NBA Starting 5, Oct. 17: Tatum Gets Us Emotional
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Everything you need to know about last night. Everything big on the way today.
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What’s Inside?
- SGA vs. Dame: Ball & Bars ✍️
- Monday Standouts ⭐
- Jayson Tatum: NBA & Dad Life ♥️
- Preseason Roundup
- Bring It Home Debuts ️
Quote Of The Day: Jayson Tatum
“There are days when I am waking up at 6:30 am to get up and get him dressed and ready for school, regardless of my responsibilities for the day, because I know how important it is to him for me to take him to school.”
Jayson Tatum: How Dad Life Changes When The Season Starts
Editor’s Note: Throughout the 2023-24 season, special guest contributors will pop in to give you takes on the game that only they can give.
And with a new season on the way, who better to join than 4-time All-Star Jayson Tatum – one of the NBA’s most famous dads – agreed to talk with us about how life with Deuce changes when the offseason ends.
Just a warning. Prepare to have your heart warmed.
What are the most dramatic ways your life changes when you go from off-season to in-season?
Honestly, in a way, it’s less traveling and more structured. Summertime is often more hectic than the season because at least in season there is a schedule, whether it’s chaotic or not you know when trips are coming. Summertime I have camps, brand & charity events. I want to go back to St. Louis to see family and take some vacation. Between business and pleasure, last-minute things just seem to come up.
What are some of the ways being a dad changes when the season picks up?
Well, now Deuce is in school, so there are days when I am waking up at 6:30 am to get up and get him dressed and ready for school, regardless of my responsibilities for the day because I know how important it is to him for me to take him to school. Being a dad is the most important thing to me, so no matter what my schedule is, I will always find time to spend with him and some of my favorite memories come from our car rides.
As a dad, what are the things you appreciate most about more time with Deuce in the offseason?
Off-season is best for vacations and going back home to St. Louis with Deuce. The offseason is a time when we get to go out the country, go to the beach and swim all day as he loves to do. It’s a great feeling as a parent knowing that I can help provide the things for my son and show him the world in a way that I didn’t get to as a child. Also taking him back home and having him around my basketball camps as well as the back to school giveaways and golf event for my foundation. It is important to me that he is a part of giving back to the community even at a young age.
What do you find that you miss the most with Deuce when the season gets going?
Tough thing, depending on our schedule, is missing his birthday. There have been a few years when I wasn’t with him for his birthday. Also, not being able to go to every school event and or basketball practice because we are on the road. Even though this is my 7th season, it’s still something that’s not easy to deal with because you never want to miss those things. They grow up so fast.
What are the best parts of being Deuce’s dad in season?
The best part about being his dad in season is the games. That’s something we have really bonded over. He loves watching me play, coming to the game and being in the Garden, running around in the back and playing in the locker room. Just seeing him develop over the years, his personality grows, especially in the Garden, has been amazing to see because we have grown up there together.
What are the ways where you change from offseason to in season? How do you keep focus?
The way I change is that I just become more routine based. During the 9 months that I am in season, I have a set day to day routine that I establish and get into, whereas in summertime things are more flexible and not as scheduled. We can relax and not have to worry so much about time. Even though I love my time with Deuce around basketball, I also really enjoy watching him be a kid and spending time in my mom’s back yard doing things with him that aren’t about basketball.
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Tuesday: 2 Elite Scorers, 2 (Very) Different Styles
Last season, a record 6 players averaged over 30 points per game. 3 of them will share the court on Tuesday when the Thunder host the Bucks (8 pm ET, League Pass).
- Damian Lillard: 32.2 ppg
- Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: 31.4 ppg
- Giannis Antetokounmpo: 31.1 ppg
Keep an eye on the guard matchup between Lillard (entering his 12th NBA season, 1st with Milwaukee) and Gilgeous-Alexander (6th NBA season, 5th in OKC) – to see 2 of the best scorers in the game with 2 very different styles.
