Want dunks? Play the New York Knicks.
After Saturday night’s game in which the Jazz found such success inside that they scored 70 points in the paint, Rudy Gobert took the lead in the NBA’s great dunk race between himself and Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Gobert had eight dunks, all in the first half, in Saturday night’s action on his way to a 25-point, 16-rebound performance that set the tone for the Jazz. That pushed him to 143 dunks on the season. Meanwhile, Antetokounmpo had four dunks earlier Saturday in his team’s win against the Brooklyn Nets, which pushed him to 138 on the year.
The “Greek Freak," though, has played in only 33 games, while Gobert has played in 37, so Antetokounmpo is dunking the ball more frequently per contest. Both players are on pace to beat the league’s dunking record since these numbers were kept: Dwight Howard’s 2007-08 season when he put in 269 dunks. Gobert is on pace for 317 dunks, while Antetokoumpo is on pace for 323.
And 61 of Antetokounmpo’s dunks are unassisted, which eclipses the total number of unassisted dunks for any of the other 29 teams, let alone any given player. Gobert, on the other hand, “only” has 28 unassisted dunks.
Gobert, though, likes that his dunks come from his teammates. On Saturday night, five of his eight came on assists from Dante Exum. “I always love playing with Dante. He’s a very good passer, and tonight he was great. He really gave us the spark we need.”
Trey Burke returns
It’s a line you’ve probably heard before: It’s been an up and down season for Trey Burke. He began the year as the starting point guard for the Knicks, but when Emmanuel Mudiay returned from injury, he lost that spot. Recently, he’s been in and out of the rotation as the team gives the younger Mudiay and Frank Ntilikina more time at the point guard position.
For the season, he’s averaging nearly 11 points per game on respectable percentages, and the Knicks have been slightly better with him on the court. That’s a win, given how he was dumped by the Jazz for a second-round pick and later, the Wizards to free agency.
“I’ve been through the lows and the highs of this league. Nothing really bothers me now in my sixth year. It’s made me much stronger,” Burke said. “I fell back in love with the game, and from here on out, it’s about just continuing to get better and continuing to find ways I can impact the game and make the most of my opportunities.”
