Ned Dishman/Getty Images

We’re finally back with the fifth episode of The Outside The NBA Podcast and it feels good. Julian, Wagman, and I start this one off by dredging through the Gil/Critt mess. Then, we name the official player of the podcast. We briefly touch on Ron Artest before getting into the Andre Miller situation in Portland and discussing all of the teams at the bottom of the standings (except Indiana, for some reason). Since there was only one game last night, this is actually current. Hell yes. Runtime is just over 66 minutes.

Click here to listen to the podcast.

Issac Baldizon/Getty Images

Hey heyyy, it’s the first BfB of 2010. I’m a bit pissed at myself for letting so many days go by without an update here, but at least I’ve been really active on Twitter, right? Right? Hope that’s okay. Anyway, 4 games on the schedule last night. There’s stuff to talk about.

The All-OTN Team

Serge Ibaka: 6 Pts (2-7 FG, 2-2 FT), 8 Reb (3 Off), 2 Blk, 1 Stl, 1 TO, 2 PF in 22 mins.

With the light Monday schedule, it’s not odd that we only had one All-OTN guy going. Ibaka had a good all-around outing, though, and he was on the floor for the final stretch of this 98-85 win over the Bulls despite his missed shots. Speaking of missed shots, one of them made me think. He missed a sort of difficult turnaround jumper and my initial reaction was, “Argh, why?!” Then, I thought about it for a second. It wasn’t the best shot, but it wasn’t far off. It’s actually pretty cool that he’s trying things and he has the freedom to make some mistakes. Some coaches would yank a 20-year-old rookie for that kind of thing, but that isn’t what happened here with Scotty Brooks at the helm. There are two reasons for this. First, Brooks knows that Ibaka’s effort in other areas will make up for a few missed shots. Second, Brooks knows that it would be detrimental to mess with this kid’s confidence. He’s not the kind of guy who’s going to be selfish and play the hero, so you trust him and give him a bit of leeway on the court. With respect to Serge’s offensive game, this will pay off sooner and in a bigger way than many people realize.

Oh, before I move on I want to share a note I made when he was matched up with Tyrus Thomas the first time he checked in: “him vs. Thomas = fun.” Pretty simple, but damn true. Love watching these athletic bundles of energy and potential go at it. Near the end of the third quarter, I made another note: “SERGE BLOCKS TYRUS’S DUNK.” Then, I checked on Twitter and saw J.E. Skeets had just said the following: “Tyrus Thomas vs. Serge Ibaka. That was fun.” Yup.

Rookie Watch

Eric Maynor: 6 Pts (2-4 FG, 2-2 3PT), 3 Reb, 2 Ast, 1 Stl, 1 Blk, 2 TO, 2 PF in 19 mins.

Okay, I’m good with him now. No, I’m not over the fact that Shaun Livingston is out of the league. I still don’t like thinking about it and I reallyfuckingwant some team to sign him soon. But I am not letting this get in the way of enjoying Eric Maynor anymore. It wasn’t his fault to begin with. He’s a fantastic back-up point guard and I love that Scotty Brooks (you can tell I’m a fan of his, right?) plays him WITH Westbrook, too. In fact, the two plays that stand out involved them hooking up – first, Maynor had a nice steal and made a beautiful outlet pass to Westbrook for a bucket. Later, he blocked Kirk Hinrich’s shot and, again, found Russ with an outlet pass. Here’s the second play:

Both of Maynor’s buckets were straightaway three-pointers. I know it’s a small sample size, but he’s shooting 62.5% from beyond the arc since joining the Thunder. His shots last night looked PURE – nothing but net.

James Harden: 13 Pts (5-11 FG, 3-5 3PT), 1 Reb, 4 Ast, 1 Stl, 2 TO, 5 PF in 26 mins.

I expect great production from Harden at this point, so there’s not much to analyze here. Plus, I don’t want to say too much because he’s going to be featured in another piece I’m working on. So, for now, just take a look at his post-game interview with NBA TV.

Dante Cunningham: 7 Pts (3-5 FG, 1-2 FT), 3 Reb (2 Off), 3 Stl, 1 TO, 3 PF in 24 mins.
Jeff Pendergraph: 8 Pts (4-4 FG), 7 Reb (3 Off), 1 Blk, 1 TO, 3 PF in 30 mins.

It blows my mind that Cunningham and Pendergraph have to get real minutes now. Still, there’s no sense in complaining about what could or should have been in Portland. We may as well enjoy the young guys and, fortunately, they make that pretty easy. Both of these bigs play hard on every possession – if they mess up, it’s because they get caught doing something that rookies do. That’s fine with me, I’ll take their heart and passion on my team any day. While Pendergraph is characterized by the toughness and physicality of someone much more experienced, Cunningham is characterized by his athleticism and his activity level, as well as his mid-range J. Fun fact: all three of his steals came in one three-minute span near the end of the first half.

I’m not going to put Patty Mills’s stat line here because it’s not pretty, but I have to say I was very happy to see him check in during the 2nd quarter. I always like to see rookies make their debuts and I’m always partial to Australian players because I used to live there. Can’t wait to see him get more minutes, especially if he’s playing alongside my guy Jerryd Bayless.

Impressive

Michael Beasley: 22 Pts (10-21 FG, 1-2 3PT, 1-2 FT), 8 Reb (3 Off), 3 Ast, 2 Blk, 3 TO, 4 PF in 39 mins.

Beas played one of the best halves of basketball I’ve seen from anyone this season, even without his awesome fro. Check it out, I took notes on the first and second quarters:

• Aggressive move on Josh Smith off the dribble, scores.

• Stop on Smith!

• Offensive board over Smith, then hits a jumper. Wow.

• Faces up Josh Smith and hits a J. 3-3.

• Good work on the boards, active.

• Nice move on Horford. Missed a shot, missed a tip, converted. So he’s missed 2 shots, but he actually scored on that possession. 4-6 from the floor.

• Wade finds him for 3 in the corner. 5-7: 11 points in less than 8 minutes.