- Dame dominated with the 3-point shot as he made (4.2) and attempted (11.3) the most 3s of his career
- SGA has led the NBA in drives each of the past 3 seasons. Last season, he ranked 3rd in points in the paint (15.9 ppg) behind only Giannis and Zion Williamson
- Despite their differences, both were extremely efficient in their own way. Dame (64.5%) and SGA (62.6%) ranked 2nd and 3rd, respectively, among guards in true shooting percentage
- In addition to their scoring prowess on the court, both SGA and Dame are known for their bars off the court. Dame DOLLA just released his 5th album, while SGA drops IG captions so hard people suspect he’s got a ghost writer
2 more key matchups on Tuesday night:
Knicks at Celtics (7:30 pm ET, NBA TV):
- No two teams have met more in the regular season than New York and Boston (300-189 Celtics in the all-time series)
- The most recent matchup was a 2OT win for the Knicks as Immanuel Quickley (38) and Julius Randle (31) combined for 69 points to match the Boston duo of Jayson Tatum (40) and Jaylen Brown (29)
Nuggets at Clippers (10:30 pm ET, ESPN2)
- After you check out the first two episodes of Bring It Home (see Section 5 ⬇️), don’t miss the defending champs as they take on the Clippers on ESPN2
- Since Kawhi Leonard arrived in LA in 2019, he’s posted the highest Net Rating (point differential per 100 possessions) in the league (+10.2). Tonight, he faces last season’s Net Rating leader in Nikola Jokic (+12.5), who also ranks 5th since 2019 (+8.3)
Reminder: Lineups change quickly in the preseason. Stay up to date at the NBA App.
Monday’s Best: Suns Big 3 Make Home Debut
The Suns trio of Devin Booker, Bradley Beal and Kevin Durant made its home debut on Monday against Portland, giving the fans just a taste of what’s to come this season.
- Beal dazzled the crowd with the crossover-to-hesi-to-drive-to-dime as seen above. In his first preseason action in over a week, Beal finished with 11 points, 2 dimes and 2 steals
- Booker and Durant each dropped 19 points on 6 1st half buckets. Booker went to work on the outside (draining 4 3s), while Durant did his damage on the inside (8 points in the paint).
- Take a look at these combined stats from the win: 49 PTS, 14-28 FG, 5-11 3P, 10 AST, 5 REB, 4 STL in 51 MIN
With the 117-106 win over Portland, Phoenix improved to 3-1 on the preseason, including a 2-0 mark when Beal, Book and KD share the court.
Here’s a quick look at the other 5 games from Monday night:
- Pacers 116, Hawks 112: It’s doubtful Rick Carlisle drew it up this flashy, but he’ll take the wide-open 3 after some fancy passing from Tyrese Haliburton and Buddy Hield in the Pacers win
- Rockets 99, Spurs 89: Rookies Amen Thompson and Cam Whitmore each scored 15 points as the Rockets took out the Wemby-less Spurs. Check out these back-to-back possessions from Thompson, starting with a 3 and ending with a transition dunk
- 76ers 127, Nets 119: Kelly Oubre Jr. scored 17 of his 21 points in the first half – including this 3 to beat the halftime buzzer to lead the Sixers; Ben Simmons did a bit of everything (8 PTS, 6 REB, 9 AST, 3 STL) for the Nets
- Cavaliers 120, Maccabi Ra’anana 89: The Cavs got 16 points and 4 3-pointers from Emoni Bates as well as 15 points and one very long 3 from Ty Jerome in the win
- Jazz 114, NZ Breakers 94: Lauri Markkanen posted 15 points and 7 boards in 17 minutes, while John Collins added nine points – none prettier than this spin move into the reverse layup with an And-1
5 Big Things From The Preseason’s 1st 2 Weeks
What has stood out most from the first 12 days of preseason hoops? Here are some of the best moments:
Welcome to the Wemby Show: No. 1 pick Victor Wembanyama didn’t live up to the hype surrounding his preseason debut, he exceeded it in spectacular fashion. He didn’t just go deep into his bag in 2 preseason games — he broke out a full set of luggage.
In case you missed anything, here is every single play from his first 2 games:
- Oct. 9 at OKC: 20 PTS, 8-13 FG, 2-5 3P, 5 REB, 2 STL in 19 MIN
- Oct. 13 vs. Miami: 23 PTS, 10-15 FG, 1-5 3P, 4 REB, 4 AST, 3 BLK in 23 MIN
Familiar Faces in New Places: 2 major deals just before training camp finished the offseason with a bang, landing 2 star point guards with 2 of the top teams in the East.
