Joe Murphy/Getty Images

I’m really glad I didn’t end up going to the Raptors/Wolves game last night. I considered getting last-minute tickets to check out the classic uniforms and see Jonny Flynn’s first game in Toronto, but this was a League Pass Night. Armed with my remote, Twitter updates, and my new PVR, I was able to catch all of Raptors/Wolves, all of Bucks/Celtics, the 4th quarter and overtime of Cavs/Grizzlies, and the crazy finishes of Bulls/Nets and Kings/Hornets. Oh, and I’ve got Clippers/Magic recorded. My only regret: missing pretty much the entire Suns/Mavericks game, which is always a great matchup and last night featured Steve Nash scoring 8 of his 27 points in the final minute but still falling 102-101 to his buddy Dirk’s squad. Oh well.

The All-OTN Team

Will Bynum:

“I think what Will has done is solidify himself here as a one of our core guys going forward. He has cemented himself as one of the core members here. That’s how we look at him. We look at him as a long-term guy who’s going to grow with this team. Will was given an opportunity last year, when we signed him and brought him aboard, and he’s one of those kids that got the opportunity and he just grabbed it and took it and never let it go. He’s the poster child of when you get that opportunity, don’t let it slip. And he hasn’t. He hasn’t let it slip.” – Joe Dumars, who plans to re-sign Bynum at the end of the season.

Jared Dudley: 11 Pts (2-5 FG, 2-3 3PT, 5-6 FT), 3 Reb (1 Off), 1 TO, 2 PF in 29 mins.

Foul trouble led to Dudley entering the game early and he helped spearhead a 9-2 run to close out the first quarter. 11 points on 5 shots is not too shabby if you ask me – you have to like that he went 5-6 from the line. On this team, where he might be the 5th offensive option when he’s out there, getting to the line will really help bring his numbers up. But we know Jared Dudley isn’t about numbers. Unfortunate that his team couldn’t pull out a win in this battle, and he might have nightmares about being matched up with Dirk Nowitzki in the post, but this is still a fine night for Jared.

Amir Johnson: 2 Pts (0-1 FG, 2-2 FT), 7 Reb (4 Off), 2 Stl, 1 Blk, 2 PF in 13 mins.

Only 13 minutes for the second straight game, which isn’t helping the man’s stats. He still managed to get an impressive 7 rebounds in limited action, though. It was fun to watch him battle with Kevin Love for rebounds under the basket, but the Raptors decided to run with Bosh and Bargnani in the frontcourt for almost 40 minutes apiece because they needed scoring in the worst way.

Rookie Watch

DeMar DeRozan: 15 Pts (4-10 FG, 7-7 FT), 6 Reb (3 Off), 2 TO, 4 PF in 24 mins.

Another strong effort from DeRozan. He is being very aggressive on offense so that he can help the team even if his jumper isn’t falling. He had 7 quick points in the third quarter and you have to be impressed with those 7 made free throws and 3 offensive rebounds. I still think the Raps should make more of an effort to involve him on offense, but I have no complaints about where the high-flying rookie is right now.

Jonny Flynn: 17 Pts (6-14 FG, 2-4 3pt, 3-4 FT), 4 Reb, 8 Ast, 3 Stl, 3 TO, 2 PF in 32 mins.

A nice game from Flynn, with a large group of family and friends in attendance. He is looking more comfortable on the court now that coach Kurt Rambis has realized this roster is not right for the triangle offense. A few things stand out: his beautiful pass to Wayne Ellington on the break, his use of left-handed passes (a rare skill, as pointed out by Raptors colour commentator Leo Rautins), and his unfortunate turnover in crunch time that led to a Hedo Turkoglu dunk. Sorry I didn’t attend your first game in T.O., Jonny – I’ll be there next year.

Taj Gibson: 20 Pts (8-12 FG, 4-8 FT), 6 Reb (4 Off), 2 Ast, 3 Blk, 1 TO, 5 PF in 36 mins.

