Anthony Davis, Jayson Tatum named Players of the Week

“The AD comparison is a tough one just cause AD’s so accomplished where he’s at in his career right now, and Chet obviously has a long way to go to match that, but I think he controls his destiny,” Caruso said. “Whatever he wants to accomplish in this league, he’s got it in front of him. He’s got the work ethic, he’s got the competitiveness. If you have those two things where you have the ability to get better, you have the want to get better, and you have the work ethic to get better, if you have those things, you can control your own destiny in the NBA.” -via Clutch Points / October 27, 2024

“Listen, I could do that at 22, but at almost 40, I don’t need to be doing it for four quarters,” James said after adding 14 rebounds and 10 assists, accounting for the 113th triple-double of his career. “I have the luxury of having a MVP-caliber player next to me [in Anthony Davis]. AR [Austin Reaves] can get it going in bunches. D-Lo [D’Angelo Russell] can catch fire. Rui [Hachimura] has been consistent, and he can get going and score in bunches, as well. “So, this team is not built for me to have 16-point quarters through all four quarters. That’s not how it’s constructed and nor should it be. We’re a team, and we all play together.” -via ESPN / October 27, 2024

LeBron James posted his first triple-double of the season, including 16 points in the fourth quarter, as the Los Angeles Lakers improved to 3-0 for the first time since 2010-11 with a 131-127 defeat of the Sacramento Kings on Saturday night at Crypto.com Arena. James finished with 32 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists. All three marks were season highs for the 39-year-old in his 22nd season. “Just when you think he’s slowing down, man, he continues to show the world why he’s the greatest,” Anthony Davis said of James’ performance. “To go on that stretch, he actually looked to the bench and was trying to come out the game. We told him, ‘You’re not coming out.’ He comes out and hits another 3. He never ceases to amaze any of us because we just know what he’s capable of.” -via New York Times / October 27, 2024

Detroit, of all teams, gave Boston the first true test of its nascent title defense, pushing the reigning champs to the brink at Little Caesars Arena. The Celtics squandered a 23-point lead and trailed with less than three minutes remaining before rallying to win 124-118 and remain undefeated on the young season. Jayson Tatum paced Boston with 37 points on 12-for-26 shooting, including 6-for-13 from 3-point range. -via Boston Herald / October 26, 2024

Still, the Celtics targeted Towns often on screens and they connected on an NBA record-tying 29 3-pointers in the game, including eight by Jayson Tatum, six by Derrick White, five by Jaylen Brown and three by veteran center Al Horford.  “You’ve gotta give credit where credit is due. They hit a lot of 3s, they hit a lot of shots,” said Towns, who was acquired in the deal that sent Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo to Minnesota just before the start of training camp. “You take 61 threes in a game, they definitely shoot the ball, so we gotta be better defensively. I just think that we just didn’t do enough defensively to give ourselves a chance to win the game. -via New York Post / October 23, 2024

Bridges also was the Knicks’ primary defender against Celtics All-Star Jayson Tatum, who buried 8 of 11 from 3-point range and scored 37 points to front Boston’s NBA record-tying 29 treys for the game. “I definitely could have done better. I think my performance at the defensive end wasn’t that [good] for me personally, as well as our team,” said Bridges, who finished a team-worst minus-33 in 35 minutes. “Me personally, I think I just could have been better, especially [against] a guy getting it and having that rhythm from the three, just getting up a little bit more [on Tatum]. “He had a nice move on me in the paint, as well. Just gotta be better. I mean, Game 1, just gotta learn from it, and just get better from it.” -via New York Post / October 23, 2024