I took a break from daily recaps last week, but trust me when I tell you I didn’t take a break from watching ball or reading about it. There’s no way I can let a week of action go by without sharing my thoughts, so here’s a mammoth recap. I’ve done this before, using Twitter updates and YouTube videos to guide me. This time, I went through my Delicious bookmarks and picked out a bunch of my favourite links from the week. Took forever, but it’s fun to share the work of some of my favourite writers.

Monday, Dec. 14

“Bucks Fans Respond to Bogut’s Incentive” – Fred Birman takes a look at Squad 6 for the NYT’s Off the Dribble blog.

I’ve linked to an article on Squad 6 before, but you may have missed that and this is a great piece. If you didn’t know, Squad 6 is “a wild cluster of standing, chanting and screaming fans decked out in wigs, sombreros and even a man brandishing a wrestling-style championship belt.” Bucks center Andrew Bogut held auditions for people to be a part of it, and all members go to the games for free. The important thing: you have to stand up the whole game and make noise, or you’re not allowed back. This kicks so much ass.

“Sometimes the truth hurts…” – Matt McHale of By The Horns takes an honest look at his team.

This is a bit of a depressing read, but it shows exactly how Bulls fans had to feel after their team’s performance against the Boston Celtics. It’s hard to follow a team that doesn’t play up to its potential on defense and runs one of the ugliest offenses in the league. These Bulls are not fun to watch, leading to fan frustration that is intensified by the fact that it’s hard to trust the team’s management. One reason that fans don’t trust the management is because of the whole Ben Gordon situation. After messing with their highest-scoring, hardest-working player’s role and minutes for years, they screwed him around in contract negotiations and eventually let him walk for nothing at the end of his rookie deal. Anyway, as McHale covers here, the Bulls really miss Ben Gordon. They had hoped that John Salmons would make up for his absence, but he’s apparently forgotten how to shoot the basketball (38.5 FG%, 32.7 3PT). So has Kirk Hinrich (35.5% FG, 29.6% 3PT). Without Gordon, the Bulls can’t spread the floor properly. The result, so far, has been a team that takes and misses a lot of long, two-point jumpers. Not fun.

“Rose and Vinny on Rose’s role” – Matt of Blog-a-Bull comments on a couple of pieces about Chicago’s young PG.

In addition to fretting over the generally ugly basketball their team has been playing, Bulls fans have been worried about their potential franchise player, Derrick Rose. There’s no sense skirting around the issue: he’s been disappointing this season. At first, his unspectacular play could be blamed on the fact he was coming back from an injury, but it has persisted. The problem is that the flaws we saw last season – poor man and team defense, poor outside shooting, and an only decent ability to create for his teammates – are still there, and his breathtaking drives to the basket are less frequent. Not many Bulls fans are jumping off the bandwagon completely, but few are as excited as they were last season. If you ask me, he’s still got a chance to be one of the very best players in the league. He’s got elite quickness and scoring ability and he’s only 21 years old. I think he’ll get better the year goes on, and, even if he doesn’t, we will see improvements next season. It’s important that he works on his weaknesses in the summer, though. And part of that responsibility is on the franchise that’s paying him – the Bulls have to make sure he is working on the right things so he can develop into the player they want him to be. A coaching change might be a start, here.

“NBA ‘Watchability’ Scale: Ranking Every Team Based On Entertainment, Not Talent” – Mike Prada of Bullets Forever tells us which teams he’s watching on League Pass.

If you somehow missed this last week, you’ll notice immediately that those Bulls I’ve been talking about are right at the bottom, heh. Anyway, as a League Pass addict I loved reading this and agree with the vast majority of what is said here. The Bucks are WAY TOO LOW at #11, though – I’d have Jennings and Co. in a three-way tie with the Rockets and Thunder, right at the top of the list.

“The Day T-Mac Lost The City Of Houston” – Clutch goes over a couple of clips from a Rockets/Raptors game last year that non-Rockets fans might have never seen.

Okay, this is a bit random… but I remember this game well. Not for McGrady’s loafing, although I do remember talking about that. I remember this because I watched this one at Raptors Fan Friday and, surprisingly, it was a blowout in the Raptors’ favour. Once the game was out of hand, Von Wafer had his coming out party, starting a streak of 12-straight double-digit scoring games after a string of DNP-CD’s. I ran into the great J.E. Skeets on the street later that night and we conversed about all things NBA. I drunkenly harassed him about why he hates Mike Bibby so much, but didn’t get a concrete answer. I’m pretty sure I made some absurd claims about how awesome I was at basketball as a 9-year-old living in Australia, too. Good night.

“Who is the MVP at the Quarter Pole?” – Zach Lowe at Celtics Hub says, based on numbers, you could make the case that Rajon Rondo is Boston’s MVP.

“Rondo giving it his best shot” – Gary Washburn takes a look at Rondo and his improving jump shot.

This is just the start of the Rondo love from last week. It’s great, isn’t it? Fine, I know, I know. Most people don’t like Rajon as much as I do. Just let me have this: Rondo is improving on his weaknesses and is possibly, POSSIBLY the key to the Celtics’ hot start.

“Mavericks Coach Rick Carlisle Can Probably Beat You At Table Tennis” – Zac Crain shares a video from Dynamic Table Tennis TV.

Maybe it’s just me, but I found this incredibly amusing. I love finding out that NBA people have strange hobbies. This almost beats finding out that Todd MacCulloch has become a professional pinball player. I also love that this isn’t the last weird Carlisle link I have for you this week. Just wait.

“Haslem Accepts New Role, Still Wants To Stay With Heat” – Tim Povtak of NBA FanHouse takes a look at the classy, consistent power forward.

A few telling quotes from and about Udonis in this piece. It’s actually from December 13, so I’m cheating a bit. I think it flew a bit under the radar, though, and you should read it. People don’t talk much about Haslem because his game lacks the, um, flash of some of his teammates, but he is a solid, dependable pro that all 29 other teams would love to have.

“With Blazers Struggling At The Point, Bayless Wants More Minutes” – The Baseline shares a quote from a frustrated second-year player.

There’s really not much to analyze here. Jerryd Bayless wanted more playing time when this was published. Just know that I’m smiling while I type this. If you don’t know why, you absolutely must keep on reading.

“Post-game thoughts: Raptors 101, Rockets 88” – Scott Carefoot of RaptorBlog takes a look at the Raptors’ point guard situation after this Sunday afternoon win.

Carefoot starts this piece by saying there should be no debate about whether or not Jarrett Jack should start at PG for the Raptors. In his view, Jack should start and the Raptors should be looking to trade Jose Calderon. Well, um, I think there is still a debate and I have to disagree with him. I love Jarrett Jack, but he can’t do what Jose Calderon does. Even against good defense, Jose does a tremendous job of running the offense and finding guys shots where they are comfortable. Two years ago, the man should have been an All-Star with the way he was shooting from all areas of the court, distributing the ball, and playing decent defense. Last season? Different story. Jose was hurt all year and couldn’t play D. This season? Well, that’s where things get complicated. His defense has remained pretty awful, although in my opinion he is still easily a net positive because of his offensive play. But it’s led some people, like Carefoot, to reasonably argue that Jack is better for the squad. He’s playing pretty damn well right now as Jose is sitting out with a hip problem. Calderon’s current status is making me question whether or not he was ever healthy this season. The key question here is whether or not we’ll ever again see the guy who should have been an All-Star two years ago. That guy wasn’t close to being the worst defensive PG in the NBA. Jarrett Jack is not nearly as good as that guy. I hope we get him back and this debate ends.

“Wizards’ Arenas missing the mark mentally” – Mike Jones of the Washington Times examines the strange clutch mistakes Gilbert Arenas has been making.

Reading quotes from frustrated players always bums me out. It’s especially upsetting when it comes to Gil, though. The guy was/is known for his immense swagger. Agent Zero isn’t meant to be missing free throws at inopportune times. He isn’t meant to doubt himself. But he’s human, so this stuff is happening. It’s all a part of the comeback process, I guess. More on him later. For now, a few videos before we move on to Tuesday’s stuff:

Rob Mahoney of The Two Man Game breaks down Josh Howard’s performance in his return to the court. This is a part of his fantastic Moving Pictures series – watch the others if you haven’t already.

Rockets players meet the Aaron Brooks bobblehead.

Happy Holidays from the Phoenix Suns

Tuesday, Dec. 15

“Carlisle On Mavs: ‘We Make Hard Work Out Of Sex’” – Um, the story is in the title.

Remember I said I had another weird Carlisle link for you? Well, yeah, this is it. If there’s a better (or funnier) way for a coach to express that his team is making things unnecessarily difficult, I haven’t heard it. Just brilliant.

“Chris Paul’s role: Superstar” – Henry Abbott examines what’s going on with Chris Paul and his Hornets, referencing some work done by Niall Doherty of Hornets247.

I feel a bit stupid linking to TrueHoop. Everyone reads TrueHoop. I’m not linking to the Simmons/Gladwell piece from this week, even though I enjoyed it. But then again, I think this Henry Abbott piece might have slipped by some people. It’s an interesting question – could Chris Paul possibly be hurting his team? Could the guy who dragged a team seriously lacking in talent to 49 wins last season be preventing his club from getting more wins now? The answer: um, maybe. Abbott’s intention is obviously not to diminish Paul’s brilliance, but rather to ask if his talents are currently being used properly. Here’s my take: Paul isn’t 100% and he is playing far too many minutes. You’ve no right to be mad at CP3, but if you’re mad at coach Jeff Bower for having him out there for so long, trying to do everything, that’s fine with me.

“The Knicks On Defense: Quarter Season Report” – Bandwagon Knick looks at the Knicks’ D using data from Synergy Sports.

I absolutely love reading pieces like this one. I’m definitely a stat geek and I think this kind of highly specific data helps us understand the game better. If you haven’t caught many Knicks games this season (and I wouldn’t blame you if that was the case), you’ll learn a lot. I’m especially appreciative that this post is focusing on DEFENSE, as that side of the game is so damn hard to quantify. I wish this info was available for every team in the league… well, actually it is, but it’s not cheap.

“So many deck chairs, so little time- 2009-2010 Golden State Warriors season through 24 games” – Jae from Golden State of Mind provides a harsh but fair critique of the Warriors’ start to the season.

I can’t say I actually enjoyed reading this, even though it’s excellent. Nellie’s Warriors have long been one of my favourite teams to watch, but this season they mostly frustrate me. I love Curry, Ellis, Randolph, and Morrow, but I don’t love the sloppy basketball they’re playing. Jae tells fans to let go of their playoff hopes if they still have them and can’t find a single bright spot in the season aside from Stephen Curry, kinda. Damn.

“GM 24 Recap – Snapped” – Philadunkia examines how the Sixers finally ended their losing with with a win over Golden State.

“Game Notes: Warriors at Sixers” – Tzvi Twersky of SLAM gives an account of his experience at the game.

Oh, this was a fun game for me. I’d been waiting for Philly to get a damn W. The best part was how A.I. played; here are a couple of quotes:

“What really impressed us is that he looked like he is finally getting his legs under him. He was quick, active and used his legs to go into his jumper instead of fading away. Getting his left knee drained twice may have helped and we’re sure having a couple days off did not hurt either.” – Philadunkia

“AI doesn’t seem upset that he’s not getting the ball too much (he’s playing off the ball, and goes plays at a time without touching it). He seems happy just to be playing meaningful minutes. Got to love that.” – Tzvi Twersky

There are a couple of things I don’t like, going back and reading these. Elton Brand only played 16 minutes off the bench in this one, even though he was effective. Oh, and Ivey’s knee problem has meant he’s only played one game since. Blah.

“The difference between admiration and awe” – The Roy Halladay trade inspired Scott Carefoot to think about Chris Bosh’s place in the hearts of Toronto fans.