• Blocks Josh Smith! Then goes to the bench.

• End of 1st Q., 30-14 for Miami.

• Back in to start 2nd. Playing the 3 though. I don’t like that.

• EASY open J against a zone. 6-8. 13 points. Still hasn’t missed aside from those two that he boarded.

• Misses a J over Zaza. 6-9. His team is up by 22 points, though.

• Faces up on the right side agaaaaain, drives and hits a hook. Crazy. 7/10. 15 points. The Heat announcers just called him “virtually unguardable.”

• Awesome drive past Smith on the left, layup. 17 points. 8-11 with a little less than 6 minutes left in the half.

• Nice cut, missed a baseline jumper but they scored on an offensive board anyway. Ha. 8-12.

• Nice shot on the inside off a Chalmers feed. Should have been an and-1, but no call. 9/13. 19 points.

• Fast break. Hacked by Crawford. Made 1st ft, missed 2nd. He looks pissed about missing that 2nd one.

• Nice contest on Josh Smith’s hook. Another stop.

• Goes to the bench… wow, nice half. The Heat are KILLING them. I hate this stupid matchup.

To be clear, he had 20 points on 13 shots, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1 block in his first 18 minutes of action. His team had a 17-point lead at the half and he was the biggest reason why. In the second half, for whatever reason, his production didn’t sustain. Not that it really matters that he went 1-8 in the final two frames, as his team still ended up winning by 17 and his buddy D-Wade picked up the slack. I’ll remember that first half though. It’s the reason I still think Miami has themselves a stud at the 4 without looking to Bosh or Boozer. When Michael Beasley is locked in, he can score on anybody and it looks like the easiest thing in the world. The defense is coming along, too.

Quick note – can we just scrap the Atlanta/Miami games? That first-round series last season had to have been the least-entertaining 7-game series in NBA history. This one ended 92-75, but it felt over after one quarter. Blowouts are no fun. Come on, you know you want Toronto to get the 5th seed.

Russell Westbrook: 29 Pts (13-24 FG, 0-1 3PT, 3-5 FT), 7 Reb (3 Off), 6 Ast, 2 Stl, 4 TO, 2 PF in 45 mins.

Hope you caught him duelling with Derrick Rose early on, it was fun to watch. I know Rose had the edge last year, but with his relative stagnation and Russ’s D, I’d take Westbrook today. Not that it matters, and not that that means anything in the big picture. We should just be happy we get to see these guys (along with the wealth of other talented young PG’s balling right now) grow and do battle for the next decade-plus. Anyway, Russ’s 29/7/6 trumped Rose’s 19/7/3 and his team got the W. This is just another in a streak of great games from the former UCLA standout – let me direct you to a couple of tweets from ShamSports, referring to games played before last night’s contest:

Oh yeah, here’s another tweet you should pay attention to. I know it’s not exactly from an impartial source, but he’s got a point:

Oh, and Durant? 25 points on 14 shots, plus 8 boards. Impressive? Sure. That’s just what he does, though. He’s that good.

Devin Brown: 30 Pts (11-20 FG, 5-8 3PT, 3-5 FT), 4 Reb (1 Off), 1 Ast, 2 TO, 3 PF in 37 mins.

I still don’t believe my eyes. Devin Brown, on my impressive list? Ugh. I never thought I’d see the day and I’m not totally comfortable with it. He and Bobby Brown form a tandem that would make it impossible for me to root for this Hornets team if it did not feature the best point guard on the planet, Chris Paul. The difference is that Bobby is out of the rotation and Devin is, I guess, not that bad an NBA player. If I’m being fair. I don’t really want to be, ‘cause he bugs me, but there it is. He’s a decent rotation player. Not a starter, mind you, although he really did look like one in last night’s 91-87 victory in Salt Lake City. I mean, 5-8 from downtown? REALLY? I didn’t see all of this game but it seemed he nailed a jumper every time I flipped there. I’ll have you know that one of his threes came on a bank shot that made me laugh for a good minute. Ridiculous.

Chris Paul: 12 Pts (5-15 FG, 0-4 3PT, 2-2 FT), 6 Reb (3 Off), 9 Ast, 3 Stl, 2 TO, 4 PF in 39 mins.

I just said he’s the best point guard on the planet. He is. The man he was facing, Deron Williams, is up there as well. And, in all fairness, Deron played a better game by the numbers. 12 points on 15 shots doesn’t compare to D-Will’s 17 on 11. Plus, D-Will had 11 assists to CP3’s 9. But, hey, as much of a stat geek as I am, I’m telling you to throw all that out the window for a minute and appreciate what Chris Paul did at the end of this game. On a crucial play, he made an UNBELIEVABLE steal on a D-Will pass, then came down the other way and let the shot clock tick down before driving to the hole and laying it in. This was the defining moment of the game and the Jazz had no chance afterward. I’m not telling you to ignore Paul’s poor shot selection prior to this, but I’d like you to focus on how he came through at the end. That was huge. Actually, just watch the damn video:

Eric Gordon: 19 Pts (6-10 FG, 4-6 3PT, 3-4 FT), 2 Reb, 2 Ast, 4 TO, 4 PF in 27 mins.

What’s interesting about Gordon’s line is that pretty much all his damage came in the third quarter. The Clippers came out of halftime tied with Portland, but Gordon’s 16-point explosion propelled them to a 4-point lead going into the final frame Down the stretch, most of the scoring damage was done by Baron Davis and Rasual Butler, but you have to credit Gordon for shifting the momentum his team’s way.

Two things ALWAYS impress me about Gordon’s game. First, his jump shot. It’s absolutely beautiful. It’s easily one of my five favourite jump shots in the league right now. When the ball leaves his fingers, you expect it to go in every time. Or at least I do. The second thing is that he is aggressive and gets to the line. His 4 free throws last night fell short of his average (5.3), but that’s a solid number for a guy who attempted 10 field goals. You never expect pure shooters to be able to slash, draw contact, and finish, but this is a different type of player. He’s both a deadly shooter and an athlete. Plus, he can be a solid defender. The Clippers better not find a way screw this one up.

