"Put some respect on my name." These were Dame's words last night in the bubble after dropping 61 points in a win versus the Mavs. With 61 last night and 51 the night before, Damian Lillard joins a short list of NBA stars who have scored 112 or more points in a 2 game window. (Jordan, Harden, & Kobe are the others.) After moving to 9th on the list of most 50 point individual performances, Lillard and the Blazers also moved up to 8th in the western conference standings surpassing the Grizzlies and moving a half game ahead of them and the Suns.
When the Grizzlies entered the bubble, the eight seed was theirs to lose. Despite the Grizzlies temporary lead in the standings, the talk around the NBA was about the excitement of seeing Zion in the playoffs, Dame time vs. King James, or Coach Popp's Spurs playing as the eighth seed. (The Spurs were a stretch, I just like DeMar DeRozan.) Surprisingly, there was no buzz around the clear cut ROTY, Ja Morant, taking on LeBron's Lakers in the first round. We'll see if being counted out creates extra motivation for Memphis as they play their final regular season bubble game against the Bucks tomorrow in an obvious must-win match up.
As for being counted out, the Phoenix Suns have been the afterthought of the NBA for this entire decade. Yet, here are they are sitting at 7-0 since the NBA restart on July 31st. The eighth seed is still such a long shot for Phoenix, but they have put themselves in a position to attain it. Whether they make the playoffs or not, what the Suns are doing is important for their future and Devin Booker's NBA career path*.
*I agree with Dray, free D-Book!!!!
**Except I want him in Minnesota playing with KAT and D-Lo
***Minnesota is arguably as bad/ worse than Phoenix historically
https://t.co/laqxDLrXpD
— Average at Best (@_AverageBest) August 12, 2020
Who do we want to see in the 8th seed for the Western Conference?
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