The basic argument here is that, while Chris Bosh is certainly popular in Toronto, the fans don’t love him the same way they loved Roy Halladay or Vince Carter. If Bosh leaves town, they will be disappointed but not utterly devastated. Living in Toronto, this rings true to me. It’s unfortunate because you can make a very good case that Bosh is playing better basketball this year than VC ever has. The love we had for Vince here can hardly be overstated, though. We loved him like Philly loves Allen Iverson and Cleveland loves LeBron James. There was a time when he was the most exciting player in the world and we all took great pride in having him play in our city. With Bosh, it’s not quite the same and Carefoot captures that perfectly. As for Halladay? Wrong sport for me, sorry. But Wagman threw up on the street after finding out he was gone.

“Blair still a great unknown” – Jeff McDonald shares a couple of great quotes about rookie DeJuan Blair from Coach Popovich.

Rookie love, people. I dig it. The key Pop quote is here: “He’s a strange dude. Those things he does out there, I don’t know how he gets them done. I don’t know what his game is. I don’t know what to do with him.” This is hilarious to me. One of the best coaches in our game is saying even he doesn’t understand how Blair gets it done. The point is that Blair doesn’t really have any post moves, lacks height, lacks elite athleticism, but somehow manages to grab rebounds better than almost anyone in the league and score well around the basket. Pop doesn’t run any plays for Blair; he just throws the guy out there and hopes he delivers. The vast majority of the time, he does.

“Is Al Horford playing out of position or just creating a new one?” – Peachtree Hoops’s must-read on Al Horford’s improvement and where he fits with the future of the center position.

So good. The idea is that, even though Horford is a non-traditional center, he matches up favourably with almost every 5 in the league. With the way he’s producing and the wins the Hawks are piling up, it’s hard to argue this point. And all of this makes me happy. I was a bit worried about him when he didn’t make the second-year leap I expected him to. Turns out we just needed to wait a year.

“Sit down for this: NBA’s vital signs checking in just fine” – Ken Berger says that, despite attendance being down, there might be more NBA fans than you think.

Really interesting read. It sucks that so many arenas have so many empty seats, but at least people still seem to care about the league. It’s encouraging to know that TNT’s NBA ratings are up. The question becomes, then, how is the NBA going to make money off its new, young fans? Surely, a huge portion of the NBA’s 1.7 million Twitter followers are not coming to games. How many of these fans are shelling out the cash for League Pass Broadband? Can the NBA make up for the lost ticket revenue in other ways? I don’t know, I’m just asking questions here.

Wednesday, Dec. 16

“Recap: Cavs 99, Nets 89 (Or, That Was Just As Good As Any Other Regular Season Win! Technically Speaking!)” – John Krolik of Cavs: The Blog gives some insight into the Cavs/Nets game from the night before.

First, I have to say you should always Krolik’s stuff. Really, you should read all of the people I’m linking to here, but I’m mentioning Krolik in particular because I always feel like I’ve learned a lot when I read his stuff. I’ll admit that, despite LeBron’s awesomeness, the Cavs would not crack the top 10 in my watchability rankings. This means I miss more of their games than, say, Thunder games. I basically feel like I’ve watched the games after I read his detailed recaps, though. Anyway, the key thing that stands out here to me: Krolik appreciates Jamario Moon’s rebounding and believes that this skill would be key in small-ball lineups that feature LeBron James at the 4. He also implies that Mike Brown should, you know, actually play LeBron at the 4. I’m 100% with him on this. I loved the Jamario signing at the time (and the Parker one, too) mainly because it would allow James to get more minutes as a PF, where he is even more of a matchup nightmare than at the 3. I’m really hoping coach Brown experiments with this more as the season goes along. Even if he doesn’t, I still say the Cavs had a pretty damn good off-season. Moon and Anthony Parker may not have been loved much in some sectors of Raptors Nation when they were starters last season, but they’re more than capable role players in Cleveland. And as for Shaq, well… It hasn’t worked out that great so far, but methinks the move will pay dividends in the playoffs if/when they match up with Orlando. And you can’t forget that all they gave up for him was Ben Wallace and Sasha Pavlovic.

“Phoenix Suns Remain Undefeated at Home with Win over Spurs” – Phoenix Stan happily reflects on a big Suns win at Bright Side Of The Sun.

This was one of the most memorable games of the week, if only for Goran Dragic’s performance. His 18 points were a career-high and he played great D, too. This man has made such great strides this season. It’s been said elsewhere, but I’ve gotta say that he’s impressed the hell out of me all year long. Watching him last season, I just couldn’t see him becoming a real rotation player. I love it when I have to eat my words about things like that.

“Thoughts on Pistons – Rockets: McGrady’s Debut” – Rahat Huq puts Tracy McGrady under the microscope.

Gotta show some love for the newest member of the TrueHoop Network, Red94. I hadn’t read any of Rahat’s work until the TrueHoop debut, but have devoured everything he’s written since then. Great stuff. Anyway, if you missed it, this is really all you need to know about T-Mac’s first game back. Love the little note on rookie Chase Budinger at the end, too.

“Media Row Report: Blazers 95 Kings 88” – Ben Golliver at Blazers Edge

“Blazers Mount Comeback, Edge Kings 95-88” – Tom Ziller at Sactown Royalty

“Game 23 Recap: Blazers 95, Kings 88” – Zach Harper at Cowbell Kingdom

All three of these writers are fantastic. The fact that I just happily re-read three different recaps of a game I watched should speak to that. Anyway, check these posts out and see the love for Jerryd Bayless and Tyreke Evans. Also, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t enjoy the negative comments about Spencer Hawes just a little bit. I don’t hate much on here, but I have to say Hawes is one of my least favourite players to watch. He’s got nice touch on his shot, but he doesn’t play like a big man. He doesn’t have much athleticism, doesn’t grab many rebounds, and doesn’t play good defense inside. These are some of the same criticisms that have been fairly levied on Raptors big man Andrea Bargnani, but there’s a difference: Bargs has, albeit slowly, improved on his weaknesses each season. Plus, he occasionally does phenomenal things offensively that make me momentarily forget he has any weaknesses at all. Can’t say the same about Spencer.

“Post Up: Return of T-Mac” – Holly MacKenzie.

“Behind the Box Score, where the Spurs can’t guard anyone” – Kelly Dwyer.

“Lion Face/Lemon Face 12.16.09: Shaqzunas O’Nealkaus Edition” – Zach Harper.

Honestly, if you’re not reading the Post Up, Behind the Box Score, and Lion Face/Lemon Face every morning, I don’t particularly want you reading me. I look forward to these every day and could link them all over this post, but that would be a bit redundant so I’m just doing to do ‘em all here. You’ll notice some props given to Michael Beasley for his performance against Toronto in all three, and his quote featured in both Holly and Kelly’s pieces is my second-favourite from last week. It would seem that Dwyer is with me on Chase Budinger and Harper is with me on Spencer Hawes. Finally, um, I have to quote this bit of Lion Face/Lemon Face:

Seriously Toronto defense, go kill yourself. You’re putting all of these nice, fine Canadians into some jigsaw, Saw type of torture machine every time you hike up the shorts, sit down in a defensive stance and then allow a ton of points on a lot of easy shot attempts. Please check yourself and quick wrecking this Canadian pride.

“Back-to-Back Preview: Bulls and Bucks” – Dexter Fishmore of Silver Screen and Roll looks ahead to two games that (spoiler alert) the Lakers end up winning.

Including this because Fishmore totally eviscerates the Bulls in a way that not even Bulls bloggers have done thus far this season. Also, if you don’t love Andrew Bogut already (and you should because you know about Squad 6), you will after you watch the video of him high-fiving the air after a made free throw.

“Appreciating Charlie Villanueva: Perfect in the Post?” – Mike Payne of Detroit Bad Boys takes a close look at Charlie Villanueva’s success in the post.

I knew Charlie V. was scoring pretty well this year, but damn. He’s this unstoppable down low? I had no idea. This is an awesome use of specialized stats and it’s very encouraging for those who are worried about Detroit spending all their cap space on “two bench players” this past summer.

“Rondo’s Latest Trick: Consistency” – Jeff Clark of CelticsBlog argues that Rajon Rondo’s consistency this season means he should make the All-Star Team.

That’s right, another Rondo piece. You don’t have to read it if you don’t want to, but I loved it. I’m telling you (and so is Jeff), this guy has been a monster. The hate is irrelevant. He’s playing out of his mind and there’s no doubt in my mind that he deserves an All-Star nod.

“Nowitzki relishes role in crunch time” – Tim McMahon of ESPN Dallas uses statistical and anecdotal evidence to prove Dirk is as clutch as they come.

I fear Dirk in the clutch. He’s come up big at the end of games numerous times this season and the play where he beat my Bucks with his shot over Luc Richard Mbah a Moute is permanently etched into my brain. We were talking about consistency with Rondo, and, man, I’m not sure “consistent” is a strong enough term to talk about Dirk’s excellence in his twelfth NBA season. He has been so reliable all year that it’s hard to even know what to say about him. I expect a dominant performance every time he steps onto the court and that’s pretty much what I get.

“Warriors’ new slogan: Buy tickets or else Randolph gets it!” – Tim Kawakami remains very critical of the Golden State organization as he discusses the fact that Anthony Randolph is on the trading block.

It’s obvious Kawakami gets some joy out of slamming the front office. But, really, with the way they’ve treated their fans, I don’t blame him. The guy writes with anger but the anger is fucking real and I love it. I don’t, however, love what the Warriors are doing. At all. Randolph is a 20-year-old second-year player and the team has been screwing around with his playing time since he got to the Bay Area, regardless of how he’s performed on the court. Actually, you know what, I DO love that he’s on the trading block. Anything to get him out of there. Anything to avoid a Tyrus Thomas scenario. This kid has SO MUCH potential, I can’t bear to see him fail to realize it.

“Someone Over The Rainbow” – Rob Mahoney delves deep into Russell Westbrook’s game.

Man, what great writing. Seriously, I hope no one stopped after Monday or Tuesday. Look at the people in this section – Krolik, Ziller, Harper, MacKenzie, Dwyer, Mahoney, and the list goes on. These are pros. I’m just trying to learn from them. Anyway, Westbrook: the guy has such obvious potential to be an elite player. He is exciting as hell right now and his defensive abilities are off the charts for a second-year point guard. However, he doesn’t play like a “pure” PG and his decision-making can drive you a bit crazy. If you’re like me, reading this will keep you optimistic and patient when it comes to the possibility of him becoming who we want him to be.

“Livingston Keeps Moving Forward Without Looking Back” – Chris Tomasson of NBA FanHouse talks to Livingston and other players about his journey back to the NBA.

I’m just going to assume you know about the injury. Just reading the first couple of paragraphs made me feel sick, but I was smiling by the end of the article. Shaun has long been one of my favourite players and I can’t describe how happy it makes me to see him playing and contributing at the NBA level. It’s just a bonus that he’s on one of my favourite teams. He had unlimited potential when he was drafted and that’s curbed a bit now, but, really, fuck it. That’s not the point. I guess it kind of sucks if he never makes an All-Star team, but the fact that he’s playing at all is incredible. What a story. Root for this man and respect the hell out of him. Thank you.

“Ron Artest returns to Chicago and talks about environment” – Mike Bresnahan writes about Ron Artest as he returns to Chicago.

Remember I said the Beasley quote was my second favourite? Here’s, by far, my favourite quote of the week:

“It’s great. I take it on dates and everything. Fine wine. A lot of romance. A lot of kissing up. Trying to get used to her and hopefully she’ll give me her number. I love the triangle.” – Ron Artest, when asked about his relationship with the Lakers’ offense.

“Bynum hopes shoe swap will keep him healthy” – Vince Ellis.

