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Every Monday, John Bennett previews the games he’s most looking forward to. Looks like he’s going to be a busy man tonight and Friday.

1. Oklahoma City @ Utah, Monday.

Utah is coming off an unbelievable road trip where they beat Miami, Orlando, Atlanta and Charlotte in comeback wins all in the span of 5 days. The Bobcats game may not mean a lot but, after starting 2-3, Sloan has these guys rolling.

Paul Millsap’s monster 46-point game against the Heat was ridiculous. This, especially the trio of late three pointers, will never happen again. Overall, though, the big man is shooting over 60% from the field and has helped ease Al Jefferson into the Jazz frontcourt.

Kevin Durant’s 8 points to close out Portland in a 10-0 run was very impressive. I have a feeling the kid’s finding his groove. That being said, Westbrook has been some fantastic basketball, averaging 23.7 points, 6 rebounds, and 7.8 assists. Oh, and he’s 5th in the NBA in PER. Not too shabby for a “number two option.”
The last time the Thunder played Utah, OKC got destroyed 120-99. Jefferson and Millsap combined for 53 points, 26 rebounds and 7 assists. Ibaka will need to slow down one of these big guys for OKC to win this game.

2. Oklahoma City @ Boston, Friday.

Rajon Rondo. Russell Westbrook. If you aren’t interested then I don’t know what to do.

I’m especially excited to see Serge Ibaka and KG go at it. KG is notorious for intimidating less experienced opponents. Ibaka had the alley-oop of the year on the Spurs yesterday and I cannot imagine him backing down.

Also, I want to see how Durant attacks Boston’s D. I’d like KD to pick it apart and post a point total in the 40s. Remind me how anyone in this league is supposed to guard this 6’10’’ small forward with a 7’4’’ wingspan.

3. New Orleans @ Dallas, Monday.

At 8-0, it’s very simple for the Hornets. Chris Paul is playing amazing basketball. I’d love to say he’s playing “out of his mind,” but this is normal for Chris Paul. He’s just that good.

Dallas is on a 3-game winning streak that started with an 89-87 win over Boston a week ago. The Mavs need to turn this into a statement game. It’s early in the season but they are 3rd in the division and it isn’t going to get easier. I have trouble saying that San Antonio will drop off and, after their hot start, I’m not willing to knock New Orleans down a notch anytime soon.

4. San Antonio @ Utah, Friday.

San Antonio’s lone loss this season came against the Hornets in a game where Tim Duncan shot 2 for 10 from the field. Slow down Timmy D and get the win, right?

Not so fast. Duncan scored just 6 points in last night’s 117-104 takedown of the Thunder. Dare I say that this Spurs team is almost more dangerous than they were when Duncan was averaging 20+ points and 12 rebounds? Those days you knew exactly how they were going to beat you; now you never know who’ll step up. Case in point: Matt Bonner shot 7-7 from downtown last night.

5. Milwaukee @ Philadelphia, Friday.

You may look at this with a puzzled gaze that says, “This is the game you’re looking forward to?”
I’m fine with that because this season has proved something to me. There’s room for a little bit more Jrue Holiday in everyone’s life.

Before the season started, Doug Collins said that Holiday would become one of the top 5 point guards in the NBA by season’s end. I think he’s somewhere 4 through 9 on my must-watch list.

The battle between Jrue and Jennings screams, “FUN.” Throw in Elton Brand’s fadeaway jumper, Andrew Bogut’s overall awesomeness, and a hopefully healthy Andre Iguodala and you can see that I haven’t lost my mind.

AP Photo / Nick Wass

Recorded on Thursday (my apologies for the late posting), we start off all pissed off with Colin Cowherd’s ignorant comments about John Wall. Then, we get to Andrea Bargnani and the Raptors, Steve Nash and the Suns, the Joakim Noah/KG thing, Paul Millsap’s awesomeness, the public perception of Kevin Durant, and our weekly features.

It’s just Julian, Wagman, and I this time. John was sick. Get better, John.

Click here to listen to the podcast.

Note: Julian dares to say “schadenfreude” out loud at one point. None of us were sure about the pronunciation.

…and if you missed the Joakim Noah at-home interview with ESPN from back in October, here ya go:

Danny Bollinger/Getty Images

In this episode, we begin with the Raptors and Suns after witnessing their 51-point pre-season blowout. Then, Julian rips into Charlie Villanueva, all of us discuss Michael Beasley’s inconsistency, and we briefly attempt to talk about the Lakers/Barcelona game we barely watched. Eventually we get to the two Wizards pictured above.

We finish off by examining the recent GM survey and playing “Who he play for?” with Wagman.

Runtime is 47:49.

Click here to listen to the podcast.

Recommended links:
Unconventional NBA’s Nick Flynt on Michael Beasley – Part 1 and Part 2
NBA Playbook’s Sebastian Pruiti on Beasley’s inconsistency
Dave McMenamin of ESPN LA – Kobe Bryant: FCB could compete in NBA
NBA.com – 2010-2011 GM Survey: Player Predictions
Jason King of Rivals.com – An old, but great article on John Wall
The Basketball Jones – Gilbert Arenas “Also Still Here” Poster
Kelly Dwyer and Trey Kerby on “Emo Gil.”

…and here’s Luke Babbitt doing the Dougie:

Hat tip: Ben Golliver of Blazersedge

Fernando Medina/Getty Images

Tuesday night, Julian and I chatted about all things NBA. Or, more accurately, some things NBA. Like the Raptors, Nets, Hawks, Thunder, Warriors, Magic, Bulls, Bucks, and Bobcats. And Joe Johnson, Russell Westbrook, Kevin Durant, Omri Casspi, Kevin Martin, Vince Carter, Courtney Lee, and Vinny Del Negro. And, y’know, a bunch of other stuff. Totally forgot to talk about Darko’s weird, expletive-laden interview, though. Next time.

And next time, Eric Wagman will join us. We were kidding about him hurting himself.

Click here to listen to the podcast.

It’s been a little while, hey? Nothing from me since the podcast. Time to recap what’s gone on since then.

On Thursday and Friday, I watched a total of three NBA games. THREE! That’s… nothing. And it’s not my usual routine. But I can explain: On Thursday, Knicks/Bobcats was the only game (you see that DEEP Gallo three?) and, on Friday, I actually went out. I usually feel like a bit of my soul is dying if I’m out somewhere while basketball is on, but wasn’t the case on Friday. I’ve gotta applaud the Raptors Republic team for putting on the awesome ‘Raptors Fan Fridays’ – a bar packed with basketball fans is always a place I want to be. In Canada, where the average person inexplicably prefers an unbearable sport called “ice hockey,” it’s also rare. So yeah, thanks RR. Anyway, I saw the Raptors pull out a win in Philly and I saw the Blazers (Webster! Roy) upset the Lakers, then came home and crashed. To make up for it, I decided to have a basketball-watching marathon on Saturday and did my usual thing on Sunday after catching Raptors/Celtics in person. It’d be a shame to watch all that ball and not discuss is, so weekend stuff is going in this piece along with last night’s happenings.

Friday, Jan. 8

Hawks 93, Celtics 85

• As soon as I started watching this game, I was reminded of an episode of The Basketball Jones when Skeets & Tas were talking about watching an ESPN/ABC game after the fact but not fast-forwarding like they normally do. When Hubie Brown talks, you must listen. Instead of fast-forwarding through free throws and 20-second timeouts, I stayed with the game. Well worth it. I love Hubie for his analysis, in particular the little things he points out, but I think my favourite line of his came early in the game after Kendrick Perkins had muscled the Hawks’ frontline on the inside. He said, simply, “This guy is a bear.”

• Another Hubie line: “If he gets some catches, fine, but he never stops working.” He’s referring to Al Horford here. Love him, especially this year. The numbers don’t even tell the story and the numbers were great: he finished with 16 points (on 7-10 shooting), 10 rebounds, 3 steals, and a block. What stands out to me is his defense. He’s good at man defense and help defense and the Hawks can pretty much switch EVERYTHING when he’s out there. People talk about his relative lack of size as a weakness, but it’s what lets him move his feet quick enough to stay with ballhandlers on the perimeter. If I ever think a bigger guy like Perkins is going to eat him up, my mind returns to this piece on Peachtree Hoops. He’s not a proper center, but it doesn’t look like the Hawks need him to be.

• When they show a replay of Rondo’s insane alley-oop to send the Heat game into overtime from Wednesday night, I can’t help but smile. Sooo thankful that John Schuhmann tweeted a #LeaguePassAlert with 5.5 seconds left in the fourth quarter. I saw none of the action before that, but was able to catch Dwyane Wade’s ridiculous steal and dunk, then Rondo, then the ensuing Celtics overtime victory. Fun fact: That was the first alley-oop basket of Rondo’s career. The viewing audience was told he’d assisted on 73 of them, though. Seems a bit low to me.

• More Rondo: he hit two threes in the first half – one from the corner and one from straightaway. Neither basket elicited any sort of reaction from him. It seems that, even though teams don’t respect his J and he doesn’t take threes very often, he expects the shots to drop when he takes ‘em. Some people hate his confidence, but I love it.

• Josh Smith has been a joy to watch since he entered the league. He has always made absurd, athletic plays (see: him blocking a Kendrick Perkins dunk attempt in this game) and he’s always been capable of filling up the stat sheet. But, in his first few years in the league, you weren’t going to see Hubie Brown analyzing his highlights at halftime and talking about how he doesn’t force anything and moves well without the ball. I know I’ve brought this up before, but it’s just fantastic to see Smith excelling this year. Always great when a guy’s mental game catches up to his physical gifts. I really, really hope I’ll be saying this about Anthony Randolph in a couple of years.

• Jamal Crawford was on FIRE. He scored 18 points on 12 field goal attempts. Jon Barry commented that Crawford is “one of the guys you just hate to guard” and, on this night, it was even more true than it normally is. He can rise and shoot at any time and, when he’s on, it’s scary. Two plays stick out, looking back. First, a corner three over Perkins – Perk fouled him on the play and he converted the 21st 4-point play of his career (Reggie Miller’s 24 is the record). Second, a dagger three with 52.5 seconds left from wayyyyyyyy downtown to bring the score to 91-82. Gotta say I’m thrilled at the success he has had in Atlanta – he’s a good dude who has never been on a good team. Watch Sonicsgate if you have never seen an interview with him. Actually, just watch Sonicsgate regardless.

• Jon Barry said he did not consider the Hawks an elite team yet because of their inconsistency. I suppose that’s a fair point, given how they’ve had multiple fourth-quarter collapses against good teams. But, um, are they supposed to be an elite team right now? There weren’t a lot of prognosticators who had them ranked them with the elite teams before the season started. Also, it’s January. It’s okay if they’re inconsistent now. The Hawks have shown a lot of promise and they should be expected to stumble a few times. The key is that they learn from their losses and are ready come playoff time. Everything Kevin Arnovitz wrote to Lakers and Magic fans at the end of December still applies here.

Nuggets 99, Cavaliers 97

• The game kind of looked scripted at one point in the first half, as they showed an interview snippet with LeBron James where he was asked about his dancing, which seems to have divided America. He said, “Every night I go out on the court, I feel like a kid again.” This was immediately followed by an alley-oop where Joey Graham hacked him and he was able to convert anyway. Then he got a layup on a fast break off of a turnover. All the while, Jeff Van Gundy and Mark Jackson were talking about LeBron’s passion for the game.

• More JVG: “Every time you double team him, you’re making a mistake.” He was talking about Shaq and how he’s such a great passer, after The Big Witness found Jawad Williams wide open under the hoop. I nodded my head in agreement, but it’s not because of his passing ability. As John Krolik has pointed out all season, Shaq has simply not been a very effective scorer for the Cavs. You usually don’t need to double him these days.

• I got upset with George Karl when I saw Anthony Carter enter the game before Ty Lawson. Then I remembered that Lawson had an injured ankle. Damn. Get back soon, Ty.

• Kenyon Martin was amazing in the first half. He did a bit of everything, including a chasedown block on Delonte West and a fantastic bounce pass to Nene down low. He also hit from the outside, crashed the offensive glass, scored on the inside, and played his normal brand of solid/aggressive D.

• Anderson Varejao has impressed the hell out of me this year. He used to bother me because he’d flop in places where he should just play textbook defense, but to my eyes this isn’t happening nearly as much now. I laughed at his contract extension in the summer, but now I think Cleveland must be happy with their investment. His pick-and-roll defense is masterful and he’s leading the league in individual +/-. Gotta love how he picked J.R. Smith’s pocket on the pick-and-roll and blocked Kenyon Martin going to the hole in this contest.

• My DVR apparently ran out of space at the end of the fourth quarter, but at least I got to see a wild third. LeBron scored 11 points in the Q. and a big Delonte West three-pointer capped off an 11-0 Cleveland run before the Birdman had a nice dunk. Denver was behind by 4 as the quarter ended.

