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A Terrible Situation

The Oklahoma City Thunder (11-4, 3-0)

Three wins and no losses. In any other situation, last week would have been just another great week for the Thunder this season, but last week was anything but a normal week.

But first, let’s focus on what they did on the court. They finished off the week before by beating the Warriors without Stephen Curry, so many fans just said “They didn’t have Curry so it wasn’t fair.”

Well, they walked right into Chase Center and beat the Warriors with Steph, with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Chet Holmgren combining for 76 points.

Chet’s 36-point performance made many fans reconsider his Rookie of the Year odds, and now it’s really a toss-up between him and Victor Wembanyama.

In the next game, they demolished the Trail Blazers in a game that was pretty much over by halftime, as Portland never had a chance after OKC went on an 8-0 scoring run late in the first quarter.

After that, Shai dropped yet another 40-piece on the hapless Bulls to bolster his MVP case.

All was well in OKC until Twitter exploded with videos that contained serious allegations of their young star Josh Giddey allegedly dating an underage girl.

Just a while later, the NBA opened an investigation on the matter, so this isn’t just some random rumor, this could be some serious stuff that could mean the end of Giddey not just as an NBA player, but as a free man.

Giddey and Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault both spoke to the media and they both declined to comment, calling it a “personal matter.”

That was to be expected, but why would OKC even allow Giddey to talk to the media during a dire situation like this?

Unfortunately, we’re seeing yet another rise of demons in the NBA like we did from the 80s to the 2000s with the likes of Karl Malone, Jason Kidd, and others.

For a while there in the late 2010s, most players were clean and were good role models, but now with players like Giddey, Miles Bridges, Joshua Primo, and Ja Morant all in the league it seems like times have changed once again.

NBA players need experienced mentors who focus on not just basketball, but all aspects of life to prevent these youngsters from turning into monsters.

Hopefully, the NBA and the authorities can handle this situation in the right way and provide support to the potential victim(s).

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Washed Up?

Kawhi Leonard

Moving on to lighter subjects now, is Kawhi Leonard washed up? Many people on Twitter and social media are saying so, but as is often the case, they’re overreacting.

It’s clear that the Clippers are still not used to having James Harden on their squad, and the players have still not figured out their roles.

After Gregg Popovich put the spotlight on Kawhi by urging Spurs fans not to boo him, more people have been joining the discourse on whether Kawhi is washed or not.

Yes, his three-pointers haven’t been falling, but he still averaged 22.3 points on 51% shooting from the field last week and led his team to a 2-1 record.

Leonard still looks pretty solid on the court and passes the eye test, so it’s just a shooting slump due to a role change.

LeBron James shot 21% from deep in his first nine games last season and people claimed he was washed before he went on to have yet another dominant season, so let’s not overreact.

I’ve followed his entire career and I can assure you that Kawhi is still that guy.

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Dominating the Group of Death

The New Orleans Pelicans (9-7, 3-1)

The In-Season Tournament has been pretty fun so far, but as a fan of soccer who has seen plenty of similar tournaments before, let me tell you that it’ll get even better once the group stages are over.

The knockout phases will be very intense, and one team who are looking forward to that stage is the New Orleans Pelicans, who are currently on top of Group B of the Western Conference.

This group was called the Group of Death, and now the Pelicans look primed to advance to the knockout stage if the Rockets lose to the Mavericks on November 28.

Zion Williamson’s return this season couldn’t have gone better, as he dropped 32 points to eliminate the Clippers.

He is currently averaging 27.3 points a night on 60.8% shooting from the field since November 17 and teams just can’t slow him down.

Brandon Ingram is excellent, but we’ll talk more about him later.

The young duo of Dyson Daniels and Jordan Hawkins have been very exciting to watch since they’ve become starters due to CJ McCollum’s injury, and Herbert Jones is still one of the best defenders in the NBA.

Once McCollum and Trey Murphy III come back, they’ll be unstoppable.

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The Quest for Gold

LeBron James and Kevin Durant

LeBron and KD are still fighting for one more ring to boost their legacy, but winning the In-Season Tournament won’t be a bad thing either.

With players like Fred VanVleet talking about how the success of younger teams in the tournament is “a catch for all of the older teams.”

And all but saying that he thinks these games don’t matter to the old teams, LeBron and KD have to be extra motivated. For these types of NBA legends, their motivation comes from doubters like VanVleet.

They don’t have anything else to prove, but being first at something is always impressive. Showing everyone else that the old dog can still put up a fight.

LeBron’s Lakers have already advanced to the knockout stage, while the Suns look almost certain to advance as the Western Conference’s runner-up with the best group stage record.

LeBron and KD both had multiple 30+ point games in the tournament, including a fun duel between the two on November 10.

A message to all the young guys: These legends will make you eat your words the moment you assume that they’re finished.

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Best Team of the Previous Week

The Minnesota Timberwolves (11-4, 3-1)

The Timberwolves are determined to prove that the Rudy Gobert trade wasn’t a mistake and that all they needed was some health and a bit of time.

Anthony Edwards and Karl-Anthony Towns have established themselves as a deadly duo after Towns’ slow start to the season.

Edwards averaged 28 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 5 assists last week, while Towns averaged 24.8 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 5 assists while shooting 61.8% from the floor and a ridiculous 9-12 from deep.

Gobert averaged a double-double and two blocks with a 76.7% shooting percentage.

Mike Conley continued to be the perfect point guard for this offense, dishing out 27 assists compared to just five turnovers over four games last week.

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MVP of the Previous Week

Brandon Ingram (New Orleans Pelicans)

Brandon Ingram has all the tools to be a lethal scorer, and he managed to put it all together this week and showcase his true ability.

Last week, he managed to score 30+ points in three out of four games despite only averaging 31.1 minutes per game. His “worst” game of the week was his first against Minny, a 30-point effort with poor three-point shooting.

But he bounced back in a major way against the Kings, going 5-5 from deep and finishing with 31 points.

After beating them again two days later, he scored 30 points on 57% shooting from the field against the Clippers to eliminate them from the In-Season Tournament.

If his three-point shooting becomes more consistent in December and January, we could be looking at Ingram making his second All-Star appearance during his time in New Orleans.