“Suns forward Jared Dudley adds 3s to defense” – Paul Coro

If there’s a news story about an All-OTN Team guy, I’ve gotta share it. Not a whole lot here, though. Apparently, Will Bynum’s damn sprained ankles may have been related to the fact he was wearing shoes unsuitable for how he plays. And Jared Dudley has improved his NBA game the same way he improved his college game, by working extremely hard. That’s how he became one of the league’s best three-point shooters. But you already knew that.

Thursday, Dec. 17

“Just because you’re moving…” – Holly MacKenzie takes an honest look at what’s been ailing the Raptors.

Man, that Wooden quote. I LOVE that quote. I think the first time I heard it was when commentator Jack Armstrong said it during a Raptors broadcast years ago. Not 100% on that, but I do know it’s been with me for years. So, yeah, I was sold after the first line. But I kept reading and kept nodding my head as I agreed with everything and I kept grimacing as the mutual dissatisfaction with this Raps team sunk in. What’s bothered me most in the Raptors’ losses is that sometimes they just don’t play like a team I’d watch if I didn’t feel like I had to. I like every single player on this roster and feel like I’ve got to know them through reading and watching interviews and hearing stories about them during their time in this city, but, as a group, it’s just not working a lot of the time. If you look at the teams I love watching (ex. Rockets, Thunder, Bucks, Suns…), they seem to play better than they are. I love the little things they do. It’s ball movement, togetherness, hustle, and defensive intensity that get me. These Raptors have rarely had these things for a full 48 minutes. Even though they were projected to be a bad defensive team and that’s been their downfall, you get the feeling they are underperforming when you consider the talent on the roster. In short stretches, or, rarely, in one entire game, you see how dangerous this team could be if they got it right. This team gives defenses fits with its outside shooting and offensive execution. At times, these guys play solid team defense, especially when the more athletic bench players are in the game. But there have been so many little, stupid mistakes that add up throughout games. These mistakes lead to a sense of frustration on the part of both the players and the fans. Here’s hoping these decrease as the season rolls on and watching and writing about Toronto’s team becomes more fun.

“Despite setbacks, Oden optimistic on his future” – David Aldridge’s fantastic piece on Greg Oden and his rehab.

I’m sure you know how great of a writer David Aldridge is and I’m pretty sure you’ve already seen the videos and read the quotes from when Oden talked to the media at practice last week. I’ve got to link to this anyway, just in case you missed it… plus, I really want to be able to share a fantastic fact that I learned reading it: Oden’s dog is named Charles Barkley McLovin. You have to love that.

“Boris Diaw’s Fade Out” – Brett Hainline of Queen City Hoops searches for an answer to the Boris Diaw conundrum.

Diaw hasn’t been fitting in with this Bobcats team since Stephen Jackson arrived. It was great when he started producing for them after he came from Phoenix, but it was somewhat of a surprise as well. His star had certainly faded in Phoenix ever since his role was minimized with the return of their other key players. It seems like the same thing is happening in Charlotte now and it’s a problem. This Charlotte team is going to make another run at the playoffs and if they’re going to finally make it they will need his help.

“Game 24 Recap: Kings 112, Wizards 109” – Zach Harper of Cowbell Kingdom

“Tyreke Evans, You Are A Maniac” – Tom Ziller of Sactown Royalty

I wanted to limit the amount of times I linked to the same people, but I’ve done it again. If you missed the Wizards/Kings game on Wednesday night, I’m a bit mad at you. But you can kind of make up for it by reading these great recaps and watching the videos. It sort of broke my heart to see Gilbert lose the ball at the end, but Tyreke Evans is just so unbelievably good. How is this man a rookie? It’s ridiculous. Fellow rookie Omri Casspi gets some much-deserved love in those writeups, too.

“Arenas overshadowed by $111 million deal?” – Michael Lee of the Washington Post talks to Gilbert about the big contract hanging over his head.

If I was Gilbert, I wouldn’t want to hear about the contract all the time either. But, unfortunately, that’s what comes with signing those deals. It’s going to come up, especially when you’re not producing like other people who are making that kind of money. To me, though, the root of the issue is expectations – both what we expect from a near-max-money guy and what we expect from a guy working his way back from a serious injury. I have to emphasize that making all that money doesn’t make you perfect. Making that money doesn’t make you completely responsible for the team’s fortunes. And, in this case, making that money doesn’t make you immune to rust and doesn’t make you recover from injuries at a superhuman rate. I’m sure different Wizards fans had different expectations for Arenas going into this season, but if you’re upset with his individual play I think you have to re-evaluate yours. Obviously, his late-game anti-heroics have been a bit of a shock, but is it a catastrophe that his efficiency is down from where it was before he missed two full seasons of action? Is it unexpected that he has trouble elevating at the basket now? It shouldn’t be. We’ve seen flashes of Gilbert’s former self this season but we’ve also seen a man who is mortal like the rest of us. He’ll get back to being Agent Zero, but it’ll take time.

“Phil designs Kobe’s heroics” – Kevin Ding of The Orange County Register gives some great insights about Kobe’s game-winner against Milwaukee.

You’ve probably already read this and know about Kobe’s flashback to the 1991 finals. It just felt wrong not to mention it in a weekly recap. Gotta say, I was rooting for the Bucks hard in this game. Like always. But when that shot went in, I wasn’t upset. That’s just greatness and I can’t be mad at that. The blocking call a couple of possessions earlier, though? I can be mad at that. Utter bullshit.

“New York Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni says sitting Nate Robinson was nothing personal” – Frank Isola of the New York Daily News shares some quotes from Mike D’Antoni about Nate Robinson’s benching.

Bah, this confuses me. I want to believe D’Antoni, but I find it difficult. Is Nate that destructive on the floor? Does he really make the team that much worse? What’s different from last season, when he was effective? It’s hard for me to argue against the benching with the way they’ve played better without him, but I think Robinson’s skills make him worthy of playing time. Mike is saying that Nate is “a good guy” and he’d “play Satan himself” if he thought it’d help the team, and I’m left wondering how honest he’s being about the whole situation.

“Q&A With Daryl Morey” – Jason Friedman interviews the Rockets’ GM at the quarter-mark of the season.

Before I talk about the content, I have to give huge credit to Jason Friedman and Rockets.com. I read more articles on the Rockets’ official site than all of the other teams’ sites combined and that’s pretty much just because of Friedman’s stuff. Now, onto Morey: I love his genuine and thoughtful answers to all the questions here and, when asked about team-building and what he’s learned since he’s been on the job, he gives the best anti-tanking argument I’ve ever heard. It’s simple as hell, but I’ve never thought of it this way. When you’re winning games, your players become more valuable. They’re seen as “winning players” and the demand for them goes up throughout the league. Houston’s positioned themselves to be a major player in the trade market if they want to because they have a bunch of guys on short, inexpensive contracts and they’re winning. This is the other side of the coin when you’re talking about accepting losses in order to get good draft position.

“Cavaliers’ West dealing with issues ‘one day at a time’” – Dick Jerardi of the Philadelphia Daily News gets some great quotes from Phil Martelli, Delonte’s college coach.

This is another “big” article from last week, so I’ll leave the content alone and assume you’ve read it. I just want to add that West is a HUGE part of this Cavaliers team. I know he’s coming off the bench right now, but he might be the team’s second-most important player. He doesn’t look like he should be, but he’s well above-average on both ends of the court and, if the Cavs are going to do more playoff damage than they did last year, they need him. I don’t know the extent or the details of the mental health issues he’s facing, but I hope for his own sake and for the sake of NBA fans that he gets everything straightened out as much as it can be. I’ve said Cleveland isn’t one of my favourite teams to watch, but that has nothing to do with Delonte.

Friday, Dec. 18

Jerryd Bayless was the star on Thursday night, so all of the internet’s all-stars were talking about him on Friday morning. Some evidence:

“Behind the Box Score, where the Blazers have a new stud” – Kelly Dwyer.

“The Post Up: J. Bayless!” – Holly MacKenzie.

“Lion Face/Lemon Face 12.17.09: JERRYD BAYLESS JUST HAPPENED EDITION” – Matt Moore.

“Jerryd Bayless and the Liberation of Combo Guards” – Tom Ziller.

“Media Row Report: Blazers 105 Suns 102” – Ben Golliver.

“If You Don’t Know, Now You Know (Part 2)” – Rey Moralde.

“Jerryd Bayless!! Woooo!!” – Mark Schiralli aka mookie.

Yes, I know I said I would only link to those daily recaps once. Whatever. I don’t have a whole lot to add here on top of all those great pieces, but I’ll say this: I was fucking overjoyed watching Bayless do his thing that night. I thought he’d be a fantastic player when he came out of college and the one thing that pissed me off about that great Portland squad last year was the fact that they didn’t give him a chance. It’s true that his per-minute numbers were shit last year, but I’m telling you there was a reason Blazer fans wanted to see him play more. His talent was obvious, but he was being used incorrectly and sparingly. It’s so great that he’s a big part of their offense these days, even though I hate that it had to come at the cost of half their roster being injured.

“Links: My Decade” – Lang Whitaker doles out some nostalgia.

Seems appropriate that right after I talk about Bayless, the new thing, I go to something that’s been in my life for years: The Links. I’ve already told you the inspiration for my All-OTN Team came from Lang. Him talking about Robert Horry’s incredible performance in the 2005 finals along with a collection of animated .gifs definitely had me going down memory lane. It wasn’t that long ago where I didn’t read any of the people I’m linking to now except for Mr. Whitaker. Every day, I checked Hoopshype and SLAMonline for my NBA news. That was it. Then came TrueHoop and Ball Don’t Lie and the bazillion blogs that I read now. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t miss the simpler times – the wealth of information and analysis out there today is amazing. Just fun to take a look back for a moment.

“Arenas hoping Agent Zero can save Wizards” – Marc Spears gets some amazing quotes from Gilbert Arenas and touches on some rookie big men, Anthony Randolph, and more.

I think I’ve said enough about Gilbert and Anthony Randolph. Just read Spears’s piece if you haven’t. He and Woj turn out consistently excellent stuff for Yahoo!, but you know that already.

“In praise of the Big Piranha” – Nate Arch of Canis Hoopus gives props to Kevin Love after a Wolves win.

With Al Jefferson around, I’m not sure I agree that Kevin Love will definitely become the Wolves’ MVP, but I’m ready to be convinced. I’ve been a Love fan from the start – he does a ton of good stuff on the court. Some of it shows up in the boxscore; some of it does not. As Arch rightly points out, Kevin’s ability to contribute in multiple areas makes him potentially the team’s best player. I don’t want to steal too much from the post, so just read it. I’ll say this, though: if he didn’t already have such a big role and put up such good numbers, his intangibles alone would make him a lock for my All-OTN Team

“Game 24 Recap: Dallas 100, Oklahoma City 86” – Zorgon of Welcome To Loud City recaps the entertaining Thunder/Mavericks game.

I’m going to forgive Zorgon for writing this recap a day late because of the recognition he gives to my man Serge Ibaka. The All-OTN Team’s center was named the “Thunder Down Under” in this excellent recap. Key sentence: “Many props go out to Ibaka for significantly improving his game throughout the course of the season.” Wow. He’s significantly improved his game in a month and a half. That’s big. This guy was supposed to be a project. I’ve been telling you, keep your eyes on this him…

“Changing course: Kevin Durant, Oklahoma City’s offensive star, is turning heads with his defense” – Darnell Mayberry talks about the part of KD’s game that others are not talking about.

If you haven’t been watching the Thunder play, I can tell you it’s all true. The most impressive thing I’ve seen from Durant in the NBA is not his ridiculous scoring ability – I knew he had that. It’s the fact that he’s worked on his game and turned weaknesses into strengths. There’s nowhere that’s more apparent than on the defensive end – no one has made more defensive strides than him in the last two years.

“KG: Klutch Guy” – Bent from CelticsBlog shows that Kevin Garnett has come up big at the end of games this season.

It’s impossible to make that “Garnett disappears in the clutch” argument now. So don’t do it. Thanks.

“One Pounding Dribblers Anonymous” – Scott Souza tells us how far Kendrick Perkins has come with his game.

Heh, another Celtics piece. My Toronto friends are going to hate me if they read this. Anyway, with all my Rondo love I’ve kinda neglected the Celts’ man in the middle. Kendrick has been a great defender for a couple of years now, but what’s really worth noting about his current campaign is the improvement he’s had on the offensive end. He’s making quick moves and getting easy baskets. The rest of the league can’t be happy that he’s becoming a legitimate offensive threat.

“Then and Now: Tony Parker” – Jeff Garcia of Project Spurs tracks Tony Parker’s maturation as the Spurs’ point man.

It seems so long ago that TP was a rookie and we didn’t know how good he was going to be. Remember when we were worried that he couldn’t shoot? How about when the Spurs almost signed Jason Kidd? This is a good look at how he’s become one of the game’s best PG’s.

“Pistons’ Will Bynum made himself into NBA player” – Jo-Ann Barnas.

“Pistons find a Swede surprise in Jonas Jerebko” – Vincent Goodwill.

“Rookie Austin Daye has been good for the Pistons” – Ted Kulfan.

Obviously, my favourite piece is the one on All-OTN Team member Will Bynum. You should read all three, though – they are fantastic reads. Plus, you need to learn about ‘em. These unheralded Pistons are all playing very good basketball right now.

“Brandon Jennings, Social Media Misfit” – Bethlehem Shoals gives his take on the $7,500 fine the league doled out to the rookie.

Obviously, Shoals gets this completely right. All day Friday, people were discussing the absurdity of this fine. He sent a message to his fans from his phone after a win, at a time where he’s allowed to talk and text on it. And now he’s $7,500 poorer. This is just stupid. At least Brandon hasn’t followed through with deleting his Twitter account.

“Raptors pile it on Nets, who continue to search for answers” – Holly Mackenzie’s gamer for the Raps/Nets game on Friday night.

A late Friday link, but had to include it because it’s the exact right angle. I was at the game and intended to root for my Raptors, but took absolutely no pleasure in how they got the win. I said it felt like a Globetrotters game, with all the fast break dunks the Raps were getting. Chris Douglas-Roberts was working his ass off all night, but some of his teammates were not. Holly points out that, somehow, the Nets had as many turnovers as field goals in the first half. Ugh. What an ugly game. Try not to feel bad for CDR while reading that, I dare you.

Saturday, Dec. 19

“Video: Rockets’ Landry embeds teeth in Nowitzki’s arm” – J.E. Skeets comments on the unbelievable collision from Friday night.

I have to lead with this for Saturday. I’m sure you’ve heard about it. Nothing more to add; I still can’t believe it.

“You Know the Drill: Cavs 85- Bucks 82” – Jeremy Schmidt of Bucksketball recaps Bucks/Cavs.

“Recap: Cavaliers 85, Bucks 83 (With Special Bonuses!)” – Mitchell of BrewHoop recaps Bucks/Cavs.

This was an enjoyable game, even though my Bucks lost. Quickly going to say that Milwaukee fans are spoiled by these two great blogs, and I’m going to quote each of them about Brandon Jennings:

“Maybe it’s because I’m a fellow skinny PG, but when I see Brandon bust his hump getting a hand in the shooter’s face, it makes me happy. He won’t be able to outmuscle anybody, but he can make shooters miss through sheer annoyance. I chalk it up to good coaching (thanks, Kelvin Sampson!).

_

This point is less about Jennings’ use of the lost art of “hand-in-face” and more about his exceptional effort. He plays like a guy who flat-out loves the sport, and if he works in practice as hard as he does in games (which I hear he does), he’s going to be huge.” – Mitchell of BrewHoop, on Jennings’s shot defense.

“Jennings finished 5-21 and wasn’t able to create anything for the Bucks on the last play. Not that creating against Cleveland is very easy, they’re among the league’s best defensively and this is the second time in Jennings’ life he’s played them. So had he created a good look or hit a three there, it would have been beyond exceptional. That’s how things typically are in the league for rookies and it’s something we’ll likely be seeing more often than not the rest of this year despite Jennings’ talents.

_

But it’s not too difficult to envision the end of games two years from now when Jennings IS able to create something and the Bucks DO have the talent to win these kinds of games. And then Bucks fans will be talking about their superstar and how he’s the reason they’re winning. I hope.” – Jeremy Schmidt of Bucksketball, on Jennings at the end of games.

“Mr. $111 Million Drops A Determined 45 Points Against Former Team” – Kyle Deidie of Truth About It joyfully discusses Gilbert’s breakout game and shares other reactions to it.

YES! This game was so fun to watch for me, just to see Gilbert light it up. I know the Warriors team defense was pathetic, but still. He dropped 45. Finally. After all the depressing crap I linked to earlier with him, you know this is my favourite piece. Let me have this: Woooooo!

“How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Jonathan Bender” – Seth Rosenthal of Posting and Toasting is impressed with the newest Knick.

Man, it was awesome seeing Jonathan Bender on my TV playing basketball again. And, whoa, I didn’t expect him to have a debut this good. Did you watch that video? He does NOT look like a guy who hasn’t played pro ball in years. I know it’s just one game, but still. This is encouraging. Be happy.

“The Recap: December 19th, 2009” – Holly MacKenzie.goes over Friday’s games for The Score.

Wow, this feels like the millionth Holly Mack piece I’ve linked to. I originally wanted not to have more than one link by the same person. Oh well. You should be reading The Recap on The Score every day, whether it’s Holly or Scott Carefoot doing the work. Anyway, the reason I’m linking this? Check the quote of the game for the Memphis/Indy:

“There are too many words to describe what he’s meant to this team so far. He’s been an energy guy, a guy who’s been a leader for this team and a veteran. Going out and putting in the work he’s been doing on and off the court has been amazing.” – Mike Conley on Randolph’s presence.

Holy shit. I’m guessing you didn’t expect to be hearing that kind of thing about Zach Randolph. I certainly didn’t, but I’m excited about it. You know I’ve been loving how the Grizz have been playing.

“GM 26 Recap: POW…How you like us now?” – Jeff McMenamin recaps the Sixers’ victory over the Celtics.

A good recap as always, but I have to single out the Elton Brand bit because it’s what I’ve been trying to say since the damn season started.

At center it should be a no-brainer to have Elton Brand start, but you never know with Eddie Jordan. For some reason Brand has been the odd man out of the rotation for most of the season and since Brand is such a class-act guy there’s been really no complaints out of the big man. Well for all the complaints which he left unsaid I’m going to make sure that you know them now. Brand should start, Brand should play over 35 minutes every game, Brand is still capable of putting up 20/10 every night, Brand is a leader on and off court, and Brand will shock the NBA in the second half of the year. Give the man his due. He cares more about dominating at the game of basketball than he does about the contract which he signed a little more then a year ago. I’m tired of the media saying it’s his fault for underperforming when Jordan has played him less then 30 minutes in 12 games this season. This [Holiday/Iverson/Iguodala/Speights/Brand] is the starting five which will lead the Sixers to wins like the one against Boston last night.

“Rajon Rondo’s Assists Demand Our Attention” – Greg Payne of CelticsBlog.

“Rondo’s frustration, and why can he do whatever he wants” – Red’s Army.

I’m saying no more about Rondo. Just letting other people do the talking for me.

“Robinson wants trade from Knicks” – Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports shares a trade demand from Nate’s agent, Aaron Goodwin.

“Agent Says It Is Time for Robinson to Leave” – Howard Beck of the New York Times reports the same thing. I think his was first, but you have to be a member of NYTimes.com to read it.

I think my feelings on this should be obvious. If a trade means Nate will actually get to play basketball, I’m all for it.

“Kirk Snyder: A life unraveled” – Ross Siler of the Salt Lake Tribune tells Kirk Snyder’s sad story.

Man… I don’t know what to say. This is just really, really fucking sad. At least we’ll always have this.

“Dennis Rodman’s fame benefits rich and poor” – Dan LeBatard with a fascinating (to say the least) look at where Dennis Rodman is at right now.

Um, wow. With this and the Snyder story… Just wow. So much crazy stuff in this article. I do, however, know that the answer to the question on the side of the page regarding Rodman and the Hall Of Fame is a definite “yes”.

“Free Amir” – Tom Liston’s ode to Amir Johnson.

I needed the Saturday section to end on a happy note. A song about an All-OTN Team member, set to The First Noel? That’ll do just fine.

Sunday, Dec. 20

“Bailed Out By a Star: Kings 96, Bucks 95” – Tom Ziller recaps Evans/Jennings. I mean… Kings/Bucks.

What a game this was. I LOVED watching the league’s two top rookies go at it. Both played very well. I can’t wait to see them do it again for the next, oh, fifteen years or so. I was rooting for the Bucks, as usual, so I didn’t appreciate Tyreke’s amazing game-winner as much as, say, Ziller. But, still – great game. And Tyreke Evans is indeed a star.

“Clippers 112 – Philadelphia 107 – Overtime – Improbable” – Steve Perrin of Clips Nation recaps Clips/Sixers.

“Clippers 112, Philadelphia 107 (OT)” – Kevin Arnovitz of ClipperBlog recaps Clips/Sixers.

The end of the fourth quarter was insane. Check Arnovitz’s piece for the video. I still can’t get over it. These are two L.A. Clippers blogs, and neither of these writers are saying Iggy’s shot was definitely no-good. That was the closest buzzer-beater I have EVER seen.

“Magic get defensive against Blazers” – Philip Rossman-Reich goes over the Magic/Blazers game.

This wasn’t the prettiest game, but the Magic got the win. What’s notable for me this bit about Vince Carter:

This was the kind of game where Orlando needed him to do other things. And Carter did that. Vince finished with seven rebounds and three assists and did a decent enough job defensively to try and make up for some of his offensive failings tonight.

So, even though he hurt my fantasy team, Vince was able to be a positive for Orlando in a winning effort. This, despite having a miserable (1-14) shooting night.

“Rockets 95, Thunder 90” – Darnell Mayberry’s notes on a Thunder loss.

“The Rockets do it again on the glass to take down the Thunder” – Royce Young of Daily Thunder gives his take.

Ahh, two of my favourite teams facing off. I was rooting for Oklahoma City, but knew this would be a tough matchup for them. The Rockets seem to just have their number. Anyway, serious love for Ibaka here. Mayberry points out that he played all but 1:40 of the final period and that his block on Chase Budinger was so big that they replayed it on the jumbotron despite the fact this was a ROAD GAME. Young, well, he said this:

Serge Ibaka ladies and gentleman. The line for the fan club starts right behind me. He had 10 points on 5-5 shooting, grabbed eight rebounds and blocked two shots in just 23 minutes. He’s going to be getting 30 a night soon and potentially sending Nenad Krstic into extreme role player mode. You watch.

Erm… fan club… I have to line up behind someone? But I named him to my team! Argh, fine… I’m with you, Royce. Gotta love the “Chewblocka” nickname too, ha.

“Sunday Discussion – Offensive… to say the least” – J.G. of Daily Thunder ponders whether OKC’s offense needs re-tooling.

Another solid Daily Thunder post. This is a really intriguing question to me. I commented on it, actually, but there are 82 freaking comments there now so it’s lost somewhere in there. I think a big part of the issue is what you think of the previously discussed Russell Westbrook. I believe in him and think he’ll get it, so I’m more inclined to stick with Brooks’s system.

