Ten Takeaways From 12/25/24
ONE) A Very Wemby Christmas
You wanna get ratings up? Let an Alien invade the Christmas opener at MSG. My guy Wemby WENT OFF for 42 points and 18 rebounds (41.4 USG%) against the Knicks. Passes LaMarcus Aldridge (33) for the most points ever scored by a Spur on XMas. The NBA gonna schedule him to play on XMas for the rest of his career. You were wondering how long it would take for Thibs to try OG Anunoby on him. Took until late in the fourth. By the way, you could tell that no one’s been watching the league this year because the entire timeline was full of people asking why he’s taking so many threes. Ok, he tied a season-high with 16 attempts but still. Shouldn’t be so surprised at this point. He was hitting them from everywhere. Dunks, middys, threes… He also grabbed his 1,000th rebound. Joins David Robinson as the only players in NBA history to have 2,000+ points, 1,000+ rebounds, and 350+ blocks in their first 100 games.
Maybe the most notable development of all this though is that he played 40+ minutes in regulation for the first time in his career. San Antonio shortened their rotation with both Zach Collins and Charles Bassey getting DNPs.
"I'm trying to steal Christmas" - Jeremy Sochan
TWO) Merry Bridgemas
Knicks fans have been waiting a very long time to see this version of Mikal Bridges. Something to ease the pain of sending out five first-round picks to Brooklyn. He scores a new Knicks career-high of 41 points on 80.6 ST% (6-9 3PT). It’s the second most points a Knick has scored on Christmas. Bernard King dropped 60 in ‘84. It was pretty remarkable how good he looked and not just offensively. This was the two-way Mikal we were promised. He was active as you'll see all year and got to any spot he wanted.
The non-Mikal Knicks… not too good. They shot 33.7 % (28-75 FG, 7-30 3PT). KAT (21 points, 9 rebounds) tried to get it going but struggled with foul trouble. Precious held his own in his place (5 points, 10 rebounds). Don’t think that I didn’t notice he’s made three three-pointers in his last four games. That’s pretty huge if he can hit that with consistency.
"Just staying with it. All the credit to my teammates, coaches. They keep me up. Keep giving me confidence" - Mikal Bridges on his improved play
The Knicks beat the Spurs 117-114.
THREE) Wolves Almost Blow It.
Minnesota was up 28 points late in the third and really almost lost to the Mavs without Luka. More on that later…
Finch hasn’t budged yet on starters despite hinting at the possibility of a change on Monday. I love Jaden McDaniels as much as the next guy but his shooting struggles are becoming harder and harder to overcome (37.2 FG% over his last five games). Also, would you believe me if I told you their defense has been much better with him off the court?
109.4 DEF RTG with Jaden McDaniels
102.4 DEF RTG without Jaden McDaniels
Thought Rudy (14 points, 10 rebounds) looked much better than he’s played recently and Donte DiVincenzo is starting to come on. Over DD’s last five games, he’s shooting 40.0% from three.
Anthony Edwards is still in a bit of a slump. Looked like he was gonna snap out of it early, scoring 8 points in the first (2-2 3PT) but reverted to playing hero ball as the game went on. Finished with 26 points on 54.2 TS% (50.1 TS% over his last six games). You’d think the Wolves lost this game with how I’m sounding.
“We got to have patience to be able to get it together. Sometimes it looks good, sometimes it looks bad, and we still trying to figure it out. I think patience is what’s going to take us over the top." - Anthony Edwards
FOUR) Luka’s Calf
So about Luka…
Looked bad right away. Was about to attempt a shot at the elbow but stopped midway, passed the ball to Kyrie, and immediately asked Kidd to take him out of the game. Non-contact too, always scary. They ruled him out shortly after. Shams has already reported that Dallas is bracing for him to miss an extended period of time after sustaining a calf strain. He left the arena on crutches and will undergo an MRI on Thursday. Not good at all. This is the same calf that’s been giving him issues too. Now we gotta wait on the severity of the strain.
