Jayson Tatum, take your time getting back healthy….

Jaylen Brown’s got you covered.

Before we get started, we want to give a HUGE Congratulations to our main man, Kenny for landing a spot on the Forbes 30 Under 30 List! 🎉

Today’s Lineup

🎉 Happy birthday Lindsey Hunter, Brian Roberts, and Marcus Williams! 🎉

Game Recaps

Jaylen Brown drops 42, leads Celtics past Knicks 123-117 

Remember the narrative flying around that the Celtics may use this injury-riddled season as an opportunity to tank? Well, Jaylen Brown and the rest of the C’s are putting that narrative to bed. 😴

Following a big win in Cleveland on Sunday, the Celtics defeat another top dog in the east in the Knicks on Tuesday night. JB (42 PTS, 16/24 shooting) put on an absolute masterclass in this one. The team as a whole put on a shooting clinic, shooting 56% from the field for the game. The Celtics big men quite literally did not miss, with Jordan Walsh and Neemias Queta combining to go 8/8 from the floor. Efficiency all-around!

Even though tonight ended in a loss for New York, they just about matched the Celtics offensive firepower. Mikal Bridges put up 35 points on a ridiculous 12/17 shooting, including 8/12 from three, and Karl-Anthony Towns added 29 of his own on 12/19 from the field.

Anytime the Knicks and Celtics matchup, it feels like a playoff game. Tuesday’s game was certainly no different…

Suns snap Lakers’ 7 game win streak in 125-108 victory in L.A.

The Sun was just a little too bright for the Lakers on Monday night. ☀️

Phoenix was red hot all night and were propelled by a dominant 35-21 second quarter, cruising to the dub. Devin Booker left early in the first half with an injury, so the Valley turned to Dillon Brooks (33 PTS, 15/26 FG) and Collin Gillespie (28 PTS, 16 in the 4th) who continues to be an absolute flame-thrower these days!

Oh, and it looks like the Suns have established a nickname for this duo: 🔥

For the Lakeshow, their seven game win streak comes to an end, but it wasn’t without a huge performance from Luka Doncić (38 PTS, 11 REB, 5 AST). LeBron James (10 PTS) justttt barely keeps his NBA record of 1,297 games of scoring in double digits alive in the loss. Talk about a close call!

Elsewhere around the NBA:

• It’s not over ‘til it’s over! The Wolves steal a game in New Orleans on Tuesday night, coming back from a four point deficit in the final 45 seconds to force OT and defeat the Pels 149-142. As always, it was Anthony Edwards (44 PTS) who was the hero for Minnesota, converting on a game-tying layup that sent the game into OT. With the loss, the Pelicans drop to a disappointing 3-19 on the season, and will now be without Zion Williamson for the next few weeks. 🥲

• After dropping their last two games, the Raptors got back to their winning ways on Tuesday night, holding off the Blazers 121-118. Scottie Barnes led the way with 28 points, seven rebounds, and six assists, while Immanuel Quickley (23 PTS, 9/11 shooting) was treating the basket like it was the ocean. 🌊

• Nembhard went crazy on Monday night, and no…we aren’t talking about Andrew. It was his brother, Ryan Nembhard who scorched the Nuggets in the Mile High in Dallas’ 131-121 win! The Rookie went for 28 points and 10 assists (both career highs) while Anthony Davis (32 PTS, 13 REB) got the last laugh on Nikola Jokić in this one, though Joker did put up absurd video game numbers (29 PTS, 20 REB, 13 AST) in the loss.

• The Wizards young core is exciting…but sometimes, you need the Veterans to show the young ones how it’s done. The Vets for the Wiz got the job done on Monday night in their 129-126 thrilling OT win over Giannis and the Bucks. Khris Middleton (15 PTS, 60% FG) was hitting one clutch bucket after another versus his former team, and CJ McCollum (28 PTS) nailed this dagger three with 14 seconds left that helped Washington seal the deer’s fate.

Wayback Wednesday

The history of the Miami Heat is one of the most storied in the NBA. And one thing’s for certain, you can’t write the team’s history without mentioning one of the all-time greats….

Give it up for this week’s edition of Wayback Wednesday- Alonzo Mourning!

After joining the NBA via expansion in 1988, the Hornets were desperately seeking for their first franchise cornerstone to build around. Fortunately for them, that came just a few years later in the 1992 draft, as they selected Mourning second overall.

If it wasn’t for the pure dominance of Shaq, Zo would have easily walked away with the 1992-93 Rookie of the Year award. Though he didn’t win the individual award, he did have the best postseason moment of any member of his rookie class, nailing this electric series-clinching buzzer-beater that had all of Charlotte BUZZING: 🔥

It seemed Alonzo was on path to become one of the greatest Hornets ever. Unfortunately for Buzz City, a contract dispute after his second season forced the team to trade him to the Heat in 1995… 😱

Zo became a perennial All-Star in South Beach, forming a dynamic duo with Tim Hardaway, making Miami a scary squad to face out east. Similar to the rest of the league though, they were never able to get past MJ’s Bulls in the ‘90s, but Mourning saw his best seasons in ‘98-99 (21.0 PTS, 11 REB, 3.9 BLK, 2nd in MVP, DPOY) and ‘99-00 (21.7 PTS, 9.5 REB, 3.7 BLK, 3rd in MVP, DPOY).

His spectacular numbers are not nearly as remarkable as what Mourning had to overcome off the court. In 2000, he was diagnosed with a rare kidney disease, and was unsure if he’d ever return to play again.

Thankfully, the worst-case scenario never happened. Zo returned to the court in ‘03-04, and ended up becoming a huge part of the 2006 Heat squad that won the title. Talk about a storybook ending! 🙌

A 7x All-Star, 2x DPOY, 11th All-time in career blocks, and an NBA Champ. Safe to say, Alonzo Mourning absolutely lived up to the hype…and then some. 😎

Three in the Key

Signing Off

That’s all for today, Enjoyers! Thanks for spending some time out of your day with us. If there’s a goal you have in mind for yourself, don’t wait until January 1st to start working on it, start today! There really is no time like the present. See you on Friday!

Bobby Kasmire