After being benched in favour of Brad Miller, Gibson posted a career-high in points and earned starters’ minutes. It’s nice to see 3 blocks from him, and the 4 offensive rebounds are huge. If he wants to become a legitimate starting 4 in this league, though, he’s going to have to get on the defensive glass. Still, great work from the 26th overall pick.

Tyreke Evans: 25 Pts (10-17 FG, 0-1 3PT, 5-8 FT)

This kid looks like a star right now. He scored 9 points in the last 2:02, getting to the basket at will and almost winning the game for the Kings by himself. He missed a potential game-tying shot with just a few seconds left, though, which set the stage for Andres Nocioni to miss the free throws required to extend the game. A great effort from the rookie, but his team fell 96-94 to a Hornets team that got 24 Pts/12 Reb from David West, 17 Pts/12 Reb from Emeka Okafor, and 15 Pts/12 Ast from Chris Paul.

Brandon Jennings: 17 Pts (7-19 FG, 0-4 3PT, 3-3 FT), 3 Reb (2 Off), 4 Ast, 4 TO, 5 PF in 39 mins.

As has been the theme with my favourite rookie as of late, there was some good and some bad here. The good? Jennings shot 7-12 inside of 12 feet. Celtics commentators Tom Heinsohn and Mike Gorman complimented his floater near the end of the 3rd quarter and it brought a smile to my face. The bad? His outside shot isn’t falling, he had as many turnovers as assists, and he had a very rough time trying to stay in front of Rajon Rondo. Methinks he’ll have an easier time and a better stat line against the Raptors tonight.

Fun With Stats

Free throws turned out to be extremely important last night in many strange ways. In the Raptors/Timberwolves game, Toronto found a way to go 40-48 from the line to counteract their awful shooting (26-81 FG, 2-21 3PT) from everywhere else. The Wolves shot 19-23 from the stripe, which is a great conversion rate, but with that kind of free throw disparity it is very hard to win games. In the Hornets/Kings game, both teams shot very poorly from the line – New Orleans finished 14-23 and Sacramento finished 9-19. Ew. In a game decided by 2 points, that is huge. Fitting that the game was decided when Andres Nocioni missed an essential free throw at the end. Conversely, both Phoenix and Dallas shot incredibly well in their game. The Suns went 25-25 and the Mavs went 20-23 in a game decided by only 1 point. Finally, in Los Angeles, Dwight Howard had an uncharacteristically decent night from the line on his 24th birthday, going 11-15. Clips coach Mike Dunleavy said, “If he was shooting free throws like he normally does, we would have been in the game.” Worth noting that Howard also finished with 7 blocks and 5 assists in this 97-86 victory.

In what has become one of the most frustrating storylines of the season for me, Ramon Sessions continues to waste away on the Timberwolves’ bench. Despite being effective in his limited playing time last night, he only saw the floor for 15 minutes. Seriously, Kurt, I understand that Flynn is your #1 point guard. I agree that it should be that way. But for God’s sake, play Sessions next to him. There is no way you can justify Corey Brewer, Damien Wilkins, and Wayne Ellington getting 27, 26, and 21 minutes respectively and ignoring Sessions, especially when you’re losing games.

LeBron James posted season highs in both points (43) and rebounds (13, 4 offensive) in 45 minutes of an overtime loss to the Grizzlies last night. You can knock the Cavs for reverting back to their predictable “LeBron Offense” when the going got tough, but it was effective. He scored Cleveland’s last 13 points. I’d quibble with the shot selection on some of the 11 threes he took, but it’s hard to criticize LeBron too much – it was a brilliant performance, even if his team came up short on the defensive end.

Gerald Wallace and Stephen Jackson scored 25 points apiece in a win over the suddenly-beatable Denver Nuggets. The two combined to shoot 16-35 from the field and 17-20 from the free-throw line. Wallace continues to somehow lead the entire league in rebounding, as he contributed 16 rebounds (5 offensive) as well. Captain Jack added 6 assists and both of them added solid defense. The Bobcats may not seem like a scary team, but I would NOT like to be an opposing wing player going up against these two.

