The Calm Before Christmas

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Welcome back, Enjoyers! We're right in the middle of the holiday season. With last-second gift shopping and long flights to see family (hopefully with no delays), it can be tough to catch everything going on in the world of hoops. But don't worry: we got you covered as usual.

And with Christmas nearly upon us, why don't you treat some of your friends by sending them our newsletter? 

If you didn't see on Wednesday, we're starting an Enjoy Basketball referral program! At the bottom of your emails, you will see your own personal referral link. Share it with your friends, your pops, the people you run 5s with, whoever you think would ENJOY it. The more people you share it with, the more rewards you get. With the opportunity to get Enjoy Basketball bonus content, discounts, and prizes!

Newsletter Preview

3J McBuckets 🏀🔥 CJ McCollum drops a season-high to lead the way on Thursday night

Offensive Excellence ⭐ A historic first-half scoring outburst headlines Wednesday's slate

Wilt and the Joker 🃏 See why Jokic's game versus Charlotte was our performance of the week

RunYourPool

Have you seen posts like THIS and argued with your friends about whose starting 5 is the best? We thought so. Well, RunYourPool is giving you the chance to prove that YOUR $15 squad can stand up to anyone else’s with their brand new NBA STARTING 5 POOL game mode!

How does it work? Pick a team of five players that adds up to $15, and whoever’s team produces the most fantasy points (including points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocks) wins. It’s as easy as that!

RunYourPool is the home of competition, and we want the EB community to join in on that competition, so we’re running our own STARTING 5 POOL for the Christmas Day games! This isn’t just for bragging rights because the TOP 3 finishers in our pool will get an NBA JERSEY.

Seriously! What are you waiting for? Join our pool today and show off your GM skills.

Yesterday's Games

Monster Game from McCollum Lifts Pelicans over Spurs 126-117

Zion Williamson? Brandon Ingram? Never heard of 'em. The only player they need down in New Orleans is a veteran bucket-getter by the name of CJ McCollum. As if the Pelicans (19-12) weren't already enough to deal with, McCollum is finally rounding into form after a slow start to the season. The longtime Portland Trail Blazer dropped a season-high 40 points last night, including a confident transition three to ice the game.

For the Spurs (10-21), this season was always going to be more about individual performances, and they certainly got a good one from this year's ninth-overall pick Jeremy Sochan. The rook has caught some flak early in his career (notably for his struggles from the line), but he shut the haters up with arguably his best offensive performance to date. He dropped a career-high 23 points to go along with six assists and 7/10 shooting from the line, one-armed and all. 

Box Score

Jazz Beat Wizards 120-112 Thanks to Second Half Surge

The Jazz (18-15) took care of business in this one, even if it took a bit to shake off some rust. Utah got 25 points off the bench from Malik Beasley, 23 from Jordan Clarkson, and an efficient 21 from their main man Lauri Markkanen. And how about this Walker Kessler guy? The young rookie brought in to fill the massive France-sized defensive void left by Rudy Gobert is somehow doing exactly that less than halfway through his first NBA season. He was huge in the second half with eight points, nine rebounds, and a team-best +20. 

The Wizards (12-21) started off strong with a solid first half thanks to 16 points from Bradley Beal and a half-court buzzer-beater from noted Enjoyer of Basketball Corey Kispert. Sadly that 45-footer seemed to drain all of Washington's shooting luck, as they slumped to a 2 of 11 performance from beyond the arc in the second half.

Box Score

Wednesday Night Notes

For those who couldn't tune in to Wednesday night hoops, you missed two undisputed examples of offensive DOMINANCE. First off, Pascal Siakam put the entire city of Toronto on his back, dropping a career-high 52 while dragging the Raptors to victory in MSG against a Knicks team that had won eight straight coming in. He was so hot, in fact, his teammates had to cool him off after the game. But somehow, Spicy P’s sensational game wasn’t even the greatest scoring effort of the night. That distinction has to go to the entire Brooklyn Nets team, who dropped an almost unbelievable 91 points by halftime, the third-highest-scoring first half in NBA HISTORY. And it wasn’t just Kevin Durant, either. The Nets had nine different players score in double figures, just one less than the NBA record. 

