Ja Morant shines in his highly anticipated return
Memphis Grizzlies fan rejoiced as they received an early Christmas present with the return of their franchise superstar in Ja Morant who returned from his 25 game suspension on Tuesday. His return could not have come soon enough as the Grizzlies have struggled mightily in his absence winning just 6 of the 25 games without Morant. In his return, it was anticipated that Morant would likely be under a minutes restriction as he plays his first game since the NBA Playoffs last year. Despite all of the missed time Morant looked like his old self although he looked fatigued at times still scored 34 points in a sensational performance in his return. The Grizzlies were down by as much as 24 points in the first half but were able to go on a run early in the second half to get back in the game. With the game tied with just seconds left in the 4th quarter Ja saved his best play for the end of the game as he hit a game-winning floater to give the Grizzlies a 115-113 win over the Pelicans.
After the game, Morant was reflective on his time away from the court stating, “I ain’t play a game in eight months. Had a lot of time to learn myself. A lot of hard days where I went through it. But you know, basketball is my life — what I love, therapeutic for me. And I’m just excited to be back." In his return, Morant made NBA history by scoring the most points in NBA history by a player coming back from an absence of at least 25 games. Though the Grizzlies face a tough uphill climb due to their poor start they could end up being team that could be scary to face if they are able to secure a play-in spot.
Detroit Pistons losing streak reaches a hapless milestone
The Detroit Pistons are having a season to forget and are on pace to set an unfortunate record as their losing streak continues with no clear end in sight. Their most recent loss against the Brooklyn marks the 26th consecutive loss which ties the record for the longest losing streak in a single season. With the loss, three teams have now lost 26 games in a single season which includes the 2010-11 Cleveland Cavaliers, the 2014-15 Philadelphia 76ers and now the 2023-24 Pistons.
What makes this year's Pistons team unique to the other teams that have reached this milestone is that the Pistons have pieces they hope to build around. The Cavs team that was basically set up to lose after the loss of Lebron James who infamously took his talents to South Beach. The Sixers were in their "process" where they had teams that were not built to win so they could pursue high value draft picks. They also were without a rookie Joel Embiid who missed the entire season due to a right foot injury. The Piston's however, already have some highly drafted players they at least for now still hope to build around such as their #1 overall pick from 2021 in Cade Cunningham. Like most young teams they are struggling to find wins but with only 2 wins on the season and losing streak that does not appear to have an end in sight the Pistons have far more questions than answers right now.
Reigning MVP Joel Embiid playing at a historic pace
Sixers superstar Joel Embiid is in the midst of a season that is putting his name amongst some of the greatest players to ever play the game. Embiid has been on a tear putting up Wilt-like numbers putting up 13 straight 30 point 10 rebound games which has only been done by three other players in NBA history. The Hall of Famer Elgin Baylor had 15 straight games of 30-10 in the 61-62 season while another All-Time great Wilt Chamberlain accomplished the feat a ridiculous 6 different times in his career. The record holder of consecutive 30-10 games is the #2 leading scorer in NBA history in Kareem Abdul-Jabbar who did it 16 straight times in the 71-72 season. Embiid has a chance to break that record which is just part of what makes his season so historic.
Embiid's season is so impressive that it can only be discussed in an historical context as he has put up numbers that have rarely been seen in the NBA. For example, He's the first player to score 30-plus points in 20 of his first 25 games since Michael Jordan in 1986-87. He's also the first player to record 850 points, 250 rebounds and 150 assists through his first 25 games. Embiid is currently averaging a career-high 35.0 points per game and is fifth in the league in rebounds averaging 11.7 per game. He is putting up these unprecedented while leading his Sixers to a 20-9 record putting them at third seed in the Eastern Conference. If Embiid is able to maintain this incredible level of play while keeping the Sixers as a championship contender he could easily run away with back to back MVP awards.
Game of the week- Ja Morant returns from his 25 game suspension in style putting up a game-high 34 points along with 8 assists and hit the game winning shot at the buzzer to lead the Grizzlies to the 115-113 comeback win after being down by as much as 24 points in the first half.
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