Every Thursday, I’ll be taking you through the big story heading into the weekend. Or maybe the weirdest story? Or maybe just something that makes me laugh and I think will make you laugh too. Essentially, if you’re subscribed to The Bounce and reading every day, we’re going to have the same fun here as we do in that space.
I’ve also culled the weekend schedule for you to know what to pay attention to. Weird bad streaks against teams? Beefs you need to track? Just fun games with matchups you may not have known were happening? We’ve got that for you. On top of that, we’ll have a good old-fashioned Throwback Thursday to hit you with that feel-good nostalgia.
Let’s have fun by starting with grading all 30 teams from the first quarter of the season.
Story to Watch: First-quarter grades
In The Bounce on Wednesday and Thursday, we threw some grades on every single team in the NBA. Why? Because the first quarter of the season is in the books! Everybody except Denver and Washington has cracked the 20-game mark on the 2024-25 season, but that’s close enough for me. Grading teams in the first quarter or half of the season is always an interesting job. You’re managing your preseason expectations for these teams against what we’ve seen so far in a short amount of time. And you have to figure out how much you put into the first 10 games or the next 10 games. You have to pin down if your expectations are already changing or if you need to just chill out and keep watching how things unfold.
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Let’s start with the Western Conference, which we knew would be jam-packed before the season even started. The West has almost too many good teams. The only way to get derailed in the West is by having a bunch of injuries, which we’ve seen plenty of teams do. Let’s get to the West report card. Offense and defense rankings are based on net ratings through Wednesday’s action.
Let’s do a quick takeaway for each West team in bullet form:
• Oklahoma City: The Thunder have endured a lot of injuries so far, and look how good they are. What can a healthy OKC team do?
Aaron Wiggins and the Thunder have been outstanding even through injuries. (Alonzo Adams / Imagn Images)
• Houston: Probably my favorite team story of the young season. The Rockets need more offense, but they can crush you with their defense.
• Memphis: This first quarter has been a fun reminder for anybody who forgot just how fun a mostly healthy Grizzlies team is.
• Clippers: The way Ty Lue has refocused this team after the front office brought in replacement role players for Paul George is tremendous.
• Dallas: We haven’t seen the dominant stretch by the Mavericks yet, but it’s coming. This team’s additions are acclimating really well.
• Golden State: The Warriors hit a bit of a speed bump recently, but I won’t let it cloud them looking like championship contenders right before that.
• San Antonio: I will remind you that Victor Wembanyama is still 20 years old for another month, and this Spurs team looks really comfortable now.
• Phoenix: They looked like title contenders before the Kevin Durant injury. Then, he briefly came back and got hurt again. Give me a healthy Suns squad.
• Lakers: The Lakers looked really good at first, but once they finally lost an NBA Cup game, things kind of fell apart. Still a long season left.
• Denver: The Nuggets are mostly getting by on Nikola Jokić’s supernova game, but now that they’re healthy again, we should see if they’re contenders.
• Minnesota: The Timberwolves went through a rough patch that had Anthony Edwards calling them out. They’ve responded with three great wins. They need more of that.
• Sacramento: The Kings dealt with some significant injuries and are still solid. But this is a better team than their record, and I want to see them go on a run.
• Portland: The Blazers were supposed to be the worst in the conference, but they play some decent defense. The offense is abysmal, though.
• Utah: Weren’t the Jazz supposed to be competitive early before embracing the tank for Cooper Flagg? Maybe this team isn’t that talented.
• New Orleans: The Pelicans have been missing half of their rotation most of the year. This wasn’t supposed to go this way.
And, of course, we have to do the East. It is … not so jam-packed. In fact, it’s pretty barren when it comes to filling out a proper playoff scenario. We have a lot of teams that feel like they’re getting into the picture by default. But the weird thing about this year is some of the “good teams” have completely underperformed for various reasons, and we’re left in a limbo state of waiting for them to get healthy and/or their act together. We’ve still had a couple of great surprises, some great teams, and whatever the Washington Wizards are doing.
Let’s dive into the East report card.
