Starting 5 Daily Newsletter

NBA Starting 5, Nov. 8: How To Prep For A 14-Game Night (!!)

Battle of the last 2 champs. Wemby makes his MSG debut. Top rookie debuts at The Garden. What else awaits?

November 8, 2023 2:41 PM

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THE LINEUP 🏀

Clash of last two champions 🏆
Wemby takes New York City 🗽
Rookie debuts at The Garden 🍎
What’s coming this week 🔜
Catch up on an epic 2 weeks 🔙

CLASH OF LAST TWO CHAMPIONS

🏀 WARRIORS-NUGGETS
📺 10 ET, ESPN

The Nuggets and Warriors have a few differences over the past decade.

Golden State’s four titles since 2015 to Denver’s one, for example.

Another: the Warriors’ 21 All-Star appearances across five players in that time, to the Nuggets’ five … all from Nikola Jokic.

But one thing they have in common? The last two champs feature two of the best to ever do it:

2-time MVP Nikola Jokic: Considered by many to be the greatest-passing big man ever, “The Joker” ranks eighth in points per game, third in boards and sixth in assists
2-time MVP Stephen Curry: The greatest shooter of all-time ranks fourth in scoring, has made 4+ 3-pointers in a record eight straight games to start the season … and has already made 13 more 3s than anybody else

When they meet tonight on a 14-game night they’ve got one more thing in common: with the Nuggets at 7-1 and Warriors at 6-2, they’re two of the best teams in the NBA so far.

Denver has the head-to-head edge the past two seasons:

The Nuggets have won the last three straight and six of the last seven games
Jokic has put up video-game numbers (26.7 ppg, 14.8 rpg, 10.2 apg), while Curry has averaged 27.5 points on 45% shooting

WEMBY TAKES NEW YORK 🗽

🏀 SPURS-KNICKS
📺 7:30 ET, ESPN

The first two weeks of the Victor Wembanyama Just Did What?? Tour have brought never-before-seen highlights to Texas, California, Arizona and Indiana.

Tonight, just a few miles from where he was drafted, he plays his first game at Madison Square Garden.

Before he does, let’s take stock of where he’s been:

Debut At Home: Spurs fans had been in a frenzy since the lottery, but the outburst of joy for Victor’s debut was palpable — especially after plays like this
First Win: Two days later, Wemby showed his clutch gene in his first win
LA Trip: Wemby’s first road trip took him to a city built for stars
Two Big Ws In Phoenix: Next it was off to the desert for two wins against Kevin Durant and the Suns: a wild comeback and a 38-point explosion two days later
Back Home: He racked up 20 in an OT loss to Toronto
Hoosier State Stop: Had his third double-double of the season against the Pacers

While fans at The Garden will always root for their Knicks, they appreciate greatness — whether it’s Kobe’s 61, Michael’s double nickel, or 54-point gems from Curry and LeBron James.

What does Wemby have in store?

12 more games on the NBA App:

📲 Wizards-Hornets: 7 ET
📲 Jazz-Pacers: 7 ET
📲 Celtics-Sixers: 7 ET
📲 Clippers-Nets: 7:30 ET
📲 Suns-Bulls: 8 ET
📲 Lakers-Rockets: 8 ET
📲 Heat-Grizzlies: 8 ET
📲 Pistons-Bucks: 8 ET
📲 Pelicans-Wolves: 8 ET
📲 Cavs-Thunder: 8 ET
📲 Raptors-Mavs: 8:30 ET
📲 Blazers-Kings: 10 ET

TOP ROOK DEBUTS AT MSG

The Mecca. The World’s Most Famous Arena. The Garden.

Whatever you call it, Madison Square Garden represents something special in the world of hoops.

Highest-Scoring MSG Debuts: With Wemby set to play at MSG for the first time tonight, which players have made the biggest splash in their Garden debuts?

Pete Maravich, ATL – 40 pts (1970)
Jay Vincent, DAL – 40 pts (1982)
Elvin Hayes, SD – 39 pts (1968)
Earl Monroe, BAL – 37 pts (1968)
Mitch Richmond, GS – 37 pts (1989)
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, MIL – 36 pts (1969)
Allen Iverson, PHI – 35 pts (1996)
Mike Taylor, LAC – 35 pts (2009)
Chuck Person, IND – 34 pts (1986)
Lauri Markkanen, CHI – 33 pts (2018)
Michael Jordan, CHI – 33 pts (1984)
Steve Francis, HOU – 32 pts (2000)

Early Look: Click here to see the best moments from Iverson, MJ, KD, Shaq, Luka and Tim Duncan’s first games ever at The Garden, special for the Starting 5.

WHAT ELSE THIS WEEK? 💥

It’s a big week of basketball, spanning both the world and multiple generations of hoopers — with a new edition of the In-Season Tournament on Friday. Here’s what to expect for the rest of the week:

Thursday: The Hawks and Magic meet in the NBA Mexico City Game 2023 (9:30 ET, NBA TV), bringing together two of the East’s top teams so far and two of the game’s most electric rising stars.

Trae Young and Paolo Banchero highlight the matchup, featuring the NBA’s third-ranked offense by ppg (Hawks, 122.0) and third-ranked defense (Magic, 105.6 ppg)
This marks the 32nd NBA game in Mexico since 1992, more than any place outside the U.S. and Canada

Friday: As of mid-October, LeBron James and Kevin Durant hadn’t met in an NBA game in five years.

Come Friday, they’ll have shared the court twice in two weeks. (Three in three weeks if you count preseason)

A matchup of two generational talents — and the NBA’s top two active scorers — highlights Friday’s slate (10 ET, ESPN), as the NBA In-Season Tournament returns for its second night of Group Play.

Last Friday’s opener saw the most competitive regular season night of games in nine years (minimum seven games), with an average margin of just 4.9 points
This Friday, nine teams will debut nine new home courts
Here’s where the teams stand after one Tournament Night
Need to catch up on the latest in the In-Season Tournament? Got questions? Head to the Tournament Hub

Saturday: Warriors-Cavs highlights a 4-game day, with NBA leading scorer Donovan Mitchell and fourth-leading scorer Curry leading the way.

Sunday: The first of six Crypto.com Arena doubleheaders this season – the Clippers hosting the Grizzlies (3:30 ET) followed by the Lakers hosting the Blazers (10 ET) – in the final season that the Lakers and Clippers will share at that arena. Cue the court change timelapse video!

CATCH UP ON AN EPIC SEASON SO FAR 🔙

Last season was filled with record-breaking feats: most 40-point games, tied for most 30+ ppg scorers and the most double-digit comebacks on record.

After two weeks, this season looks ready to challenge those marks again.

There have been 11 40-point games by 10 different players, with Curry already dropping 40+ twice
Zach LaVine scored 51 points on Oct. 28, just the fifth day of the season. The first 50-point games last year, Joel Embiid’s 59 and Darius Garland’s 51, happened on the season’s 27th day
Last year saw 25 50+ point games, the third-most ever and the most in 60 years. How many will we see in 2023-24?

What else?

History All Over: KD passed Hakeem for 12th on the scoring list. Tatum became the youngest Celtic to hit 10,000 points. Dame set a Bucks debut record. Wemby joined LeBron and KD as the only teenagers with a 35+ pt, 10+ reb, 2+ blk game. And so much more.
Already, 54 games have qualified for ‘clutch’ time (a score within five points in the final five minutes of Q4 or OT). That’s slightly ahead of last year, with 51 through two weeks
The Nuggets, Sixers, Celtics and Clippers are the only teams in the league that rank in the Top 10 in both offense and defense