THE 5 IS ALIVE

Respect For Those Who Go Hard In The Paint

[thefiveisalive]

The New Bernard King of New York, Julius Randle

Big man with a handle, a jumper, and dominant around the rim who’s carrying the Knicks back to the playoffs after years of disappointment? Julius Randle is the new Bernard King, people.

From Brian Lewis of the NY Post:

Getting voted onto the All-Star team, and the Skills Challenge that precedes it, are individual honors. Randle, however, earned them because of the way he has stepped into a leadership role for the young, inexperienced Knicks, often carrying them on his extra-large shoulders.

“Absolutely I embrace it. I work for it. I challenge myself and push myself to be able to do it on a nightly basis. I know I still have a long way to go and I can get a lot better as well,” Randle said.

“But I definitely think I’ve grown as a leader. I definitely think I’m a person on our team that leads by example with how I approach how I work. I care about my teammates. I definitely think it’s something that guys look to me every night to bring my game a certain way. I try to the best of my ability to do that.”

Randle has enjoyed a breakthrough campaign. He enters the All-Star Game averaging 23.2 points, 11.1 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 40.8 shooting from 3-point range — all career-bests.

“This guy is going crazy this year, first-time All-Star,” Kevin Durant said of Randle when he picked the Knicks forward for his Team Durant to face Team LeBron.

Hopefully this big man (6′8, 249) can keep pushing the surprising Knicks in the second half of the season and take them not only to a playoff berth but maybe a first round knockout of a member of the East’s weak middle class. New York would go bananas.

[thefiveisalive]

He’s Still the MVP: Don’t Forget About Giannis

Lot of talk about Joel Embiid for MVP, or LeBron, or Steph — even James Harden and Kevin Durant’s names are in the mix. Let’s not forget about the reigning two-time Most Valuable Player and the 2019-20 Defensive Player of the Year, however, a certain Mr. Giannis Antetokounmpo, currently third in the NBA in fourth quarter scoring and facing his opponents’ best defenders on a nightly basis.

"I feel like it's greatness," Antetokounmpo told ESPN’s Ohm Youngmisuk. "When you go against the best in the world down the stretch and you are trying to get a stop and they are trying to score on you to win the game, it's greatness developing at that moment."

Giannis is currently averaging 29 points, 11.7 rebounds, and 5.9 assists this season. He’s posted 5.8 win shares and leads the league in offensive boards. Milwaukee is 22-14, two games behind East-leading Philadelphia. In honor of the Greek Beast, check out his highlights from the first half of this season.

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The Guardian on Nikola Jokic: “The Serb was an afterthought when he was drafted in 2014. Since then he has helped evolve a position that some thought was becoming obsolete”

When you get European progressives worked up about a 6′11 Serb and it’s not about war crimes, you know you’re onto something important is happening! The Guardian’s Andrew Lawrence weighed in on Big Nik late last week:

Averaging an eye-popping 27.1 points, 11.0 rebounds and 8.6 assists through Thursday, Jokić has been the triggerman for a Nuggets offense that has been top five in the NBA for much of the season and best-in-show in the eight games through the Milwaukee contest. More to the point: unlike his teammate Jamal Murray, who cooled down from his supernova streak in last season’s bubble, Jokić has stayed plenty hot enough to keep Denver in the playoff hunt. So it figures that when the NBA All-Star game tips off on Sunday, Jokić, the league’s leader in efficiency, will make his third career appearance – this time as a starter for Team LeBron.

There’s some great back story here, too:

You figure a guy like Jokić must have been hard to miss as a kid, and he was in a sense. Growing up in Serbia, Jokić was less pick-and-roll than roly-poly, a 300lbs teen who downed three liters of Coca-Cola per day and dabbled in soccer and volleyball before falling into a basketball career in European leagues and dazzling as a passer. And though his lack of muscle definition and athleticism turned off NBA talent evaluators, who dismissed Jokić as a “soft Serbian” in the mold of Darko Miličić, Jokić nonetheless played well enough to earn a lucrative offer from FC Barcelona. But just before sealing the deal he played one of his worst-ever games, and the offer was snatched off the table.