Kyrie certainly wasn’t letting the Mavs fold. He scored 26 second-half points (37.2 USG%) and almost willed them to a dub. Klay Thompson passed Reggie Miller on the All-Time 3-Pointers Made list (2,562). He said he was going to sign and send the game-worn jersey to Reggie because of how much he meant to him.
“You never want anybody to get hurt or have injuries, but it’s part of the game. Hopefully, this will be his last one and hopefully, it’s not too serious.” - Jason Kidd on Luka’s injury troubles this season
Wolves beat the Mavs 105-99.
FIVE) The Boston Killer
Can’t help but laugh but Caleb Martin turns into a different player whenever he plays the Celtics. He’s scored 20+ points 18 times in his NBA career. Five have come against Boston. Scores 23 points on 104.5 TS% (7-9 3PT). First Sixers player to ever make at least seven threes against the Celtics. Boston was leaving him open all night. Thought it was interesting he played 18 first-half minutes but Nick Nurse knew what he was doing all along.
The part of the day that had us all on the floor was 10 minutes before tip when we got that Underdog notification:
Status alert: Joel Embiid appeared to suffer ankle injury after taking turnaround 3 in pre-game warmups Wednesday
I went straight to the feed to look for anything I could find cause it didn’t feel real. I mean, you’d think by now we’d get used to it but I didn’t think the season could get any worse for him. Looked like it was gonna cost him the game for a split second but he eventually came back out for warmups and played. Was pretty good too (27 points, 4-5 3PT, 9 rebounds) but this was the Tyrese Maxey (33 points, 12 assists) game. Celtics couldn’t stay in front of him. He scored 13 in the fourth and was talking shit to the Celtics bench after every bucket. Paul George on the other hand, missed all seven of his three-point attempts. No shit-talking from him.
"No, it was OK. A little sore, but it’s Christmas. Gotta play in the Christmas game." - Joel Embiid on his pregame ankle scare
"He’s playing against Boston. He hates them as much as I do." - Joel Embiid on Caleb Martin’s career-high seven three-pointers
SIX) Porzinigs Hurt… Again
He hurts his ankle less than two minutes into the game attempting a step back. Tried playing through it after a brief stint to the locker room but had to get shut down at halftime. He turned the same ankle a few weeks ago and yeah, it’s the same ankle he had surgery on in June. No clue if the injuries are related. Luke Kornet started the second half. Joe Mazzulla said he didn’t have an update. It’s hard not to have sympathy for the guy. He has a harder time than most staying healthy. Think he’s left with an injury in three of the eleven games he’s played.
Jrue Holiday (right shoulder impingement) missed his fourth game of the season. This was their first loss without him. Payton Pritchard’s been so good this season but hard to ignore how he’s looked in his last three games, shooting just 15.8% from three (3-19 3PT). Shot-making wasn’t the issue for Boston though. They were 20-of-49 from three. Makes the Sixers win that much more impressive. Jayson Tatum (32 points, 15 rebounds) became the first Celtic since Larry Bird to record consecutive games of 25+ points and 15+ rebounds.
"Listen, we're playing inconsistent basketball. We've got to get better at both ends." - Joe Mazzulla
76ers beat the Celtics 118-114.
SEVEN) Headband Reaves
There have only been two Lakers to ever record a triple-double on Christmas: Russell Westbrook and Austin Reaves (26 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists). As if his third career trip-dub wasn’t enough, he blows by Andrew Wiggins for the game-winning layup and ruins a rare Mike Breen “Double Bang”. He was on D’Angelo Russell’s podcast a couple of weeks ago talking about how desperate he was to get a win on Christmas Day and look at him now. This one was hyped up as Bron vs Steph but I’ll be remembering it as the White Christmas game. Bron didn’t disappoint either with 31 points and 10 assists. He and Steph took turns wowing the crowd, living up to the billing. Also gave the quote of the day that resonated with hoop lovers around the world…
"I love the NFL, but Christmas is our day." - LeBron James
Anthony Davis had to leave this one early after turning his ankle. I’m not kidding when I tell you, he turned it while he was talking. Guess you can say he lived up to the billing too. He’s considered day-to-day moving forward and will be reevaluated before their next game against Sacramento but he already said he’s playing.
EIGHT) A “Double Bang” Wasted
Steph is the best. We all knew what was coming and that’s because we’re spoiled from his greatness. Golden State really had no business making this a game but that’s the beauty of having the greatest shooter of all time. You’re just never out of it. He scores 17 of his season-high 38 points in the fourth quarter on 77.3 TS% (44.4 USG%). The Lakers were up 10 with a little over 3 minutes to go before Steph went into goat mode, making shot after shot. The 31-footer to tie the game with six seconds was the reason for the “Double Bang”. Steph said he wouldn’t be surprised if he sits one of the next two games but there’s also an urgency to win.
Steve Kerr started Trayce Jackson-Davis again for the third straight game. He said that he likes him in that slot but also said he’s gonna keep searching for the right combinations. You should know by now to never trust a word he says but at least he’s giving you a heads up now. Jonathan Kuminga was a team-worst -17 and as much as you don’t wanna give too much credit to plus-minus, he was that bad. The decision-making sometimes is just wild. Warriors are now 3-11 over their last 14 games and you gotta think he’s not as untouchable as he was before the season began.
“We’ve lost some confidence. You can feel it. We had a great vibe early in the season and we’re going through it right now… I believe we’re going to get this thing turned around.” - Steve Kerr
Lakers beat the Warriors 115-113.
NINE) Is Jamal’s Ankle Alright?
Suns and Nuggets just played on Monday night and the Nuggets kicked ass. This time around, the Suns were the ones doing the ass-kicking. What was the difference? Jamal Murray (13 points, 4-10 FG) didn’t play on Monday. I don’t wanna put this loss entirely on him because all of the non-Jokic Nuggets were ass. I just don’t know who the hell that was out there because that wasn’t Jamal Murray Think that ankle injury is hampering him more than they’re letting on. He was way too passive, laboring and the playmaking wasn’t there. Was a team-worst -16 in his 39 minutes, jeez can’t believe Malone played him that much. He looked like a liability out there so yeah, I’ve piled on him enough but when he looks that bad, Jokic (25 points, 15 rebounds) has no room to breathe and that’s what sucks.
Wow, just saw that Christian Braun is 3-22 from three over his last ten games. Yeah, this team is not helping Joker at all. Michael Porter Jr. took an ill-advised three late in the game when everyone else was back and Jokic raised his arms like, “WHY!?” It’s all bad and it doesn’t help that Aaron Gordon left this game with right calf tightness.
"Hopefully Aaron is gonna be ready to go for Cleveland, but we'll have to wait and see these next 24, 48 hours." - Michael Malone on Aaron Gordon
TEN) Beal’s Stepping Up
Look at what Bradley Beal’s done in the three games since losing Devin Booker to a groin strain:
25.3 PPG
3.7 AST
55.0 3PT%
27.9 USG%
He was confident and aggressive, taking a season-high 21 field goal attempts. Maybe it’s cause he feels more comfortable at his natural SG position, I don’t know but they need to figure out a way to sustain this. Ryan Dunn (5 points, 21 minutes) was inserted back into the starting lineup.
"This was his game tonight. I feel like he should be getting this interview right now." -
Kevin Durant on Bradley Beal
Suns beat the Nuggets 110-100.
Great day for the NBA. Classic after classic after classic… on a day the NFL tried to steal its shine. The NFL will probably add another game next XMas since it’s on a Thursday so let’s hope the NBA keeps rising to the occasion. Hope y’all had a wonderful holiday. Let’s end 2024 with a (double) bang.
