2020-2021 NBA Game Thread

snowmanny

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Besides seven-inning doubleheaders can I vote for three-minute NBA overtimes?

I would bet a five-minute overtime today takes well over twice the time that it did back whenever it was invented.
 

snowmanny

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Besides seven-inning doubleheaders can I vote for three-minute NBA overtimes?

I would bet a five-minute overtime today takes well over twice the time that it did back whenever it was invented.
Twice is an understatement. The old Celts had left Syracuse with a W and were on the train almost in Utica by now.
 

jon abbey

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Second miracle comeback win in this streak for NY, they had one against MEM to start the winning streak too.
 

terrynever

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76ers now two games up on Brooklyn and holding the tiebreaker in a year when the No. 1 seeds will not provide a dramatic home-court advantage. Also likely puts them in line for Boston or Atlanta in second round, neither one a walk in the park.

Durant played 4 minutes today before banging knees with Ariza and sitting out rest of game. He did look good for 4 minutes.

After calling his Heat teammates “soft” the other night, Jimmy Butler sat out today’s game with Brooklyn.

Also, tough week ahead for Philly: Home to GS Monday and Phoenix Wednesday, road at Milwaukee on Thursday and Saturday. Just in time for the Chauvin trial verdict.
 
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ManicCompression

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How are people feeling about the play-in games? I was initially skeptical, but now I like it because of how interesting it's making the playoff run. It seems like teams in both conferences are desperate to stay out of the 7th seed and it's led to some really compelling basketball of late. Teams usually start taking their feet off the gas at this point in the season, but 4-8 in the east is going to be really fun the rest of the way.
 

Cesar Crespo

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How are people feeling about the play-in games? I was initially skeptical, but now I like it because of how interesting it's making the playoff run. It seems like teams in both conferences are desperate to stay out of the 7th seed and it's led to some really compelling basketball of late. Teams usually start taking their feet off the gas at this point in the season, but 4-8 in the east is going to be really fun the rest of the way.

Less Fewer teams will tank too. Washington is the 10th seed atm I think. Washington!
 

HomeRunBaker

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Luke Kennard is flying under the radar for these Clippers. He was a good fit as it was with Kawhi and George but now he has Rondo getting him clean looks too while providing great spacing for others with his 46% on threes this year.
 

Cesar Crespo

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Luke Kennard is flying under the radar for these Clippers. He was a good fit as it was with Kawhi and George but now he has Rondo getting him clean looks too while providing great spacing for others with his 46% on threes this year.
Just looked up his trade on bbref. Ummm... what? That's not confusing at all.

November 19, 2020: As part of a 3-team trade, traded by the Detroit Pistons with Justin Patton, a 2023 2nd round draft pick, a 2024 2nd round draft pick, a 2025 2nd round draft pick and a 2026 2nd round draft pick to the Los Angeles Clippers; the Brooklyn Nets traded Saddiq Bey, Jaylen Hands, Dzanan Musa and a 2021 2nd round draft pick to the Detroit Pistons; the Brooklyn Nets traded Jay Scrubb to the Los Angeles Clippers; the Detroit Pistons traded Bruce Brown to the Brooklyn Nets; the Los Angeles Clippers traded Reggie Perry and Landry Shamet to the Brooklyn Nets; and the Los Angeles Clippers traded Rodney McGruder and cash to the Detroit Pistons. 2023 2nd-rd pick is POR own 2024 2nd-rd pick is DET's own 2025 2nd-rd pick is DET's own 2026 2nd-rd pick is DET's own 2021 2nd-rd pick is TOR own
 

Kliq

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Luke Kennard is flying under the radar for these Clippers. He was a good fit as it was with Kawhi and George but now he has Rondo getting him clean looks too while providing great spacing for others with his 46% on threes this year.
It took him a while to find his role in LA but I always thought he was an underrated player. Great shooter but he can also playmake a bit and run the PnR.
 

HomeRunBaker

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Just looked up his trade on bbref. Ummm... what? That's not confusing at all.

