I don’t think Chicago could have taken them to the woodshed last night if KD had been in the lineup.
Portland actually played last night like a team that wants to win, and squeaked out a win over OKC. I still don’t think they’ll make it into the playoffs. Nurkic is showing real improvement as he gets himself into playing shape, which is a relief.
Yeah, I guess Klay, Steph and Draymond need to re-learn how to play without Durant. The Bulls aren’t even that good. They were coming off a drubbing to the Nuggets.
Meanwhile, the Pelicans’ experiment remains interesting. They are 0-3 with Boogie Cousins. They finally won a game on Wednesday, beating a pretty decent Pistons team. But Boogie did not play as he was suspended for the game. Tonight they get the Spurs, so I expect New Orleans will move to 0-4 with Cousins in their uniform.
Portland was able to limit turnovers and play aggressive defense, as opposed to 26 turnovers in their loss to Detroit the other night. Going in, Portland was (I think) 24-35 and Chicago was 35-24. Portland has now moved into 9th place in a very tight division.
New Orleans will win tonight.
Pop resting everyone since San Antonio’s got a back to back tomorrow?
Fuckin’ SA couldn’t buy a FT at the end of the game, but it didn’t matter, SA 101, NO 98.
All credit to the Spurs, they won a game that they should have lost. Kawhi Leonard is realler than Real Deal Holyfield.
Still have all the confidence in the world that New Orleans will figure things out. Probably too late for this season, but once they’ve had a full training camp, that Cousins/Davis combination is going to be a terror.
First of all, Kawhi Leonard is probably the most underrated player in the NBA. His name could be mentioned right along with LeBron, Steph and KD as one of the best.
Second, New Orleans finally notched a win with Cousins in the game. The beat the Lakers last night.
Finally, man there is going to be a huge difference in being the #1 vs. #2 seed in the West. Your opening round series could be against the well-under-.500 Nuggets or the triple-double-machine Russell Westbrook led Thunder. GS is 2.5 games up on SA right now, and I suspect it will stay that way even with KD out for a bit.
I’m concerned how much DeMar DeRozen can carry the Raptors into a second or third (NOT FOURTH!!!) play-off spot without hottentot-butted Kyle Lowry. After those two, the next highest scorers are Serge Ibaka with 17.2 points, Jonas Valanciunas with 12 points, DeMarre Carrol (9.2) and Coery Joseph (8.9). I think there could be a lot more depth there, and I’m concerned if it’ll be sustainable enough to eventually attain 2nd or 3rd in the East. I’ll be reeeeaaally surprised if they end up finishing ahead of the Celtics this season, I hate to say.
Ultimately, I’m extremely glad for the recent Tucker/Ibaka acquisitions. I especially like Tucker’s grit, something I think the Raptors quite lack. There still have been some shoddy defensive games with them on board (giving up :eek:41 points:mad: in the 2nd quarter to the Bucks recently!) but, for the most part, they have, and will, make the difference as far as Raptor defense goes (which had been their definite Achilles Heel).
So should I burn and rot in hell for having a chuckle at the following?
The sanctity of Morcin’s Gortat’s quite substantial nose is threatened
How about Andrew Bogut’s 58 second stint with the Cavs? Surely they’ll waive him now that he’s broken his leg. Names of available big men I’ve heard: Andrew Bynum, Anderson Varejao, Larry Sanders (not of The Larry Sanders Show), and Jared Sullinger. Somehow I completely missed that Sullinger was with Toronto (very briefly) and was in the deal that brought them PJ Tucker. And was immediately waived by the Suns. I thought he was still with Boston, just hurt all year.
I’ll start paying more attention when the playoffs arrive but the defending champs seem to be in disarray right now…
Well, they rested almost everyone that matters, so you effectively saw the Spurs’s 1.5 team vs. the Warriors 2nd team.
However, I’m wondering if this is one GSW will regret giving away…
Hereis my favorite NBA story of the season. Home court advantage is at an all time low, with home teams winning at only 57.4%. Why? Tinder, of course. Basically, players on the road don’t have to expend so much energy just trying to get laid anymore. Seriously.
One bright sign for the Suns - Booker scored 70 the other day against Boston. He is only the sixth player to score 70 or more in a single game. And the youngest.
Suns still lost, though…
Great to see Nurkic thrash his old Nuggets team. Denver got the worst of that trade deal, as Plumlee is still useless under the basket when he’s not rebounding. Portland has now managed to flail their way into 8th place and may even stumble into the playoffs, as Denver has a tougher finishing schedule coming up. The other also-rans would need a miracle to catch either of them. Portland hosts Houston tonight, having lost their two previous encounters. Harden is still on a tear, but then so is Lillard since the All-Star break.
Denver was hot from the end of February to about last week and Plumlee played well for a stint. The Nuggets are in NBA limbo right now, not good enough to make the playoffs, but not terrible enough to have a shot at a top draft pick. It’s probably time trade away their vets (but not Kenneth Faried!) and rebuild.
Up to 10 in a row, now.
And they STILL don’t have thew worst record in the West (Go Lakers!), let alone the league.
Blazers played a brilliant game against Houston last night, other than a bit of a sag in the fourth and allowing too many second chance opportunities. Terrific 3-point defense, good fast break opportunities, and they frustrated Harden, including a critical steal by Alan Crabbe near the end. Nurkic has truly transformed their inside game, having another double-double. With three first round draft picks, maybe they can pick up a second string center who has better skills than Meyers Leonard.
Setting new standards!
Suns now at the bottom. 12 in a row!
The Blazers finally clawed their way into 8th place, then lose Nurkic, then lose to fucking MN. That clanging noise you may have heard was from all of the short shots hitting the front of the rim.