• So, what did I miss in the fourth? Kenyon Martin shut down LeBron (!) in the final minute – the King missed a layup and stepped out of bounds on back-to-back possessions. That turnover was just one of LeBron’s 8 and Cleveland’s 19 TO’s on the night.

• More fun stats: Chauncey Billups had 23 points on just 14 shots in his first game back from a groin injury. LeBron James shot 6-18 from outside of 15 feet (thank you Hoopdata!).

Mavericks 112, Spurs 103

• NOBODY was happy with the refs during the first half of this game. Erick Dampier, DeJuan Blair, and Antonio McDyess each picked up two quick fouls. Gregg Popovich got T’d up and I think it was general ineptitude rather than one particular play that set him off.

• It was very, very cool to see Manu Ginobili and Josh Howard matched up against one another and both playing well. These two need to find a way to stay healthy. I want them both playing All-Star caliber ball as we approach the playoffs. Howard hit his first three field goals, but missed his next four. Still, he finished with 12 points on 7 FGA’s and his +21 was the best on his team. Ginobili had 12/7/5 and did things that just shouldn’t be possible in the NBA. He did this hesitation crossover move that should be seen, not written about. Unfortunately, I can’t find a bloody video. Bah.

• Up until the fourth quarter, Dirk Nowitzki was taking tough shots and missing them. He even got rejected by the rim on a dunk attempt, trying to do a reverse on the baseline. His teammates stepped up, though. As Jason Terry, Dampier, Drew Gooden, Howard, and Shawn Marion converted shots, I was reminded that everything has changed for this Mavericks team.

• Rodrigue Beaubois got some burn in this game. This made me very happy. I considered it the universe evening things out for me with rookie minutes, as Blair was limited to just 7:31 in this game due to foul trouble. I’ve been working on a piece on players who I’d love to see get more burn for what seems like ages now and Beaubois is #1 on that list now that Anthony Randolph is hurt. He hit a J from the corner and a floater, but missed his other 2 attempts in his 5:32 of game action. Yeah, 4 shot attempts in that amount of time. And a rebound and a foul. Trust me: when he’s out there, you’ll notice him. If you saw him against the Spurs, you might have also noticed that it was the first time you’ve ever seen Tony Parker being only the second-quickest French guard on the court.

• I want to say that Beaubois was the Mavs’ best guard after his fun five minute stint, but that would be a blatant lie. Jason Terry scored 21 points on 7-13 shooting, with 8 assists, 4 rebounds, and 2 steals to his name. He played with the fire that you love to see and hit numerous difficult jumpers over much bigger players. I didn’t like him tripping George Hill, though.

• Plays of the game: Richard Jefferson’s chasedown block on JET and, well, everything Dirk did in the fourth quarter. Let me explain…

• …If the first three quarters reminded me of Rob Mahoney’s words about this Mavericks team not overly relying on Nowitzki anymore, the fourth reminded me of Tim McMahon’s words about how he comes through in the clutch. The man went crazy in the final frame, scoring 16 of the Mavs’ 42 (!) points. He got going early at the expense of poor Richard Jefferson and from then on nobody could stop him. After Jason Terry hit a three to put the Mavs up 95-92, he rejected an Antonio McDyess shot and then hit a three on the other end. Following this, Manu picked up an offensive foul and Dirk came back with a fading jumper. A tie game was turned into an 8-point one very, very quickly.

• San Antonio did manage to bring it a bit closer, as it was 104-100 with less than a minute left in the game. But then, with 51.7 seconds on the clock, Dirk hit a dagger three from the top of the key with Richard Jefferson’s hand in his face to bring the lead back up to 7. It was amazing. The crowd fell silent as they knew Dirk would simply not let his team lose the game.

Other Friday Games

• Raptors 108, 76ers 106: It was pretty cool to see Andrea Bargnani showing some emotion in the Raptors’ win in Philly. He made a few big plays on both ends down the stretch, including a block where I was proud of him. Also was cool to see Allen Iverson have a big offensive game (22 points on 13 field goal attempts), as my friends have been talking shit about him all year and I got to shove it in their faces every time he scored. Ivy’s defense wasn’t the greatest, though.

• Blazers 107, Lakers 98: Portland is incredibly fun to root for. I don’t like rooting against Kobe (or Lamar Odom and Shannon Brown, for that matter) but I was fully on the Blazers’ side, cheering every time Brandon Roy or Jerryd Bayless would find a way to get to the line. I know the Blazers ALWAYS seem to beat this team at home, but this is quite obviously not the same Blazers team we’re used to. I mean, Juwan Howard played over 34 freaking minutes and had to guard Andrew Bynum. Still a win. Nice.

• Bucks 96, Bulls 93: I was kinda miffed I didn’t record the Bucks/Bulls game. I pretty much automatically DVR every Bucks game, but I figured I owed San Antonio and Dallas some viewing time because they’re two of the better teams in the West and I haven’t seen enough of them. Turns out I missed Andrew Bogut having a Duncan night (27 points, 13 rebounds, 2 assists, 6 blocks), Brandon Jennings blocking three of Derrick Rose’s shots, and Michael Redd having what would turn out to be his last good game for a long while. Damn it. Shout outs to a couple of Bulls before I move on: Derrick Rose (25/9/5, although he took 25 shots) and Joakim Noah (10/18, although he took 10 shots) produced pretty well. Oh, and let me say that when I read that the Bulls needed a three to tie the game on the final possession and failed to get it, I wasn’t the least bit surprised. Read into that what you will.

• Wizards 104, Magic 97: Washington outscored Orlando 33-20 in the final quarter and that was the ballgame. For ORL, Vince Carter only played 10 minutes because he separated his shoulder and Dwight Howard had 23/11. For WAS, Antawn Jamison had 28/11 and Brendan Haywood had 18/15, shooting 6-6 from the field and 6-6 from the foul line. Check this tweet, heh.

• Timberwolves 116, Pacers 109. One team had to win and Minnesota did. Frontcourt players starred in this one. For Indy, Roy Hibbert had 15/6/3 with 3 blocks and Troy Murphy had 21/5/2 with 4 steals and 5-7 shooting from behind the arc. For Minnesota, Big Al had 25/12/2 and Kevin Love had 18/13/2, with a block and a steal each. This was Danny Granger’s first game since December 5 and he scored 19 points on 19 shots. His return was a surprise; coach Jim O’Brien had said a day earlier that he wasn’t going to come back on the weekend.

• Grizzlies 91, Jazz 89. This would have been a nice finish to see live. O.J. Mayo hit a jumper to put the Grizz up 2 with just 5 seconds left and Marc Gasol registered his fifth block of the night on a C.J. Miles attempt on the final possession. Nice revenge for Memphis at home, as they had lost in Utah by 23 points just two days earlier. Zach Randolph, most improved player and team leader, had 29 points, 15 rebounds, and a block.

• Hornets 103, Nets 99. The Nets shoot a league-worst 28% on threes on the season, but in this game they shot 9-17, which is 52.9%. Thank Courtney Lee (5-7 from downtown, 28 points) and Keyon Dooling (4-7 from downtown, 21 points) for that. Still, the Nets found a way to lose. David West had 32/10 and Chris Paul had 11/18/5. Those two are pretty good.

• Heat 109, Suns 105. Balanced scoring from the Suns – their starters posted totals of 16, 15, 15, 18, and 18 points. Unbalanced scoring from the Heat – Dwyane Wade (33) and Michael Beasley (21) accounted for just about half of the team’s points. The team stats are pretty even across the board except for one category – the Suns’ 17 turnovers killed them.

• Warriors 108, Kings 101. I briefly mentioned that Anthony Randolph is hurt – this is the game where it happened. At the very end of the first quarter, he went down on a Tyreke Evans drive and teammates had to help him off the court. Sprained ankle, blah. He’s out 3-6 weeks. Monta Ellis picked up the slack, though, besting Evans’s 25 points by scoring 39 in 46 minutes. The Kings were actually ahead by 10 going into the fourth quarter, but the Warriors dominated the final frame. The first 7 points of the quarter were scored by Ellis and he had a total of 13 in the Q. 10 of Sacramento’s 17 turnovers came in the fourth and GS scored 17 points off them. That was the game.

Saturday, Jan. 10

Magic 113, Hawks 81

• The last time these teams met it was (American) Thanksgiving, or “the night that the Orlando Magic started playing defense again.” Dwight Howard set the tone for another impressive defensive night by rejecting Joe Johnson on the very first play of the game in this one. He would have two more blocks in the game despite only playing 22 minutes. The great Orlando D forced the least turnover-prone team in the league to cough the ball up 16 times. It seemed they were pissed off about losing four straight games.

• Maybe this game proves Jon Barry’s point about the Hawks being inconsistent and not quite an elite team. Maybe, though, it just proves that Orlando is a terrible matchup for Atlanta and they haven’t figured out how to counter them yet. This is the Hawks’ 5th-straight loss to the Magic and this was not the only blowout. I think it’s fair to put some blame on the coaching staff here, as long as you acknowledge that there is still time to fix the problem. These two teams meet on January 30 and March 24 – you know Hawks fans will be expecting an adjustment or two.

• I loved the bench play of Ryan Anderson and Jason Williams. After not playing a single second in the previous two games, he came in and scored 5 very quick points. Finished with an efficient 16 points on 10 shots, doing his usual “threes and layups” routine and posting up when Atlanta switched players on him. J-Will was having a bad hair day, but his game was on point. He made me flash back to the days Whit Eboy was in Sactown – he was pushing the pace, hitting threes, and getting the crowd into it. The Magic outscored the Hawks 37-16 in the second quarter and their backup point guard (who finished with 14 points and 6 assists in the game) was the biggest reason why.

• Anderson and Williams weren’t the only Magic role players to get into it. Marcin Gortat had 12 rebounds, Michael Pietrus had 4 steals, Matt Barnes had 18 points (on 11 shots!) and 7 rebounds, and J.J. Redick filled in for the injured Vince Carter very nicely with 17 points in a starting role. The Magic are the deepest team in the league and it’s not close.

• Can’t lie, I stopped watching this one after halftime. It was 66-37 at that point so I don’t think you can blame me, especially seeing as Orlando’s bench managed to increase the lead by 3 points in the second half.

Thunder 108, Pacers 102

• I was excited pregame when the Thunder broadcasters were talking about All-OTN Team member Serge Ibaka. The sideline reporter (Elissa Walker Campbell, I think) said “he has been bringing it night in and night out.” Cliché, yes, but I’ll take it. Too bad he only played 5:15. In that time, he converted one field goal and grabbed one rebound. And Roy Hibbert scored on him. Blah. I was looking forward to that matchup.

• Ibaka’s minutes have been down for a while now because of the strong play of Nick Collison, who has been playing both the 4 and 5 for OKC. I can’t say enough about how good he is at setting screens. In this contest, he went 3-4 from the field and grabbed 7 rebounds, while adding 3 blocks and a steal. All this in 23 minutes. Oh, and a move he put on Solomon Jones inspired this awesome tweet.

• Another guy who took minutes from Ibaka on this night? “Byron” Mullens. This was the first time I’d seen him and I was impressed. He wasn’t spectacular or anything, but he ran the floor well and showed some skill with the ball in his hands. 4 points, 3 rebounds, and an assist won’t blow you away, but he was only on the court for a bit over 7 minutes. I don’t know how to deal with the fact that the Thunder might have another player I like.

• Speaking of players I like… JAMES HARDEN. There’s more to this man than the beard. J.G. of Daily Thunder revealed about a month ago that he was putting up numbers that made him one of the top shooting guards in the NBA. I’ve been paying close attention to him during games and I really love what I see. He has a pure three-point stroke, as he demonstrated by going 3-4 from deep in this game. He’s got good handles and the ability to run the Thunder’s offense when he’s asked to (although this happens less now that they have Eric Maynor on the roster). Plus, like everyone else on this team, he plays defense and hustles. This was made clearest when he made my favourite hustle play of the season by someone not named Amir Johnson – check out how he sprinted back to strip Danny Granger on the break.

• I still can’t believe what’s happened to T.J. Ford. Check what Jared Wade wrote about him in this piece. For the longest time, I thought Ford had star potential. He always had great handles, an ability to get his shot, and a knack for finding teammates open looks. Friends in Toronto would argue with me, calling him selfish and complaining that he took too many bad shots. I’d make excuses for his shot selection, saying that most of his bad shots came at the end of the shot clock and he would try to take over games sometimes because no one else on the team would do so. I think part of it was that I always remembered this SI feature. Here’s a quote:

“The only time I have to score is when the team needs me to,” he says. “My job is to make guys better. If you average four, I can get you to average eight or 10.”

