Wed, November 27th, 2019

A miracle happened last night 🏀

November 27, 2019

Wednesday, November 27th, 2019

  • A great story unfolded on live TV last night 

  • Giannis is inevitable 

  • Joel Embiid had a night to remember

  • Our occasional fantasy basketball section returns

Announcement:

Two Mondays from now, we're going to be shifting to a daily email schedule so we can keep you more up to date. Our plan is to send a newsletter everyday at 9 a.m., with more brief, snackable and useful content packed into each day. Cool? Objections?

. And of course, if you have a friend who loves the NBA as much as us, they can

Thanks for your support.

- Jesse & Sam

Tonight's must-watch games

Tap the box to set a reminder

The lead: What unites us: Rooting against Duke 

Last night, a basketball miracle happened: Stephen F. Austin, a university from ...*googles Stephen F. Austin*… Nacogdoches, Texas, which hasn’t spent a second ranked in the AP Top 25 in 36 Division I years, beat No. 1 Duke in Durham in a finish that defied our jaded world.The ...*googles Stephen F. Austin mascot*… Lumberjacks entered the game a 29-point underdog; it’s the first time the Blue Devils lost to an unranked, non-conference opponent in Cameron Indoor since 1983.But even more wholesome than Duke and its cult of trust fund Krzyzewski-ians not getting their way was the man who laid in the overtime game-winner, senior Nathan Bain.Bain, from the Bahamas, shared his story with ESPN after the game. It was the most authentic piece of live TV we’ve seen in a while, and somehow made us hate Billy McFarland even more: 

“I’m trying real hard not to get emotional. My family lost a whole lot this year. Woo -- not going to cry on TV. My family lost a whole lot this year. I’m just playing this game for them, you know? … My family back home in the Bahamas. I just want to make my country proud.”

As he said ‘proud,’ his voice cracked, and all of a sudden all this damn saw dust started floating around the room.

Anyways, in September, his university had set up a GoFundMe for Bain and his family, who had apparently lost

everything

they owned in Hurricane Dorian.

Before the game, the fund had a few thousand dollars. As of Wednesday afternoon,

.

As far as we can tell, this is a nice story without a skeptical angle, which means the NCAA will take a wrecking ball to all this soon enough. In the meantime, enjoy the 

.

2. QUIZ 

Who has the record for most points in a game without a turnover?Answer at the bottom.

 3. This is what acceptance sounds like 

The Bucks beat the Utah Jazz on Monday night, 122-118, for their eighth win in a row. It was, in short, a completely dominant game from Giannis, who finished with 50 points. No one described the night better than Jazz guard Mike Conley: 

“We threw everything at him. We threw everybody at him. We threw double-teams and he made plays out of the post. He got to the free throw line. When he started making the long-range shot, that really makes it tough. I was proud of the way we defended. We tried rebounding and tried to box him out, and he was too tall, too long.”

Good Guy Mike is at peace.

Giannis’ final stat line:

 A season-high 50 points, 14 rebounds, six assists with zero turnovers.

to drop at least 50 points, 10 rebounds and five assists with no turnovers. The Bucks are now 12-1 in November and first in the Eastern Conference.

 4. 11/27/1947: A bold new benchmark for futility 

On this day 72 years ago, a Philadelphia Warrior named Howie Dallmar (No. 12 above) set a new NBA record for field goals taken without a make, with 15. That record stood until Tim Hardaway Sr. went 0-for-17 in 1991.(On Monday, Joel Embiid set an unofficial record -- most talented player in the league to finish a game 0-for-11. He also missed all three free throws, and finished with zero points.)

5. Fantasy Corner

Two trendy waiver pickups from our friend, fantasy adviser, and international Grip bureau chief, Sean Clampett.1. Markelle Fultz, Orlando (37 percent owned in Yahoo! leagues)He isn’t exactly playing like a No. 1 pick, but over his last seven, he's shooting over 50 percent, with 13.7 points and 5.3 assists, plus two steals and one turnovers. His minutes are tending up, plus his only competition is D.J. Augustine.2. Moritz Wagner, Washington (32 percent owned in Yahoo! leagues)As we mentioned one Grip ago, Mortiz Wagner is somehow leading the league in scoring efficiency. In 19 minutes a game, his shooting splits are .640/.474/.815, and he’s scoring 12 points per game. If his minutes creep up, so will his scoring production. 

  

  • Give thanks for Luka Dončić [The New Yorker]

  • We knew Kyrie Irving’s time in Brooklyn would take a bad turn, just not this fast [The Boston Globe]

  • The future of the NBA lies overseas [The Ringer]