Andre Miller: 22 Pts (9-20 FG, 0-2 3PT, 4-7 FT), 3 Reb (2 Off), 16 Ast, 3 Stl, 2 TO, 1 PF in 40 mins.

I came to a strange realization a couple of weeks ago while watching the Blazers play: I kind of play like Andre Miller. In fact, of all the people in the league, I think I play the MOST like Andre Miller. I never planned this. When I started playing ball, I wanted to be Magic Johnson (and, hell, I still do). Later on, like everyone else on the planet, I obsessed over MJ. I imitated Tim Hardaway’s killer crossover. Then AI, Kobe, Nash, and VC came along. You know how it goes. But now I’m 23 and I’ve got no hops, no speed, and the growth spurt the doctors assured me was coming when I hit my teens just never came. I don’t play nearly as often as I should and I don’t work on my handle every day like I did when I was a kid. So, when I do play, I play like an old man. Head fakes, shot fakes, tricky passes, in-between shots. I play with my back to the basket sometimes, even against taller guys. All I’ve really got is a feel for the game, especially if my long-range shot isn’t on. This makes me kind of like Andre Miller and it makes me appreciate his game more than I used to.

Last night, everything was working for him, as you can see with the numbers. He was throwing outlet passes, running the fast break perfectly, getting his teammates layups and open 3-pointers. It was exactly what the Blazers brought him in to do and I loved it. At halftime, he was 3-11 from the floor (including a made field goal off an extremely lucky bounce where he tried to take Baron Davis to the post) but he was completely in control of the game, as evidenced by his 10 assists. In the second half, his shots started to fall and he kept finding teammates as well. This was great, great work from Dre. It’s a shame it came in a 105-95 loss, though. I hate to say it, but the one thing he wasn’t able to do was get Brandon Roy going. The Blazers’ franchise guy went 3-12 from the floor, with no free throw attempts.

Juwan Howard:16 Pts (8-11 FG,), 4 Reb, 1 Stl, 2 TO, 5 PF in 36 mins.

Juwan Howard is an intelligent vet who moves the ball quickly, plays good positional defense, and hits open jump-… wait, what? No way. Juwan Howard?! You’ve got to be kidding.

Uh-huh. Check the Twitter reaction, starting with my incredibly creative and witty commentary.

@outsidethenba: JUWAN HOWARD HOLY FUCK
@talkhoops: Juwan Howard just dunked on Kaman! WOW. What’s up, 1997?
@bustabucket: My head just exploded. Was that Juwan Howard!?
@jeskeets: Juwan Howard just crushed Chris Kaman!
@NBAnoise: Chris Kaman, meet your daddy, Juwan Howard. Posters go on sale tomorrow.
@sportsguy33: I’m at clips-blazers + Juwan Howard just posterized Marcus Camby. Crowd is still reeling. That dunk was from 2 decades ago.
@ripcityproject: I just lost my voice, the power went out, my christmas tree caught fire and the fridge opened to reveal a demon dog…thanks Juwan.
@jeskeets: #DikemebeMutomboAndOrGregOdenNBAHumor RT @wastro: Juwan Howard just got his first Sportscenter highlight since World War II. #Blazers
@docfunk: Chris Kaman just got his “Helping The Elderly” scout badge. #JuwanHoward #Seriously

To watch

I’m not going to fill up this section because I’ve included some videos throughout. Really wanted to share this Brandon Jennings clip, though. Two reasons for this: it’s cool seeing this fantastic rookie talking about his pre-game routine and some of the food his mom made for him while he was in Italy. Second, it’s hilarious that he’s talking about healthy eating in a segment sponsored by freaking Taco Bell.

To Read

Matt Moore of Hardwood Paroxysm discusses the brilliance of John Wall and makes a bold claim about him.

Tom Haberstroh from Hoopdata looks at the NBA in Polychromatic Form for the third time. (So effing cool, but then… I’m a geek.)

Jon Robinson of ESPN discusses the return of NBA Jam (!!!) and some amazing NBA Jam-related stories.

Holly MacKenzie is the best.

Christian Petersen/Getty Images

A later, but longer BfB today. It was a busy night in the NBA last night and a busy morning/afternoon for me as I watched the games I recorded. To be clear, I saw most of Raptors/Hawks, most of Thunder/Grizzlies, all of Sixers/Rockets, all of Suns/Magic, all of Lakers/Wolves, and the last quarter and a half of Blazers/Cavs. For the other five games, I’m working with box scores and recaps. You can expect similar posts every Saturday, although I’ll try to get them up earlier than this. Anyway, let’s get to it – I’ve got John Wall and Ricky Rubio games to watch before NBA games tip at 7:00 PM EST.

The All-OTN Team

Shannon Brown: 7 Pts (3-9 FG, 1-4 3PT), 2 Reb (1 Off), 0 TO, 0 PF in 17 mins.

A rough shooting night for Shannon in this 104-92 victory, but he did have this amazing play:

I appreciate Kobe’s pass just as much as Shannon’s thunderous finish. How many shooting guards in the league throw that lob with their off-hand? Hell, forget shooting guards, is there another player at any position who does that? Maybe Nash, maybe. (Sidenote: I can’t get enough of left-handed passes from right-handed players. Saw a ton of them last night, with Kobe, Nash, and Johnny Flynn in action. Makes me smile every time.)

Jared Dudley: 19 Pts (6-13 FG, 4-8 3PT, 3-4 FT), 5 Reb (3 Off), 2 Stl, 0 TO, 3 PF in 33 mins.

