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Welcome to the new year with a new bunch of games in the NBA, and boy do we have some sweet games to bring you tomorrow. We have 3 monumental clashes to review tomorrow, and yesterday we had 9 games to follow.
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.
Wednesday's results:
- Miami Heat 117-92 Cleveland Cavaliers
- Atlanta Hawks 98-114 Washington Wizards
- Dallas Mavericks 122-84 Charlotte Hornets
- New Orleans Pelicans 121-126 Brooklyn Nets
- Orlando Magic 112-84 Chicago Bulls
- Minnesota Timberwolves 102-115 Boston Celtics
- Detroit Pistons 101-94 Memphis Grizzlies
- Philadelphia 76ers 132-127 Phoenix Suns
- Oklahoma City Thunder 107-100 Los Angeles Lakers
Highlights:
1. Anthony Davis (New Orleans Pelicans): 34 points, 12-25 FG, 26 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal, 3 blocks and 1 TO.
2. Gordon Hayward (Boston Celtics): 35 points, 14-18 FG, 1 rebound, 5 assists and 2 TOs.
3. Joel Embiid (Philadelphia 76ers): 42 points, 12-23 FG, 18 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals, 2 blocks and 4 TOs.
Lowlights:
1. Russell Westbrook (Oklahoma City Thunder): 14 points, 3-20 FG, 16 rebounds, 10 assists, 2 steals, 2 blocks and 4 TOs.
2. Justin Holiday (Chicago Bulls): 3 points, 1-7 FG, 4 rebounds, 1 assist.
3. Mike Conley (Memphis Grizzlies): 0 points, 0-8 FG, 3 rebounds, 1 assist and 3 TOs.
Wednesday's takeaways:
- The Miami Heat and the Cleveland Cavaliers kicked off the NBA with the Heat coming out with a 117-92 win. The struggling Washington Wizards and the Atlanta Hawks went up against each other, with the Wizards winning, 114-98. The Dallas Mavericks and the Charlotte Hornets went head to head in a drab game, with the Mavericks coming out on top, 122-84.
- The New Orleans Pelicans and the Brooklyn Nets played each other, with the Nets winning, 126-121. The Chicago Bulls played against the Orlando Magic, with the Magic coming out as winners, 112-84. The Boston Celtics went up against the Minnesota Timberwolves, with the Celtics winning, 115-102.
- The Detroit Pistons played the Memphis Grizzlies in a low scoring game, with the Pistons winning, 101-94. The Philadelphia 76ers played the bottom of the West, Phoenix Suns, The 76ers came out on top with ease, winning 132-127. In the final game of the night, the Oklahoma City Thunder faced the Los Angeles Lakers, with the Thunder winning, 107-100.
Thursday's games:
- Toronto Raptors @ San Antonio Spurs
- Denver Nuggets @ Sacramento Kings
- Houston Rockets @ Golden State Warriors
PG - Stephen Curry (Golden State Warriors):
The Golden State Warriors are a team that should be coasting through the season but are not playing up to potential. Even then, they are 2nd in the Western Conference and are yet to get themselves going.
They have a 25-13 record and are just half a game behind the Denver Nuggets. They have won only 6 of their last 10 games but have gone on a 2 game winning streak of late. One player who changes it all for them when he gets going is their MVP guard, Steph Curry.
Curry had started off the season in fine form, entering MVP discussions before getting pulled behind due to injuries. But now that he is back, he is slowly getting back to his best. He has averaged just under 29 points per game, with more than 5 assists and more than 5 rebounds per game too.
He has been really good in their wins, scoring a huge 34 points in just 32 minutes against the Phoenix Suns in his last outing. He even had 9 rebounds and 4 assists to go with it. He seems to be getting into it slowly and the Warriors will be hoping he can play the same way against the Houston Rockets tomorrow.
