A Texas-Sized NBA Record

Plus, Enjoyers reflect on the season's first half

Author

Quinn Everts
January 16, 2023

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Good morning, Enjoyers! Today, we celebrate the life, ideas, and impact of Martin Luther King, Jr. The most prominent voice of the civil rights movement, King was a force for the advancement of racial equity in the United States, as well as a defender of working people everywhere. His impact must never, ever be minimized. He would be 94 today.

In the NBA world, we saw a massive crowd in San Antonio, a buzzer beater from a 2X MVP in Denver, a little history in Southern California, and much more still. Let's talk about it!

Newsletter Preview

Spurs Smash Record: Friday's game vs. the Warriors was the most-attended NBA game ever.

A Trip Down Memory Lane: What were your favorite moments from the first half of the season?

LeBron Reaches Another Milestone: The King continues to close in on Kareem.

These players all became trade-eligible on January 15th. Which is most likely to be dealt by the deadline?

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PrizePicks

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On Monday, we’re rocking with:

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The Best of Friday & Saturday

We witnessed NBA history on Friday night! Well, if you were actually there, you might not have really seen it. Regardless, the atmosphere in San Antonio's Alamodome was electric as the Spurs celebrated their 50th anniversary by setting an NBA single-game attendance record of 68,323. The Spurs lost to the Warriors by a lot (31 to be exact) thanks to Jordan Poole's 25 points, but look at the vibes.

Elsewhere, Jalen Brunson continued his All-Star campaign with an efficient 34/8/8 night, Josh Giddey is really coming into his own (25/10/6) as OKC knocked off Chicago, John Collins beat the buzzer in Indiana, and Denver stayed hot with a win over the Clips. There might not be enough All-Star spots available to get him in, but Aaron Gordon has been a revelation for the Nugs.

Saturday

Give. Us. More. Weekend. Matinee. Games. @realadamsilver. It doesn't even matter who's playing! We were happy to watch Gabe Vincent go off in the Heat win (again, he's been a monster the last two games.) Ja Morant had two plays in the span of five minutes that would each be the best plays of 99% of NBA players' careers. This one, and...

That one. What is wrong with this dude? Also, Joel Embiid hit a fadeaway middy to sink Utah, and 36 from Damian Lillard helped the Blazers stop their skid.

Sunday's Slate

Randle's huge day leads Knicks over Pistons, 117-104

Are we far enough into the season to say that Jalen Brunson (27 points) "moves the needle" for this Knicks (25-19) team? He's been everything they imagined and more, but Sunday belonged to Julius Randle, who posted 42 & 15 and joined some decent company as New York topped Detroit (12-35).

Kawhi Leonard is still good, Clippers beat Rockets 121-100

He's still really good, actually. After posting 30 points on Sunday, the Clippers (23-22) superstar has now scored at least 24 points in five of his last six games. LAC's outlook is completely different with a healthy Klaw. Houston (10-33) got 22 & nine from future Dunk Contest participant KJ Martin.

"The Vooch Show" overpowers the champs, Bulls beat Warriors 132-118

Nobody beats the Bulls (20-24) twelve times in a row! 43 points and 13 rebounds from Nikola Vucecic (give him the hot sauce) helped Chicago beat Golden State (21-22) for the first time since 2017. The Warriors drop to 4-17 on the road--are they staying in haunted motels every time they travel? What's going on?

Young guards shine as Thunder tops Nets, 112-102

Josh Giddey (28/9/9) has it rolling right now. And his backcourt partner SGA (28 points) always has it rolling. When they get rolling together, you can't blame Thunder (21-23) fans for being ... don't say it ... don't say it ... Giddey about the future. Sorry. Seth Curry led the Nets (27-15) with 23.

Kings continue offensive tear with 132-119 victory over Spurs

Five straight games of 130+ points for the Kings (24-18). Sacramento got the usual production from their stars, and 48 combined points from Harrison Barnes and Davion Mitchell. Beam Team has weapons. San Antonio, (13-31) at least you have something in Jeremy Sochan. Not sure what it is yet, but it's still exciting!

Nuggets sink Magic 119-116 on outrageous Jokic game winner

There are simply no more adjectives to describe Nikola Jokic. After a furious Magic (16-28) comeback in the second half culminated in a tie game with less than ten seconds left, the Nuggets (30-13) turned to, well, you know. Orlando should not hang their heads. They're playing competitive basketball against the league's best, and Markelle Fultz (20/7/6) has been on a great run as of late.

Lillard ultra-efficient as Blazers stomp Mavs, 140-123

40 points on 17 shot attempts. Good? Seems good. That was Damian Lillard's line on Sunday night as Portland (21-22) took care of a Luka-less Mavericks (24-21) team. Jaden Hardy dropped 25 for Dallas; the rookie second-round pick has shown some serious promise over the last few weeks.

Sixers escape with 113-112 win over Lakers

Russell Westbrook had a great night (20/14/11) but couldn't quite finish over Joel Embiid (35 points) in the closing seconds, and the 76ers (27-16) improved to 2-0 on their West Coast road trip. Play the song. The Lakers (19-24) have lost three straight right after it appeared they were finding their footing a little bit. They still need three-point shooting help (6-20 in this one). Despite the loss, LeBron James made some history. He now sits 363 points away from the all-time record. Greatness.

EB Roundtable

We've passed the halfway point of the season, y'all. Sad. But we can always reflect on the great memories we've made thus far. So that's what we did!

What did you all enjoy the most in the first half? Let's find out.

Can anyone get us in touch with the Cavs chain guy? We're trying to get a massive "EB" piece made. Let us know. Anyway, Donovan Mitchell's tour de force is a great place to start. 71 points, 11 assists, and eight rebounds on 22-34 shooting is just hard to fathom.

There are about 1000 reasons to watch the NBA on any given night; this guy is very near the top of that list. His 9.7 assists per game are a career-high, and each dime he drops strengthens his case for "best passing big man ever."

How many NBA players are averaging 30 points, 1+ block and steal, and shooting 35% from the three-point line? One. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is having an All-World season, and the buzzer beaters that our man Cone is talking about have just added to the sensation that is SGA.

Good Reads

How Allen Iverson Created The Blueprint For The Modern Sports Superstar - Mik Awake (GQ Sports)

Robin to the Joker's Batman: Is Aaron Gordon Denver's Second All-Star? - Mat Issa (The Analyst)

What We're Enjoying

Break Point: Need a break from basketball? We doubt it, but just in case you do, Netflix's new original docu-series Break Point released this weekend. Follow some tennis greats and some of the new young stars of the game. If you loved F1: Drive to Survive, this is your next binge-watch.

Signing Off

That's all, folks! Keep this MLK quote in your mind today.

“No work is insignificant. All labor that uplifts humanity has dignity and importance and should be undertaken with painstaking excellence.”

Talk soon.

Trivia Answer: The one player in that list with fewer than 50 triple-doubles? Surprisingly, it's Draymond Green! The Warriors forward currently sits at 31 for his career.

Trivia Question: Which team's all-time leading scorer has the LEAST amount of points?

Trivia options

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In your best Mike Breen impression, what did you think of today's newsletter?

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