NBA

• Nets 121, Lakers 104
  • The Nets, even without Kevin Durant in the lineup, aren’t a horrible team. Brooklyn is especially hard to beat when two of its scorers off the bench, Patty Mills and Cam Thomas, score 21 points each. If Brooklyn can continue to tread water until Durant returns, that’s a win.
  • The Lakers, at 23-28 and 13th in the Western Conference, can’t afford to be sitting LeBron James and Anthony Davis. That is, of course, if the team wishes to qualify for the Play-In Tournament. Giving big minutes to Patrick Beverley, even sans James and Davis, doesn’t make much sense.
• Kings 118, Timberwolves 111
  • It’s been a pleasant surprise to witness De’Aaron Fox transition from a solid stats on a bad team guy to a good stats on a solid team guy. Fox scored 32 points in this game, and for the first time in his career is shooting over 50 percent from the field.
  • What a bad game for D’Angelo Russell. The middling starting point guard shot just 4-16 and scored 10 points — in 40 minutes last night. Even with Anthony Edwards thriving, Minnesota needs much more production from Russell.
• Warriors 128, Thunder 120
  • Things are coming together for the Warriors. Winners of three straight, Golden State captured a road(!) win last night, and should continue to be a threat as long as Stephen Curry keeps performing at peak level. Klay Thompson, who chucked up 21 shots last night, is still shooting too much, though.
  • Jalen Williams shot 8-14 in this game for 19 points, and the rookie’s efficiency has been marveling. Williams needs to have more of an all-around impact on games, and he will soon, for the Thunder to be more competitive, but his 51.2 field goal percentage is impressive.
• Wizards 127, Spurs 106
  • Sure, this win was over a borderline pathetic Spurs team, but six wins in a row is a big step forward, nonetheless, for a suddenly streaking Wizards club. This season has been a slight positive for Deni Avdija, but the third year forward shined yesterday, scoring 25 points on just 12 shot attempts.
• Mavericks 111, Pistons 105
  • I can’t get behind Luka Doncic as a super serious MVP candidate yet — Dallas is just 27-25, but he’s put together some crazy performances this season. Last night was one of those, as Doncic exploded for 53 points on just 24 shots. Alarmingly, the Mavericks won by just six points. Shakeups will almost surely happen in Dallas come the February 9th trade deadline.
  • Speaking of trades, Bojan Bogdanovic should be an appealing target for plenty of teams. Will Detroit be able to secure an unprotected first-round pick for the forward’s services, or will it be just a protected first or two?
• Suns 114, Raptors 106
  • Mikal Bridges has taken a positive step forward this year. The young wing was a good player last season, but he’s really emerged as a scoring threat, as the durable Bridges scored 29 points last night. The Suns are just 2.0 games above .500, but will be dangerous if healthy in the playoffs.
  • As I mentioned above, the Suns are talented, but this wasn’t a good loss for Toronto. OG Anunoby was missing from the lineup, but the rest of the Raptors’ normal starters all played reasonably well, but the final result was still a loss. Like in Dallas, there should be changes up north by February 9th.
• Trail Blazers 129, Hawks 125
  • Not much of what Damian Lillard does is quiet, but the 32-year-old is quietly having arguably the best year of his stellar career. Averaging 30.1 points per game, Lillard has been sizzling lately, posting an insane average of 42.3 points per game. Portland isn’t good, and it’s wasting perhaps the end of Lillard’s prime.

NCAAB

• Virginia 67, Syracuse 62
  • Virginia, despite not having the conference’s best record in league play, is unsurprisingly the ACC’s best team, yet again. The Cavaliers are a bit small, but the pieces fit together extremely well in Charlottesville.
  • Syracuse has lost three games in a row, and it’s easy to sense the bleakness and urgency regarding the Orange’s situation. It’ll be difficult for Syracuse to make the tournament, given the team’s 13-10 record, and Jim Boeheim definitely senses that, as the legendary coach played four starters 36 or more minutes in this contest.
• Oral Roberts 103, South Dakota 53
  • Oral Roberts is rolling. The Golden Eagles are 11-0 in the Summit League, and are probably better than the 2021 team that made the Sweet Sixteen. Thank Max Abmas for that, as the elite scorer is on a heater. Abmas scored 31 points last night.
• Texas 76, Baylor 71
  • Baylor isn’t having a bad season by any means — the Bears are 16-6 while playing in a loaded Big 12, but one reason that Baylor isn’t elite is that Adam Flagler hasn’t taken a step forward. Flagler is shooting just 41.2 percent from the field in a season in which the senior guard was expected to break out. Unfortunately for Scott Drew, Davion Mitchell and Jared Butler aren’t walking through the door in Waco.
• Texas Tech 80, Iowa State 77
  • The Red Raiders may be the best 1-8 team in conference play that I’ve seen in a long time. It’s probably too late for Texas Tech to make a push for an at-large bid, and the team won’t have much of a chance to win the Big 12 Tournament, but things are taking a turn for the better in Lubbock.
  • Iowa State absolutely collapsed yesterday, costing me a two-leg parlay relying on the Cyclones and Oral Roberts both winning. Thankfully, I won $30 on a free entry voucher NBA DFS contest, but this loss by Iowa State was tough on many levels.

MLB

• Royals sign SP Zack Greinke to one-year, $9 million contract
  • The Royals will most likely be bad again in 2023, but I don’t mind this deal. Greinke’s peripherals, such as his K/9, were way down in 2022, but the veteran should still be able to eat innings for a young Royals team. Plus, there’s always a chance that Kansas City can flip the 39-year-old for prospects at the trade deadline.
    Grade: B-