Here is a thought on each team from the East in bullet form, as well:
• Cleveland: The historic 15-0 start put everybody on notice that the Cavaliers under Kenny Atkinson’s offensive system are the real deal.
• Boston: The reigning champs don’t look like the dominant force they were last year, and they’re still 18-4. They’re still the favorites for a reason.
• Orlando: The run they went on after a few games missing Paolo Banchero shows just how legitimate this team is.
• New York: The defense is brutal, but the offense is historic. I think this team has another gear or two to find.
• Brooklyn: This was a team that was supposed to be one of the worst teams in the NBA, but it’s been really fun and competitive.
• Chicago: We all want to see more Lonzo Ball for the Bulls, but this hybrid of youth movement and veterans is pretty fun.
• Detroit: J.B. Bickerstaff has done a good job bringing this team to being respectable, and it just highlights what an awful job Monty Williams did in his possible cash grab.
• Atlanta: I do not trust the Hawks, but they have enough intriguing wins this season to make me want to believe in them. I still don’t.
• Milwaukee: I really thought the Bucks were going to shake off last season and be one of the leading contenders. I was so wrong.
• Charlotte: This team needs health and more talent, but I love what Charles Lee is doing for them in his first season. He’s a legitimate coach.
• Miami: I guess we’re back to the Miami Heat not giving us enough in the regular season to believe they can do it. We have to wait for the playoffs again?
• Toronto: I truly think the Raptors are better than their record, but they’ve needed health to prove it. They get the low grade, but I expect this to take off.
• Indiana: Not a shocking regression back down to earth after the surprise conference finals appearance. But they should be better than this.
• Philadelphia: I wasn’t a believer in this team being a contender in the first place, but nobody can deny this first quarter is all injuries for them.
• Washington: The Wizards breaking Detroit’s NBA-record 28-game losing streak from last season is very much on the table. They’ve lost 15 straight and went 0-for-November.
Once we get to the halfway point in the season, we’ll give out a new report card and start talking about some awards races.
Games on the Radar
Do you plan out your weekend around your sports-viewing schedule? You’re not alone. Are you the type to want to look like a sports savant by going to your local sports bar, suggesting a game to put on and then reveling in the praise from fellow patrons you’ll get for knowing what to watch? You’re home. Are you the type to just fly by the seat of your pants and wing it last minute when you remember games are on? Bookmark this post and refer to it later! These are the best games to pay attention to this weekend.
(All times Eastern)
Thursday
Denver Nuggets at Cleveland Cavaliers, 7 p.m. on NBA TV: The Cavs are 4-3 since their historic 15-0 start, and the Nuggets are healthy again now that they have Aaron Gordon back. We’ll get a good test for the Cavs here, who are riding high after beating Boston this past week.
Sacramento Kings at Memphis Grizzlies, 8 p.m. on League Pass: Sacramento was able to right the ship and build some confidence/momentum with its big win over Houston. The Grizzlies just blew a fourth-quarter lead to Dallas to lose their six-game winning streak. This should be a fireworks display with their two offenses.
Houston Rockets at Golden State Warriors, 10 p.m. on NBA TV: The Warriors love going against Dillon Brooks. And we’ll hopefully see Draymond Green back on the floor to maximize the amount of instigating possible between these two teams. These are two of the best defenses in the NBA, so don’t expect a ton of points.
Friday
Orlando Magic at Philadelphia 76ers, 7 p.m. on League Pass: The Sixers may have a little momentum now with a couple wins in a row. We don’t know if Joel Embiid will be available, but the Magic are without Paolo Banchero still. Both teams like to play physical basketball, so we could see some high tensions in this one.
Milwaukee Bucks at Boston Celtics, 7:30 p.m. on ESPN: Giannis Antetokounmpo going against the Celtics is always fun. Jayson Tatum squaring up against Giannis is always fun. Damian Lillard going against Jrue Holiday and this Celtics backcourt is great drama. Lock it in for this one.
Minnesota Timberwolves at Golden State Warriors, 10 p.m. on ESPN: Warriors will be on a back-to-back, but they need to get back into the win column regularly. The Wolves are attempting to do that with a couple of good wins lately, but they have a long way to go to resemble last year’s squad.
