With a couple of usual starters out of Indiana’s lineup, Paul George went young Kobe on the Minnesota Timberwolves. George fired 10 shots in the first quarter alone, and was 6-16 with 13 points when I checked in during the third quarter. He finished with a team-high 19 points on 18 shots, so I suppose he must’ve picked it up in the fourth, and Indiana did come back from down 7 to win the game. Still, I’d argue that Gerald Green was more impressive, scoring just one fewer point on 8-14 from the floor. It’ll be interesting to see how this little log jam at the three spot works itself out. George, being the younger player, obviously has the upper hand… but if Green plays anything like he did in New Jersey (or last night, for that matter) then the Pacers will be forced to leave him on the floor. For the sake of entertainment, I hope Gerald is up to the task. As exciting as Paul George can be, Green is on some next level athletic-type sh!t…
Green’s junk is literally at the level of Jermaine Taylor’s chest. If that means nothing to you, click here.
Paul George and Gerald Green aren’t the only swingmen who will battle for minutes this season. Last night, Alec Burks came off of Utah’s bench to score 11 points in 18 minutes. Gordon Hayward, who started at the two, produced just 13 points on 3-10 from the floor. Hayward had his moments (including an impressive chase-down block), but his confidence appeared to waver, and on one occasion he passed up an easy layup opportunity. Burks, on the other hand, attacked the basket with the utmost poise, converting some difficult finishes in heavy traffic (and some spectacular ones in the open court).
Personally, I like both Burks and Hayward. Hayward brings solid three-point shooting, athleticism, and defensive versatility to the table, while Burks simply seems to have a knack for finding his way to the rim. The thing about Burks is his mentality… he just seems so confident in his ability to score the basketball. With Marvin Williams and Randy Foye in the mix, Ty Corbin may have a tough time finding enough minutes for each of these young players.
Derrick Favors went 0-5 in 18 minutes against the Thunder, but he made his presence felt at the defensive end. Favors, who averaged a block per game in 20 minutes last season, recorded 3 rejections in under 19 minutes of playing time. He should’ve been credited with at least 4, but Violet Palmer whistled him for a bogus foul after he’d chased down Reggie Jackson and denied his fast-break dunk attempt (an impressive feat for a man who tips the scales at 248 pounds). As for Enes Kanter, he came off the bench and had his second double-double of the preseason. Granted, he spent much of time working against Cole Aldrich and Hasheem Thabeet, but still… this was pretty impressive:
Aldrich twice was burned on similar baseline moves, but he did have moments of his own. He finished with 11 points, 10 rebounds, and 3 blocks… not too bad for a dude who seldom sees the light of day. Unfortunately, his aforementioned defensive struggles will probably keep it that way.
Carlos Boozer didn’t pick up any fans in Champaign, IL with his 10-point, 2-rebound performance against the Cavaliers. As he bricked jumpers and missed layups, Boozer was vastly outplayed by Taj Gibson, who posted 12 points, 7 rebounds, and a couple of blocks. Gibson simply appeared to play with a lot more energy than Boozer, as tends to be the case. The fact that this was an all-out offensive struggle for the Bulls (they had 29 points at halftime) magnified Boozer’s ineffectiveness.
Dion Waiters had his jumper on line. The top pick of the Cavaliers came off the bench to nail all sorts of different shots—both off the catch and off the dribble—as he finished with 18 points on 4-4 from distance (7-12 overall).
Luis Scola had a nice game for the Suns as they beat the Blazers by 11. One couldn’t help but notice that Scola looked especially energetic, and even without flopping he was able to harass LaMarcus Aldridge pretty effectively. I didn’t make it through the second half (thank god I won’t be working at 7 AM during the regular season), but the numbers certainly make it appear as if Scola continued to get the best of LaMarcus (Scola: 12 points, 5-8… Aldridge: 11 points, 4-13). His finest moment probably came when he completed a drive to the right with an underhand scoop shot. It was so pretty I think I actually stopped hating him for a couple seconds.
Wesley Johnson is averaging 15 points per game this preseason. I’m as confused as you are, Timberwolves fans.
Box Score Observations: Damian Lillard missed 5 of 6 three-point tries, but did score 15 points in a loss to Phoenix. Something called Viacheslav Kravtsov made all three of its shots to score 10 points for the Pistons. Kyrie Irving and Nate Robinson combined to go 3-26 as the Cavaliers edged the Bulls 86-83. Anthony Davis watched from the sideline as Jeremy Lin went 2-6 in a 20-point Rockets victory. Donatas Motiejunas dropped 13 for H-Town. Corey Brewer racked up 24 to lead the Nuggets past the Spurs. Hasheem Thabeet fouled out in 16 minutes in OKC’s loss to Utah (to Thatbeet’s credit, he did stuff the sh!t out of reigning slam dunk champion Jeremy Evans).
Highlight Recap: Lance Thomas does not score on Terrence Jones. Taj Gibson dusts Tyler Zeller with a baseline tornado move. Al Jefferson causes Cole Aldrich some grief with his fantastic pump fake. Paul George avenges a steal by Derrick Williams. Dante Cunningham block swats eats digests Ben Hansbrough’s layup attempt.
