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Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jayson Tatum Earn Player Of The Month Honors

December 3rd, 2024 at 3:14pm CST by Luke Adams

Thunder point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has been named the Western Conference Player of the Month for games played in October and November, while Celtics forward Jayson Tatum has earned the honor for the Eastern Conference, according to the NBA (Twitter link).

Gilgeous-Alexander played all 19 of the Thunder’s games in October and November, leading the team to a 15-4 record by scoring 29.8 points per game on .503/.339/.857 shooting. He also contributed 6.6 assists, 5.3 rebounds, 1.7 steals, and 1.1 blocks in 34.5 minutes per night.

The Thunder had an eye-popping +15.1 net rating in the 655 minutes in which Gilgeous-Alexander was on the court, compared to a mark of just -0.9 net rating in the 257 minutes he sat. That was the widest on/off-court margin for any Oklahoma City player by a significant margin.

Lakers teammates Anthony Davis and LeBron James, Clippers teammates James Harden and Ivica Zubac, Kings guard De’Aaron Fox, Nuggets center Nikola Jokic, Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving, Grizzlies big man Jaren Jackson Jr., Rockets center Alperen Sengun, Trail Blazers guard Shaedon Sharpe, and Spurs big man Victor Wembanyama were also nominated for Player of the Month in the West, according to the NBA (Twitter link).

In the East, Tatum beat out fellow nominees Giannis Antetokounmpo, LaMelo Ball, Donovan Mitchell, Pascal Siakam, Franz Wagner, Jalen Brunson, and Karl-Anthony Towns.

Tatum led the Celtics in points (28.7), rebounds (8.5), and assists (5.8) per game in his first 19 contests, guiding the team to a 16-3 record, which included a dramatic victory over the 15-0 Cavaliers.

Tatum made 46.1% of his shots from the field, including 37.8% of 10.6 three-point attempts per game as Boston averaged 19.2 made threes per game — that would easily be an NBA record if the club can maintain that pace.

Northwest Notes: Williams, Nuggets, Thunder, McDaniels

November 28th, 2024 at 8:02pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Star Thunder forward Jalen Williams departed the first half of Oklahoma City’s 105-101 road win Wednesday over the Warriors with a right eye injury, per Joel Lorenzi of The Oklahoman.

All-NBA Thunder point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander struggled mightily without Williams. He shot just 5-for-16 from the floor in the second half.

Oklahoma City center Isaiah Hartenstein opined that the team’s general approach to the game should not have been greatly changed even with the absence of Williams late. Instead, with Gilgeous-Alexander’s shot not falling, the team struggled to close out Golden State, nearly squandering its entire 19-point lead.

“But that shouldn’t change the way we play,” Hartenstein said of Williams’ departure. “I think we didn’t execute the way we should have. … We shouldn’t have been in that situation.”

There’s more out of the Northwest:

The Nuggets have had difficulty scoring in the “middle eight” of their first halves — the final four minutes of the first quarter and first four minutes of the second, observes Bennett Durando of The Denver Post. “We were talking about that the other day, about how I think there’s only one time in the first 16 games this season that we’ve won the last four minutes of the first quarter and the first four minutes of the second quarter,” head coach Michael Malone said. “Every other game, (we lose) that eight-minute stretch, which coincides usually with Nikola (Jokic) being out. So there are a lot of nights where I think we actually get off to good starts. That we’re actually playing well. And then we have that stretch, that four-, six-, eight-minute stretch where the bottom falls out. … And the second half for whatever reason has been better.” According to Durando, Denver ranked No. 2 overall in second-half net rating ahead of their most recent matchup, and No. 29 in first halves.
Beyond their offensive issues in the “middle eight” period of first halves, the Nuggets have also shown slippage on defense early on this season, thanks in part to Aaron Gordon‘s extended absence. During their 122-103 win Wednesday against the Jazz, at least, the Nuggets appeared much improved on that end of the floor too, Durando writes in another Denver Post story. Point guard Jamal Murray picked up opponents for all 94 feet. “Being more physical from the start of the possession,” Murray said of his better defensive effort. “Not (letting) them get to their spots easy or set their screens where they want to set it. Stuff like that. So I think as a group, not just one or two guys, but getting everybody to do that (is important). And we were doing a good job of talking — I’m talking about this game. We’ve been doing a terrible job. But we did a better job today, of switching and talking, and even if there is a mistake or a blow-by, having help behind it.”
After being named to the 2024 All-Defensive Second Team, Timberwolves forward Jaden McDaniels is looking to level up this season, aspiring to be named to the All-Defensive First Team in 2025, writes Marc J. Spears of Andscape. He’s currently in the first season of a five-year, $131MM contract extension he inked with Minnesota in the 2023 offseason. “That is one of my goals, being [First Team],” McDaniels said. “I was [Second Team] last season. It’s a big goal. First Team, we take it first step by step. For me, I guard the best players. I’m not shutting them down, but I make it tough for them. I make their [shooting] percentages lower.