That opened the door for the Nuggets to take him 41st overall in 2014 in what might be one of the most slept-on draft picks ever. There was no bear-hugging the commissioner on stage or boisterous reaction shot with the family at home. There was just his name on a sports ticker during a Taco Bell commercial. Jokic himself had to be woken up by his older brother when the news broke, which should provide some sense of the laid-back personality we’re dealing with. Beat reporters didn’t even realize they were mispronouncing his name until Orlando’s Nikola Vučević pointed it out before his first All-Star appearance in 2019. “I just don’t care,” Jokić told a bewildered media gaggle, “because I don’t wanna, like, fix you guys.” Nor does he seem to mind sharing a nickname, Joker, with another of Serbia’s sporting heroes, Novak Djokovic.

Check out the full article, very much worth a read.

[thefiveisalive]

He’s Not Wrong: Joel Embiid “Dominates” Myles Turner

Earlier this season, Pacers big man Myles Turner noted that he needed to prove his defensive chops against the top fives in the league - specifically, guys like Joel Embiid - to solidify his argument as the dominant defensive giant in the NBA.  It has not gone well for him, and it got worse early last week.  From SI’s Michael Shapiro: Joel Embiid and the 76ers cruised to a 130-114 victory over the Pacers on Monday (March 1) night, and Philadelphia's center added some insult to injury postgame. 

"He's a great player and I have a lot of respect for him," Embiid said in reference to Pacers center Myles Turner. "I say this respectfully, that's a matchup that I have dominated since I got to the league."

Embiid isn't necessarily wrong in his assessment. He tallied 24 points and 13 rebounds on Sunday, and he's now averaging 28.4 points and 12.6 rebounds per game in 10 career matchups against Indiana's center. Turner has averaged just 8.2 points per game in those contests.

Turner is no slouch in the frontcourt. He's on pace to lead the NBA in blocks for the second time in three years, and he's a career 34.8 percent shooter from three. The Texas product gets the best of plenty of centers around the league. Embiid is a different story.

Get him next time, Myles!  😬

[thefiveisalive]

Our man JoJo has been unreal this season, averaging 29.7 PPG, 10.8 RPG and 1.2 BPG. He's the number one reason why the number five is back in the NBA. In a league packed with skilled, exciting big men, there's none more consequential than the Cameroonian cement mixer (although some in the Mile High City may disagree). Let's celebrate our man from Kansas with a look at his dopest moves of the season.

[thefiveisalive]

Clint Capela Has Himself A Game In 132-121 Hawks Win Over Raptors

Ten-of-13 from the field for 23 points, 16 boards, and four blocks: that’s a strong line for Hawks big Clint Capela (6′10!) in a 132-121 win over visiting Toronto. Consider this tweet from Atlanta play-by-play man Mike Conti:

Clint Capela's last nine games: 14.4 ppg, 16.3 rpg, 3.4 bpg (Tied a Hawks franchise record tonight with his 19th consecutive 10+ rebound game)

That’s serious glass work, friends. The Hawks (11-12), who wore the sharp MLK unis tonight, are in first place in the Southeast Division and are right in the thick of the East playoff race.

[jcamilov06]

SIXERS WIN!!!

[thefiveisalive]

Knicks’ Julius Randle Posts 22, Leads New York to 110-99 Win Over Portland

The trade rumors are flying around MSG these days, and Julius Randle — the team leader in ppg (22.6), rebounds (10.9), assists (6.0), and minutes (36.8), according to RealGM.com — is allegedly in the middle of those conversations. 

That’s all talk until something happens, of course, and for now, the 6′8, 250-lb. forward in his second season in the Big Apple continues to lead this really interesting Knicks team. The former Laker and Pelican dropped 22 and grabbed 11 boards against the visiting Trailblazers on Saturday to lift New York to an 11-point win over Portland. 

“We feel like we have a good shot to win every night,'' Randle told Dennis Gorman of The Associated Press after the game. ''We feel like we can get even better. We have a lot of guys who can bring (a lot of) different things to the table.''

The Knicks are now 11-13 and sixth (!) in the East.

