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In case you had forgotten, Anthony Davis is still one of the best basketball players on the planet. On Tuesday, he reminded the Celtics of that immutable fact with 45 and 16 in a huge overtime win for the Pelicans. This came two days after he had 48 and 17 in a comeback win in New York. The Brow’s on track to be an All-Star starter again, but now he’s climbing into the MVP discourse.
The playoff race in the West is incredibly tight from Nos. 5 through 9, but on the strength of a three-game win streak, Davis has New Orleans in the No. 6 spot, three games above .500. The Pels’ best finish in the Brow era is four games over .500 in 2014-15; that 45-win season was only good enough for a last-gasp No. 8 seed and a rude dismissal by the powerful Warriors. Forty-five or so wins this year could get you the No. 5 or 6 seed and a much more competitive — though still difficult — playoff series.
While all the focus right now is being spent on glory to Davis, don’t ignore how awesome the duo of The Brow and DeMarcus Cousins has been. Mike Prada breaks down the twin towers in signature fashion.
Scores Galore ...
MIN 102, ORL 108
NOP 116, BOS 113 (OT)
DAL 102, DEN 105
PHX 111, POR 118
... And So Much More
Rest in peace to Jo Jo White, a Celtics legend and (by all accounts) a great man. Thankfully, he was recently inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame, where he belongs.
Paul Flannery released and explained his official NBA All-Star ballot, and I don’t disagree with a single pick. I wanted to quibble with Kyrie Irving over Kyle Lowry or Victor Oladipo, but Irving’s probably the pick. (He’ll get it regardless because he’s stomping the others in fan vote.) The third frontcourt spots in each conference is where the debate will really happen.
I wrote about the Warriors’ supreme inevitability.
Uh oh, prominent Cavaliers are worried about the state of the team! This is code for “LeBron is trying to push the front office into trading that Nets pick for another blue-chip veteran so he can take a Sisyphean run at the Warriors before torturing all of Northeast Ohio in July.”
Isaiah Thomas declared that he doesn’t want to infringe on Paul Pierce’s special night, so he’s asked the Celtics to not play a tribute video for him on Feb. 11. Pierce also revealed that he had a 40-minute conversation with Danny Ainge on the matter. Good grief.
Why Rockets vs. Clippers is now the NBA’s best new rivalry. Tyler Tynes and Zito Madu chatted about the Monday night fight. Tim Cato pulled together the best 33 tweets about the conflagration. Details continue to surface. In praise of Clint Capela. This is one of the best NBA subplots since the DeAndre Jordan hostage situation, truly.
Arron Afflalo was inspired by the escapade and swung hard on Nemanja Bjelica on Tuesday, just missing. It was reminiscent of that time Shaq swung on Brad Miller: If he’d connected, someone might be in the hospital. Still, Afflalo is going to have a few days off after the league hands down judgment.
Whoa, Nate Robinson joined the BIG3!
How switching more has bolstered the Raptors’ excellent defense.
The Mavericks have young players, but they are not a young team.
The NBA’s packed Martin Luther King Jr. Day schedule allows European fans to binge on the sport during normal sports-watching hours.
Fascinating story by Dave McKenna on The One-Armed Bandit, who should have been famous.
Not basketball, but more important than all of this: 98 of Larry Nassar’s USA Gymnastics sexual assault victims are giving statements at his sentencing hearing this week. The systematic, unchecked abuse of these girls by Nassar, enabled and hidden by USA Gymnastics and Michigan State, is heartbreaking.
Be excellent to each other.