The Milwaukee Bucks did all of the following in their depressing loss to the New York Knicks: shoot 36.5% from the floor, total 80 points (28 in the second half), commit 19 turnovers, brick 6 of 18 free throws, and foul 28 times. Do any one of those things and it’ll be tough to win a game. Do all five of them? Forget about it. The Knicks were missing Amare Stoudemire and Jeremy Lin, and they didn’t play particularly well either (89 points, 35% from the floor, 23 turnovers, 7-31 from three)… but they did manage to do some good things in a game that was almost all bad. First of all, credit the Knicks for defending aggressively right out of the gate. They sent doubles at ball handlers early and forced five Bucks turnovers in the opening six minutes. Could the Deer have avoided these TOs had they been a little more composed? I believe a good portion of them can be credited, in part, to their own carelessness, but I’m still going to give New York credit for capitalizing on their sloppy play. In addition to the scrappy D, the Knicks did one thing right at the offensive end: they gave the ball to Carmelo and got the hell out of his way. Anthony scored 28 points as he went 8-20–a solid shooting performance on this game’s standards–and worked his way to the line 12 times. He had a big third quarter and remained a consistent threat throughout the game. This, to me, was key. Mike Dunleavy dropped 26 for the Bucks, but 14 of them came in a span of something like four or five minutes in the second quarter. His hot streak resulted in a Milwaukee lead, but he wasn’t able to sustain the production (just 2 points in the second half). As Brandon Jennings and Monta Ellis struggled all night long (combined to go 8-36), Carmelo was putting the ball in the basket at a respectable clip. In an ugly game like this it helps to have a guy who can find a way to score the ball, even if he doesn’t do it with the utmost efficiency. Carmelo was that guy in this game, and he deserves a great deal of credit.
The Knicks now lead the Bucks by 2.5 games in the race for the 8th seed. They’ve got some long-term issues to deal with down the stretch, though. Amare Stoudemire is out “indefinitely” with a bulging disc, and Carmelo Anthony aggravated his groin yesterday. That’s not to mention Jeremy Lin’s sore left knee, Jared Jeffries’ inflamed right knee, or Tyson Chandler’s nagging wrist injury. Chandler has been playing through the pain, and Lin will probably play on Wednesday, but it’s a possibility that the Knicks could be without Anthony. They will certainly be without Stoudemire and Jeffries. With a tough upcoming schedule (10 of their remaining 16 are against playoff teams, and 9 of 16 are on the road), this could present a problem.
The Bucks have won exactly three games against .500+ teams since February 1st. Lucky for them, over half of their remaining games will be against sub-.500 squads. They’ve won 10 of their last 11 against that level of competition. So, although last night’s loss definitely stings, it isn’t quite the end of their season. I think it may be the end of me caring that it isn’t the end of their season, though. Considering the importance of the games, Milwaukee’s recent showings against Boston and New York are two of the worst I’ve seen from any team all season long. I’m not even a real Bucks fan and I was f@cking disappointed. I can only imagine how folks in Wisconsin must feel.
DeMarcus Cousins scored a career-high 38 points against the Houston Rockets, but it was his former Wildcat teammate Patrick Patterson who scored 12 Rocket points in the fourth quarter and hit the jumper that sent the game to overtime. Patterson added two more in OT as he finished with a team-high 24 points off the bench. Goran Dragic had another great game as well with 14 points and 10 assists. As you’re about to see, he initiated just about all of the action for Houston down the stretch, and the Rockets went on to win it 113-106…
Yes, you heard correctly at the 1:05 mark: Terrence Williams was in the game with 4.5 seconds left in regulation. He played in overtime too. T-Will actually had a solid game against his most-recent nemesis–he finished with 10 points on 4-7–but he missed what may have turned out to be the shot of the game (a three with 2:20 left in regulation that would’ve put Sacramento up two) had it gone in. T-Will wasn’t the only 10-day-contract signee forced into crunch-time action; LITTLE EARL BOYKINS (!!!) checked in with 1:17 to go in OT. Supposedly, he’d signed his deal just an hour before tipoff. Does Earl still hold the record for points in an overtime? Back in ’05 he dropped 15 for the Nuggets in a single extra period… but for some reason I feel like that record has since been broken, maybe by Gilbert Arenas? Confirm that for me, commenters.
