One cousin improved. One other cousin advanced. And a thief is free north of the border.
Let’s open up the pocket book to run via three NBA tendencies which have caught my eye over the previous week:
Cheat codes
Three-time MVP Nikola Jokić is within the midst of his best-ever season.
A younger famous person, Luka Dončić, is main a 16-5 squad and is on tempo to grow to be the primary Los Angeles Lakers participant to common 35 factors per recreation since Kobe Bryant. Oh, and he’s doing it whereas practically averaging a triple-double.
Two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo was higher than ever till he harm his calf earlier this week, an harm that would preserve him sidelined for lengthy sufficient to make him ineligible for postseason awards.
Both means, with all of the NBA’s greatest gamers churning out profession seasons, there needs to be no means that the reigning MVP repeats.
Or perhaps not — as a result of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander gained a scoring title, an MVP, a championship and an NBA Finals MVP in 2025, then determined that wasn’t sufficient. The brand new model of Gilgeous-Alexander is making the man who posted one of the environment friendly, high-scoring seasons ever final season appear to be a scrub.
The Oklahoma Metropolis Thunder star has stopped lacking pictures.
He’s capturing 58.9 p.c on 2s as a guard. Give it some thought like this: Shaquille O’Neal, essentially the most bodily dominant offensive pressure of most of our lifetimes, made 58 p.c of his 2s.
The three ball, which was usually his weak level, is at one other stage. Add another merchandise to the checklist of anxieties for any workforce going through the 21-1 Thunder: Gilgeous-Alexander’s stepback 3, which has by no means been so harmful.
Final season, if Gilgeous-Alexander went proper, he was extra liable to move or proceed to the ring. If he went left, he would get to his stepback. Nonetheless, chucking so many stepback 3s and splashing in such a excessive share is giving defenses matches.
What’s Golden State Warriors wing Brandin Podziemski presupposed to do right here? Gilgeous-Alexander appears like prime James Harden on this play:
However right here’s the place Gilgeous-Alexander is making defenses go haywire. The stepback can arrive at any level now.
A transfer that occurred solely a few minutes after the above 3-pointer was horrifying. Within the play under, Gilgeous-Alexander went proper, planted, crossed over and stepped again for a top-of-the-key jumper.
Splash.
Nobody adjustments speeds with extra precision than Gilgeous-Alexander does, however his ability set has by no means been this deadly so distant from the basket.
He has taken the fourth-most stepback 3-pointers within the NBA this season … and he’s capturing 52 p.c on them. For reference, the three gamers who’ve taken extra (Dončić, Harden and Tyrese Maxey) have made 34, 36 and 30 p.c of their stepbacks, respectively.
The MVP from final season is scoring extra, helping extra, attending to the road extra, hitting far more 2s, nailing far more 3s and defending in addition to ever for a workforce that’s much more dominant than the one which garnered a title.
For extra on Gilgeous-Alexander’s enchancment this season, watch our newest video breakdown from Esfandiar Baraheni.
Nickeil and diming
Two males specifically are thriving contained in the Atlanta Hawks’ lightning-quick offense. Jalen Johnson, now a surefire All-Star, is filling up field scores. And he’s discovered a associate, a fellow who may double his profession scoring common, as he’s accomplished this season, and nonetheless not be the very best participant in his family: the reigning MVP’s cousin, Nickeil-Alexander Walker.
With Trae Younger harm, the Hawks revved up what was already a speedy assault. They aren’t simply attempting to burst into transition anymore. They need to scramble whoever they face. One lower begets one other. Johnson has absorbed essentially the most facilitating duties, however he’s not often pounding the basketball in quest of a bucket or help.
The Hawks, who’ve misplaced two straight however are nonetheless 11-7 since Younger went down, are thriving on motion and fast choices, which is able to make this workforce particularly attention-grabbing as soon as the ball-commanding Younger returns.
Nonetheless, for now, let’s have a look at how two of their breakouts match collectively.