Heyyyy! Check that out, an undeniably impressive stat-line from an All-OTN Team guy. I’ve been waiting for this. Those 19 points matched the career-high he set near the end of his rookie season and he got them very efficiently. What’s not in the stat sheet: he played excellent defense on Vince Carter in the 2nd quarter (who, I must say, helped Jared out a bit by playing the least aggressive ball I’ve seen from him in years, before leaving the game with a sore right knee) and he was on the floor in crunch time, making plays and taking big shots in this 106-103 victory. A few more things before we move on:

“He’s just beating ‘em up right now with his effort and energy” – Jeff Van Gundy, in the 2nd quarter, after Dudley grabbed one of his three offensive boards.

JMZ Part 1:

JMZ Part 2:

Amir Johnson: 7 Pts (2-4 FG, 3-4 FT), 4 Reb (3 Off), 1 Blk, 1 Stl, 1 TO, 3 PF in 22 mins.

A blah stat-line in a blah game. As always, I enjoyed Amir’s effort, but it wasn’t nearly enough against this excellent Hawks team, as my Raptors fell 111-89. Normally, his hustle and athleticism stands out, but when up against Josh Smith, Al Horford, and Zaza Pachulia, he isn’t as noticeable.

Serge Ibaka: 0 Pts (0-0 FG, 0-0 FT), 1 Reb, 1 Blk, 1 Stl, 1 PF in 9 mins.

No points on no shots in this 102-94 victory, but there’s a lot to say here. As is always the case, because the man is just full of activity when he’s on the court. I saw him flub a couple of defensive assignments that led to Marc Gasol baskets, but I also saw him do some impressive things, like successfully getting a stop on Rudy Gay on the perimeter. With this Thunder team, he is mainly out there for defensive purposes and, on that end, he is really working. When he does mess up, it’s because he is channelling his energy in the wrong way. Sometimes he over-helps and sometimes he is too aggressive, but he’s never lazy. Once he relaxes out there, he is going to be a consistently great defender. The potential just oozes from him. Still, I’ll admit that it wasn’t his best game.

Rookie Watch

Tyler Hansbrough: 21 Pts (8-18 FG, 0-1 3PT, 5-6 FT), 7 Reb (4 Off), 1 Ast, 3 Stl, 0 TO, 3 PF in 24 mins.

I didn’t see the game, but by all accounts Psycho T (or Buckaroo Banzai) was huge. I have to wonder just how he managed to get 18 shots up in 21 minutes, but remain impressed. Methinks some of those offensive boards must have come off of his own misses. Anyway, he killed the Nets last night with his jumper and, more specifically, killed their run in the third quarter by hitting back-to-back midrange jumpers when New Jersey was trying to make a game of it. Fantastic effort and a career-high in scoring for this rookie, in a much-needed 107-91 win for the Pacers. Here are a couple of quotes from people who actually saw this:

“He was playing as well as anybody on the team. His intensity on the court was something we needed.” – Jim O’Brien

“Hansbrough held up well defensively with three steals while guarding everyone from Brook Lopez to Chris Douglas-Roberts.” – Tom Lewis of Indy Cornrows

Chase Budinger: 15 Pts (6-8 FG, 2-4 3PT, 1-1 FT), 2 Reb, 1 Ast, 1 Blk, 0 TO, 2 PF in 18 mins.

I am so very impressed with this kid. With DeMar DeRozan getting more aggressive and thus making a few more mistakes, and with Omri Casspi’s continued inexplicable free-throw woes, Chase Budinger stands alone as the rookie who plays least like a rookie. He’s got a gorgeous jump shot, good defensive instincts, fantastic passing ability for a wing, and has a knack for using screens correctly and drawing contact. He was pretty much perfect in this game and, along with Carl Landry and Kyle Lowry, was a part of the Houston bench unit that turned this game around. When he checked in with a couple of minutes left in the first quarter, his team was down 17. By the end of the quarter, the deficit was only 10. In the end, the Rockets won 96-91. He did pick up a couple of blocking fouls on quick Sixer players, but, honestly who cares? Great, great night for Chase.

Jeff Teague: 11 Pts (5-6 FG, 1-1 FT), 3 Reb, 7 Ast, 3 Stl, 1 Blk, 1 TO, 2 PF in 20 mins.

Another rookie doing damage off the bench. Serious damage, I mean – the Hawks’ main bench guys (this rook plus Mo Evans, Jamal Crawford, and Zaza Pachulia) rocked the Raptors last night, outscoring them 45-34. I was not pleased. Anyway, you can’t expect 11 points on just 6 shots from Teague every night, but you have to appreciate last night’s work if you’re a Hawks fan. That scoring, plus 7 assists in just 20 minutes of action? Brilliant, even if it came against soft Toronto defense. What might go unnoticed in all of this is that Teague is a far superior perimeter defender to Mike Bibby and Crawford. I like his offensive game, but if he sees increased minutes as the season goes on, I think it’ll be a result of his D.

Jonny Flynn: 10 Pts (3-8 FG, 0-1 3PT, 4-6 FT), 2 Reb, 4 Ast, 3 Stl, 4 TO, 1 PF in 25 mins.

I must say I was expecting much better numbers from Flynn last night. Quick point guards tend to have great nights against the Lakers. It didn’t happen this time, though – Flynn did make the Lakers look silly a few times with his ball-handling, penetration, and passing, but for the most part he deferred to his teammates rather than acting as the primary playmaker. A solid, if unspectacular game for the Syracuse product, with a couple of very frustrating turnovers unfortunately sticking out. This 104-92 loss was Jonny’s first time against the Lakers, though, and I anticipate that he’ll put up bigger numbers the next time they meet.

Fun With Stats

A lot of individual performances stand out when looking at the boxscores from last night, so let’s check ‘em out.

J.J. Barea: 12 Pts (4-8 FG, 3-5 3PT, 1-2 FT), 4 Reb (1 Off), 10 Ast, 2 Stl, 1 TO, 4 PF in 34 mins.

Wow, check out those three-pointers and those assists and that lone turnover. Phenomenal work for the lovable little guard in his second straight start, a 106-93 victory against the Heat. Let me say this: Dallas’s 2-guard rotation is ridiculous. Quinton Ross started for a while, Jason Terry is a fake bench player who gets starters’ minutes, Josh Howard is now back from injury and likely will take over that 2-spot eventually, and my favourite Maverick, Rodrigue Beaubois, is currently glued to the bench because of Barea’s strong play. It’s quite a logjam, but that’s a very good problem for coach Rick Carlisle to have.

