Mon, Jan 13th, 2020

Utah’s reappearing act — $1,000 in scratchies — Memphis, playoffs

January 13, 2020

Monday, January 13th, 2020

  • The Utah Jazz are a flat circle

  • DeMar DeRozan’s highlight jam

  • Our new game show segment will test your knowledge of the current NBAand the former Yugoslavia

  • Would you want a $1,000 check or $1,000 in scratch-offs?

 1. The Lead: Here come the bad team-beating Utah Jazz  

The second seed in the West (technically tied with the Nuggets) is not the Clippers. Or the Mavericks. Or the Rockets.It is the Utah Jazz, now 27-12, having won nine in a row and 14 of their last 15 (though only one of those wins came against a team above .500).The Jazz have, during this stretch, regained their darkhorse status as a potential Western Conference Finals contender, and will get at least one All-Star rep (Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert are both worthy) in February.This cycle -- to start very slow then churn out wins around midseason, only to be dispensed by a more serious contender -- is also turning into an annual occurrence in Salt Lake:2017-18

  • Started: 19-28

  • Salvaged season with: a 29-6 run to end the season, finishing with a 48-34 record

  • Playoffs: Beat OKC in six, lost in five games to the Rockets in the second round

2018-19

  • Started: 18-20 

  • Salvaged season with: a 32-12 run to end the season, finishing with a 50-32 record

  • Playoffs: Lost in the first round in five games to the Rockets

2019-20

  • Started: 13-11

  • Salvaged season with: a 14-1 run that’s still alive

  • Playoffs: We shall see

Will this year be any different? Should Mitt Romney book his NBA Finals trip?Probably not, but the growing pains were shorter this time around, plus Bojan Bogdanović (350,000-Club member, 21 points per game) is a nice addition, and Mike Conley, though struggling, is a playoff-tested guy.

 2. Remember this guy? 

DeMar DeRozan’s career may be playing out like a dark indie movie, but he can still embarrass a fool from time-to-time. The victim GIF'd above was Chris Boucher last night in Toronto.

 3. Are these people current NBA players, or prime ministers of the former Yugoslavia?  

Game rules: We will present 10 names grouped into five groups of two. In each group, one will be a current NBA player, and the other will be a former prime minister of the former Yugoslavia. Guess which is the NBA player, and see how many you get right -- the answers are at the bottom. Let us know how you did via email.

Group No. 1: 

  • Nikola Pašić

  • Alen Smailagić

Group No. 2:

  • Luka Šamanić

  • Petar Živković

Group No. 3: 

  • Ante Žižić

  • Stojan Protić

Group No. 4: 

  • Ivan Šubašić

  • Ivica Zubac 

Group No. 5:

  • Tomáš Satoranský 

  • Milan Stojadinović

 4. By the numbers 

18-22

The Memphis Grizzlies (!) are 18-22, and currently hold the eighth spot in the Western Conference playoff picture. Ja Morant (18 points, seven assists, 48 percent shooting, 39 percent from 3) is already a borderline All-Star. In related news, this is terrible for the Celtics.

  21 points

After missing 26 games because of a search for a higher meaning in this crazy world shoulder impingement, Kyrie Irving played last night against the Hawks, scoring 21 points on 10 of 11 shooting.

  $1,000

Last week, a Knicks fan nailed a halfcourt shot. His prize? $1,000 worth of scratch tickets. A degenerate’s dream.

  16.5 points

Al Horford, in two games since Joel Embiid’s finger injury: 16.5 points, seven rebounds, 5.5 assists, 41.7 percent from 3Al Horford, before those two games: 34 games, 12.3 points, 6.5 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 34.1 percent from 3

  71.2 percent; 85.3 percent

Chris Paul and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander are shooting 71.2 and 85.3 percent, respectively, from 2-point range in clutch situations; they’ve also both played 28 games in the clutch, tied for most in the league.(Clutch situations: Within five points in the final five minutes of a game)

5.  Quick Hits 

  • Good news: We found this picture of 1990s Nick Van Exel rocking a Packers cheese head and eating chicken wings. 

  • Watch Kyle Lowryspot and kiss his little son sitting courtside.

  • Jarrett Allen, with his team up 22 points in the final seconds of last night’s win, had a monster buzzer-beating block.

  • In the same game as DeRozan’s poster, Rudy Gay had a monster dunk, too.

  • Vince Carter is an extremely likable old guy who every player seems to genuinely love and enjoy being around.  

6.  Off the press

  • From 2004: What Kobe Bryant was capable of [The Stacks]

  • The NBA’s five most interesting teams under .500 [The Ringer]

  • All the ways Russell Westbrook and Chris Paul are different [SB Nation]

7. Quiz answers

NBA players:

  • Alen Smailagić (Warriors); Luka Šamanić (Spurs); Ante Žižić (Cavaliers); Ivica Zubac (Clippers); Tomáš Satoranský (Bulls)

Prime ministers of the former Yugoslavia:

  • Nikola Pašić (1918-18); Petar Živković (1929-32); Stojan Protić (1920-20); Ivan Šubašić (1944-44); Milan Stojadinović (1935-39)