• I suspect Indiana fans would laugh at this now. He’s not playing like the proper distributor and leader I thought he was. In fact, he’s basically the exact opposite. When he plays, he takes questionable shots and fails to rack up many assists. And he hasn’t played yet in 2010. Here are some nauseating stats: he’s shot 1-28 from downtown this season and has an assist percentage of 24.4% (down from 44.4% in his last season in Toronto). Oh, and his true shooting percentage is 50.1%. Ugh. I feel bad for him – he had tons of potential and in interviews he came across as a nice, thoughtful guy. I’m not totally ready to accept he’s a shit player – maybe a change of scene would do him some good. Can’t be easy to trade him right now, though.

• With T.J. in the doghouse, the point guard minutes went to Earl Watson and A.J. Price. Weird what’s happened to Watson in the last year and a half: he was a starter for the Thunder at the beginning of last season, but (rightly) was demoted to backup duty when Scott Brooks took over. He then signed in Indiana as a backup, but ended up starting again when the team gave up on Ford. It’s pretty obvious what Watson is about – he’s a very good passer and he can run an offense, but he’s no great shakes on D and he isn’t a good shooter. That’s a decent backup for you. Price is more intriguing – he hasn’t played a hell of a lot this season, but he took over this game for a little bit. In the fourth quarter, he hit a couple of HUGE threes including one that closed the gap to 93-92 with 5:16 left in the game. His 23 points were more than double his previous career high and his 9-15 shooting (including 3-5 from downtown) was very impressive. The problem was that he started off so strong that he tried to do too much. Near the end of the game, Price missed three field goal attempts in a row. He had a great game, but he probably shouldn’t have become the #1 option down the stretch.

• Kevin Durant is just silly-good. Guess how many field goal attempts he needed to score 40 points. Come on, guess… 18! EIGHTEEN. That’s insane. He went 12-18 from the field, 2-2 from downtown, and 14-16 from the line. Add 12 assists and you have happy fantasy owners everywhere, except for me because I’m a damn fool and forgot to set my lineups that day. He was benched. Blah. Anyway, 11 of those points came in the 4th quarter and a few of those baskets were followed by scowls. Loved that. We know KD is a joker off-court but it’s great to see him being mean on it. His step-back J over Brandon Rush on the right side put his squad up 8 with 51 seconds to play and that was the ballgame.

Kings 102, Nuggets 100

• Game of the weekend. You should already know about Tyreke Evans’s game-winner. It was glorious, and it followed a Chauncey Billups three that was glorious in its own right if you’re a Denver fan. A few plays before that, Omri Casspi hit a corner three that had me jump out of my seat. You could say I’m a big fan of his. You could also say this game had a pretty exciting finish. I couldn’t believe some people were watching Saturday Night Live instead, even with Charles Barkley hosting.

• Francisco Garcia joined the announce team for a little bit in the first half. He said he and Kevin Martin are “desperate” to get back and the Kings have “got a special thing going on right now.” I am thoroughly enjoying watching this group right now and am very curious as to how they’ll look once these two scorers get back in the mix. A couple of notable things that happened while Garcia was hanging out – first, Tyreke made a nice one-on-one move against Chauncey Billups and looked hurt afterward. No one mentions it on air, even when they show a freaking replay. I’m freaking out as ankle injuries terrify me, but ‘Reke relatively quickly signals to the bench/coaching staff that he’s okay and stays in the game. Phew. Second, he talked about Omri for a bit. It’s clear that he’s been a mentor for the rookie, even while injured. When Casspi received the ball, ready to launch a three, ‘Cisco yelled “Give me, one baby!” It dropped through and he excitedly exclaimed, “That’s what I like!” I liked it, too.

• It wasn’t just the game winner for Tyreke, it was everything. 27 points on 10-15 shooting? Nuts. I’m not going to call him a rookie anymore because I don’t think of him as one. The Nugs’ team defense was completely geared toward neutralizing him and he was unfazed. It didn’t matter who guarded him, he was getting where he wanted. Don’t think he’ll make it to the ASG this year, but he’s a star. Count on an appearance next year.

• You’ve probably seen this J.R. Smith play by now. I couldn’t believe my eyes. Still can’t.

• Spencer Hawes still frustrates me but he did go 8-10 from the floor for 17 points in 26 minutes, scoring in a variety of ways. Very nice. I’ll forgive him for only grabbing 3 defensive rebounds… this time.

• I want Kenyon Martin on my fantasy team. Check this: 20 Pts (9-17 FG), 10 Reb (5 Off), 5 Ast, 2 Blk, 2 Stl, 1 TO. Well done, sir. Pity you couldn’t stop Tyreke on that last play, though. Ha!

• Joey Graham had a very good first half for the Nugs. He was aggressive, got to the line repeatedly, took a charge on Spencer Hawes, and did this to Jason Thompson.

• Fun note: this was rookie Jon Brockman’s first start of his career. Always cool to witness a milestone for a player. He played 37:56, almost 12 minutes more than his previous career high. Unfortunately, the Brockness Monster shot too much, especially in the first half. He finished 2-9 from the field, but because he is awesome he added 12 rebounds, 7 coming on the offensive end.

Other Saturday Games

• Bobcats 89, Grizzlies 87. I missed the very beginning of the second half of the Thunder game because I was watching the crazy finish here. It looked like O.J. Mayo was might be a hero for the second straight night, as he tied the game with 8.8 seconds left, hitting a three from the top of the key with Gerald Wallace’s hand in his face. My favourite part was the way he reacted. As in, he didn’t. At all. Just walked to the bench calmly as Charlotte called a timeout. Unfortunately for O.J., Wallace would be the hero – he tipped in an errant Raymond Felton attempt at the buzzer to get his team the W.

• 76ers 104, Pistons 94. Allen Iverson wasn’t in the lineup for Philly in this one, but he was still unfortunately booed by the fans at the Palace when his name was announced. Luckily for the Sixers, Elton Brand came back and provided a scoring punch, scoring 25 points on 16 shots. The Pistons lost because that’s what they’ve been doing lately. Rip Hamilton attempted 22 field goals in almost 41 minutes and made just 6 of them. It was only a 10 point win in the end, but Detroit was down 26-10 (!) at the end of the first and 56-30 at halftime. Tayshaun Prince and Rodney Stuckey nursed their lingering injuries in the second half instead of playing. Ben Gordon scored 20, including the NBA’s 10 millionth point.

• Bulls 110, Timberwolves 96. Kirk Hinrich had, by my count, his third super-awesome game of the season: 20/4/7, 8-15 FG, 4-9 3PT. Joakim Noah had himself a game as well, scoring 20 on 9-13 shooting and adding 9 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, and a block. Fun rookie Jonny Flynn had 14/4/8 with 2 steals but his team was outscored 51-32 in the second and third quarters.

• Jazz 111, Mavericks 93. Josh Howard and Drew Gooden were both missing in action for Dallas. Utah managed 126.1 points per 100 possessions, shot 53.2% from the floor, and only turned the ball over 4 times. This is the kind of game that will help the Jazz move up the offensive efficiency rankings to where they’ve been in previous years. You’ve gotta expect more from the Mavs on D, though. Dirk had 29 on 22 shots; Deron had 20 on 13 shots. 9 assists for Utah’s PG, too. Hope he finally gets to play in the All-Star Game.

• Rockets 105, Knicks 96. Houston was down by 11 after one quarter, but outscored the Knicks in each of the next three to get the W. Luis Scola (23 points, 10-16 FG) and Aaron Brooks (20 points, 8-15 FG) both scored often and efficiently and the always-awesome Carl Landry scored 10 of his 14 points in the fourth quarter. Nate Robinson had a fine game (20 points on 13 shots), but David Lee was the star for NYK: 26/12/6 with 12-17 shooting. Daryl Morey pointed out that Houston surprisingly won the transition points category 51-32.

Sunday, Jan. 10

Celtics 114, Raptors 107

• I knew I wouldn’t be able to keep myself from applauding Rondo all afternoon and thought this would earn me some dirty looks from the ACC crowd. Couldn’t have been more wrong, I was surrounded by Celtics fans. The two loudest people in the arena were directly next to me, decked out in C’s gear and supporting their club. My guy Rajon had a 22/10/13 triple-double with 4 steals and a ridiculous buzzer-beating three to boot. I’m beyond impressed with him and seeing him zip around in person is something else. Not sure how you stop Rajon right now. If he’s not an All-Star I might go on a killing spree.

• Don’t get me wrong about the Rondo love – he’s great and I couldn’t shut up about him during and after the game, but I was definitely rooting for my Raps. I went crazy when Chris Bosh ruined Shelden Williams and Rasheed Wallace’s dominance completely pissed me off. Sheed hasn’t been fantastic this season, but he’s been amazing against the Raptors. He always is. 29/8 in this one, shooting 9-12 from the field and 5-7 (!) from downtown. If you’re wondering, Sheed was shooting less than 30% from deep entering the game. Bosh scored 31 on 17 shot attempts (13-13 FT), plus 13 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, and 2 blocks. Just a fantastic all-around effort. I don’t even want to think about the possibility of him leaving Toronto…

• …except people wouldn’t shut up about it on Sunday! Peter Vescey rumoured a Bosh-for-Bynum swap, even though in his article he quotes Bryan Colangelo as saying he hasn’t talked to the Lakers or anyone about Bosh. Ugh. I don’t even feel like I should have to comment on this, but it doesn’t make sense. Check what Kelly Dwyer said. Bosh is better than Bynum, but he doesn’t complement Gasol as well. If L.A. keeps everything together they could, seriously, have the best defense and best offense in the league by the season’s end. Bosh makes their offense worse because he isn’t the type of back-to-the-basket post player that Bynum is and he makes the defense worse because, quite simply, he isn’t the same defender Bynum is. Especially if they’re going to ask him to defend centers. Bynum-Gasol remains a downright terrifying combo in the triangle and they are great at defending around the rim. Why break that up by exchanging a 5 for a 4? Talent generally reigns supreme, but the Lakers already have more than enough of that. They need to have complementary players. As for the Raptors, um… Bosh and Bargnani might not be a great fit long-term, so I can see Colangelo trying to get a 5 for Bosh if he does indeed move him. Of course, that brings up the question of whether Bargs poses as many matchup problems against 4s as he does against 5s and blahblahblah I’m not going to get into that now. Let’s be clear: I don’t like this idea. I don’t want Bosh gone. He’s in the midst of having the best season of anyone in this franchise’s history, statistically at least. Unless he’s given an indication he wants to move on, you try to keep him.

• Eddie House makes me nervous and angry. He just runs around the perimeter and around screens, trying to get open threes. Every team knows that’s what he does. So, I HATE when he gets an open look. He hit 3 triples in this game and each one drove me nuts. Took some satisfaction in every one of his five fouls, though.

• Hedo Turkoglu was mainly invisible out there. He got 9 assists, yeah, but he shot 2-9 from the field and didn’t score his first basket until halfway through the third quarter. I remember Kelly Dwyer (yes, again with the Dwyer references) talking about how pretty much everything Turk does shows up in the stat sheet. I’m with that. The 9 assists didn’t impress me. I want to see him help his team when the ball isn’t in his hands, but he can’t really do that. He doesn’t play good defense, doesn’t rebound well, and doesn’t hustle. The only positive contribution I can think of from him aside from what he creates with the ball in his hands is floor spacing. But, hell, guys like Eddie House can do that. This is why I was pissed when I heard he was sort of complaining about not being as much of a facilitator this year. Man, you’re coming to a team run by Jose Calderon (I know Jack is starting right now – irrelevant), who is one of the most efficient players in the league. The team needs the ball in his hands. You’re 6’10, be a real small forward. And grab a damn rebound! Argh. I probably shouldn’t be mad at Hedo, really. His skillset is the same as it always was. It’s just frustrating to watch him sometimes.

• It’s nice to see Jose Calderon back for Toronto. He played hard and effectively on both ends, if only for 22 minutes. Hollinger’s called him the worst defensive point guard in the league this season and I haven’t even been able to argue with him. Kills me because I know he CAN play D, but he wasn’t doing it. Against Boston, he was moving his feet and staying with people. Even Rondo, who is impossible to check. One trip down, he ended up on Ray Allen and played him perfectly, forcing him into an extreeemely difficult shot. I yelled out, “GREAT D, JOSE!” and then watched the shot drop. Deflating as anything. Couldn’t be mad at Calderon, though. Just like I couldn’t get mad at the Raptors for losing to a superior team.

Cavaliers 106, Blazers 94.

• LeBron James is insane. Check this pic. That’s probably the only time I’ll ever link to a picture of somebody catching an alley-oop pass and not scoring. I don’t know how James can still be considered human. I mean, did you SEE that first half? 31 points and it all seemed so easy. The game began with him driving every damn time and then he made some perimeter J’s, too. And then, in the second half, when Portland was determined to make other players beat them, he made the right passes. That’s how you end up with lines like this one: 41/10/8. I’d say you’re in pretty good shape if you can score 41 whilst only taking 19 field goals, but to almost have a trip-dub too? It’s unfair. Everything about LeBron is unfair, except his sometimes-shaky shot selection.