Sophomores Brook Lopez (25 Pts, 10 Reb) and Derrick Rose (27 Pts, 7 Reb, 10 Ast) came through with big games last night. Both are playing their best ball of the season, as Lopez is a better basketball player when Devin Harris is on the court and Rose is a better basketball player when he’s, you know, healthy. The Nets squeaked out a victory when Harris converted with 15 seconds to go, countering the floater Rose had made on the previous possession. The Bulls’ last shot to take back the lead came in the form of a missed John Salmons 3-pointer, as they couldn’t find a way to get Mr. Rose the ball.

Impressive

O.J. Mayo: 28 Pts (10-18 FG, 3-4 3PT, 5-5 FT), 5 Reb (1 Off), 5 Ast, 1 Stl, 7 TO, 3 PF in 45 mins.

Zach Randolph: 32 Pts (10-19 FG, 1-1 3PT, 11-11 FT), 14 Reb (7 Off), 2 Ast, 4 Stl, 1 Blk, 1 TO, 4 PF in 47 mins.

Honestly, the whole Memphis team impresses me. The vast majority of the time, they play team basketball and they work on D, which is not at all what I expected of them after what I saw last year. Those Mayo/Randolph numbers are fantastic, but you have to also appreciate the work of Rudy Gay, who started the game 2-10 but still managed to finish with 21 points whilst chasing LeBron James around screens all night. Mike Conley finished with only 12 points in 39 minutes, but there were no bigger points in this game than his driving layup off of a hesitation move that froze Shaq with 3 seconds left in overtime. Huge win for the Grizzlies, who are gaining new fans with their surprisingly enjoyable play.

Jarrett Jack: 17 Pts (3-8 FG, 0-3 3PT, 11-12 FT), 7 Reb (1 Off), 8 Ast, 2 Stl, 2 TO, 4 PF in 37 mins.

Chris Bosh: 21 Pts (8-18 FG, 5-7 FT), 16 Reb (5 Off), 1 Ast, 1 Stl, 3 Blk, 2 TO, 1 PF in 38 mins.

These two college buddies were huge for the Raptors in this gritty win. Sure, Bosh’s line isn’t as nice as the ridiculous 25 Pt/12 Reb (7 Off) IN 22 MINUTES he posted the other night in Chicago, but it’s still damn good. I’m not sure if Bosh is getting the recognition he deserves this year – he’s having a legitimate MVP-level season and has a PER of 27.4. Raptors fans will be interested to know that Vince Carter’s highest PER with the Raptors was 25.0 in 2000-2001, which was the only time he came within 4 points of Bosh’s current rating. Jack did an admirable job starting in place of the sidelined Jose Calderon, making up for his poor outside shooting by getting to the line way more than a point guard is expected to. The 8 assists are nice, too, and the haters have mostly quieted down.

Andrew Bogut: 25 Pts (11-17 FG, 3-3 FT), 14 Reb (4 Off), 5 Ast, 1 Stl, 2 Blk, 7 TO, 2 PF in 39 mins.

Jeremy Schmidt of Bucksketball warned pre-game that Kendrick Perkins is precisely the type of defender that tends to give Bogut problems. And he did, sort of, causing the big Aussie to turn the ball over 7 times. But Bogut also was able to score very, very efficiently. The Bucks, as they usually do, made a concerted effort to feed him early and he delivered. He showed his diverse skill-set last night, scoring on hook shots, drives to the basket, turn-arounds, and lay-ups, using either hand. And I haven’t even mentioned how he protected the paint and defended the pick-and-roll. Another great performance against a fellow big man coming into his own. If the All-Star Game was tomorrow, Andrew Bogut would have to be backing up Dwight Howard at the 5-spot for the East. No doubt in my mind.

Kevin Garnett: 25 Pts (9-13 FG, 7-9 FT), 9 Reb (1 Off), 2 Stl, 2 TO, 4 PF in 33 mins.