- Damian Lillard (Blazers ▶️ Bucks): Dame finished with 14 points, 3 dimes and 2 triples in his highly-anticipated Bucks debut next to Giannis on Oct. 15
- Jrue Holiday (Bucks ▶️ Celtics): Jrue may be in a different shade of green, but his impact doesn’t change – he’s plus-14 in 39 preseason minutes
- Bradley Beal (Wizards ▶️ Suns): We’ve seen less than 30 minutes of the Suns’ big 3 of Beal, KD and Book on the court together this preseason, but the offense already looks scary good
- Chris Paul (Suns ▶️ Warriors): 4 of CP3’s 9 assists in his 1st 2 preseason games with Golden State have gone to Steph Curry
- Kristaps Porzingis (Wizards ▶️ Celtics): KP showed off his unicorn game in his Boston debut, dropping 17 points, 5 boards, 2 3s and a block
Rookie Class Showing Out: Wembanyama wasn’t the only rookie to show out, with indications that will not be a 1-man race toward Kia Rookie of the Year
- Chet Holmgren (Thunder): Had an epic duel with Wemby in his preseason debut, finishing with 21 points, 9 boards, and 2 3-pointers in 16 minutes
- Scoot Henderson (Blazers): Has found a nice mix of scoring (13.5 PPG) and playmaking (5.8 APG) through 4 preseason games
- Julian Strawther (Nuggets): Have the Nuggets followed their Christian Braun pick (21st overall in 2022) with another late 1st round gem in Strawther (29th overall)? He’s averaged 19.7 PPG with a 76.3 TS%
Homecoming Games: In addition to growing the game globally, international preseason games provided a homecoming for Luka Doncic and Lu Dort.
- Luka in Madrid: The Mavs star was just 13 when joined Real Madrid, leading the club to the 2018 EuroLeague title. Before his 5th NBA season, Luka returned home for an emotional preseason game against his former squad
- Dort in Montreal: Just a month removed from helping Team Canada win bronze at the FIBA World Cup, the Montreal native returned home for a preseason matchup with Detroit.
Players Making Returns: A number of marquee players took the court for the first time after extended absences last season
- Zion Williamson (New Orleans): The Pelicans’ ceiling is directly tied to Zion being able to stay on the court after missing 53 games last season. He’s averaged 10.7 points and 4 assists in 20 minutes over 3 preseason games
- Ben Simmons (Brooklyn): Check out these back-to-back possessions from Simmons on Monday. He starts with a behind-the-back pass for an assist on a corner 3, then gets the perimeter steal and dunk in transition
- LaMelo Ball (Charlotte): After an ankle injury cut last season short, Ball is back for the Hornets, averaging 15 points and 5 dimes in 3 preseason games
- Tyler Herro (Miami): After missing Miami’s Finals run with a broken hand, and having his name swirling in trade rumors for most of the summer, Herro is back in Miami and averaging a league-high 26 points in 2 preseason game
THE MOMENT MALONE KNEW THE NUGGETS COULD WIN
Every championship team has its own story.
Right now, 1 team out there is starting to write the 1st chapter in its championship story – even if they don’t know it yet.
Or, based on this new footage of Michael Malone, maybe they do.
The first 2 episodes of Bring It Home – a 9-part series on the 2022-23 NBA champion Denver Nuggets – drop on the NBA App today, going all-access for the Nuggets’ journey to their first NBA title in franchise history.
- With two decades of NBA coaching experience – 10 years as an assistant coach with the Knicks, Cavs, Hornets and Warriors, 10 years as a head coach with the Kings and Nuggets – Michael Malone has seen all sorts of teams
- So, it didn’t take him long to know that the 2022-23 Nuggets team was special
- It wasn’t a great practice during a grueling training camp. It wasn’t winning a road back-to-back in the middle of the season. It actually had nothing to do with what he saw on the court
- So what was it? Tap here to watch Malone explain in an exclusive clip from the debut
New episodes will drop daily between now and Opening Night on Oct. 24, when the Nuggets get their rings before facing the Lakers (7:30 pm, TNT).
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