• Shaq’s 11/11/5 in 24 minutes? Huge. I know his close encounter with a Baldwin made headlines, but it’s also worth noting that he was +16 on the night. It helped that Juwan Howard had to guard him, but still. Give the big man credit, he has been playing significantly better lately.

• Brandon Roy: 34 points on 23 shots. LaMarcus Aldridge: 18 points on 11 shots. Offense wasn’t the problem for the Blazers here – this was an 84-possessoin game. They just couldn’t stop Cleveland. This is actually a bit of a misconception about the Cavs – you’d assume that because their offense looks (and is) simple that they’re simply relying on their D to get wins. Not the case, they’re 6th in the league in offensive efficiency. Believe me, I want Mike Brown to add to his playbook too, but it’s not as if they’re having a lot of trouble scoring.

Other Sunday games:

• Hornets 115, Wizards 110. New Orleans remains undefeated in 2010, getting their 6th win in a row. Check out the margins of victory in those games, though: 4, 4, 4, 5, 4, 5. Ha. Does this mean they’re good at executing down the stretch or they’re just getting lucky? As with everything, the answer is probably somewhere in the middle. Anyway, Chris Paul had 26 points and 14 assists, 8 of which came in the opening period. Antawn Jamison, who we’d like to see in Cleveland, had 32 and 8 rebounds. but it wasn’t enough. Neither was Randy Foye’s 23 points and 8 rebounds or Nick Young’s 20 and 6 on 7-10 shooting. Andray Blatche didn’t attempt a shot in the losing effort and he didn’t like that one bit.

• Clippers 94, Heat 84. Again, Miami got most of their offense from Wade (24) and Beasley (20). This time, it wasn’t enough for a win. Some fun figures for the Clips: Baron Davis had 14 assists and Kaman and Camby had 14 and 17 rebounds, respectively. I’m not upset that I missed this game, with the ugly shooting. The teams combined to shoot 40.5% from the field and 28.6% from downtown. Gross.

• Spurs 97, Nets 85. The Nets returned to their normal crappy three-point shooting, finishing 3-14 on the night. San Antonio didn’t do much better, at 4-12, but they made up for it in other areas. A big one: they outrebounded NJ 48-35. Timmy D. finished with 14 points, 17 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 blocks while Manu Ginobili contributed 21/3/3 and only had 11 field goal attempts. As for the Nets, Brook Lopez had himself a great night – 28 points, 11 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 blocks, and a steal. 10-17 FG, 8-8 FT as well. This efficiency wasn’t shared by Yi Jianlian, who shot 4-10 on shots closer than 10 feet but 0-7 otherwise.

• Lakers 95, Bucks 77. I recorded this game, but didn’t end up watching any of the first three quarters (besides the very end of the third) because I heard they were incredibly ugly. I mean, the Bucks only scored 8 points in the first Q. 8! It was 39-28 for the Lakers at halftime. Brandon Jennings shot 4-17 and Kobe Bryant and his completely fucked up finger shot 4-21. No thanks. Andrew Bynum had 17 points and 18 rebounds and Lamar Odom had 17 rebounds and 9 assists. With the amount of missed shots available, those rebounding numbers probably aren’t as impressive as they seem. As I said, though, I did watch SOME of the game. This was purely because of Shannon Brown. The All-OTN Team guard hit a hell of a buzzer-beater to end the third. Then came a dunk. Then came two blocks on the same play. Yeah. Finished with a career-high 19 points as well, helped by the fact his jump shot was falling.

Monday, Jan. 11

Pacers 105, Raptors 101

• Troy Murphy started this game as the only Pacer doing anything offensively. After Roy Hibbert’s layup in the first minute, the next FOUR Pacer field goals were threes by Murphy. This didn’t sit well with me. You know my deal with Eddie House? The scouting report tells you “no open threes” yet he seems to somehow get open threes. With Murphy, it’s the same except for the fact that he doesn’t run around screens. Ever. He just trails in transition or stands on the perimeter in the halfcourt. There is no excuse for not staying with him out there. I wanted to slap Bargnani around a little bit after those threes. But with the way the rest of his team was playing, it was alright… I guess.

• How was the rest of his team playing, then? HORRIBLY. They were taking quick (read: poor) shots and, when the Raptors were on offense, it seemed pretty damn easy to score. If one Pacer got beat, the rotations weren’t there. It looked like this was going to be a blowout when the Raptors were up by 23 in the second quarter. Things changed, though, when Danny Granger and Sonny Weems got in a little bit of an argument. After this, Granger went on a scoring spree and his team cut it to 13 by halftime. It was a 16-3 run and the Raptors went 1-6 from the field to end the quarter before Antoine Wright hit a lucky/exciting shot from the backcourt at the buzzer.

• I felt pretty good about the halftime lead even though it could have been bigger. So did Jose Calderon, apparently. He was asked about strategy and he said it was simple: “get a stop, run, easy basket.” Couldn’t argue, with how most of that first half went.

• The second half felt like a different game. The Raptors looked tired and the Pacers looked… decent. I’m not ready to say the Pacers made a fantastic comeback because of the sloppiness of the whole thing. It felt like an NCAA game to me and I don’t mean that in the fun/intensity good kind of way. I mean that in that there were a ton of missed three pointers, turnovers, and mental mistakes. Still, their defense improved and they held the Raptors to only 4 made field goals in the third quarter. Credit A.J. Price, Earl Watson, Mike Dunleavy, and Danny Granger for efficient scoring in the comeback.

• Andrea Bargnani had a very un-Bargnani like line of 12 points on 4-14 shooting, with 17 rebounds (4 offensive) and 3 blocks. Chris Bosh had a very Bosh-like line of 27 points on 6-14 shooting, with 10 rebounds (2 offensive), 2 steals, and 2 blocks. Hedo Turkoglu had 10 points and 6 assists, but everything I said about him in the Boston game applies here. I liked what I saw from DeMar DeRozan in 20 minutes and Rasho Nesterovic in 4 minutes and would have liked to have seen more from both of them. Oh well.

• Roy Hibbert only played 7 minutes. Dahntay Jones and T.J. Ford both received DNP-CD’s. Weird, right?

Cavaliers 117, Warriors 114

• If LeBron continues to go in the post and works on improving his game down there, the whole league is fucked. When he catches there, it changes everything. I think he’s starting to realize this – don’t think he hasn’t noticed Kobe Bryant this season. His work in the second half of this game is just a taste of what might be to come. This is either exciting or horrifying, depending on your perspective. His line? 37 points, 8 rebounds, 11 assists, 4 blocks, 2 steals, 12-23 FG, 12-14 FT.

• More fun stats: Anderson Varejao unsurprisingly had the highest +/-, with +16. Monta Ellis played 45 minutes, scored 30 points, took 25 field goals, dished out 5 assists, picked up 5 steals, turned the ball over 5 times, and had his shot blocked 5 times. Corey Maggette scored 32 points on just 14 field goals, going 17-18 from the line. Anthony Morrow only attempted (and made) one shot, a three that looked absolutely perfect.

• Cartier Martin just got called up from the D-League. Guess who he was matched up against when he checked in for the W’s. You got it, LeBron James. I can’t even imagine what was going through his mind.

• Ronny Turiaf sprained his ankle. X-rays were negative, but he didn’t return after playing just 11 minutes.

• I don’t understand how anyone could NOT root for Stephen Curry. I’m a bit biased because I love PG’s and rookies, but seriously… he looks like he’s 14 years old, but he’s schooling people with his handles and he has one of the purest shots in the league. This, plus his awesome passing ability. Did you see that steal + behind-the-back pass near the end of this game? Insane. If he had hit that three to tie it at the buzzer, I would have lost my mind.

Other Monday Games

• Hawks 102, Boston 96. Saw the very end of this one and I’m going to go back and watch the whole thing on my PVR. It always seems like a good game when these two teams meet, but lately Atlanta has just had Boston’s number. 3-0 against the Celts this year. You just know they’re hoping to face Boston and NOT Orlando in the playoffs. Atlanta needed a 25-16 4th quarter to get the win and, again, Jamal Crawford made key clutch plays to seal it. Rasheed Wallace didn’t play because of a sore foot, but Boston’s coaching staff made up for it by picking up three technical fouls. Head coach Doc Rivers was ejected. Joe Johnson and Rajon Rondo both put forth good arguments to be named an All-Star starter, even though neither of them will be. JJ: 36/3/1 on 14-25 shooting including 5-7 (!) from downtown. Rondo: 26/3/7 on 12-20 shooting.

• 76ers 96, Hornets 92. Allen Iverson continued his efficient scoring, finishing with 16 points on just 9 field goal attempts, but only racking up 1 assist. Sam Dalembert continued his strong play since the addition of Iverson – he had 14 rebounds and 5 blocks. For New Orleans, David West and Emeka Okafor combined for 33 points and 24 rebounds, but the 6-game winning streak is over. Chris Paul had 13 points and 14 assists, but he didn’t shoot well (5-13).

• Thunder 106, Knicks 88. OKC was up by 17 at the half and 23 after three. Not close, people. Kevin Durant scored 30 points on just 14 field goal attempts and Russell Westbrook scored 17 on 11. All-OTN Team member Serge Ibaka tallied 10 and 7 in 24 minutes and added a block, a steal, and 5 (ugh) fouls. For the Knicks, Chris Duhon and Danilo Gallinari combined to shoot 0-15 from the floor, including 0-9 from downtown. But hey, Jonathan Bender had a good game! 16 points on 6-10 shooting, including 2-5 from downtown. 2 blocks, as well. Happy he got those numbers, but this is a sorry effort from his team.

• Bulls 120, Pistons 87. Detroit was outscored by 25 points in the second and third quarters and failed to win a single Q. Sad times for Piston fans, as they haven’t seen their team win since December 12. The Bulls average 96.9 points per 100 possessions, good for 29th in the league. Last night? 126.3 points per 100 possessions. The Pistons made the Bulls look like they’re WAY better than the best offensive team in the league. I feel like I’m piling on if I go any further, so I’ll leave it at that. 27/6 for Deng, 22/9 for Rose, 16/11 for Noah.

• Suns 105, Bucks 101. I’ve got to watch this on my DVR, too. Really weird game, as the Suns were up by 21 after one quarter. It was 43-19 in the second quarter before the Bucks went on a 12-0 run. With Scott Skiles in hospital for an irregular heartbeat, the Bucks tried to get out of the hole they dug for themselves under Jim Boylan. Almost had it, too, and Alvin Gentry sounded like his team had LOST the game in the post-game presser because of the way they let the Bucks get close. Steve Nash had an unreal line of 30/7/11, but had 7 turnovers. Grant Hill reached the 15,000 point plateau. Hakim Warrick had 21 and 10 on 8-13 shooting for the Bucks.

• Nuggets 105, Timberwolves 94. Carmelo Anthony returned for Denver and scored 24 points on 17 shots, but only added 2 rebounds and 2 assists. Chauncey added 18/10 and a couple of timely threes, Kenyon Martin had 8/15, and the Birdman almost had a double-double off the bench with 10/9 along with 2 blocks and a steal. Corey Brewer (25), Al Jefferson (22), and Kevin Love (20) all scored big for Minnesota, but the Wolves are just not in Denver’s league right now.

• Jazz 118, Heat 89. This one was close (24-22) after one quarter, but broke open quickly. Miami could not take care of the ball and could not stop Utah’s offense, falling to .500 on the year. Deron Williams had 23 points and 10 assists, Carlos Boozer had 25 points and 11 rebounds, undrafted rookie Wesley Matthews scored 18 points on 8 shots off the bench, and Mehmet Okur (not a typo, not AK47) had 5 blocks.

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.

Stephen Dunn/Getty Images

Another seven games on the schedule on Tuesday night and I’ve got a lot to talk about. My eyes were focused mainly on Cavs/Hawks, Thunder/Wizards, and Lakers/Warriors, but I’ve done my best to cover everything.