“Team Resiliency Strikes Again” – Jason Friedman of Rockets.com gives Houston’s perspective on the Rockets/Thunder game.

Hey, check it out, Friedman again! I told you there’s quality stuff on the Rockets website all the time. Read this piece if you want to know why I fell in love with this Rockets team. It’s all there.

“Read Between The Lines” – Graydon Gordian of 48 Minutes Of Hell examines the last ten seconds of Saturday’s Spurs/Pacers game.

This is a really interesting look at how 10 seconds can be a pretty good microcosm of a season. Tim Duncan has been the saving grace of the Spurs’ year; everyone else is surrounded by question marks. I should elaborate about Saturday night – it was a bit crazy. This Spurs game was decided by one point and a dunk from Timmy D. ended up being the game-winner. You already know about the Iggy and Evans shots. In addition to all of this, the Chicago/Atlanta game went into overtime and the Bulls pulled out a victory. With all that, plus wanting to watch the rookie battle, plus catching bits and pieces of the Suns/Wizards game (which turned out to be a Phoenix blowout), I was flipping channels like a motherfucker. Yay for League Pass.

“Interview: Jazz Rookie Wes Matthews Making Most of Opportunity in Utah” – Chris Littmann’s video interview with the Jazz’s undrafted rookie.

Just watch the damn thing. If you can’t appreciate that an undrafted rookie who thought he was going to play this year in Europe is now starting for Jerry Sloan’s team, you have no soul.

“Raptors use late run to put away Hornets” – Eric Koreen’s game story for Sunday’s Toronto/New Orleans matinee.

I love hearing that DeMar DeRozan and Sonny Weems are being called Batman and Robin these days. It’s been obvious since the start of the season that they have great chemistry off the court and, now that Weems is seeing consistent time, they’re showing it on court as well. I went to this game, mostly because I wanted to see Chris Paul, and I didn’t get exactly what I was expecting. Paul was held in check by Marcus Banks and Jarrett Jack and an ankle injury. Not that he would admit the injury was bothering him. It was nowhere near a perfect game for Toronto, but I loved watching the bench guys get after it and I am currently not as discouraged with the team as I was earlier in the week. When I got home, I took in some more games and have a few things to say. First, Zach Randolph! Remember that Conley quote? Yeah. Dude had 32 pts and 24 rebs (9 offensive) yesterday against Denver. This came in a winning effort. Several of those points and boards came at timely moments, keeping Denver from getting too close. To quickly wrap up (because, Jesus, this is long): The Celtics/Wolves and Lakers/Pistons games went pretty much as you’d expect, Brandon Roy was a beast against Miami in a Portland win, Dallas impressively took care of Cleveland without the services of Dirk Nowitzki, and the Knicks managed to beat Charlotte on the strength of a huge Danilo Gallinari block in the final seconds. Now, a couple more links and this is over…

“As Weird as Finger Panes” – Bethlehem Shoals is inspired by the fact that the New York Times said Darko Milicic’s lasting impression will be the fact that he was immortalized in the name of the FreeDarko blog.

Instantly, this is a classic FD piece. It prominently features Amir Johnson, which pleases me, but I must say I definitely do NOT associate anything resembling a sinking feeling with him now that he’s on my Raptors.

“Jumping head-first into the Bucks’ ‘Squad 6’” – Andrew Wagner of OnMilwaukee.com joins Squad 6 for a game.

And we finish how we started. Just a fun piece about what it’s like to go crazy in Bogut’s section for the night. Check the video at the bottom, too.

I tried this weekly recap thing last week, using Twitter as a guide. This week, I’m at it again. Same idea, but I’m going to use video as a guide. These clips are mostly from a few fantastic YouTube uploaders, but there are a couple of NBA.com videos in here too. This won’t be quite as good as actually watching the games as they happen, but it should at least give you an idea of what you’re missing.

Monday, Nov. 16

Stephen Jackson finally got his wish on Monday morning, as he was traded to the Bobcats for Raja Bell and Vladimir Radmanovic. Mere hours after the swap was completed, he made his debut in Orlando. I only saw the first few minutes of the game, but it was enough to decide that the Bobcats are no longer my least-favourite team to watch. Captain Jack ends up being on the receiving end of a Vince dagger, though. Magic win 97-91.

This was a crazy shot, but somehow you could feel it coming. As soon as I saw Fernandez was the inbounder, I told my buddy Cory that he would end up getting the ball back. As soon as the shot went up, we both yelled that it was going in. It did, but then Portland was unable to stop Joe Johnson in overtime. Hawks win 99-95.

Again, this was predictable, even though it shouldn’t have been with the degree of difficulty. We were rooting pretty hard for Milwaukee at Casa Herbert; trust that there was a healthy level of fear as soon as Dirkus Circus (hat tip to J.E. Skeets for that one) received the ball. Luc Richard Mbah A Moute is one of the very best defenders in the world and he did all he could do, but Dirk just knocked down the shot to give his team the win. Mbah A Moute, on the deciding play where Nowitzki brought his overtime point total to 7 (hat tip to Scott Carefoot for this one): “(Dirk’s) a good player. I probably should’ve tried harder to deny him the ball, but they just throw it up and he’s 7-foot.” I can’t imagine how frustrating that must have been for him – I was heartbroken and the Bucks aren’t even technically my favourite team. Dirk simply makes unguardable shots.

Tuesday, Nov. 17

Heh, the announcer says it’s the second game in a row Melo has made a shot like this. I think he practices these ones. I used to.

I’ve seen LeBron get chasedown blocks so many times. It still gets me out of my seat, screaming. I can’t imagine this ever changing.

Unfortunately, this is a metaphor for Anthony Randolph’s season thus far. Here, LeBron James is playing the part of Don Nelson.

I was going to say that LeBron is now playing the part of the Charlotte Bobcats here, but that doesn’t work. I don’t know if Vlad Rad is happy to be in Golden State, but if you think about it he and the Warriors are a perfect match. He is essentially the opposite of Anthony Randolph. AR brings energy, athleticism, defense, and gets most of his points on the inside. Radmanovic isn’t athletic or defensively skilled, but he can stand at the 3-point line and hit open shots. Nellie will love him.

I love Kobe’s post game. There is nothing I’m happier about this year in the NBA, besides Brandon Jennings. Kelly Dwyer says it perfectly here (and at 14:55 here, heh). My take: it might have been a long time coming, but it’s here and we should appreciate it. Going down in the post is great for us because we get to see his great footwork that other 2-guards simply can’t stop, plus it’s great for his team because it attracts attention and opens up the whole floor. Perhaps he should have done this sooner, but you have to absolutely love that the man is still adding to and refining his game in the summertime, post-30. This is part of why former haters are changing their tune: even if you don’t want to hang out with Kob’, but you have no choice but to respect his work ethic and love for the game. None.

Had to show another video of Kobe in the post. Thing of beauty. Is there any other SG who would have done that? Serious question, this. If there is someone, let me know.

I will admit it. I was kind of falling asleep as this happened. My eyes weren’t completely open, but then I heard the announcers screaming. Caught the replay – my jaw dropped and I immediately thought “MJ!” The next day, I saw this post.

Kobe woke me up, then I saw this. Man. I love blocked dunks. This is easily one of my very favourite plays of the season – two of the best highlight guys in the league colliding. It was going to be a YouTube hit one way or another, but Maxiell got the best of Brown this time.

Kobe’s getting into that zone where his numbers are so ridiculous that you can’t even properly comprehend them. He’s scored 40 points 100 times? Alright, then. I just can’t believe it has been 14 seasons already. I remember him, a skinny teenager, shaking David Stern’s hand whilst wearing a Charlotte Hornets hat. I remember him scoring 31 points in the Rookie Challenge, trying to dominate the game. I remember him being interviewed on Inside Stuff with fellow rookies Derek Fisher and Travis Knight. Now, he’s the Lakers’ 2nd-leading scorer ever? Only behind Jerry West? Really? Okay. When this kind of thing happens, I realize that I’m going to be telling my kids one day “I got to see Kobe Bryant live”. Living legend, this guy, and he’s still one of the game’s very best. We have been lucky to see his development. Also, um, that was a pretty nice shot.

Wednesday, Nov. 18

Rajon Rondo is nice, but that’s not why I’m showing you this. Watch it again, and look at who the Warriors have on the court. Anthony Randolph at the 5, Corey Maggette at the 4, Anthony Morrow at the 3, Monta Ellis at the 1, and… Raja Bell at the 2? When he was traded to the disaster factory that is the Warriors organization, it was reported that he would go ahead with the wrist surgery he delayed in Charlotte. After all, he needed the surgery and he wasn’t part of Golden State’s long-term plans. But the Warriors only had seven healthy bodies this night and Bell decided to take one for the “team”. Instead of sitting on the bench like everyone expected him to, he decided to give it a go against the very physical Boston Celtics. Let it be known that the only guy playing his proper position really had no reason to chase Ray Allen and Paul Pierce around, as he had a torn ligament in his wrist and was leaving the team to have surgery the very next day. It would be easy to forget a 109-95 Boston victory in November, but I always want to remember that Raja played this past Wednesday. Hence, this paragraph and the picture at the beginning of this article. “Respect” isn’t a strong enough word here.

Sneaky little guy. I like this guy. (I’m going to tone down my Jennings love for a bit. It’s not that I have nothing to say, it’s that I don’t have to draw attention to him these days.)

This was a GREAT basketball game. I missed it live because of Nuggets/Raptors, but got to it on the weekend. Can’t ignore two of my favourite teams going up against one another. So much ball movement, so much effort in this one. Not even sure if this was the best dunk of the night, but I can’t find Budinger’s slam on YouTube. Anyway, my guy Carl Landry had 27 points on 18 shots and added 9 rebounds. Steve Nash took a while to get going, scoring-wise, but finished with 12 points along with his 16 assists. Suns win 111-105, but the final score didn’t seem important.

This is a nice dunk, but I’m posting it here mainly so I can link to this picture of the reaction on the Raptors bench.

I can’t say enough about this clip, or how Dirk is playing right now. Dirk is having an MVP-level season, and I’ve watched this video 4 times now and still get goosebumps.

Left handed? Okay, LeBron. You win. I’m now convinced you will kill it in the dunk contest this year. Had my doubts, as I thought your HS contest stuff was a bit lacking in the creativity department, but I know you’ll get it right this time. With your hops, strength, and coordination, I’m expecting to see some stuff I’ve never seen before.

Insane. New rule: if your shot attempt is from beyond 70 feet, it counts even if it’s up to 1 second after the buzzer sounds. Anyone have a problem with this?

Legendary Clippers announcer Ralph Lawler and partner Mike Smith were suspended for one game for their comments about Hamed Haddadi, the league’s fist Iranian-born player. I wanted to reserve judgment till I saw/heard what actually happened. Now that I’ve watched this? Well, it was a blowout, and they had little to say. They were joking around, but were proven to be very ignorant. Not hateful, but ignorant. The 1-game suspension was about right, methinks.

Thursday, Nov. 19

Peja had 25 points and 13 rebounds, shooting 7-11 from downtown. In 2009. He got WAY too many wide open looks, but this is still impressive. I thought he was done after what we saw last year; if he keeps up anything close to this, I’ll be so happy being wrong. The Hornets, sans Chris Paul, beat the team with the West’s best record on national TV. And they followed it up with a win against the team with the East’s best record two nights later (before losing a heartbreaker to Miami on Sunday). Remember what I said about their rookies? Well, they’re playing now and they’re playing very, very well.

You hear what Doug Collins said there? We are “waiting to see what his effect will be on the team.” Well, we saw it. He makes the Lakers much, much better. And they were already a great team. With his high-post passing and everything else, plus Kobe taking it down to the block, you could make the argument that Tex’s triangle has NEVER been in better hands. After watching for five minutes, I completely forgot that this was Pau’s first game back. You couldn’t tell. The Lakers toyed with the Bulls all night and won easily. They’re still the favourites, people.

