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Welcome to another day of the NBA 2018-19 season. Yesterday, we had 8 games to watch and we have another eight mammoth games to review tomorrow. Let's analyse some of the meaningful performances from the last night, results of the matches and the top players to look out for in the matches tomorrow.
Saturday's results:
- Charlotte Hornets 110-123 Denver Nuggets
- Utah Jazz 110-105 Detroit Pistons
- Dallas Mavericks 100-106 Philadelphia 76ers
- New Orleans Pelicans 133-98 Cleveland Cavaliers
- Memphis Grizzlies 88-108 San Antonio Spurs
- Toronto Raptors 123-116 Milwaukee Bucks
- Golden State Warriors 127-123 Sacramento Kings
- Houston Rockets 101-110 Portland Trail Blazers
Highlights:
1. Nikola Jokic (Denver Nuggets): 39 points, 16-29 FG, 12 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 steals, 1 block and 2 TOs.
2. Kawhi Leonard (Toronto Raptors): 30 points, 8-16 FG, 6 rebounds, 6 assists, 5 steals and 2 TOs.
3. Kevin Durant (Golden State Warriors): 29 points, 11-20 FG, 5 rebounds, 9 assists, 2 blocks and 1 TO.
Lowlights:
1. Luke Kennard (Detroit Pistons): 2 points, 1-5 FG, 2 rebounds and 1 steal.
2. Justin Holiday (Memphis Grizzlies): 2 points, 1-7 FG, 2 rebounds and 2 assists.
3. PJ Tucker (Houston Rockets): 0 points, 0-1 FG, 4 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals.
Saturday's takaway:
- The Charlotte Hornets and the Denver Nuggets kicked off the games, with the Nuggets coming out on top, 123-110. The Utah Jazz and the Detroit Pistons played a really close game, with the Jazz beating them to the win, 110-105. The Philadelphia 76ers went up against the Dallas Mavericks in a tight matchup, only for the 76ers to snatch a solid win, 106-100.
- The New Orleans Pelicans faced a lowly Cleveland Cavaliers, only to smash their opponents off the court, 133-98. The top 2 teams in the Eastern Conference, the Toronto Raptors and the Milwaukee Bucks played each other, with the Raptors beating the Bucks, 123-116.
- The San Antonio Spurs beat the Memphis Grizzlies in a low-scoring game, where both teams played better defense than offense, 108-88. The Portland Trail Blazers ended the winning run of the Houston Rockets, winning their match 110-101. The final game of the night was the Golden State Warriors against the Sacramento Kings, with the Warriors coming out on top in a record setting game, 127-123.
Sunday's games:
- Los Angeles Lakers @ Minnesota Timberwolves
- Brooklyn Nets @ Chicago Bulls
- Orlando Magic @ Los Angeles Clippers
- Miami Heat @ Atlanta Hawks
- Washington Wizards @ Oklahoma City Thunder
- Indiana Pacers @ Toronto Raptors
- Charlotte Hornets @ Phoenix Suns
PG 1 - Russell Westbrook (Oklahoma City Thunder)
The Oklahoma City Thunder are one of the top teams in the Western Conference right now. They are second and have won seven of their last 10 games, including a three-game winning streak.
Paul George has been carrying almost all the offensive load for this team, but their star still remains Russell Westbrook.
Westbrook has been criticized a lot for the past few weeks, for trying to shoot himself out of a slump, but his shooting only got worse.
But he is still averaging an amazing triple-double season, scoring 21 points per game, along with 10 assists and 11 rebounds per game as well.
In his last game, a win over the Portland Trail Blazers 111-109, he scored a huge 31 points, along with 9 rebounds, 7 assists and a steal. The Thunder will be hoping his cold streak has ended and he will be at his best tomorrow against the struggling Washington Wizards.
Alternate pick: Jeff Teague (Minnesota Timberwolves)
PG 2 - Kemba Walker (Charlotte Hornets)
The Charlotte Hornets were having a great start to their season and are still going strong. They are eighth in the Eastern Conference with an 18-20 record. They have won only four of their last 10 games and are on a two-game losing streak.
One man who has always been performing at the highest level for the Hornets is Kemba Walker.
Walker has been having a phenomenal season so far, averaging more than 25 points per game this season, along with 6 assists and 4 rebounds per game as well.
In the loss against the Nuggets in their last game, Walker had a decent game, scoring 20 points, along with 4 rebounds and 3 assists as well.
He is also being a better defender, grabbing more than a steal a game too. The Hornets will look to Kemba to be a force tomorrow as well, against the Phoenix Suns.
Alternate pick: D'Angelo Russell (Brooklyn Nets)
SG 1 - Bradley Beal (Washington Wizards)
The Washington Wizards have been struggling to perform at a consistent level this season. They are out of the playoff spots and are in the 11th spot in the Eastern Conference.
They have a 15-24 record and have won only four games out of their last 10. They lost their last game to the Miami Heat, 115-109. With John Wall out for the rest of the season, the onus falls on their star guard, Bradley Beal.
Beal has been playing at an elite level, averaging 24 points per game, along with just under 5 rebounds and 5 assists a game as well. With John Wall out, he becomes the man in the limelight and has been doing really well ever since.
In the most recent game against the Heat, Beal scored a massive 33 points, along with 9 rebounds and 7 assists. If the Wizards need any sort of consistency going forward, they will need Beal to fire on all cylinders, including tomorrow against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Alternate pick: Lou Williams (Los Angeles Clippers)
SG 2 - Devin Booker (Phoenix Suns)
Phoenix Suns are one of the worst teams in the NBA this season. They are last in the Western Conference with a 9-31 record.
They have just three of their last 10 matches and have lost 5 in a row now. They were even worse off when their star player, Devin Booker was injured for 10 games, out of which they could win only 1.