[thefiveisalive]

Fifty’s Not Enough For Joker & Nuggets, Fall To Surging Kings

Respect to Sacramento Kings big man (6′10) Richaun Holmes — despite getting absolutely worked on the defensive end by Denver MVP candidate / big man extraordinaire Nikola Jokic, who hung 50 on Richaun and the Kings Saturday afternoon, Holmes posted a 21 | 10 and finished +6. His team got the win, 119-114, giving Sacto its third straight victory and sixth in their last 10, getting the squad back to .500.

But Jokic: sweet Jesus. The Joker went for 50 (his career high) and added 12 assists with an amazing arsenal of post moves, precision passing, and slick shooting. Jokic went 20-for-33 from the floor (61%) and carried the team on a night when lanky big Michael Porter, Jr. struggled from the field and both Jamal Murray and Gary Harris were out with injuries. 

Jokic’s 50 points are the fourth-most scored in a game this season (his 47-point game against the Jazz last week is the fifth) but he’s still a little off from the Denver record for single-game scoring, still held by David Thompson and his 73-point effort (also in a loss!) against Detroit way back in 1978. Let’s hope Big Nik doesn’t make the same mistakes Skywalker made.

[thefiveisalive]

Luka Doncic: Bad Idea to Laugh at A Champ

Sure, Luka may be the Next One. His numbers this season — 27.2 | 8.9 | 9.6 — would be worthy of MVP consideration if, you know, the Mavericks didn’t suck.

And they do suck. The Mavs are are 9-13, losers of seven of their last 10, and taking on water in an absolutely loaded Western Conference. With the exception of the lowly T-Wolves, no one in the West has been worse than Dallas over the past few weeks. Doncic is getting called out by Zach Lowe for his shitty whining, forcing Mark Cuban to toss f-bombs at Zach Lowe — this wasn’t how the season was supposed to go, baby!

It’s not getting better The Mavs collapsed like a wet cake in the fourth quarter on Thursday night (and national television), getting slapped 147-116 by the likes of Kelly Oubre (who dropped 40) and Damion Lee (who called Luka a “little ass boy”):

That’s kind of Luka’s own fault — you poke the bear called karma and that’s what happens. You see, Luka laughed at Draymond Green — the littlest big man at 6′6 — after The Dancing Bear argued a foul call late in the second quarter. Laughed at a three-time All-Star; laughed at a former Defensive POY; laughed at a three-time NBA champion. Absolutely terrible idea. Draymond finished the game with 11 points, 15 rebounds and his dignity. Luka left the court with 27 | 6 | 6, a game-low -28, and never-to-be-forgotten footage of journeyman Damion Lee taking him to the rack and calling him a little-ass boy. Don’t laugh at Draymond Green.

[thefiveisalive]

Think LeBron is the MVP? Bill Reiter Says Not So Fast

Should LeBron James be the MVP this season? Dwayne Wade thinks so. “I feel like this is the best LeBron I’ve ever seen,” he told Gilbert Arenas on the No Chill podcast, according to Heavy.com. Vegas also thinks LeBron is the odds on favorite, writes Gilbert Gallant. The Ringer’s Dan Devine described him as “the best player in the world, still, and maybe a better bet to snag that fifth MVP trophy than we might’ve thought before the start of the season.” The Athletic’s Jovan Buha makes a strong argument: “He hasn’t missed much of a beat, if one at all, from last season, when he was the MVP runner-up. He’s averaging more points and rebounds on a per-possession basis. His 3-point percentage has jumped up to a career-best mark on a career high in attempts. He appears to mostly be as engaged defensively as he was last season. Overall, it seems reasonable to suggest he’s the early MVP front-runner, or a top-three candidate at least, especially if the Lakers eventually regain their footing with the best record in the West.”

Sounds good to us! Especially when you consider years like 2011, when he lost to D-Rose; 2008, when Kobe beat him out; and even last season, when Giannis won his second in a row — cases could be made in each of those seasons that The King deserved the win. The guy’s won four MVPs, a case could be made he should’ve won six in a row, and not a season passes when he shouldn’t be in the conversation (2019 excepted). We’ll always root for the biggest of big men.

