolves on Sunday.
The East is ridiculous:
