The NBA Was Completely Drunk With Chaos Last Night And It Was Incredible Theatre
If I've said it once, I've said it a thousand times and I will continue to say it until I am blue in the face. One of the best parts about the NBA season being back is every single night there's a strong chance you're going to see something awesome. Some nights it's a historic performance like a dude going for 60, other times it may be an entire team going crazy and putting up like 140 in regulation.
And sometimes we get a night like last night. A pretty normal Monday night in mid-November, a time when many people think the NBA isn't worth watching. I'll never understand that, but it's how some out there feel. Well, all I would say is the chaos we watched unfold all across the league on Monday night is exactly what I'm talking about. Sure it's still early in the season, but who cares? Chaos is chaos and we had it in spades.
Atlanta Hawks vs Sacramento Kings
The thing about the Kings is no matter what they do, it feels like their games always come down to the wire. They make for a very fun late night League Pass watch, but I imagine it's quite stressful for their fanbase. So it should come as no surprise that their game against the Hawks also came down to the very last possession
OK, it's time we start to have a very serious discussion around Dyson Daniels' season. I mean holy fucking shit. Of course HE was the one to pull off the game winning steal on De'Aaron Fox, and if you've been paying attention so far this season you know this is just more of the same when it comes to Daniels
He's going to have quite then challenge to overcome Wemby when it comes to DPOY, but you could make the case there has not been a more impactful defender this season than Daniels. He's insane. I'd say the leader in the MIP race, the thing that makes Daniels so good isn't just his high steal and block numbers. Plenty of shitty defenders have high steals totals because they gamble. What makes Daniels different is his ball pressure. The way he uses his size and strength to stay in front of his man is All NBA level. His steals aren't cheap steals, they're because he has his opponent in absolute hell.
In that spot at the end of this game, it's a situation we've seen Fox convert hundreds of times before. He's one of the most clutch players in the entire NBA. But a game sealing steal from your breakout player? That rules.
Milwaukee Bucks vs Houston Rockets
Look, the Bucks need to start stacking wins. It doesn't matter how they get them, they just need to end up in the W column at this point. With how shitty the East is, this is not a Sixers situation. There is still hope that the Bucks can get back to the Play in/Top 6 seed if they simply rip off a few in a row, and that starts by winning in your own building.
In what was a great back and forth game against the red hot Rockets, the ending of this game is where all the chaos lived
All the Rockets needed one one more bucket over the final minute of action. That's it. Instead, they gave up a transition 3 to AJ Green which might be the stupidest decision a team could possibly make considering all he does is make open 3s, then they went to the Dillon Brooks offense down the stretch (2 misses) and then you saw the plays above. What a tremendous defensive possession by Giannis on that block. From switching onto FVV to recovering in just enough time to get a finger on Sengun's floater, that was big time stuff. The Dame finish felt inevitable at that point, especially once it was clear he wasn't going to settle for a stepback jumper.
The crazy part is, the Rockets still had a chance! Ime drew up a beautiful inbounds play, but execution matters in that spot and FVV threw a duck
Hey, sometimes you have to get a little lucky to pull out a W. Between that pass and Giannis being out of bounds after his block with the official not even looking at the play
the Bucks finally were on the other end of one of these missed calls late after they were completely boned against the Hornets when LaMelo Ball tripped over his own feet and then all the shit that went down against the Pistons. The Basketball Gods tend to even things out, and while it may seem crazy to say in mid November, that did feel like somewhat of a season saving win for the Bucks. Until they right the ship, that's how a lot of these types of games will feel.
Golden State Warriors vs Los Angeles Clippers
The chaos made it's way all the way to the late game on the schedule, and for a while it didn't seem like we were in line for a crazy ending. The Clippers built a pretty sizeable lead early, but that's the beauty of Steph Curry. As long as he's alive, the Warriors are never dead. They were able to storm all the way back in the second half to bring it to within one possession in the final 30 seconds. From there….well just watch
The second GPII stole that ball I think we all said the same thing to ourselves. This was it, this was the devil magic that the Warriors always seem to be able to pull off in these tight spots with the game on the line. When you see Steph Curry going up for that three with 13 seconds left I imagine every single person watching would have bet their life that he was going to bury it. That exact shot is why Steph Curry is Steph Curry.
For him to miss and then the Warriors to find a way to get a second life, you could tell the Clippers were committed to the "anyone but Steph" defense
and unfortunately, Payton couldn't come through. It was a bit surprising that Steph didn't just let it fly over 3 guys because again, he's Steph Curry, but technically it was the right "basketball play" that simply didn't work out. Shit happens. The Clippers did their best to give away the game, but sometimes you catch a prayer and I'd say Steph Curry missing in that spot and then passing up another shot at the tie is the very definition of a prayer.
Considering stuff like this happens every night, I'll never really understand the people who say the NBA is unwatchable or a horrible product. Sounds to me like they just don't like basketball to begin with or are take committed and refuse to accept that things have been entertaining as hell to start this new NBA season if you actually take the time to watch.
At the end of the day, who doesn't love chaos in sports? It's why we watch and last night the NBA sure did deliver.