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Welcome back, Enjoyers! New Year's Eve is already tomorrow … how the time flies. Party plans that you may or may not remember the next day are being made, resolutions are being drafted, and through it all the NBA is blessing us with high-quality hoops. 🙏

Before we begin today … a massive shout-out to Jaimin! This absolute LEGEND has already referred 21 people to the newsletter! If you want to catch up to our #1 Enjoyer™ and get some sweet rewards in the process, check out our referral program at the bottom of this email. 👇

Newsletter Preview

FitnessGram (Indiana) Pacer Test 🏃‍♂️ : Indy's big win over Cleveland leads the way on Thursday

Bol Bol Did WHAT? 🤯 : Check out the most ridiculous dunk of the year from Wednesday.

Nothing But Nets 🏀 : Breaking down Jacque Vaughn's successful tenure in Brooklyn

Pristine Auction

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But that's not all! Pristine is currently offering a steal of a deal on mystery box paintings from the famous sports artist Blake Jamieson! Each one is hand signed by either Bo Jackson, Nolan Ryan, or Magic Johnson. Each painting purchased will automatically enter you to win $500 in Pristine Auction Credit!

Yesterday's Games

Mark Williams breakout game helps Hornets take down Thunder 121-113

Hornets (10-26) fans, make some noise: you're officially not the last team to reach ten wins this season! Charlotte played some unselfish basketball and consistently took advantage of the Thunder's (15-20) thin frontcourt to dominate inside. LaMelo Ball was one assist away from a 27-point triple-double, but the real story of the night was Mark Williams. This year's 15th overall pick struggled for playing time early on … yo-yoing between Charlotte and their G-League affiliate in Greensboro. But he had an exciting breakout performance with 17 points on 7-7 shooting, 13 boards, and a couple of blocks in just 21 minutes. OKC got good performances from Shai Gilgious-Alexander, Lu Dort, and Josh Giddey, but they couldn't get enough stops on defense to take home the W. At least you all got a monster Tre Mann poster out of it.

Box Score

Pacers deliver statement win over Cavs 135-126

The Pacers (19-17) have been up and down since their hot start to the season, and this victory over the Cavaliers (22-14) was just the type of win they needed to get things back on track. Cleveland played a great offensive game, led by Donovan Mitchell with 28, but they had no answers for Indiana's scoring barrage. And it wasn't just one or two players doing the damage. Tyrese Haliburton dropped 29 to go along with nine dimes. Buddy Hield drained five threes, including the fastest one you'll ever see. Myles Turner dominated the paint with six blocks, Benedict Mathurin poured in a cool 23 off the bench, and Aaron Nesmith chipped in with 22 points and one monster jam over Jarret Allen.

Box Score

Celtics overcome poor shooting to beat Clippers 116-110

Celtics (26-10) fans, these are the type of gritty wins that might look ugly, but should be encouraging in the long run. Jayson Tatum shot 10-26, Jaylen Brown missed all eight of his three-point attempts, and you all still managed to pull out the win. Special shout out to Marcus Smart in this one for dropping 17 and 9 with some great defense on the side. If you’re the Clippers (21-16), you can’t be too upset coming out of this one. First off, Kawhi Leonard is officially looking like the Claw again. Whether it was multiple backbreaking midrange jumpers or locking up Tatum down the stretch, he was looking like his 2019 self on both ends of the court. The real backbreaker for LA was their small ball minutes. They were a +10 in the 30 minutes with Ivica Zubac on the court and a -16 in the other 18.

Box Score

Ja sets career-high as Grizzlies cruise past Raptors 119-106

For anyone who’s been saying Ja Morant doesn't make his teammates better … we think he heard you. The young star set a new career-high of 17 assists to bring home a much-needed Grizzlies (21-13) win after a rough week. Dillon Brooks was one of the main recipients of those Ja dimes, dropping 25 points to go along with another stellar defensive performance. And you can’t forget the big Kiwi down low. Steven Adams imposed his physicality on the game by grabbing 17 boards, eight of them on the offensive glass. As for the Raptors (15-20) ... it’s been more of the same. Pascal Siakam looked great with 25 points, but he didn’t get much help.

Box Score

Knicks struggle without Brunson and Barrett in 122-115 loss to Spurs

Julius Randle has a monster game with 41-11-7, check. Immanuel Quickley explodes for 36, check. The Knicks (18-18) lose to the Spurs (12-23) by seven … wait, that’s not what was supposed to happen. New York missed Jalen Brunson and RJ Barrett dearly in this one and struggled to get anything going on offense outside of the Randle-Quickley duo. San Antonio got the W thanks to a 30-piece (along with this sweet chasedown block) from Keldon Johnson and a career-high 23 points from Indiana's finest Romeo Langford.

Box Score

Luka dazzles again in Mavericks 129-114 win over Rockets

This Luka Doncic guy … pretty good isn’t he? The Slovenian superstar couldn't quite match his 60-point performance from Tuesday, but we think Mavericks (20-16) fans will settle for a 35-point triple-double. And look who it is! Dwight Powell has been quiet all year, but he came out of nowhere last night to drop 19 points in 21 minutes on perfect 8-8 shooting. The Rockets (10-25) had a decent night on offense, particularly on the offensive glass, but they just couldn’t slow down Dallas. Jalen Green led the way for H-Town with 23.

Box Score

Wednesday Night Notes

It seemed like everyone woke up and chose violence on Wednesday. Killian Hayes tried to start Malice at the Palace 2, Grayson Allen got on the Bulls' bad side again, and Jonas Valanciunas looked ready to kill Austin Rivers.

Oh yeah, and also some basketball was played! Zion went super saiyan on his way to a career-high 43 to headline the night in a Pelicans W. Giannis's 45 points on 39 (!!) shots wasn't enough to overcome renowned clutch defender DeMar DeRozan in a massive win for the Bulls. Malik Monk and De'Aaron Fox dropped 64 to will the Kings to victory in a Kentucky throwback clinic, Kyrie broke some ankles to give the Nets their 10th win in a row, and Bol Bol did … this (we can't believe it either).

Film Friday

Breaking Down the Jacque Vaughn Nets

Winners of ten straight, you won't find a hotter team in the NBA than the Brooklyn Nets. After a 2-5 start under Steve Nash, the Nets are humming under the tutelage of new Head Coach Jacque Vaughn. Today, we'll be examining how Vaughn has helped turn things around and what makes this Brooklyn squad so tough to beat.

On offense, Brooklyn truly defies analytics. They not only take more mid-range shots than every team outside of the Bulls and the Celtics, but they make them at a truly historical rate. Under Vaughn, the Nets are making a scorching 51% of their mid-range jumpers. Keep in mind that since shooting statistics by range became available in 2008-09, no other team has even broken 50%. A lot of that success can naturally be attested to two of this generation's finest mid-range shot creators. Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving are just the kind of tough bucket-getters that can get things done come playoff time. Check out this tough baseline J from Irving and the gaudy fall-away from KD as examples of what they can do when open shots are hard to come by.

And the pair's midrange excellence opens up space on the perimeter for a bevy of elite snipers. The stellar shooting of Joe Harris, Seth Curry, Royce O'Neale, and Yuta Watanabe is a big part of why the Nets are leading the league in three-point percentage, knocking down 39% of their treys.

One glaring early-season issue with this Nets team was their propensity to get beat on the defensive glass. In Nash's seven games as Head Coach, Brooklyn's opponents grabbed over 29% of available offensive rebounds, which would be the second-highest rate by a single team this season. Under Vaughn, that number has dipped by nearly 20%, down to about the league average. And a lot of that improvement is coming from the guards. Kyrie, for example, is averaging over six rebounds per game in December, which would be the first time he's averaged 6+ boards in a month since October 2019.

This improvement on the defensive glass has only accentuated their recent dominance in transition. Brooklyn is second in the league in fast break points during this ten-game winning streak, an effort spearheaded by Ben Simmons. His ability to get downhill and finish efficiently, combined with the playmaking chops to pick out the tough pass, like this great threaded ball to Royce O'Neale, have the Nets looking like one of the league's most dangerous downhill teams.

We talked about the Nets' newfound defensive identity earlier this month, and they've only continued their stellar play on that end. While it's been a full team effort, the two names that stick out continue to be Simmons and Nic Claxton. Simmons started out slow, but he's slowly molded himself back into the elite one-on-one ball stopper this team was crying out for in years past. But it's been Claxton's development, particularly as a rim protector, which might just be the true catalyst for the Nets' improvement on D. Claxton's block percentage jumped all the way from 4.7% to a league-leading 7.4% this season, and opponents are shooting nearly 10% worse at the rim than the league average when guarded by him.

These blocks also play into Brooklyn's dynamic fast break. Check out the play below for example, where a Claxton block on one end leads to the quick Kevin Durant jumper in transition.

So there you have it. Vaughn has the Nets hustling on the defensive glass, getting out on the fast break, and refusing to shy away from the midrange. And so far, it's paying off in spades.

Good Reads

Does the NBA Have a $@&!*% Problem? - Howard Beck (Sports Illustrated)

Sixers star Tyrese Maxey and his family's incredible Christmas comeback story - Maya A. Jones (ESPN)

Jaren Jackson Jr. is turning the corner offensively to cement his star status - Jackson Frank (SB Nation)

What We're Enjoying

Basketball GM: Do you want the experience of 2K rebuilds with more customisability and difficulty? Then check out Basketball GM! This is a super fun free-to-play browser game where you can start a rebuild from any year in NBA history and even lets you randomize player debuts for a completely unique experience.

Anton Somewhere: If you're looking for some beautifully-shot travel videos to put on your TV and vibe out to, you should definitely check out Anton Somewhere! He's traveled to many incredible locations, but our personal favorite is his video on the Azores.

Signing Off

Thanks for reading, everyone! We appreciate every single one of you who's checked out the newsletter in 2022, here's to another great year of hoops.

Until next year,

-Spencer Poole

PS: Before you go … we wanted to let you know that the first edition of Out of Bounds newsletter goes live Sunday! So if you want to read all about off-the-court basketball business & culture make sure to refer 3 people using your link below!

Trivia Answer: The first NBA game ever was, surprisingly enough, played in Toronto! On November 1, 1946, the Knicks beat the Toronto Huskies 68-66 in the first game in the history of the league.

Trivia Question: Which player scored the most points in the 1980s?