Friday, Nov. 20

So, this rookie has some hops, eh? Get on the bandwagon now, while there’s still some room. Not sold? He also did this.

A couple of things: this was a very weird game in the first half. There were numerous crazy plays, but this one stood out. As Julian Guy-McCarvill said, you normally know exactly what you’re going to get with Amir Johnson. No one knew we were going to get this, though.

Welcome back to Toronto, Pops. Wish I could have found video of the ovation he received when he entered his first home game of the season for the Raps. With Amir in the lineup, Mensah-Bonsu is only going to see limited minutes, but he’s the type of guy fans really love. Plays like this show you what he brings – energy, athleticism, and tenacity.

I see how it is, Joel. You show up to play Canada’s team and dunk all over one of their fan favourites. Some patriot you are. Hmph.

Shocking when it happened. Thought this one was going into OT. How do you not box out Josh Smith on a play like this? Anyway, this seems an appropriate time to talk about how great Smith has been this year… You can start with Dave Berri’s statistical stuff if you want, or you can just listen to me. Josh Smith is a different player now. We’ve all seen flashes of this Josh Smith. In fact, two seasons ago, he looked like he was headed in this direction at a rapid pace. With the way he runs the floor; leaps for rebounds, alley-oops, and blocks; guards multiple positions; and scores easily on the inside, we always knew he had star potential. He just had to put it all together. Unfortunately, he regressed in 2008-2009. This year, though, he’s doing it right. Playing hard and smart at both ends of the floor, Smith has been by far the biggest reason for Atlanta’s 11-3 start. He’s ditched the 3-pointers and is occasionally even looking like a point-forward, with five 7+ assist games under his belt already. I can’t overstate how great this is to see, and that’s not because he’s been a beast for my fantasy team. Watching young players (he doesn’t turn 24 for another few weeks) develop, especially those who have been knocked for problems with focus/decision-making/maturity, is one of the most rewarding parts of following this game.

No need for analysis, here. What a play. I’m convinced he’s been watching Vince Carter highlights, even though Vince would have spun in the other direction.

Seeing Harden do this stuff doesn’t make sense to me yet. With his beard, his demeanor, and his sweet shot, he doesn’t seem like the guy who should be making highlight-reel plays. He’s the most sneaky-athletic player since Eric Gordon debuted last year. Haven’t watched enough Thunder so far this year, bad James.

Appreciate this man. He will be done in a couple of years and nobody talks about him anymore. He’s been on my fantasy team for years and his name sometimes comes up in trade conversations, but nobody wants to give up anyone decent for him. Fine with me; his assists, steals, rebounds, and threes can stay right where they are. I don’t know when J-Kidd stopped being cool, but it’s bullshit. He still does things like this, things that not even a handful of other NBA players do. Gotta love it.

That this was the best highlight I can find of Jason Thompson from the past week should tell you a couple of things: he’s not yet anywhere near to a household name and he doesn’t have a hell of a lot of flash in his game. You should start paying attention to him, though. The guy has really improved from last season, even relative to other 2nd year players. On this night against Dallas, he totalled 18 points (on 9-13 shooting), 8 rebounds, 1 steal, and 2 blocks in a 2-point loss. His defense is very good and he’s doing a much better job at drawing fouls. Good thing he has improved his free throw shooting to 80% from 69% last year. Late Saturday night, I heard extremely positive things bout him from two very different, but very trustworthy sources. Seems like he’s the real deal.

The in-game clips here are not actually from this week; they’re from an earlier matchup between Houston and Memphis. This video surfaced on Friday, though, and it’s great. I love how these Rockets seem to care more about the little things than every other team in the league. Even outlet passing. That is a skill. Just like post defense, showing on screens, recovering, closing out on shooters, boxing out, etc. Please don’t think Chuck Hayes’s worth to the Rockets is just having a good build and “effort”. He IS built perfectly to guard multiple positions, and he DOES exert a hell of a lot of focused energy out there, but he wouldn’t be so damn good if not for his brain. If he didn’t play smarter than everybody else, he wouldn’t be in the league. But right now he’s starting at the 5 for the Rockets, at 6’6. And he’s improved immeasurably on the offensive end. Smart guy.

Saturday, Nov. 21

Some would say this sums up the Knicks’ miserable season thus far. Can’t argue; it’s been a mess. My take, though: D’Antoni overreacts a bit here when he jumps on Nate. The shot was clearly after the buzzer sounded – there was only half a second on the clock when the ball was inbounded. Players do this type of thing all the time… except they usually wait a few seconds. Nate Robinson is just impatient, man… Right?

Welcome back, Devin! We’ve missed you. Your team has missed you more. It would have been great if your return had resulted in a win, but I’m sure you’ll get that monkey off your back soon. Oh what’s that, you’re going on a Western road trip now? Um, I gotta go. We’ll talk some other time? Say, two weeks from now? Cool.

All I saw of the game was the first quarter but it was phenomenal for the Cavs (36-23). Philly’s D was not stifling, but what the Cavs did was encouraging regardless. It wasn’t just high screens and isolations for LeBron. There was a lot of ball/player movement with plays like these, and LeBron even had a nice post-up move. I want more of this, but it would seem it didn’t last. After the electric first quarter, the Cavs only scored 18, 21, and 22 points in the next three. If not for stepping up their D to hold Philly to just 10 points in the final period, this would have been a loss. I’m still kinda worried about the Cavs.

I’m showing you this dunk because it’s awesome, but J.R. Smith is not just a dunker. He has come a long way since the Hornets and Bulls gave up on him, but some of his “knucklehead” reputation (unfairly) remains. The “problem” (I wouldn’t really call it that): he can still be inconsistent from quarter to quarter and game to game. On this night, J.R. impressed with ludicrous long-range threes and very nice passes. We’ve seen this before – remember the surprising defense and passing he exhibited in last year’s playoffs? Smith has a complete game and the potential to look like an All-Star on any given night, but, fine, you can’t quite count on him to do it all the time. Holly Mackenzie says, “J.R. Smith WILL put the pieces together one day. Just on his own watch, not on ours.” I couldn’t agree more. And even though it might sometimes be sorta frustrating waiting for everything to click, we should remember that the man just turned 24. He came straight out of high school in 2004. You know who else did that? Josh Smith. It’s come together for him seemingly out of nowhere this year, so don’t be surprised if J.R. makes that leap soon. Stay patient.

Sunday, Nov. 22

Vince was determined to get to the basket early against Toronto. You just know he gets up for these games, where almost everyone in the building is booing him every time he touches the ball. On this play, he succeeded, but for most of the first half his aggressive drives to the basket didn’t end well. Unable to draw fouls or convert around the basket, the Raptors were lucky to not be punished more for being unable to stop Vince getting where he wanted to on the court. In the second half, though, he played more controlled basketball and shifted his game to the perimeter. In an amusing sequence at the end of the third quarter, he ran down the clock for 20 seconds while Toronto fans attempted to defy their lungs and boo for all of eternity. At the end of the shot-clock, he hit a very difficult baseline jumper over good defense. Silenced the place. Finishing with 24 points on 24 shots, he didn’t have an efficient night, but it was enough to beat the Raptors 104-96 despite Amir Johnson’s best effort (rebounding, defense, scoring around the basket, seeming to be all over the court at all times). I was at the game and feel confident saying Amir and J.J. Redick were the two most impactful guys this afternoon – Redick scored 19 points on just 10 field goal attempts and added 5 assists for Orlando. This is two consecutive meetings where he’s murdered the Raptors – you have to think they’ll limit his wide open looks next time out. If not, my brain might fall out of my head.

It has to be a bit worrying for Boston fans that it came to this against this year’s Knicks, but an ugly win is still a win. Paul Pierce dominated the overtime period, setting the stage for KG to step in and hit the open straightaway jumper to win the game despite his and Ray Allen’s poor overall shooting performances on the day. Also, it’s worth noting that Eddy Curry scored 6 points and grabbed 4 rebounds in 15 minutes. The big man has appeared in three games for the Knicks this season, already playing more minutes than he did all of last year. It looks like he’s lost about 70 pounds and I’m not even close to being used to seeing him out there yet. Really hoping the comeback works out, as he does have serious offensive skill and he has been through some legitimately terrible things since he was last in the Knicks’ rotation.

Update, Monday 11 AM: Speaking of Curry, this cheap shot on Rondo is sure to lose him some goodwill. This is a dangerous play that came in a thoughtless moment. I just became aware of it now and have watched the clip a few times, repeatedly getting squeamish right before seeing Eddy knock down the Celts’ point man. To his credit, the big man apologized for it afterward, saying “I felt like he was holding me, but I can’t let frustration get to me. It was [the] heat of the moment. I can’t let emotions get the best of me. It was just stupid.” Agreed, man.

Alright, let’s talk about the last game of the week. Lakers vs. Thunder. I spoke earlier about how great the Lakers looked against the Bulls – this was the same. This group again looked like they didn’t belong in the same league as its opponent. The game was over after the first quarter, where Kobe Bryant put on a show that I can’t describe properly with words. I’m serious, I can’t describe it. I’m just going to show you the videos of what he did, in addition to the videos of Shannon Brown’s garbage time brilliance You will enjoy them, even if you’ve seen them twenty times already.

Gary Dineen / Getty Images

This past week, I’ve been tweeting and League Passing my face off and loving every minute of it. I’ve seen buzzer-beaters, incredible dunks, and one of the most captivating individual performances I’ve ever had the pleasure of watching. Here’s a recap of the week that was, using selections from the Outside Twitter account as a guide.

Monday, Nov. 9

6:55 PM: I guess as a Raptors fan I should be excited about Duncan and Parker not playing. I’m scared of the Raps letting up, though. Spurs are deep.

This is one of those times where I wish I was wrong. Manu Ginobili was brilliant, the Raptors’ defense was awful, and Toronto lost despite shooting 59% from the floor.

9:45 PM: I want that Matt Bonner dunk on a poster.

10:42 PM: This Raptors lineup is fucking FUN. I’d be rooting for them even if they weren’t “my” team.

I believe Sonny Weems, Marco Belinelli, and Amir Johnson were all on the floor at that point. The Raptors’ revamped bench has been a huge bright spot so far this season. While these new guys have flaws (i.e. Belinelli’s shot selection, Johnson’s propensity to foul), they are exciting and they bring stuff to the table that the Raptors needed. Every game, I look forward to the bench unit getting some run. It’s especially nice when Antoine Wright and Johnson are on the floor at the same time, doing their best to shed the “soft” label this club has had for years.

12:08 AM: Is Stephen Jackson reinventing himself as a distributor on this team loaded with scorers? For one game against the Wolves, the answer is yes.

There really wasn’t much defense being played here, but what Jackson did was still impressive. He didn’t look for his own shot AT ALL, choosing to create for his sweet-shooting teammates like Kelenna Azubuike and Anthony Morrow. “Coach” Don Nelson even joked about how Jackson’s agent ripped him earlier that day.

12:59 AM: Huge dunk from Jawai! Big smile on my face. Don’t care that it’s in this context.

The context: right at the end of the worst loss in T-Wolves history. It really couldn’t have been less meaningful. I’m really rooting for the Aussie to succeed, though. The Raptors had high hopes for him when they picked him up in the 2nd round of the 2008 draft, but he was soon dealt a crushing blow, mistakenly being diagnosed with a cardiac issue and barred from undergoing any physical activity. He missed training camp and never managed to get in game shape for his first NBA team. When he was traded to Dallas in the Turkoglu/Marion deal, it looked like he would unfortunately get lost in the shuffle again. But then the Timberwolves called, with their injury-riddled frontcourt requiring another big body. He still looks like he needs to drop a bit of weight in Minnesota, but he has finally been given a chance to play and has been a contributor.

