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Giannis Antetkounmpo and Damian Lillard combined for 46 points yesterday. Jalen Brunson had 44 in the same game. Unsurprisingly, the Knicks won 140-106.

NBA Stock Report

The Kings have officially turned it around

First and foremost, despite Cavaliers recently winning 12 straight games, we’re not including them (33-5) in this edition of the NBA Stock Report. Why? Because we dedicated an entirely different section to them in my latest NBA Rewind! Obviously, their stock is still on the way up, but we highlighted them in a different way.

In this NBA Stock Report, we have a team shoving results in the face of process and plenty of teams settling into what they’re supposed to be. Here are the latest trends heading into this week!

📈 The Pacers (22-18) continue to impress lately, as they’ve won six straight with great offense and really good defense during this stretch. They just completely shut down the Cavs’ 12-game win streak too. Roughly five weeks ago, the Pacers were five games under .500 at 9-14. Tyrese Haliburton looks like the player we saw pre-hamstring injury last season, averaging 21 points, 9.8 assists, fewer than two turnovers and 52.5-46.3-88.5 shooting splits during this six-game stretch.

📉 Hawks (19-19): Every season, there is one team that I simply can’t get a handle on. When my doubt sets in, it thrives. When I decide to buy in, it crashes. We’re nearly halfway through the season, and that team is the Hawks. After I finally bought in, they have lost four of their last five games and are 5-7 in their last 12. I should have known this was too good to be true, and this section probably means they’ll win four straight.

📈 Kings (20-19): I don’t agree with the process of getting here, but it’s hard to argue with the results. The Kings under interim coach Doug Christie look vastly more motivated and focused than what we saw prior to Mike Brown’s firing. They obliterated the Celtics on Friday. Their defense under Christie has been spectacular. They’re riding a seven-game win streak under Christie and charging toward the top six in the West.

📉 Nets (13-26): They were 9-10 in late November, well ahead of pace toward the 19.5 wins that’d been expected of them before the season began. But since then, Brooklyn has lost 16 of its last 20 games. The Nets are 1-6 in the last two weeks and getting blown out every night. Their last six losses are by a combined 95 points. Did you see Cooper Flagg’s last game? I don’t blame them.

📈 The Nuggets (23-15) have won seven of their last nine games, with their only two losses in that stretch coming against San Antonio and Boston. Michael Porter Jr. and Jamal Murray have been great. Russell Westbrook is thriving in his role. Oh yeah, and Nikola Jokić is averaging a 34-point, 15-rebound, 11-assist triple-double.

📉 Wizards (6-31): Is it cruel to remind everybody the Wizards are bad here? Maybe! But they could always change that by playing better basketball and winning some games. Washington is currently on a six-game losing streak, which is only its second extended losing streak of the season. The problem is the first one was 16 games long. During the last two weeks, the Wizards have a minus-15.3 net rating, and their defense has the resistance of saloon doors with well-oiled hinges.

The Last 24

New Orleans suspended Zion Williamson

😡 Zion lost a game. The Pelicans (8-32) suspended their star for continued tardiness. He took accountability. 

🏀 Another one. The Wolves (20-18) keep losing close games. Can they turn it around?

👀 Good ratings! Believe it or not, the Cavs-Thunder game had improved ratings. I guess it had the right amount of 3s.

👏 Welcome back! DeMar DeRozan received a warm welcome in his return to Chicago.

📺 Don’t miss this game tonight. Pistons (20-19) at Knicks (26-14), 7:30 p.m. ET.

📺 Recent revenge game? Grizzlies (25-14) at Rockets (25-12), 8 p.m. ET on NBA TV. You can also stream this matchup on Fubo (try for free).

Meet My Personal Trade Machine

Five deals I think should happen

As we approach the final stretch of NBA trade SZN, we’re about to start sifting through a lot of rumors and conjecture when it comes to the trade market. Personally, I think it’s more fun to believe all of the rumors around the trade deadline, draft and free agency, no matter how little sense they may make. But some of us just love chaos. I’ve got five trades that I want to happen before the Feb. 6 deadline.

(NOTE TO AGGREGATORS: These are not reports in the slightest – just what I want to see.)

Thunder acquire Cam Johnson

The Thunder have the biggest treasure chest of future picks to deal out, so this trade won’t take giving up anything out of their core right now. Brooklyn would want multiple picks, considering Johnson was part of the Kevin Durant trade haul, and he’s going to have plenty of suitors. If OKC offered up Kenrich Williams, Jaylin Williams and Aaron Wiggins with a couple of firsts, is that enough for Brooklyn? Would the Nets demand Isaiah Joe instead of Wiggins and Williams?

Regardless, the Thunder need more outside shooting and love versatility. They could also use another initiator on offense, possibly off the bench. But I’d rather see them get Johnson from Brooklyn.

