Run it Back! NBA Week in Review - Week #21

[00:00:01] Week 21 of the 2024-25 NBA season is over, which means it's time to run it back. This is Run It Back NBA Week in Review. I'm Jose Salviati, Editor at ThePeachBasket.net, and this is the show where we recap the week that was in the NBA and then highlight the more key matchup for the week to come.

[00:00:20] We start with the only objective overall top 10 NBA power rankings anywhere. You can read more about how we get to these rankings and see the entire list at ThePeachBasket.net. Let's take a look at the top 10 at the conclusion of Week 21. No teams dropped in or out of the elite top 10 this week, but there was some movement, actually a good amount of movement, within the top 10. Let's get right into it.

[00:00:45] The Golden State Warriors were perfect in Week 21 at 3-0, but in our points-based, math-strong, strength-of-schedule, objective power rankings, they didn't earn enough points as the team above them did. So they dropped one spot from number 9 to number 10. The team above the Warriors, the team that earned just a few more points with more impressive wins in the week, were the Minnesota Timberwolves.

[00:01:12] They were also perfect at 3-0 and leapfrogged over the dubs to take number 9. The Los Angeles Lakers have cooled off a bit since the most shocking trade in NBA history brought them Luka Doncic. They were 0-3 in Week 21 and dropped one spot to number 8. Number 7 belongs to the Memphis Grizzlies. They were 4-1 in Week 21 and moved up one spot. The New York Knicks hold firm at number 6. They were 2-1 in the week.

[00:01:40] Number 5 is where we find the Denver Nuggets. They dropped one spot after going 2-3 in Week 21. The Houston Rockets moved up one spot after a perfect 4-0 week. They are the number 4 team in our objective power rankings this week. The top 3 really haven't changed since week number 16, and I don't think they're going to. You might see some movement from 1-2-3 here and there, maybe, but I don't think anybody else is going to catch them.

[00:02:10] Any chance that anybody else other than these three are the 2024-25 NBA champion is pretty slim. The Boston Celtics are number 3-3 after going 3-1. Will the defending NBA champs repeat? The Oklahoma City Thunder matched the Celtics at 3-1 to keep a hold of the number 2 spot. Will the Young Thunder win the franchise's first title since they were known as the Seattle Superzonics in 1979? That would be a great story.

[00:02:41] The number 1 Cleveland Cavaliers were a perfect 3-0. Another perfect week for the best team in the association. Will the Cavs finish off a dream regular season by lifting the Larry O'Brien at the end of the season? The second title in Cavaliers history. Lots of interesting stories there. It will probably be one of those three, which is crazy to think. Let's see how it plays out. That's the objective top 10 list for week number 21.

[00:03:09] If you want to see where all 30 teams land this week, please visit thepeachbasket.net. Now let's shift our focus to the players. These are the best to do it by average in week number 21 of the 2024-25 NBA season. These are the best by average in shooting, rebounds, assists, blocks, steals, points, and game score. Shea Gilgis Alexander continues to amaze.

[00:03:35] For the second week in a row, he leads everyone in the NBA in points scored on average. In week 21, he averaged 36.8 points over his four games played. The top three-point sniper was Jeremy Grant. He made six three-point shots in his one-game play to lead everyone. The top field goal maker was Paolo Banquero, who averaged 13.3 over his three games played. The Portland Trailblazers have a nice young core. Danny Agdija is a part of that.

[00:04:04] He led everyone in average rebounds per game in week 21, pulling down 15.5 in his two games played. The top offensive rebounder in the week was Steven Adams. He muscled his way to 5.7 offensive boards on average over his three games played. And Agdija was the top defensive rebounder at 12.5. The top assist man was not a guard. Again, the NBA has changed.

[00:04:31] And we see a lot more movement from bigs being led, of course, by Nikola Jokic. But this time, it's not Nikola Jokic who led everyone in assists. It was DeMontis Sabonis. He led the association with 12 assists over his one-game play. Walker Kessler led everyone with four blocks per game over his two games played. He is an exceptional rim protector. The top thief in week 21 was Chris Murray. He swiped four possessions in his one-game played.

