Numbers (Game) galore ... with lots of Travelogue-ing on the side
There is lots to read, compute, digest and see in this Tuesday Newsletter Extravaganza
Last week's Tuesday Newsletter Extravaganza did not feature the usual Numbers Game section.
The only suitable response, when that happens, is making sure the next Tuesday Newsletter Extravaganza leads with Numbers Game.
To the overdue digits:
๐ 16
There have been 16 50-point games posted this season โฆ four by Oklahoma City's Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
๐ 12
The other players on the list to deliver a 50-point game: The Clippers' James Harden, Golden State's Stephen Curry, Denver's Jamal Murray, Minnesota's Anthony Edwards, New Orleans' CJ McCollum, New York's Jalen Brunson, Denver's Nikola Jokiฤ, Charlotte's LaMelo Ball, San Antonio's De'Aaron Fox (who did it while still with Sacramento), San Antonio's Victor Wembanyama, Milwaukee's Giannis Antetokounmpo and Orlando's Paolo Banchero.
๐ 46
Philadelphia's Quentin Grimes came close to adding himself to the list Monday night with 46 points at Houston. Grimes is averaging 28.6 points per game in March.
๐ 281
According to research from my pals at HoopsHype, Sunday's Sixers at Mavericks game that I covered featured what is presumed to be a single-game league record: $281 million in salary missing through injuries. Philadelphia played without Joel Embiid, Paul George and Tyrese Maxey; Dallas was without Anthony Davis and Kyrie Irving.
๐ 4-15
Don't leave out the Heat when you and your friends try to assess whether it's the Mavericks, Sixers or Suns who have endured the most miserable season. Miami is 4-15 since the Jimmy Butler trade and have lost eight straight games for the first time in Erik Spoelstra's 17 seasons as Heat coach.
More on Miami's recent struggles here from researcher extraordinaire
๐ 24-1
Another Keerthika Special: Oklahoma City is 24-1 this season against the Eastern Conference ...
๐ 0-2
While the Denver Nuggets are 0-2 against the Washington Wizards.
๐ 0-11
I continue to give the Bucks a puncher's chance to be a playoff factor in the East and keep saying so on podcasts when I probably should be looking for a new microscope to assess Giannis, Dame and Co. Milwaukee is (yikes) somehow 0-11 this season against Cleveland (0-4), Boston (0-3), New York (0-2) and Oklahoma City (0-2).
๐ 5
There are only five two-game "baseball series" left on this season's schedule โฆ meaning consecutive games in the same arena featuring the same two teams playing.
๐ 281
According to the copious notes on the subject maintained by Spurs broadcaster Dan Weiss, home teams have swept just 12 of the 34 two-game sets so far, with eight road teams sweeping the two games and 14 splits.
๐ .559
Home teams are 38-30 overall this season so far in "baseball series" games, resulting in a winning percentage of .559.
๐ .544
The overall winning percentage for home teams in the four-season history of the baseball series in the NBA is just .544 at 257-215.
๐ 48-0
The Cavaliers were 48-0 this season when leading after three quarters before Sunday's loss to visiting Orlando that snapped Cleveland's 16-game winning streak.
๐ 18
Mark Williams is obviously back with the Hornets after the Lakers rescinded their February trade for the Charlotte big man, but some rival executives expect the Williams trade market to be re-explored this summer. The Hornets have tried to shut down similar speculation about star guard LaMelo Ball, but the reality remains that Williams, Ball and Brandon Miller have managed to appear in the same game just 18 times over the past two seasons.
๐ 77
I recently visited my friends at the famed Nick & Sam's in Dallas and found that the 77-ounce New York strip founding chef Samir Dhurandhar conceived in honor of Luka Donฤiฤ is indeed still on the menu. Dhurandhar and restaurant owner Sam Romano say it's going nowhere.
๐ 13
Warriors two-way forward Jackson Rowe is the 13th Cal State Fullerton Titan to reach the NBA. After the, uh, challenging 6-26 season we just endured, I am listing the other 12 because, hey, I need to read these names right now:
Greg Bunch
Mike Niles
Leon Wood
Ozell Jones
Kevin Henderson
Richard Morton
Henry Turner
Cedric Ceballos
Bruce Bowen
Pape Sow
Bobby Brown
Josh Akognon
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Travelogue
Something else long overdue?
A picture review of my recent England trip:
(Substack) Note of the Week
Couldn't resist pointing back to last week's Tuesday Newsletter Extravaganza โฆ which unfortunately ran on a Wednesday but meant more to me than any article I've published for a long, long time: