The Bounce Newsletter 
| This is The Athletic’s daily NBA newsletter. Sign up here to receive The Bounce directly in your inbox.
We had one game last night: the Knicks beating the Raptors 113-108 in Toronto behind 24 points, 15 rebounds and six assists from Karl-Anthony Towns. That’s it. That’s your entire “About Last Night” section.
Let’s Go to Las Vegas!
NBA Cup kicks into high gear tonight
Tonight, we’ve got our first set of single-elimination games to send teams to Las Vegas to play for the NBA Cup this weekend. Six of the eight teams competing for this getaway are fresh blood when it comes to this round of the tournament. (Here is an updated view of the NBA Cup bracket.)
Let’s break down East and West matchups for tonight, including the local temperatures compared to the projected high of 61 degrees in Las Vegas this coming Saturday (for potential extra motivation). All game times are Eastern and all betting odds courtesy of BetMGM.
Bucks at Magic, 7 p.m. on TNT: Milwaukee is the only team left in this tournament to have previously made it to Las Vegas for the semifinal. And for the first time this season, they’re pretty much healthy. Khris Middleton is back and working his way into game shape. Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard are playing well. And the Bucks have won 10 of their last 13.
Orlando is in a different spot. Its two best players are out — unless Paolo Banchero gives us a surprise, Royal Rumble-esque entrance at home tonight. And yet, the Magic have thrived as of late. They went 13-7 without Banchero before the Franz Wagner injury. Then, they won without both of them against Phoenix on Sunday night. Orlando’s defense is great no matter who is on the floor. Not to mention, the Magic haven’t lost at home in 10 outings this season.
- Bucks injuries: None
- Magic injuries: Banchero (oblique) and Wagner (oblique) are out. Jonathan Isaac (hamstring), Gary Harris (hamstring) missed the last game.
- Milwaukee projected high temperature on Saturday: 37 degrees 🥶
- Orlando projected high temperature on Saturday: 75 degrees ☀️
- Season series: They haven’t played yet.
- Bucks odds: +150 to make final, +450 to win NBA Cup
- Magic odds: +800 to make final, +2500 to win NBA Cup
- Prediction: Bucks in an ugly thriller.
Mavericks at Thunder, 9:30 p.m. on TNT: Dallas (16-8) comes into this game super hot. The Mavs have won seven straight games and 11 of their last 12, all behind great play on both ends of the floor. Dallas has been a top-10 defense, top-two offense and the most dominant team in the NBA during this 12-game stretch. They’re also mostly healthy right now after Luka Dončić missed some games, and there’s still plenty of room for them to grow with Klay Thompson’s jumper getting more Klay-like. The Mavericks also could have a bit of a psychological edge, given that they took down the Thunder in the second round of the playoffs in May.
The Thunder have been the best team in the West all season, and you could argue that they’ve been the best team in the NBA. Their plus-11.9 net rating is actually better than Boston’s last season (plus-11.7). OKC has the best defense in basketball — and that’s while missing some guys. Fifteen of their 18 wins are by double digits, but they’re 0-3 in games decided by one possession.
- Mavericks injuries: Dante Exum (wrist) is out. Naji Marshall (illness), Jaden Hardy (ankle) are day to day.
- Thunder injuries: Chet Holmgren (hip), Jaylin Williams (hamstring), Ousmane Dieng (finger) and Nikola Topić (ACL) are out.
- Dallas projected high temperature on Saturday: 61 degrees 🧥
- OKC projected high temperature on Saturday: 52 degrees 🧣
- Season series: The Mavs are 1-0 against the Thunder, beating them 121-119 on Nov. 17 in OKC. Dallas did not have Dončić in that game, and the Thunder were missing Holmgren, Alex Caruso and Isaiah Hartenstein.
- Mavericks odds: +275 to make final, +700 to win NBA Cup
- Thunder odds: +125 to make final, +275 to win NBA Cup
- Prediction: Mavericks in a great game.
Here’s a full viewing guide for this week’s games.
The Last 24
Will the NBA create a league in Europe?