Apart from being an elite scorer, Booker has even added a new dimension to his game, that of a playmaker. He is averaging more than 25 points a game, along with atleast 7 assists and 4 rebounds too.
In the loss to the Los Angeles Clippers, Booker scored 23 points along with 4 assists and 3 rebounds as well. If the Phoenix Suns want to have any chance of winning, they'll need Booker at his best, tomorrow against the Charlotte Hornets.
Alternate pick: Victor Oladipo (Indiana Pacers)
SF 1 - Kawhi Leonard (Toronto Raptors)
The Toronto Raptors have not been playing really well of late. Injury to their star guard, Kyle Lowry has hampered their season a bit. They are now in the second spot with a 29-12 record and just half a game behind the Milwaukee Bucks.
They have won only six of their last 10 games, including their latest win over the Bucks itself, 123-116. Kawhi Leonard has been the star of this team ever since he joined them from the San Antonio Spurs.
Leonard has been playing at MVP levels again this season, averaging 27 points per game, along with 8 rebounds and 3 assists.
He is an elite defender and gets around 2 steals per game as well. In the win over the Bucks, Leonard led them from the front, scoring a big 30 points, along with 6 rebounds, 6 assists and 5 steals as well.
He is an integral part of the Raptors engine and they'll need him to come up big again their opponents, Indiana Pacers.
Alternate pick: Danilo Gallinari (Los Angeles Clippers)
SF 2 - Paul George (Oklahoma City Thunder)
The Oklahoma City Thunder, as we read in the previous slide, are one of the top teams in the Western Conference this season.
They are second and have won seven of their last 10 games, including a three-game winning streak. With Russell Westbrook unable to find his shot this season and has missed 12 games due to injury, Paul George has taken over the team's offensive scoring.
George has been playing some really amazing basketball, averaging a career-high 27 points per game, along with 8 rebounds and 4 assists as well.
He has always been an elite defender and has been getting more than 2 steals a game too. In the win over the Portland Trail Blazers, George went off again, scoring 37 points, with 8 rebounds and 2 assists and a steal as well.
The Thunder will need him again in case Westbrook still can't score against the Wizards tomorrow.
Alternate pick: TJ Warren (Phoenix Suns)
PF 1 - Lauri Markkanen (Chicago Bulls)
The Chicago Bulls are not as good as they thought they would be this season. They have a 10-29 record and are 13 in the Eastern Conference.
They have won only four games in their last 10 matches and are on a three-game losing streak. The Bulls have recently gotten back their young sophomore star from injury, Lauri Markkanen and he has been playing better basketball this season as well.
Markkanen has been playing well this season, averaging just under 18 points per game, along with more than 7 rebounds a game.
He has become a great defender this season, averaging almost a block and a steal this season. In the last game, a loss to the Indiana Pacers, he scored a huge 27 points per game, along with 9 rebounds and 2 assists, along with a steal. He will need to be playing at his best for the Bulls to overcome the Brooklyn Nets tomorrow.
Alternate pick: John Collins (Atlanta Hawks)
PF 2 - Pascal Siakam (Toronto Raptors)
The Toronto Raptors, like we read in the earlier slide, have not been playing really well of late. Injury to their star guard, Kyle Lowry has hampered their season a bit.
They are now in the second spot with a 29-12 record and just half a game behind the Milwaukee Bucks. They have won only six of their last 10 games. A key player this season for them has been their power forward, Pascal Siakam.
Siakam has been playing really well this season, averaging a career-high 15 points per game, along with more than 6 rebounds and 3 assists. He has even become a good rim blocker and is averaging almost 1 block a game too.
In the win over the Milwaukee Bucks, he scored a huge 30 points in just 39 minutes, along with 4 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 big blocks as well. He even shot at an elite 73% from the field. The Raptors need Siakam to play at the same level to overcome the Pacers tomorrow.
Alternate pick: John Collins (Atlanta Hawks)
C 1 - Karl-Anthony Towns (Minnesota Timberwolves)
The Minnesota Timberwolves have been somewhat of a bad team this season, sitting on the 13th spot and with an 18-21 record.
They have won only five of their last 10 games and won their most recent game against the Orlando Magic. Since Jimmy Butler was traded, KAT has become the alpha player on this team has started flourishing.
Towns has been playing some elite basketball, averaging 22 points per game, along with 12 rebounds and 3 assists per game as well.
Of late he seems to have become a better passer of the ball too, averaging almost 5 assists per game over his last 10. He has even improved on defense, getting almost 2 blocks and a steal as well.
In the win over the Magic, Towns scored 29 points in just 32 minutes, along with 15 rebounds, 2 assists and a steal and a block. The Wolves will need Towns to be playing at the level he has been of late against the Los Angeles Lakers tomorrow night.
Alternate pick: Hassan Whiteside (Miami Heat)
C 2 - Nikola Vucevic (Orlando Magic)
The Orlando Magic have had a better than most start to their season but have recently not been playing well.
They are currently 10th in the Eastern Conference, with a 17-21 record. They have won just 4 of their last 10 games and lost their last game to the Minnesota Timberwolves. One player who has been playing really well for them this season is Nikola Vucevic.
Vucevic had started the season really hot and is averaging more than 20 points per game, along with 12 rebounds and just under 4 assists per game as well. He is also an elite defender and has added a new dimension of a big man shooting the 3, averaging 1 three-pointer, 1 steal and 1 block a game.
In the loss to the Wolves, Vucevic had played only 27 minutes but scored 22 points, along with 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 block and a steal. The Magic will need him to keep playing at this level if they want to beat the Los Angeles Clippers tomorrow night.
Alternate pick: Deandre Ayton (Phoenix Suns)
Guess the Lakers players!