Elsewhere, the Cavs prevailed over the Bucks in an epic duel accentuated by some top-tier trash talk between the Lopez Brothers. And Chicago capped off an eight-point comeback in the final five minutes against Atlanta with an incredible DeMar DeRozan “pass” to Ayo Dosunmu for the electric buzzer-beater. We’d also like to offer our sincere condolences to John Collins for being the unfortunate victim of a Bulls dog pile.

Latest Basketball News

Basketball Hall of Fame Announces Candidates for the Class of 2023

A new crop of incredible hoopers will be joining the ranks of basketball legends this spring, and we just got our first peek at who may be included in the 2023 Basketball Hall of Fame class. Notable names include the German GOAT Dirk Nowitzki, Miami Heat legend Dwyane Wade, Kobe’s lovable Spanish sidekick Pau Gasol, the San Antonio Spurs dynastic duo of Gregg Popovich and Tony Parker, and the trail-blazing 1976 U.S. Olympic Women’s Basketball Team. We won’t know exactly who makes the cut until February 17th, but it’s sure to be an incredible group, no matter what. 

Knicks Lose Draft Pick for Tampering in Brunson Signing

Knicks fans, cover your eyes in horror, because your team just lost … a 2025 second-round pick. After a thorough investigation into the signing of star point guard Jalen Brunson in free agency last offseason, the league found that New York reached out to the former Dallas Maverick before they were permitted to do so and docked them a future second-rounder as punishment. Considering the Knicks still have over 20 second-round draft picks over the next seven years, are four games above .500, and have Brunson looking like a potential all-star, we have a feeling they’ll gladly accept this tradeoff without too much fuss. 

Performance of the Week

Nikola Jokic Channels His Inner Wilt

It hasn't happened since Larry Bird from 1984 to 86, but Nikola Jokic is making a serious early case that he deserves to be MVP for the third year in a row. The Serbian behemoth had one of the greatest big man performances we've seen in a longggg time during the Nuggets' 119-115 victory over the Hornets earlier this week. 40 points, 27 rebounds, 10 assists: it seems like a statline straight out of 2K MyCareer. And just like any good eyeball-popping NBA stat, it hasn't been seen since the days of the late great Wilt Chamberlain, who put up a monster 53-32-14 statline all the way back in 1968. It would take a herculean effort for Jokic to win MVP, but legendary performances like this are certainly a great step.

Good Reads

Derrick Rose 1-on-1 with Shams: On Knicks' role, Bulls legacy and life after he retires - Shams Charania (The Athletic) 

The Other Slim Reaper: Is Nets Big Man Nic Claxton a Two-Way Star in the Making? - Mat Issa (Opta Analyst)

What We're Enjoying

Izzo the Elf: We loved Michigan State Head Coach Tom Izzo finding the Christmas spirit by getting T'd up while wearing an elf sweater. Never change, college basketball. Never change.

New Summing Salt Vid: And if you're into gaming, YouTube speedrunning historian Summoning Salt released an incredible 90-minute video about the history of Lego Star Wars world records. It's really interesting stuff, we promise! 

Signing Off

That's all from us today. Whether your team wins or loses, we hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas weekend filled with friends, family, gifts, and good basketball. Go Enjoy™ it.

Until next time,

-Spencer Poole

Trivia Answer: The NBA team recently valued at a record-setting $7 billion is the Golden State Warriors! They've parlayed their recent dynastic success on the court into the leagues most valuable brand.

Trivia Question: It takes a different breed of team to win consistently on the road. Let us know: which team holds the record for the longest away game win streak in NBA history at 16?