Warriors acquire Jimmy Butler

We’ve already reported that the Warriors really don’t have interest in acquiring Butler, and I can understand why. It’s super complicated to pull off. Just as a two-team deal, the Warriors would have to send out Andrew Wiggins, Jonathan Kuminga, Kyle Anderson and Gary Payton II. They’d get back Butler and Josh Richardson. Even as a big Butler guy, that seems like a heavy toll to make the money work. Let’s leave the logistics out of it for now.

The Warriors need another big-time player and a season-changing trade, as Marcus Thompson wrote here. He’s right. They shouldn’t leave anything on the table in the Steph Curry era. It feels like they’re currently doing that, even though he turns 37 in two months.

GO DEEPER

Jimmy Butler trade scenarios: Which potential landing spots make the most sense?

Grizzlies acquire Jerami Grant

It sounds like Jimmy Butler doesn’t want a trade to Memphis. Can I interest you in a 30-year-old Jerami Grant instead? I think he’d be a great fit for the Grizzlies, even though he still has $66 million over the next two seasons and a $36.4 million option after that. Grant provides a reliable weapon on offense and versatile defense. He would be a highly valuable fourth guy.

A deal of Luke Kennard, Brandon Clarke, GG Jackson and maybe a mildly protected first works under the trade guidelines. Make the call!

Spurs acquire Jakob Poeltl

There are two reasons I love this idea: 1) It would continue the trades between the Spurs and Raptors involving Poeltl. The Spurs acquired him from Toronto in 2018 and then traded him back to Toronto in 2023. 2) Poeltl is a perfect big man option to play next to Victor Wembanyama. He would allow Wemby to play more free safety on defense, and we could see some great big-to-big passing. What about Zach Collins, Jeremy Sochan (Masai Ujiri loves moldable 6-8 forwards) and a protected first? Is that a bad deal?

Nuggets acquire Zach LaVine

Ever since Tony Jones and Sam Amick told us about Denver possibly eyeing Zach LaVine, I haven’t been able to get this trade idea out of my head. I’m fascinated by the potential. A few months ago, we thought LaVine’s contract was untradeable – maybe not so much now. Denver is rolling, so it will probably feel very good about its situation. Offering Michael Porter Jr, Dario Šarić and Vlatko Čančar works under the trade rules. The question is whether or not Denver would still consider this idea.

What’s Happening?

PG is bored, LaMelo is chucking and Paolo’s back

Three random things happened over the weekend that caught my eye. Instead of stretching an entire section with either of them, I thought we could throw three quick-hitters into the mix here. It involves a hilarious quote, a crazy stat and a big return. I could’ve used this section as another way to make fun of the Wizards after losing by 41 to the Thunder, but I’m not going to do that. It’s called growth.

Paul George said what? Joel Embiid didn’t play during the 76ers’ loss to the Pelicans on Friday night. In fact, there was such a dearth of big man minutes for Philadelphia that PG saw some run at the center position. That’s not something he has to do a whole lot. So, how was the experience for him? He didn’t like it and said he was bored, apparently. These were his thoughts on it:

“It’s different. I’m used to scrapping and running around and chasing and fighting through screens. To be honest, I’m bored playing the five. It just doesn’t do enough for me. But, I think, being mindful of my ability to clog the middle and kind of help, cut off passing lanes and driving lanes and kind of battle with the bigs, is what Nick [Nurse, 76ers coach] sees in that style. But again, I enjoy chasing the little guys and matching up against wing offensive players.”

George didn’t play the entire game there, just some of it. To his credit, though, the 76ers were plus-seven in 35 minutes with him on the court in a game they lost by eight. So, him being bored on defense didn’t hurt Philly when he was playing. It’s just a funny and weird comment to make.

Stat that blew my mind 🤯: According to our friends at HoopsHype, LaMelo Ball is in some exclusive company when it comes to shooting the ball. Anybody watching Hornets games knows Ball has been attempting to get buckets on the court. He’s trying shots at a historic rate. How historic, you ask? Ball’s putting up 0.722 attempts per minute this season. Only Wilt Chamberlain (three times), Elgin Baylor and Michael Jordan are in that company.

Who else on the Hornets’ roster is going to shoot those shots?

More like Paolo Backero: We’ve got two games back for Paolo Banchero, and it’s looking like he never left. The Magic (23-18) barely lost to the Bucks (20-17) Friday night, dropping one to the score of 109-106. The big news out of that game was Banchero had 34 points and seven rebounds in his first appearance since Oct. 30. Then, he had 20 points, eight rebounds and six assists in a 104-99 victory over Philly. Now, we just need to get Franz Wagner back to health.

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(Top photo: Noah Graham  / Getty Images )