But here’s the thing, says Bill Reiter of CBS Sports — even though LBJ deserved more MVP consideration in seasons past, don’t use it as a reason to deny, say, The Joker or Joel Embiid. 

He writes:

LeBron's stats this season are, as always, otherworldly, and his impact -- the "value" he brings to his team -- cannot be argued. He's averaging 25.0 points, 7.7 rebounds and 7.5 assists while shooting 49 percent from the field and making almost 41 percent of his 3-point shots.

It's the "most" in MVP that should still very much be up for debate this year. The present makes a strong case for guys like Embiid or Jokic, at least so far. It's the past that's the problem. ...

There's a domino effect of past regrets causing new mistakes, and then those mistakes cascading forward, right here into 2021. Michael Jordan should have won many more MVPs than he did. Perhaps, knowing that, some voters didn't want to rush to crown LeBron too soon. Then Curry arrived. Then Giannis arrived. And suddenly, here we are, LeBron James again the best player on Earth, and many NBA writers -- and, one could argue, a particular network -- are already ramping up the "LeBron for MVP!" hype machine 20-some games into the season.

It feels a lot like a make-good for past regrets. It's an understandable sentiment, but it's not worthy of the award itself, nor what's actually happening so far this season.

This is a very interesting way of explaining how good someone is.

Let's slow that down. LeBron may win this award come the season's end. He may deserve it. And there have certainly been past mistakes, as happens, that have shorted LeBron in the past. But there's no going back, and no correcting what we got wrong (Westbrook!) way back before. All that does is compound the problem, and push it down the line.

I see what he’s saying here, but — well, maybe I don’t. Is he saying LeBron may deserve to be MVP, but shouldn’t win, because it would be seen as a make-up MVP?

Embiid's 28.3 points and 11.1 rebounds per game are remarkable. He and Jokic have nearly historic player efficiency ratings. And most telling -- most "valuable" -- the 76ers are 0-4 without their big man and 15-2 with him. He's the reason they lead the Eastern Conference.

Judging someone’s MVP candidacy based on the games they don’t play is pretty dumb. Should Steph Curry have won the MVP last year, then? The Warriors sucked without him.

Speaking of Jokic, the Nuggets big man is putting up 26.8/11.8/8.6, while playing markedly improved defense and helping Denver keep pace in a crowded Western Conference.

Kevin Durant is on fire. And with so much time left, guys from Kawhi Leonard to Damian Lillard to Curry could very, very easily push their way into real contention.

This year's MVP race is going to be close, competitive and come down to the wire. Things can, and almost surely will change. But let's stop with the this-is-LeBron's-award-to-lose-and-all-other-possible-challengers-are-futile silliness.

Is anyone saying that? We’re here for the big men, not the straw men, Bill. Let’s not find reasons to besmirch the GOAT’s hypothetical MVP before the season is, you know, even half over.

[thefiveisalive]

He Goes Hard In The Paint: Zion Williamson Takes It To The Suns

Zion Williamson is putting it together: the stout big man scored 28 points on a cool 12-of-14 shooting (including a 3!) in the Pelicans’ 123-101 victory over the Suns.

"I told Zion at the end of the game that it was by far his best game of the year, if we're taking both ends of the floor," New Orleans coach Stan Van Gundy told ESPN’s Andrew Lopez. "That was by far his best defense I have seen him play. He covered a lot of ground. He worked really hard."

Chris Conner of The Bird Writes focused on Zion’s ability to move the ball around, as well:

Coaches have been on Zion lately about his playmaking...we’ve seen the performances he is capable of as a distributor throughout his career. 

...(The) results are starting to show up. January provided the best assist for any month in Williamson’s career at 2.8. While that isn’t necessarily eye-popping, there’s something else that must be paid attention. After a career high seven-assist performance last Friday versus Milwaukee, Williamson’s six dishes against the Suns ranks second in the 43 games the 2nd year phenom has suited up for.

...(When) Williamson is showing his all-around game (he even made a three) and competing consistently on defense, there may only be a handful of players right now more dangerous.

