Not as weird as one may think. More often than not, if one player is having a huge night, the rest of them are in single or low double figures, while the other team will have four or five players in the teens/twenties.
The Blazers are continuing down their usual path of tanking in the 3rd quarter. I had hoped they were done with this sort of play, but it’s looking like a repeat of last year’s mediocre record at this point. They totally blew the game against the Clippers the other night. Ahead 58-45 at the half, they let the Clippers outscore them in the 3rd, 38-16, and were unable to recover. The bench, who were really looking promising early in the season, are now struggling, although Myers Leonard of all people is finally looking like an NBA player. :eek:
I thought last night’s game was one the most impressive Raptors games of the season - coming back from a 17-point deficit in the third quarter on the road against a contender team (well, fifth in the west - surprised if the Grizzlies don’t make the playoffs). (certainly edge out Chef’s rascally Blazers:p) (heh - no?)
Curry had his first full practice today, and the team hopes he can start tomorrow. Hope so, so that the Raptors can really make a statement (on TNT coverage, for once) if TO happens to win tomorrow. Interesting post-game comments from Klay Thompson about tomorrow’s game. (scroll down for brief video)
Apparently not going to happen - no Curry( scheduled to return Saturday for Detroit ) and no Green( more loosely scheduled to return maybe by Monday ).
Not only would I not be surprised if the Spurs miss the playoffs, but I could see them finishing with the 2nd worst record in the West (next to Phoenix of course). Minnesota and New Orleans have some nice young pieces and Houston and Utah are probably better than their current record indicates.
If Spurs history is anything to go on, if they flunk they might as well flunk big, a’la 1997, get a Tim Duncan, and then make the playoffs for another 21 consecutive years
I’m not sure the Spurs could get to Cavs/Hawks/Suns territory if they tried. Those 3 teams and maybe the Bulls are already competing in the Zion Williamson sweepstakes.
The Raptors pulled off an overtime victory over Golden State! Of course Steph Curry didn’t play, but Durant dropped 51 points. I think Kawhi Leonard is on a mission now since Pop said he wasn’t a leader.
Kawhi also made news by signing a new shoe contract with…New Balance? Yeah, New Balance. Do they even make basketball shoes?
Nuggets Blazers tonight should be a good one. Portland a slight favorite by 2.5, which makes sense because Denver really struggles with guards who can score.
Wow, what a game in Toronto last night. Defense was on display from both teams, but the Nuggets pulled off an impressive road win.
Also last night the T-Wolves held the Rockets to 91 points, just 9 in the 4th quarter. Chris Paul just can. not. shoot this year. Maybe things *are *as bas as they seem in Houston?
Portland has now managed to go from a top-rated defensive team to dead last in the NBA in that category, as their win-loss record plummets towards dead even. Last night’s game against Dallas looked like someone substituted the Keystone Kops, while the team went out for pizza. Stotts may find himself looking for another job at season’s end.
Speaking of Dallas, this Luka Doncic might be for real. And he’s 19 years old.
I had mentioned Markelle Fultz a while ago and what appeared to be a mental case of the yips. Well, he has been diagnosed with thoracic outlet syndrome. This apparently causes shoulder pain and finger numbness, which might be a legit explanation for his shooting problems. Now he’s out indefinitely, and the Sixers still seem a bit confused about what is going on with him. His is one of the stranger stories I can remember.
What a game by Jonas last night; 26 points, 8 boards in 17 minutes. That’s some high leverage basketball.
Becoming a bench player is the best thing that ever happened to him. This year he’s averaging 19 minutes a game, in which he averages 13 points, 7.3 rebounds. For his career - 25 MPG, 12 points, 8 rebounds. He’s doing as much in substantially less time. He’s a WAY more valuable player.
I was at a holiday party last night and the Philly/Toronto game was on. Wow, that was fun to watch. Up until the 4th quarter I thought Philly looked like the better team by a decent margin. And then Valenciunas just took over the 4th quarter for the Rapters. He scored 18 in the final quarter. It’s fun to watch big men play the game, and Joel Embiid had a bad one for Philly. Ben Simmons wasn’t much of a factor, either. Philly suddenly looks like the Jimmy Butler show, which may or may not be good for them.
After coming out of the gates absolutely gangbusters at the beginning of the season, Kyle Lowry is having the worst slump of his career - for the first time since 2013, he didn’t register a point last game, and in the last five games he’s averaged five points per game and shooting 19% from both beyond and inside the arc.
This should turn around, of course, but still weird. And he’s still second in the NBA in assists and leads in charges drawn. Van Vleet views it as Lowry taking a back seat, “deferring a little bit…probably sacrificing for the greater of the team.” Meanwhile Leonard doesn’t think KL’s being aggressive enough.
My Pacers took a third-quarter lead of 25 points against the Wizards and nearly blew it; Washington came back to within 1 before we got our act together.