November 19, 2020: As part of a 3-team trade, traded by the Detroit Pistons with Justin Patton, a 2023 2nd round draft pick, a 2024 2nd round draft pick, a 2025 2nd round draft pick and a 2026 2nd round draft pick to the Los Angeles Clippers; the Brooklyn Nets traded Saddiq Bey, Jaylen Hands, Dzanan Musa and a 2021 2nd round draft pick to the Detroit Pistons; the Brooklyn Nets traded Jay Scrubb to the Los Angeles Clippers; the Detroit Pistons traded Bruce Brown to the Brooklyn Nets; the Los Angeles Clippers traded Reggie Perry and Landry Shamet to the Brooklyn Nets; and the Los Angeles Clippers traded Rodney McGruder and cash to the Detroit Pistons. 2023 2nd-rd pick is POR own 2024 2nd-rd pick is DET's own 2025 2nd-rd pick is DET's own 2026 2nd-rd pick is DET's own 2021 2nd-rd pick is TOR own
I swear that these GM’s complicate these deals so much to impress their boss (the owner) into thinking that nobody else who could possibly replace them is qualified for the job.
 

snowmanny

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The Clippers traded Perry, Shamet, Magruder and $ for Kennard, Patten, Scrubbs and four second round picks. I think.
 

Apisith

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They really benefited from Houston's insane decision to play anti-basketball last season.
True. But somehow we turned him into Wood, so things have worked out for us as well.
Capela -> FRP + Covington -> Ariza -> S&T for Wood
 

wade boggs chicken dinner

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#10 is a dogfight:
Chicago 23-33
Washington 23-33
Raptors 23-34

Guess we'll turn the NBA play-in games into a participation award. Yeah, everyone's a winner.
TOR beat OKC so they are 24-34. TOR is only one of those 3 teams that has beaten PHI so maybe we should root for them to be the 8 seed.
 

Sam Ray Not

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Tobias Harris' age 28 season (per 36, in 33.1 mpg):

22.1 pts on .609 ts (.521 fg, .407 3fg, .886 ft)
7.8 reb
3.9 ast, 2.0 tov
+7.3 on-court, +4.6 net on-off for the #1 seed in the East

I don't play as close attention to the East as I should (until I see them on the GSW schedule, lol). Is he the most under-the-radar star in the league this year?
 

Kliq

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Random thought: Hakeem's all-time record of 3,830 career blocks is going to be one of the most unbreakable records in sports. The total in its day was already staggering, Dikembe Mutombo is second all time and has 3,289 blocks, or several years of elite shot blocking away from Hakeem. Tim Duncan, who is an all-time great rim protector who played for a million years, has only 3,020 career blocks.

With the modern NBA having far fewer shots at the rim, one player getting a lot of blocks is an outdated concept. In the 90s, you would lead the league blocking about 4.0 to 4.5 shots per game, but today you can lead the league blocking 2.5 shots per game. The current active leader, Dwight Howard, is barely half-way to Hakeem's total (2,180). Rudy Gobert, the preeminent shot blocker in today's game, has 1,190 career blocks and is 28. Discounting his rookie season, he has averaged 170 blocks per season. To catch Hakeem, he would need to keep performing at his current rate for another 15 seasons, while also avoiding significant injury.
 

Cesar Crespo

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Random thought: Hakeem's all-time record of 3,830 career blocks is going to be one of the most unbreakable records in sports. The total in its day was already staggering, Dikembe Mutombo is second all time and has 3,289 blocks, or several years of elite shot blocking away from Hakeem. Tim Duncan, who is an all-time great rim protector who played for a million years, has only 3,020 career blocks.

With the modern NBA having far fewer shots at the rim, one player getting a lot of blocks is an outdated concept. In the 90s, you would lead the league blocking about 4.0 to 4.5 shots per game, but today you can lead the league blocking 2.5 shots per game. The current active leader, Dwight Howard, is barely half-way to Hakeem's total (2,180). Rudy Gobert, the preeminent shot blocker in today's game, has 1,190 career blocks and is 28. Discounting his rookie season, he has averaged 170 blocks per season. To catch Hakeem, he would need to keep performing at his current rate for another 15 seasons, while also avoiding significant injury.
Turner just turned 25 and has 866 and is averaging 3.4 bpg this season. Mitchell Robinson is one to watch if he can stay healthy.
 

terrynever

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Tobias Harris' age 28 season (per 36, in 33.1 mpg):

22.1 pts on .609 ts (.521 fg, .407 3fg, .886 ft)
7.8 reb
3.9 ast, 2.0 tov
+7.3 on-court, +4.6 net on-off for the #1 seed in the East

I don't play as close attention to the East as I should (until I see them on the GSW schedule, lol). Is he the most under-the-radar star in the league this year?
Harris is a weapon this year who hunts for mismatches, and is very accurate in the lane once he jumps over his smaller opponent. When Embiid rests, offense runs through Tobias. He was hurt the most by Horford’s presence last year. Harris had a year like this for Doc in LA. Under the radar? Nah. He’s the glue for one of the league’s best teams. Most improved, possibly. But his improvement is all about getting rid of Horford and Brett Brown.
 

