How do you like Grubauer now, Avs fans?
Some call them “haters.” Others, “doubters.” Whatever the preference, Avalanche goaltender Philipp Grubauer had plenty coming into this season. (Perhaps even a few folks inside the Grading the Week offices.)
Philipp Grubauer — A
Well, Avs fans, how do you like ol’ Gruby now?
Fair or not, the 6-foot-1, 188-pound goalie was considered one of the big question marks for a team expected to contend for the Stanley Cup. So far this season, however, he’s been among the Avs’ most steady players.
Entering Saturday’s outdoor game at Lake Tahoe, Grubauer was No. 2 in the NHL in save percentage (.936) and goals against average (1.64), and led the league in goals allowed adjusted.
Suffice to say, ol’ Gruby has been exceptional in his return from a leg injury that limited him to just one start in last year’s playoff run inside the Edmonton bubble. And he appears to be getting better.
The German netminder’s worst start of the season — four goals allowed vs. St. Louis — came in the Avs’ first game. In the 10 games after that, Grubauer kept opponents to three or fewer goals while going 8-2 with a .944 save percentage. That included a five-start stretch prior to Saturday that saw him go 4-1, with a .959 save percentage, one shutout and three one-goal games.
Avs general manager Joe Sakic rankled a few feathers when he declared days after the end of the 2020 season that he had “a lot of belief” in Grubauer and backup Pavel Francouz.
While the latter has yet to see the ice this season, the former has proven Sakic’s faith to be well-placed — so far.
Jamal Murray — A
Bubble Jamal, why did you ever leave us?
What a delight it is to watch the Nuggets’ guard knock down clutch shots from the edge of the half court logo and drop a 50-piece on unwitting defenders.
A week removed from his fourth single-digit scoring game of the season — and hopefully his last — Murray submitted the sort of four-game stretch over the past six days we previously hoped would become the norm in the wake of his legendary Orlando bubble run.
The stats: 33.8 points per game, 6.8 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 61.7% shooting (55.3% from 3), one ridiculous gametying bomb in Washington and a 50point masterpiece Friday night in Cleveland.
Player development does not always occur in a straight line. There are often stops and starts. Ups and downs. And Murray, who’s been banged up most of the season, has always been something of a slow starter.
That likely cost him a spot in next month’s NBA All-Star Game. Keep playing like this, and it will end up looking like a terrible snub.
Bud Black — B
Bless Bud Black.
Anyone who can be so positive in the face of so much misery deserves a pat on the back. Or a hug.
He may have lost his star third baseman, and his all-star shortstop is likely soon headed for the door as well — and maybe even one of his starting pitchers — but the Rockies manager refused to be doom and gloom as pitchers and catchers reported to spring training in Arizona this past week.
“The sum of our parts is how we will move forward and how we progress,” Black said Wednesday, providing Rockies fans with his best Baghdad Bob impersonation.
Always look on the bright side of life, Bud.
These days, we need it.
Mired in a two-game losing streak, then rerouted to Cleveland instead of stealing a couple extra days of rest, the Nuggets were badly in need of a pickme-up Thursday night.
During an optional team dinner in the barroom of their downtown hotel, the timing just so happened to coincide with TNT’s live announcement of the All-Star Game starters. And more fortuitously, Nikola Jokic’s 26th birthday was only a few hours away.
It was then, surrounded by teammates and Serbian treats, including but not limited to “fish stew,” according to Nuggets coach Michael Malone, that Jokic found out he’d earned his first-ever All-Star start.
“It was fun, of course, just to have a little Serbian food,” Jokic said. “Actually, we had a really good dessert. It was just fun to be around the guys, seeing that they were happy about me. It just means a lot.”
Full disclosure: That Jokic became the Nuggets’ first AllStar starter since Carmelo Anthony was nearly a foregone conclusion. With 4,208,879 fan votes, he ranked second among Western Conference front court players, trailing only LeBron James. His fellow players gave him the second-most votes as well. And among the 100 media voters, 99, including myself, voted him an All-Star starter.
All of it was deserved, and Jokic, now a three-time All-Star and viable MVP candidate, wasn’t even close to a questionable pick. Anyone who didn’t vote for him had more explaining to do than those who did.
Across the first two months of this season, Jokic has crossed the echelon of NBA superstar to one of the top five players in the world. Talk to people with
the organization and they can’t believe how lucky they got with Jokic, who’s not only dominating on the court but is exceptionally humble off it. In fact, there’s even some awareness within the organization to guard against being spoiled considering how low maintenance he is.
All of which is to say, as long as he’s part of the organization, Denver’s future is exceedingly bright and the goal of a championship remains realistic.
But the point of this exercise isn’t to analyze picks that were obvious. It’s to be transparent on the ones that needed an explanation. So here goes. My picks for the 2021 All-Star
Game starters in Atlanta.
LeBron James: A decade older than Jokic, James is still just as terrifying as he was in his mid-20s. This selection needs no defense.
Rudy Gobert: I was in the (vast) minority of media voters who gave Gobert a nod – and frankly, I assumed I would be. Kawhi Leonard earned the start, but I voted for Gobert because since Jan. 8, the Jazz have lost two games. They’re 20-2 over that span, with losses to only the Nuggets and Clippers. First in the Western Conference, the Jazz also have the second-best defense in basketball. With Gobert protecting the basket, his presence allows Utah’s perimeter defenders to stay home. I thought he deserved credit for their incredible start. Sue me.
Steph Curry: To those who thought he’d be less effective without Klay Thompson, sorry. Steph’s taken on even more of the scoring burden (second in the NBA in scoring, including 42% from 3). And he has the Warriors fighting for playoff contention, just a half-game back of the Nuggets for the No. 7 seed.
Damian Lillard: Portland’s crunch-time hero won the media vote (64-30) and the player vote (131-58), but the fans, whose votes carried more weight, wanted Luka Doncic. To me, nobody in the NBA is scarier than Dame when the game’s on the line. He leads the NBA in clutch points (5.5 per game), shooting 59% from 3 in such instances. With this latest snub, so help whichever team meets the Blazers in the playoffs.
Joel Embiid: Philly’s 7-foot bruiser was another no-brainer. His 50-point eruption Friday night may have been the crown jewel in his case, but Embiid has been dominant on both ends all season. Another MVP contender, one can only hope Embiid doesn’t miss another matchup against the Nuggets this season.
Giannis Antetokounmpo: The Freak may have taken marginal steps back from his back-to-back MVP seasons, but he’s still just as freaky. The Bucks, recent losers of five straight, have their own problems.
Kevin Durant: Somehow, he may have come back stronger from his Achilles’ injury – usually a devastating injury for most basketball players. Durant’s the same sniper he always was.
Bradley Beal: In a stronger conference, the Wizards’ awful record might have hurt his case. But Washington’s already-thin roster was wrecked by COVID, and Beal keeps chugging along, racking up 30-point games with ease.
Jaylen Brown: This slot ultimately went to Kyrie Irving, but Brown, in my opinion, was just as deserving. The leap he’s made from Swiss Army Knife to devastating three-level scorer more than justified his inclusion as a starter.