Monday: --
Tuesday: NOLA @ Utah 9:00 PM EST NBATv
Wednesday: Boston @ Philadelphia 7:00 PM EST ESPN, Phoenix @ Hosuton 9:30 PM EST ESPN
Thursday: L.A. Lakers @ Milwaukee 7:30 PM ESTTNT, New Orleans @ Utah 10:00 PM EST TNT
Friday: Boston @ Philadelphia 7:30 PM EST ESPN, Denver @ Phoenix 10:00 PM EST ESPN
Saturday: Golden State @ Utah 5:00 PM EST NBATv, Miami @ Brooklyn 7:30 PM EST NBATv
Sunday: Toronto @ Indiana 3:30 PM EST NBATv, Atlanta @ Milwaukee 7:30 PM EST NBATv
NBA News
Portland Trail Blazers' CJ McCollum to miss at least four weeks with small fracture in left foot - https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/307 ... -left-foot
Brooklyn Nets' Kyrie Irving bought house for family of George Floyd, former NBA player Stephen Jackson says - https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/307 ... ckson-says
Power Rankings Roundup
Power Rankings, Week 5: Lakers, Bucks hold top spots before matchup this week - https://www.nba.com/news/power-rankings-2020-21-week-5
Power Rankings: The Post–Harden Trade Landscape - https://www.theringer.com/nba/2021/1/18 ... rden-trade#5 Suns - Before they had three games postponed, the Suns suffered their first defeat in a game that wasn’t within three points in the final minute. That loss to the previously 2-8 Wizards wasn’t within 20 in the final minute, because the Suns scored 15 points in the first quarter, shot 4-for-27 from 3-point range, and allowed 128 points on just 96 defensive possessions, their worst defensive performance of the season thus far.
Chris Paul has three on-off titles in the last six seasons and, in the 13 seasons for which we have on-off data, his team has never been fewer than 5.1 points per 100 possessions better with him on the floor than it’s been with him off the floor. So the Suns’ on-off numbers through 11 games – they’ve have been 17.8 points per 100 possessions better with Paul off the floor – are among the wackiest stats of the first four weeks. That differential starts with the Suns’ starting lineup having allowed 116.6 points per 100 possessions, the second worst mark among 15 lineups that have played at least 100 minutes together. The bigger on-off differential belongs to Deandre Ayton, with Phoenix having allowed 25.1 fewer points per 100 possessions with him off the floor (91.7) than it has with him on the floor (116.8).
Ayton is playing against opposing starters, but that’s a huge differential. Phoenix opponents have shot better and more often at the basket with Ayton on the floor and, though he ranks high among individuals in defensive rebounding percentage, the Suns’ defensive rebounding percentage has been lowest with Ayton on the floor. So he could use some help on the glass, and might need some help defending Nikola Jokic in two games against the Nuggets this week.
NBA Power Rankings: Nets and Clippers rise, plus some unfortunate guesswork - https://theathletic.com/2315096/2021/01 ... es-harden/#5 Suns - Chris Paul is passing the Suns up a level.
Visualize Chris Paul passing the ball. The odds are you’re seeing him run a pick-and-roll or dribble in the open floor before firing a dart toward his teammate. Maybe we should also see him inbounding the ball. Paul recently caught my eye with this assist:
It’s not as gorgeous as a lob dunk to Deandre Ayton or a kickout to Devin Booker, but points are points. Paul leans back, then telepathically passes open Cam Johnson with the bull’s-eye pass. Beautiful stuff.
Inbound passing is important. Defenders can be exploited for ball-watching, like Toronto’s Pascal Siakam is in this instance, and the accuracy of a pass can determine whether or not a shot is unleashed. With Paul, the Suns have a star who racks up big-time baskets and assists, but also makes plays that’ll never pop up on highlight reels.
#6 Suns - Weekly slate: Loss at Wizards, Postponed vs. Warriors, Postponed vs. Pacers
What do we like moving forward? The balance this team has. Obviously, Devin Booker and Chris Paul command huge attention from the Suns’ opponents, but the balance with the second-unit players is huge. Cam Johnson was someone a lot of people felt was a reach in the first round of the draft a couple of years ago. Cam Payne is a guy on whom multiple teams gave up. Dario Saric was a guy Minnesota decided to get rid of in order to move up to draft the struggling Jarrett Culver. Monty Williams is getting very important production out of his bench early this season, and that, coupled with the play of Mikal Bridges and Deandre Ayton, keeps the Suns looking sustainable.
Why are they here? Don’t want to penalize them too much for the one loss they had this week before contact tracing postponed the rest of their contests. Although, putting them second in the Power Rankings last week and then they get blown out by Washington that day doesn’t exactly justify my confidence in them.