HomeRunBaker

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Tobias Harris' age 28 season (per 36, in 33.1 mpg):

22.1 pts on .609 ts (.521 fg, .407 3fg, .886 ft)
7.8 reb
3.9 ast, 2.0 tov
+7.3 on-court, +4.6 net on-off for the #1 seed in the East

I don't play as close attention to the East as I should (until I see them on the GSW schedule, lol). Is he the most under-the-radar star in the league this year?
I was telling someone last week that Tobias’ rise to me seems similar to Pierce’s when he was in his 20’s. Entered the league able to score and each year continued making incremental improvements in his overall game and in understanding how to generate mismatches.
 

benhogan

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Is there a coincidence to the fact that Harris has had his best performances for Doc?
@terrynever, who watches every Sixer game closely, is saying it has a lot to do with Doc and getting rid of Brett Brown. I never thought BB was all that bad until I listened to the Jimmy Butler conversation on the Old Man & the 3 podcast with JJ Redick.

ALSO, Harris is proving a lot of us wrong, myself included, that mocked that MAX deal. Tobias was decent last year and has been really good this season. He's a nice compliment to Simmons/Embiid. Hoping the Celtics can draw them in the playoffs, a lot of storylines with Doc, recent and distant history.
 

Euclis20

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Harris has been a really solid scorer in the regular season for the last few seasons (20 ppg and .583 TS% since the start of 18/19) who has turned into a JAG in the playoffs (15.6 ppg and .504 TS% over the same time). I haven't seen him as much this year but in the past he's the sort of guy who feasts in the regular season and disappears when the intensity turns up in the spring. The Sixers really could've used him against the Celtics in the 1st round last year without Simmons and he was just awful. The sample size isn't huge (16 games) and it only takes a few good weeks to turn that around.

He's still massively overpaid for a guy whose never sniffed an all star appearance and seeing him is unfortunate because in an alternate universe the Sixers have Butler and/or Tatum instead of paying Harris $180M, but he's certainly been great for them this year.
 

terrynever

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@terrynever, who watches every Sixer game closely, is saying it has a lot to do with Doc and getting rid of Brett Brown. I never thought BB was all that bad until I listened to the Jimmy Butler conversation on the Old Man & the 3 podcast with JJ Redick.

ALSO, Harris is proving a lot of us wrong, myself included, that mocked that MAX deal. Tobias was decent last year and has been really good this season. He's a nice compliment to Simmons/Embiid. Hoping the Celtics can draw them in the playoffs, a lot of storylines with Doc, recent and distant history.
Very funny, @benhogan! I pick my spots. NBA ebbs and flows are too hard on older fans. The playoffs will kill me if Philly gets too deep.

People can debate all they want about Harris’s numbers but what Doc has done is made these guys work as a team. They play to their strengths. Philly has weaknesses, too, that opposing teams can exploit. Like Curry on defense and even Danny Green when he’s not picking pockets. I have enjoyed the recent defensive uptick by Philly more than about anything else this season. Simmons, Embiid, even Tobias. Thybulle off the bench, pairing with Simmons. Doc has some tricks he can employ in the playoffs, too.

Brett Brown was a Pop disciple, worked many years in SA before coming to Philly. But having to tank for several seasons cost him his credibility with his players, and with Philly hoop fans. You can complain all you want about Philly fans but they know hoops. High school, college and pros.
 

Kliq

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The people who are fascinated by Poku are going to lose their minds when they see Chet Holmgren.
 

Jimbodandy

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The people who are fascinated by Poku are going to lose their minds when they see Chet Holmgren.
Ha. My son showed me some of his videos a few months back. Yeah fascinating guy to watch. Looks like he needs to carry around rolls of quarters in his pockets on windy days though.
 

Kliq

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Ha. My son showed me some of his videos a few months back. Yeah fascinating guy to watch. Looks like he needs to carry around rolls of quarters in his pockets on windy days though.
I was shocked when I saw that the #1 recruit in the country was a white guy named Chet. Is the 2022 draft expected to be a solid recruiting class? How big of a prospect is Chet compared to like, Anthony Edwards, or James Wiseman? @nighthob
 

Jimbodandy

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I was shocked when I saw that the #1 recruit in the country was a white guy named Chet. Is the 2022 draft expected to be a solid recruiting class? How big of a prospect is Chet compared to like, Anthony Edwards, or James Wiseman? @nighthob
He seems a hell of a lot more athletic and skilled than Poku to my uneducated eyes, but it was a highlights video.
 

Kliq

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He seems a hell of a lot more athletic and skilled than Poku to my uneducated eyes, but it was a highlights video.
I agree, I wonder if Holmgren would be better in the NBA right this second than Poku is right now?
 

HomeRunBaker

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Very funny, @benhogan! I pick my spots. NBA ebbs and flows are too hard on older fans. The playoffs will kill me if Philly gets too deep.

People can debate all they want about Harris’s numbers but what Doc has done is made these guys work as a team. They play to their strengths. Philly has weaknesses, too, that opposing teams can exploit. Like Curry on defense and even Danny Green when he’s not picking pockets. I have enjoyed the recent defensive uptick by Philly more than about anything else this season. Simmons, Embiid, even Tobias. Thybulle off the bench, pairing with Simmons. Doc has some tricks he can employ in the playoffs, too.

Brett Brown was a Pop disciple, worked many years in SA before coming to Philly. But having to tank for several seasons cost him his credibility with his players, and with Philly hoop fans. You can complain all you want about Philly fans but they know hoops. High school, college and pros.
Why would Philly players or fans lose respect for Brown? He wasn’t the one tanking.....that was the front office. I can see the players being tired of hearing Brown after several years of all the losing but not sure how that affect the fans view of him.

If you have more insight into this I’d be interested to hear it.
 

Kliq

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In the NBA in particular I think there are coaches that serve different roles as teams progress over the years. There are certain coaches, Nate McMillan comes to mind, who do well at developing younger players but can only take a team so far and are not necessarily cut-out for the day-to-day adjustments necessary to win in the playoffs. Dwane Casey would be another. Brown strikes me as one of those coaches, someone who was solid at developing their young players but strategically wasn't cut out to get the most out of the team in the playoffs. Doc Rivers on the other hand, is more of a "championship or bust" kind of coach, the kind of guy you bring in with an experienced roster that is ready to win immediately.

Coaches are asked to serve different roles depending on the prospects of the franchise. A rebuilding team that might be tanking or integrating young players is probably more focused on a coach who will develop younger players and set up a culture that provokes personal growth and skill development. An established team might not need that; instead they might need a coach who can make adjustments during the playoffs, or also manage the egos and roles of established star players. It's two different jobs, and someone like Brett Brown was being asked to do both and I don't think he was cut out to do the second half of it.
 

terrynever

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Why would Philly players or fans lose respect for Brown? He wasn’t the one tanking.....that was the front office. I can see the players being tired of hearing Brown after several years of all the losing but not sure how that affect the fans view of him.

If you have more insight into this I’d be interested to hear it.
What Kliq said. But Philly fans got tired of paying top dollar for tickets as the tanking years continued. Ticket prices did not get reduced, not by the team. Secondary market, for sure.

In hindsight, fans support tanking because it got them Embiid and Simmons. Brett Brown was the blood sacrifice.
 

nighthob

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I was shocked when I saw that the #1 recruit in the country was a white guy named Chet. Is the 2022 draft expected to be a solid recruiting class? How big of a prospect is Chet compared to like, Anthony Edwards, or James Wiseman? @nighthob
The '22 Draft was supposed to be the double draft before the NBA slammed the breaks on it. But by the time they put the kibosh on the double draft a few of the class of '21s better players had reclassified to the class of '20 so that they could hit the '21 draft instead. So it took some of the starch out of the '21 recruiting class. Holmgren is really athletic for a seven footer. But there's obviously the question of how much of the athleticism carries after he adds 50-60 pounds.

He's a safer bet than most of the skinny white centers you see at draft time because he is so athletic, Dragan Bender he ain't. My favorite '22 Draft guy is Adrian Griffin Jr.. I wish Boston had a way to land him. Always loved his old man, and AJ is as heady as his dad, but a lot more athletic to boot. I'd say his floor was elite 3&D player with a non-zero chance of becoming a full three level scorer and three position defender.
 

BigSoxFan

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The '22 Draft was supposed to be the double draft before the NBA slammed the breaks on it. But by the time they put the kibosh on the double draft a few of the class of '21s better players had reclassified to the class of '20 so that they could hit the '21 draft instead. So it took some of the starch out of the '21 recruiting class. Holmgren is really athletic for a seven footer. But there's obviously the question of how much of the athleticism carries after he adds 50-60 pounds.

