Lauri Markkanen or Dirk Nowitzki?

Well, Enjoyers, it's officially the dead of winter. The holidays are over, and it might be absolutely freezing outside, but at least we have some stellar NBA action to warm the soul. Let's get into it.

Newsletter Preview

A True Markksman 🎯 Lauri drops a new career-high to headline Thursday night hoops

The Votes are In ⭐ Discussing the first round of All-Star fan votes

Smooth as Butter 🧈 Giving our top five smoothest shooters of all-time

PrizePicks

What’s up, Enjoyers of Basketball? We’re here once again with the squad over at PrizePicks to help you heighten your hoops experience with daily fantasy projections!

And, as usual, we have some picks on tonight's games for you to Enjoy! We have a winning record on Flex Plays this season (you can miss one pick and still win up to 1.5x your entry), so you could do a lot worse than riding with us. And if you cook 👨‍🍳 up your own, tag us on Twitter (@enjoybball) with your picks!

PrizePicks entries are simple and straightforward, and can be done in 60 seconds or less. All you have to do is select 2-5 players, guess if they will get more or less than their projection for a given stat, and then sit back and enjoy the action.

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Yesterday's Games

Jazz dominate Rockets 131-114 thanks to career night from Markkanen

With five straight losses by five or fewer points, the Jazz (20-21) were on the brink of losing their season. But then … Lauri Markkanen happened.

When Utah needed him most, the Markksman delivered with a career-high 49 points on a healthy diet of catch-and-shoot threes, intelligent cuts, and backbreaking post work. If you forgot to put in your contacts, you might have mistaken him for prime Dirk Nowitzki. And hey, it’s Ochai Agbaji! This year's 14th overall pick has played sparingly in Utah, but he made the most of his minutes tonight with a career-high 11 points on 3-4 shooting from deep.

The Rockets (10-29) are still very much a work in progress. Alperen Sengun had 20 and 14, Jalen Green dropped 30, but this team's most apparent problem is the lack of a real playmaker. Scoot Henderson, Houston needs you bad.

Box Score

Celtics keep Luka and Mavericks under control in 124-95 victory

It’s safe to say letting the SGA-less OKC Thunder drop 150 on their heads last time out was certainly a wake-up call for the Celtics (27-12). They followed up their worst defensive performance of the season with arguably their best, holding a white-hot Luka Doncic to just 23 points and three assists on 0-6 shooting from long range. Speaking of defense, props to Derrick White for this great Hakeem Olajuwon impression.

From an individual standpoint, Jayson Tatum led the way for Boston with just the second triple-double of his career. And a quick shout-out to the Mavericks (22-17) Jaden Hardy. This year's 37th overall pick looked explosive on offense in garbage time minutes and tied a career-high with 15 points. Get this man in the rotation, Coach Kidd!

Box Score

Ja and JJJ’s matching 30-pieces lead Grizzlies over Magic 123-115

The Grizzlies (25-13) took care of business in this one, even if it got a bit closer down the stretch than they would have liked. Ja Morant and Jaren Jackson Jr. combined to drop 63, Tyus Jones contributed eight assists and zero turnovers off the bench, and Zaire Williams is starting to look more like his rookie-year self with an efficient 16 points. Memphis is now the winner of five straight, and it’s no wonder when they have a beast like this stalking the lane.

For the Magic (14-25), it’s hard to be too upset after this one, especially considering the strong second half. Paolo Banchero dropped a clean 30, including another poster to add to the wall, continuing what has been the highest-scoring rookie season since Blake Griffin. And let’s have some appreciation for Markelle Fultz! The former first-overall pick has fought through countless injuries and still gives us flashes of truly beautiful basketball.

Box Score

Nuggets demolish Clippers 122-91 behind huge first half

It’s hard to remember the last game where each team's starters played for so few minutes. The Nuggets (25-13) were a team on a mission tonight, building an ironclad 35-point lead after just 20 minutes of action. Nikola Jokic was his usual playmaking hub, Jamal Murray refused to miss from deep, and Bones Hyland was making shots even he couldn't believe went in.

Clippers (21-19) fans: remember that 50-point loss to the Mavericks a couple seasons ago? Well, also remember when that team went on to make the conference finals. This was an ugly loss with practically no redeeming qualities, but one regular-season blowout doesn’t have to define the rest of your year. You have Kawhi Leonard and Paul George for crying out loud; anything is possible!

Box Score

Wednesday Night Notes

If you thought the NBA has been too high-scoring this season, we’re sure you enjoyed last night. The Suns and Cavs set the new quarter low mark by combining to score just 29 first-quarter points in an eventual 90-88 Cleveland victory. But, not to be outdone, the Raptors and Bucks shot just 7 for 45 in a 25-point first quarter showing to take the record for themselves. And that’s not even the wildest thing to happen in that game! Somehow Toronto came back from down 16 with 74 seconds left to force OT against Milwaukee in the wildest ending you’ll ever see. Too bad they couldn't pull out the win.

