The Knicks and Cavs both extended their streaks to eight games. Only NY’s streak is of the winning variety, obviously. For most of the past decade this would look completely ass-backwards. I turned the TV on today and someone said “Knicks” followed by the word “contenders”. I almost made a fool of myself by laughing out loud, but after a second I remembered… the Knicks are actually relevent! This is really the first time they’ve mattered since I began watching the NBA every day, so it’s been hard for me to adjust to them not being the joke of the league. Sometimes I also forget that the Cavs suck. I’ll be looking at the schedule and read Celtics @ Cavaliers and be like “oh, gotta watch tha–wait a minute–nevermind”… yup, things have changed in the world of the NBA. The Knicks are beating the Nuggets and I can’t even call it an upset. Never thought I’d see the day…
Random Observations:
- Highlight Recap: Ray Felton lobs one to Wilson Chandler. Blake Griffin long-distance oop from BD. Thabo Sefolosha sets up Russell Westbrook for a dunk. Youtubers seem to be slacking lately… I guess I’ll have to refer you to the top 10 for the rest.
- Lowlight Recap: Vince Carter has a dunk attempt sent back by notorious stiff Brian Cook. This made me cringe… VC should consider calling it a career.
- The Knicks got yet another 30-point game from Amare Stoudemire (his 8th in a row) and 27 from Wilson Chandler as they beat the Nuggets 129-125. Wilson hit the three-pointer that put New York ahead for good with 30 seconds left. Carmelo Anthony was called for a charge on the following possession and it was game over. Melo had a great game overall with 31 points and 13 boards. This game may end up being a win for Melo’s team later on in the season anyway. He’s stated that he’ll only sign a contract extension with the Knicks, so if the Nuggets want to get anything for him, New York is where they’ll have to send him. If I had to put money on it I’d bet that he’ll be wearing blue and orange before the All-Star break. I’ve read that the Knicks would also like to acquire OJ Mayo from the Grizzlies. I figure if they were to pull off both deals they’d have to part with Chandler and Gallo, which would leave them with a lineup like this: Felton/Mayo/Melo/Amare/Turiaf. With Mike D’Antoni coaching they’d probably allow 500 points per game, but damn, there would no stopping them either. Anyway, back to last night’s game: Chauncey Billups made one shot all night… a three-pointer that tied the game with 1:20 remaining. Chauncey’s made just 7 of his last 28 shot attempts and is having a horrendous season shooting the ball (35.1%). Al Harrington went 6-8 and dropped 19 on his former squad. Every Knicks starter scored at least 16 points. As a team, the Knicks dished 30 assists while turning the ball over just six times.
- I’m looking at Cleveland’s box score from last night’s 29-point loss to the Thunder and I’m seeing some ugly numbers: 33.8% shooting, 62.5% from the line, 16 turnovers… the leading scorer, Anthony Parker, had 12 points. Anderson Varejao did grab 16 rebounds, but considering how many bricks there were for him to chase down, his nine offensive boards aren’t even that impressive. I watched most of this game… it was bad. Jawad Williams came in off the bench and fired multiple airballs while allowing Kevin Durant to score a variety of easy buckets. Antawn Jamison clanked five threes on his way to a 3-11 shooting night. A lot of OKC’s bench guys got extended burn… James Harden took advantage and dropped 19 points on 6-8. Kevin Durant was the leading scorer with 25 in just 30 minutes. Can you guess where Cleveland’s headed next? I would say they’re about to take their talents to South Beach, but they’ve got no talents. Wednesday night, 7:30 ET, CLE @ MIA… it’ll probably get ugly.
- The Orlando Magic had a 21-point lead on the LA Clippers by the end of the first quarter, but the Clipps would fight back gradually by out-scoring the Magic in each of the next three quarters. Orlando built a big enough lead that they still won by nine… but at least Blake Griffin and company can say they won a half against one of the league’s better teams. That’s something when you’re 5-20. Speaking of Blake Griffin, he was a beast: 27/16/5 was the line, and there was nothing quiet about any of it. He had one dunk where he had to duck under the defender before bringing the ball back above the rim to slam it down. He also hit some jumpers from different angles… I recall him knocking down three of them… one was nearly a three. Unfortunately, Blake and Dwight never met at the rim. I watched the entire game in hopes that I’d see that confrontation go down. Dwight had a pretty nice night himself: 22/8 on 8-11. Baron Davis got his spot in the starting lineup back and failed to come through with a 33-minute, 4-point, 2-7 dud. Eric Gordon couldn’t hit a damn thing early–I think he was like 2-11 at one point–but he finished with 28 points.
- The other games: Chris Paul had a season-low three assists as the Hornets lost for the 8th time in their last 11 games. They lost to a crappy team too–the Suxers–by 18. Elton Brand and Iggy both had double-doubles. The Lakers needed 25 second-half points from Kobe Bryant to slide past the Nets by seven. New Jersey’s dropped seven in a row. The Spurs made it 20-3 with a 17-point W over the Blazers. George Hill went 9-9 from the line on his way to 22 points off the bench.
Quote of the Day: Byron Scott on his Cavs…
“Our first unit is doing a pretty good job. I’ve got to find a combination of that second unit that’s going to come in and play the right way and do the right things. As soon as all five guys are off the floor, we’re just getting slaughtered.”
Over the eight-game losing streak the Cavs trail by an average of about six points at the end of the first quarter. I guess that’s “doing a pretty good job”? I wouldn’t say so… but I guess everything’s relative. They always end up losing the game by a hell of a lot more than six.
Photo of the Day: I can’t find any particularly interesting photos, so how ’bout DJ Mbenga shooting a hook?
