Welcome to From The Logo, a collection of opinions, analysis, and locker room insights from theScore's lead NBA reporter, Joseph Casciaro.
SGA's return saves NBA from embarrassment
Many fans lauded the NBA's decision to establish a 65-game minimum for major award eligibility in 2023, but the move was an overreaction to a genuine issue. Cracking down on teams that rest star players unnecessarily is one thing, but tying award eligibility to an arbitrary number of games played was always a disaster waiting to happen. The chickens may now be coming home to roost.
A left knee injury sidelined three-time MVP Nikola Jokic long enough to have him on the precipice of disqualification, as the Nuggets superstar can miss only one more game to remain eligible for MVP and All-NBA consideration. Meanwhile, reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is set to return from an abdominal injury that sidelined him for Oklahoma City's last nine contests. Thankfully, Gilgeous-Alexander still has six absences' worth of wiggle room to remain eligible, while Spurs phenom Victor Wembanyama is down to just three games.
Any setback that takes Gilgeous-Alexander or Jokic out of the race would make a mockery of the NBA's most prestigious individual award. Gilgeous-Alexander is enjoying the most efficient 30-points-per-game season in NBA history. Jokic is averaging a 29-point triple-double, leading the league in rebounds and assists (per game), and posting the best advanced metrics ever recorded. As impressive as Pistons star Cade Cunningham's season has been for league-leading Detroit, he's not on the same planet as Jokic and Gilgeous-Alexander. Cunningham "winning" the award by default would be a farce.
Perhaps the only thing more ludicrous would be the exclusion of players like Jokic, Gilgeous-Alexander, Wembanyama, and Luka Doncic (who's on pace for precisely 65 games played) from this year's All-NBA teams.
If a player's performance is so special that he still deserves to be in the running for major awards despite missing a quarter of the season, so be it. Let the voting body make that determination, especially when legitimate injuries are involved. The league already entrusts media members to vote on awards that could have massive financial implications for players and teams. Let those same voters use their judgment rather than eliminating players prematurely.
History tells us that common sense would prevail, as the only MVP winner to play less than 79% of his team's games (which is what the 65-game cutoff represents) was Bill Walton in 1977-78. Preventing Jokic and Gilgeous-Alexander from competing for the same award nearly a half-century later would be a disservice to the NBA, not a win for star availability.
The league might as well carve an asterisk in the Michael Jordan Trophy.
Thanks to reader Harley Stein for the emailed question about the MVP availability issue.
OKC's B team still pretty damn good
When the defending champion Thunder cooled off following a historic start to the season and then lost their two best players to injuries, rivals smelled blood. But Oklahoma City's recent performance has been inspiring for a shorthanded club.
The Thunder went 5-4 over their last nine games despite being without Gilgeous-Alexander for all nine contests and All-NBA forward Jalen Williams for seven. Four of those victories came against teams with winning records (Lakers, Suns, Cavs, Raptors), and three were earned on the road. Notably, Oklahoma City found itself in competitive games at San Antonio and Detroit - the teams with the league's best and third-best records, respectively - even while missing Gilgeous-Alexander, Williams, and All-Star big man Chet Holmgren.
It's been a collective effort. Subtract Williams' two appearances from the nine-game sample, and sharpshooter Isaiah Joe has been the team's leading scorer at 15.3 points per game. Third-year guard Cason Wallace has stepped up to provide arguably the best two-way play of his career. Newcomer Jared McCain has shot the ball well off the bench. Holmgren, Lu Dort, Isaiah Hartenstein, and Alex Caruso have helped the squad maintain its suffocating defensive identity.
"You can't control your circumstances. We always want to be fully healthy, but when you get dealt a hand, you have to play it as best you can," Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault told reporters after a recent win in Toronto. "We try to be optimistic. We try to be a team that leverages the circumstances to our favor and tries to use every situation as a challenge to build some momentum. The guys have done an unbelievable job. They see these types of things as a challenge. That's one of the special things about this group of guys. We've strung together some good basketball despite some adversity and some wind in our face."
The stakes and spotlight pale in comparison to former Rockets head coach Rudy Tomjanovich's legendary 1995 interview on the championship dais, but Daigneault could be forgiven for echoing Tomjanovich's words about the heart of a champion.
Daigneault credited his group, and Holmgren in particular, for continuing to play within themselves rather than trying to do too much without Gilgeous-Alexander and Williams. "You still have to play within your strengths and inside your game. If you do that, then this experience can scale forward," Daigneault said. "But if you play outside of your game, and then you add (Gilgeous-Alexander and Williams) back in, then none of this translates. None of it is an investment. I think we've done a good job of that, of staying inside of ourselves, playing to our strengths, and making investments during this period of time that can pay dividends for us down the road."
Gilgeous-Alexander returns to a team clinging to a 1.5-game lead over San Antonio atop the West standings, with one of the league's toughest remaining schedules awaiting the Thunder.
Player of the Week
Nikola Jokic: 32.3 PPG, 63.2% TS, 13.7 RPG, 8.3 APG, 3.0 STL + BLK, 2-1 record
I usually find myself debating between a handful of players each week, but no one came close to Jokic over the last seven days. Although he hasn't rounded all the way back into form since returning to the Nuggets' lineup, Jokic doesn't need to hit full throttle to be the best player on the floor. During a week in which Denver had to play road games at Portland and Golden State before a home matchup with the feisty Celtics, the Nuggets outscored their opponents by 20.1 points per 100 possessions (23 points per 48 minutes) when Jokic was on the court. What a travesty it would be if the (All-NBA) records show he wasn't even a top-15 player this year.
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