Step Back, 5 notes from the NBA week: episode 2
Second episode of the new Dunkest column: this time we’ll talk about Splash Brothers, LaMelo Ball, Jalen Brunson, Kevin Love, and Khris Middleton
We’ve selected five points about the just-passed NBA week.
After a timeout, nobody scores like the Splash Brothers
Attention to detail in the NBA makes a difference: the Warriors know this as they have magnified their work after timeouts in the last decade, as shown by the ranking of the most productive from ATO situations. First is Steph Curry and second is Klay Thompson: brothers even in this.
LaMelo Ball’s season never started
In the NBA for 4 years, with great potential, but still far from being that talent capable of consistently making an impact: blame the injuries – 58 games played in the last two regular seasons – but the question marks around LaMelo Ball continue to increase.
Brunson’s 61 points came without free throws
The second-best all-time performance for a Knicks player achieved by Jalen Brunson came attempting fewer than 10 free throws – only Steph Curry and Rick Barry had done so in NBA history. With a couple more trips to the free-throw line, he would have surpassed Melo too, a shame.
Miami misses Kevin Love’s three-pointers
Without the injured Kevin Love, Miami is searching for a big man capable of scoring from beyond the arc, but Thomas Bryant hasn’t confirmed the promise he showed in the Orlando bubble in 2020: his 3/18 from three-point range doesn’t worry opposing defenses.
Middleton’s midrange changes the Bucks’ offense
In an offense that can rely on Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard, they needed someone to create an extra option in an unexplored area in the NBA: the midrange. The answer is Khris Middleton’s ample 57%, a bargain for the Bucks.”