…because I actually have a job now… a real job, not writing this blog. It’s at a restaurant, so let me practice real quick… Ehem: May I start you off with one of my favorite videos of all-time? It has nothing to do with anything, but it’s a personal favorite of mine…
Random Observations:
- Highlight Recap: You know it’s a promising countdown when a contested alley-oop jam by DeAndre Jordan is number 1o…
- If that isn’t the best top plays video so far this year… it’s got to be one of them. I even liked one of the comments by the super-lame narrator: ”Rarer than a hair-nosed wombat” on DeMarcus Cousins’ crossover. Relative to some of the crap that comes out of his mouth, that’s absolutely hilarious. What the hell is a hair-nosed wombat, anyway? According to Google it’s this little fella. Cute.
- The Chicago Bulls pulled off a huge come-from-ahead loss in Atlanta, 83-80. I really liked this game because it can be effectively summed up in video form, as all of the key moments seemed to be highlight plays. Check it out: Derrick Rose got the Bulls off to a quick start, putting them up 10-0 with the following smash…
- The Bulls would lead by as many as 19 in the game, and by five entering the fourth quarter. With ATL down three at the 2:35 mark, Marvin Williams made a definitive defensive stand above the iron…
- Al Horford was inspired by the high-flying action and decided to take matters into his own hands. He would give his Hawks an 81-80 lead with 30 seconds left…
- Finally, with the Bulls in position to take the lead back, the Hawks stole the ball. Joe Johnson took it to the other end for a rare slam, giving Atlanta the 83-80 advantage (final score)…
- Yeah, that’s my kind of basketball game! Close, and defined by four above-the-rim plays… doesn’t get much more exciting than that. Al Horford’s clutch dunk accounted for just two of his 31 points… on top of which he piled 16 rebounds. Derrick Rose had a terrible 5-21 shooting night (0-6 on threes). Unlike the Hawks, who had one player get things going, no one really did much in the scoring department for the Bulls. Luol Deng was the team leader in points with 15. They turned the ball over 16 times resulting in 18 points (double the amount that ATL allowed off of TOs).
- The Boston Celtics had their biggest offensive night since bringing in Jeff Green and Nenad Krstic, although they did it at home against the Suns, so I’m not sure how meaningful their 115 points really were. Fifty-two of ‘em were scored in the paint along with 24 on the break… Phoenix basically layed out the red carpet and allowed the Cs to take it straight to the bucket. Led by KG’s 28 points on 12-14, Boston shot 53.7 percent from the floor… good thing, because they clunked 11 of 24 freethrows. Jeff Green had just six points… he’s still yet to find his place with his new squad. Nenad Krstic, on the other hand, is playing awesome. He dropped another 14 points. As for Phoenix, they scored 103… but that was obviously 13 too few. They were hot from outside (12-23), but not even that could keep them in a game where they put up about as much resistance as… I don’t know, something that never resists. I’m drawing a blank here. I’ll let you as the reader play fill in the blank with that one.
- Well this pretty much sums up the season of the 2010/11 Detroit Pistons: they’ve been swept in their season series with the Minnesota Timberwolves. They–along with the Cavaliers and the Hornets–are the only teams to lose twice to Minnesota. Speaking of the Hornets… if you didn’t already realize yet that they’re nothing but pretenders, I think that little nugget should be all you need. Detroit lost this one by 11, 116-105. Kevin Love now has more double-doubles than this guy has Pokemon cards. He got his 48th in a row with a 20/20 effort on 7-13 from the field. In far more surprising double-double news, Anthony Randolph got his first one… I imagine since he was a Golden State Warrior with his 19/10.
- LaMarcus Aldridge hasn’t been playing his best ball these days, and the Portland Blazers have dropped three of their last five (tough competition lately). LaMarcus had another rough night with 20 points on 9-27, but his team got a much-needed break in the schedule and were able to edge the Kings anyway, 107-102, at the……..Power Balance Pavillion? Apparently that’s what they’re calling Arco Arena these days. Don’t believe me? Check the floor, it says so. And I thought TD Banknorth Garden was as bad as it gets… anyway, Wes Matthews led the Blazers with 21. Marcus Thornton continues to thrive in his new purple outfit… he dropped 26 off the bench. I believe he’s doing over 20 PPG since he joined the Queens.
- Eric Gordon makes his return and the Clippers look half-decent again. I’m not a bit surprised. Gordon scored 24 points (his average) in his first game back since hurting his wrist in late January as the Clipps picked up a 106-103 win over the Rockets. Mo Williams looked pretty damn good with 17 points and 11 assists, and Blake Griffin did his thing with 20/14. Chris Kaveman had his best game of the season with 21 points and nine boards. LA’s frontcourt DESTROYED Houston’s in the game (which kind of surprised me, because it was the other way around last time). Chuck Hayes was ineffective against Griffin, DeAndre Jordan shut Scola down while he grabbed 16 boards and swatted shots like it was volley ball, and–like I said–there was a rare Chris Kaveman sighting. As for Houston… Kyle Lowry and Courtney Lee played well offensively, but Kevin Martin had a bad game (4-15). Despite a late-game rally which included some timely threes, they couldn’t quite get over the hump.
- The Other Games: San Antonio got back to their winning ways… 109-99 over the Cavs. Samardo Samuels, who is simply a goofy looking bastard and not a very good NBA player, somehow managed to score 23 points and grab 10 boards. Stephen Curry did 29 points in a 106-102 GSW victory over the Wizards. Nick Young had 31 in a losing effort. Carmelo Anthony and Amare Stoudemire (and Toney Douglas!) all scored 20+ as the Knicks beat the Hornets by 19, 107-88. Chris Paul is putting up some pretty lame numbers these days… he scored just four points in this one. Nazr Mohammed scored eight points and grabbed seven boards in his Thunder debut, which was a 113-89 stomping of the Pace Makers. Everyone played like crap for Indiana… they went 28-82 from the field. You know it’s a blowout when Matt Carroll comes off the bench and drops 19… but who won, Charlotte or Denver? It was Matt’s team (Charlotte, since there’s no reason you would know that) on the losing end of the 120-80 final score. Seven Nuggets recorded double figures.
Quote of the Day: Byron Scott keeps it admirably simple…
“Our guys fought and played hard, but that team is just way too good.”
Way to tell the truth, Byron!
Photo of the Day: What are the odds that Kwame actually caught this pass?
I’m going to go with slim to none… although Kwame has played pretty well this year. Seriously, he has. It’s easy to make fun of the guy, but I’ve got to give credit where credit is due: any team should want this guy as a backup center. He’s one of the better (and cheaper) options the league has to offer.