The All-OTN Team

Will Bynum: He didn’t play tonight, as he was bothered by injuries to both of his ankles. Without him, the Pistons lost 104-87 to the Knicks. Yes, the Knicks. With the ATL/CLE and OKC/WAS games going on at the same time, I hope you’ll forgive me for missing this one. Just looking at Detroit’s shot distribution is interesting, though. Rip Hamilton went 5-21 from the field to score 16 points. Rodney Stuckey managed 15 points on 13 shots. Ben Gordon got 17 points on just 9 shots. The rusty Tayshaun Prince played 24 minutes and went 1-4; the still-hurting Charlie Villanueva played 12 minutes and went 0-4. This all adds up to a terrible offensive night, but that’s not what I’m getting at – the question is how coach Kuester is going to keep all these guys happy. To be effective, all of these players aside from Prince absolutely NEED touches and NEED shots. When Bynumite comes back, he’s gotta have ball in his hands and the freedom to create. With all the injuries this team has been through, the feeling out process that should have happened in training camp and the first few weeks of the season is happening now. This team has to find a rotation that properly balances minutes for their numerous scorers as well as guys like Ben Wallace and Jonas Jerebko. What complicates matters is the fact that we know Joe Dumars is likely trying to move Prince and Hamilton. You don’t want to put too much effort into featuring these two if it’s not best for the team, but you can’t banish them and kill their trade value either. To be clear, I’m not saying the Pistons can’t get it together – there’s a lot of potential on this squad. The problem: as presently constructed, the roster is unbalanced and there are a lot of mouths to feed. I fear Bynum might get lost in the shuffle.

Shannon Brown: 7 Pts (2-6 FG, 1-3 3PT, 2-2 FT), 3 Reb, 1 Blk, 1 TO, 0 PF in 19 mins.

I was excited to see Shannon get 15 first half minutes, only to see him unfortunately ride the pine for most of the second half of this 124-118 win. While he was on the court, though, I appreciated his effort guarding Monta Ellis. It’s a tough assignment, but Brown doesn’t back down from anyone. He managed to make life difficult for the Warriors’ star guard, who scored 22 points on 23 shots in 43 minutes. As for offense, Shannon had three big plays, each coming near the end of quarters. As the buzzer beater sounded to close the first, he drew a foul on Ellis on a jumper. Then, near the end of the half, he dunked HARD on Vladimir Radmanovic, the man he was traded for last season. This should have been and and-1, but wasn’t, and I’ll post it here as soon as I can find a video. Finally, he hit a big three with a minute left in the third. Shame he didn’t sniff the floor for the final ten minutes of this one, save for the last 40 seconds when it was decided. Hope he focuses on the fact that his team got the W instead of the fact both Sasha Vujacic and Jordan Farmar got more burn.

Update: Video of the dunk below.

Serge Ibaka: 2 Pts (1-2 FG), 2 Reb (1 Off), 1 Blk, 2 PF in 7 mins.

Forget not playing in the 4th, Serge wasn’t inserted into the Thunder lineup at all in the second half! Hard to complain, again, because his team won 110-98 over the Wizards and Nick Collison continued to play well in his place. Ibaka did have a very nice putback at the beginning of the second quarter, but that’s really about it.

Rookie Watch

Eric Maynor: 11 Pts (3-4 FG, 1-1 3PT, 0-1 FT), 2 Reb, 4 Ast, 1 Blk, 2 Stl, 0 TO, 1 PF in 12 mins.

Here’s where I admit I have mixed feelings about Maynor. On the one hand, I liked him a lot the couple of times I saw him play at VCU and was enjoying his work this year in Utah. On the other hand, his arrival in Oklahoma City spelled the departure of Shaun Livingston, a long-time favourite of mine who I looked forward to watching every time the Thunder were playing. It kills me that Livingston is out of the league at the moment and so far it’s been difficult for me to watch Maynor without thinking about it. I know it’s unfair, but that’s probably how it’s going to be until Shaun catches on somewhere else (hopefully very soon). That said, Maynor was fantastic at the beginning of the fourth quarter in this one. His steals, passing, and penetration were huuuge. He even nailed desperation three at the end of the shot clock. It was all very nice to see. Kinda.

Jonny Flynn: 17 Pts (7-14 FG, 1-3 3PT, 2-2 FT), 1 Reb, 2 Ast, 2 TO, 0 PF in 29 mins.

Didn’t see much of this 117-99 Spurs victory over the Wolves, but I like Flynn’s line. 17 points on 7-14 shooting is a nice bounce back after the 8 points on 2-12 shooting that he posted against Washington on Saturday. This is all a learning process for Jonny and the Wolves, though. Expect more nights like this and expect more nights like Saturday before the season ends.

Stephen Curry: 15 Pts (6-10 FG, 0-1 3PT, 3-3 FT), 3 Reb (1 Off), 3 Ast, 4 TO, 3 PF in 23 mins.

Quick point guards generally do well against the Lakers, so I thought we might be in for a big bounce-back effort from Steph here. After he posted 9 points in the first quarter, it seemed like it was heading that way. Unfortunately, he didn’t quite keep it up and committed too many turnovers in the second half. Still, we saw him do the things we know he can do: he scored on jumpers and drives to the basket, and he pushed the ball and made the right passes.

Fun With Stats

Tyrus Thomas had a Tyrus Thomas stat line in his second game back from injury: 8 points on 2-10 shooting, 15 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 blocks, and 5 turnovers. Two of those blocks came on consecutive possessions in the fourth quarter. I’ve missed seeing stats like that from him. For most of this season, I’ve also missed his teammate Derrick Rose. I mean, he’s been on the court for most of this campaign, but he hadn’t been putting up great numbers. In happy news, he extended his recent streak of good games last night by recording 28 points on 20 shots, 5 rebounds, and 6 assists. I’m still not a fan of the 6 turnovers or the fact that 12 of his shots came from 16-23 feet out, though. Get to the basket, Derrick!

For the Knicks, David Lee had a 30/12/5 night and people are talking about him as a possible All-Star. Great stuff, especially because it only took him 19 shots to score those 30 points. His teammate Danilo Gallinari went 5-10 from the field and 4-9 from behind the arc. His one two point attempt was a jumper a minute and a half into the game. I love his three-point stroke, but come on! We know he can do much more than launch triples – his line frustrates me more than it amuses me.

Manu Ginobili and Richard Jefferson led the way for San Antonio, which is a nice change. Manu had a near-triple-double: 14/9/10 in less than 28 minutes. It’s hard not to get excited about that. Same with the fact that RJ poured in 24/6/3 with 4 threes and a block. Strange that he didn’t manage to draw a single foul, though. It’s also worth noting that the Spurs have now won 9 of their last 11 games, even if it has been a soft part of their schedule.

David West set a new career high in scoring as he finished with 44/12/4, including a 22-point third quarter and TWO three-pointers. Chris Paul had a 16/11/10 triple-double whilst only turning the ball over once in 42 minutes. Still, the Hornets lost to the Rockets 108-100. This is largely because Shane Battier and Aaron Brooks combined to shoot 15-24 from the field, including 10-15 from behind the arc. Insane numbers.

Emeka Okafor recorded 5 blocks against Houston, all of them coming in the same third quarter where David West went off. Anthony Randolph only played 19 minutes in Golden State’s loss to the Lakers, but he swatted 5 shots as well.

Zydrunas Ilgauskas has scored 104,000 points in his career, all as a Cavalier. He moved past Brad Daugherty’s mark of 10,390 last night to become Cleveland’s second all-time leading scorer, behind LeBron James.

Speaking of LeBron James, he turns 25 years old today. Hard to wrap my head around this. On one hand, he looks and plays like he’s a lot older than 25. On the other, I vividly remember reading about him for the first time in SLAM when he was balling for St. Vincent–St. Mary. If you’ve been following along since then too, consider yourself lucky. We are obviously, OBVIOUSLY seeing something very special here. Happy birthday, Bron. I think I’ll celebrate by getting started on Shooting Stars.

Impressive

Kevin Durant: 35 Pts (12-19 FG, 3-6 3PT, 8-10 FT), 11 Reb, 4 Ast, 1 Blk, 5 TO, 2 PF in 40 mins.

This is the 5th-straight 30+ scoring game for KD and, yet again, he’s doing it without sacrificing efficiency. The Thunder needed it, too. Despite all the holes in the Wizards’ defense, Durant was the only one who had it going for most of this game. That’s actually one of the most important things to take away from this game – the Thunder can find ways to win without playing their best ball for 48 minutes. In this game, their star kept them competitive for three quarters and then they took it to another level. Bad habit? Probably. But it’s also a sign they’ve learned how to win games.

Gilbert Arenas: 24 Pts (8-20 FG, 4-8 3PT, 4-5 FT), 7 Reb, 8 Ast, 2 Blk, 3 Stl, 3 TO, 3 PF in 40 mins.

If you’re a Gilbert Arenas fan, just look at that line for a second. Awesome, right? He hit every category and was kinda-sorta near a triple-double. I know I’m happy he’s on my fantasy team. Offensively, he was great all game. He hit very, very impressive shots and created for his teammates like the Gil we know and love. It would be dishonest of me to move on without bring up the defense, though. It was awful. The whole team’s D was awful, but Gil’s stood out. I don’t expect any NBA guard to completely stop penetration, but you have to at least be able to limit it. Arenas did not do that last night. Not saying it cancels out his great offensive effort, but it has to be mentioned.

Delonte West: 17 Pts (6-11 FG, 1-2 3PT, 4-6 FT), 5 Reb (2 Off), 2 Ast, 2 Stl, 2 TO, 1 PF in 29 mins.

Yay, yay, yay. I love seeing Delonte play well and, this night, he was the player of the game. He demonstrated a knack for coming up with huge plays on either end when his team needed them. Did you see where he back-tapped a missed shot to a teammate? He has no business doing that at his size, but he got it done. Did you see when he got a rebound over Josh Smith and drew the 5th foul on Atlanta’s stud forward? Again, no business doing that. He’s able to guard bigger guys, penetrate the D, draw fouls around the basket, and score when it seems improbable. Ernie Johnson called him “effective and annoying”, with the latter referring to how opposing teams see him. I’ll tell you one thing: he doesn’t annoy me. I love LeBron, but Delonte is my favourite Cav and he has been playing fantastic ball lately. You should have seen me when he dunked on Josh Smith (video below). Best part? It was payback for a couple of possessions earlier, where Smith had blocked him.

Anthony Parker: 10 Pts (4-7 FG, 0-1 3PT, 2-3 FT), 2 Reb, 1 Ast, 1 Blk, 0 TO, 1 PF in 22 mins.

Those numbers aren’t going to blow you away, but I found myself thinking that this was the best I’d seen AP play in a couple of years. His block on the fast break was awesome, as was his cutting and his defense. His J looked perfect, too. If the Cavs can get inspired ball from Parker, West, and Mo Williams for the rest of the season, watch out.

LeBron James: 14 Pts (6-20 FG, 0-5 3PT, 2-3 FT), 8 Reb (1 Off), 10 Ast, 1 Blk, 5 Stl, 4 TO, 2 PF in 39 mins.

He’s not in this section because of his offense, trust me. His jumper was as off as I’ve ever seen – he missed it from seemingly everywhere on the court. He made up for it by delivering every time that he went to the rim (although this should have been way more often), setting up his teammates well, and playing amazing defense. Joe Johnson started the game 4-4 for Atlanta, but then he missed his next 9 shots and LeBron was a huge part of that. His defense on Johnson caused the Hawks to go on a ridiculous 8-minute drought to begin the 4th quarter. We all know James’s help defense is great, but I love seeing him take the challenge of shutting someone down 1-on-1. He suffocated Tyreke Evans in the Kings’ scoreless overtime last week and did the same to JJ here. The Hawks should have been more creative offensively, but this doesn’t take away from the work Bron put in.

Jamal Crawford: 26 Pts (10-17 FG, 4-5 3PT, 2-4 FT), 4 Reb, 2 Ast, 2 Stl, 2 TO, 2 PF in 34 mins.

Crawford impacted this game as soon as he came in. It seemed he reached double-figures in scoring before I could blink. We know that Crawford hasn’t always been the most efficient scorer, but he’s been better in that regard for the Hawks than he has at any other point during his career. Last night, he had a TS% of 69.3. In addition to his 4-5 mark from downtown, he hit 4-7 from 16-23 feet, prompting Kevin McHale to start talking about the lost art of the pull-up jumper during the broadcast. He hit 8 straight field goals at one point (including a banked three-pointer), but his hot streak didn’t result in a win because he just didn’t have the help necessary to topple the Cavs.

Kobe Bryant: 44 Pts (13-27 FG, 2-6 3PT, 12-12 FT), 4 Reb (1 Off), 11 Ast, 1 Stl, 1 TO (!), 2 PF in 43 mins.

A season high in points and assists for Kobe. 7 of the assists came in the first quarter. He had to guard Monta Ellis for stretches, too. You’ve seen him have games like this before, though. The Lakers didn’t play a great game against Golden State, but Kobe put the team on his back. He’s the league’s most skilled, most fiercely competitive, and hardest-working player. He did everything he needed to do to get the win.

Corey Maggette: 25 Pts (7-11 FG, 0-1 3PT, 11-13 FT), 4 Reb, 3 Ast, 1 Stl, 0 TO, 3 PF in 31 mins.

