NBA Sunday Social: Records, Milestones, Melo, and Turkey Day

It was a light week in the NBA this week, but that didn’t stop social media from lighting up when LeBron James and Luka Doncic both reached milestones.

It was a short week in the NBA because this was one of those rare instances during the six-month season where all 30 teams received an off night. However, just because there were no games on Thanksgiving, there was plenty of other content to work with throughout the week.

Let’s get into the social highlights from the week of November 25-30 below:

Don’t call it a comeback

The Oklahoma City Thunder and Golden State Warriors both appear to be lottery bond this season. With that said, their situations are vastly different. The Warriors lost Kevin Durant in free agency and have been devastated by injuries. Whereas, the Thunder traded away their superstars in the summer in favor of a rebuild. In the end, the result is the same; ping pong balls.

In three games this season, the Thunder have had the Warriors number, like a lot of teams have as GSW currently sits at 4-16. In this match, it looked like the Warriors would register their first win of the season versus the Thunder, but Oklahoma City had other ideas. The Thunder closed the game on a 13-0 run over the final 3:18 of the match, en-route to their 100-97 victory.

We don’t see this a lot in Oklahoma City

Some people believe a game-winner can be hit at any point during a game. What this actually means is every bucket counts, and some outrageous shot that probably shouldn’t have gone in did end up being vital later in the match. This is exactly what transpired on Monday night for the Thunder as Chris Paul hit only the seventh backcourt shot in franchise history.

High praise for James Harden

https://www.instagram.com/p/B5TlhQPBQcM/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet

At times Harden’s peers have not always liked him. Much like his current teammate – Russell Westbrook – the superstar shooting guard has faced his fair share of criticism. Yet, that did not stop Ben Mclemore from taking to Instagram to share his thoughts about his Rockets teammate.

Uncomfortable debate

https://www.instagram.com/p/B5T3uwRB1WB/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet

This is a tricky debate. On one hand, it is easy to see why photographers and videographers should be moved back, as their presence can pose an injury risk. On the other hand, just like the NBA players, they have a job to do as well, they risk injuries to themselves and damage to their equipment to accomplish the task at hand.

If the NBA moves camera personnel back, where does it end? Are they also going to remove courtside seats because players could injure themselves crashing into a fan?

Statistical oddity

https://www.instagram.com/p/B5UNXGMB4Nm/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet

Joel Embiid has played in 173 regular-season contests. His Monday night performance versus the Toronto Raptors was the first time he has ever gone scoreless in an NBA game, surpassing his previous career-low of five points.

Gotta love a little antics

https://www.instagram.com/p/B5WkVAdJU7Q/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet

Last year in Denver, Bradley Beal created an infamous social moment when a fan by the railing called him trash. This time around, Beal recreated his facial expression prior to taking the court inside the Pepsi Center.

He’s a funny guy

https://www.instagram.com/p/B5YTTSXJDby/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet

During media day for the Raptors last fall when he was asked what Raptors fans should know about him, Kawhi Leonard responded with: I’m a Guy. The quote instantly took off and is now a vital part of Leonard’s brand, well it looks like they might want to add Funny Guy to the repertoire as well.

Celtics fans are savage

Celtics fans have a reputation for being ruthless. For this passionate fan base, this act seems kind of mild. However, the crowd within TD Garden did get a raucous Kyrie Sucks chant going, and the former Celtic was not even playing.

Oh, what could have been…

The above tweet illustrates something Thunder fans clamored for, for what seemed like an entire decade. Russell Westbrook is finally playing with an abundance of shooters, and the results have been mixed.

When Westbrook is on the floor for the Rockets, 55.2 percent of their field goals are assisted. Versus 44.8 being unassisted. When Russ is off the floor, their assisted field goals decrease to 48.6, and the unassisted field goals rise to 51.4 percent.

Touching on Russ a Little More

Has Westbrook played perfectly for the Rockets this year? No, he has not. There are copious reasons for this. A few are highlighted in the tweet above. The bottom line is this, Westbrook played for one type of coach, who ran one type of system for over a decade, and old habits die very hard.

Turning tide in Rip City

Since Damian Lillard returned, he and Carmelo Anthony are combining for some rather impressive numbers for the Blazers. The two-man lineup of Anthony and Lillard has played 100 minutes in four games, registering a plus-minus of plus-31. During those contests, the Blazers have gone 3-1.

