Run it Back! NBA Week in Review - Week 19

jose_1_03-02-2025_115642: [00:00:00] Week 19 of the 20 24, 25 NB. A season is over, which means it's time to run it back. This is run it back NBA week in review. I'm Jose Salviati, editor@thepeachbasket.net, and this is the show where we recap the week that was in the NBA and then highlight the Marques matchup for the week to come. We start with the only objective overall, top 10 NBA power rankings anywhere. You can read more about how we get to these rankings and see the entire list. At the peach basket.net. Let's take a look at the top 10 at the conclusion of week 19. That's interesting. Now that the All-Star game break is over, there's been a lot of movement in and out and within the top 10 this week because we had a full slate of games, and that includes a brand new number one first, the Minnesota Timberwolves leave the top 10 after a rough one and three week, they drop from number 10 to number 12. [00:01:00] Coming in at number 10 for the first time this season are the very good and very hot Detroit Pistons. The pistons were four and one in week 19, and move up from number 13 last week to the elite top 10 at number 10 this week, number nine in week 19 belongs to the Indiana Pacers. The Pacers were two and two in the week, which was enough to keep them at number nine for the second week in a row. The Los Angeles Luca Lakers were a perfect three and oh in week 19. Now, that wasn't enough to move up in the standings, but they do stay at number eight this week, and we'll talk a little bit more about the Lakers and Luca in just a bit. And Memphis Grizzlies had a rough one in three week in week 19, and it cost them in the standings. They drop all the way from number four last week to number seven. This week the Denver Nuggets move up one spot to take over the number six position after two in one week. Number five belongs to the Houston Rockets. They were two [00:02:00] in one in the week, which was enough to move up a spot to number five in week 19. The New York Knicks take number four in week 19. They were two in one in the week and moved up one spot. Now the top three have not changed since week number 16. The Boston Celtics are number three after two and two week, which includes a loss. To a team we'll get to in just a bit. 'cause this is where it gets interesting. Now, number two belongs to the Oklahoma City thunder. Their six week rain at the top is over. The thunder went three and one and that one loss hurt them. They drop one spot to number two, which means we have a brand new number one. The number one team in week 19 is the team. That beat the Boston Celtics in Boston. The Cleveland Cavaliers. The team [00:03:00] took a punch to the gut in the opening minutes against the Celtics in that game in Boston, but they held on to win and what a quality win it was. That win part of a three in a week was enough to move them back to the top spot in our rankings and likely solidified the top spot in the East for the Cavalier. So congratulations to the Cavs and all of their fans. This is the time. To get hot, but honestly, the Cals have been hot since Tip. This is just a very good basketball team. We'll see how far they can take it in the east and beyond. That's it. That's the objective top 10 list for week number 19. If you wanna see where all 30 teams land this week, including yours, please visit the peach basket.net. Now let's shift our focus to the players. These are the best to do it by average in week number 19 of the 20 24, 25 NBA season. These are the best by average in shooting rebounds, assists [00:04:00] blocks, steals points, and gain score. Shay Gill, just Alexander led everyone in week number 19, averaging 33.5 points per game over his four games. Played for the best team in the Western Conference, the Oklahoma City Thunder. The top sniper was Stefan Curry. His 5.5 made threes over his four games, played, led everyone. The top shooter was John Collins. His 12 made field goals and his one game played, led everyone. LeBron James is absolutely incredible. Come on. He led the association in rebounding in week number 19. It's honestly amazing. His 14 rebounds on average led everyone over his three games played. He's 40 years old. The top offensive rebounder in the week was Zach. Edie at 5.3, while the top defensive rebounder was Nicole Yoki at 13 in his three games, played. Yo case was also the [00:05:00] best assist man in the NBA. His 14.7 on average assists led everyone. Again, Isaiah Stewart sent back more shots on average than anyone in week 19. His 2.4 blocks on average over his five games played led the NBA. The Great Barrier Thief is back. It's been a while, but Dyson Daniels led everyone with 3.8 steals over his four games. Played in week 19. The top game score goes to Tyrese, Halliburton. The Indiana Pacers Guard played four games in week 19 and led everyone with his overall game. Now as we look ahead to week number 19, the top game will be an inter conference matchup between the two winningest franchises in NBA history. The defending champion Boston Celtics will host the new look Los Angeles Lakers. The Lakers have been very good since acquiring Luga Don, and this is [00:06:00] gonna be a good test for the LA team. Undeniably. Yeah, we. Like I said, we'll talk a little bit more about the Lakers in a bit. I think I'm anxious to get there. Let's end with a segment we call Full Court Press. After a few weeks of doing this ourselves I'm back to asking AI for its thoughts on viral NBA news as we head into week 20. This time we asked grok to do the honors and it came up with some interesting topics. The Warriors Jimmy Butler experiment is paying off. It certainly seems to be Luka Don. They're Lakers. They're his Lakers era gains traction with a win over Denver. And for sure, we've talked about them a lot already. And Victor Wema season ending injury shakes the Spurs future. That's unfortunate, and I would definitely encourage you to check out the Spurs Bros for information on Victor and the Spurs and their future, and we'll make sure to link that somewhere, wherever you're hearing this.[00:07:00] Now, those are all great topics, but I'm gonna focus on Luca and the Lakers. 'cause why not everybody else is now listen, since acquiring Luca Don and in the games Luca played specifically, the Lakers are six and two, and that includes a five game winning streak. I. They've been great. As Steve Cielo pointed out in his recent 13 rules random NBA Thoughts article, the Lakers have inexplicably gotten better defensively when you count total points allowed after trading away their best defensive player. It doesn't make any sense now. There's no denying how good the Lakers have looked over the last few weeks. They're playing with passion, energy and look to be in every game they play, which is all things you want as a fan. It all looks good, but is it a mirage? I hate to call this out, but when you bring in a new player, especially someone like Luca, there's an excitement in the air. It doesn't even have to be a player like Luca. In fact, it doesn't even have to be a player to generate excitement. We saw the [00:08:00] Sacramento Kings they played really well after Doug Christie took over some. Sometimes it's just the excitement of a change that gets everyone playing just a little bit better. Now, I'm not saying that the Lakers aren't a good team. They are and they're playing very well, but I am saying that they may not be as good as their recent record indicates. They have arguably the best of all time playing at an incredibly high level in LeBron James. They have a very motivated 26-year-old stud who led his team to the finals last season and will no doubt play with a chip on his shoulder this season and maybe on the next season in Luka, Don. And in Austin Reeves weird that he's also 26, same as Luca. It seems odd to me. They have a great third option. Austin Reeves is a phenomenal player. The problem starts there. The rest of the cast. Rui Ura is good, but not great. His inconsistency is troubling, and Jackson Hayes is a [00:09:00] good backup center, but he's the starter for this team. The Lakers bench is just not that good. Everyone knows they need more pieces into their credit. They tried to bring in a center, but as we all know, that fell through. The Lakers may make some noise in the playoffs. I expect them to this season. A matchup against the Warriors would be incredible. I guess the Mavericks would be must watch tv. And even against the Clippers, a team they've never played in the playoffs would all be incredibly entertaining, but their ceiling is likely the second round. And to get there a lot has to go right. But the future beyond this season looks really bright for the purple and gold. That's it. Week number 19 of the 20 24, 25 NBA season is in the books. Join us again next week after week number 20 when we once again run it back.