Every so often a reader asks (or sometimes goads me into discussing subjects which I might not have gotten into in length. That happened this week.
This particular reader wanted me to delve into the season the Denver Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic is having. For Jokic is surpassing his previous M.V.P. years, racking up statistics which are mind-boggling.
Let me start with this—he is the best player on the planet at this moment. But is he in the pantheon with Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant and Lebron James? Hard to say. Different kinds of styles for different builds of men. And I don’t try comparing Steph Curry with him—it’s a 6’3’ guard versus 6’11” monster of a player.
For men his size, Jokic possesses a rare talent of controlling the flow of the game each time he touches the ball. Big men like Kareem Abdul Jabbar and Wilt Chamberlain were forces in close. The Joker can take over a possession for the entire length of the floor.
Right now, per game Jokic is averaging 32.5 points, along with 13.3 rebounds and 9.8 assists. In his last five games, which resulted in three wins for Denver and two losses, in four of the five contests he played 35, 39, 39, and 40 minutes of a 48 minute game. He shot over 50.0% while averaging over 36 points per game. He didn’t get to the foul line much—he went 30 for 40.
As magnificent as he has played, the Nuggets sit at 13-10, which puts them in fifth place in the Western Conference. And during this five game streak, he actually recored two negative plus/mins games for all that he has tried to do to right the ship.
I am not saying that Jokic might not win another M.V.P. award with his excellence. I merely point to the failure of his team to rise to his level despite the Serb’s best efforts.
For I watched another tall basketball player wow me on Sunday night. That would be Luka Doncic of the Dallas Mavericks. His scoring average isn’t that far off the pace of Jokic. His statistics are almost exactly at his career averages.
In his past five games, his consistency hasn’t been the same as Jokic—only twice did he shoot better than 50% from the field. What differs is that Doncic is playing for a team which is red hot—12 wins in its past 14 games, including a dominant win at Golden State.
That team includes Kyrie Irving. Love him or hate him, he is a superb point guard. One capable of helping a team win a championship. Let us not forget that Dallas made it to the NBA Finals before losing to Boston.
There also is Klay Thompson, a sure fire Hall of Fame inductee once his career ends. He scored the most points of his season with 29 points, burying seven three point shots, a couple of them when it mattered most to hold off his old team.
But what I saw on Sunday night was an amazing offensive display. The Mavericks came out of the gate and smoked the Warriors with three point shots and inside baskets. It seemed like the Cavs didn’t miss and Doncic was the leader.
Both teams combined for an NBA record 48 made three point shots. Golden State actually had more of the long distance bombs—27.
But it was Doncic’s triple double which won the game for Dallas. The Mavericks may only be in fourth place along with Houston and Memphis, with those three teams trailing Oklahoma City, which came out of the gate hot.
Without Doncic, the Maps would be just an average to below average team. To me, even if his stats aren’t quite at the level of Jokic, Milwaukee’s Giannis Anteokounmpo or Shai Gilcrest-Alexander of OKC, Doncic deserves as much respect as Jokic right now and with a loaded squad, could once more be playing for an NBA title.
The NBA in-season tournament has reached its final in Las Vegas. Oklahoma City and Milwaukee will face off for the Emirates NBA Cup and prize money totaling nearly $600,000 for each member of the winning team (the losers pocket well over $200,000 per player). I wasn’t excited last year and my lack of enthusiasm this year is equally palpable.
Having differed with my reader about Jokic, I am not going to part with him on this year’s Heisman Trophy award winner. Travis Hunter of Colorado won the prestigious trophy on Saturday night, prevailing over Boise State RB Ashton Jeanty by 214 points in the closest contest since Alabama’s Mark Ingram prevailed by 28 votes in 2009.
Jeanty claimed he should have won, as Hunter did not put up statistics as gaudy as his. Jeanty rushed for over 100 yards in every game; scored 29 touchdowns; and fell just short of Barry Sanders’ all-time rushing yardage record. He will do very well in the NFL.
Under that theory, maybe so. Or perhaps if seven other candidates didn’t receive 40 first place votes and more second and third place votes went his way, then yes, Jeanty would have been the winner.
To me, Hunter was the frontrunner and deserved to win. Hunter was a two-way star for the Buffaloes. He caught 92 passes for 1.152 yards and 14 touchdowns. On defense, he had 4 interceptions, 11 pass break-ups and a forced fumble. In this day and age of specialization, what Hunter accomplished—and he did miss some time due to injury—was truly amazing. I don’t know if we will see more players trying to replicate what Hunter did in 2024; it is so very demanding.
Some NFL notes. Buffalo is on a tear. QB Josh Allen has been putting up big numbers this season, more so in the past few games. The Bills own a victory over Kansas City, the top team in the AFC. And they put a hurting on the NFC-leading Detroit Lions at Ford Field on Sunday. Detroit is facing more key injuries and has the Minnesota Vikings hot on its tail for the NFC North crown; the two tangle in the last game of the regular season in the Motor City.
Should KC stumble—and its quarterback Patrick Mahomes suffered a high ankle sprain at Cleveland on Sunday—Buffalo will secure the top seed in the conference for the playoffs and have home field advantage for all its games.
The Bills don’t want to play at Arrowhead if they can avoid it. The remaining schedule favors Buffalo, as they play the last place New England Patriots home and home with the New York Jets coming to Orchard Park in between the two games with the Pats.
Conversely, KC is in the midst of a three games in eleven days stretch which sent them to Cleveland on Sunday; have them hosting AFC South leading Houston on Saturday before traveling to Pittsburgh for a Wednesday Christmas Day game. Mahomes has made it clear that he did not like this schedule and now, with his injury and limited time to heal, I am sure he likes it a lot less.
Let me not forget the Philadelphia Eagles. The Birds soundly rounded a good Pittsburgh team on Sunday. A tough test awaits them in Virginia versus the Commanders before hosting the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants to end the season. This could be the NFC tip seeded team.
While the Giants continue in free fall, the New York Jets actually won a game, defeating Jacksonville on the road in a clash of two 3-10 teams. Aaron Rodgers looked really good, connecting with his former Green Bay teammate Davante Adams for two touchdowns and 198 yards. Adams is the 12th NFL wide receiver to amass over 100 career TD catches, with over 80 from Rodgers.
Although the Jacksonville defense was awful (the Jets weren’t much better), it was a masterful performance by a duo headed to the Hall of Fame. It almost makes me believe that they both might be back in Green and White for 2025 if they continue to play like this. Remember—the Jets lost seven games by a touchdown or less.
Finally, I watched Rutgers eke out a win over Seton Hall on a last second three point heave by freshman star Dylan Harper. He and his fellow super freshman Ace Bailey played well. The rest of the team leaves a lot to be desired and does not look like a NCAA Tournament team. I wouldn’t be surprised if Princeton beats RU on Saturday at the Prudential Center.
I say so because I watched some of Gonzaga and Connecticut play at Madison Square Garden. Comparatively, it was men playing men, as opposed to seeing some college kids on two very average squads playing at Jersey Mike’s Arena.
With that, we say goodbye to Fall. Bring on Winter—even if I detest the cold.
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