Saturday
Memphis Grizzlies at Boston Celtics, 8 p.m. on League Pass: Ja Morant probably believes he can dunk all over the Celtics defense repeatedly. Well, if he were still dunking. Both the Grizzlies and the Celtics are excellent on both ends of the floor. This could end up being one of the best games of the season.
Sunday
Phoenix Suns at Orlando Magic, 6:30 p.m. on League Pass: Unfortunately, Kevin Durant’s ankle is hurt, and we won’t get to see him try to light up this Orlando defense. Franz Wagner against Devin Booker is also a really fun matchup.
Houston Rockets at LA Clippers, 9 p.m. on League Pass: James Harden against his former team. Two of the best defenses in the NBA. Both offenses are capable of getting hot. I want to see how the Rockets try to disrupt everything Harden and the Clippers are doing.
Throwback Thursday: 60 points on 11 dribbles
On this day back in 2016, Klay Thompson scored 60 points on 11 dribbles in three quarters of action. It truly might be the most impressive scoring night in NBA history. I understand what comes with a statement like that, and how it could be viewed as hyperbole to drive engagement or clicks or whatever you want to assume from that. And considering the state of basketball analysis and discussion today, it’s fair to assume things like that. But the more I think about Klay dropping 60 in three quarters using just 11 dribbles, the more monumental this performance feels like on a multitude of levels.
The tricky part of this is we’ve seen much higher-scoring games. Including the playoffs, we’ve seen 92 games in NBA history in which a player dropped 60 or more. We’ve had 69 different scoring nights beat that 60-point marker. We’ve witnessed 15 different games in which someone broke the 70-point barrier. Kobe Bryant scored 81 points on one fateful League Pass night back in 2006. And then, there’s always the hallowed 100-point game from Wilt Chamberlain back in 1962.
The thing about Thompson’s game is that it broke the way we measure efficiency. Thompson made 12 jump shots (eight of them 3-pointers), 10 free throws and nine layups on the night. He did all that on 11 dribbles? How is that possible? We’ve only ever measured the efficiency of scoring nights regarding how many shots were taken. And Thompson was very efficient in that way, as well.
He went 21-of-33 from the floor, 8-of-14 from deep, and 10-of-11 from the free-throw line. Sort these 60-plus point games by field-goal attempts, and Thompson’s 33 attempts rank 16th for fewest attempts in a game of 60 or more. James Harden once had 60 on just 24 shots! He also shot 23 free throws and dribbled the air out of the ball while carving up his defenders. Thompson didn’t do that. Watch the clip of his historic night:
(Real quick: notice Steph Curry celebrating the night unfolding before him and the Warriors’ bench at the 2:22 mark of the video. Curry ran into the tunnel back at Oracle Arena because he didn’t know how to process this shooting display.)
He moved without the ball, came off screens, rim-ran in transition and flawlessly cut to the hoop. He needed three dribbles to get to 11 points. He was at eight total dribbles when he broke 20 points. He needed just one more dribble to get to 40 points on the night, and that happened by halftime. He had 40, and the Indiana Pacers had 50 after two quarters. One more dribble got him to 50, and one more dribble after that got him to 60. He sat the entire fourth quarter with the game in balance.
Sure, Kobe Bryant once had 62 through three quarters against the Dallas Mavericks and sat the rest of the night. He did it on 31 shot attempts too, but he also needed 25 free-throw attempts. We also know he dribbled the ball a lot, even when he was at his most efficient. Thompson didn’t dribble. That one thing you’re supposed to do to create an advantage against defenders? He barely bounced the ball. He probably bounced the ball more in layup lines during warmups than he did the entire 29 minutes of action for him.
Ultimately, if you pick any of Kobe’s extravaganzas or Wilt’s historic night as the greatest scoring effort in league history, I don’t fault you. Plenty of nights, I’ll probably agree with you because they’re spectacular moments in offense. But when you really break down how much Thompson did ignoring one of the most important skills in the game’s history, it’s pretty unbelievable to wrap your head around.
(Top photo of Darius Garland and Jayson Tatum: Jason Miller / Getty Images)
