Most families land strictly in one of two camps: Those that play Christmas music nonstop starting on Thanksgiving night, and those that wait until Christmas Eve to finally give in and say, "hey Siri, play Christmas music." No matter which holidays you celebrate, those familiar tunes are ubiquitous around this time of year, and they have NBA implications as well.
For many years now, Christmas Day has signified the unofficial start to the NBA season. By the time the first two months come to a close, the pretenders have likely fallen back to where they belong, and players who started off the year completely out of shape pacing themselves for the long haul have started to look like themselves.
This weekend, we got a glimpse of what's to come in the following weeks leading up to Dec. 25, with Nikola Jokic getting sick of the Nuggets losing and deciding to do anything in his power to stop that from happening, even *gasp* scoring! We also saw the Big Three from Philadelphia, which has been more like a Big One or Big Zero for most of the year finally get through an entire game, giving Sixers fans just enough hope so that their hearts can be broken all over again come playoff time. Too soon?
So, the next time you hear a Christmas jingle, unplug your ears and take solace in the fact that the NBA will be heating up soon, even as you're freezing your you-know-what off. Here are this weekend's winners and losers.
Winner: Jokic's one-man show
Nikola Jokic has so many otherworldly basketball talents that occasionally we forget -- the dude can just flat-out score. A last resort for most of his career until now, Jokic has been looking for his own shot much more often this season thanks to injuries and just overall poor performance from his Nuggets teammates. Never was this shift more evident than in Saturday's loss to the Washington Wizards (not a typo), in which Jokic poured in a career-high 56 points on 38 shots -- the most he's posted in an NBA game -- with Jamal Murray and Aaron Gordon sidelined.
Jokic was absolutely brilliant in every capacity, dominating the paint while also stepping out to hit three of his five 3-point attempts.
If you look at the stats, this might look like a selfish game -- that if Jokic would have done more to get his teammates involved then maybe they wouldn't have given the Wizards their first win since before Halloween (no, seriously). As someone who watched every second of this game, I can assure you that was not the case. This man did everything humanly possibly to will his lethargic, unproductive teammates to a victory, and they damn near came all the way back before falling short.
As an encore, Jokic went for a casual 48 points, 14 rebounds and eight assists the very next night against the Hawks to ensure the Nuggets' return to the winning track. There are simply no holes in Jokic's offensive game, and he should currently be the frontrunner to win his fourth MVP award in five seasons.
Loser: Right oblique muscles
More like WRONG oblique muscles, am I right? In all seriousness, the frustration level must be off the charts for the Orlando Magic, who have now lost their two best players to the exact same injury -- a torn right oblique. First Paolo Banchero suffered his injury five games into the season, shortly after putting up a 50-spot against the Pacers. In his absence the 16-9 Magic have continued to thrive thanks to the All-Star level play from Franz Wagner, who will now miss at least a month with his own oblique issue.
I mean, come on man.
Banchero still has no timeline to return, so this could be a rough stretch for the Magic. With how Jamahl Mosley has coached, however, they'll probably make a run for the No. 1 seed with both of their stars out by running the offense through Goga Bitadze.
Winner: Jordan Poole, scorer
If the Wizards were going to snap their 16-game losing streak, they were going to need a special performance. They certainly got it from Poole in Saturday's 122-113 win over the Nuggets, as he poured in 39 points including a career-high nine 3-pointers. Denver didn't play the best defense in the world, but some of the shots Poole made were absolutely absurd. According to NBA.com, five of his nine 3s came from at least 27 feet.
Poole has endured more than his fair share of dreadful shooting performances -- including the very next night when he scored just nine points on only six shots against the Grizzlies -- but when his act is working, it's one of the most entertaining in the NBA.
Loser: Jordan Poole, celebrator
As great as Poole played on Saturday, the celebration after his ninth 3-pointer -- in which he pinched his nose and feebly rotated his left hand above his head -- needs a little more time in the workshop. The still shot captured by photographers actually makes it look like Poole was trying to mask the stench of how poorly Washington had been playing recently.
