Reigning NBA MVP Joel Embiid is unstoppable this season. Plus, three trade candidates & passing to Victor Wembanyama – The Athletic

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The Pistons trail the Lions by only one win in 2024.

No Case of the Mondays

Yesterday made for a fun NBA showcase

The NBA has been the best sports league, by far, at celebrating Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday with its game. The Association always does a fantastic job of setting up a great slate throughout the day and really putting their stamp on commemorating such a brilliant and special figure in our nation’s history. Yesterday’s action was well-delivered and then some. Let’s run through what you need to know:

76ers 124, Rockets 115: Even though he’s missed 10 games during this stretch, Joel Embiid had his 16th straight game of at least 30 points and 10 rebounds. The Sixers (25-13, third in East) star put up 41 points and 10 rebounds in just 31 minutes against Houston (19-20, 11th in West). Nobody is scoring like him, but Embiid can only miss seven more games this season to remain eligible to defend his MVP award.

Mavericks 125, Pelicans 120: Couple days ago, the Pelicans (24-17, seventh in West) missed four of their best players and beat the Mavs by double digits. Yesterday, they had everybody, the Mavs (24-17, 6th in West) were missing Luka Dončić, and the Pelicans lost to Dallas. Big part of that loss was Kyrie Irving (42) and Tim Hardaway Jr. (41) combined for 83 points on 24-of-51 from the field and 23-of-25 from the line.

Magic 98, Knicks 94: Without Jalen Brunson playing, the Knicks (23-17, 7th in East) couldn’t survive a good, old-fashioned rock fight against the Magic (22-18, 8th in East). This was Tom Thibodeau’s kind of game, with defense winning out, but Paolo Banchero (20 points tied for game high, six rebounds) and Orlando were just too much at Madison Square Garden.

Pistons 129, Wizards 117: Remember a couple weeks ago, when Kyle Kuzma made a joke about not losing to the Pistons (4-36, last in East)? Well, the Pistons — without Cade Cunningham — beat the Wizards (7-32, 14th in East) in D.C. by 12. The Wizards currently have the worst defense in NBA history.

Hawks 109, Spurs 99: The Hawks (16-23, 11th in East) were up 35 at half, and Victor Wembanyama hadn’t scored yet. San Antonio (7-32, last in West) cut its deficit to six with four minutes left, thanks to Wemby dunking everything. He finished with 26 points, 13 boards and five blocks, but it wasn’t enough to overcome a game-high 36 points and 13 assists from Trae Young.

Grizzlies 116, Warriors 107: Draymond Green returned from his 16 games away. Memphis (15-25, 13th in West) didn’t have Ja Morant, Desmond Bane, Steven Adams, Zach Randolph, Marc Gasol, Brandon Clarke, Marcus Smart, Tony Allen or Bryant “Big Country” Reeves. Nineteen-year-old GG Jackson had 23 points off the Grizzlies’ bench as Memphis handed the Warriors (18-22, 12th in West) their worst loss of the season.

Cavs 109, Bulls 91: The Cavs (23-15, fourth in East) held the Bulls (19-23, 9th in East) to 14 points and scored 13 points off turnovers in the fourth quarter to beat Chicago. Cleveland’s defense is back.

Heat 96, Nets 95 in OT: The Heat (24-16, fifth in East) got 60 combined points from Jimmy Butler (31) and Tyler Herro (29) to survive an overtime thriller in Brooklyn (16-23, 10th in East).

Celtics 105, Raptors 96: Boston (31-9, first in East) held Scottie Barnes to his second-lowest point total (10) this season and won on the road despite no Jaylen Brown. Toronto (15-25) is 1.5 games out of Play-In territory.

Jazz 132, Pacers 105: Nobody can stop Lauri Markkanen (32) and Collin Sexton (30) right now, including the Pacers (23-17, sixth in East). The Jazz (22-20, 9th in West) have won 15 of their last 19 👀. 

Lakers 112, Thunder 105: The Lakers (20-21, 10th in West) defense and nightlife held the Thunder (27-12, second in West) to 41 percent from the field, as LeBron James and Co. earned their best win since securing the NBA Cup on Dec. 9.

The Latest From Shams

Wemby joins skills competition

Spurs rookie Victor Wembanyama plans to participate in the skills challenge at NBA All-Star Weekend in Indianapolis next month, league sources tell me.

