🏀 Fantastic Mr. Fox

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Hey hey hey! It’s a great morning to talk hoops. We’ve got everything* you could ever want today—buckets, beards, and baby goats. 🐐 

Today’s Lineup

🦊 Fantastic Mr. Fox: De’Aaron dueled Shai in an electric Kings win!

🧔‍♂️ Fear The Beard: James Harden and the Clippers are ROLLIN’.

🏀 Baby GOAT: This Bulls shooting guard is on a tear right now…

*Disclaimer: we do not have your game ball. Sorry about that.

Last Night’s Action

Kings vanquish Thunder 128-123 in offensive PG masterclass

Two of the most likable guards in the league dueled last night, as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander dropped 43 but De’Aaron Fox got 41 and the win. It was an offensive boat race for 48 minutes, but Thunder came roaring back in the 4th. We gotta admire both Shai and Fox’s abilities to use angles to break down their defenders and finish through contact.

Malik Monk (18 points) splashed in some big threes for Sac-Town in the second half and continued his 6MOTY campaign. And shout-out to Keon Ellis, the second-year shooting guard who gave Sacramento great production off the bench tonight by shooting 5-7 from three. 💦 

Harden handles Warriors as Clippers win 121-113

Don’t look now, but the Clippers are clicking 👀. They beat an admittedly struggling Warriors squad last night for their sixth straight W. What’s even better for LA is that James Harden looks fully in his groove! He tallied 28 points and 15 assists and seemed totally fluid in the Clippers’ offense. Maybe it's something about facing Golden State that makes Harden go demon mode.

Meanwhile, the Warriors benched a struggling Andrew Wiggins in favor of Santa Clara’s Brandin Podziemski, but the rookie struggled in his first career start. Klay Thompson kept the Warriors in it with a hot third quarter and an efficient 30-point game, but he and Steph cooled off in the fourth quarter and the game slipped away. Clippers haters are realllll quiet right now…

The Best of the Rest:

• The Bulls beat the Heat 124-116, but DeMar DeRozan’s ridiculous 360° pass was a win in and of itself. Coby White (26 points, 11 assists) continued his hot streak, but more on that a little later…

• Despite an off-game from Anthony Edwards, the Timberwolves tore through the Mavericks 119-101 to stay atop the West. Certified Enjoyer of Basketball Naz Reid buried a career-high seven threes for 27 points, while Luka Doncic continued his unique hot streak with 39 points and 13 assists.

• After spoiling the Suns Big 3’s debut, the Nets were brought back down to Earth in a 23-point loss to the Nuggets. Nikola Jokic (26-point triple-double) has a tendency to do stuff like that… 😅

• The Cavaliers remained in striking distance the entire game, but the Celtics held on to beat Cleveland 116-107 behind Jayson Tatum’s 27. Boston doubled down on their earlier win this week vs. the Cavs and are now 12-0 at home! 👀

Morning Blitz

You know we love hoops, but how do we keep up with other sports? Simple — by reading the Morning Blitz.

The Morning Blitz is a free newsletter that curates all essential sports news from the day prior, using a unique blend of wittiness and informational writing. Just like Jeff Van Gundy, the Morning Blitz HATES load management. That’s why they’re here for you every weekday to recap every major sports game.

In simpler terms, think SportsCenter in an email read by the likes of Mark Cuban, Dana White, and more! You’re welcome for the rec – sign up below!

Wednesday Night Notes

There were nine games on Wednesday night, but we’re just gonna focus on two of the biggest headlines—click here to see all nine box scores!

Where do we even start with Bucks/Pacers? Giannis Antetokounmpo dominated Indiana with a career-high and Bucks franchise record 64 points. He shot 24-32 from the free throw line and helped the Bucks to a 14-point win, but somehow that wasn’t even the main headline of this game—more on that in a second.

After the final buzzer, a Pacers assistant coach apparently took a game ball to give to rookie Oscar Tshiebwe, who scored his first official career point that night. Giannis, who probably thought his franchise-record 64-piece was more deserving, charged into the Pacers tunnel to go after the game ball. He now has a ball, but doesn’t know if it’s actually the real thing. Meanwhile, Indiana has already signed an enforcer in preparation for their next couple games against the Bucks this January. Yup. NBA rivalries are back.

And in a highlight-filled battle, Victor Wembanyama held his own against Anthony Davis and the Lakers. The Frenchman had 30 points, 13 rebounds, and six blocks, but AD prevailed in the end, scoring 37 in Los Angeles’ 122-119 win. Davis is one of the best bigs in the game these days, so for a rookie to at least come close to equalizing him is definitely impressive. 🫡 

Oh, Draymond…

This is admittedly not a very Enjoy-able topic, but it does need to be discussed. Draymond Green received an indefinite suspension by the league yesterday after randomly knocking the 💩 out of Jusuf Nurkic during Warriors/Suns. To return from his suspension, Green will have to meet a list of requirements set by both the team and league offices, which is expected to include counseling sessions. We’re hoping Draymond is able to work things out so he can get back to the era-defining defense and playmaking we expect from him!

Performance of the Week

There’s hasn’t been a lot of positivity out of Chicago recently, but Coby White was a massive bright spot for the Bulls this week.

Over his past three games, White averaged 28.7 points, 7.7 assists, and 5.7 rebounds while shooting 53% from the field and 48% from three. His crazy week was highlighted by his Monday night performance against Milwaukee, where the young guard scored 33 on 12-20 from the field and 6-10 from three.

But it’s not just that he’s been a human 🔥torch🔥. If you watch the Bulls play, the former Tar Heel stands out for his constant energy, grit, and hustle whenever he’s on the floor. Has Coby been given the power of the Monstars? Has he captured the aura of Klay Thompson? Or maybe—just maybe—he’s a talented, hard-working guard that’s just now been given more opportunity to produce on the court. 💪

We’re pretty sure it’s that last one, so props to Coby White for absolutely seizing the moment!

Three in the Key

• The Denver Nuggets activated showtime on this fast break! 🤩 

• Watch James Harden hit a feat only 23 other players have achieved in history!

• This Christian Braun poster was electric 🤯 maybe… white men… can jump?

What We’re Enjoying

A Gold Blackberry? Big Red gum? Autotune? Watch below to see the 10 Things Travis Scott Can’t Live Without 😎⬇️

Signing Off

Going, going, going, gone! We’ll catch you back on Monday, but make sure to take some “you” time this weekend. 🏀 🧡

-Conor Geelan