Alexander-Walker is destroying groups from deep. His season-long scoring common has now surpassed 20 a recreation, greater than twice his career-long determine of 9.2. He’s particularly scorched over the previous 10 video games — averaging 24.0 factors and nailing 43 p.c of his 8.8 lengthy balls an evening.
This isn’t the defensive-slanted pest the Hawks signed over the summer time. It’s somebody way more explosive. And Johnson is sparking the fireplace.
It’s not like Alexander-Walker has modified roles drastically since leaving the Minnesota Timberwolves. He is perhaps some extent guard in stature, however he’s not a lead initiator of the offense. He’s not firing off-the-dribble prayers from vary. He’s studying protection whereas maneuvering away from the ball, relocating to open spots on the ground, and the offense is discovering him from there.
The Hawks have began utilizing him as a screener extra usually, particularly when Johnson brings up the ball. Throughout a slim loss to the Detroit Pistons earlier this week, Alexander-Walker and Johnson ran inverted pick-and-pops aplenty — the smaller man setting the display screen and the larger ahead dealing with the rock. It’s an uncomfortable enterprise for Alexander-Walker’s defender, often a guard who isn’t as skilled working on the again finish of a display screen.
Take a look at how Cade Cunningham hesitates on this closeout of Alexander-Walker, which permits simply sufficient room for the Hawks guard to empty a game-tying 3-pointer.
That play was a part of a fourth quarter wherein Alexander-Walker set fixed screens for Johnson, sufficient in order that the Pistons, homeowners of an imposing protection, started to slant to the 2 of them earlier than they even got here collectively.
Take a look at this possession from six minutes later, after Atlanta had spammed Detroit with pick-and-pops between these two guys. Nonetheless in an in depth recreation, Keaton Wallace hurries the ball up the court docket, a Hawks staple and heads to Johnson. However watch how the Pistons react.
Alexander-Walker is streaking alongside Johnson. It appears like the 2 of them will head into one other pick-and-roll, given their positioning. Nonetheless, Alexander-Walker, who opens himself up right here if solely as a result of he’s in a full dash in a second when the protection thinks going 90 p.c will yield no hurt, by no means units the display screen. He retains operating, slicing from the precise wing throughout the paint to the other nook, which isn’t a typical lower.
The Pistons short-circuit. And Johnson flings a dime to his man.
Johnson assisted Alexander-Walker on 4 3-pointers simply throughout that fourth quarter. Each are excelling inside an offense that’s in unending movement.
Locked within the Shead
Here’s a useful piece of life recommendation: If Toronto Raptors guard Jamal Shead is close to you, don’t dribble.
Shead is a stocky badgerer, the kleptomaniac who is available in with the reserves and makes a large number of the whole lot. The Raptors adore it.
Even the Hawks may not transfer as rapidly because the Raptors. Toronto turns a better share of its possessions into transition alternatives than every other workforce within the league. When it will get steals, it races the opposite means.
Enter: Shead, the second-year agent of chaos.
He’ll change onto bigger gamers and never care. Earlier this week, he received caught on Portland Path Blazers middle Donovan Clingan, who’s a foot taller than him. The Blazers seen the mismatch and tried to wedge the ball to their massive man down low. Shead bumped him away from the spot, leaped in entrance of Clingan and ripped the ball away, like a cornerback efficiently wrestling for an interception.
Naturally, the Raptors had been on the run after that.
Shead is pulling off all forms of steals.
He’s outmuscling guys who tower over him. He’s eliminating passing lanes. Typically, he outdoes somebody with pristine palms.
Look how rapidly he reaches in to poke the ball away from Deni Avdija throughout that very same Blazers recreation:
Shead had 5 steals that evening. Over his previous three video games, he has 11 — and he’s accomplished that in solely 61 complete minutes. He’s grow to be one of many league’s greatest defenders of his dimension (6 foot 1).
Don’t dribble wherever close to him.
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