THIS WEEK IN THE NBA
TOP BUCKS PLAYER
When the Milwaukee Bucks needed a late basket on Friday night in Oklahoma City, they turned to their star Giannis Antetokounmpo and he did not disappoint. While his game-winning layup was controversial it ultimately counted and punctuated a strong week from Antetokounmpo. He averaged 24.3 points on 60.4% shooting over three games, adding 9.7 rebounds, 4.3 assists, 0.7 steals and 0.7 blocks in 39.0 minutes per game to lead the Bucks to a 2-1 record in those contests.
BUCKS LOOK AHEAD
The Bucks ring in the new year in Toronto where they’ll face the Raptors — one of the top teams in the NBA at 24-10 — at 6:30 p.m. on Monday. That’s the start of a week featuring some of the top teams in the Eastern Conference as the Bucks host the Indiana Pacers (19-17) on Wednesday and welcome the Raptors to the BMO Harris Bradley Center on Friday. Milwaukee closes the week with a trip to Washington (20-16) on Saturday.
BUCKS QUOTE
Antetokounmpo following Thursday’s comeback win over the Minnesota Timberwolves:
“We’ve just got to keep playing hard. Can never stop fighting. No. 1 rule as a team: we’re never going to give up, we’re going to keep fighting.”
TOP NBA PLAYER
Oklahoma City guard and reigning MVP Russell Westbrook ended 2017 with some performances that were reminiscent of his 2016-’17 season in which he averaged a triple-double. Over four games this past week, Westbrook averaged 32.0 points, 10.8 assists and 9.5 rebounds.
TOP NBA TEAM
The Dallas Mavericks aren’t in the discussion as one of the best teams in the NBA, but they are riding a threegame win streak heading into a New Year’s Eve tilt in Oklahoma City. Following a loss to the Atlanta Hawks, the Mavericks beat the Raptors at home then scored road wins over the Indiana Pacers and New Orleans Pelicans. NBA RANKINGS
Top 10: 1. Golden State Warriors, 2. Boston Celtics, 3. Toronto Raptors, 4. Houston Rockets, 5. San Antonio Spurs, 6. Cleveland Cavaliers, 7. Milwaukee Bucks, 8. Oklahoma City Thunder, 9. Minnesota Timberwolves,
10. Washington Wizards.
Middle 10: 11. Denver Nuggets, 12. Portland Trail Blazers, 13. Detroit Pistons, 14. New Orleans Pelicans, 15. Indiana Pacers, 16. Miami Heat, 17. Chicago Bulls, 18. Los Angeles Clippers, 19. New York Knicks, 20. Phoenix Suns.
Bottom 10: 21. Philadelphia 76ers, 22. Utah Jazz, 23. Dallas Mavericks, 24. Charlotte Hornets, 25. Brooklyn Nets,
26. Sacramento Kings, 27. Los Angeles Lakers, 28. Memphis Grizzlies, 29. Orlando Magic, 30. Atlanta Hawks. ONE MAN’S OPINION
As anyone could plainly see — and just about everyone in the sellout crowd hollered about and pointed to on the big screen — Antetokounmpo stepped out of bounds on his way to the game-winning basket over Westbrook on Friday night in Oklahoma City. Antetokounmpo’s winning play is not reviewable, though, and that’s a flaw in the NBA’s review structure.
In the situation that transpired on Friday, the officials explained that they can only review out-of-bounds plays when that is what is called on the floor. If it is not called it can’t be reviewed.
If Antetokounmpo’s shot went through the basket as time expired, the whole play would have been reviewed and the referees would have been able to rectify the missed call. Ditto if he had been fouled with no time on the clock or if he had instead tried a long jumper that they needed to check to see if it was a two or three.
But since there was time left on the clock, Antetokounmpo was clearly shooting a two-point shot and no out-of-bounds call had been made on the court there was nothing the officials could do.
The NBA’s apparatus to ensure correct calls failed on Friday night.