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Buzzer-Beaters, No-Calls, and Nail-Biters

Reviewing Monday's Full Slate of NBA Action

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Hoops Holy Day: Breaking down all 15 games from a 100% capacity Monday night

Inspiring History Spotlight: How this NYC basketball legend launched an affordable shoe brand

Welcome back, fellow basketball connoisseurs, to another Wednesday edition of the Enjoy Basketball newsletter! We can't wait to dive into an absolutely packed schedule of Monday night hoops, but first, we have an exciting announcement for you all...

We’ve received tons of DMs and comments from Enjoyers asking for more apparel...the Enjoyers spoke, so we listened. To celebrate our first official event with Shopify, we created The Enjoy NYC Tee! The design is our most playful yet, and we think you’ll love it. Tees are now available in very limited quantities! Don’t sleep on this one.

PrizePicks

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*PrizePicks is available to residents 18+ in AK, AR, CA, CO, DC, FL, GA, IL, KS, KY, MI, MN, NE, NY, NM, NC, ND, OK, OR, RI, SC, SD, TX, UT, VT, VA, WI, WY. 19+ in AL. 21+ in AZ, MA.

Monday's NBA Extravaganza

With 15 games and every single NBA team in action, Monday night was truly a sight to behold for hoops aficionados around the world. But with so many games happening at once, it was almost too much to keep up with.

Luckily at Enjoy Basketball, we got you covered. Follow along with us as we rank each of Monday night’s games from least to most exciting. 👇

15. Wizards Swat Slumping Hornets 108-100

A strong fourth quarter and 20 points from Kyle Kuzma helped the Washington Wizards (5-6) doom the Charlotte Hornets (3-8) to their fifth straight loss. But big shout to Wizards' two-way player Jordan Goodwin in this one, who had a perfect 7-for-7 shooting night! Even our guy Corey Kispert showed his appreciation.

14. Pistons Grind Out W Against Thunder 112-103

A 15-point halftime lead and another huge night from SGA (33 PTS, 4 BLK) weren’t enough to save the Oklahoma City Thunder (4-6) this time. The Detroit Pistons (3-8) came out with a vengeance after the break, led by Cade Cunningham and Saddiq Bey combining for 33 second-half points.

13. Knicks Cruise by T-Wolves 120-107

The New York Knicks (5-5) got the best version of Julius Randle (31 PTS, 8 3PM), Jalen Brunson (23 PTS, 8 AST), and RJ Barrett (22 PTS, 5 AST) we’ve seen so far, which was enough to deter a good performance from the Minnesota Timberwolves' (5-6) Karl-Anthony Towns (25 PTS, 13 REB, 7 AST). They also have the strange distinction of being seemingly the most average team of all time through ten games.

12. Jazz Steamroll Lakers 139-116 Despite Westbrook Resurgence

The Utah Jazz (9-3) continue to cement their legitimacy as a potential playoff team with each passing game. This time, they set a new season high in points against a Los Angeles Lakers (2-8) squad that was missing LeBron James. Lauri Markkanen's (23 PTS, 67% FG) case as an all-star candidate keeps growing stronger. And in LA, the Russell Westbrook (22 PTS, 5 AST) bench experiment is looking like a rousing success.

11. Bulls Beat Raptors 111-97 Behind LaVine’s Breakout Performance

The Chicago Bulls (6-6) might be .500, but they have some pretty strong wins against teams like the Celtics, Nets, Heat, and last night's victim, the Toronto Raptors (6-5). And it’s great to see one of the game's best scorers in Zach LaVine (30 PTS, 5 AST) shake off a rough start to deliver a big-time performance.

For Toronto, Scottie Barnes had a quiet night overall, but that didn’t stop him from having one of the hypest dunks of the year.

10. Sixers Stifle Suns 100-88 Behind Embiid’s 33

No James Harden? Only 11 points from Tyrese Maxey? No problem for the Philadelphia 76ers (5-6), who held the Phoenix Suns (7-3) to their lowest point total of the season. Superstar center Joel Embiid (33 PTS, 10 REB) may have only shot 38% from the field, but he nailed every one of his 16 attempts from the charity stripe. And how about known Enjoyer of Basketball Georges Niang (21 PTS, 7-10 3PT)?

9. Nuggets Snuff Out Spurs Comeback 115-109

The Denver Nuggets (7-3) continued their strong start to the season against a San Antonio Spurs (5-6) team that is sliding after a hot start. Nikola Jokić stuffed up the stat sheet with 26-8-10-2-3, Michael Porter Jr. poured in an efficient 24 points, and Jamal Murray (19 PTS, 6 AST) dropped some US Mint-certified dimes.

8. Big Shooting Nights Propels Rockets over Magic 134-127

One way to get out of a slump is to practically set the ball on fire NBA Jam style, which is exactly what the Houston Rockets (2-9) did. Nine of the 10 Rockets players who touched the court hit a three, with six of them hitting multiple. It was just enough to withstand another monster game from Orlando Magic (2-9) rookie Paolo Banchero (30 PTS, 6 REB).

