Man, the Western Conference is tight. Somehow, the Blazers have managed to win 13 in a row. Their offense has finally caught up with their defense and they’re on a hell of a roll. Problem is, a loss or two can drop a team five slots. OKC went from below the playoff line to number four in just a few games. Portland now has to contend with Houston, Boston and OKC in the next three games, so it will be interesting to see if they can squeak out a win or two.
My team, the Nuggets, are on the outside looking into the playoff picture. They let the Clippers sneak up to within a half game of them. Other than them, I haven’t followed much. Seems like the Cavs aren’t setting the world on fire like they did right after the trade deadline. I wonder if some of the talking heads still think they’ll just turn it on in the playoffs and they’re a lock for the Finals.
Neither McCollum nor Lillard showed up for the game against the Rockets, scoring only 20+ points between the two of them. Very frustrating, and yet they only lost by five points. Luckily, the loss didn’t hurt their standing, as OKC got bitch-slapped by Boston, who come to town tomorrow night.
With the crummy loss to Cleveland yesterday, the Raptors have to do something called playing defense (giving up 42 in the first quarter). In the second quarter the Cavs were shooting 80% from the field, and in the fourth the Raps gave up a 90 - 75 lead. Coach Casey brought up a good point that this should make the Raps hungry to right this. One of the few times they’ve had American media coverage this season, only to flunk out.
To add: Lebron got 35 points last night, which ain’t bad, but getting:
17 assists with 0 turnovers - that is otherworldly, and the closest that’s ever been approached was John Stockton in a game in '89, registering 33, 15, and 0.
Kyrie Irving’s knee and how he’s going to rehabilitate is a crucial story now. I was never that high on the trade from Boston’s perspective even when IT’s troubles made it appear much better in hindsight, as Irving has never played more than 72 games in a regular season.
Portland has lost two in a row now, and will be playing OKC tonight without Napier, Evan Turner and probably (and much worse) Ed Davis, who is a monster on defense. Combine that with OKC looking to avenge three losses against the Blazers, and it doesn’t look good. A loss tonight will likely dump them out of third place
Well, there was almost a brawl on the floor after Ed Davis fell on an OKC player when going for a rebound, which turned into a shoving match after Westbrook decided to do his thug imitation again and got into it with Evan Turner. Team security had to step in to keep it from escalating. Blazers won the game, making it six in a row against OKC. Suck on that, Westbrook.
I think Golden State is fucked due to injuries this season.