December 2019 – DownToBuck

Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk 15 Points Full Highlights (12/30/2019)

Is it wrong of me to feel like these middling scoring performances from Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk are no longer exciting me? Sure, this game ties a career high in points, and sets a new career high in field goals with six, but, still…it’s just fifteen points. It’s not a crime to want a role-player who apparently…

Kelly Oubre 29 Points/7 Threes Full Highlights (12/30/2019)

With this single game, Kelly Oubre improved his three point percentage from 32% to 34%. We’re almost halfway through the season, so you wouldn’t expect a big swing like that just from one game, but Oubre took ten three-pointers (twice as many as he takes in an average game) and made seven of them, so…

Coby White 18 Points Full Highlights (12/30/2019)

The ONLY positive of Coby White taming his lion’s mane into a more manageable hairstyle is that it’s easier to fit his head into the thumbnail. But that’s IT. There may be other benefits from his perspective, like it not hindering him on the court as much or whatever, but I don’t care about his…

Alex Len 18 Points Full Highlights (12/30/2019)

I just have to accept that there is nothing I can do or say to make people care about Alex Len. I could be the world’s most persuasive orator, I could have the most compelling arguments, I could offer monetary rewards, it doesn’t matter. The general NBA public is resolute in their stance, and through…

Kevin Huerter 19 Points Full Highlights (12/30/2019)

I’m sure I’m not the only one who was expecting a little more out of Kevin Huerter this year. He hasn’t regressed too badly, just a small dip in percentages and slightly fewer minutes, I would hardly qualify it as a regression at all, but just standing pat is not what young players are supposed…

Brandon Goodwin Career High 21 Points/6 Assists Full Highlights (12/30/2019)

There was a time, last season, when Brandon Goodwin was the only real point guard on the Denver Nuggets’ roster besides Monte Morris. That fact didn’t help him get any playing time at all, because the Nuggets seem very averse to the idea of having a traditional PG on the court for them, but it…

Naz Reid 13 Points Full Highlights (12/30/2019)

I’m pretty sure Naz Reid thought that this was a G-League game (with a suspiciously big crowd), because the 16 shots he attempted tonight is an amount more in line with what he’s been doing with the Iowa Wolves than anything he should be doing in the real-life NBA. This may sound contradictory or hypocritical,…

Shabazz Napier 24 Points/8 Assists Full Highlights (12/30/2019)

Timberwolves fans may not believe this, but Shabazz Napier was good, once upon a time. He was legitimately good in his last season with Portland (the only place he stayed for more than one year), and was kinda okay in Brooklyn. And that stint with Brooklyn was just last year! He has a recent history…

Jarrett Culver 21 Points Full Highlights (12/30/2019)

Thanks to the all-around suckiness of most of the top picks in this year’s draft, Jarrett Culver has mostly evaded criticism for his own suckiness. Other years, a guy picked 6th overall who was doing as poorly as Culver is would get mercilessly skewered by all sorts of national media outlets. Even NPR would get…

Ish Smith 19 Points/7 Assists Full Highlights (12/30/2019)

My video series for a devastating quadfecta of ‘Zards role-players concludes with Ish Smith dropping a rather pedestrian (compared to the other three’s statlines) 19 points and 7 assists. The combination of Smith, Ian Mahinmi, Garrison Mathews, and Jordan McRae scored 101 points. The rest of the team, 22. Mahinmi was the only starter in…