Sorry, I got a little sidetracked there. An Earl Boykins sighting’ll do that to an NBA blogger. Anyway, DeMarcus Cousins… honestly, I don’t mean to harp on this young man’s growing pains… but every time I watch him play, even when he puts up monster numbers, I come away… not unimpressed, because his talent is indeed impressive, but disappointed, I guess. It’s not just the bonehead plays, either… I think it’s his whole demeanor that frustrates me. Let’s just take the final 10 minutes of last night’s game, for example. The good? He came up with a huge steal and got fouled. He made the first of two, then hustled down his own miss and laid the ball in the basket to give the Kings a two-point lead. It was a very impressive sequence during which he ripped a point guard and took the ball coast-to-coast. The bad? Just about everything else. He traveled in the post… got the ball knocked out of his hands, then complained before jogging back… made a wild and unsuccessful drive to the basket… got out-battled for a rebound that led to a go-ahead bucket… failed to close out on Patterson, who drilled many jumpers… and just generally displayed poor body language after things began to swing the Rockets’ way. Maybe I’m being too critical. Maybe I, like the majority, should focus on the 38 points and 14 rebounds rather than the late-game mental implosion. Maybe I’m a hater… I don’t know. The lines you just read are simply my most recent observations on the dude, and you can take them or leave them.
I will say this about Cousins: If he can ever get over the fact that things aren’t always going to go his way and simply channel all of his energy into playing the game the way it should be played, then he’s got the tools to be top-five big man in the NBA. There’s no offensive skill he doesn’t have… he can dribble, shoot, pass, and score in the post. I’m not trying to come off as if I’m writing him off in his second NBA season, because I’m not. He just does an awful lot of discouraging sh!t, and I’m not convinced that he’s suddenly going to “get it.” Even if he does experience some sort of revelation, it’ll be a bit of a process. He’s developed quite a few bad habits at this point.
As for Patrick Patterson, his career night was simple: he worked hard and played a smart game on the offensive end. He got open, his teammates found him, and he knocked down 10 of 16 shots. The majority of his buckets were mid-range jumpers, and the ones that weren’t were pretty much hustle buckets he earned by running the floor or hitting the offensive boards. He was clearly gassed up to play his former collegiate teammate, and I applaud him for staying under control and refraining from attempting to make plays that he can’t make. He had his share of troubles containing Cousins, but not due to a lack of effort… Cousins simply played an excellent offensive game up until the latter part of the fourth quarter.
Rodney Stuckey showed no signs of rust against the Wizards. After missing three games, Stuckey returned to the starting lineup and dropped a game-high 24 points, including the game-winning jump shot.
Quietly, Rodney Stuckey’s career year continues. The 16.5 PPG he’s posting equal his best NBA average from back in ’09/10, and he’s doing this on a career-high shooting percentage (44.7%). He’s also been able to top his previous high in three-point percentage by over 9%, despite taking more three-pointers than he ever has before. Back in December I composed a “top 10 free agents” list and Stuckey was not one of the players who I deemed worthy. My reasoning? “He’s a shooting guard who can’t shoot.” Well, he was a 29% three-point shooter back then, and it’s tough to win with a one or a two who can’t even hit 30% from long range. If I took the same group of players into consideration and ranked them right now, Stuckey would move into the top 10.
The going has gotten tough for LeBron James. Over the past five games he’s had the worst statistical stretch of his season, averaging just 18 points on nearly as many shots (17). This kind of inefficiency is highly unusual from LeBron James, and while I’m not worried that he won’t bounce right back (probably soon… like next game), I thought it was worth mentioning… mostly because Miami has dropped two in a row. After losing to the Thunder on Sunday, the Heat fell in a road game against the Pacers, 90-105. LeBron went 9-21, Dwyane went 7-16, and Chris went 4-11. The Heat still have no real firepower off the bench, so it’s awfully tough for them to win a game when that happens.
Some teams can get away with spotting the up-and-down Clippers 16 points. The Hornets without Chris Kaman, though? Nah. They fell behind 18-2 and lost by 12. DeAndre Jordan was very active during that opening Clipper run, but later fizzled. I did like his involvement early… he got two opportunities in the post, one of which actually resulted in a fluid move and a bucket. I can only recall one post up by Jordan prior to this game, but I think the Clipps should post him more often… maybe like once a game, just to keep his energy level high. The Celtics used to throw Kendrick Perkins a bone once in a while. The Clipps should do the same with DeAndre.
Box Score Observations: Fantasy players, I hope you didn’t drop Gerald Green like I told you to. He had 20 points, but the Nets lost to the Jazz. Paul Millsap went for 24/13. Paul Pierce put 36/10/4 on the Bobcats, who are now 7-40. Orlando beat Toronto 117-101, but Raptors fans got what they wanted–some ping pong balls and a free slice of pizza. Funny, the Nuggets can’t compete with the Jazz or T-Wolves, but they can walk into the United Center and crush the Bulls. Ty Lawson dropped 27 in the 108-91 victory.
Highlight Recap, Blake Griffin Edition: When Blake Griffin dunks off one foot he usually does it with two hands. Not this time…
Certainly not your typical Blake Griffin slam, but one of the nastiest he’s thrown down in a while. I suppose he must’ve thought he was crushing it on Jason Smith’s soul.