Northwest Notes: Conley, Dillingham, Hartenstein, Sensabaugh, Blazers

November 27th, 2024 at 9:59am CST by Luke Adams

The Timberwolves, who fell to 8-9 on the season on Tuesday with a loss to Houston, have a Mike Conley problem, says Fred Katz of The Athletic.

As Katz outlines, Conley was an extremely valuable role player for Minnesota last season, organizing the offense and knocking down a carer-high 44.2% of his three-point attempts. So far this season, the veteran point guard has battled injuries and has seen his shooting percentages drop off to 31.9% from the field and 33.8% from beyond the arc.

Conley’s teammates still perform better on offense when he’s on the court to set them up, per Katz. The club has a +5.5 net rating during the 37-year-old’s 325 minutes this fall, compared to a -0.8 mark in the 501 minutes he hasn’t played. Minnesota has also lost all four games he has missed, so getting him healthy will help. But if the Timberwolves want to make another deep playoff run in 2025, they’ll likely need Conley to serve as a more reliable offensive threat than he has been so far.

As for the Wolves’ options when Conley is unavailable, they’ve tried using Donte DiVincenzo and Nickeil Alexander-Walker in the point guard role, but both players are better fits off the ball, notes Chris Hine of The Star Tribune. As Hine writes, the team’s best alternative to Conley at the point may be rookie Rob Dillingham, who enjoyed his best game as a pro on Tuesday, racking up 12 points, seven assists, and five rebounds in 24 minutes of action. Minnesota was a +26 in those minutes.

“He’s been working extremely hard all year,” teammate Julius Randle said of the No. 8 overall pick. “And these past few games he’s got his number called and been ready for his moment.”

Here’s more from around the Northwest:

Isaiah Hartenstein has been an ideal fit in his first two games with the Thunder (both wins), earning praise from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who called Hartenstein a “dream big man for a marquee guy,” according to Anthony Slater of The Athletic. Gilgeous-Alexander said he watched Hartenstein with the Knicks in the 2024 playoffs and knew he might be available in the offseason, but didn’t actively recruit him or encourage general manager Sam Presti to pursue him. “I leave the front office stuff to Sam,” he said. “Trust him really well. Obviously he reads minds. So I didn’t have to say anything. … We knew as a group and the world kinda knew there was a hole in us as a team last year. I think Isaiah fills that hole very well. Sam did a good job filling it. We are better because of it.”
The Jazz‘s decision to assign rookie Cody Williams to the G League for a stint with the Salt Lake City Stars should open up regular rotation minutes for second-year forward Brice Sensabaugh, as Andy Larsen of The Salt Lake Tribune details. Sensabaugh has had his two best scoring games of the season within the last week vs. the Spurs (18 points last Thursday and 16 points on Tuesday), but Utah still needs more from him on defense and as a rebounder, Larsen writes.
In a pair of mailbags for his Substack subscribers, Sean Highkin of Rose Garden Report tackles several Trail Blazers-related questions, discussing Deni Avdija‘s role, Anfernee Simons‘s trade candidacy, and Shaedon Sharpe‘s ceiling, among other topics. Noting that both Simons and Scoot Henderson are off to slow starts this season, Highkin suggests the conditions aren’t ideal right now for a Simons trade — not only has Simons’ slump limited his trade value, but Henderson’s struggles mean Portland won’t feel comfortable handing the former No. 3 overall pick the keys to the offense.