Alternate pick: DeAaron Fox (Sacramento Kings)
SG - James Harden (Houston Rockets):
The Houston Rockets have finally started rolling this season. They lost Chris Paul to injury recently, which has forced the Beard, James Harden, to awaken and wreak havoc to everyone going against him.
The Rockets have surged to the 4th place under Harden, winning 9 of their last 10 games and are on a 5 game win streak. They have a 21-15 record and they have just one man to thank.
Harden has been phenomenal this season, and has been breaking records the past few games. He has scored more than 40 points, 4 assists and 4 rebounds in his last 4 games, joining Kobe Bryant and Micheal Jordan as the only other players to ever do so. He is leading the scoring charts in the NBA, averaging more than 33 points a game, along with 8 assists and just under 6 rebounds.
In the latest win over the Memphis Grizzlies 113-101, Harden scored a massive 43 points, along with 13 assists, 10 rebounds and 2 big steals. He had an astonishing 27 free throws as well, which is insane.
The Rockets face the Warriors next and Harden will look to make it 5 out of 5 and get the win for the Rockets.
Alternate pick: DeMar DeRozan (San Antonio Spurs)
SF - Kevin Durant (Golden State Warriors):
It was a close call between Durant and Kawhi Leonard from the Toronto Raptors, but Durant takes my vote here due to his ability to rack up secondary stats and the fact that he plays a worse defensive team in the Houston Rockets.
As we read in one of the earlier slides, the Warriors are currently 25-13 and have won only 6 of their last 10 games. Apart from Curry, the Golden State Warriors have Durant to thank for a lot of their wins.
Durant is averaging more than 28 points per game, along with 6 assists and more than 7 rebounds as well. His huge contributions to the Warriors have come defensively as well, averaging a steal and a block per game too.
In the win over the Suns, Durant scored an efficient 25 points in 30 minutes, along with 4 assists and 2 rebounds, a game in which he probably took it a little lightly. The Warriors will be hoping Durant comes to his lethal best against the Rockets and helps his team overcome a stiff challenge.
Alternate pick: Kawhi Leonard (Toronto Raptors)
PF - LaMarcus Aldridge (San Antonio Spurs):
The San Antonio Spurs have been playing really well of late, winning 7 of their last 10 games. They have overcome a bad start and now seem to be cruising and have won their last 2 games in a row.
They are 8th in the Western Conference with a 21-17 record. One man apart from DeRozan that the Spurs really rely on is LaMarcus Aldridge.
Aldridge has been playing well for the Spurs this season, averaging just under 20 points a game, along with 9 rebounds and 2 assists. He is also an elite rim protector and has been performing his defensive duties really well for the Spurs, averaging more than 1 block a game.
In the win over the Celtics, Aldridge was huge for the Spurs, scoring a massive 32 points, along with 9 rebounds and 5 assists. He was a defensive force too, grabbing 2 big blocks and a steal to go with it.
The 2 game winning streak of the Spurs has coincided with Aldridge going off and they will hope he continues this against the Raptors tomorrow.
Alternate pick: Pascal Siakam (Toronto Raptors)
C - Nikola Jokic (Denver Nuggets):
The Denver Nuggets have been one of the best teams in the NBA this season, leading the Western Conference with a 24-11 record, despite a bunch of injuries to their starters, like Will Barton, Gary Harris and Paul Millsap. One man who has stepped up and has been playing like an MVP candidate is Nikola Jokic.
Jokic has been having a fantastic season for the Nuggets, averaging 18 points per game, along with 10 rebounds as well. He is one of the best passing big men in the game and is averaging almost 8 assists per game as well, which is absolutely insane for a center.
In the win over the New York Knicks, he had 19 points, with 15 assists and 14 rebounds. He absolutely outplayed everyone on the court and his vision was just amazing.
The Nuggets will hope his form continues when they play the Sacramento Kings in their next game.
Alternate pick: Clint Capela (Houston Rockets)
Guess the Lakers players!
