Jaylen Brown went off for 42 on Friday and 48 hours later dropped 33 in 19 minutes. Clint Capela had the first triple double with blocks since 2018 and Tom Brady put up 31 PTS and 9 dimes to lead the Tampa Bay Raptors back to the finals. Or wait, do we have that right?
Another great weekend of hoops is in the books. There were some real eye-popping numbers. One number that really stood out to me was 8. That’s how many games the Utah Jazz have won in a row. The Jazz (12-4) are nearly tied with the LA teams (both 13-4) in the West. They didn’t make any huge offseason moves, they lost in the playoffs by an inch, and yet they just keep trucking along. Mike Conley has returned to his Memphis form, which is the big difference. He’s shooting 46% from the field (up from 41% last year) and draining a career-high 42% from three (37.5% last year). Mitchell and Gobert just keep doing what Mitchell and Gobert do. I’m really digging the way they’re playing. Here are some other numbers you may have missed from the weekend.
The Nets lost their second straight to the Cavs before getting their first win of the big three era against Miami. Harden went 2/8 from the field and they still won. How many times did that happen in Houston?
Jaylen Brown scored 42 on 28 shots. An efficiency king!
Trae Young beat him with 43 points on 22 shots in a win against the flailing T’Wolves on Friday.
Then Jaylen came right back with 33 points in under 20 minutes on Sunday. That’s the most points scored in that time going back to 1984. Where does Jaylen fall in our best player rankings at this point? Top 30? Top 20?
Capela put up a staggering 13 PTS, 19 REB, 10 BLK performance. That’s the first triple double with blocks since 2018. (Who was last to do it? The Brow.)
Nikola Jokic played 42 minutes in overtime against Phoenix and dropped 29 PTS and 22 REB. For flair, he added 6 AST.
The Lakers continue to roll. Anthony Davis feasted for a 37-6-3 in just 28 minutes while LeBron James waltzed to a 17-11-6 in a comfortable win against the Bulls.
After not playing because of COVID issues for two weeks, the Wizards returned to action. They lost.
Kawhi Leonard had a decent line with 34-9-8 and zero turnovers in a win against the Thunder.
Gordon Hayward is on a tear right now. He had 39 PTS on Sunday. It’s good to see him playing well again.