Udonis Haslem: 22 Pts (9-10 FG, 4-6 FT), 10 Reb (1 Off), 0 TO, 3 PF in 35 mins.

Unfortunate that this came in a losing effort, but wow. Haslem made the first 8 shots he took. That’s nice, especially when you consider how much the team NEEDED him to shoot like that – Miami started this game 0 for 10 from the floor. A simply fantastic game, but his Heat stood no chance because everyone not named Udonis Haslem combined to shoot 24-72 from the floor against Dallas. Ugly.

Zach Randolph: 19 Pts (8-21 FG, 0-1 3PT, 3-5 FT), 20 Reb (11 Off), 1 Ast, 2 TO, 1 PF in 40 mins.

19 and 20? 11 offensive boards?! This doesn’t look like a real stat line, but it is. Randolph had a 12-point/13-rebound double-double in the third quarter alone, where his Grizzlies outscored the Thunder 28-10. They couldn’t sustain it in the fourth, though, and they fell 102-94.

John Salmons: 11 Pts (4-16 FG, 1-7 3PT, 2-2 FT), 7 Reb, 3 Ast, 3 Stl, 3 TO, 2 PF in 44 mins.

Salmons is continuing to rely on his jumper, even when it isn’t falling. Kevin Arnovitz said that John told him he would make more of an effort to get to the basket and draw fouls, but he only managed to do that once last night. I want Salmons to turn his season around; seeing these 1-7 shooting nights from beyond the arc is getting very, very old.

Andre Miller: 20 Pts (8-13 FG, 2-3 3PT, 2-2 FT), 6 Reb (1 Off), 3 Ast, 1 Stl, 2 TO, 3 PF in 32 mins.

Bam! Great night for Miller off the bench. I’ve been saying all along that Portland is overthinking this whole backcourt situation and they just need to put the ball in Andre’s trusty hands. Brandon Roy is dangerous as a primary ballhandler, but he’s a shooting guard and he’s also fantastic off the ball. Steve Blake is a backup who can play next to Miller when they need to spread the floor. Andre Miller can score and he can create easy baskets for his teammates like no one the Blazers have had in years. He really should be the starter, but if he’s getting 32 minutes of playing time, it doesn’t really matter. I was rooting for him more than anyone down the stretch of this one, but the Blazers eventually fell to Cleveland, 104-99.

Anderson Varejao: 22 Pts (10-17 FG, 2-3 FT), 10 Reb (4 Off), 1 Ast, 1 Blk, 2 Stl, 1 TO, 2 PF in 36 mins.

I was pretty critical of the Cavs when they gave him his big contract extension in the summer, but I’ve got my mouth shut now. I should really put him in the “impressive” section because he impressed the hell out of me last night, but let’s stick with the numbers. Those points were unexpected and they were enormous for his team in the second half of this kinda-close game. You expect the great on-ball and help defense from him, and you expect the rebounding, but if he’s converting around the basket at that rate it makes the Cavs a way more dangerous team.

Chris Duhon: 22 Pts (7-11 FG, 6-8 3PT, 2-2 FT), 2 Reb, 9 Ast, 1 Stl, 0 TO, 4 PF in 34 mins.

Ugh. Who is this guy? This isn’t the guy I dropped from my fantasy team. That guy was shooting something like 3% from the floor earlier on this year. I was shocked when I saw that efficiency, those threes, those assist. And… no turnovers?! Unbelievable. I didn’t catch any of New York’s 113-96 victory over the Hornets, but it sure looks like Duhon played a perfect game. Apparently it was 96-95 for New Orleans with under five minutes left in the game when he sank back-to-back threes and Al Harrington followed with a pair of his own. What a crazy way to end a game.

Manu Ginobili: 22 Pts (7-12 FG, 4-5 3PT, 4-4 FT), 4 Reb (1 Off), 2 Ast, 2 Stl, 1 Blk, 3 TO, 3 PF in 26 mins.

I remember these stat lines. You see 22 and 4, with some steals and blocks and think “hey, Manu had a decent game.” Then, you notice he only played 26 minutes. The Poo God came up big in this 104-85 blowout against Charlotte. I should add that this was kind of a weird game – the Spurs were up 65-43 only minutes into the 2nd half (thanks to Ginobili’s 20 first half points), but the Bobcats ended up winning the third quarter 29-13. Down by 1 entering the fourth, Charlotte would get no closer, as the Spurs turned it back on and cruised to their 10th victory in 11 tries against the ‘Cats.

Mickael Pietrus: 23 Pts (8-15 FG, 4-8 3PT, 3-3 FT), 8 Reb (2 Off), 1 Stl, 1 Blk, 2 TO, 2 PF in 32 mins.

Pietrus made up for Vince Carter’s absence in the third quarter by scoring 15 points in that period alone. Phoenix continually lost him behind the arc and he made them pay. If Orlando had ended up pulling out a victory, Suns fans would be having nightmares of this guy shooting three-pointers. This was the second game this season he’s scored more than 20 points and I hope he reaches that total many more times before the season’s end. Love those 8 rebounds, too.

Dwight Howard: 10 Pts (1-1 FG, 8-17 FT), 18 Reb (5 Off), 2 Ast, 2 Stl, 5 TO, 3 PF in 41 mins.

Can you remember the last time you saw Dwight Howard only attempt one field goal? Me neither. I’m telling you, this was a weird game. Whenever he caught the ball under the basket, Phoenix hacked him. And it worked out alright this time – Howard shot below 50% from the line for the first time since November 22 in Toronto. The rebounding is impressive, but if you’re a Magic fan you want less turnovers, more field goal attempts, and at least one block from your superstar.

Impressive

Carl Landry: 20 Pts (4-9 FG, 12-14 FT), 7 Reb (3 Off), 2 Ast, 2 Blk, 3 TO, 2 PF in 33 mins.

Is it possible to say a gritty big man “makes it look easy?” Normally, when you hear someone say that about a player, it’s about a wing guy or a point guard who has just made some beautiful spin move or gliding lay-up or something, not a tough 4-man who has scored in the post. But, seriously, Carl Landry makes it look easy. “It” being scoring inside and drawing fouls. You watch him and you wonder why every power forward can’t get those shots off and draw that contact. Well, I’ll tell you why. Landry is a natural around the basket. He has great footwork, perfect timing, and a very soft touch. He knows how to score against bigger and smaller defenders and he knows how to get to the line. When he gets to the line, he converts them, and that’s how he ends up scoring 20 points on just 9 shots. Coach Rick Adelman made a conscious effort to feed him the ball down the stretch, as nobody Philadelphia threw out there could deal with him. I’ve been pumping up this guy for a long time so it makes me happy to see him develop into Houston’s go-to-guy. He was easily the best big man on the floor in this one, and Elton Brand actually had himself a pretty damn good game.

Allen Iverson: 20 Pts (7-18 FG, 6-9 FT), 5 Reb, 3 Ast, 1 TO, 2 PF in 35 mins.

The numbers are pretty good, especially considering the whole “34-year-old who has barely played in months” thing. But what impressed me more is what doesn’t show up there. He’s doing good things, but he’s also NOT doing the things that some people were worried about. He’s not dominating the ball, he’s not taking a lot of contested shots, and he’s not embarrassing himself on D. I’ll admit it’s a bit weird that he’s not always the fastest guy on the court now (this night, it was Aaron Brooks) and he did make me scream when he fouled the fastest man on the court when he was shooting a 3-pointer, but I liked what I saw. I like it even more when I consider the fact that he should be twice as comfortable and in rhythm in just a couple more weeks.

Jamal Crawford: 15 Pts (6-12 FG, 1-3 3PT, 2-2 FT), 3 Reb (2 Off), 3 Ast, 1 Stl, 4 TO, 1 PF in 29 mins.

Obviously, I’m not impressed with the assist-to-turnover ratio here, but I am in general impressed with Crawford. He was going to get some numbers last night, as he could get his shot off and get in the key whenever he wanted against Toronto’s defense (God, I hate mentioning this), but what I like is just how well he’s fit in with that team. He’s playing 8 fewer minutes than he did last season and he seems 100% happy with it. This is the first time in his career he’s played for a good team and he has embraced his 6th-man role. There have been more than a handful of nights this season where his team has needed him to step up and pour in a ton of points, but, with all the other options available, he doesn’t need to do it all the time. So, he’s become a willing passer and has run the offense for significant stretches. For a guy who was born to score, this is something to respect.

Kevin Durant: 32 Pts (10-22 FG, 1-7 3PT, 11-12 FT), 10 Reb (3 Off), 4 Ast, 2 Blk, 2 TO, 2 PF in 41 mins

Speaking of guys who were born to score, wow. It’s hard to describe Durant here. I’ve already used the “he makes it look easy” thing, haven’t I? Bah. Last night, whenever Durant wanted to score, he did. Or he got fouled, where he converted all but one of his free throws. This team wins games because it goes the extra mile on defense, and, when it needs a basket, KD can get one. The thing with Durant, though, is that we’ve seen this scoring ability before. Hell, we saw it at Texas. But we didn’t see those 10 rebounds all that often. Or those 2 blocks, or those 4 assists. He has made a leap this year – where he was once merely one of the league’s foremost assassins, now he is an all-around player who can hurt you in many ways on both ends. His man D has improved, his help D has improved, and his passing has improved. I feel privileged just watching this happen. You should be tuning in, too.

Nick Collison: 8 Pts (4-8 FG), 7 Reb (4 Off), 1 Ast, 1 Blk, 1 Stl, 1 TO, 4 PF in 17 mins.

All heart, this guy. I should hate him for taking minutes from my man Ibaka, but I don’t. He takes charges, he contests shots, he crashes the glass, and he helps his team win. Nothing flashy here, but it works.

Steve Nash: 20 Pts (6-13 FG, 2-4 3PT, 6-7 FT), 7 Reb (1 Off), 18 Ast, 3 TO, 1 PF in 40 mins.

Am I allowed to say that he played better than this? I mean, that’s an incredible line. I’m not sure it does Nash justice, though. He had 18 assists, but that could have easily been 24 or 25 if his teammates had hit a few more open shots. He put on a clinic, as he often does, and Orlando had no answer for him. This was a hell of a victory for the Suns and there was no one more responsible than their point guard.

Amar’e Stoudemire: 28 Pts (12-21 FG, 4-7 FT), 10 Reb (1 Off), 2 Ast, 3 Stl, 3 TO, 4 PF in 41 mins.

This guy was close, though. See that one offensive rebound? It was critical. When Jared Dudley missed a three-pointer, contested by Dwight Howard, Amar’e ripped the rebound away from Orlando and slammed home a dunk with 6.9 seconds left in the game. This ended up being the winning play in this strange, strange game that featured a number of late turnovers and one of the most dumbfounding referee decisions I’ve ever seen on a jump-ball with just seconds left in the game. Anyway, yeah, terrific work from the big man with the goggles.

Kevin Love: 7 Pts (3-14 FG, 1-2 3PT,), 19 Reb (8 Off), 1 Ast, 1 Blk, 1 TO, 2 PF in 33 mins.

It’s as if he was honouring his coach, Kurt Rambis, who received his championship ring last night for his work as an assistant to Phil Jackson last year. Yes, those 8 offensive rebounds and those 11 missed field goals are related, but you still have to appreciate Kevin’s effort. I really dig it when hustle guys are also skill guys, and this is certainly the case with Kevin Love. He is not only an elite rebounder and energy guy, but he is one of the best passing big men in the league and boasts legitimate 3-point range. The Wolves might not win many games, but they’re worth watching to see him and Jefferson down low. Oh, and that Jonny Flynn guy too.