And, of course, he buried a few sick alley-oops as well. It should be noted that fellow N.O. big man Brandon Ingram dropped a 23 | 4 | 6. If these two get on the same page at the same time, the Pelicans will have a pair of big ballers indeed.

[thefiveisalive]

21-Point Buck: Giannis Racks Up Triple Double, Milwaukee Gives Myles Turner and the Pacers the Hooves in 130-110 Win

Pity Myles Turner: last week, the Pacers’ centertalked about the need to play Joel Embiid tough to prove his defensive chops, and JoJo proceeded to sit out a 119-110 Sixers loss in which Myles scored nine points, collected five rebounds and finished -5. Missed opportunity! 

Then, earlier today, in anticipation of tonight’s Bucks-Pacers matchup, ESPN published a story titled “Pacers Center Myles Turner wants to unseat Giannis Antetokounmpo as the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year.” Writer Eric Woodyard notes that Turner is averaging 3.9 blocks per game and his presence has Indiana playing league-best defense when he’s on the court. He’s more mature, in better shape, and has the endorsement of teammate Bobby Portis. Looking good!

Then reality strikes.

Ouch. 

From Wheat Hotchkiss at Pacers.com:

The rested Bucks jumped out in front early on Wednesday, racing out to a 21-10 lead behind a hot start from beyond the 3-point arc. (Pacers C Domantis) Sabonis scored seven points in the opening frame, but Milwaukee took a 29-21 lead into the second quarter.

Antetokounmpo and the Bucks blew the game open in the ensuing frame. The two-time MVP had nine points and three assists in the first half of the second quarter and Milwaukee used a 20-5 run to open up a 57-35 lead with 5:32 remaining before halftime. ...

Anteotkounmpo finished with a team-high 21 points for Milwaukee, going 7-for-8 from both the field and the free throw line, grabbing 14 rebounds, and dishing out 10 assists.

And Turner? Myles finished with two points, two rebounds, one block and a GODDAMN -32 in 22 minutes. 

Defensive player of the year? Maybe not quite yet.

[thefiveisalive]

What Can You Say? Anthony Davis Does It All In Win Over Hawks

It’s no surprise that Anthony Davis is an absolute problem for opposing teams, even for an outfit like the up-and-coming Hawks. Atlanta boasts a front court featuring young, athletic bigs like Clint Capela (6′10), Danilo Gallinari (6′10), John Collins (6′9), De’Andre Hunter (6′8), Cam Reddish (6′8), and Onyeka Okongwu (6′8) — enough to cause any squad fits when these colts are running in tandem.

Hunter and Okongwu both missed Monday’s Lakers-Hawks matchup with injuries (providing a rare opportunity for 6′9 Maryland product Bruno Fernando to get double-digit minutes). Unfortunately for the home team, AD — a low-key MVP candidate — did not. 

The Brow scored 25 points with a lovely combination of dunks and mid-range jumpers, shooting a tidy 10-of-14 from the floor, and pitching in on defense by clogging the passing lines, initiating the break, and — on one memorable occasion — blocking the shit out of a very surprised Capela. All part of a 107-99 win for the Lake Show, now third in the Western Conference and sniffing around that top spot.

[thefiveisalive]

Hollinger: Jokic and Embiid Are Dominating The League

The entire reason this blog exists is to extoll the virtues of big men in an NBA world dedicated to small ball. Looks like we were right on the curve: big men are putting their stamp on the league this season in a way we haven't seen since the days of Shaq, Dikembe, and 'Zo.

From The Athletic's John Hollinger:

Remember when we thought that big men were becoming extinct? That was cute.

It turns out that really tall dudes still have an advantage in basketball. The first sign that maybe the big man profession wasn’t quite as endangered as we thought came in the 2020 playoffs, when dominating two-way postseason efforts from Anthony Davis and Bam Adebayo fueled the Finals collision between the Lakers and Heat.

Those two are still playing at an extremely high level and should waltz into the All-Star Game … and yet they aren’t even going to sniff the MVP race because of how two other big men have played.