Wembanyama, the 7-foot-4 big man who was the No. 1 pick in last June’s draft, is averaging 19.4 points and 10.2 rebounds per game this season while also leading the league in blocks per game (3.1) for the 7-32 Spurs. He also recently notched his first NBA triple-double.

This year’s skills challenge, 3-point contest and slam dunk contest will take place on All-Star Saturday Night on Feb. 17, with the All-Star Game itself set for Feb. 18. In the second fan voting returns released last week, Wembanyama was eighth in voting among Western Conference frontcourt players, with LeBron, Nikola Jokić and Kevin Durant leading the way.

• Bucks forward Jae Crowder, who has missed the past couple of months after core muscle surgery, has been cleared to return Wednesday against the Cavaliers, league sources tell me.

Favored Trade Targets

Fresh from Vecenie’s Big Board

The 20-year-old phenom has been unreal in the first half of his first NBA season. While the Spurs have been pretty bad, Wemby has been more than worthy of the hype and price of admission. Over his last 10 games, the Spurs rookie has only played 24.1 minutes per game, but he’s averaging 23.8 points, 9.4 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 3.6 blocks and 54.4/33.3/88.9 shooting splits during this stretch.

Watching him makes many people wonder how he’s so good and why he doesn’t get the ball more. It seems like his teammates often miss when he’s open. Recently, Wembanyama tried to shut down that notion by saying, “it’s never been even close to the reality.” He offered up some nuance to why there is still an adjustment period, and it’s all fair analysis.

However, after the Spurs nearly came back from a 35-point deficit, fueled by Wembanyama dunking everything in the second half, Trae Young was asked about the Spurs rookie. He said:

“On offense, they used him a lot better in that second half, throwing it up to him. Sometimes, you feel for him. He had some open looks. Sometimes, they don’t get it to him. They were getting it to him in the second half on those lobs, just throwing it up to him.”

Wemby is a good teammate, but we all see the missed opportunities during these growing times.

Pass It Wemby!

We’ve noticed he’s not getting the ball

Primetime talent evaluator and draft guru Sam Vecenie has updated his 2024 trade deadline big board. Here are three players I would be dying to acquire if I was an NBA team looking for an upgrade. (dear aggregators, the target teams are just who I think should go get them):

Tyus Jones, Wizards: The free agent-to-be point guard has a 60.8 percent true shooting mark and nearly a 6.5:1 assist-to-turnover ratio. I would send a first for him and plan to re-sign him this summer. Target teams: Magic, Pistons, Bulls, Spurs.

De’Andre Hunter, Hawks: His off-ball defense is suspect for some reason, but I still believe in Hunter’s 3-and-D ability. He’s on a good contract through 2026-27, and I’d give up a first and a player for him. The fifth-year veteran is shooting a career-best 40.4 percent from deep this season. Target teams: 76ers, Pacers, Magic, Mavericks, Kings.

Kyle Kuzma, Wizards: I know this is a lot of Wizards to acquire, but I do believe in the two-way ability of Kuzma on a good team. He can score, shoot, move the ball and defend in the team concept. The 28-year-old Kuzma is on pace to increase his scoring and assists for a fourth consecutive season. Don’t let the outfits and tweets fool you. He can really play. Target teams: 76ers, Raptors, Hawks, Spurs, Mavericks.

Bounce Passes

Do the Warriors have a chance to make the end of this dynasty look better?

Rudy Gobert is the same defender he’s always been. His teammates got better.

Are the Lakers really a bottom-10 League Pass team right now?

Screen Game (All times Eastern)

• Main Screen: Thunder-Clippers (10 p.m. TNT). This showdown will finally determine the winner of the Paul George-Shai Gilgeous-Alexander trade. The Clippers (25-14, fourth in West) are three games from the No. 1 seed.

• Second Screen: Nuggets-Sixers (7:30 p.m. TNT). Imagine watching Embiid and Jokić battle it out. Maybe we’ll see it tonight? It would be for only the second time since March 2022. Denver (28-13) is a game behind West-leading Minnesota.

• League Pass Game of the Night: Kings-Suns (9 p.m.). The only game on League Pass, but it’s a compelling one. Phoenix (21-18) has won seven of 10 and is two games behind Sacramento (23-15, fifth in West) in the standings. Full schedule here.

(Top photo: Tim Nwachukwu  / Getty Images)