1:46 AM: Working on article about the rooks. Started off writing full paragraphs, now typed “Beard! Shooting! Perfect fit! Thunder!” Ugh, bed time.

Tuesday, Nov. 10

1:28 PM: My ASG Voting: W: Nash, Kobe, KD, Melo, Amar’e. E: Gil, Wade, LeBron, Bosh, Dwight. Hardest part: No CP3. Unfair, want him instead of Gil.

Getting left off of my All-Star team was is just the start of a horrible, horrible weak for Chris Paul that saw his team lose 3 of 4 games, including being blown out by Phoenix and Atlanta. We’ll get to the rest of it soon. Also, I’d now put Brandon Jennings there instead of Gilbert. No contest.

8:34 PM: Carmelo just did the most impressive offensive thing (1:31 here) I’ve seen since that Wade “slashing through the whole D” thing.

I was watching the game with Julian and Wagman. It was one of those plays where we all went “holy shit!” when it happened and were even more impressed when we saw the replay. The degree of difficulty on that play is off the charts; Melo is unbelievable.

9:47 PM Gilbert Arenas is in danger of breaking Jason Kidd’s all-time record for turnovers in a game (14).

He finished with 12, tying the opposing team on the night and Dwyane Wade, Paul Pierce, Allen Iverson, Damon Stoudamire, and Scottie Pippen in the record book. Kelly Dwyer said he should have sat this one out and, even though I’m a massive Arenas fan, I’m not going to offer a counter argument.

10:29 PM: BRAD MILLER IS THE NEW DEREK FISHER. HOLY HELL
10:33 PM: I’ve seen this replay 20 times and still don’t know if it should count or not.

I flipped to the OKC game because it looked like it was over when Billups was at the foul line with 0.6 on the clock. Something told me to check back on this one more time, though, and we were lucky enough to get there literally a second before the inbound pass. When Brad Miller’s desperation shot (1:40 here) went in, we all went apeshit. I’m surprised nobody got hurt. Then, there was 10 minutes of watching replays and debating over whether or not it was good. Julian and Wagman were certain it was late. I wasn’t sure. In retrospect, they were right.

11:09 PM: Numerous buzzer-beaters tonight. James Harden just hit a RIDICULOUS one to end the half. Yes, it counted.

12:41 AM: Blah. Not happy about that ending for my 2nd-favourite team (1:55 here). Thought that last shot had a chance.

Kevin Durant had 37 points on 23 shots, shooting 18-18 from the line. Wasn’t enough, though, against this powerhouse Sacramento team.

12:48 AM: Nice timing. As soon as the OKC game ended, Bill Simmons appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live. Still on right now.

4:37 AM: Stayed up all this time editing a podcast. Have never done that before. Crap, have to leave for work in 4 hours

Wednesday, Nov. 11

11:51 AM: B. Jennings on NBA TV yesterday

2:37 PM: Never thought I’d see Nash referred to as “the Iggy Pop of the NBA”. Can’t really argue, I guess.

7:19 PM: Every time DeRozan scores I’m… uhhh… proud? Is that what it is? Have no idea why. Anyway, I like him.

Holly MacKenzie re-tweeted this one and said “Thanks for saying it for me.” Thing is, as someone who covers the Raptors, she has talked to DeMar in a pre-draft workout, at the draft, at the Vegas summer league, and at practice all the time. It makes sense for her to feel that way; she’s been there and seen him working hard. I, on the other hand, have never met the guy. I didn’t even see much of him in college. I don’t really know how he became “my guy”, but he is. There’s something about him that makes me watch him in the same way I imagine people watch their kids. If he makes a mistake on the court, the first thing that comes to my mind is always something like “noooo, I hope he doesn’t lose any confidence” instead of something like “get that rookie out of the game”. I root for him harder than anyone else on my hometown team. This has definitely has added to my enjoyment of the Raptors this season, but it’s a bit weird. I even added him as a friend on Facebook.

10:00 PM: Feel bad for New Jersey (1:52 here). Oh man. “They end this one with a whimper” – that is correct, Ian Eagle.

That had to hurt. So much. Without Harris, this is a team full of young guys trying to scrape together wins even when they’re overmatched. To come this close, and then have a turnover like that one? Gutting.

10:14 PM: Huge 3 from Jennings. He has 23 and 9. Then he drew the 5th foul on Nene while trying to get a rebound.
10:15 PM: ANOTHER 3! Jennings! I have no words.
10:25 PM: Normally I like the Nuggets but against this Bucks team they are pure evil to me. Go Jennings.
10:27 PM: Clutch ft’s, Brandon. Nice.

I’m not apologizing one bit for all this Jennings love (and this is nothing, wait till we get to Saturday). This rookie is a wonder. We haven’t seen a small, left-handed rookie point guard who can score from anywhere on the court, keep his teammates happy, and come through in the clutch like this since Damon Stoudamire won the Rookie of the Year in 1995-1996. He is like Damon on steroids. His drives are captivating, his shot is pure, and his swagger is immense. Defenses fear him. Try asking me when the Bucks are coming to Toronto and I’ll tell you “January 22” before you finish your sentence. It’s as if God created Brandon Jennings to thank me for being a basketball fan.

10:30 PM: Switched over to HOU game for a second and saw Carl Landry get a fucking vicious block on Rudy Gay. Along with it, a nice scream.

I couldn’t find a video of that particular block, but I found this one. Insane. Landry really embarrassed Rudy that night, just like Travis Outlaw did the night before. Rough week. Sorry, Rudy. One more thing: I’m not the least bit surprised that Landry is having so much success this season. In fact, I thought he’d be scoring more than this. He was quietly a very efficient scorer for the Rockets for the past couple of seasons and he possesses passion, energy and all the other good stuff that can’t be seen in his stellar PER. Love this guy. He’s on both of my fantasy teams.

10:35 PM: Read Shoals’s piece about being either extremely pro- or anti-Jennings. Um, yep. 1st time in my life I’ve considered buying a Bucks jersey.

I looked into this. The NBA Store shamefully doesn’t have pre-made Jennings jerseys on the Bucks’ page – you have to select a customized jersey and then find his name on the list, just like you would if you wanted a Francisco Elson jersey. Also, the Bucks’ official store is on the Bradley Center’s website, which is down. (Update: Home, Road, Alternate.)

10:48 PM: I generally can’t turn down a Thunder game but we’ve got Steve Nash and Chris Paul on the floor at the same time here, so… sorry OKC.

Sadly, this was my final tweet of the night. I thought that seeing two of the best point guards ever go at it would keep me going, despite getting less than four hours of sleep the night before. Nope. At some point, I apparently woke up enough to turn off the TV and fall right back to sleep.

Thursday, Nov. 12

7:13 AM: 75 1st-half pts for PHO? Clutchness from KD? F me for falling asleep. Ok with missing Westbrook’s injury live tho, wouldn’t handle that well

I woke up on the couch with the lights still on, a bit confused. Immediately checked highlights to see that Durant had taken out the Clippers without much help from the Thunder’s backcourt terror, including a game-winning jumper with 39 seconds left in the game (1:45 here). Westbrook shot 1-11 in less than 22 minutes and probably shouldn’t have even tried to come back after Marcus Camby landed on his ankle. The Portland/Phoenix game probably would have just depressed me, in retrospect. 75 points in a half sounds like fun, but I’m sick of seeing Chris Paul’s team get killed. Turned out to be Byron Scott’s final game as their coach.

7:29 AM: If you’re not a Will Bynum fan, you have no soul.

7:38 AM: “It felt good, it made me feel young again.” – DeRozan, 20 years old, on his dunk last night.

Aw… What a great kid! Shit, I’m doing it again. I’ll stop.

1:29 PM: Bryon Scott is gone. Not surprised in the least. Lil Buckets & Lil Dimes are free!

The first thing I thought about when I heard the news was that these two rooks would get to see more playing time. I was excited. No one knew who was replacing Byron at this point, though.

2:16 PM: Erm… Bower? I don’t know about this. I guess he’ll probably play the rookies he drafted, which is good. Worried about that team though.

I’m an idiot, I didn’t even notice the Tim Floyd thing initially.

2:30 PM: Sham nails it RT @ShamSports Byron Scott fired, Tim Floyd strangely hired.

I wasn’t going to include re-tweets in this thing, but he said it way better than I could.

2:47 PM: I actually get angry when I think about the Warriors. So much talent. Damn it.

Should I rant here? Do we need another rant about this organization? I’m so far beyond sick of reading about the clusterfuck that is the Golden State Warriors, and I bet you are too. I just want this to end.

8:39 PM: Came on here to see the reactions to Wade’s dunk. Love seeing there are so many people who just freaked out like I did. Thanks, Twitter.

I never thought I’d fully get into this Twitter thing like I have. I’m not just spending so much time there because it’s how you get news now; I legitimately enjoy seeing people’s commentary during games and their responses to crazy plays like this. When you’re staying in to spend quality time with League Pass and your laptop, there’s something pretty cool about seeing a ton of other people doing the same thing and loving it.

9:44 PM: Shortly, there will be a picture of 9-year-old me wearing the purple ‘dino’ uniform on the internet. I’m not sure how I feel about this.

I must say, one of the highlights of my week was when Tas Melas tweeted about the picture. The thing was sent around my office, too. One of my co-workers made it his background image. I’m not seeing any real downside to posting it… yet.

9:52 PM: Barkley, you are killing me.

11:52 PM: The Machine = The ENFORCER!

2:46 AM: Bloody hell. Didn’t quite register how FAR Shannon Brown took off from, live. Bynum, Iggy, Wade, Brown. Couple of amazing nights for dunks.

2:55 AM: “I’m in the NBA and without ACL’s and with the Spurs. Doing my dream. I’m blessed. It’s amazing.”

Friday, Nov. 13

12:02 PM: What the FUCK is this about? CB had a hell of a summer and is 2nd in the league in PER. What more do you want from him?

Um, yeah. This didn’t please me. I just don’t understand what prompted it. Chris Bosh is by no means flawless, but how does he deserve this sort of treatment? Blaming Bosh of all people for Toronto’s lack of post-season success is ridiculous. It’s a team game. And why write this now? There are games to talk about. Reading this article, you would have no idea that almost nobody has been better than Toronto’s franchise guy so far in this young season.

4:35 PM: I need to write about OKC so I have an excuse to use this pic.

Andrew D. Bernstein / Getty Images

5:49 PM: Rockets cut Pops, and the Raptors have a roster spot. I’m sure there are people thinking what I’m thinking.

10:09 PM: Just saw Chris Paul being carried off the floor. Heart fucking sank. Damn it.
10:18 PM: Someone say Chris Paul is okay.

This looked awful. I couldn’t concentrate properly on any basketball being played for the next little while after I saw this (was watching the fantastic first half of the Lakers/Nuggets game at the time). I don’t even know how to put into words how devastated Hornets fans would have been if it turned out to be a season-threatening injury. Then, imagine what Paul himself was going through. Gah. Anyway, it turns out he’s sidelined 3-4 weeks, which isn’t good but isn’t as bad as it could have been. (Update: Now, the Hornets announced Paul is out “indefinitely”. Damn it. I want him back soon. Selfishly, I want him back before December 20, when his team makes its annual visit to Toronto. I was going to take my mom to that game for her birthday! Not going to bother, if there’s no CP3.)

1:31 AM: Um, WHAT? Raptors, Lawson, I didn’t see any of it. Can’t get home fast enough! Ahhh
1:50 AM: I just watched that Lawson dunk 5 times in a row. And I’m not done.

