🧑‍🚀 🚀 Rockets Soaring, Jalen Johnson's MIP Case, and the New Generation of 'Kobe' Names" - 11/9/23

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

What Stood Out to Me Last Night (11/08/23)

1. Don’t look now but the Houston Rockets have won 4 games in a row by an average margin of victory of 21.5 points. Jalen Green finally made his presence felt, dropping 28 points and grabbing 7 rebounds in just 21 minutes and the Rockets defense held the Lakers to only 7-25 from the three point line.

2. Bradley Beal made his debut for the Suns, although it was a rusty performance as he scored 13 points on 3-12 shooting. Nonetheless, the Suns pulled off an overtime win over the Bulls, with Jusuf Nurkic contributing a monstrous 20 points, 17 rebounds, and 8 assists.

3. The Pacers entered the game leading the NBA in points per game, and they only expanded that lead by putting up 134 points last night. I want to highlight Jalen Smith, who came off the bench for the Pacers and contributed 16 points and 11 rebounds in just 24 minutes. So far this season, he's been averaging 11 points per game in only 16 minutes of playing time while shooting an unbelievable 72%. If you look at his PER36 scoring averages, they would be over 24 points per game!

4. Philly continues to impress with another huge win. Their defense held the Celtics (the league's top-rated offense), to under 40% shooting. Joel Embiid is making an early-season case for the Defensive Player of the Year award.

5. The Pistons may have lost to the Bucks, but keep an eye on Marcus Sasser as a potential value pick in fantasy basketball. He's a rookie who has gone 13-26 from three-point range in his last four games, with two games of 20+ points.

 Who I’m Watching for Tonight (11/09/23)

Only two games on the schedule tonight:

Bucks vs. Pacers and Hawks vs. Magic. Who has caught my attention the most?

Jalen Johnson. It's about time he makes an appearance in this newsletter. While people discuss Maxey as a candidate for Most Improved Player – and don't get me wrong, he's elevated his game – did anyone not see this coming? Maxey averaged 20 PPG last season, had a productive offseason, and is now taking on a larger role under a new coach this season.

What happened to the times when Most Improved Players were those who couldn't crack the rotation and then transformed into significant contributors? To me, that kind of "improvement" is even more surprising than becoming a superstar.

Jalen Johnson is the unexpected star of this season. Look at his improvement:

He's an explosive athlete capable of playing both forward positions with solid ball-handling skills, and he's active on the defensive end. His impact on the Hawks has been nothing short of incredible.

Look at his On/Off impact on the Hawks this season —

This dude is the real deal, which is why I picked him for my weekly Hoop’d fantasy team. I’m eager to see how he performs tonight.

Random Thought

I'm feeling my basketball age lately, and it got me reminiscing about my early days as an NBA fan back in the early 2000’s.

Back then, I only had access to games on NBC, a stark contrast to today's prime time NBA broadcasts on ABC. Those days were all about watching the Lakers on NBC, especially because they made it to the Finals four times between ‘00-05.

I remember pretending to be Kobe Bryant, running up and down the hallway of my childhood home, practicing my shots on an imaginary hoop. I'm sure I wasn't the only one shouting "Kobe!" as I took those shots, just like how kids today probably say "Curry!"

Jumping to the 2023 NBA draft, I noticed something that made feel even older. Two players were drafted, Kobe Brown and Kobe Bufkin at 30 and 15th respectively. And both players are indeed named after Kobe Bryant.

Brown's father, Greg, was convinced of Kobe's greatness after watching him play just one high school game. Meanwhile, Kobe Bufkin's parents were huge Kobe Bryant fans, and his brothers were named after other NBA legends like Michael Jordan and Isiah Thomas.

Looking ahead, we might see more players named LeBron as Bronny, the son of LeBron James, enters the league. Names like Steph are already quite common, showing the enduring impact of these NBA icons beyond their playing careers. 🏀🌟 #NBA #LegacyNames #Kobe

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