[00:05:00] And finally, the top game score for week 21 belongs to Shea Gilgis-Alexander. Again! Steve Persiello on the Shot Clock pod recently called the Thunder his team, favored to win it all this season. Hard to argue with him. The Thunder looked great, and Shea is absolutely ready to lead his team to lifting that LOB. His impressive game score of 30.6 over his four games played led the association. Now, let's look ahead to week 22.

[00:05:30] It's difficult to pick a marquee matchup, but the top teams are not playing each other. So, we have to settle for a match in between the Denver Nuggets and the two teams in the West with championship aspirations and phenomenal championship history. The Golden State Warriors and the Los Angeles Lakers.

[00:05:48] The Nuggets will be the road team against both of those teams and can either give both of them, either of them, one of them, cape or crush their dreams. Who do you got in those games as the Nuggets travel to San Francisco to take on the Dubs and Los Angeles to take on the Lakers? We end with a segment we call Full Court Press. I ask AI for its thoughts on viral trending NBA news as we head into week 22.

[00:06:18] And this is what it came up with. And there's some interesting topics. It always comes up with great ones. The NBA investigates the Thunder and the Sixers for player participation violations. That is very interesting. The Cavaliers set franchise record for 16th straight win. That is a high this season. Cavaliers look to be ready for the finals.

[00:06:38] And I don't think that a lot of nonchalant fans, Cavalier fans, if you will, not Cleveland Cavaliers, which is the casual fan, are going to be very excited about Cleveland versus OKC. But that would be a great matchup. Next topic. AI came up with Draymond Green's feud with Carl Anthony Towns escalates. I did not know about this until I read this and I looked it up. And man, that's just. We're not going to talk about it. But I'm just.

[00:07:05] I don't know why Draymond says some of the things he says. The last one Celtics clinched top succeed as Porzingis mystery illness lingers. I am not going to talk about the Celtics. I'll leave that to others a whole lot more capable than I. But those are great topics. I want to focus on the violations. NBA investigates Thunder and 76ers for player participation violations. I think it's an interesting topic. And listen, I get it. Right. You pay good money. And NBA tickets are not cheap.

[00:07:35] To see your favorite player, you get to the stadium, you pay more for parking than you settle into your seat and you pay way more than you should for a beverage and a snack. Only to find out that one of the players you really wanted to see is not suiting up. That's rough. And I get it. I sympathize. And listen, again, I can sympathize with a fan in that position. But it's difficult for me to understand the NBA's position here. On one hand, they want teams to prioritize player health and to not tank.

[00:08:05] And I get that's a broad brush. The NBA wants more from their franchises. But the NBA would no doubt want to see every NBA franchise do those two things, protect their players and not tank. So if you're an NBA team, you want to protect your best player and make sure as you can that your team is ready for the playoffs and or the playoff push. That means you might want to sit out a player with a nagging injury. And we have to be honest. Every player at this point in the season has some sort of nagging injury.

[00:08:35] And then that opens the door to other players who the coach might need in the playoffs. Let's get them some minutes. Let's get them some confidence. Let's make sure that they understand our sets. It's important. It's a win-win for the team. They rest their player that they're going to rely on and they get others time to see how ready they are and get their confidence up. It's a win-win for the team, but understandably a loss for the fans.

[00:09:00] In my mind's eye, a team win-win outranks a single loss for a fan. If you've ever been to Disneyland, most people, especially those coming from far away, want to see Mickey Mouse. That's why they're there. It's a big part of why they're there. Sometimes you won't be able to, though. Mickey isn't out all the time. He comes out at set times and sometimes he doesn't come out at all.

[00:09:20] The heartbreak that causes young kids is much more real, much more understandable, and just as expensive as anything an NBA fan feels when they don't get to see the player they came to see. Yet it happens at Disneyland. What Disneyland does, though, is they work to minimize that. The NBA should look to minimize that players aren't available.

[00:09:43] But they should no sooner fine a team for watching out for a player and their team than a mom should scream to a teenager working a part-time job about seeing a cartoon character. In this case, the NBA is acting like a Mickey Mouse organization. Heck yeah. If I did not put in a drum snare, I might do it in editing. I don't know. That's it.

[00:10:10] Week 21 of the 2024-25 NBA season is in the books. Join us again next week after week number 22 when we once again run it back.