Put simply, Nikola Jokic and Joel Embiid are dominating the league right now. They are first and second in the NBA in PER, and, in fact, Jokic and Embiid are threatening the all-time PER record set by Giannis Antetokounmpo a year ago. The usually “it’s early” caveats apply and maybe each won’t be able to sustain a level quite this exalted all season, but the big-picture takeaway is the same: it’s a two-way MVP race right now, and these two bigs are way ahead of the perimeter crowd.

"Big men haven’t gone away," Hollinger notes, "but their functions have changed quite a bit. Just hammering your center in beastball post-ups against the other team’s center isn’t a great way to live, although Jokic and Embiid are good enough to occasionally score this way."

Exactly. That's one of the points we've wanted to make with T5ISA is that the modern big man comes in many forms: long like Kristaps, squat like Randle, thick like JoJo, and doughy like the Joker. We love the dive bombers like Clint Capela, and the snipers like KD.

Davis and Adebayo showed the way in the 2020 postseason, boasting inside-outside games that featured dribbling, passing a lot more than displays of raw power. This season, Embiid and Jokic are taking it to another level. No, the big man hasn’t gone away. The game is just demanding different things from them, and we’re starting to see the best ones adapt and flourish.

Damn straight, John, my man.

[thefiveisalive]

Tobias Harris, All Star? Yeah, Maybe

Tobias Harris is looking alright this season. I actually liked this guy a lot back when he was with Orlando — he’s the type of player I always like, big guy with (theoretically) the total package of size, skill, and shot-making ability — but it never quite seemed to completely gel (although I think he’s taken more shit than he’s deserved at times, as well). 

Our guy is averaging 19.9 | 6.9 | 2.8 this season, shoots 47% from three, currently has the highest PER of his career (18.5), 1.6 win shares, and a true shooting percentage of .608. His team is 15-6  and he’s a big reason why they’re leading the East.

From Sixers Wire:

“Me for myself, I’ve always just been about winning and letting that handle itself, but I’ve been playing consistently at an All-Star level every now and then,” said Harris with a smile. “I want to always to move on, but in the past, I’ve had a couple of times where I felt like I should have been there, and didn’t make it. So that would be my little pitch.”

Hell of a sales job. We’re rooting for you, Tobias.

[thefiveisalive]

More Joker: Nikola Jokic Drops 47, Nuggets Snap Utah’s 11-Game Run

Feel like we’ve been writing about Nikola Jokic a lot lately, but how can we avoid it? The Joker’s been unreal. He was back at it again tonight, posting a cool 47 | 12 | 5 on Big Rudy and the Jazz in a 128-117 victory, snapping Utah’s 11-game win streak and dropping the Salt Lakers back into second place into the Western Conference.

This one wasn’t even close. The Nuggets led by as many as 28 and outscored the Jazz in the paint 48-34. Jokic was 12-for-17 in the lane, and went 4-for-4 from three. Not too bad. Gobert went 12 | 8 with a -15. Game, set, match, Joker.

Let’s put this performance in context with some help from Steve Richards of ESPN:

Jokic and the Nuggets roared out of the gates, with the Joker scoring 22 points in the first quarter and 33 before intermission. Jokic's 33 first-half points were his most ever in a half and the most in the first half of an NBA game this season. It also was the highest-scoring first half by a Nuggets player since Allen Iverson scored 33 on Dec. 5, 2007, according to ESPN Stats & Information research.

Entering Sunday, only two players had scored at least 33 points against the Jazz for an entire game this season: Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jokic himself on Jan. 17, both scoring 35.

In addition to his 47 points (on 17-of-26 shooting), Jokic had 12 rebounds for his 20th straight double-double to start the season, the second-longest such stretch since the NBA/ABA merger, according to ESPN Stats & Information research. Antetokounmpo did it in 19 straight games to start last season. Jokic has a way to go to reach the best mark, however, as Bill Walton had a double-double in 34 straight games to start the 1976-77 season.

When you’re in the same conversation as AI and Grateful Red, you know you’re on an MVP track. Keep throwing it down, big man. The Nuggets (12-8) have the Pistons at home tomorrow night before traveling to L.A. for a marquee matchup with the Lakers on Thursday.