Elsewhere, Dennis Schroder led the way with 32 in a surprise victory for the shorthanded Lakers against the Heat, the Hawks managed to get a big W on the road over the Kings despite a nasty De’Aaron Fox poster, and Saddiq Bey ripped the Warriors' hearts out with a buzzer-beater that was so money it barely moved the net.

Latest Basketball News

First Round Of All-Star Fan Voting Released

We’ve finally gotten our first look at the first round of all-star fan voting, and … it’s about what you’d expect.

Fan voting should always be taken with an entire shaker of salt (e.g. Austin Reeves, Kevon Looney, and the annual Derrick Rose votes), but there are still a few fun names on here to take note of. It’s great to see young breakout stars like Lauri Markkanen and SGA get some love … and whoever voted for Nic Claxton, you know ball. One thing we will say, though? Put some respect on Tyrese Haliburton! He’s been dominant in Indy, and it would be a crime if he wasn’t an All-Star this year.

Top Five Friday

Top Five Smoothest Jumpers

There’s just something about a good jumper, isn't there? Not all are pretty (looking at you, Shawn Marion), and many aren't effective, but only a select few are blessed with the rare combination of fluid beauty and unrivaled efficiency. On today’s Top Five Friday, we’ll be listing five of the smoothest jumpers in NBA history!

Zach LaVine

He may be off to a slow start this season, but nobody can deny the incredible vibes of Zach LaVine's game. Not only is he perhaps the NBA’s most explosive leaper with a 46-inch vert, but Chi-Town's finest also has a jumper that should hang in the Louvre.

Whether he’s wide-open in the corner or side-stepping into a tough shot as the clock is winding down, LaVine’s shot is just … hypnotizing. We ended up watching this compilation of all his threes from last year for way longer than we’d like to admit.

Ray Allen

We could go on and on about what makes the second-most prolific shooter in NBA history so special. But why waste all that time when we can look at a single play to make our point?

On the biggest stage, in the biggest moment of his career, Ray Allen didn’t just bury possibly the greatest shot of the 21st century; he looked smooth as butter while doing it. While practically sprinting backward, he managed to perfectly set his feet, rise up straight as an arrow, and hit nothing but net. Just *chefs kiss* perfection.

Mike Miller

A 6’8" playmaking wing who shot nearly 41% from deep for his career, Mike Miller is a super underrated pick for a guy who would have dominated in today's era. And above all, perhaps no player had a jumper you were more sure of going in.

Some of you might not have been around to watch Miller's prime, but I’m sure many will remember his title-clinching performance in Game Five of the 2012 Finals. Notice the perfect angle of his elbow, his patient off-ball movement, the confidence he goes up with on every three. If you thought every single one of his shots was going in that night, you were basically right.

Carmelo Anthony

More than any other player in NBA history, Carmelo Anthony is a mid-range artist. Don’t get us wrong, he’s made some incredible three-pointers throughout his career, but it's Melo's work from the elbow that has made him a fan-favorite of hoopers worldwide.

His patented jab-step, combined with a beautiful high release that he can drop in over just about anyone, makes Melo one of the most aesthetically-pleasing scorers of all time. Just check out how silly he can make defenders look by moving just one leg.

Klay Thompson

If you told us that Klay Thompson was a basketball-playing android built by the government to create the greatest catch-and-shoot hooper ever, we’d be inclined to believe you. Like an incredible batch of french fries, Klay is the perfect complimentary piece. Forget about him for a second in the corner, get even slightly chipped on an off-ball screen, and you can kiss three points goodbye.

And Klay’s greatness is only accentuated by a shooting form right out of James Naismith’s textbook. With perfectly set feet, a smooth yet rapid motion, and a high-arcing follow-through, it’s no wonder that he’s gotten on some of the NBA’s all-time great hot streaks.

We didn't rank these silky-smooth shooters on purpose, so let us know who you think has the wettest jumper ever in the poll below. 👇

Good Reads

The Wizards’ supersized lineups might have saved their season - CoachSpins (SB Nation)

The Achilles Whisperer: How Kevin Durant helped Justin Moore, Klay Thompson and others with their recoveries - Alex Schiffer (The Athletic)

What We're Enjoying

Hardwood College Basketball: Do you love rebuilding teams? Do you want to experience the competitiveness of recruiting against hundreds of other players? Then Hardwood College Basketball might be the game for you. It's an online basketball management game that lets you run a college program with only a small time commitment each day.

The Dunker Spot: Nekias Duncan and Steve Jones Jr. combine to host perhaps the most informative basketball podcast on the airwaves right now. If you want to stay in tune with all the happenings in the league while expanding your hoops knowledge in the process, we highly recommend you check them out.

Signing Off

That's all from us today! We hope the first week of 2023 started off well for everyone. And even if it didn't, there are still 51 more weeks to make it right. Y'all got this 💪

Until next time,

-Spencer Poole

Trivia Answer: The answer to Wednesday’s trivia question was Allen Iverson! "The Answer" averaged 23.5 points per game during his rookie season in 1996-97.

Trivia Question: Which player has the most games with 10+ assists since 2000?