January’s Four for Nine

Four topics featuring news all over the basketball world, from the reigning powers in the West Coast to the 360 whopper placed in the rim by Zion Williamson.

Can the Denver Nuggets stay on top in the west?

Total 2018-2019 NBA Season	PPG	APG	TRB	STL	BLK	TOV	FG%	3P%	FT%	Record
Denver Nuggets averages	110.7	27.2	47.1	8.3	4.7	13.5	.464	.350	.749	26-12
Ranking in league	23rd	5th	16th	10th	24th	5th	13th	15th	21st	3rd (1st in West)

The Denver Nuggets came out of nowhere this season. In the 2017-2018 NBA Season the Jokic-led Nuggets far in the season, almost to the Playoffs, missing by just one nail-biting game they lost in overtime to the Minnesota Timberwolves. It was a definite blow to Nuggets fans as they haven’t seen the playoffs since 2013. The next time they’ll visit the Playoffs will probably be at the end of THIS regular season though, as they’ve been destroying their opponents left and right, achieving the peak of the Western Conference.

The Denver Nuggets have 15 games on the month of January, already playing 4 of them prior to the 9th (of January). For the month of January in 2019 they’ve racked a record of 3-1, losing their previous game to the Houston Rockets, losing 113-125. For the rest of January, it seems the Nuggets will see a relatively easy opponent matching, save for their current streak of games

The driving force behind this amazing season is the tandem of Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray, each posting 18.9 points and 18.4 points respectively. Six players on the Nuggets roster are averaging double digit figures (technically five due to the loss of Will Barton on the main roster). Gary Harris has silently been averaging 16 points on 43% shooting, helping this roster to the first seed.

The Denver Nuggets have 43 games left of their regular season before they hopefully see the shine of the NBA Playoffs as the first seed, provided they stay in first. Second in the Western Conference are the reigning Champions in the Golden State Warriors, with a record of 26-14.

What do you think? Do you think we’ll see the Nuggets comfortably hoisted in first position for the rest of the season or will we see power struggle in the strong West as we head to the third quarter mark of the season?

Further reading: Nuggets Article releasing soon – keep this page bookmarked

Sacramento and Golden State combine for 41 3 pointers, 5/1

3 Pointers made from both teams	Curry	Hield	Jackson	Thompson	Durant	Cook	Bogdanovic	Bjelica
3 Point shots made/attempted	10 of 20	8 of 13	5 of 7	3 of 6	3 of 7	3 of 4	3 of 8	2 of 2

*Yogi Ferrell, Ben McLemore, Andre Iguodala and Draymond Green each scored a single three pointer to add to the total*

You read the caption right; 41 three pointers in a single game. In what seems like an NBA 2k statline, Stephen Curry thanked the 3 point line for 30 of his 42 points that night. Perhaps it was to make up for the horrible loss to the Houston Rockets in the previous game; whatever it was though, Curry should do it more often.

Despite the loss, Buddy Hield of the Sacramento Kings chucked up a career high 8 three pointers in a Steph-ortless fashion. Teammate Bogdan Bogdanovic also listed for 17 points, with 9 of those points also coming from the hot three point line. It was Justin Jackson that looked hot too, adding a career-high 28 points.

The Kings shouldn’t feel bad about this loss; they played tremendous basketball and came back from a huge lead by the Warriors in the third quarter, erasing the 20 point deficit. They looked competitive with their defense in the fourth quarter, but couldn’t match with Steph’s hot hand.

I hope it was fun to watch. At the end they just clamped down and kept us in front, forcing tough shots

Kings head coach Dave Joerger

Zion Williamson drops a 360 hammer for the crowd

Zion Williamson, projected number 1 overall pick in the 2019 NBA draft has done nothing but impress college fans. In his 13 games for Duke so far, the star college power forward has averaged 20.2 points and 9.5 rebounds on 66.4% from the field.

After stealing the ball from team Clemson, Zion took two dribbles to calm himself before going for the highlight that would blow up Twitter and Instagram. In less than 24 hours, practically every basketball fan had seen the video on loop of 285lb of muscle cutting through the air for a 360 slam.

As if that wasn’t enough, Duke Basketball Twitter set forth a photo of Zion (during the game), launching his head to reach the height of a basketball net. If Duke wins the championship it looks like they won’t need a ladder to cut down the nets!

Further reading: Article releasing soon about Zion Williamson – check it out

DeMarcus Cousins sets a date for his return

Per many sources, DeMarcus Cousins, center for the Golden State Warriors has set a timetable for his return; January 18. – almost one year after he sustained his torn Achilles tendon.

Warriors head coach Steve Kerr spoke to reporters about DeMarcus Cousin’s potential return to the game of basketball in the report before their Knicks game today.

It’s closer now. It seems to me he’s gotten through a barrier conditioning-wise

Head coach Steve Kerr

DeMarcus Cousins was in the midst of his career best year on his new team, the New Orleans Pelicans, when he tore his Achilles towards the end of the game in a victory against the James Harden-led Houston Rockets

A message by the Author

First off, I’d like to address why this post is Four for Nine and not something else like Nine for Nine or Four for Four. In case you didn’t know, the National Basketball Association was founded in 1949 when the BAA and the NBL decided to merge to create the NBA. This is where I got the numbers 4 and 9 from.

I hope for Four for Nine to be a regular thing where I highlight the four most interesting events and hot takes of the month. Please send a DM to instagram user (@_dailyhoops) with any suggestions for the top 4 ideas for next month (February)

I plan to release the Four for Nine on the Ninth of every month, starting with this January.

All stats are accurate as of before the games occuring on the 9th