Giannis Antetokounmpo, Harrison Barnes Named Players Of The Week

November 25th, 2024 at 2:42pm CST by Luke Adams

Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo has been named the Player of the Week for the Eastern Conference, while Spurs forward Harrison Barnes has won the award in the West, the NBA announced today (via Twitter).

Antetokounmpo led the Bucks to a perfect 4-0 week from November 18-24, helping the team climb out of the hole it dug itself early in the season. After dropping eight of their first 10 games this fall, the Bucks now rank sixth in the East at 8-9.

The two-time MVP averaged 32.5 points, 10.8 rebounds, 7.3 assists, and 1.5 blocks in 34.3 minutes per game in victories over Houston, Chicago, Indiana, and Charlotte. He made 61.2% of his 21.3 field goal attempts per game for the week.

While it was the 24th career Player of the Week award for Antetokounmpo, it’s a first-time honor for Barnes, who has appeared in 928 regular season games since entering the NBA as the seventh overall pick in the 2012 draft.

According to the Spurs, Barnes is the first player since the Player of the Week award was introduced in 1979 to earn the first one of his career in his 13th season (or later). Barnes is also the first Spur to be named Player of the Week since DeMar DeRozan in January 2020, per the team.

Barnes’ Spurs went 3-0 this week, registering upset victories over the Thunder on Tuesday and the Warriors on Saturday. The 32-year-old forward played a key role, averaging 22.3 PPG, 8.7 RPG, and 1.7 APG with a .618/.600/.727 shooting line.

The other nominees for the Eastern Conference award were Hornets teammates LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller, Celtics teammates Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum, Heat swingman Jimmy Butler, Cavaliers guard Ty Jerome, Raptors center Jakob Poeltl, and Magic forward Franz Wagner.

In the West, Lakers teammates Anthony Davis and LeBron James, Clippers teammates James Harden and Ivica Zubac, Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving, and Warriors forward Andrew Wiggins were also nominated (Twitter link).

Northwest Notes: Thunder, SGA, Jazz, Nuggets, Wolves

November 13th, 2024 at 8:55am CST by Luke Adams

With Chet Holmgren sidelined until sometime in 2025 and Isaiah Hartenstein and Jaylin Williams still not ready to return, expect the Thunder to fully lean into small-ball lineups, writes Joel Lorenzi of The Oklahoman. The team has the roster flexibility to add a veteran center via free agency if it so chooses, but head coach Mark Daigneault seems to enjoy playing small, Lorenzi notes — now it has become a necessity rather than an option.

In their first game without Holmgren on Monday, the Thunder ran out a starting lineup of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams, Luguentz Dort, Isaiah Joe, and Aaron Wiggins, making their point guard (Gilgeous-Alexander) the tallest player on the court at 6’6″. And the three reserves who saw the most minutes – Alex Caruso, Cason Wallace, and Ajay Mitchell – were no more than 6’5″.

Still, the Thunder made those small lineups work and pulled out a victory over the Clippers, largely due to the heroics of Gilgeous-Alexander, who scored a career-high 45 points, as Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN writes. According to Thunder PR, the guard became the first player in NBA history to have at least 45 points, nine assists, five steals, and two blocks in a game. Gilgeous-Alexander won’t play like that every night, but he’s confident Oklahoma City can keep winning games despite missing its big men.

“We’ve been there before,” he said, per Youngmisuk. “We’ve won games playing small, and we can do it again.”

Here’s more from around the Northwest:

Walker Kessler‘s absence on Tuesday due to right hip soreness highlighted the lack of quality defenders on the Jazz‘s roster, according to Andy Larsen of The Salt Lake Tribune, who suggests that’s an area the team will need to address via player development or roster additions — or both. After giving up 120 points to Phoenix on Tuesday, Utah ranks 27th in the NBA in defensive rating (117.6) and dead last in net rating (-13.0).
The Nuggets got off to a shaky start this fall, but they’re on a roll as of late, riding a five-game win streak into Friday’s game in New Orleans. They’ve had to lean heavily on star center Nikola Jokic to pick up those victories — the three-time MVP is averaging 38.1 minutes per game, far exceeding his previous career high of 34.6 MPG. In a pair of stories for The Denver Post, Bennett Durando explores whether the Nuggets can keep winning while better managing Jokic’s playing time and considers whether it makes sense for the club to target a center on the trade market. For what it’s worth, Durando believes acquiring a shooter will be a greater priority for Denver than trading for a center.
Following an ugly 14-point Timberwolves loss to Portland on Tuesday, Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic says Minnesota needs to recapture the edge and ferocity that characterized last season’s 56-win squad. This year’s Wolves have made things too easy for their opponents and are “opening doors they used to slam in people’s faces,” Krawczynski writes.

Northwest Notes: Nuggets, Murray, Jazz, Sexton, SGA

November 3rd, 2024 at 11:59am CST by Arthur Hill

Concerns about the Nuggets‘ depth appear to be justified so far, writes Bennett Durando of The Denver Post. Although Christian Braun has played well in his promotion into the starting five, the team has been left with a lot of questions off its bench.

Part of the problem is unfamiliarity, Durando adds. Julian Strawther has been added to the rotation, while Michael Porter Jr. is adapting to a new staggered role that has him seeing more time with the second unit. Russell Westbrook and Dario Saric were offseason additions in free agency, and Peyton Watson missed the entire preseason with a hamstring injury.

“Too early to be trying to figure out if and what doesn’t work,” Westbrook said. “You don’t know what’s gonna work. You’ve gotta give a healthy dose of kind of seeing what’s what, and then you go from there.”

Rebuilding the bench was an offseason priority after the Nuggets seemed to run out of gas in the playoffs as coach Michael Malone had to lean heavily on his starters. That pattern is already repeating itself, as Durando points out that the starting unit logged 104 minutes together in the first four games.

“We’ve gotta figure something out with that bench unit,” Malone said after an overtime win in Brooklyn this week. “And it’s a fine line of, ‘Hey, we’ve gotta give it time, but how much time can you give it before you start looking at different options?’ And that’s kind of what we’re still evaluating. … Plenty of basketball to be played. I always make sure I challenge myself and ask myself, ‘Am I helping Russell Westbrook and Julian Strawther and Peyton Watson and Dario Saric?’ So it’s not just on those players. It’s on myself to try to figure that out.”

There’s more from the Northwest Division:

Nuggets guard Jamal Murray is likely to be sidelined a few more days after entering concussion protocol following Friday’s game, tweets Vinny Benedetto of The Denver Post. “I think he did some cardio tonight,” Malone said Saturday. “We’ll see how he reacts to that, but I think the usual timeline is maybe five to seven days, but, once again, he took a really nasty hit, so we’ll be smart about that. … As much as we want Jamal back, his well-being is a lot more important.”
Poor shooting is behind a historically bad start for the Jazz, per Andy Larsen of The Salt Lake Tribune. Utah is the NBA’s only winless team at 0-6 and has dropped its last five games by a combined 110 points, making it the worst stretch in franchise history. They rank last in the league in three-point shooting and are 29th in two-point percentage.
Jazz guard Collin Sexton suffered a fracture to his left ring finger on Thursday, but he plans to keep playing by taping it to another finger, Larsen adds. “From all accounts, Collin doesn’t feel pain,” coach Will Hardy said.
During Saturday’s visit to Los Angeles, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who has developed into an MVP candidate in Oklahoma City, reflected on the 2019 trade that sent him from the Clippers to the Thunder, tweets Ramona Shelburne of ESPN. “I had a great year here when I was here,” he said. “Their front office made a trade that they thought was best for their team. Same with the Thunder. Then the last five years I’ve tried to focus on my development and the team’s development. I’ve tried to be the best basketball player I can be for the Oklahoma City Thunder. And I’d say it worked out in my favor.”

Jayson Tatum, Anthony Davis Named Players Of The Week

October 28th, 2024 at 2:47pm CST by Tristan Tucker

Celtics star forward Jayson Tatum and Lakers star forward/center Anthony Davis were named the NBA’s Players of the Week for the stretch of Oct. 22-27, the league announced (Twitter link). Tatum was the Eastern Conference’s winner, while Davis claimed the Western Conference award.

Tatum helped the Celtics to a 3-0 start to the season, which included blowout wins over the Knicks and Wizards. In his first three games, Tatum averaged 33.0 points, 6.3 rebounds and 6.0 assists while shooting a blistering 54.7% from the field and 48.6% from beyond the arc.

Davis has also shot the ball extremely well to open the year, connecting on a .571/.400/.800 line. He has helped the Lakers win against three playoff hopefuls this year, defeating the Timberwolves, Suns and Kings to remain undefeated. Davis is averaging 34.0 points, 11.0 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 2.3 blocks and 1.7 steals per game to open the year.

According to the league (Twitter link), the other nominees in the East were Cleveland’s Jarrett Allen, Charlotte’s LaMelo Ball, Philadelphia’s Tyrese Maxey, Orlando’s Franz Wagner and Atlanta’s Trae Young. Phoenix’s Kevin Durant, Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Chet Holmgren, the Clippers’ James Harden and Ivica Zubac, and the Lakers’ LeBron James were nominated in the West.

NBA GMs High On Thunder’s Offseason Moves, Celtics’ Title Chances

October 8th, 2024 at 9:40am CST by Luke Adams

The Thunder made the best roster moves during the 2024 offseason, according to the NBA’s general managers. Within his annual survey of the league’s top basketball decision-makers, John Schuhmann of NBA.com writes that 37% of his respondents picked Oklahoma City as having the best summer, with the Sixers coming in second place at 33%. The Knicks got 20% of the vote share, while no other club received more than a single vote.

It was one of many favorable outcomes in the survey for the Thunder, who were overwhelmingly selected as the team with the best young core — 60% of GMs selected OKC, compared to 20% for the second-place Magic.

New Thunder guard Alex Caruso was chosen by general managers as the most underrated offseason acquisition, receiving 23% of that vote share, while last year’s Most Valuable Player runner-up Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was picked as this year’s MVP favorite (40%), narrowly edging Mavericks star Luka Doncic (30%).

The Thunder also received a handful of votes from the league’s GMs as the team that will win the 2025 NBA Finals, but at 13%, they finished a distant second to the Celtics, who earned a whopping 83% of the vote. Besides those two clubs, only the Mavericks (3%) received a vote to become this season’s champions.

Here are a few more interesting results from Schuhmann’s GM survey, which is worth checking out in full:

New Sixers forward Paul George got 60% of the vote as the offseason acquisition who will have the biggest impact in 2024/25, followed by new Knicks Mikal Bridges and Karl-Anthony Towns at 13% apiece. The Towns trade, meanwhile, was named the most surprising offseason move, eking out George leaving Los Angeles for Philadelphia (27% to 23%).
Unsurprisingly, Spurs big man Victor Wembanyama was the overwhelming choice (77%) for which player the GMs would most want to start a franchise with. Gilgeous-Alexander and Nuggets center Nikola Jokic each earned three votes in that category, while Doncic got one.
The league’s general managers are high on No. 3 overall pick Reed Sheppard — the Rockets‘ guard is their pick to win the Rookie of the Year award (50%) ahead of betting favorite Zach Edey of the Grizzlies (30%). Sheppard also comfortably received the largest vote share (43%) when the GMs were asked which rookie will be the best player in five years. Spurs guard Stephon Castle (17%) and Hawks forward Zaccharie Risacher (13%) were the runners-up in that category.
There was no consensus among the GMs on which 2024 draftee was the biggest steal. Wizards guard Carlton Carrington, Kings guard Devin Carter, Pacers wing Johnny Furphy, Lakers forward Dalton Knecht, Timberwolves guard Terrence Shannon, and Thunder guard Nikola Topic each received three votes to lead the way.
Among newly hired head coaches, Mike Budenholzer of the Suns is the one GMs feel will have the biggest impact on his new club. Budenholzer received 40% of the vote, beating out Kenny Atkinson of the Cavaliers and J.B. Bickerstaff of the Pistons (20% apiece). Meanwhile, Spurs guard Chris Paul (30%) and Raptors guard Garrett Temple (20%) are the active players that GMs feel would make the best head coaches down the road.
Asked what they’d change about the NBA, 20% of GMs said the rules related to the tax aprons, trades, and roster construction are too restrictive and/or should be “indexed to (a) team’s market,” per Schuhmann, making it the top response.

Northwest Notes: Blockbuster Trade, Clingan, Avdija, SGA, Holmgren

September 29th, 2024 at 5:27pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The three-team blockbuster deal that would send Karl-Anthony Towns to the Knicks and Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo to the Timberwolves is still on track but has not been completed, Ramona Shelburne of ESPN tweets.

The expectation is that the deal, which also includes the Hornets, will become official early this week, Shelburne adds. Thus, the players in the deal won’t be at their respective training camps when they open on Monday.

We have more from the Northwest Division:

With the Trail Blazers about to open camp, Sean Highkin of The Rose Garden Report explores the five biggest storylines heading into the season. That includes the learning curve for lottery pick Donovan Clingan, the backcourt rotation, and how offseason acquisition Deni Avdija will fit in.
In a similar theme, Rylan Stiles of Sports Illustrated takes a look at one question that each Thunder player must answer as they head into training camp as the Western Conference favorites. Some of the topics Stiles explores is whether Shai Gilgeous-Alexander can add a 3-point shot to round out his offensive game, whether Chet Holmgren will experience an offensive uptick and what role newcomer Isaiah Hartenstein will play.
In another Thunder-related story, Joel Lorenzi of The Oklahoman lists a number of potential starting lineups they could employ and the strengths of each of those combinations. He also looks at a number of combinations the coaching staff could use during the course of the game.

Jokic Tops Poll For Best Player; Gilgeous-Alexander Gets Nod For 2024/25 MVP

August 26th, 2024 at 10:14pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Nuggets center Nikola Jokic is the best NBA player right now but he’s not going to win another Most Valuable Player award next season.

That’s the majority opinion of the 18 NBA coaches, scouts and executives that ESPN’s Tim Bontemps polled. All but three of them believe Jokic is the league’s top player.

However, when the subject of next season’s MVP came up, Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander received seven votes. A handful chose Mavericks guard Luka Doncic with Jokic only receiving two votes.

The Thunder and Celtics are the solid favorites to emerge from their respective conferences and square off in the Finals. Boston received 13 votes to win the East, while Oklahoma City picked up 14 votes to emerge from the West. The Celtics received eight votes to repeat as champions, while the Thunder were chosen by seven members of the group.

There was no love for the top pick in the draft, Zaccharie Risacher.The Hawks big man didn’t receive a single vote for Rookie of the Year. The same goes for the topic of best player from the 2024/25 rookie class in five years. Grizzlies center Zach Edey garnered a panel-best eight votes for ROY, while Rockets guard Reed Sheppard was chosen by eight of them to be the best of the bunch in five years.

Spurs big man Victor Wembanyama got two-thirds of the vote for top overall player in five years.