LAST NIGHT NBA IN 10 MINUTES (1/5/18)

The Quick Takeaways:

Sixers beat Pistons: (114-78)

The Sixers are good. Really good. It’s time for all of the “Trust the Process” fanboys to let their voices be heard. Those hard working, shameless, blue collared Philly folk’ who spent the last 5 years scraping the bottom of the East, battling to get 20 wins, and ultimately living for the Draft Lottery; where they rested on their hands on knees in prayer that their 25% chance of a #1 draft spot came true. While being an NBA fan for seemingly two nights of the year (lottery night and draft night) can be strenuous, it all paid off for the wonderful people of Philadelphia. If the Sixers were a Cryptocurrency, they’d be Bitcoin in November of 2017. SO BUY NOW. They proved last night against the Pistons that although they are 19-19, they are a force to be reckoned with. Beating an above .500 team in the East (I know, not saying much in the East) by 36 is not easy, but last night was a balanced team victory that was obvious from the stat sheet. And they made it look really damn easy. See for yourself:

Joel Embiid: 23pts 9rebs .56% shooting +26
Ben Simmons: 19pts 4rebs 9asts .69% shooting +16
JJ Reddick: 21pts 3asts .55% shooting .38% 3pt shooting +34
**Six guys in double figures scoring

The distribution of scoring for this team was lethal last night. Most of this season, Philly has been able to show several glimpses of greatness, but it’s often times been overshadowed by their stunning youth. With the amount of 4th quarter leads this team has blown, it’s almost a sigh of relief to see how successful they have been. As soon as their inexperience begins to turn into lessons of learning, this team will be VERY dangerous come playoff time.

Celtics beat Timberwolves: (91-84)

Two teams with a solid mixture of youth and veteran talent. In a game of back and forth scoring between the Wolves and Celtics, ultimately, the Celtics prevailed. And looked good doing it. The matchup was fairly even keel up until midway through the 3rd quarter, where the proverbial point guard daddy Kyrie Irving decided to put his children to rest. Nobody is more fluid in 2018 with the basketball on their hip than this man, and his second half last night was the proof in the pudding. Minnesota, who will be a dangerous team come playoff time in a stacked West, but they didn’t have the dogs to go 4 full quarters with Boston. Stats below:

Kyrie Irving: 16pts 9rebs 8asts
Aron Baynes: 11pts 10rebs
Marcus Smart: 18pts .62% (off the bench)
Terry Rozier: 14pts 9rebs (off the bench)

The depth on this Boston team should give head coaches nightmares. They have 6-7 guys on their roster that can seriously go OFF on any given night, which is the dynamic of championship style teams. While a lot can happen in the next 4 months, Boston is on a very solid pace of rebooking their trip to an Eastern Conference Finals.

Heat beat Knicks: (107-104 OT)

Game of the night and it isn’t remotely close. To start, the combination of Tyler Johnson and Goran Dragic is stupidly underrated; matter of fact should be illegal in some states. Especially the fact they are both lefties, shoot well off the dribble, and are guys that can make plays when their teams need it most. Putting this dynamic next to an improved shooting Hassan Whiteside, this offense can carry them throughout lengths of a season. And these 3 weren’t even the story of the night? Wayne Ellington comes off the bench to pour in 24pts to shut down the most poorly run franchise in the league, maybe in all of sports. When you say it like that, it doesn’t sound impressive. Surely, last nights victory for those that tuned in was nothing short of fantastic for this Heat squad that continues to fight the pack for a playoff spot. Even with Porzingis, Lee, and Beasley showing out last night for the Knicks, it wasn’t quite enough to silence this scrappy Miami team. See the stats below:

Wayne Ellington: 24pts 4 rebs (off the bench)
Goran Dragic: 19pts 6rebs 6asts
Tyler Johnson: 16pts 4asts 4stls

Quick s/o to the Creighton kid Dougie “Buttcheeks” McDermott for smacking a game tying 3 as time expired in the 4th to force OT. Made for an even more electric night, and you should be forever praised for your Ray Allen esque - game 7 finals - corner pocket splash. Doug, you my friend are the real MVP.

Big Matchup's Tomorrow:

Pelicans vs. Timberwolves (featured game)-two relatively hot teams right now trying to become established in the West

Bucks vs. Wizards-Milwaukee has historically struggled against Washington, but will be a big game coming off a loss

Bulls vs. Pacers-fast turnaround after playing last week, plus the return of an NBA Most Improved candidate Victor Oladipo

Updated Power 10 Rankings:

1. Boston Celtics
2. Golden State Warriors
3. Houston Rockets
4. Toronto Raptors
5. Cleveland Cavaliers
6. San Antonio Spurs
7. Oklahoma City Thunder
8. Washington Wizards
9. Miami Heat
10. Minnesota Timberwolves

Thanks for reading! Please drop your personal thoughts and comments below if you agree/disagree, I'd love to hear some feedback!