Looking a little deeper at Anthony’s numbers exclusively, when he is on the floor, the Blazers are plus-37 over the course of 186 minutes. During the 105 minutes, Melo has been off the floor Portland is minus-18.

Mr. Young is Unhappy

https://twitter.com/rayfordyoung/status/1199896585448103937?s=20

No matter how old a child gets, the parental instinct to defend and protect can always kick in. This is what Trae Young’s father – Rayford Young – recently displayed on Twitter.

The 2019-20 Rookie of the Year is…

https://www.instagram.com/p/B5ZRMv8jboz/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet

It’s not even 20 games into the season for some teams, and Grizzlies Ja Morant is already forging a convincing case for Rookie of the Year. If he keeps this up, he may have the award wrapped up before the All-Star break.

Klay on call

https://www.instagram.com/p/B5ZXvHhjMU9/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet

Klay Thompson may not be on the court for his Warriors because of his torn ACL, but he has remained engaged with the team. Recently, Thompson was on call on the Warriors broadcast. In true announcer fashion, Klay even butchered a name.

A little photography anyone?

https://www.instagram.com/p/B5YtV0klTmh/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet

NBA photographers can be found across Instagram. C Porter recently shared these shots he captured during the Celtics-Nets match inside T.D. Garden.

Welcome to the 33k club

Whether you love him or you strongly dislike him, take a moment to stop and appreciate LeBron James’ greatness. There will never be another player quite like him.

Wild KAT

https://www.instagram.com/p/B5ZXsL3pFCR/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet

To this point, the Minnesota Timberwolves are one of if not the most surprising team in the entire league. Entering the 2019-20 campaign, few had expectations for this squad. Currently, 18 games into the season and the Wolves are two games over .500 at 10-8. Their record is good for the West’s seventh seed.

Happy Thanksgiving from the Westbrook’s

https://www.instagram.com/p/B5bR1drpDJz/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet

Because the NBA does not schedule games on Thanksgiving, many players have the opportunity to celebrate the holiday with their family’s, such as Westbrook above.

NBA players are just like us

Much like Russ, Steph Curry also got to get in some quality family time on Turkey Day.

The bearded wonder

Sam Presti rocking a beard is an interesting sight.

Parents can be funny

Names can be difficult, some more than others, and we all get tripped up at times.

You can literally buy anything on Amazon

https://www.instagram.com/p/B5dcFiBFt3o/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet

In honor of the second holiday of the week — Black Friday — this post seems very fitting.

The chronicles of Melo

This tweet offers an interesting perspective on how a narrative can follow a player regardless if it is warranted or not.

A legend in the making

The Mavericks are in such a unique and fun position to be in, their greatest player in franchise history Dirk Nowitzki retired at the end of last season. However, it did not take Dallas long to find his successor, insert Luka Doncic (another European player at that,) and the rest is history.

An interesting question to ponder?

Having only watched Kevin Garnett and Tim Duncan during the twilight of their careers. It is difficult to say who was the better player. What do you think, add your answer in the comments below:

Luka continues making history

Because Westbrook averaged a triple-double for three consecutive seasons, the feat has somewhat lost its luster. Nonetheless, what Doncic is doing is remarkably impressive. By the way, have you heard? He is only 20 years old.

The Bucks are streaking

The Greek Freak has been doing some freaky things. Due to his impressive play, he and his Milwaukee Bucks are on a league-best 11 game win streak.

OT in Sac-Town

https://twitter.com/SacramentoKings/status/1200961463059451906?s=20

According to Statmuse, this was Harrison Barnes’s first 30-point game for the Kings. Sacramento is somewhat of a wildcard team. They sit at 8-10. The young Kings are not good enough to make noise in the postseason, yet they are too good to only be concerned with ping pong balls.

Harden was Hot

James Harden set the Twitter-verse ablaze as he narrowly missed out on a new career-high. Many fans were happy the beard did not participate in the games fourth quarter, as numerous Kobe stans did not want to see the Black Mamba’s 81 go down.

To that end, that’s it for Sunday Social this week. Check back next Sunday for a social recap of the week that was in the NBA.