25 points on 11 field goal attempts? Another solid effort from Maggette, including numerous nice finishes on the break. He’s always been good at scoring and getting to the foul line, though… The problem is that often he has failed to bring anything else to the table. Lately, he’s been playing pretty hard on defense and sometimes making plays for other people on offense. He knows he’s a scorer, but he hasn’t been a black hole. This is a great thing.

Quoted

“By his effort alone, I think we owe this game to him in the win column.” – Phil Jackson, on Kobe Bryant.

“That guy is amazing. To be able to shoot like he did with the finger problems that he has on his shooting hand, it’s amazing. I love watching him play, and it’s always a pleasure to coach against him.” – Don Nelson, on Kobe Bryant.

“I can go out there on that floor and take anybody on our team on one-on-one at 52 years old and drive right around them.” – Flip Saunders (More on Flip’s post-game comments, including video, at Bullets Forever.)

“Right now we stink. And we’re showing it.” – Gilbert Arenas

“LeBron just treated Josh Smith like a rental car” – Ernie Johnson, after LeBron went past J-Smoove to score at the rim.

“Worst hair in the NBA, but he’s got hops” – Rick Kamla, on Josh McRoberts

Tweeted

@flintstone14: I am killing this rookie Jodie meeks in madden 10. 28-0 in second
@YUNGBUCK3: @flintstone14 omggg Jodie weak man, smh
@flintstone14: @YUNGBUCK3 this dude is weak. Lol

@talkhoops: How has Andray Blatche not taken over the world yet? And don’t say hookers.

@TheNoLookPass: A few friends of mine can probably relate to this 4th quarter between the Cavs and the Hawks: no scoring.

@ShamSports: Tyrus Thomas with his usual combination of awesome and terrible tonight. That combination can take different forms, but it’s always there.

Some background for these tweets coming up: The Hornets very nearly traded Devin Brown yesterday. Then, as you know, they lost to the Rockets.

@ticktock6: How many times a game do you think cap space will turn over the ball? More or less than Devin Brown?
@ticktock6: Noooo, Devin! Don’t leave meeeeeee!! Who will I blame everything awful that happens in life on now?
@ticktock6: OMG now the T-Wolves have taken the Devin Brown announcement OFF THEIR SITE. *dies* (if this falls through it will ruin my day. Ruin.)

Now, during/after the game…

@KDonhoops: Devin Brown, judging by his play, does not like his current team.
@ticktock6: None of this would ever have happened if we had traded Devin Brown today.
@ticktock6: The gloves are off now. It’s me vs. Devin. The gauntlet has been thrown down. Watch your step, Brown. I’m right behind you…..
@ticktock6: I’m afraid to fly home tomorrow for fear I will find Devin Brown has eaten my cats & written his name across the wall in their blood

To Watch

Delonte on Josh Smith:

Kobe getting Turiaf’d:

A nasty putback from Tyrus:

LeBron being LeBron at the end of the first half:

Manu is amazing:

To Read

A Kobe Bryant feature in GQ.

Tom Ziller names Tim Duncan the NBA player of the decade.

Ryan Jones names LeBron James the high school player of the decade.

Matt Moore says a book should be written about the Wizards.

Dave from BlazersEdge continues his decade retrospective, looking at Portland’s tumultuous 2002-2005 period.

Jason Friedman’s great recap of Rockets/Hornets includes a full transcript of Rick Adelman talking pre-game about Tracy McGrady.

Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images

Oh, it has been far too long since the last BfB. Holidays and all, you know. I can promise these will be more frequent now, though. Anyway, seven games on the schedule last night and three of them turned out to be fairly big upsets. Fun!

The All-OTN Team

Will Bynum: His team didn’t play last night, and I’m kinda worried about his playing time and his role after watching Rip Hamilton, Ben Gordon, and Tayshaun Prince return to the Pistons’ lineup on Sunday at the Air Canada Centre. HOWEVA, I have something for you: an awesome look at his high school days from a documentary, discovered by Piston Powered.

Shannon Brown: 10 Pts (4-5 FG, 1-2 3PT, 1-2 FT), 2 Reb, 1 Stl, 1 TO, 1 PF in 15 mins.

No highlights for you today, unfortunately, but that’s a nice line in limited action. What pisses me off, though, is that Sasha Vujacic played 19 minutes in this game. Plus, when we reached garbage time with 6 minutes to go in this surprising 118-103 loss to Phoenix, Brown played and Vujacic didn’t. So, the minutes discrepancy is even greater if you’re talking about meaningful minutes. That’s not okay.

Jared Dudley: 19 Pts (6-10 FG, 3-4 3PT, 4-6 FT), 7 Reb (2 Off), 3 Ast, 1 Blk, 1 Stl, 1 TO, 2 PF in 28 mins.

Dudley was the player of the game for Phoenix, as he led the bench unit that took apart the Lakers. That scoring total ties his career high and that efficiency brings a big smile to my face. The Suns’ announcers called his performance “amazing”, “off the charts”, and said “he is so fun to watch”. Agreed. He hit several big threes, grabbed key rebounds, made great passes, drew fouls around the basket, and played smart defense, much of it coming against a guy named Kobe Bryant. I loved every second of it. Here’s his post-game tweet and his first ever appearance on NBA TV’s arena link:

Serge Ibaka: 6 Pts (2-3 FG, 2-3 FT), 9 Reb (4 Off), 1 Ast, 0 TO, 2 PF in 17 mins.

Going up against the Nets, this wasn’t Serge’s most spectacular game. The rebounds stand out, though. The talent-deficient Nets can’t afford to let teams get offensive boards if they want to win and Ibaka got 4 of ‘em. The Thunder rolled to their 3rd straight win, 105-89. This rookie’s best highlight came immediately after checking into the game, where he came flying out of nowhere to get a put-back lay-in. His lowlight was when Keyon Dooling dunked on him. Sadly, Tony Battie dunked on him too. Meh, there’s still plenty to like here and his team won the game they were supposed to win.

Rookie Watch

Brandon Jennings: 24 Pts (9-18 FG, 2-5 3PT, 4-6 FT), 2 Reb, 7 Ast, 5 TO, 3 PF in 41 mins.

His play was the only thing to be happy about when it comes to last night’s game if you’re a Bucks fan. And I’m kind of a Bucks fan. I witnessed him score 7 points in about a minute in the first quarter and he scored 9 straight points in the third quarter as well. The third quarter run wasn’t enough to get his team out of the hole they had dug themselves earlier, though. What hole, you ask? Well, the Bobcats outscored Milwaukee 33-14 in the second Q. Blah. I still love the Bucks, but Jennings can’t do EVERYTHING for them if they expect to win. His teammates shot 35% from the field in this one.

Jeff Pendergraph: 11 Pts (4-5 FG, 3-4 FT), 5 Reb (2 Off), 1 Blk, 0 TO, 2 PF in 19 mins.

He wasn’t supposed to play these minutes, but you know the deal in Portland. Good for him, I say – last night’s effort shows that Pendergraph intends to make the most of his opportunity. Portland fans have to be a bit depressed about losing 103-94 to the Sixers, but they should take some solace in the fact that their unheralded rookie managed to score 11 points on 5 shots in just his fourth game back from injury. I need to see more of him to get a better feel for his game, but I can tell already that he’s got the right attitude. Much like the next two guys on this list, he provides energy and toughness. The skill stuff? Not sure yet, but I’m optimistic.

Omri Casspi: 11 Pts (4-9 FG, 1-3 3PT, 2-4 FT), 6 Reb, 2 Ast, 1 Stl, 2 TO, 3 PF in 36 mins.

You just have to love this guy. Unfazed by his 1-6 start from the floor, he contributed in other areas and hit his last three attempts with his brother watching from the stands for the second straight game. This included a thrilling dunk a couple of minutes into the third quarter and a HUGE three-pointer with 2 minutes left in the 4th. As is usually the case, his man and help defense was a positive for Sacramento in this 106-101 victory over Denver.

Jon Brockman: 6 Pts (1-3 FG, 4-4 FT), 10 Reb (4 Off), 1 Ast, 2 Blk, 1 TO, 5 PF in 17 mins.

Whoa, two Kings rookies here and neither one is Tyreke Evans! Ha. If you didn’t know, ‘Reke sat this one out with an ankle injury, making this W all the more impressive. Brockman was a big part of the winning effort, as you can see by those rebound and block numbers in limited action. I love watching this guy and think every team needs someone like him. You know the type – dirty work and defense. You can tell that other bigs don’t like facing off with this particular rookie and you can tell that he doesn’t give a shit. It’s unfortunate that his exuberance sometimes leads to more fouls than you’d like, but you kind of have to accept that for now. At least he helps make up for it with his knack for drawing fouls on the opposition when he goes up for rebounds and puts up shots on the inside. Without Brockman, I don’t think the Kings would have made it to overtime against the Lakers the other night. Doubtful that they would have pulled out this win without him, too. And I’m quite sure there’s no one else on this roster capable of blocking a Nene dunk.

Stephen Curry: 0 Pts (0-4 FG, 0-1 3PT, 0-1 FT), 2 Reb, 0 Ast, 1 Stl, 1 TO, 3 PF in 11 mins.

I take no joy in pointing this out, but he was -16 in that time too. If you’re talking about the toughest night of Steph’s young career, this has got to be right up there with the time Nellie benched him against the Knicks in mid-November. Normally, I’d be pissed off that he didn’t get more time even if he was playing poorly, but it’s hard for me to do that on a night like this one, where the Warriors defeated the Celtics 103-99. I just hope Curry can enjoy the huge win with his teammates, even with the way he played.

James Harden: 3 Pts (0-10 FG, 0-4 3PT, 3-4 FT), 6 Reb (3 Off), 1Ast, 3 Stl, 1 Blk, 2 TO, 3 PF in 23 mins.

This was very strange to watch. I’m not sure what was wrong with the bearded rook last night, but he couldn’t get anything to fall. It didn’t matter if the shot was open or contested, whether it came on the perimeter or around the basket – nothing would go down. The shots I’ve seen him make all year were bricks. The rest of his game wasn’t affected too much, despite what the low assist total might imply. He played the same type of ball we’re used to, but just couldn’t buy a bucket. Luckily, all he’s concerned about is the win. I am sure he’ll bounce back.

Fun With Stats

Andrew Bogut and Michael Redd combined for 4 points on 1-10 shooting in 35 minutes. This should give you some insight as to why coach Scott Skiles opted not to play them in the second half.

Zach Randolph filled up the stat sheet with 23 points, 19 rebounds, 2 assists, a block, and a steal in Memphis’s 116-111 overtime win over Washington. Oh, and Z-Bo went 9-9 from the line, including hitting two free throws to tie the game with 0.3 seconds left in regulation. What’s crazy is that I expect this production now. Check out the numbers he’s been putting up lately! In the same game, Gilbert Arenas filled the stat sheet with 30 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists, 5 steals, and 5 threes.

The Grizzlies only have a winning record overall against 4 NBA teams: the Wizards, Raptors, Clippers, and Bobcats. The last time the Wiz won a game in Memphis? November 3, 2004.

Vladimir Radmanovic pulled down 10 rebounds in 18 minutes. Yes, that Vladimir Radmanovic. I don’t understand it either.

The Celtics had 25 turnovers in a game they lost by 4 points. The Nuggets shot 20-35 from the free throw line in a game they lost by 5 points.

Philly shot 58% against Portland. 104 points might not look like a crazy offensive night, but this was an 87-possession game. That’s 119.5 pts per 100 possessions. The Suns lead the league in that category with an average of 111.8. This was a combination of very solid offense from the Sixers and poor interior D from the Blazers, as Philly managed to go 23-31 at the rim and 7-11 from inside of 10 feet. (Hoopdata’s box scores are awesome.)

Brandon Roy has managed at least 23 points in 13 straight games now. No player has a longer 20+ scoring streak going.

With 8 wins on the road this season, the Thunder have matched last year’s total. Also, the team is now 11-2 when KRS-TIC scores 10 points or more.

For the 19th consecutive game, the Nets were outrebounded.

The Lakers really seem to be missing Ron Artest. With Luke Walton sidelined as well, their lack of depth was exposed last night – the Suns’ bench outscored L.A. 52 to 31.

The Suns have now defeated the Lakers, Celtics, and Magic this season. These are the top three teams in the league, record-wise.

Impressive

Gerald Wallace: 21 Pts (7-13 FG, 0-1 3PT, 7-9 FT), 14 Reb (2 Off), 4 Ast, 1 Bl, 1 Stl, 1 TO, 3 PF in 43 mins.

21, 14. Ho-hum. This is what it’s come to with G. Wallace, which is crazy. He is just piling up stats and he’s as fun to watch as he’s ever been. Unless you’re rooting for the other team, that is. I appreciate the hell out of the way he hounds you on defense, outjumps and outworks you for rebounds, and gets out on the break. Last night, I just wished it had a less demoralizing effect on Milwaukee.

