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🏀 What Happens in Vegas...
Plus, a special edition of Enjoy Basketball on the ground.
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They say what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas—this season, however, NBA Cup fever is sweeping all across the nation.
Today’s Lineup
✅ Final? Filled.
The Bucks and Thunder will duke it out for the NBA Cup.
🐐 Luka Legend
Death, taxes, and Doncic 40-point triple-doubles.
🙌 Enjoy: On The Ground
We pulled up to watch Johni Broome feast at Holiday Hoopsgiving.
🎉 Happy birthday to Mark Williams and Enjoyers Chesky, Deven, Rylen, James, and Anthony! 🎉
🏀 FanDuel x Enjoy 🏀
NBA League Pass courtesy of FanDuel!
Last chance before this offer expires! New customers get $150 in bonus bets if your first $5 bet wins... but that's not all!
To celebrate the start of another exciting NBA season, FanDuel is gifting everyone – old customers AND new – three months of NBA League Pass!
Go to FanDuel.com/Kenny and place any $5 bet on the NBA to get three months of NBA League Pass courtesy of FanDuel. May the odds be ever in your favor!
Final? Filled.
Giannis drops 32 PTS, clutches up late to lead Bucks to NBA Cup Final in 110-102 win over Atlanta
It wasn’t very long ago that Giannis Antetokounmpo was dropping 50 PTS in a closeout effort of the NBA Finals. Now, he’s bringing that same clutch gene to the NBA Cup stage.
In a Saturday night rematch of the 2021 Eastern Conference Finals, the Greek Freak dropped 32 PTS, 14 REB, and 9 AST on 10/15 and led his guys to a win over Trae Young, whose 35 PTS and 10 AST were just barely outdone, and the Hawks. While it’s easy to look at Giannis' overall stats and see a dominant performance, what’s most impressive is his play in the final minutes—he scored 12 of the Bucks’ final 15 points to help them eke out a win over the upstart Hawks, who had won 7 of their previous 8 games entering the matchup.
Giannis has been nothing short of dominant this season, even by his standards. He’s played his way into second on the league MVP ladder, and Milwaukee is up to 6th in the East after a slow start to the year.
WHAT A BLOCK BY GIANNIS
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral)
11:56 PM • Dec 14, 2024
🏀 🏀 🏀
OKC shoots the lights out in second half of Western Conf. Cup semifinal to power past Rockets 111-96
There may just be a new rivalry brewing in the West.
In the most recent of several early clashes between the Thunder and Rockets, SGA and company rode a flaming second-half shooting stretch to a spot in the NBA Cup Final. Shai did his usual thing with 32 PTS, while Jalen Williams, Isaiah Hartenstein, and Lu Dort each scored 19+.
But the real number to note was the way Thunder struck in the second half—after scoring just 41 PTS in the first half on 2/18 shooting from three, OKC exploded for 70 points in the second, including a 5/5 three-point clip in the third quarter. After becoming such an elite team so early in their timeline, this young OKC team is learning how to win in all circumstances. Only time will tell if that will lead them to the Cup…
Dort went all out for this one 😮
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA)
3:12 AM • Dec 15, 2024
🏀 🏀 🏀
And in non-NBA Cup action…
Luka Doncic is good at basketball. Who knew? In a ridiculous shootout between the Mavericks and Warriors, Luka Legend logged the 9th 40-point triple double of his young career, dropping 46 PTS, 11 REB, and 13 AST to lead Dallas to a 143-133 win—their 8th dub in 9 games. What a game, what a player!
A tough start to the Sixers’ season became even harder over the weekend, when current ROTY frontrunner Jared McCain suffered a meniscus tear against the Pacers that will require surgery and sideline him indefinitely. Add in a sinus fracture for Joel Embiid from the same game, and things are looking tough in the City of Brotherly Love.
You’ve heard about how competitive the Western Conference is, but have you heard about how identical it is? The West currently has five teams with exactly 14 wins, with Phoenix, Golden State, and Minnesota all sitting at 14-11 and both L.A. squads at 14-12. No matter how it shakes out, the rest of the season will be a thrill to Enjoy.
Luka Dončić put on a SHOW in San Francisco!
🔥 45 PTS (16-23 FGM)
🔥 11 REB
🔥 13 AST
🔥 6 3PM
🔥 3 STL
🔥 2 BLKMavs win their 8th of their last 9 games!
— NBA (@NBA)
4:21 AM • Dec 16, 2024
🧠 Daily Trivia 🧠
What is Luka's career-high in assists? |
Enjoy on the Ground
The college basketball season is in full force, and Enjoy Basketball had boots on the ground for this year’s edition of Holiday Hoopsgiving, which saw top teams from across the ranks of high school and college basketball face off for a chance at national glory.
The biggest story of the weekend was Auburn’s Johni Broome, who continued his early-season dominance with a 21-point, 20 rebound gem to help the Tigers wallop Ohio State 91-53. The current Wooden Award favorite has been unreal this year, averaging 19.7 PPG and 12.7 RPG on nearly 56% shooting from the field and leading Auburn to a 9-1 record and the #2 spot in the AP poll. The 9-1 Tigers’ lone loss came by the hands of Duke and freshman sensation Cooper Flagg, who just so happens to be second in the running for the Wooden Award and the projected #1 pick in the upcoming draft.
It won’t be long before these guys are in the league, busting out Broomes to sweep their opponents and forcing other teams to waive the white Flagg.
Will Johni Broome win the 2024-2025 Wooden award? 🏆 @AuburnMBB
— ENJ🏀Y (@EnjoyBBall)
8:21 PM • Dec 15, 2024
Three in the Key
♥️ For the love of the game
Is there a purer friendship in the league than Yuki and Ja?
💪 Teamwork = Dream work
OKC’s group interviews are pure vibes.
🤯 STEPHEN. A. SMITH!
SAS upsets Kenny the Jet in a free throw contest!
What We’re Enjoying
Which player will be most pivotal to their team throughout the rest of the season? That’s the exact question our guys over at Numbers On The Board attempted to answer this week, delving into the X-factors for each NBA team heading into the middle of the year. Add in deadline discussion for players like LaMelo Ball and Jimmy Butler, and this is all you need for your helping of hoops today. Give it a watch!
Signing Off
And we out! Thanks for spending a portion of your day with us. This week, don’t be afraid to go where life takes you. We all love our routines, but sometimes the best experiences are found on the other side of something new. See you soon!
-Walker Carnathan
🏀 🏀 🏀
In your best Mike Breen impression, what did you think of today's newsletter? |