When I went out to watch my friend’s band play, the Lakers/Nuggets game was very competitive and the Raptors had cut a 22-point Clipper lead to 11. This was one of the countless times I’ve been thwarted by not being able to be in two places at once. As soon as the set was over, I checked NBA Game Time Lite and Twitter on my phone. The Raptors had won by 15, the Nuggets by 26, and everyone was losing their shit over one of my favourite rookies dunking over a 7-footer. You should have seen my face. I booked it home, reveled in Lawson’s awesomeness, and watched the Raptors Game In An Hour on Raptors NBA TV.

Saturday, Nov. 14

11:54 AM: Hot damn. I’ve watched a lot of basketball, and DeAndre Jordan’s wide-left attempt last night was one of the worst FT’s I’ve ever seen.

That wasn’t the only great video to come out of this game. Check out Kevin Arnovitz’s work for ClipperBlog. Along with Rob Mahoney at The Two Man Game, online basketball analysis is going to the next level with the use of video.

4:30 PM: About to post another book review. This time, no pics of me as a kid. Just fawning over what’s one of my favourite books ever.

7:12 PM: I’m totally ready for Will Bynum vs. Earl Boykins.

Wagman gets on my case sometimes, saying “you love any little guy who shoots a lot”. I maintain that, while I definitely do like me some small point guards with swagger, he’s simplifying things. For example, I am not a big fan of Bobby Brown or Jannero Pargo. So there.

7:34 PM: Okay, I know AI’s made some mistakes here, but… The Grizz would prefer TINSLEY? Argh. Sigh.

Nothing personal against Tinsley here. When he was in shape, the guy was one of the best distributors in the game. The Grizzlies could definitely use a player like that. It’s just that this whole Iverson scenario pisses me off. It’s inconceivable to me that he signed there without even discussing what his role would be on the team. Bitching to the media won’t solve anything, obviously, but it should have never reached that point. Iverson wasn’t much good in Detroit, but it would be very sad if he went out like this. I still hope that another team gives him a chance to prove he can still play, and that, if given that chance, Iverson makes a concerted effort to fit in, share the ball, and pick his spots. Ron Artest has done this remarkably well in L.A. up to this point, so I guess what I’m saying is… A.I., be more like Artest! Good god.

7:51: Oooooh, Boykins almost converted a 3 while getting fouled. I’ve missed this guy.
7:53: Boykins has 11 points already.

This was crazy. After being out of the NBA since the end of the 2007-2008 season, Earl Boykins hit 5 of his first 6 field goals and energized his new team. Exciting stuff.

9:51: Q-RICH!!!!!! WHAT?!!?!?!?
9:55: Yes Brook!!!
9:56: Noooooooo NJ! Ahhhhhh

At this point, my buddy Justin had come over. He wanted to watch Spurs/Thunder, but I insisted that he had to see Brandon Jennings play (but I hadn’t the slightest fucking clue what we were in for), so we had it mostly on Bucks/Warriors despite him saying they were “bad teams”. Thanks to Twitter, I saw that the Utah/Cleveland and Miami/New Jersey games were going down to the wire. Managed to flip to MIA/NJ in time to see Quentin Richardson bank in a ridiculous three to tie it, Brook Lopez hit a layup to take back the lead, and Dwyane Wade hit an incredible three to crush the Nets’ hopes of finally winning a game. Exciting as hell, but I felt terrible for Jersey – this was probably even tougher than the loss to Philadelphia.

10:06 PM: There is literally no one I like watching more than Brandon Jennings these days
10:09 PM: They’re chanting “Bran-don Jen-nings” in Milwaukee.
10:10 PM: I am freaking out. This is unreal. Brandon Jennings.
10:17 PM: This kid is not human. I don’t even understand this.
10:17 PM: THIS IS WHY I WATCH BASKETBALL
10:19 PM: I feel like I’m high right now.
10:20 PM: This is too much. This is like an advertisement for the sport.
10:34 PM: I am barely paying attention when the Warriors have the ball. Just waiting for Jennings to get it back.
10:50 PM: I keep getting chills.
10:50 PM: When Jennings scores, I feel like I am scoring.
10:53 PM: HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY!!!
10:59 PM: Jennings with the rebound. Fitting.
10:59 PM: BRANDON JENNINGS DID NOT SCORE IN THE 1ST QUARTER
11:05 PM: I am completely spent
11:07 PM: How the fuck did I gain followers tonight? All I’ve done is ramble like a crazy person.
11:14 PM: Fuck you Canada, we have Euroleague right now. Okay, I’m outta here. RT @johnschuhmann Brandon Jennings interview on NBA TV now.

To anyone who saw this live, you understand. If you didn’t, well… I’m not sure I can do it justice with words, but I’ll give it a shot. This was a special performance from an extraordinarily talented player. In the third quarter, everything Jennings did worked. Threes, pull-up jumpers, floaters, layups, they all went in. In the fourth, he wouldn’t let his team lose. The Warriors made a comeback, but every time they needed a basket, Brandon would get one. He even got a key rebound. As he was dominating the game, it never even felt like he was forcing things – he was just on another level. My mind was racing, thinking about what, if anything at all, was going through his head; thinking about what it must be like to be in that arena; and thinking about all the other die-hards lucky enough to have chosen to spend their Saturday night this way, hoping to see something even one-tenth this amazing. Justin and I were screaming, jumping, and high-fiving. I frantically called a few friends to tell them what was going on. I told the guy who has Jennings in our fantasy pool that I’d trade a kidney for him. All this, and I wouldn’t even say I got carried away. This display of excellence deserved extreme reactions. Some descriptors that come to mind: thrilling, awe-inspiring, and emotional. We went out to a bar afterward and it was showing a UFC event. I struggled to talk about anything besides the game and I kept wishing all of the TV’s would suddenly ditch the brawling dudes and play a replay of The Brandon Jennings Show. This game wasn’t only great; for someone like me who recently decided to give this NBA blogging thing a serious try, it was life-affirming.

Sunday, Nov. 15

6:01 PM: Beaubois! Bynum! Pistons vs. Mavericks, I’m up for this.
6:23 PM: Has there ever been a better point guard draft than this one? Jennings, Lawson, Flynn, Beaubois, Maynor, Collison have been very impressive.
6:23 PM: That’s not even mentioning Rubio. Or Evans/Curry/Douglas ’cause they’re combo guards. I think Teague can be a player, too. Damn.

In a liveblog on The Score the other night, we were talking about the rooks and I said this was pretty much a perfect class for me. Tons of really good point guards and pretty much everyone feeling like an underdog after it was declared a “weak” draft class – I can’t ask for more. Beaubois went off against the Pistons, by the way, finishing with 14 points and 4 assists without missing a single shot in 19 minutes of action. At one point, Jason Terry subbed in for him and the announcers talked about how the Pistons were catching a break.

8:43 PM: This is exactly Marco Belinelli’s type of game

You put Phoenix and Toronto on the court and you can expect to see a hell of a lot of fast breaks and ball movement. Belinelli thrives in these freewheeling games, as he can easily find open looks for himself and use his court vision to make plays for others. Now’s a good time to admit that I wasn’t too fond of his acquisition, initially – I thought his turnover rate and his penchant for taking, um, questionable shots made him basically an average offensive player. With his defense looking poor on a Golden State team that basically ignored that end of the floor, I questioned how well his game translated to the NBA. After watching his first 10 games as a Raptor, though, I have become a fan. He has provided a spark off the bench, scoring at a very efficient rate and keeping defenses on their toes with his aggressiveness. The “bad” shots are still there, but he’s actually making a lot of them. His turnovers have dropped a bit, too, and the defense? Not great, but not THAT bad. I can admit when I was wrong.

9:08 PM: Durant has 38. Lawler just said “he should never pass the ball.” Still over 8 minutes left.
9:25 PM: I feel like a bad Raptors fan. Can’t ignore the end of this OKC game.
9:33 PM: Durant is probably thinking about having another slap fight. Damn it, game over.

I don’t feel like that bad of a Raps fan at this point, since I watched the stuff I missed a few hours later. I love Raptors TV. You know what I’d love more, though? If the Canadian version of League Pass aired game replays. Anyway, onto that Thunder/Clippers game – there was 8:43 left and the score was tied when Durant hit for 38. He then missed a three-pointer on their next possession and didn’t shoot again until he made a jump shot with 4:25 left to bring his team within 1. Somehow, that was basically the end of Durant’s contribution. The remainder of the game saw Russell Westbrook and Jeff Green committing turnovers and missing shots, with Durant’s final shot being a meaningless missed 3 when down by 8 with 17 seconds left in the game. I know this team is young, but there’s no excuse for this. Durant is one of the best offensive players in the game and he was unstoppable to the tune of 40 points on this night. Scott Brooks (who drew up a great play to get Jeff Green an open corner 3 late in the game, only to see him miss it), Westbrook, and Durant himself all have to be held accountable for the fact that he vanished at the end of this one. Very frustrating.

10:01 PM: “Amir Johnson has been spectacular tonight.” – @RaptorsDevlin. Yup. Love it love it love it.
10:04 PM: Haha, I see there’s a stretch of 4 almost-consecutive Amir Johnson tweets on my feed. This makes me happy.

I’m a big Amir Johnson fan. In fact, I think I’m the second-biggest Amir Johnson fan in this city. He is a beast on the boards, a quality defensive player when he’s not fouling people, and an energy guy. Seeing him get a season high in minutes played and finish the game with only 3 fouls put a big smile on my face. There’s not much that’s sweeter than seeing young players starting to realize their potential.

10:16 PM: Ballsy shot by Turk. Ballsy.
10:18 PM: Swirsky would be screaming about onions right now. Oh man. TURK!
10:21 PM: I was 100% sure that Turk shot was going in. Then I was 100% sure that Nash one was going in. Ahhhhhhhhhh.
10:23 PM: Crushing. Great game, but crushing.

The end of this 1-point defeat was tough to swallow. Toronto’s big free-agent acquisition, playing despite a banged up hip, hit HUGE back-to-back jumpers in crunch time. The next sequence: Nash getting an and-1 on a layup (to put the Suns up 1), Turkoglu and Nash each just missing the kind of shots you expect these guys to make at the end of games, and then, with the game on the line, Turkoglu missing a step-back after a rare ball-handling hiccup while matched up with Channing Frye. The Raptors haven’t won against Phoenix since Nash signed with them in 2004. So close.

11:02 PM: OMG I just saw the Ariza/Artest shoe thing.

11:11 PM: Aaron Brooks loves playing the Lakers.

The speedy little point guard abused L.A. again, scoring 33 points on 23 shots while grabbing 6 rebounds (!) and dishing out 4 assists in a Rockets victory. We know Derek Fisher has lost a few steps defensively, but you still have to be impressed by Brooks. He raises his game when he plays the champs.

11:36 PM: Really appreciate how the Rockets have played this season.

The last game of the week, and it’s damn appropriate. Here’s a team that hasn’t seen a minute from its two stars making close to $40 million this season. Their record is 4-3 and they have beaten the Lakers once and lost to them by just 1 another time. Show their roster to a casual fan and they will not get excited – Brooks, Landry, Trevor Ariza (who the Lakers honoured with a very classy championship ring presentation and tribute), Shane Battier, Luis Scola, and Chuck Hayes won’t get a lot of votes for the All-Star Game this season. But all of them, along with Kyle Lowry, David Andersen, and Chase Budinger, have been a joy to watch this season. They play hard, they play together, and they don’t get blown out (with one exception). On paper, they don’t look like they have the personnel to be a good offensive team, but Rick Adelman has them playing above-average offensive basketball thus far. The defense? Even without Yao, they can play D. Chuck Hayes is nothing short of brilliant on that end of the floor and you don’t need me to tell you about Shane Battier. When you watch League Pass all the time, you inevitably have some teams that draw you in more than others. For me, if the Rockets are playing, I’m probably watching. Unless Brandon Jennings is on another channel, that is.