🏀 NBA European League. The NBA and FIBA might be making a European professional league soon. Details here.
☘️ Celtics evolving. Boston is trying to change the way it plays despite last season’s success. Jared Weiss explains.
👋 Kawhi back? It looks like the two-time finals MVP is getting closer to a return to the court. When could it happen?
🧘 NBA Bye Week. John Hollinger says the bye week, which is currently underway, could really change things for some teams. Which teams will benefit?
Rank ‘Em!
Top three, middle three, bottom three
It’s Tuesday! You know what that means: We’re back to sorting through the best and worst teams in the NBA with some good, old-fashioned ranking! But we wouldn’t just leave you with the top-three and bottom-three teams in the NBA. We also give you the controversial middle three — team Nos. 14, 15 and 16. (Here are this week’s NBA Power Rankings from Law Murray, if you want to do a deep dive.)
Top three: Celtics (19-5), Thunder (18-5), Cavaliers (21-4)
Teams like Dallas, Memphis and Houston are often in the mix. Golden State and New York are as well, when they get themselves right. We’ve seen some good stuff from Orlando despite the injuries. But it’s hard to think of teams consistently unseating Boston, OKC and Cleveland. They have the three best records and net ratings in basketball. They’ve all been a little banged up too, so this could get a lot scarier for the rest of the NBA.
Middle three: Nuggets (12-10), Heat (12-10), Hawks (13-12)
The Nuggets lost to the Wizards last weekend, which I’m still not over. I truly don’t understand how that happened in a game where Nikola Jokić played — and played well. He’s been fine, but the rest of the team has been inconsistent. The Hawks have had some great success lately, and big wins over big teams, but they did just get blown out by Denver. And the Heat have played well and are creeping toward more of what we’re used to seeing, especially with wins over the Lakers, Suns and Cavs this week.
Bottom three: Jazz (5-18), Pelicans (5-20), Wizards (3-19)
The Wizards won a game! Not only that, but they beat the Nuggets when Jokić went for 56 points! It ended a 16-game losing streak, and for that they … are still the worst team in basketball. But they don’t have to worry about matching Detroit’s all-time bad run from last season … yet? Utah almost built some goodwill here with a 42-point win over Portland, and then followed that up with a 44-point loss in Sacramento. As for the Pelicans? Their best guys keep getting injured. Watch Cooper Flagg highlights, everybody!
Disappointments
Embiid’s concerning comment about his knee
Over the weekend, 76ers star Joel Embiid played in his fifth game of the season, returning to the court after missing the previous seven games. He played well, as you’d expect from the 2023 MVP. He scored 31 points and grabbed 12 rebounds in the win over the Bulls. That should be cause for celebration, right? Embiid on the court is what gives the Sixers and their fans hope of eventually contending for the championship.
Instead, it was kind of just … sad. Asked by ESPN after the game what the last couple months have been like with him missing so many games, and the Sixers going just 7-15 to start a very important season, Embiid responded:
“Depressing. Just trying to figure it out. There’s no injury. Just between the swelling … we’ve got to get it figured out. That’s it.
“I’ve been saying it for the last few months. It’s been extremely depressing. It’s something that hasn’t been figured out, and it’s been extremely annoying, because I would love to play every single game.”
The good news is the Sixers have won four of their last five games heading into this “bye week” for so many squads. The troubling news is the confirmation that they don’t know what is wrong with Embiid’s knee. They can’t figure out the swelling. Progress always seems to be followed by a setback, and, much like Kawhi Leonard’s situation, it’s hard to know if it can ever be fixed. It can only be managed, which provides plenty of mistaken fuel for people railing against load management and ignoring the cases of injury management.
I don’t know if we’ll ever see a healthy season for the 30-year-old Embiid again. The Sixers are trying to position themselves to be successful when he’s not there, and then thrive if he can be healthy for a playoff push. It’s always depressing when the greats of the game are battling their bodies more than their opponents.
📫 Love The Bounce? Check out The Athletic’s other newsletters.
(Top photo: Joshua Gateley / Getty Images )