Kevin Durant: 40 Pts (15-22 FG, 0-2 3PT, 10-12 FT), 5 Reb (1 Off), 2 Ast, 3 Stl, 5 TO, 1 PF in 40 mins.

I feel for you, Trenton Hassell. You’re smart enough to know there’s no one on your team better fit to guard Kevin Durant. You’re smart enough to know how to best defend KD, given your size and athletic ability. You’re also smart enough to know that it probably won’t make a difference. Your best effort won’t be close to enough if Durant is playing as he should be, which he was. 40 points on 22 shots? Incredible. And none of it seemed forced. Hell, none of it seemed particularly difficult. The Nets don’t have anyone that comes close to matching up with him and their team defense is just poor. KD scored in every way imaginable. Beautiful to watch.

Nick Collison: 11 Pts (5-7 FG, 0-1 3PT, 1-1 FT), 10 Reb (4 Off), 1 Blk, 3 PF in 29 mins.

Before I leave the stats behind, I should mention that he was +25 on the evening and he would have been 5-6 if not for a full-court heave at the end of the third quarter. Now, remember when I said every team needs a Jon Brockman type? Collison is that guy for the Thunder. He’s less reckless and thus less exciting than Brockman, but he’s ahead in the mental game at this point. If you’re still focused on his stats, then add two charges taken, numerous solid picks, and a few nice passes that didn’t result in assists. I’m telling you, he was big.

Yi Jianlian: 29 Pts (11-20 FG, 0-1 3PT, 7-9 FT), 7 Reb (3 Off), 2 Stl, 3 TO, 4 PF in 42 mins.

I must say I was intrigued to see Yi after Mark Ginnochio of Nets Are Scorching showed me that he looks like a different player these days. Little did I know he was going to tie his career high last night and engage in a scoring duel with Kevin Durant (18 to KD’s 22) in the first half. What I liked most was Yi’s aggressiveness – in the first half, he was persistent in getting to the basket and had some nice finishes. He hit some perimeter jumpers, sure, but I’m more interested in the fact that he converted some dunks and hook shots. I’ve been pretty critical of him in the past, but would like nothing more than to see him shut me up. The way to do that? Keep this up and keep getting stronger.

Robin Lopez: 8 Pts (4-4 FG, 0-2 FT), 5 Reb (3 Off), 1 Blk, 3 PF in 21 mins.

At the end of the first quarter, Lopez led the Suns in scoring. The announcers called his work “sensational” and said it was “the best stretch of his career”. I’m not one to argue, there. His good work continued throughout the game, as he used his size to disrupt the Laker bigs better than anyone else on the Suns’ roster could. Had a nice block on Kobe, too.

Elton Brand: 25 Pts (11-16 FG, 3-5 FT), 9 Reb (4 Off), 1 Ast, 1 Stl, 1 Blk, 4 PF in 30 mins.

Hell yes! I feel a sense of pride when Elton puts up awesome numbers like these. I’ve said it before: this man has plenty left in the tank. He’s just been used improperly this season. Last night, though, the Sixers made a point of getting him the ball on the inside and Portland did not have an answer for him. Playing with Speights helps because he can be the 5 on offense and playing with Iverson helps because AI can set him up. Expect much more of this if Eddie Jordan allows it to continue. 30 minutes is still not enough if you ask me.

Allen Iverson: 19 Pts (7-11 FG, 5-7 FT), 4 Reb, 5 Ast, 2 TO, 3 PF in 31 mins.

19 points on 11 shots? Efficiency! Iverson! Again, hell yes! This isn’t just about the numbers, though. Qualitatively, there’s a lot to impressed with as well. He started off the game by hitting a few shots, but that didn’t make him try to dominate the game. Instead of forcing up contested shots or going on-on-one, he pushed the ball and shared it with his teammates. He looked quick, confident, and happy. I don’t know if a lot of people were paying attention to this game, but I loved it. Felt a bit bad rooting against the injury-ridden Blazers, but I really wanted AI and Elton to get this one. I remain convinced that this Sixer team is significantly better than its record.

Andres Nocioni: 21 Pts (6-7 FG, 3-4 3PT, 5-6 FT), 6 Reb, 2 Ast, 1 Blk, 2 TO, 3 PF in 25 mins.

This was probably best game I’ve ever seen Noc play. He was essentially perfect on offense and he worked hard against Kenyon Martin and, briefly, Carmelo Anthony on defense. With their stud rookie sitting out, the Kings needed someone to step up and provide scoring punch – Andres’s dead-eye shooting was huge. In all honesty, I can still hardly believe what I saw. GREAT night for him.

Donte Greene: 17 Pts (6-9 FG, 1-3 3PT, 4-4 FT), 1 Reb, 1 Ast, 1 Blk, 1 TO, 1 PF in 23 mins.

1 rebound for a 6’10 forward, but I’m impressed? Yeah. He really was good in all other areas. From the tip, Greene set the tone for the Kings – in the first two minutes, he scored 7 points, blocked a Carmelo Anthony shot, and drew an offensive foul on the Nuggets’ star small forward. His defense remained solid all night – 34/8 sounds good for Melo until you see that he needed 42 minutes and 35 shots to get there. Greene was a big part of this – he did a great job of making Anthony work and avoiding fouls. I’ll forgive him for the lack of rebounding this time. I’ll forgive him for the dumb heat-check in the first Q. I’ll even forgive him for the thoughtless gamble he made when he tried to intercept a pass he had no chance of getting to. Hm, now it sounds like I’m hating on him. Trust me, I’m not. Very solid game.

Monta Ellis: 37 Pts (15-26 FG, 1-3 3PT, 6-8 FT), 3 Reb (1 Off), 4 Ast, 1 Blk, 1 Stl, 3 TO, 3 PF in 48 mins.

For the fifth time this season, Monta played the entire game. The Warriors needed it to beat the Celtics, it would seem. Anyway, this was just a fantastic effort. He puts such pressure on your defense, even if your defense is one of the league’s best. To put up these kind of numbers against Rajon Rondo is extreeeeemely impressive. You know Monta is most dangerous with his penetration and finishing ability, but his jump shot was falling this time out – he made 9 out of his 12 attempts from 16-23 feet. (Again, Hoopdata’s boxscores are AWESOME.)

C.J. Watson: 11 Pts (4-8 FG, 1-3 3PT, 2-4 FT), 0 Reb, 7 Ast, 7 Stl, 1 Blk, 3 TO, 1 PF in 37 mins.

Wow, wow, wow. 7 steals! Forget about the last one; that came on a long pass on the last possession, when the game was out of reach. Those first six, though? All of ‘em came in the second frame. Crazy, right? I was excited when I flipped to the game and he picked off a Rondo pass and went the other way for a layup. I was even more excited when he did the same thing on the next possession. Sitting Steph Curry was definitely the right decision with the way Watson was playing. You have to love the steals, but he did a great job defensively in ways that won’t show up in the stat sheet as well – he worked his ass off chasing Ray Allen around screens and managed to slow the sharpshooter down a bit. With the way his off-season went and the way everything’s gone with the Warriors this season, I couldn’t be happier to see him have a game like this.

Rajon Rondo: 30 Pts (11-18 FG, 1-3 3PT, 7-9 FT), 3 Reb (1 Off), 15 Ast, 3 Stl, 6 TO, 3 PF in 46 mins.

Yet again, Rondo was the best Celtic on the floor. I won’t pretend that I was rooting for his team this time, but I enjoyed every one of his points and assists anyway. I still haven’t quite figured out how exactly he is able to do whatever he wants on the court even with guys playing a few feet away from him when he catches the ball on the perimeter. I love that he shot 7-9 from the line and I love that he uses pump fakes more often and more effectively than almost anyone in the league.

Quoted

“There’s no such thing as being too intense.” – Stephen Jackson, when asked about his technical foul/being vocal

“Once I got my second wind I was all right. The first couple minutes I thought my heart was going to jump out of my chest.” – Allen Iverson

“Having Allen back helps. He’s a finisher. He can get to the line and get the ball to guy at the right time. We’ve missed that.” – Elton Brand

“You just expect everything. With them, you don’t know what kind of crazy lineups they’re going to have out there.” – Doc Rivers, on the Warriors

Tweeted

@BothTeamsPlayed: Ummmm…..seriously, who’s the dude in this Yi costume?

@gswscribe: I will not be bringing my wallet into the locker room after the game. @quietstorm_32 might steal it

@johnschuhmann: Do we really know what AI’s got left in the tank? When’s the last time we saw him play injury-free & without rust?

@HPbasketball: Lakers, Nuggets, Celtics all lose? CHAOS REIGNS. #onenightonly

@freedarko: If Monta’s not an All-Star, I’ll puke myself to death. Can you win Most Improved twice?

@cdouglasroberts: I’m going to be cheering like Roni Turiaf tonight. All I need is the Pastor Troy beard & chin. Yes yess.

@cdouglasroberts: Tonights game put me in a horrible mood!!! I hate watching from the sideline. I already don’t have any patience. Can’t wait until practice!

@cdouglasroberts: We need to change our thinking & approach!! I hate where we are! I MUST practice tomorrow. PERIOD!

@cdouglasroberts: Had to go get some eggnog. I’m going to go to the market tomorrow to buy the REST! Fridge full. I’m on that! Family Guy is on too. Yes yess!

To Watch

Amar’e posterizing Mbenga:

A wild play that begins with a Devin Harris steal and ends with Courtney Lee slamming home an alley-oop:

Kevin Durant’s sweet baseline dunk:

Awesome NBA singing Part 1, starring three young Sacramento Kings:

Awesome NBA singing Part 2, starring Danilo Gallinari:

To Read

Kevin Durant blogging about his new teammate, Eric Maynor.

Adrian Wojnarowski tells us what’s going on with Tracy McGrady right now.

Zach Harper takes a look back at how astonishingly good Tracy McGrady used to be.

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!).

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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.

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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.

Layne Murdoch/Getty Images

I’m eschewing the normal BfB format at least for one day. It might just be the spazzy band I went to see last night, but I’m feeling a bit ADD and want to ditch the normal structure and just give some thoughts about the games I watched on Saturday and Sunday.

First up, did you see that Milwaukee/Portland classic on Saturday? Yes, I’m calling it a classic. I know this one might slip by a lot of people, but it shouldn’t. This was a hard-fought double-overtime game that featured several huge clutch plays by the two best Brandons in the world and, really, you should see it. If you missed it and you’ve got League Pass Broadband or a less official means of watching previously played games, get on that. Neither of the awesome Brandons actually led their team in scoring, as big men LaMarcus Aldridge and Andrew Bogut stepped up in that area on Saturday night. Both had very memorable moments that I almost feel like I shouldn’t ruin for you here, even though this is kinda supposed to be a recap. Hm. Here’s what I’ll do: if you want a full recap of this fantastic 108-101 Milwaukee win, just head on over to Bucksketball. I couldn’t possibly do a better job telling the story. One thing to add before I move on: Luc Richard Mbah a Moute is amazing. He played the best defense I’ve ever seen on Brandon Roy. Sure, Roy got his 23 points, but he needed 24 shots to get them and not a single one of them was easy when LRMAM was on him. What’s so incredible to me about Luc Richard is his versatility. I’ve seen him matched up with Brandon Roy, LeBron James, and Dirk Nowitzki this year, and each time he seems like the perfect guy to guard the superstar. What a defender.

As happy as I was to see the Bucks beat the Blazers, I was distraught to see the Wizards fall to the Pacers that same night. If you haven’t heard, it was a bit of a wild finish. Okay, that’s an understatement. It was one of the most surreal finishes I’ve ever seen. With 22 seconds left in the 4th quarter, Earl Boykins hit a seemingly-impossible shot at the end of the shot clock over T.J. Ford to put his team up 4. On the next possession, Tyler Hansbrough was fouled with 13 seconds left. Psycho T hit the first FT, missed the second intentionally, and Mike Dunleavy was fouled on the rebound. Lil Dun made both free throws to make it a one point game, and the Pacers fouled Gilbert Arenas with 6.6 seconds left on the next possession. When Gilbert stepped to the line, I wanted him to make those free throws as much as I’ve ever wanted anything in a basketball game. He had his first triple double in five and a half years and now had the opportunity to make up for that crucial 0-2 appearance at the foul line down the stretch of the Boston game 2 nights earlier. When he missed the first one this time and I saw that look of confusion/uncertainty on his face, my heart sunk. Then he missed the second. Ugh. At least it looked like his team would still win… but then T.J. Ford raced down the court and put up a crazy lay-up that ended up going out of bounds as the buzzer sounded. Relief, I thought. But no. The referees went to the replay and concluded that the ball had gone out of bounds off the Wizards and there was still half a second left in the game. Alright, fine.
“Just don’t fuck this up, Washington,” I thought. But fuck it up they did, as a foul was called on Brendan Haywood on the inbounds pass. This was a very, very questionable call – it seemed they were calling a foul on Mike Dunleavy’s shot attempt, which, to me, would have been impossible to get up in that amount of time. Lil Dun stepped to the line and calmly netted both free throws, again, and the Wizards’ JaVale McGee very confusingly stayed out on the perimeter on their final play, where he was supposed to slash to the basket and try to get an alley-oop tip-in with 0.1 seconds left. McGee received a pass behind the three-point line and chucked up a shot that had no chance of a) going in or b) counting. So it ended, 114-113 for Indiana. Blah. On TV, they kept showing Gilbert’s confused/sad face and it was killing me. It’s so strange to see him shaken. Before the injuries, Gil was one of the most upbeat, confident guys in the game and you just knew he would make clutch free throws like that. Now, there’s clearly something off and it’s not just physical. I really, really hope he gets his mojo back quickly. This was simply an awful way to lose a game. For more, read the recap at Truth About It and, if you want to get a bit depressed, watch the video at the bottom.

