The Jazz emphatically answered “NO”, but they got a super-sized order anyway. Goddamn drive thrus, they can never get it right. Good thing I quit eating fast food almost a year ago… no more mystery meals. Well, Utah, look at the bright side: at least your order wasn’t cold. Frye was smoking upon delivery… he scored 19 first-quarter points on 5-5 shooting (four threes). As Fryes normally do, he cooled off a bit (missed four threes in a row) as time went on, but got re-heated down the stretch and finished up with 31 points on 12-16 (6-10 threes). Ok… now I’m hungry.
Random Observations:
- Highlight Recap, Dunk the Goddamn Ball, Lebron Edition:
- Highlight Recap, Everything Else Edition: Rudy Gay doesn’t need two hands to sink a freethrow. Serge Ibaka wants a no-poster day. LeBron alley-oops to himself, but the finish was a tad sloppy. I don’t think any of the other plays need a special mention… here’s the top 10.
- The Suns simply don’t want Tyrone Corbin to get that first win as a head coach. Thanks to a 20/14 double-double from Steve Nash and Channing Frye’s aforementioned explosion, Phoenix was able to come from behind and beat the Jazz 102-101. This is the second time in five nights that the Suns have topped the Jazz, and since they’re the only team Utah has played since firing Jerry Sloan, that puts the musicians at 0-2 in the Ty Corbin era. Al Jefferson was actually the game’s leading scorer with 32 points, but he didn’t get a whole helluva lot of help. With injuries to Bell, Okur, and Kirilenko, Utah’s bench was depleted. Their reserves were outscored 29-17. CJ Miles, who scored 19, is usually their main punch off the pine… and they’ve really struggled without him heading up that reserve unit.
- Dwyane, LeBron, and Chris scored 90 points in Indiana, just 14 fewer than they needed to win the game. The rest of the squad came through and dropped 20, resulting in a 110-103 victory. I find it funny that Wade (41), James (27), and Bosh (22) each scored more points on their own than the rest of the team did combined. I’m not about to write Miami off… that would be foolish, they’re one of the best teams in the league… but I do feel like they should do whatever they can to adress their lack of depth. I don’t care how good a player is, no one has a good game every night. Miami doesn’t have enough players who can step up in big games to allow Wade, LeBron, or Bosh to have an off night against a great opponent, which could prove to be a fatal flaw. A few more stats from last night’s game: Danny Granger, Darren Collison, and Mike Dunleavy collaborated on some 8-30 masonry out in the field. Indiana’s eight made triples, double Miami’s total, is what kept the score close.
- DeMarcus Cousins has returned from the suspension he received for smacking Donte Greene, and he showed no rust as he put 21/13 on the Thunder… but the Kings were trounced in Oklahoma… by 30 points. 126-96, to be specific. Yikes. OKC’s major statistical edges were in FG%, points on the break, and three-pointers made. KD and company outshot the Queens by 10 percent, outscored ’em by 10 (28-18) on the run, and bopped six more triples (8-2). The 126 points were distributed amongst 11 players, 6 of whom scored in double figures. Daequan Cook was the team leader with 20… he was responsible for five of those eight triples I mentioned.
- The other games: The Bulls got 24 from Luol Deng and 18/13 from D-Rose as they defeated the Bobcats 106-94. Gerald Henderson had another good game with 22 off the bench for the ‘Cats. Paul Silas is no longer an interim coach… the Kitties extended him for a year. Z-Bo dropped a 20/10 and Mike Conley knocked down a couple big threes (lucky bastard banked one of ‘em) on his way to 22 points in a 102-91 Grizzly win over the Sixers. No Hornet managed more than 15 points as New Orleans lost to the Warriors 102-89. How does no one go for 20+ on the Dubs? How does a team score just 89 points? The box score has me all befuddled.
Quote of the Day: Frank Vogel, who’s name is very funny to me, on his Pacers…
This is a paraphrase of what I heard on NBAtv. Unfortunately I can’t remember exactly what he said, but you’ll get the gist of it…
“When we make the playoffs, the top seeds will not want to see us.”
It was a lot longer than that, but I’d call that the thesis. Does anyone else think of bagels every time they hear “Vogel”? I do. Uh, anyway, Frank has quickly developed quite a bit of confidence in his young ballers. His team is currently in eighth, and I do believe they’ll make it to the postseason… it’s looking like it’s either them or the Bobcats, who would be a shoe-in if they played the Lakers 10 or 15 times. A top three seed should fear the Pacers, though? Nah, dude. Get the brooms out.
Photo of the Day:
