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It’s Christmas in Las Vegas with the NBA Cup this next week, and one of the teams in Sin City for the final four has taken over the top spot on these NBA Power Rankings.
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1. Oklahoma City Thunder (19-5, Last Week No. 4). Shai Gilgeous-Alexander added to his MVP case by dropping 39 on Dallas in Tuesday’s NBA Cup win (the Thunder are on to Las Vegas). Here, SGA talks about how his game evolved into something unlike the other stars of the NBA: “I was always taught how to play really well. So that foundation and then being smaller, growing up, I had to really figure out how to score and play using angles. And then my game is just rounded out through work and picking spots that I can get to, and trying to be able to make shots from those spots. And then just being confident from there.”
2. Boston Celtics (19-5, LW 2). It’s the thing everybody is talking about with Boston, but it still hits hard watching this team play: Just how many 3-pointers they get up a game. Boston averages 51.4 3-point attempts a game, 56.5% of their shot attempts total. The next closest team to them is the Bulls at 43.5 attempts, almost eight fewer 3-pointers a game. Leading the way is MVP candidate Jayson Tatum at 10.5 attempts a game, followed by Derrick White at 9.1 (he’s hitting 39% of those). While Boston didn’t advance in the NBA Cup it was kind to them, their makeup games this week are Detroit and Washington.
3. Cleveland Cavaliers (21-4, LW 1). Cleveland has been incredibly fortunate with health this season among its top four, so it was concerning Sunday in Miami when Evan Mobley rolled his ankle, but he said postgame it’s nothing serious. Another part of Cleveland’s hot start is its shooting — the Cavs don’t launch as many as the Celtics (38.2 a game), however Cleveland is hitting a league-best 40.4% from beyond the arc. We’re far enough into the season to say that’s not a fluke, and it should only get better with Max Strus set to return to the lineup Friday after being out all season with an ankle issue.
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4. Dallas Mavericks (16-9, LW 5). The Mavericks have been the second-best team in…
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Author : NBC Sports
Publish date : 2024-12-11 22:17:00
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