The Houston Rockets are 20-4, the best record in the league. They’ve rattled off nine straight wins and haven’t lost a single game with Chris Paul in uniform. James Harden is the current MVP front-runner, averaging 32-9-5. He dropped 48 on Portland on Saturday.
You know what the 20-4 Rockets need? LeBron James
We have that and more in Monday’s NBA newsletter.
Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
You know what the Rockets need? LeBron James.
LeBron is a clear No. 2 in the MVP race, averaging 28-8-7 on career-high shooting. He’s a free agent in July, and Sam Amick dives deep into the chances Houston has to land him. LeBron and his associates have repeatedly touted winning as the No. 1 ingredient, and Houston certainly does that. The fact that close friend Chris Paul is there and that going west would be a new challenge add to the mystique.
LeBron in Houston is bad for competitive balance — you make a strong Cleveland team weak and an already awesome Rockets team better — but good for people who want to see the Warriors get beat. Color me intrigued.
Scores Galore ...
TOR 102, SAC 87
BOS 91, DET 81
DEN 116, IND 126 (OT)
DAL 92, MIN 97
PHI 124, NOP 131
ATL 107, NYK 111
... And So Much More
Yo, Victor Oladipo is really doing something special! He led the Pacers to topple the streaking Cavaliers on Friday, then hung 47 on the Nuggets on Sunday! Forget everything I wrote about the Pacers potentially being fool’s gold!
Seerat Sohi on the Raptors’ persistent evolution. Toronto is in second place in the East, by the way. Just quietly awesome again.
Who will be the next to score 60? A crowdsourced list.
Kent Bazemore clearly does not regularly practice intentionally missed free throws.
Whitney Medworth’s B-Sides tackles some questionable artistic photos of the young Nuggets.
Did the Wizards get screwed at the end of their loss to the Clippers?
More Mexico synergy from the NBA: A team of G League All-Stars will play the Mexican national team during All-Star Weekend in Los Angeles.
Zach Lowe’s 10 things are always a treat.
The second most exciting finish this weekend came in a game the Bucks won by 17. That’s how good this garbage time crossover and dunk by Giannis Antetokounmpo is. A true finishing move if I’ve ever seen one.
But the best finish of the weekend is 40-year-old Manu Ginobili ending the Celtics’ night with a rainbow.
By the way, Kawhi Leonard is reportedly coming back on Tuesday. The Spurs are 19-8 without him. What in the world, y’all?
Six games on the schedule for Monday, including an NBA TV doubleheader starring Pelicans-Rockets at 8 p.m. ET and Raptors-Clippers at 10:30. Full schedule here.
Be excellent to each other.
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