A couple days ago (I forget exactly when it was) I kind of gave Samardo the business after he posted a nice 20/10 line. I basically stated that I was wondering how in the hell Samardo Samuels goes and puts up those kind of numbers, as if he had no business doing so. Well I take it all back because it turns out Samardo is actually pretty sick… at least he was last night. He was lookin’ like a young Shaq against NY’s frontcourt on a few occasions:
I’m honestly not sure if that says more about Samardo or the Knicks’ big men, but either way those were some nasty power slams. Also, don’t forget about the game-clinching charge he took on Carmelo to help the Cavs beat the Knicks for the third time this season:
Yup, he kind of owned the Knicks with 15 points and and nine boards on 5-9. Amare dropped 41 on the other end, but hey, he lost so whatever. Anywho, My appologies for dissing you, Samardo, it won’t happen again. I stand by what I said about you being a goofy looking bastard, though. Speaking of appologies, I think Melo also owes Samardo one (via Yahoo!)…
“It’s a tough loss. I really don’t want to say it’s embarrassing, but it is a tough loss … knowing how important it is to take care of home court,” said Anthony, who had to ask the name of Cleveland’s Samardo Samuels, who took the crucial charge from him. “To lose to them guys tonight, it’s a tough one to fathom.”
Random Observations:
- Highlight Recap: LeBron with a 360 layup. Baron Davis tosses a lob to JJ Hickson. Iggy swats Kevin Love. Dorell Wright up-and-under circus shot. Jeff Green does the same thing. Ray Allen alley-oops to KG. Thad Young tells Anthony Randolph to take the weak stuff back to Minnesota. Landry Fields goes baseline and throws it down. Kris Humpries denies James Johnson. Last but not least, my main man Sonny Weems either tripped over Hump’s leg or had his ankles completely destroyed…
- So as you now know, the Knicks have dropped yet another game to the Cavs, their third this season. I’d say this loss is a little worse than the others seeing as Cleveland doesn’t even have Jamison or Varejao, it was at The Garden, Amare Stoudemire scored 41, and Carmelo Anthony had called it a “revenge game.” So much for that. The Knicks actually appeared to be well on their way to picking up a victory midway through the fourth. They led by 12 at the 6:58 mark, but they had completely blown said lead just three and a half minutes later. From that 6:58 mark through the finish the Cavs went on a 27-11 run which resulted in a 119-115 victory. Baron Davis (who chose to wear #85 to represent the number of pounds overweight he tends to be upon arrival at training camp) and JJ Hickson combined to score 18 of those final 27 points. Hickson led the Cavs with 23, and Baron scored 18 in 26 minutes off the bench. It was a Miami-Heat-like three-man show for the Knickerbockers… Amare/Melo/Fields accounted for 87 of their 115 points.
- The Knicks weren’t the only team which took an ugly L last night: Miami took their ugliest of the season, 95-125 to San Antonio. I’m officially concerned about the Heat. Not only are they looking bad lately, they’ve looked bad in most of their games against the good competition all season long… therefore I can’t really call this a slump. Of course they’re going to run off ten-game win streaks when they’re playing the Wizards or the Nets every night. It does mean something to consistently beat the teams you’re supposed to beat (Ehem, KNICKS), but they are yet to show an ability to beat the top competition, which is even more important. According to my count (which could be a little off, I did it kind of fast), Miami is 4-10 against the top four teams in each conference. They’re yet to beat the Boston Celtics, who will likely be their ECF opponents (if they make it that far). They did kick the sh!t out of the Lakers on Christmas Day, but the Lakers were playing like garbage at that point. These guys have done little to nothing to make me confident that they can win the big games. LeBron James still doesn’t think I should be worried (via Yahoo!)…
“We’re still a confident bunch,” James said. “We know it’s a tough stretch for us right now. We lost three games in a row, but I feel like all it takes is one win.”