I should quickly touch on the other crazy finishes on Saturday. Unfortunately, with all the basketball happening on Saturday, I missed both of these ones. First, the overtime Charlotte/Dallas game. This proved a couple of things that we should already know – you really want Dirk Nowitzki on your team at the end of games and the Dallas Mavericks are a very, very good team. Dirk scored 18 of his 36 points in the 4th Q. and OT, including the game-winning jumper (surprise, surprise). Dallas won this game 98-97 even though it probably shouldn’t have, which is what good teams do. Dirk started off 1-for-10 and 7-22 as his team trailed for almost the whole second half, but they managed to put a run together and come out on top. Stephen Jackson said, “We competed and did everything we’re supposed to do to win this game,” and he might be right, but it wasn’t enough. Moving on, that Denver/Phoenix game seemed like a great one. I’m a bit pissed that I missed it, but I was watching the Laker game I haven’t got to yet whilst recording the Bucks/Blazer thriller. Carmelo Anthony had another great night in a winning effort, scoring 32 points and adding 8 rebounds. On the other side, Steve Nash contributed 28 points and 7 assists, but it wasn’t enough… Or was it? See, you could easily argue that he deserved a couple more points than that. With less than 30 seconds left, Nash drove to the basket with Nene covering him and missed a layup. The Suns were down 2 at the time and forced to foul when Denver recovered the rebound. Thing is, Nash could barely get off the ground on his shot because of the contact from Nene. There was not a hard foul on the play, but there was a quite obvious foul that prevented Nash from doing what he wanted to do, and the refs swallowed their whistles. The Nuggets ended up winning 105-99. It’s unfortunate, but these things happen. I’d be incredibly frustrated if I was a Suns fan, but it’s hard to blame the loss on that alone. Phoenix raced out to an early lead but it was their tired legs in the second half of a back-to-back in the Mile High City lost them this game, even if the refs didn’t do them any favours.

One more game to talk about on Saturday (I’m not doing all of them): Jazz vs. Lakers. I’m just going to focus on two wing players: Kobe Bryant and Wesley Matthews. Wait, Wesley Matthews? Really? Yes. This undrafted rookie was absolutely huge. I believe he had 15 points in the first half and he finished with 19 and 6 assists in 37 minutes. Him starting for Jerry Sloan is one of the best under-the-radar stories in the NBA. I want a full feature on this guy because I don’t know enough about him. I do know he has some game, though. He can knock down open shots, slash to the basket, and defend better than almost any other rookie. I’m loving what’s happening in Utah with this kid. Anyway, next, Kobe. Looking at the boxscore without knowing the context, you’d think I’m crazy for singling him out. 16 points on 24 shots, going 1-9 from the line? Ouch. I can’t remember the last time Kobe had a line that bad. But that’s not the story. The story is that Kobe played 37 minutes in this game despite his broken index finger and his stomach bug. That stomach bug meant he had to get IV fluids pre-game and at half-time. But he still played as hard as he possibly could because he’s Kobe Bryant. It was an odd thing to see, Kobe so… mortal. All he had was not enough this time. There were tons of missed jumpers and he was moving in slow motion, but he wanted to play and he believed he could help his team win. It wasn’t to be, as the Jazz won 102-94, but that’s alright. The Lakers aren’t hurting in the win department right now, at 18-4. It was just inspiring (and, at the very end, admittedly a bit sad) to see him out there when maybe no one else in the league would have been. Again, there is only one Kobe.

Okay, finally, Sunday! This day started out swimmingly for me as a Raptors fan. I had thought of getting tickets to see the Raps/Rockets matinee, as I love the way Houston plays and Toronto always seems to find a way to beat them at home, but I was scared off by the Raptors’ recent performances. This club has struggled mightily against good teams and, in my eyes, the Rockets are a good team. If Toronto was going to win, everyone on the team would have to bring the same energy they always get from All-OTN Team member Amir Johnson. Yesterday, that happened. The Rockets fell 101-88 and it was fantastic. The Raptors out-worked Houston, the team that out-works everyone. Hedo Turkoglu (23 pts, 6 reb, 5 ast) had his best game of the year and Jarrett Jack (17 pts, 8 reb, 8 ast) stepped up big-time in Jose Calderon’s absence. Sonny Weems was given minutes that had previously gone to Antoine Wright and Marco Belinelli and he made the most of them. 11 points and 4 rebounds in 30 minutes sounds okay, but what’s great is how he brought energy and defense and contributed where he could on offense. Wright is a solid defender, but his offensive decision-making has been very lacking this year. Belinelli is a great shooter, but he lacks the athleticism that makes Weems such a threat in the open court and such a nuisance for offensive players. I’m not saying Sonny has earned himself a permanent 6th man role based on one performance, but it was very encouraging. This, from a guy who played 55 minutes all of last season. On the Rockets’ end, I should mention the horrible day for Trevor Ariza and the great one for Carl Landry. Ariza lost his cool after starting the game 0-9 from the field. With his team down big, he swung his elbow at DeMar DeRozan after he coughed up the ball. It wasn’t close to connecting, and one has to wonder if he was actually *trying* to connect, but it was scary. He was tossed from the game immediately. Good news, there seems to be no bad blood between these two L.A. guys after the incident. Onto Landry: 25 points on 10-13 shooting, with 7 rebounds (6 offensive). And, again, I’m not surprised. If you’ve been following along since the season began, you’ll know how high I am on this guy. It was great to hear the Raptors’ announcers fawning over him last night; he deserved it. No Toronto player could deal with him down low. If his team had properly moved the ball and connected on more open shots, his effort could have been part of a winning effort, but today wasn’t Houston’s day. Thankfully.

Atlanta beat New Jersey by 27 yesterday and it went exactly how you might expect. New Jersey started off pretty well, keeping it close for the entire first quarter. Then, Atlanta separated itself. New Jersey has some talent at the top of its roster, but it’s really hard to stay close with teams when they go to their bench. I want to say New Jersey should have more wins right now, but look at who’s playing the minutes. Trenton Hassell and Josh Boone started last night and combined for 40 minutes. Rafer Alston shot 0-8 in his 23 minutes and yesterday was far form his first awful-shooting game this year. Bobby Simmons saw 21 minutes of action, Eduardo Najera 13, and Sean Williams 7. Terrence Williams ended up with some nice numbers, though, getting 18 points and 7 rebounds in Chris Douglas-Roberts’s absence. Atlanta is just too talented for New Jersey and that’s the way it’s going to be most nights. Brook Lopez and Devin Harris are great, but Courtney Lee should not be a third option (as much as I dig his game). Atlanta has no such depth problems. With Marvin Williams out, Mo Evans stepped into the starting lineup and kept up the hot shooting that we saw in the Toronto game. He shot 4-4 from downtown and finished with 22 points on 13 shots. Not bad at all. The strange part of this game was that the Nets actually didn’t shoot too porly – even with Alston going 0-8, they finished the game 44-87 from the field. That doesn’t matter when you can’t stop anybody or grab a rebound, though – Atlanta went 49-99 from the floor in this 130-107 victory.

Next up, Memphis vs. Miami. I saw the first half of this game and, just like the Atlanta/New Jersey game, didn’t really need to watch the second half. I might go back and watch the third quarter, though, as Rudy Gay put on a show. After an impressive first half where he scored 20 points, he exploded for 15 more in the third quarter that saw Memphis outscore Miami 31-18 to give them a 26-point lead before the beginning of the fourth. The final score? 118-90. Jeez. From what I saw in the first half, the Grizzlies made the Heat look old and slow. They pushed the ball at every opportunity and converted most of the time. Rudy Gay had an amazing reverse dunk on the break and, for the first time in my life, I saw Zach Randolph throw an alley-oop pass. It still boggles my mind how this team is playing. This is the last team I expected to come together as a team and play exciting ball. It’s great to watch, even though I’d have preferred Miami gave them more of a fight on this particular evening. Dwyane Wade did as much as he could in the half of action that I saw, matching Gay’s 20 points in the first half. He only scored 5 in the remainder of the game, though, finishing with 25 to Gay’s 41. He really needs his teammates to step up, though. When your second-leading scorer is Dorell Wright with 16, you’re not winning the game.

You remember what I said about the Bucks/Blazers game? Yeah, if you can watch the Thunder/Cavs game from last night I highly suggest you do that too. The Cavs’ dominant fourth quarter soured all of it a bit for me, but it’s still more than worth your time. You can see Kevin Durant looking like a true megastar in the first half, All-OTN Team member Serge Ibaka putting in a perfect 4-4 performance and making me proud by moving his feet so well on D, and… well… You can see the LeBron James Show. You can analyze this game from many angles, but no matter how you look at it LeBron won this one for his team. After eating a kid’s french fry in the second quarter, he had numerous consecutive highlight plays, including a vicious reverse dunk on the break, a deep three-pointer, and a chasedown block on Thabo Sefolosha. Still, the Thunder had the lead, which they kept for most of the third. With a minute and a half left in that 3rd Q., James scored 7 straight points and he added another three-pointer before the quarter was done. It’s amazing now looking at the boxscore and seeing that he went 5-8 from downtown because these threes weren’t regular threes. The majority were pull-ups from a few feet behind the line. This is an impressive shot to begin with, but, when LeBron hits it, it must make you feel helpless. He’s impossible to stop when going to the basket, so you have to give up the outside shots. Now, when he’s willingly launching them and they are dropping in perfectly? You’re screwed. I can’t fault Thabo or the Thunder for how they defended James last night; LBJ was just too good. As I said, though, the 4th was a bit of a bummer. Oklahoma City tried to match James’s heroics from downtown and didn’t have the same results – they went 1-8 from downtown in the quarter. Their other attempts were mostly 2-point jumpers. Rough. Still, they had a chance to win. They were down only 4 with just a little over 4 minutes left in the game when Mo Williams broke their hearts. Just as it seemed the Thunder had gotten an important stop, Mo drained a three from past halfcourt as the shot clock expired. The only word for this is deflating. The crowd was silenced and the Thunder saw the writing on the wall, losing their energy and failing to score for the next 3 and a half minutes. Watching the ball drop through the net and seeing the reactions from the young players on the Thunder killed me. Oh well. Still a nice effort in a great game, and these guys will have plenty of opportunities to get their revenge. Final score: 102-89, Cavs. But it felt much closer.

In the last game of the week, San Antonio went to the Staples Center to match up with the Clippers and came away with a convincing 115-90 win. Like the other blowouts, I only caught the first half. The Spurs had balanced scoring, with 21 from Duncan and 17 apiece from Manu and RJ. Rookie DeJuan Blair chipped in with 14 and 9 in just 17 minutes, as well. The Spurs dominated in the first Q., but the Clips ended the second on a run and cut the lead to 10 before San Antonio ran away with it in the 2nd half. Gotta say, the Spurs impressed me in the first half. I can’t say they had their Eff You moment, but I was encouraged with what I saw, even though it came against some kinda crappy Clipper defense. They spread the floor like the Spurs of old, they got contributions from everyone, and Manu looked kind of like the old Manu. Slower, I’ll give you that, but still deadly. We might have to get used to the fact that Ginobili will never be as explosive as he used to be, but he’s still got his smarts. He’s got his jump shot. He’s got his crazy ability to see angles other people don’t. There is still room for improvement here, but if he just plays like he did last night the Spurs are in pretty good shape. As for the Clippers, um, you have to hand it to Baron Davis for suiting up and coming off the bench despite a stomach ailment, but they didn’t play winning basketball on either end. I should also mention that Ricky Davis played 21 minutes. That was a bit weird.

We’ll finish this off with a few highlights:

An additional lucky break for Indiana against Washington:

My man Pops Mensah-Bonsu pleasing the home crowd with a nasty block:

Rudy Gay’s amazing reverse:

Mo’s dagger: