With the entire league past the halfway point of the 2021-22 NBA season, let’s take a glimpse at the results from Sunday night and Monday’s slate of games:
1/23 Results
- Knicks 110, Clippers 102: A hard-fought loss for a Clippers crew that, despite the result, is starting to look like a more cohesive, resilient bunch. Full coverage on 213Hoops from Michelle Uzeta.
- Celtics 116, Wizards 87: Jayson Tatum broke out of his slump with a monster 51/10/7 line, while the Wizards are now losers of 3 in a row and 4 of 5 heading into their game vs LAC on Tuesday.
- Heat 113, Lakers 107: The other LA team almost came storming back, but fell just short. Miami moves to 1st in the East while the Lakers fall back below .500.
- Magic 114, Bulls 95: Chicago’s form has dropped as they struggle with Zach LaVine, Patrick Williams, and now Alex Caruso all sidelined for extended periods. Orlando grabs a rare win with Chicago on the second night of a back-to-back.
- Trail Blazers 114, Raptors 105: Toronto made this a game again after trailing by 30, but Portland did enough to hold on. The Blazers are now winners of 6 of 8 and sit just one loss behind the Clippers for 9th.
- Hawks 113, Hornets 91: The Hawks have followed 5 straight losses with 4 straight wins. Are last year’s Eastern Conference Finalists finally getting into a rhythm this season after severe COVID issues derailed the first half of the year?
- 76ers 115, Spurs 109: Doc Rivers almost went and did it again as a 15-point lead became a tight game down the stretch, but Joel Embiid continues his spectacular play and the Spurs are now 2-8 in their last 10 and well back of the Western Conference play-in.
- Mavericks 104, Grizzlies 91: Dallas took care of business, but this game doesn’t tell us much about either team as Memphis was playing without most of their rotation. Overall, though, the Mavs have pulled 7 games above .500 and currently look clearly established over the struggling middle of the pack in the West.
- Timberwolves 136, Nets 125: Brooklyn obviously has a lot of talent, but the on-court chemistry and defensive issues still have me feeling like they haven’t proven themselves as contenders yet. The Wolves clawed back to .500 and are now in 7th in the ever-shifting Western Conference standings.
- Nuggets 117, Pistons 111: Denver nearly let this one slip away from them, but it turns out having the best player in the world helps you squeak out wins, especially when the opposing team doesn’t have a star who can counter Jokic with offensive production on the other end.
- Warriors 94, Jazz 92: Two of the best teams in the West overall, both struggling to play good basketball recently, partially (but only partially) due to injuries. This turned into a rock fight late and neither really impressed.
Clips Wish List, 1/24
- Pacers over Pelicans: Not a big one here, but there’s probably no bottom-6 team the Clippers would like to avoid in a potential play-in game more than New Orleans.
Other 1/24 Contests
- Knicks @ Cavaliers: Watching Evan Mobley on League Pass can only turn out well.
- Bulls @ Thunder: OKC is off the wish list after dropping 10 of their last 11 to fall far out of the play-in conversation.
- Jazz @ Suns: This would-be marquee matchup feels like it could turn into a blowout with Utah beat up, slumping, and on the second night of a back-to-back as the Suns crush everything in their path.
NBA (and non-NBA) Musings
- Grayson Allen received a one-game suspension following this Flagrant II foul on Alex Caruso that will cause the Bulls guard to miss 6-8 weeks with a wrist fracture. The one-game suspension is probably a fair application of precedent considering the league has gone light on recent suspensions, but I wouldn’t mind seeing plays like this–and Nikola Jokic’s dead ball hit on Markieff Morris–get longer suspensions. Deterring reckless actions that unnecessarily pose injury risks should be the goal here moreso than “punishing” individual perpetrators.
- NFL Overtime is the worst thing ever. I mean, Bills-Chiefs was a fucking amazing football game (three touchdowns in the final 2 minutes, plus a 50-yard drive in 13 seconds to set up the FG that sent it to OT!), and while I was happy for OT because I didn’t want it to end, I would have rather it ended with a winner in regulation than be decided by a coin flip. I get excited when basketball games go to OT, when college football games go to OT, when baseball games go to extra innings, even when soccer games go to penalties. NFL overtime somehow makes games less exciting and intense.
- Free COVID Tests are available from the US Government, if you are someone who would be interested in that and haven’t heard about it yet. You can get 4 per household at this link.
- A Winter Storm left a few inches of snow in my yard in North Carolina on Friday night, and the rarity of the occassion has stretched local resources enough that I don’t have to go in to work Monday morning. Two thoughts: first, it’s a little bit different here than the time I spent living in Syracuse, and second, it gave me time to write this little blog post since I can sleep in tomorrow.
Have a good Monday everyone!
