Friday, November 22nd, 2019

• Will we see Jamal Crawford in the NBA again?

• Rewatch Marcus Smart's legendary play

• An NBA pioneer died Wednesday night

• Giannis continues to evolve

• Carmelo Anthony was very active last night

Tonight's must-watch games

Tap the box to set a reminder

The lead: Carmelo’s signed … now for Jamal Crawford? 

With Carmelo Anthony up and humming in Portland, the new guy every NBA player (and one media outlet) wants back in the league is Jamal Crawford. 

Crawford, who played 64 below average games last season for the Suns, is 39, unsigned, and still itching to play. 

“In my heart of hearts, I feel like it’ll happen,” Crawford told Marc Stein. “I just don’t know when.”

Crawford, who might still end up on a roster this season, if only as a 15th man, will be remembered as one of the great scoring mercenaries in league history. He’s tallied 19,414 points with eight teams in 1,326 games, and has collected three Sixth Man of the Year awards.If this is indeed the end, two stats will describe his unique career perfectly: 

• His 54 4-point plays are the most in NBA history.

• In the final game of last season -- and, in this hypothetical, the final of his career -- Crawford eclipsed 50 points with his fourth team, which would be a fitting end.

 2. The defensive play of the year so far 

This magic Marcus Smart play happened during Wednesday’s game of the year candidate,

for the Clippers.

 QUIZ: Who do these five white guys play for? 

1. Chandler Parsons 

2. Frank Kaminsky

3. TJ Leaf 

4. Meyers Leonard

5. Jake Layman

Answers at the bottom. 

 3. Giannis is approaching final form  

We’ve long said it:

The only thing keeping Giannis mortal is his broken jump shot.

Well, Giannis shoots now. In 14 games,

he’s averaging four and a half 3-point attempts per game

, while making roughly 30 percent of them.

That hit rate is slightly lower than you’d want (the league average is 35 percent), but the volume is the most important thing.

He’s

already taken 61 shots

from 25 to 29 feet, a third of

what he took all of last year

in just 14 games, which shows both an uptick in comfort and a willingness to expand his game.

He also has a unique way of shooting open 3s,

and dripple-steps into his shot,

which The Ringer

's Kevin O'Connor pointed out here

:

This season, the reigning MVP is shooting 37.2 percent on 3s off the dribble, a terrifying development for opposing defenses and a game-changer for the Bucks. 

The more 3-pointers Giannis shoots and makes, the more hopeless defenders will have to meander out toward him, which means the more rim-rattling he’ll get to do.Giannis' stats this season:

• 30.1 points | 14.1 rebounds | 6.6 assists

• Last night, he posted 29 points, 19 rebounds and 15 assists in a 137-129 win over the Blazers. Here are the highlights.

He’s kind of like Shaq, except Shaq never had anything resembling a competent outside shot, which Giannis already has at the age of 24.

[

READ:

Why are we overlooking Giannis Antetokounmpo's historic season?

]

 4. R.I.P. Wataru Misaka, an NBA trailblazer  

Japanese-American Wateru Misaka, the first nonwhite player in NBA history, died Wednesday at the age of 95.After winning a national championship in college, with Utah, and after a few years in the army, Misaka played three games for the Knicks during the 1947-48 season.Misaka’s story, as an Asian-American color barrier breaker in an African-American sport, is one of the more improbable in the history of the league.The New York Times’ obituary is well-worth the read.We tweeted some of our favorite photos of him, which you can check out here.[WATCH: Stephen Curry, Warriors meet legendary point guard Wat Misaka]

• Carmelo Anthony had a much better showing in his second game as a Blazer last night, dropping 18 PTS | 7 REB | 4 AST in 28 minutes. 

• Two ‘Melo moments: Swearing as he grabs a rebound before hitting a transition 3 | Trying and failing to take Giannis on to end the first half

• A compilation of James Hardenelbowing Nuggets players in the face during Wednesday night’s game.

• Our only comment about the Celtics’ new jerseys is that it’s a good thing Red Auerbach is dead. 

• The Bucks doing a WWE routine is very entertaining, and of course involves Robin Lopez.

• Yes, Ben Simmons hit his first 3.

• Watch Luka Dončić play, see an NBA superstar [The Wall Street Journal]

• The Celtics are built for the future—but they’ve already arrived [The Ringer]

• The final days of the Sonics: Lawsuits, backroom politics, and a confused Kevin Durant [The Ringer]

• The Sixers are all-in on new vibes after their absurdist drama [ESPN]