He's a safer bet than most of the skinny white centers you see at draft time because he is so athletic, Dragan Bender he ain't. My favorite '22 Draft guy is Adrian Griffin Jr.. I wish Boston had a way to land him. Always loved his old man, and AJ is as heady as his dad, but a lot more athletic to boot. I'd say his floor was elite 3&D player with a non-zero chance of becoming a full three level scorer and three position defender.
Chet is one of the more fascinating prospects in a long while. He is very skilled and athletic but he might literally be the skinniest basketball player I've ever seen. His game appears tailor made for the new NBA so perhaps the weight issue won't impact him as much but I just don't know what to make of him yet. Really looking forward to seeing him next year. I think he has the talent to have an AD-style frosh year. But I also expect him to snap a leg every time he moves so who knows.
 

benhogan

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The '22 Draft was supposed to be the double draft before the NBA slammed the breaks on it. But by the time they put the kibosh on the double draft a few of the class of '21s better players had reclassified to the class of '20 so that they could hit the '21 draft instead. So it took some of the starch out of the '21 recruiting class. Holmgren is really athletic for a seven footer. But there's obviously the question of how much of the athleticism carries after he adds 50-60 pounds.

He's a safer bet than most of the skinny white centers you see at draft time because he is so athletic, Dragan Bender he ain't. My favorite '22 Draft guy is Adrian Griffin Jr.. I wish Boston had a way to land him. Always loved his old man, and AJ is as heady as his dad, but a lot more athletic to boot. I'd say his floor was elite 3&D player with a non-zero chance of becoming a full three level scorer and three position defender.
His brother Alan Griffin declared and will be available as a UFA this summer. G-League awaits him.
 

TripleOT

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Chet is one of the more fascinating prospects in a long while. He is very skilled and athletic but he might literally be the skinniest basketball player I've ever seen. His game appears tailor made for the new NBA so perhaps the weight issue won't impact him as much but I just don't know what to make of him yet. Really looking forward to seeing him next year. I think he has the talent to have an AD-style frosh year. But I also expect him to snap a leg every time he moves so who knows.
Have you watched Poku on OKC this season?

I’ve watched Holgrem in a few games and he’s pretty tough for a twig.
 

BigSoxFan

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Have you watched Poku on OKC this season?

I’ve watched Holgrem in a few games and he’s pretty tough for a twig.
Yeah, I was similarly skeptical of Poky so I think Holmgren has a shot since he’s basically a better, more athletic version. He does seem to have a mean streak to him, which I like.
 

TripleOT

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Yeah, I was similarly skeptical of Poky so I think Holmgren has a shot since he’s basically a better, more athletic version. He does seem to have a mean streak to him, which I like.
He’s a dog, which is very rare in a young beanpole big. His HS teammate Jalen Suggs was a good mentor on how to compete.
 

HomeRunBaker

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In the NBA in particular I think there are coaches that serve different roles as teams progress over the years. There are certain coaches, Nate McMillan comes to mind, who do well at developing younger players but can only take a team so far and are not necessarily cut-out for the day-to-day adjustments necessary to win in the playoffs. Dwane Casey would be another. Brown strikes me as one of those coaches, someone who was solid at developing their young players but strategically wasn't cut out to get the most out of the team in the playoffs. Doc Rivers on the other hand, is more of a "championship or bust" kind of coach, the kind of guy you bring in with an experienced roster that is ready to win immediately.

Coaches are asked to serve different roles depending on the prospects of the franchise. A rebuilding team that might be tanking or integrating young players is probably more focused on a coach who will develop younger players and set up a culture that provokes personal growth and skill development. An established team might not need that; instead they might need a coach who can make adjustments during the playoffs, or also manage the egos and roles of established star players. It's two different jobs, and someone like Brett Brown was being asked to do both and I don't think he was cut out to do the second half of it.
Yes I understand all of this including him being the sacrifical lamb I just didn’t know if there was something else to where he would lose credibility with the players and fans as terry said. If anyone would lose credibility it would be the front office for putting that product on the floor year after year.
 

coremiller

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Steph Curry missed 5 games in March with a bruised tailbone. In the 10 games he's played since he returned, he's on an all-time hot streak, averaging 39.1 ppg on .739 TS%, including shooting 48.6% on 14 3PA/G.

There have only been 25 times a player has made 11+ threes in a game. Curry has 11 of those games, including two his last three.
Curry goes for another 49 tonight against Philly, shooting 10-17 from 3, including several down the stretch in the fourth quarter to break Philly's back.

Amazingly, that's the fourth time in the last five games Curry's made 10+ 3s.
 

AlNipper49

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Curry is ridiculous. I kind of only follow the NBA because of vestigial Celtics fandom but here I am watching Curry on garbage ESPN. He’s beyond elite. He may not be the greatest player of all time but he’s the best, if that makes sense.
 

azsoxpatsfan

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Most 10+ 3 games in nba history:

jr Smith, harden, Lillard: 3

klay: 5

curry: 21, including 6 this year and 4 in the last 5 games