NBA notebook: Can anyone stop the Brooklyn Nets?

Things are going good in Brooklyn and Dallas, the league’s flush with remarkable performances nearly every single night and the good times in New Orleans could be slowing down for a little while.

Here’s what’s going on around the NBA.

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The Nets look unstoppable

In case you haven’t been paying attention, the Brooklyn Nets have been on fire – in the good way – over the last seven weeks or so.

Since Nov. 20, the Nets sport an 18-3 record and have won 16 of their last 17 games, including a 12-game streak that’s still going strong.

During this 21-game stretch Kevin Durant has been simply spectacular, averaging 28.7 points, 6.9 rebounds and 5.7 assists per game on 59.5 per cent shooting from the field.

This hot streak the Nets have been on has catapulted them up the Eastern Conference standings, where they now sit just a half-game back of the Boston Celtics for tops in the conference. Should they manage to keep up this level of play, combined with the numbers Durant is putting up, he could emerge as a strong MVP candidate again.

One factor that could play against Durant, however, is his mercurial teammate Kyrie Irving.

For all the trouble Irving appears to get both himself and those around him in when he decides to speak about his beliefs, he’s still among the most talented basketball players on the planet, and Brooklyn’s success over its last 21 contests has not-so-coincidentally coincided with Irving’s return from suspension after he posted a link to an antisemitic film.

Since his return, Irving’s averaged 25.9 points per game on 52.1 per cent shooting from the field and a 42.3 per cent clip from distance. The combination of him and Durant has oftentimes proved just too much for teams to handle down the stretch of games as their ability to create something out of nothing for both themselves and others might be the very best in the league.

When this incarnation of the Nets first came together in the summer of 2019 this was the original vision. A team with two of the game’s best all-around shooters, scorers and clutch performers that are nigh unstoppable in the closing moments of games.

It took a while, but that is exactly what the Nets are right now, and there hasn’t been anyone who can stop them in while.

Are the Mavericks finally putting it all together?

Over in the Western Conference, the Dallas Mavericks are also streaking.

Winners of their last seven contests, the Mavs look to be finally fulfilling some of the expectations put upon them mainly because of who their top guy is.

Luka Doncic just might be the best player in the world and the run he’s been on during this Mavericks win streak is a good argument why.

The 23-year-old has been averaging 41.7 points, 11 rebounds and 9.9 assists while shooting 55.6 per cent from the floor and 40.7 per cent from three-point range. Included in this stretch, Doncic has had games where he’s scored 50, 51 and 60 points, and on New Year’s Eve, when he went for 51, he even showed his mastery of intentionally missing a free throw in Dallas’ sixth straight victory.

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The caveat to all of this, of course, is that Doncic and the Mavericks haven’t exactly seen the stiffest competition during this streak, seeing the Houston Rockets three times and only facing one team with a record above .500 in the New York Knicks.

This is still NBA competition and what Doncic has been doing is nothing short of incredible. More importantly, this run may be exactly what the Mavericks have needed to believe in themselves again after a rough start to the season and adjusting to life without Jalen Brunson.

With Doncic anything is possible, and that includes a climb up to the top of the Western Conference standings.

Feels like there’s a 50-spot happening every night

On the topic of Doncic and his scoring, he isn’t the only guy who has reached the half-century mark recently – not by a long shot, actually.

We highly recommend you tune in to the NBA every single night because at the rate this season is going, odds are good you’re going to see a 50-spot from someone.

This week alone has already seen three 50-plus performances with Klay Thompson going for 54 in double overtime against the Atlanta Hawks on Monday, Giannis Antetokounmpo going for a career-high 55 on Tuesday and, of course, Donovan Mitchell’s otherworldly 71-point masterpiece in Cleveland’s overtime win over Chicago on Monday.

In total, there have been 14 50-point games from players this season, with seven coming in the last two weeks alone. For further context, last season there were only 19 games that saw a player go for 50 in total.

What we’re seeing right now is an anomaly, but it’s been a really fun one and gives reason for people to check out the league more consistently during the regular season – something that might be needed because there is a school of thought that nothing in the regular season actually matters in the NBA.

The impact of Zion’s injury on the Pelicans

The New Orleans Pelicans could be in a lot of trouble over the next three weeks or so.

Star forward Zion Williamson is expected to miss at least that amount of time with a hamstring strain. With fellow star frontcourt mate Brandon Ingram without a clear timetable to return to action after he went down with a big toe sprain in late November, the Pelicans will be severely shorthanded as they try to keep pace as a top-three Western Conference team.

The initial injury to Ingram was bad, but New Orleans was able to keep up its strong play without him because of the season Williamson’s had, averaging 26 points and seven rebounds on 60.8 per cent shooting.

More importantly than just the counting stats Williamson puts up, he’s an integral part of what they do and their team identity. New Orleans averages 55.2 points in the paint per game – good for fourth best in the league – which makes up about 47 per cent of the Pelican’s 117.4 points per game they’re averaging. Williamson alone accounts for 19.1 points in the paint per game, so with him removed from the equation a massive part of New Orleans’ eighth-ranked attack will be neutered.

An injury is always bad news, but word of this injury to Williamson may be downright catastrophic for an ascending Pelicans team.

It’s also scary because of the bad injury luck Williamson’s had his entire career, including missing all of last season with a foot injury.

More from Sportsnet

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