In reality, it was some sort of aquatic-themed gesticulation we're stilly trying to decipher.
"Been waiting to do that one for a while," Poole said after the rare win. "It was just a little 'Drowning in the Poole" action. You can call it what you want."
Unfortunately, Jordan, we're calling this one a loser.
Winner: Philly's Big Three (finally)
Well, it took about seven weeks, but we finally saw the first win from the 76ers' Big Three of Joel Embiid, Paul George and Tyrese Maxey. The trio played in one previous game, a loss to Grizzlies, but George didn't finish that one due to a knee injury. Finally, in an actual, regulation NBA basketball game, the Sixers beat the Bulls on Sunday, 108-100, with all three stars making it to the finish line.
The glorious stat lines were everything Philly fans have been waiting for all season long.
- Embiid: 31 points, 12 rebounds, four assists, two blocks (he's back!)
- Maxey: 25 points, 14 assists, 11 rebounds (first career triple-double!)
- George: 12 points, seven rebounds, two assists (room for improvement!)
Of course nobody is celebrating too hard since that brings the 76ers' record to *checks notes* 7-15 on the season. But hey, in order to make a great Philly cheesesteak, first you have to make sure you have all the right ingredients.
Loser: Zach Collins
We're all familiar with "getting your money's worth" after an ejection -- the concept that since you've already been tossed from the game, you might as well continue voicing your opinion to the officials. The problem is, sometimes getting your money's worth actually leads to losing even more money. Case in point, Spurs big man Zach Collins, who decided to flip the bird to the refs before leaving the court after being ejected on Friday night, costing him a cool $35K.
While we cannot condone such a display of outright disrespect, Collins' actions did lead to arguably the best screen grab of the NBA season.
Collins isn't the first NBA player to take a hit to his bank account thanks to an extended middle digit this season -- he joins Anthony Edwards and Russell Westbrook, who also received $35,000 fines -- so we might have a bird-flipping epidemic on our hands. Stay safe out there, people.
Winner: Steph being Steph
I bet you all think I'm going to post that clip of Steph Curry swishing a 40-footer, don't you? Too easy. We all know he can do that and see it on a regular basis. What you may not see, or notice, is that Curry is constantly sacrificing himself in the name of winning by laying screens on bigger players. Draymond Green got all the accolades for his game-sealing dunk and subsequent homage to Curry with his "night night" celebration, but guess who totally wiped out 7-foot-1, 258-pound Rudy Gobert with a screen to open up Green's lane to the rim? That's right, all 185 pounds of Wardell Stephen Curry II.
Curry has 14 screen assists on the season, which ranks him as one of the league's most prolific guards (once you filter out players like Ben Simmons, Josh Hart, Lu Dort and Isaac Okoro, who would more accurately be described as forwards). Last season Curry was first among guards with 79 screen assists. It's rare that you find the most super of superstars willing to get their hands dirty, and their body bruised, on a nightly basis for the sake of winning, but that's exactly what Curry has done for his entire career.
And yeah OK, here's the freaking shot. Ridiculous.
Loser: Big Baller Brand
Hey, remember LaVar Ball? Well it turns out that, in retrospect, even his own son wasn't on board with his most notorious business venture. Bulls guard Lonzo Ball, who recently returned to the court after missing two seasons and almost three full years due to various knee issues, pointed to his dad's Big Baller Brand as a possible culprit in his inability to stay healthy. The younger Ball called the first pair of sneakers his father's company designed for him "kickball shoes" adding that a later iteration of the sneakers could have contributed to his torn meniscus as a rookie in 2018 with the Lakers.
"I think it's a possibility for sure, to be honest with you," Ball told ESPN. "I wasn't really getting hurt like that until I started wearing them."
Rough. Despite multiple public disagreements along the way, Ball said in 2019 that "it's always love at the end" between him and his father. That is, as long as he keeps the BBB (which still has an active apparel line, apparently) off of his feet.