Jayson Tatum is set to make his miraculous return from an Achilles tear on Saturday, less than 10 months after it happened in last year’s playoffs. He’ll be on a tight minutes restriction, but this is an excellent and impressive comeback story for Boston’s franchise player and it just so happens to come in a national TV game. It also comes after a crushing loss for Boston on Thursday, as they were completely outclassed against a rapidly rising Charlotte team in an 89-118 loss. It felt like a blowout was on the cards from early on, as Boston trailed 23-35 at quarter time, and they never looked likely of getting back into the game from there. It ended up being Boston’s fifth-worst defensive rating and sixth-worst offensive rating of the season, with Derrick White being the only standout. The guard had 29 points and three assists and Jaylen Brown went just 7/19 from the floor for 20 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists.
Dallas suffered their fifth loss on the bounce on Friday, as Wendell Carter Jr broke their hearts with a game-winning dunk with less than two seconds on the clock, forcing the visitors to settle for a 114-115 loss. Cooper Flagg returned from an eight-game injury layoff with a shaky offensive performance, with 18 points on 38.6% TS%, but he was able to add five rebounds, six assists, one steal and four blocks to leave his mark on the game. Klay Thompson hit seven threes for his best game in a while and Daniel Gafford had some good moments with 12 points, 13 rebounds and two blocks. However, a 7-24 run from the hosts in the third quarter put the game beyond Dallas’ reach, making for another loss.
There is a chance that Flagg is rested on night two of a back-to-back, which is a big blow to the visitors, and I am rather low on Tatum’s chances of having an impactful return to play, at least in his first few games. That’s going to interrupt Boston’s offence in his first game back and, against a poor Dallas offence, I am picking a low-scoring contest at TD Garden.
Charlotte are fast moving up the Eastern Conference standings and now look like a chance of finishing with a top six seed after thumping Boston 118-89 on Thursday. It was the team’s sixth consecutive win by more than 15 points, which is an incredible streak in its own right, but their 16-3 record in their last 19 games is the most important part of this run. Everything went right in their thumping of Boston, with a 16-5 run in the first quarter giving them a 32-18 lead and they never looked back. Brandon Miller had some explosive moments on his way to 18 points and three steals, LaMelo Ball ran the offence well again with 18 points and four assists and Coby White continued to prove his worth post-trade, with 17 points and six dimes. Moussa Diabate also impressed with 9/9/6 and two steals and Kon Kneuppel’s 20 points led the team in a balanced outing.
Miami have won three straight games after a 126-110 win over Brooklyn on Friday. A brief resurgence from the visitors gave them the lead early in the third, but Miami were ruthless in their response, particularly with their 24-7 run that started late in the third quarter and saw them build an unassailable 114-90 lead. Kel’el Ware had an amazing defensive game, recording five steals and seven blocks, along with 16 points and 11 rebounds off the bench, while his starting centre Bam Adebayo dropped 21 points and seven rebounds. Jaime Jaquez Jr added 18 points, seven rebounds and seven assists and Tyler Herro scored an efficient 25 points and five assists in a breezy night for Miami.
I would be surprised if Herro suits up for Miami on a back-to-back shortly after returning from injury, and that’s one less weapon for the visitors to throw at this strong Charlotte defence. I can’t see many areas where Miami are going to have the advantage in this matchup and Charlotte will run away with a big win.
San Antonio impressed again on Friday, this time coasting past Detroit 121-106. It was another battle of two top teams in the league, but San Antonio again got the better of the Eastern Conference leaders, this time on the back of an elite offensive night. It started with a 38-22 first quarter, as Victor Wembanyama dropped 12 points and three blocks in the first and finished the night with 38 points, 16 rebounds and five blocks in another dominant game. De’Aaron Fox recorded 29 points, Stephon Castle had 11 points and 12 assists and Julian Champagnie had 16 points and seven rebounds to round out a big night from Mitch Johnson’s men.
The Clippers made it three wins on the bounce on Thursday, thumping Indiana 130-107. The hosts were always in control of this contest, starting with a 42-point first quarter before continuing the onslaught in the second half. It was the team’s best two-way game of the season, with a 133.7 offensive rating and a 94.0 defensive rating to blowout the visitors and Bennedict Mathurin was one of the stars against his former team, dropping 23 points, eight rebounds, four assists, one steal and one block in just 22 minutes. Kawhi Leonard also stood out with 29 points, eight rebounds and two assists and Darius Garland improved on his first game back from injury, this time notching up 12 points and eight assists.
The Clippers really don’t have anyone to hold down Wembanyama, with Brook Lopez being too slow and Yanic Konan Niederhauser being out for the season. Garland will also miss Saturday’s game, and this matchup really does not favour the Clippers.