Curry, Luka and Wemby Shine, The Next Kawhi and Don't Forget the Dream - 10/28/23

Welcome to “Hoop’d There It Is” - Your daily 5-6 min dive into all things NBA.

Who I’m Watching for Tonight (10/28/23)

Honestly, none of the matchups seem like a "MUST-SEE" to me 🤷.

Funny enough, the most interesting team for me is the Detroit Pistons. Not only because of Cade, but also Ausar Thompson. He was impressive in last nights game with his activity defensively. He’s a strong rebounder (had 13 boards last night), can guard 1-5 and even play-make a little (6 assists last night). He had 5 blocks in his debut. I want to see how he matches up with the Bulls wings 🎯.

Honorable Mention:

• I’d like to see the Pacers after scoring 143 points against the Wizards in the first game play a real NBA defense in the Cavs. Haliburton is arguably the best PG under 25.

• Sixers/Raps has some potential 🌟. It’ll be interesting to see the defensive strategies Nick Nurse employs on his former team.

What Stood Out to Me Last Night (10/27/23):

The NBA is undoubtedly a stars' league.

So it makes sense to spotlight the standout stars from last night:

• Curry took Kings fans on a painful trip down memory lane 🛤️. With 41 last night, he picked up right where he left off last season where he dropped 50 on Kings fans heads in G7 of the first round last year. Meanwhile, CP3, with his steadiness, has seamlessly fit into the Warriors' style of play, negating those stretches where the Warriors especially veer into turnover-heavy territory.
  

• The positional matchup of the season thus far in the CLE/OKC game 🔥. Mitchell had 43/8/5 and SGA had 34/11/4. These guys with Book will be battling it out for first team All-NBA honors this season.
  

• Over the last two seasons, I've believed that Luka entered each season with a legitimate shot at winning MVP. While he consistently puts up impressive numbers, his team often falls short. Victories against the Spurs and Nets this season don't necessarily indicate a change just yet. However, I believe Luka winning an MVP in his career is inevitable. Could this be the year? 🤔 Perhaps that's an overreaction on my part, but seriously, did you see his performance in the final moments of the game? His shot-making was simply unbelievable. https://streamable.com/uwbyk1. Like breh, what. 🤯
  

• Wemby is so physically imposing 💪. He dominated the Rockets in the 4th Q and OT. He was aggressive finishing around the rim even scoring the bucket to send it OT. Am I allowed to ask why in the world is Jeremy Sochan playing so much PG? I like the size of the wings they have defensively, but the amount of times they miss Wemby for easy lob opportunities is maddening and I’m not even a Spurs fan. Tre Jones is the only one on the roster that’s had any semblance of a connection with Wemby on the lobs.

Honorable Mentions:

• Chet Holmgren had himself a game. In just the second game of his career, he had 16/13 with 7 blocks against CLE’s stacked front-court 🚫. He’s not quite the freak Wemby is, but he’s pretty freakish himself.

• Alperen Sengun's dominance (25/14/7) last night also deserves a mention. While I've spotlighted Jalen Green as a third-year player to watch, Sengun might just be stealing that spotlight on his own team.

Random NBA Thought

Why the penchant for lazy comparisons with draft picks?

Case in point: the “Next Kawhi Leonard” tag. Every year, it's slapped on various players.

Patrick Williams is a primary offender. Just because he’s athletic, 6’7”, has diverse skills, and "needs to enhance his shooting", he gets pigeonholed as a potential Kawhi. He played for 13 minutes last night, scoring a mere 3 points on 1-5 shooting.

He's not the first, either. Earlier this off-season, Lakers assistant coach Phil Handy likened Rui Hachimura to Kawhi. Reddit is full of threads about Josh Jackson, Stanley Johnson, Justice Winslow, DeAndre Hunter, and OG Anunoby as the next Kawhi. Nassir Little even compared himself to Kawhi. Mikal Bridges is perhaps the closest comparison, but even he falls short. Kawhi was winning his second Finals MVP at 27.

It’s time to retire this comparison 🚫.

Old School Memory Fantasy Style

KD just passed up Hakeem Olajuwon in the all-time scoring list, so let’s pay a little homage to the Dream with our throwback for today. He had a monster 5×5 game v. the Sonics.

Learn more about how we’re trying to change fantasy basketball at www.hoopdfantasy.com