Bogut wasn’t the only impressive big man in Boston last night. KG set the tone early with a dunk on the very first possession of the game. He showed no respect to Ersan Ilyasova on either end of the floor, despite the formerly-masked Turk’s best effort. His jump shot was falling and he was able to score inside a few times, too, looking more like the KG of old than he has all season long. He did a masterful job defending the pick-and-roll, which is no easy feat when it’s being run by Brandon Jennings and Andrew Bogut. Garnett’s antics are as annoying as ever (slapping the ball out of a rookie’s hands after a whistle, really?), but I very much respect how he produced for the Celtics last night.

Rajon Rondo: 11 Pts (3-9 FG, 0-2 3PT, 5-7 FT), 9 Reb (3 Off), 13 Ast, 5 Stl, 1 TO, 4 PF in 38 mins.

That looks like an old Jason Kidd line. What’s most impressive is that he was able to record this near-triple-double without scoring a single point in the first three quarters. This man is one of the very best all-around point guards in the game and he taught my guy Brandon a few lessons last night. Jennings struggled to stay in front of Rondo (like every point guard in the league does) and he was bothered by Rajon’s pesky defensive effort. Even though Garnett was superb, to my eyes the Celtics’ point man was the biggest reason they pulled away down the stretch and secured a win.

Quoted

“What I’ve been impressed with is the tempo that he plays at. Even though he’s quick, he doesn’t play quick all the time. He’s scoring but he’s keeping everybody involved. That’s a sign of maturity for a young player.” – Doc Rivers, on Brandon Jennings, pre-game.

“He’s the best Australian I’ve ever seen.” – Celtics play-by-play guy Mike Gorman, on Andrew Bogut.

Tweeted

@BothTeamsPlayed: There’s no possible way I could hate Nocioni more, but if you miss one of these and don’t force OT…..

Moments later…

@BothTeamsPlayed: No judge in America would convict a person for murdering Andres Nocioni. None.

@Adaye5: Watchin the MEN vs CLE game and watchin my boy @rudygay22 guard lebron and try to get through a thousand on-ball pick…JEEEEEZ

@statcenter: 4 NBA games tonight decided by 1 or 2 pts – and the team with the worse record coming in won all 4.

To Read

Discerning Morey’s Philosophy by Rahat Huq

The Art Of The Steal: How Trevor Ariza has become a passing pickpocket by Jason Friedman

The Importance of being Allen Iverson by David Aldridge

Get Well Soon, G.O. by Holly MacKenzie

To Watch

Devin Harris’s ridiculous buzzer-beating 3-pointer off of one foot:

The Birdman and a Frenchman have a block party in Charlotte:

One last look at Allen Iverson’s return to Philly, with a conversation between him and David Aldridge:

To listen

Kelly Dwyer talks to Rockets.com

Ben Golliver and Kevin Pelton discuss Greg Oden in the latest Dontonio Wingcast

Evan Gole/Getty Images

In yesterday’s recap, I said I “let myself down” by falling asleep and missing 4 hours of NBA action. Well, last night I fell asleep and missed one half of basketball. Just one half. But, ugh, when I was awoken with a phone call at about 1:30 AM and the broadcast was over, I positively hated myself. I stay in to watch basketball, always loving it, always hoping to see something amazing… and last night, although I was in, I was passed the hell out on my couch when amazing happened. There were numerous great performances last night and I’ll get to them all, but first let’s re-live the incredible ending of the Lakers/Heat game, the ending that I missed because I am a complete idiot:

Holy shit. Okay, let’s move on…

The All-OTN Team

Will Bynum: 12 Pts (2-8 FG, 0-2 3PT, 8-10 FT), 5 Reb, 5 Ast, 1 Stl, 1 PF, 4 TO in 29 mins.

Gotta focus on the 10 free throw attempts, here (although the 5/5 is nice too). I read an excellent Pistons breakdown on Bucksketball the other day, where Jeremy Schmidt pointed out that Bynum averages four attempts at the rim per game. Beyond that simply seeming impossible for sub-6-footer playing less than 30 minutes a game, this is just so valuable to a team. Penetrating the D and making the opposition shift is one of the most important parts of basketball and Bynum is able to do that extremely well at the NBA level. He can get himself all the way to the basket seemingly by sheer will-power (oh man, no pun intended – seriously) and draw fouls if he can’t convert. Terrific skill to have for a “backup” point guard.

Shannon Brown: 2 Pts (1-5 FG, 0-2 3PT), 2 Reb, 1 Ast, 2 PF, 1 TO in 15 mins.

I don’t have much on Shannon from last night, but should point out that he spent a bit of time guarding Dwyane Wade during Flash’s quiet first half. Also, check out his reaction to Kobe’s buzzer-beater:

Jeff Gross/Getty Images

Amir Johnson: 4 Pts (1-2 FG, 2-2 FT), 3 Reb, 1 Stl, 5 PF, 2 TO in 17 mins.

Funny how a guy who deservedly has a bad reputation for fouling ends up saving a game for his team by avoiding contact. After having picked up 5 fouls in 17 minutes of action, Amir was able to use a bit of “trickery” to fool Gilbert Arenas on the final play of OT. As Gilbert went to the basket, he was focusing on drawing contact rather than putting the ball in the hole. When Amir got out of the way, Gil was unable to convert. Check out Amir talking about the play, post-game:

Serge Ibaka: 6 Pts (3-5 FG, 0-1 FT), 2 Reb, 1 Stl, 1 Blk, 1 TO, 2 PF in 23 mins.

The numbers won’t blow you away, but this nasty block will:

Rookie Watch

DeMar DeRozan: 16 Pts (6-10 FG, 0-1 3PT, 4-5 FT), 2 Reb, 1 Ast, 4 PF in 27 mins.

So proud of DeRozan last night. The first half was something special. Building on what we have seen before, he made aggressive move after aggressive move on offense, putting pressure on Washington’s weak D. He scored 16 points in his first 16 minutes, including these three beauties:

It’s just a shame he didn’t add much in the second half. I wanted to see him come back in the game down the stretch, but it’s hard for me to complain too loudly when his team came away with the overtime win.

Wesley Matthews: 18 Pts (7-13 FG, 2-7 3PT, 2-3 FT), 5 Reb (2 Off), 1 Ast, 2 Stl, 1 Blk, 1 TO, 5 PF in 35 mins.

Matthews was absolutely huge for the Jazz in this game, which ended up being closer than it should have been after Utah started the game up 22-3 on Indy. The Pacers were killing it in the 2nd quarter, but this rook converted a 3-point play with 37 seconds left in the half and followed it up with a three-pointer to beat the shot-clock with just 3 seconds remaining to keep the lead at 13. He continued his solid play on both ends of the floor down the stretch. The 18 points were a career-high and his defense on Danny Granger was fantastic. No Jazz player was bigger besides Carlos Boozer, who finished with 35 and 13 in this 96-87 victory.

Taj Gibson: 14 Pts (7-14 FG, 0-2 FT), 13 Reb (4 Off), 1 Stl, 5 PF in 36 mins.

This is the first double-double of Taj Gibson’s career and I’m actually surprised it hasn’t come sooner. The guy plays with a ton of hustle and you have to dig that. As the 26th pick in the draft he was definitely not supposed to be starting for the Bulls, but he has done a more than admirable job all year considering the circumstances. Of course, you’d like him to get to the foul line more often, but, again, this is a late first-round pick giving his all. Appreciate this guy, even if you’re still bitter about the whole DeJuan Blair thing.

Brandon Jennings: 15 Pts (6-20 FG, 3-10 3PT), 5 Reb, 8 Ast, 1 Stl, 1 Blk, 1 TO, 2 PF in 38 mins.

Damn. Another poor shooting night for Brandon. I can get behind the 8 assists and 5 rebounds, though. Here’s the frustrated rook on Twitter, down on himself after this 105-96 loss on the road.

You just feel his frustration, don’t you? But here’s what I love about Twitter: two of my very favourite players in the league telling the star rookie to keep shooting:

Jonas Jerebko: 16 Pts (5-9 FG, 0-1 3PT, 6-7 FT), 7 Reb (2 Off), 3 Ast, 1 Blk, 1 TO, 2 PF in 27 mins.

This is the first time this Swede has been mentioned in my Rookie Watch but it won’t be the last. He is definitely an All-OTN-type player, doing all the little things that help you win games. He’s only 22, but he contributes on both sides of the floor. Always great to see that in a rookie. You have to read Brian Spencer’s piece on him for Empty The Bench and check out this quote from his coach last night:

“Jonas has emerged as one of the best rookies in this league—he is really expanding his game. He was huge.” – John Kuester

Before I move on, I should mention that he hit a key jumper with less than 2 minutes to play to put his team up by 9. Fantastic when a rookie helps to secure a victory like that.

Fun With Stats

For this night, I’m going to examine a few pairs of players who came through in big ways.

Kobe Bryant: 33 Pts (12-25 FG, 2-3 3PT, 7-8 FT), 7 Reb (3 Off), 3 Ast, 3 Stl, 2 TO, 5 PF in 42 mins.
Dwyane Wade: 26 Pts (7-21 FG, 0-1 3PT, 12-18 FT), 7 Reb (2 Off), 9 Ast, 2 Blk, 2 TO, 4 PF in 41 mins.

Those lines aren’t important – these are superstars, you expect numbers. What’s important here is the battle these two had in the 4th quarter. Kobe had 17 in the final frame and Wade had 12, including 9 in the final two minutes. As you know, though, Kob’ had the last laugh with his impossible game-winner after Dwyane missed a free throw.

Brook Lopez: 31 Pts (12-22 FG, 7-7 FT), 14 Reb (6 Off), 2 Ast, 2 Blk, 2 TO, 3 PF in 40 mins.
Courtney Lee: 27 Pts (11-16 FG, 3-4 3PT, 2-4 FT), 4 Reb, 1 Ast, 3 Stl, 1 Blk, 0 TO, 5 PF in 33 mins.

Amazing numbers there, but the most important numbers are here: 1-18. Yes. FINALLY. The Nets have erased that 0 from the win column. It took enormous efforts from these two sophomores to get it done, but they finally got it done. Thank God Courtney Lee is finally starting and thank God Stephen Jackson’s clutch three-point shooting wasn’t enough for the Bobcats to avoid the 97-91 defeat. On this night, the whole NBA world was rooting for the Nets and they came through. Such a relief.

Al Harrington: 27 Pts (11-17 FG, 4-8 3PT, 1-4 FT), 5 Reb (2 Off), 1 Ast, 1 Stl, 3 TO, 4 PF in 39 mins.
Chris Duhon: 25 Pts (10-16 FG, 4-8 3PT, 1-2 FT), 4 Reb, 10 Ast, 1 Stl, 0 TO, 1 PF in 36 mins.

Look at that efficiency! BY FAR the best performances from these two guys this year. Knicks fans have been used to these two clanging threes, but on this night they went in. Harrington took it to his former team in Danilo Gallinari’s absence and Duhon thoroughly outplayed Mike Bibby. I bet you didn’t expect the Knicks to beat the Hawks by 7 on the road, but it happened: 114-107.

Zach Randolph: 24 Pts (11-20 FG, 2-2 FT), 15 Reb (9 Off), 3 Ast, 3 TO, 3 PF in 39 mins.
O.J. Mayo: 25 Pts (10-16 FG, 5-8 3PT), 4 Reb (1 Off), 1 Ast, 2 Stl, 2 TO, 0 PF in 40 mins.

I bet you didn’t expect the Grizzlies to beat Dallas by 16, either, but you should know that Dallas has now lost 3 straight games in Memphis. The Mavs couldn’t match the Grizzlies’ energy and they let Randolph and Mayo completely school them on the offensive end. Knock their low assist totals if you like, but these guys can flat-out put the ball in the hole and that helped their team get a 98-82 win on this night.

Impressive

I’ll continue with another pair of players here – these two faced off against each other as they returned from injuries:

Chris Paul:16 Pts (6-13 FG, 1-3 3PT, 3-3 FT), 6 Reb, 15 Ast, 8 (!!!) Stl, 1 Blk, 3 TO, 3 PF in 38 mins
Kevin Love:11 Pts (3-7 FG, 2-3 3PT, 3-4 FT), 11 Reb (3 Off), 3 Ast, 2 Stl, 2 TO, 3 PF in 24 mins.

Woooooow. 8 steals for Paul? 11 rebounds in 24 minutes for Love? It’s amazing how these guys can come back and be seemingly without rust. Don’t expect them to put up these performances every night from now on, but appreciate what they did last night. Paul completely dominated the game en route to a 98-89 Hornets win, and Love showed off the three-point stroke he worked on this summer. I am so very much looking forward to watching these two play for the rest of this year.

Now, the most impressive player of the night for me (aside from Kobe, obviously). This guy showed the heart and determination his team desperately needed in a winning effort:

Chris Bosh: 31 Pts (13-25 FG, 0-2 3PT, 5-8 FT), 16 Reb (9 Off), 4 Ast, 2 Blk, 2 TO, 2 PF in 41 mins.

His work in the 4th quarter was breathtaking: 13 points and 6 boards, with 5 of them coming on the offensive glass. He made timely, difficult plays and bailed the Raptors out when nothing else was working. Hedo Turkoglu ended up making the game-winning shot in overtime, but it was Bosh who kept the team alive and put them in a position to win. Raptors fans have been seeing these amazing performances from him all season, so it’s a shame the team only has 8 wins. Really hoping the team can string a few wins together here and it’s not just because I’m from Toronto. It’d just be a shame to waste an MVP-level season from this young power forward.

Quoted

“Chris Bosh is a man possessed right now.” – Raptors colour commentator Jack Armstrong, during the 4th quarter I just mentioned.

“It’s just one at the end of the day. It’s one win. We wanted it to get it out of the way. It means a lot. We did it. We can’t be satisfied with it. We’ve got to move forward and put something together.” – Chris-Douglas Roberts, after the Nets defeated the Bobcats.

“That’s Black Mamba. I knew he was gonna make it.” – Ron Artest, on Kobe’s game-winner.

Tweeted

I’m just going to go with a string of Kobe-related tweets today.

@RobMahoney: For everyone who doesn’t think it’s worth it to stay in on a Friday night to watch the NBA…you just missed something special from Kobe.

@offseasonblog: !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

@seanfrancois: KOBE! wow…#ShouldWeHaveExpectedAnythingLess?

@kpelton: Are you kidding me? #wherekobehappens

@jalenrose: Lakers Kobe for 3…of the wrong foot for the Win vs heat…best clutch in the NBA…insane!

@Nat77: wow… That was a ridiculous shot! you can’t help but love this game when you get moments like that from legends like Kobe

@AndreHoops: You watched it for 2-plus hours like I did. It’s not about hate, it’s about excellence. Appreciate THE best player n the NBA 2day. Thx Kobe.

@stackmack: I just lost my mind. Totally just lost my mind. Holy freaking Wow.

@outsidethenba: fjsad;klj;sakljls I didn’t see Kobe. Didn’t see anything. FUCK.

To Watch

An unfortunate series of events for rookie Sam Young:

Jeff Green hammering home the reverse before the Celts took over to win 105-87 :

LeBron James and Joakim Noah exchange words during the Cavs’ 101-87 victory over the Bulls:

Some long-overdue joy in New Jersey:

The newest 76er talking to his college coach, John Thompson:

To Read

The best piece I’ve ever read on future #1 pick John Wall.

Part One and Part Two of Chip Crain’s interview with Grizz owner Michael Heisley.

Some words on Allen Iverson from Eric Snow, Holly MacKenzie, and Dei Lynam.

To Listen

Kelly Dwyer on Lakers.com

The latest FreeDarko Presents: The Disciples of Clyde NBA Podcast

The latest Chronicles of Crotty