Andrew wrote:Nice to pick up a win every now and again in a rebuilding season, just to ease the pain of the losses.
It definitely helps. I know logically that the losses will improve my draft position, but it still isn't fun losing games.
Andrew wrote:Nice to pick up a win every now and again in a rebuilding season, just to ease the pain of the losses.
Transactions
02/02/21 - New Orleans signed Steven Adams to an extension (2yr/$35m)
POR | 29 | 38 | 34 | 34 | 135 |
OKC | 34 | 36 | 34 | 24 | 128 |
Player of the Game: Damian Lillard
(36pts, 3reb, 9ast, 1stl, 1blk)
(13-27 FG, 5-11 3PT, 5-5 FT)
Simmed Game
OKC | 30 | 29 | 27 | 24 | 110 |
BOS | 31 | 27 | 26 | 27 | 111 |
POTG: Kemba Walker (27pts, 2reb, 8ast, 1stl, 1blk)
Record: 28-33
spiderxx7 wrote:Great to see you still involved in this section, Phil
SAS | 35 | 29 | 33 | 37 | 134 |
OKC | 28 | 34 | 24 | 17 | 105 |
Player of the Game: DeMar DeRozan
(40pts, 3reb, 6ast, 1stl)
(15-30 FG, 3-3 3PT, 7-8 FT)
Simmed Game
OKC | 39 | 20 | 32 | 17 | 108 |
NOP | 35 | 26 | 37 | 27 | 125 |
POTG: Eric Bledsoe (25pts, 4reb, 10ast)
Record: 28-35
DEN | 32 | 40 | 31 | 33 | 136 |
OKC | 28 | 32 | 34 | 34 | 128 |
Player of the Game: Paul Millsap
(30pts, 4reb, 1ast, 1stl, 2blk)
(12-15 FG, 3-4 3PT, 3-3 FT)
Simmed Game
MIN | 23 | 19 | 38 | 27 | 107 |
OKC | 32 | 20 | 27 | 21 | 100 |
POTG: D'Angelo Russell (26pts, 6reb, 10ast, 2stl)
Record: 28-37
SAC | 23 | 27 | 36 | 35 | 121 |
OKC | 28 | 25 | 34 | 41 | 128 |
Player of the Game: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
(23pts, 10reb, 20ast, 1blk)
(6-13 FG, 1-2 3PT, 10-12 FT)
Simmed Game
UTA | 35 | 30 | 22 | 20 | 107 |
OKC | 22 | 21 | 26 | 34 | 103 |
POTG: Mike Conley (29pts, 7reb, 6ast, 2stl)
Record: 29-38
OKC | 30 | 37 | 34 | 32 | 133 |
PHI | 41 | 30 | 27 | 39 | 137 |
Player of the Game: Ben Simmons
(44pts, 10reb, 5ast, 2stl)
(19-37 FG, 6-8 FT)
Simmed Game
MIL | 28 | 19 | 32 | 36 | 115 |
OKC | 31 | 17 | 27 | 23 | 198 |
POTG: Giannis Antetokounmpo (36pts, 15reb, 10ast, 2stl)
Record: 29-40
Andrew wrote:Great stat line for SGA in that win! I managed a 20-20-20 triple-double in a MyCAREER game as a point guard, but I really had to chase those rebounds!
OKC | 24 | 29 | 36 | 38 | 127 |
LAC | 37 | 27 | 37 | 34 | 135 |
Player of the Game: Kawhi Leonard
(40pts, 6reb, 3ast, 1stl)
(13-27 FG, 3-7 3PT, 11-11 FT)
Simmed Game
OKC | 27 | 24 | 18 | 25 | 194 |
MIA | 23 | 36 | 29 | 34 | 122 |
POTG: Jimmy Butler (26pts, 8reb, 5ast, 2stl)
Record: 29-42
OKC | 20 | 34 | 26 | 22 | 102 |
BKN | 24 | 31 | 37 | 40 | 132 |
Player of the Game: Kyrie Irving
(33pts, 2reb, 10ast, 1stl, 1blk)
(15-27 FG, 1-5 3PT, 2-2 FT)
Simmed Game
BKN | 29 | 40 | 36 | 20 | 125 |
OKC | 36 | 11 | 37 | 21 | 105 |
POTG: Kyrie Irving (44pts, 7reb, 12ast, 1stl, 1blk)
Record: 29-44
NOP | 30 | 28 | 27 | 40 | 13 | 138 |
OKC | 27 | 29 | 28 | 41 | 17 | 132 |
Player of the Game: Zion Williamson
(28pts, 14reb, 8ast, 1stl, 1blk)
(12-25 FG, 0-1 3PT, 4-6 FT)
Simmed Game
OKC | 25 | 22 | 23 | 28 | 198 |
MIL | 24 | 32 | 29 | 34 | 119 |
POTG: Giannis Antetokounmpo (27pts, 18reb, 4ast, 2stl, 2blk)
Record: 29-46
OKC | 27 | 26 | 27 | 30 | 110 |
POR | 39 | 27 | 38 | 27 | 131 |
Player of the Game: Damian Lillard
(37pts, 1reb, 5ast, 1stl)
(14-21 FG, 5-10 3PT, 4-4 FT)
Simmed Game
OKC | 26 | 21 | 21 | 32 | 100 |
HOU | 22 | 30 | 34 | 29 | 115 |
POTG: James Harden (40pts, 5reb, 8ast, 2stl, 1blk)
Record: 29-48
OKC | 28 | 33 | 25 | 33 | 119 |
PHX | 38 | 31 | 27 | 28 | 124 |
Player of the Game: Devin Booker
(45pts, 5reb, 8ast, 1stl)
(16-23 FG, 5-8 3PT, 8-8 FT)
Simmed Game
OKC | 30 | 31 | 26 | 25 | 112 |
IND | 31 | 38 | 28 | 16 | 113 |
POTG: Myles Turner (16pts, 14reb, 3stl, 2blk)
Record: 29-50
DEN | 38 | 38 | 34 | 32 | 142 |
OKC | 26 | 35 | 25 | 33 | 119 |
Player of the Game: Jamal Murray
(28pts, 1reb, 11ast)
(12-19 FG, 2-6 3PT, 2-2 FT)
Simmed Game
OKC | 29 | 31 | 24 | 30 | 114 |
MEM | 29 | 35 | 26 | 27 | 117 |
POTG: Ja Morant (36pts, 4reb, 14ast, 3blk)
Record: 29-52
DET | 29 | 26 | 30 | 34 | 119 |
OKC | 30 | 37 | 29 | 38 | 134 |
Player of the Game: Anthony Edwards
(33pts, 7reb, 13ast, 1blk)
(13-17 FG, 2-2 3PT, 5-8 FT)
Record: 30-52
Andrew wrote:A feel good moment after a tough year.
Greek superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo has finally won the award that his several years of consistently amazing play have deserved. Last season he finished narrowly behind winner James Harden in the voting, but this time around he prevailed. Brooklyn's Kyrie Irving came in second after averaging 29p/4r/8a whilst leading the Nets to a league-best 57 wins.
In third was two-time winner Steph Curry, who lifted his Warriors team to the second seed in an ultra-competitive western conference, above the more-fancied Lakers.
With this win Giannis breaks a streak that saw James Harden, Russell Westbrook and Steph Curry win this award twice each over the past six seasons.
Statistically, Giannis has been the most dominant player in the league over the past two seasons. He backed up his 28p/16r/6a averages from last season with 27p/15r/6a this time around. But for all his dominance, he once again failed to lift his team to the top of the standings. Milwaukee won two more games than last season, but find themselves with a lower seeding heading into the playoffs. They head into their first round match-up against Miami as slight favourites, however it wouldn't be a huge surprise to see the Heat come out on top.
Individual awards are nice, but Giannis will forever be judged on one simple criteria: how many rings has he won? So until he either wins one with the Bucks or moves somewhere else to do it, he will have this question hanging over his legacy. That is just the way of the modern NBA unfortunately.
When Oklahoma City drafted Anthony Edwards with pick two in last year's draft he received all of the attention. But his fellow new arrival at the Thunder - power forward Isaiah Mobley - had an equally impressive debut season with the team.
He started out the season as backup for Jabari Parker. His breakout game came on November 9th against the Mavericks when he scored 31 points and had 5 rebounds and 5 assists. After that game his role increased and he became the team's most valuable bench scorer. Eventually he was promoted to the starting line-up after several veteran players were traded away at the deadline.
Mobley made 35 starts during the closing months of the season. He surpassed the 30-point mark on 8 occasions and actually finished as the second-highest scoring rookie, behind teammate Edwards. It seems as though Mobley has a bigger role to play on this team than anyone could have envisaged when he was taken at pick 20.
Mobley is only the second rookie to ever win this award, after Chicago Bulls guard Ben Gordon in 2004-05.
There is no doubt that LeBron James is the face of this Lakers franchise currently. But it is Anthony Davis who is their most important player on the court. His defensive supremacy and scoring ability are the cornerstones of the team. He handles the scoring load on offense and sets the example to follow on defense.
As they say, father time is undefeated and LeBron is definitely showing some signs of slowing down as he enters his mid-thirties. His scoring output was down a few points this season compared to last year, whilst Davis improved his by about the same margin to compensate. There is little doubt that this will be Davis' team in the next few years, if it isn't already.
Davis averaged nearly 3 blocks per game this season. Only Rudy Gobert and Myles Turner registered a better average. He was also in the top 20 for steals per game, which is an impressive feat for a big man.
Milwaukee forward Giannis Antetokounmpo looked set to take out this award for the third-straight year, but perhaps with him taking home the MVP honour the judges decided to let Davis have this one.
It doesn't happen often that the first two players taken in a draft turn out to be the best two players in that draft class. But that is exactly what has happened with Zion Williamson and Ja Morant from the 2019 class. The former has come into the league averaging numbers that prime Shaq would be happy with, whilst Morant has also been super impressive. Both were selected for the all-star game in their sophomore season.
Ja has taken another step in his game this season. His scoring was up by an impressive 5 points per game and all of his shooting percentages were improved over last season. Most impressive of all is that he helped the Grizzlies improve their record by 10 wins, even if it wasn't quite enough to get them into the playoffs.
It is exciting to see that there are guys like Morant coming through to take over as the likes of Steph Curry, Damian Lillard and Russell Westbrook approach the final part of their careers.
In the lead up to the 2020 draft many experts said that Anthony Edwards was the most talented player available. It was questions over his work ethic and desire to push himself to his limit that ultimately led Charlotte to select James Wiseman with the first overall pick. But Sam Presti had faith and was delighted to pick up Edwards with the second selection.
From day one Edwards assumed the role of primary scorer on his new team. Of his 78 games played, he scored 20 points (x37), 30 points (x12), 40 points (x3) and 50 points (x1). In fact he only scored in single-figures two times all season.
His greatest accomplishment came on January 19th in Orlando. In a 138-133 overtime loss he scored an incredible 51 points. In doing at just 19 years, 5 months and 14 days old he beat Brandon Jennings' record for the youngest player to reach the 50-point mark in a game - by almost seven months.
It is likely that he won't have as much responsibility to score next season as the Thunder look set to add more high-end talent in the 2021 draft. They look set to have four first round picks - likely a top 5 pick and three selections in the 20's. The future sure is looking bright for the Thunder with Edwards, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Isaiah Mobley, Lu Dort, Darius Bazley and a multitude of first round picks to come.
The return of former MVP Kevin Durant from an Achilles injury this season helped lift the Brooklyn Nets to a 12-win improvement over last season. But putting their success down to just that one factor would be plain false and disrespectful to head coach Kenny Atkinson.
The way Atkinson incorporated Durant into the line-up alongside fellow all-star Kyrie Irving and the supporting cast of Spencer Dinwiddie, Caris LaVert, Jarrett Allen, DeAndre Jordan and Joe Harris was masterful. Durant's presence meant only a tiny drop in Kyrie's scoring average, but an actual increase in his assist rate.
Brooklyn were fancied as a title contender this season, but nobody expected them to have the best record, especially considering the two western powerhouse teams in Los Angeles.
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