1. Two years ago on Christmas the Celtics played the Nets. The Celtics lost by twenty-eight points. When watching the game I couldn’t imagine the Celtics competing with let alone beating this Net team led by Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving. Almost two years later the matchup has done a one-eighty. Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown have become the better duo and the Celtics the better team. Father Time, the rapid improvement of Brown and Tatum and the Celtic’s supporting cast has made it happen.
2. Charlotte and Detroit aren’t very good teams. Complicating this it their injuries helping to make both teams worse. I don’t think either of the teams mind because this is the year of the Victor Wembanyama sweepstakes.
3. The Chicago Bulls have some decisions to make before the trade deadline. Do they break up their big three DeMar DeRozan, Zach LaVine and Nikola Vucevic or not. The team isn’t playing well and their window is just about closed. If you are going to break up the team this is the year because the draft is supposedly loaded.
4. Is it me or does it seem like most games I watch are games I consider poorly officiated. This is not that they are one sided but more about their inconsistency. Over the last few years more young officials have come into the league. This is due to the retirement of some real good veteran officials. The NBA usually does a good job developing officials so I look at this as a temporary situation.
5. Anthony Davis has had a great season and a monster weekend. He has made the Lakers relevant again. I think all of us who predicted his demise are eating crow.
6. The Knicks have had an up and down year thus far this season. Tom Thibodeau has taken much of the heat for this. The one thing that stands out during this season is the Knicks are having some bad games defensively something that rarely has happened with a Thibs coached team. I wonder if these are the players Thibs wanted and if he didn’t want them it doesn’t bode well for him. If he and management aren’t on the same page it’s the coach that usually loses.
7. Memphis is a good team but needs a little more to be a true title contender. If the Nets decide to break it up should they be first in line for Kevin Durant. They have some attractive players to offer like Desmond Bane and Jaren Jackson. Would the combination of Ja Morant and Kevin Durant be enough to get them in the title conversation.
