Vic's Night Caps - 1/12/25

Published: Tuesday, January 21, 2025

by Victor Lisboa

Welcome to Vic’s Night Caps, where we recap our friend Darren’s weekly NBA takes. This week, he highlighted three matchups for the week of Jan. 12, 2025. It was another week of great showdowns, as we approach the trade deadline and All-Star break.  

Monday’s Key Game: San Antonio Spurs vs. Los Angeles Lakers

The Spurs and Lakers came into this game about six seeds about, but as the Spurs only have three loses, it indicates how tight those seeds are in the Western Conference. In his second season, 21-year-old Victor Wembanyama is amazing his audiences.  

He is averaging 24.5 ppg and 10.8 rebounds, and already leading the league with 4.1 blocks per game. However, the Spurs are still inexperienced, and their roster needs more depth before they can be a serious title contender  

The Los Angeles Lakers are in their seventh season with the LeBron James and Anthony Davis tandem, which formed in 2018. They are trying to get back to the Finals, which they won in 2020, but have since been plagued with injury and roster drama.  

Entering this contest, they were the sixth seed with a 20-16 record. They made a trade to try and bolster their depth, but with the deadline approaching, it’s best to wait and see if they can make additional moves to go on another run.  

The first half of this game was close, going back and forth, with neither team really taking control of momentum. In the third quarter, the Lakers took their largest lead of the game, being up 11 points. From there, the Spurs took over and dominated in the paint, as they were +26 in that category.  

Lakers ultimately couldn’t keep up with the aggression the Spurs had in the second half, as San Antonio also drew more foul shots. Lakers only hit one more three-ball than San Antonio, and both teams shot under 38%.  

This game was won by old-school points in the paint. Spurs went on a 25-9 run in the fourth to ultimately seal the deal. Victor Wembanyama, Devin Vassell and Stephon Castle each contributed 23 points of their own, combing for 69 points from the trio. Anthony Davis finished with 30 points and 13 rebounds on 72% shooting. LeBron also added 18 points and eight assists, but it wasn’t enough to stop the young Spurs.  

Darren predicted the Lakers experience would drive them to a comfortable victory. Many factors played into this game, including coming fresh off a tragedy in Los Angeles, but the Spurs won 126-102.  

Thursday’s Key Game: Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Oklahoma City Thunder

I’ve mentioned the Thunder many times this season, because they currently are the best team in the NBA. Lead by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (SGA) who is having another incredible MVP worthy season, the Thunder are one of the youngest and deepest teams in the association (and of course, are plenty fun to watch.) They are currently enjoying a 6.5-game lead at the top of the standings, and could be on their way to a big run in the post season.  

The Cleveland Cavaliers are also the best team in the East, making this matchup a possible Finals preview of the two best NBA teams this season. The Cavaliers hired Kenny Atkinson as their head coach, and he has seemed to bring the best out of his guys. They have one of the best backcourts in the league with Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland, and a great defensive front court between Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley. Mobley has improved his three-point shooting to 40%, making him a viable threat.  

This was a pretty one-sided game from the start. The Cavaliers initially had a 12-10 lead, but the Thunder took over, ending the quarter on a 22-2 run. Cleveland are typically a great defensive team, but it seemed as if the Thunder took a page out of their play book; the Cavaliers were +14 in turnovers (21-7).

This led to the Thunder having 15 more shot attempts for the game, converting 50% of their FGs, and both teams scoring 54 points in the paint. The Cavaliers didn’t play too poorly, it was just the Thunder displayed why they might be slightly-ahead of them, as these team will compete for a title this season. The Thunder’s depth, along with a 40-point performance for SGA and a career night from Lu Dort, were too much for the Cavaliers to handle.  

Darren predicted a closer game for the top two teams, as many thought it would, but he chose OKC by 3. The Thunder won 134-114.  

Friday’s Key Game: Minnesota Timberwolves vs. New York Knicks

The Minesota Timberwolves are still trying to find their identity with Anthony Edwards and Julius Randle, who they traded for before the season. It was a struggle, but they currently sit eighth seed in the West at 22-19. Additionally, they are four games behind the fourth seed.  

Minnesota still has one of the best defenses in the league and a top-15 offense. They are managing pretty well after losing their star Karl-Anthony Towns, who was traded to the team they played that day.  

The Knicks have a new look this season, with Towns having the best season of his career. New York are also led by their star point guard Jalen Brunson, who’s having another outstanding season, ultimately worthy of all-star.  

The Knicks traded several players, letting go key assets like Isaiah Hartenstein, in order to afford the Towns and Mikal Bridges trade, who is also a part of this new look. The Knicks are still one of the best teams in the East like last season, but the trades have made them look desperate for depth at times this season.  

But Towns was out in this game, giving the Wolves a great advantage, as the Knicks had Jericho Sims start in his place. This game remained close for most of the contest. The Timberwolves took over in the fourth quarter, and Edwards carried the Wolves with 36 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists.  

He also received help from Naz Reid, who scored 23 points off the bench and shot six-of-six from three. Jalen Brunson scored 26 for the Knicks, as well as got help from OG Anunoby’s 18-point 10-assist double-double performance.  

However, without KAT, it was difficult for the Knicks; they didn’t cross the 100-point mark, and the Timberwolves shot 55% from three compared to the Knicks 41%. New York also shot 38% from the field, and struggled to score outside of Brunson and Anunoby.  

Darren predicted the Knicks getting a home victory in this one, but probably didn’t anticipate KAT being out either. Timberwolves won 116-99. 

Victor Lisboa can be reached at victor.lisboa@student.shu.edu. 

 

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