7. Turner’s Scoring Explosion Helps Pacers Stun Pelicans 129-122

Myles Turner…where did this come from?? The Indiana Pacers (5-5) big man had a solid start to the season but came out of nowhere to drop 37 points, 12 rebounds, and three blocks in what might be the best performance of his career. As for the New Orleans Pelicans (5-5), it’s disappointing to lose games like this, but at least you got to see Zion (26 PTS, 7 AST) do Zion things.

6. Hawks Demolish Bucks 117-98 In Statement Win

It might have been a blowout, but this game gets moved up the excitement list because it shows just how scary this Atlanta Hawks (7-3) team can be. Dejounte Murray (25 PTS, 11 AST) did his thing, the defense held the Milwaukee Bucks (9-1) in check, and how about rookie AJ Griffin from the top rope! This year’s 16th overall pick scored more points tonight (24) than he had the rest of the season combined (23)...

5. Kings Sunk By Controversial No-Call In 113-116 Loss to the Warriors

In a game that should have been remembered as a classic Golden State Warriors comeback and one of Steph Curry’s (47 PTS, 8 REB, 8 AST) best performances in recent memory, most will now remember it as just another footnote in the Sacramento Kings (3-6) storied history of getting screwed by the refs. At least it’s good to see De’Aaron Fox (28 PTS, 6 AST) and Malik Monk (24 PTS, 6 REB) balling out together again.

4. Luka Dazzles as Mavs Scrape By Nets 96-94

The Dallas Mavericks' (6-3) Luka Dončić has officially reached the stratosphere as a scorer to start this season. The former EuroLeague MVP joined NBA legend Wilt Chamberlain as the only two players to start a season scoring 30+ points in nine straight games. As for the Nets (4-7), they should have known they were in for a rough night when Dončić hit this in warmups:

3. Hart’s Heart-Stopping Dagger Buries Heat 110-107

This was a hard-earned victory for the Portland Trail Blazers (7-3), who battled through turnover troubles and a rough shooting night from Damian Lillard (19 PTS, 6 AST) to claw back against the Miami Heat (4-7) in the fourth. Anfernee Simons (25 PTS, 4 3PM) hit some big shots down the stretch, but it was Josh Hart (12 PTS, 8 AST) who stole the show with a clutch corner three to beat the buzzer and seal the victory for Portland.

2. Clippers Grab Signature W Over Impressive Cav’s Squad 119-117

The Cleveland Cavaliers (8-2) hadn’t lost since opening night, got an efficient 30 points from Donovan Mitchell, and had a 13-point lead with just five minutes left in the game. But the Los Angeles Clippers (6-5) had other ideas. Norman Powell didn’t let the early season criticisms get to him, scoring 13 points in the fourth quarter, while Paul George finished off the Clippers' comeback with a tough and-one.

1. Celtics Take Down Grizzlies 109-106 in Matchup of NBA Heavyweights

There were plenty of great showdowns on Monday, but it’s hard to beat a potential NBA Finals matchup coming down to the wire. Jayson Tatum (39 PTS, +15 +/-) and Ja Morant (30 PTS, 9 AST) were both near their best, Marcus Smart (15 PTS, 7 REB, 12 AST) put on his best Magic Johnson impersonation, and the Memphis Grizzlies (7-4) nearly came back from down seven with just 50 seconds left to make this a true nail-biter. If you watch the highlights from one game on Monday, let it be this one.

NBA History Spotlight

Welcome back to the NBA History Spotlight, where we share impactful and inspiring stories from the history of the game. Today, we’ll be looking at a former NBA star and New York City legend who started a signature shoe brand that was affordable for everyone.

Stephon Marbury’s basketball career is often examined through the lens of what could have been. A player who, at one point, seemed to have near-immeasurable potential but never quite reached the vaunted heights in the NBA that were once projected to be his destiny. But an examination of his time in basketball shouldn’t just focus on the negatives.

Marbury had a thriving overseas career in China, which included three CBA championships and an entire museum dedicated to him. But the subject of today’s spotlight concerns his signature shoe brand, Starbury.

Growing up in Brooklyn, Marbury remembered not being able to afford the latest shoes like Jordan’s. This inspired him to start a brand offering high-quality inexpensive shoes so future kids would not have to face the same problem he did. Partnering with American clothing chain Steve & Barry's, Starbury's retailed for less than $10, selling millions of pairs worldwide over its original three-year run.

Marbury easily could have had a signature shoe that retailed for $100+, but he instead chose the road less traveled to make Starbury a basketball shoe line that was affordable for everyone. We applaud him for his commitment to making sure basketball is a sport that everyone can enjoy.

Good Reads

Top 10 Freshmen to Watch in 2022-23 Men's College Basketball Season - Kerry Miller (Bleacher Report)

Don't overlook Ayo Dosunmu's brilliance with the Bulls - Ethan Fuller (Basketball News)

Signing Off

Thanks for reading this Wednesday, everybody! Before we go, we'd like to give a big thank you to the 2,000+ new Enjoyers who've signed up for the newsletter over the past week! The continued support means a lot to us as we head into the new season.

Until next time,

-Spencer Poole

Trivia Answer: The current NBA player who owns a bowling team is Chris Paul! The Point God has long been a fan of the sport and founded his own team, L.A.X., back in 2012.

Trivia Question: Who owns the record for the highest vertical leap at the NBA combine?