Mon, Dec 17th, 2018

An NBA-obsessed newsletter for the info-craved basketball mind.

Written while listening to The Roots' The Next Movement

The Kings are the thorn in your side of the West

The Sacramento Kings, who were projected to win just 25 games this season, are currently 16-13, breaking Celtics fans’ hearts, and comfortably in the middle of the Western Conference standings.In part because: They’re athletic, they’re pesky, and they have absolutely zero expectations to fill.But mainly: D’Aaron Fox, who is quickly looking like the first-, second- or third-best player in the 2017 draft, depending on how you evaluate Jayson Tatum and Donovan Mitchell:If you watched any Kings games last year -- and, unless you were doing a segment for Pat vs. The House, why would you? -- you could see Fox’s young, sporadic and disarrayed talent, sort of like John Wall and Russell Westbrook in their rookie seasons -- guards who knew they had something ferociously special but didn’t know how to use it.Fox has honed that ability already and has been a completely different player so far this year, a shifty and speedy pitbull who’s improved his numbers in every single category while seeming like a genuine joy to play with. He’s also one of those guys that the great players around the league seem to respect.2017-18: 11.6 POINTS | 4.4 AST | 41.2 FG | 30.7 FG3 | PER: 11.22018-19: 18.5 POINTS | 7.5 AST | 48.2 FG | 39.6 FG3 | PER: 19.1Kudos to coach Dave Joerger, who was born at home plate while every other coach not in charge of Sacramento was born on first, and Buddy Hield, who is doing exactly what he did in college: starting slow and gradually trending upwards.So far this season, Hield is getting 19.2 points a game while shooting 42.5 percent from deep on 6.7 3s attempted per game.As a team, the Kings are currently first in the league in fast break points, second in pace and fifth in total points per game. It’s an incredible turnaround from last year’s team that had the worst offense and slowest pace in the league.[READ: Kings are positioned well at start of NBA trade season, but will they buy?]

A rare feat has us nostalgic

On Saturday night against the Charlotte Hornets, LeBron James and Lonzo Ball both recorded a triple-double. Here are their final numbers:LeBron: 24 Points | 12 Rebounds | 11 AssistsLonzo Ball: 16 Points | 10 Rebounds |10 AssistsSuch a feat has only happened nine times in NBA history. A reddit user compiled the full list of the other eight, but here are some notable ones: Michael Jordan with Scottie Pippen; Kareem Abdul-Jabbar with Magic Johnson (KAJ had 10 blocks); and that time Vince Carter put up 46 points, 16 rebounds and 10 assists with a Jason Kidd triple-double in 2007.

Forgotten white guys who could really fill it up, ranked

7. Rex Chapman, 18.2 a game in ‘93-’94, 9,731 points for career

6. Doug Collins, 20.8 in ‘75-’76, 7,427 for career

5. Tom Gugliotta, 20.6 in ‘96-’97, 9,895 for career

4. Rudy Tomjanovich, 24.5 in ‘73-’74, 13,383 for career

3. Dan Issel, 30.6 in ‘71-’72 (ABA), 27,482 for career

2. Tom Chambers, 27.2 in ‘89-’90, 20,049 points for career (seen above)

1. Kiki Vandeweghe, 29.4 in ‘83-’84, 15,980 for career

   Quick Hits

• Over the weekend, something very stupid almost happened, then something very stupid happened: The Phoenix Suns almost got conned into taking the wrong Brooks from Memphis (they wanted Dillon but were about to get MarShon), which cause a three-team trade involving Trevor Ariza, Kelly Oubre and Austin Rivers to fall through. So, instead, the Wizards sent 23-year-old Oubre and Rivers to the Suns for 33-year-old Ariza.

• Indeed, it was “a little awkward," MarShon told the Commercial-Appeal.

• Luka Doncic showed his geeky side and wore Gohan sneakers last night.

• Woj tweeted that the Indiana Pacers hired Kelly Krauskopf as the first female assistant GM in NBA history, but in fact it was Nancy Leonard back in the 1970s.

• Jabari Parker’s days in Chicago are reportedly numbered, which just makes you wonder why the Bulls signed him, and why the front office still has its collective job.

• Dec. 15 has come and gone, which means trade season has officially started.

 Concrete Reads

• No one knows what’s up with Markelle Fultz [The Washington Post]

• My Dad's friendship with Charles Barkley [Only A Game]

• Nike’s war on Christmas (NBA jerseys) must end [SB Nation]

  Podcast Pick

Jackie MacMullan joins The Lowe Post to talk the Celtics and her great recent story about Jaylen Brown. [ESPN]

Three must see games

Tonight, 12/17

Tomorrow, 12/18