Knicks legend, Hall of Famer Willis Reed passes away at 80
This past Tuesday, we lost another NBA legend in the great Willis Reed who passed away at 80 years old. Reed was one of the greatest centers of his era and was dominant in a league with other legendary big men such as Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell. Reed was drafted by the New York Knicks in 1964 and spent his entire 10 year career with the team. Reed made an immediate impact for the Knicks, winning the Rookie of the Year and also made the NBA All-Rookie First Team. For his career, he made 7 All-Star teams and was named All-Star MVP in 1970. That same season, he became the first player to be named All-Star MVP, regular season MVP, and Finals MVP while leading the Knicks to their first ever championship.
Reed had one of the most iconic moments in NBA finals when he took the court in game 7 of the 1970 NBA finals despite a severe thigh injury. To the delight of a raucous Madison Square Garden crown Reed started the game knocking the down his first two shots getting the momentum in the Knicks favor. Walt Frazier took over from there leading the Knicks to the blowout win over the Lakers. A couple seasons later, Reed captured his second championship after again defeating the Los Angeles Lakers. Reed had a clutch performance in the deciding game 5 victory where he scored 18 points, grabbed 12 rebounds, and recorded 7 assists. Reed earned his second career MVP after another great Finals performance.
The following 1973-74 season would end up being the last of his career as his career was cut short due to injury. Reed averaged career numbers of 18.7 points and 12.9 rebounds per game, playing 650 games. He retired as not only an NBA legend but a New York Sports hero and was later inducted into the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame in 1982. In 1997, He was selected to the NBA 50th Anniversary team and was again selected in 2021 to the 75th Anniversary team.
KAT makes his return, are the Timberwolves the most dangerous play-in team?
This week, Karl Anthony Towns made his long awaited return from a calf injury and made an immediate impact. In his first game since Nov. 28th, Towns scored 22 points and scored the eventual game winning free throws with 3.6 seconds left. The Timberwolves defeated the Hawks 124-123 which was an important win given the ultra competitive western conference play-in situation. Every team currently in the play-in race has a reason why they are there but the Timberwolves are interesting team to watch since we don't quite know what they are capable of yet.
The roster has had several changes starting with the offseason where Gobert was acquired in a trade. However, its hard to tell how impactful the combination of Gobert and Towns can be since we have not seen them play a ton of games together. Though he is not quite the defensive wizard he was in Utah he is still an impactful defensive anchor and excellent rebounder. With the return of Towns, the Timberwolves now have their big 3 in Towns, Edwards and Gobert. With the uncertainty of Zions health for the Pelicans, the Lakers inconsistency, and inexperience of a young Thunder team the Timberwolves are arguably the most dangerous team in the play-in. Especially since the Timberwolves have a motivated Karl Anthony-Towns and the young star Anthony Edwards having the best year of his career, they could be a team that could surprise teams come playoff time.
Next week, the Timberwolves will look to stay undefeated since Towns' return as they matchup with the Kings, Suns, Lakers, and Blazers.
Drama in Dallas, Will the Mavericks miss the playoffs?
When Dallas acquired Kyrie Irving from the Brooklyn Nets the Mavericks were expected to be at best a championship contender with the superstar backcourt of Doncic and Irving. Surprisingly, the Mavericks currently find themselves on the outside looking in of the play-in tournament with a 36-39 record. Things have gone from bad to worse this week for the Mavericks as they find themselves on a 4 game losing streak including back to back losses to the Hornets who have just 25 wins on the season.
There doesn't appear to be any silver lining as Luka will be suspended for the next game due to being assessed his 16th technical foul of the season. Still, even when Luka comes back there is still major concern as the pairing of Doncic and Irving simply hasn't met expectations as the Mavericks are now 3-8 when they both are in the lineup. Despite the clutch ability of both players all 8 losses have been within 5 points in the last 5 minutes. With just 7 games left, despite having 4 games against sub .500 opponent I believe the Mavericks are very likely to miss the playoffs. This is mainly because their struggles against the Hornets exemplified a lot of what is wrong with this Mavericks team. Their biggest issue is their defense as despite the Hornets being without their leading scorers in Lamelo Ball and Terry Rozier, they still scored 110 points including 69 in the first half. Another factor is there lack of consistent offense beyond Doncic and Irving as they lack reliable scoring options outside of their superstar backcourt.
Next week, the Mavericks start their road trip of the season that could decide whether or not they miss the playoffs as they take on the Pacers, 76ers, Heat, and Hawks.
Game of the week- Despite a dominant 37 point and 16 rebound performance from Joel Embiid, the Bulls were able to snap the Sixers 8 game win streak with a thrilling double OT win on the road in Philadelphia. Derozan and Lavine combine for 51 points in the win.
Comments