- Well when is that one win going to come, LeBron? It’s March, and you guys are running out of time to get it together for this season’s playoff run. Anyway, back to last night’s game… Tony Parker came back early from injury and looked fine with 15 points and eight dishes. Seven other Spurs also scored in double figures as they shot 56 percent as a team and knocked down 17 of 28 threes. San Antonio led 36 to 12 at the end of the first, by 12 at the half, and by 22 at the end of three. It was never close.
- Orlando lived by the three in their amazing comeback over the Heat, but they died by it in last night’s 89-81 loss to Chicago, going just 6-23. Dwight Howard took just eight shots… he made all eight of them as he scored 20 points and grabbed 10 boards. His shot total is a little misleading because he also shot 12 freethrows (eight of which he bricked). He turned the ball over seven times as well… certainly not his best night ever. Derrick Rose led the Bulls with 24 on 9-20 (he had 5 TOs of his own, though). neither team shot particularly well in this game, but the Bulls came up with 17 offensive boards. Omer Asik got dunked on BAD (see POTD), but he had a pretty nice game against Dwight with five points (on just three shots), 13 boards, and a pair of swats.
- It took half of Charlotte’s roster being shipped all over the league, but the Lakers finally picked up a W over the Bobcats (92-84). LA used their size to build a 29-19 lead at the end of one (15 of those points came in the paint), and they never trailed from that point on. Kobe dropped 27 points on 25 shots (both teams shot poorly), and Pau Gasol did 20/10 on 8-14.
- Jeff Green had his first really good game as a Celtic with 21 points off the bench in Boston’s 107-103 win over the Warriors. Green made 8 of his 11 shots in just uner 28 minutes of action. Nenad Krstic continues to look like an excellent addition… he scored 11 points and and grabbed six boards. Monta Ellis single-handedly kept Golden State in this game with 28 second-half points (41 in the game). Paul Pierce and Ray Allen led Boston with 27 points each. Tory Murphy looked rather rusty in his debut, but I think he’ll be fine.
- The Nets defeated the Raptors 116-103 in the NBA’s first ever regular season game to be played in Europe. I feel bad for the people of London… is this really the best matchup the NBA could give them? They could’ve at least sent some mediocre yet very watchable teams like the Pacers or the Grizzlies or something. Hell, send the Clippers. Anyway, DeMaR DeRoZaN was not phased by the unfamiliar surroundings… he scored a gam-high 30 on 12-19. Brook Lopez led the Nets with 25. Apparently rebounding doesn’t work any different overseas; he grabbed just two boards. Kris Humphries posted a monster 18-point, 17-board double-double. This was Deron Williams’ first win since the firing of Jerry Sloan. He had lost seven games in a row with the Jazz and Nets. After the game, he expressed happiness to have played in front of a crowd (not something that happens often in New Jersey): “I thought the crowd tonight was great, they cheered for both teams pretty equally. When both teams did something good out there, they liked it. And I hope this is just the start of many, many more games.”
- The Other Games: Kevin Love did 21/23 in a 100-111 loss to the Sixers. Andre Iguodala recorded a 21/10/13 triple-double. Kevin Durant, who was listed as doubtful for this game, scored 29 points in OKC’s 111-104 win over Atlanta. Kirk Hinrich dropped 21 for the Hawks. Chris Paul did 23/14 and the Hornets got 50 points off their bench in a 98-91 win over the Grizzlies. Zach Randolph did what Zach Randolph does (20/11). Dirk Nowitzki dropped 29 as the Mavs beat the Pacers 116-108 for their 8th win in a row. Lastly, Phoenix beat Milwaukee 102-88. They were led by 40 combined points from Mickael Pietrus and Channing Frye.
Quote of the Day: Tyreke Evans doesn’t know who Sergio Rodriguez is…
…which wouldn’t be a big deal had Tyreke not been a teammate of Sergio’s just a season ago. Hopefully he’s kidding, although it wouldn’t surprise me if he isn’t. I really like Tyreke as a basketball player, but he’s never struck me as the sharpest tool in the shed.
Photo of the Day:
Nice hustle, but it looks like that ball touched the line.