Ramon Sessions: 15 Pts (7-9 FG, 1-2 3PT), 5 Ast, 1 Stl, 4 TO, 4 PF in 22 mins.

You know the story. He should play more. He was remarkable yesterday. One of his two misses was a heave at the end of the third quarter. Yet, still, 22 minutes. Finally, Damien Wilkins was limited to just 9 minutes on the court, but Rambis handed out 22, 25, and 17 minutes to Aleksander Pavlovic, Corey Brewer, and Wayne Ellington respectively. Nothing against those guys, really, but Sessions is far superior. And yes, he can play with Flynn. Kinda. He can play better with Flynn than those guys can, and that’s the point. I’m going to keep tracking his minutes and his production in this space, with the hope that soon I’ll be talking about 20-point, 12 assist, 34 minute efforts from this talented young guard.

Kobe Bryant: 20 Pts (8-18 FG, 1-3 3PT, 3-4 FT), 5 Reb, 5 Ast, 1 Blk, 1 Stl, 4 TO, 2 PF in 24 mins.

The numbers aren’t special for Bryant, but he got them with a fractured index finger on his right hand. He hurt himself in the first quarter, played through it for a bit, got X-rayed, and returned in the second half with a splint on his finger. Since he is the most skilled player on the planet, it didn’t slow him down much. He just used his left hand, because he’s basically ambidextrous. You remember that pass to Shannon Brown? Yeah, the majority of his passes were left-handed. As were his shots around the basket. There is only one Kobe.

Pau Gasol: 17 Pts (8-14 FG, 1-1 FT), 20 Reb (8 Off), 7 Ast, 1 Blk, 1 Stl, 5 TO, 2 PF in 38 mins.

With Kobe limited (sorta), Pau dominated. 17/20/7? Those are Hakeem numbers. And you shouldn’t be surprised. He may act like a second-banana alongside Kobe, but Gasol is a truly elite big man. With him operating at full strength, the Lakers seem unstoppable. I’m really hoping that Orlando gets their D sorted out, the Celtics find a way to stay healthy, and the Spurs and Nuggets get consistent, because I fear that the Lakers will just roll through the competition all year, including the playoffs.

Quoted

“It’s not disheartening, they beat us. You’re going to get beat. Sometimes teams are better than you. They’re better than us. They smoked us once and they beat us again today.” – Chris Bosh

“Is Robin Lopez a twin brother of Brook Lopez or Anderson Varejao?” – Jeff Van Gundy, in the 2nd quarter of the Suns/Magic game.

Tweeted

@stackmack: Hawks bench is 12-for-13 from the floor.

Moments later…

@stackmack: Make that 13-for-14..

@ShamSports: Bulls and Warriors at an 87-87 tie with 31 seconds left. Warriors about 45 points below their season average. Bulls right at theirs.

@HowardBeckNYT: Knicks have won 4 straight — longest winning streak since Jan. 2006 (six straight under Larry Brown)

To Watch

Dunk of the year candidate – Corey Brewer on Derek Fisher:

To Listen

Episode 35 of The Chronicles Of Crotty

Podcast Paroxysm featuring Matt From Blog-A-Bull.

Gary Dineen/Getty Images

A quick recap this morning, due to time constraints. First, though, I should mention Saturday night. I skipped out on BfB yesterday because I didn’t want to talk about the horrible thing that happened in Portland. I feel like I should acknowledge the other stuff that took place that night, though: DeMar DeRozan kicked ass and made me happy, Jarrett Jack tied his shoe while holding onto the ball and made Bulls fans angry, Steve Nash and Vince Carter owned their respective 4th quarters to secure wins, Joe Johnson helped his Hawks win ugly, Kevin Love put in his second straight double-double in a win against the Jazz, and the Spurs are apparently not to be feared anymore. Okay, we good? Onto Sunday…

The All-OTN Team

Will Bynum: 16 Pts (3-12 FG, 1-1 3PT, 9-14 FT), 2 Reb, 1 Ast, 1 Stl, 1 TO, 2 PF in 28 mins.

Bynum continued his poor field goal shooting but also continued to make up for it by getting to the foul line. In the interest of fairness, I’ll mention that some of those free throws came at the end of the game on intentional fouls, but it’s an impressive number nonetheless. His team took care of the struggling Wizards, 98-94.

Shannon Brown: 12 Pts (4-10 FT, 2-4 3PT, 2-2 FT), 2 Reb, 1 Ast, 3 TO, 0 PF in 19 mins.

No dunks for Shannon last night. Bummer. He came up big in the 4th, though, hitting back-to-back threes (!) when the Suns were trying to make a game of it. Another Lakers blowout, 108-88.

Jared Dudley: 9 Pts (3-7 FG, 2-3 3PT, 1-2 FT), 5 Reb (3 Off), 1 Ast, 1 Stl, 1 TO, 1 PF in 24 mins.

Jared knocked some down threes and worked his ass off. If you didn’t know, that’s what he does. He drew the unenviable (not a strong enough word) task of guarding Kobe Bryant for long stretches and kept the intensity up even when the point differential was enormous. Hated to see the Suns fall behind like that, but still loved watching Dudley play. Oh, another thing: HoopsHype named him the NBA’s MVT. And… one more thing. I came across this fantastic picture of him:

Serge Ibaka

J.G. of Daily Thunder wrote a great piece on Ibaka yesterday. While I’m incredibly biased and want to see him get all the minutes he can get, the distribution of playing time in Oklahoma City is becoming quite a tricky puzzle to solve.

Rookie Watch

Brandon Jennings: 24 Pts (9-22 FG, 0-2 FT, 6-6 FT), 4 Reb, 4 Ast, 3 TO, 1 PF in 40 mins.

Yeah, he only shot 41% from the field, but that represents a better shooting percentage than the vast majority of his teammates could muster yesterday. After a stunning 11-0 Milwaukee run to start the game, the Cavs’ picked up their defense when Shaquille O’Neal moved to the bench. The Bucks were scoring at will on high pick-and-rolls early, but these dried up when the Cavs ratcheted up their defensive intensity and the Bucks’ offense degenerated into “give Bogut the ball and hope for the best”. Cleveland ended up going on an unfathomable 29-0 run that spanned some of the 1st and 2nd quarters, fueled largely by the great play of Delonte West off the bench. In the second half, Jennings put a lot of pressure on Cleveland’s D and found ways to score, but it was way, way too late. I loved his play and I love his team, but damn. That was a beating. The final score, 101-86, doesn’t really tell the story.

Austin Daye: 11 Pts (5-5 FG, 1-1 3PT), 2 Reb, 2 PF in 12 mins.

In the second half, creative Pistons coach John Kuester put the 6’11 Daye at 2-guard. It worked mighty well, as, um, he didn’t miss a shot. His 7 points in the third quarter were huge and he added a couple of key baskets in the 4th. Only 12 minutes, but those were 12 BIG minutes. This kid really has the potential to be a dangerous offensive player. He might need to put some weight on, though – I think he’s the only NBA’er skinnier than Kevin Durant.

Jonas Jebreko: 10 Pts (3-8 FG, 1-3 3PT, 3-4 FT), 11 Reb, 1 Ast, 1 Stl, 2 TO, 3 PF in 38 mins.

Look at that – 38 minutes! That’s more than any other Piston in this game and it allowed the rook to get his second career double-double. I continue to really dig this kid’s game. I like him for the same reasons I like Omri Casspi – he’s tough, skilled, and plays both ends of the floor. I’m really interested in how Kuester will distribute the minutes when Rip Hamilton and Tayshaun Prince come back. The Pistons might not be loaded with elite-level guys, but they have as many rotation-worthy players as any team in the league, save for the Magic.

Omri Casspi: 14 Pts (5-8 FG, 4-4 3PT, 0-2 FT), 3 Reb (1 Off), 1 TO, 5 PF in 19 mins.

And speaking of Casspi… These are some nice numbers. I’d have more than stats for you, but I didn’t catch much of the game. Going to give it a close look later today, as I recorded it with my brand new PVR last night. Anyway, 4-4 from downtown? Great to see. He continues to confuse me with his free-throw shooting, though – by all accounts his stroke looks fine, but something’s going wrong when he lets the damn ball fly. He’s at 50% on the year, whilst shooting 51.2% from behind the arc! That’s messed up.

Tyreke Evans: 30 Pts (10-19 FG, 0-3 3PT, 10-12 FT), 4 Rebs (3 Off), 4 Ast, 3 Stl, 2 TO, 5 PF in 39 mins.

‘Reke continues to make his case for ROY… You have to love him doing his D-Wade impression against the real Wade (who bested the rookie with 34 points on 16 field goals with 10 assists to boot). It’s obvious that Evans is extremely gifted at getting to the basket. Looks like a special player. He couldn’t lead his team to a victory last night, though, as the Kings dropped their second in a row after winning four straight, falling 115-102 to Wade’s Heat.

Impressive

Alright, here’s where the time constraints are kicking in. No “Fun With Stats” today, and I’m going to be quick with who impressed me yesterday and stick with just the Cleveland/Milwaukee game. For the Cavs, Delonte West and Anderson Varejao were phenomenal off the bench. Delonte played a very, very efficient game, somehow managing 21 points on 9 shots in just 24 minutes. He was simply brilliant on offense, dominating Milwaukee’s usually-stellar D and getting numerous and-1s around the basket. You have to think he rejoins the starting lineup at some point soon. Just hope he has his head straight. Varejao was almost as dominant as Delonte, but it won’t show up in the stats. He did his work on the defensive end, effectively protecting the paint and stopping penetration at the same time. In his first 16 minutes on the floor, he was +31. Crazy. Before I move on, I have to mention the Bucks’ Luc Richard Mbah A Moute. I expect amazing defense from him because that’s what he does, but he surprised even me yesterday with how well he defended LeBron James. No one on this planet can stop LeBron, but LRMAM can at least make life more difficult for him. I think he’s the best in the world at guarding the MVP, and with his ability to guard 1-4, he might be the best defensive player in the league overall.

Quoted

“It’s very tough to be a superstar in this league, but right now he’s doing an unbelievable job for this team, for this franchise and he’s only going to get better.” – LeBron James, on Brandon Jennings.

“The biggest thing I was saying to the guys was we can’t lose to the Nets. No disrespect to them, but if we want to start taking steps forward and going in the right direction, we have to win games vs. teams like the Nets.” – Al Harrington, after his Knicks took down the Nets 106-97 in the afternoon. No disrespect, really? Because to me, that is very disrespectful to the Nets. Not that they haven’t earned this, but still.

“He pretty much came in and changed the complexion of the game. We needed something, so it was great for a young guy to come in and make that kind of contribution.” – Ben Gordon, who was limited in action yesterday because of his lingering ankle issue, on Austin Daye.

Tweeted

@cdouglasroberts: I’m late, but respectt to my big dog AI. Glad he’s back in the “A”. Cuz retired for 13 hours. Haaaaa. #1 hardest player I’ve EVER guarded. If I was to give out my own MVT, I’d have to give serious consideration to CDR.

@KDonhoops: Also, I just clicked over to the Y! NBA page, I didn’t know, and I’m … no other way to put this, crying. This just isn’t fair. Well, I know I wasn’t alone.

To Watch

Rockets broadcaster Matt Bullard hilariously castigating referees:

Raptors broadcaster Jack Armstrong hilariously enjoying some in-game entertainment:

LeBron James ruining a nice Brandon Jennings play:

The third instalment of the “One Rookie” series starring my boy DeMar DeRozan:

To Read

Some great quotes from AI’s first practice with Philly.

A look at what’s happened to ex-Syracuse guard and ex-SLAM High School Diary keeper Eric Devendorf.

Some clarity on the Portland/Andre Miller situation