On Christmas Day, the NBA continued their tradition of playing five games: Knicks 117 Spurs 114, Timberwolves 105 Mavericks 99, 76ers 118 Celtics 114, Lakers 115 Warriors 113, and Suns 110 Nuggets 100 were the final scores. Below are five takeaways I have from the holiday's NBA action.
#1. The Knicks appear to be improved from last season: The Knicks took a step forward last season with their 50-32 record, finishing second in the Atlantic Division and reaching the Eastern Conference semifinals for the second straight season. After their win over the Spurs on Christmas, they are now 20-10 overall with a better winning percentage than they had last season. Two players the Knicks have that they didn't have last year are Mikal Bridges and Karl-Anthony Towns, both whom they acquired via trades.
Bridges had 41 points and four assists while Towns had 21 points and nine rebounds, helping the Knicks overcome a phenomenal performance by Spurs' center Victor Wembanyama, who had 42 points, 18 rebounds, and four blocks. Even though the Spurs are now 15-15 and the Knicks were favored by 8.5 points, this game I think can serve as evidence that the Knicks are better than a season ago. Towns and Bridges appear to be really nice pieces around Jalen Brunson, who has become the star of the Knicks. Adding both of them seems to have made the Knicks better.
#2. Will the Timberwolves finally get going: The Timberwolves had a huge 105-99 win on the road against the 4th place Dallas Mavericks. Anthony Edwards was fantastic with his 26 points, eight rebounds, and five assists, helping the Wolves stave off an impressive run at the end by the Mavericks, who outscored the Wolves 31-15 in the 4th quarter. The Wolves are coming off a season in which they reached the Western Conference Finals and yet as of now, they are 15-14 and 9th place in the West. Perhaps this win will light a fire in them and get them going.
#3. Tyrese Maxey is the real McCoy: I first heard of Tyrese Maxey back when he was playing at South Garland High School in Garland, Texas. I was covering Cal for Rivals.com at the time (now I cover Stanford for Rivals) and the Golden Bears were recruiting him. He of course ended up going to Kentucky and the rest is history. Maxey would go on to get selected in the 1st round of the 2020 NBA Draft with the 21st overall pick by the Philadelphia 76ers and from there, he has become one of the top talents in the NBA averaging 25.7 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 2.0 steals per game.
Maxey's talent was on full display on Christmas as he led the 76ers to a 118-114 victory on the road against the defending NBA champion Boston Celtics. Maxey finished with 33 points, 4 rebounds, 12 assists, and three steals. He was simply sensational. The 76ers might be having a down season at 11-17 overall, but Maxey's performance was a reminder that with him on their team, they have a very bright future.
#4. LeBron James will play as long as he wants: LeBron James turns 40 at the end of December and he's still putting up all-star level numbers with 23.5 points, 7.9 rebounds, and 9.0 assists per game. In a 115-113 win at Golden State, King James had 31 points, four rebounds, and 10 assists. It's ridiculous what this man is doing at his age.
I'm still in the camp of Michael Jordan is the GOAT, but James is putting up better numbers than Jordan was putting up at the same age and James has more mileage on him having played in the NBA for more seasons. If there's a case one wants to make for James being the GOAT, it's the longevity card for sure. With the way he's playing, James could probably play in the NBA for at least five more years. The only question is does he want to?
#5. The Phoenix Suns showed they have some depth: Despite their number two scorer Devin Booker (25.1 points) being out due to a groin injury, the Suns were still able to beat a good Denver Nuggets team 110-100. Kevin Durant of course led the way with his 27 points, four rebounds, and six assists, but other guys like Tyus Jones (17 points), Bradley Beal (27 points), and Monté Morris (11 points) all scored comfortably above their season averages.
At 15-14, the Suns are squarely in the mix for a playoff spot and they showed in this game that when one of their top two players is out, they can rise to the occasion and still come out on top against a quality opponent. That should give them a lot of confidence going forward the rest of the season.
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