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Thoughts on Houston vs Memphis – Game 8

Xiane, The Dream Shake — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 06:41:03 -0000

More photos » by Pat Sullivan - AP

Has this man made The Leap? I say, yes.

Once again - Bullet Points - The Lazy Man's Friend^TM

1. Memphis has a lot of talent, and no idea how to play basketball together, or perhaps, no real desire to play that way. It's hard to tell which. It's also hard to know why bad basketball teams stay bad. Bad coaching? Culture of losing? Bad management? Bad mix of player talents?

Anyway, it's one reason that I am opposed (though I have vacillated, I admit) to the idea of being in the lottery versus, maybe, getting the last playoff spot in the West. I prefer Houston to have a winning culture, to expect to win, and try to do so, no matter the odds, rather than accept a losing season as a foregone conclusion, and I cite Memphis as evidence to support my case.

2. The Basketball Prospectus "High Usage Rate Grizzlies" vs "Low Usage Rate Rockets" battle is thus far looking like a rout in Houston's favor. Briefly, the Memphis roster is absolutely loaded with players who consume a very high percentage of their team's attempts, ie High Usage. Adding the current Grizzlies 08-09 numbers together produces a team at over 100% usage, which is practically unheard of.

Houston's roster (absent TMac and Yao) suggests a team player usage far below 100%, which is also very odd. The rule of thumb is that low usage players get substantially worse with higher usage. This is not proving to be the case, as Ariza, Scola, Landry, Brooks, Lowry et al, are all maintaining their effectiveness while taking more shots. Only Battier seems to be slipping a bit at this point. More as this develops.

3. Back to Memphis. Why would a roster of Conley, Mayo, Gasol, Gay and Randolph be so bad? That is, ostensibly, a lot of offensive firepower at the very least. And yet, you can watch certain bad things unfold with them in real time. After the Rockets run in the 3^rd, I said "Watch, they've given up now, already. You can see it. They're all just going to try to pad their stats now. There won't be much passing from them from here on out." And that is exactly what appeared to happen. Contrast that to Dallas, who continued their attack last night, and turned a blowout in our favor, into a blowout in theirs. At this point, I can't imagine Memphis doing that, despite what is on paper, fairly equal talent to Dallas.

4. Why does the NBA have so many "whistles"? There is the Star Whistle, which gives Star players a substantial amount of leeway when it comes to ticky-tack fouls, travelling and the like. There is the Super Star Whistle, which is worse, and produces outcomes like "No D on Kobe Bryant" or the "D-Wade Out of Control Drive Bailout" which effectively handed the Miami Heat an NBA title vs. the Mavericks. There is the Average Pro whistle, generally baseline and reasonable.

Then there is the Rookie Whistle, in which rookies, or new NBA players, get called for fouls that are either largely illusory, remarkably strict, or rarely enforced against experienced players, of any sort. Andersen, despite being a pro for 8 years in Spain, is getting the Rookie Big Man Whistle, which is essentially like being followed around the court by Elliott Ness in a striped outfit. The refs seem to be perfectly prepared to foul The Rookie Big Man out in one quarter, for basically, very little. This is the worst whistle of all. I'd like it if there weren't so many whistles.

5. Carl Landry needs more minutes. I'm going to call it now - he's made The Leap. He's a star in the making, his offensive arsenal is breathtaking, with both power and finesse in evidence. The Scola/Landry 1-2 punch lineup was fantastically effective tonight, with our PF combo going 19-28 for 42 points, 19 boards, 2 assists, 3 steals and 4 blocks in just slightly over full time minutes at 58.

6. Rick Adelman passed Jack Ramsay tonight, for 11^th place in all-time NBA coaching wins. Sleepy or not, that's the high country.

7. I think we need a 3^rd guy to run point. When garbage time rolled around, there was Lowry, still playing with the rookies, Pops, and Brian Cook. I'm now starting to feel bad for Brian Cook, and wonder what, exactly, went wrong there. No, I have no idea how a 3rd PG will happen. I don't want it to be injury, that's for sure.

Raptors 99, Bulls 89

your friendly BullsBlogger, Blog a Bull — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 06:00:20 -0000

Merely a post-game stub. Recap tomorrow morning. Bulls simply ran out of gas.

Post-Game Media Availability: Accountability, Honesty, and More

erivera7, Third Quarter Collapse — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 05:38:39 -0000

More photos » by John Raoux - AP

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It's never good to lose a game like the Orlando Magic did against the Cleveland Cavaliers, in front of a nationally-televised audience, but it's interesting to see how a team responds to a loss. In this case, head coach Stan Van Gundy was blunt and direct in his presser, in terms of answering questions and explaining what is wrong with his squad right now. The Magic's locker room, after the game, was silent. Orlando, it seems, has had its wake-up call after another poor performance.

I was able to ask a few questions to Van Gundy amongst the media, as well as speak with Marcin Gortat. Here's what they had to say:

Stan Van Gundy:

What can the team do, specifically, to address some of the problems on the defense? Where do you start?

I mean, for me and what we do, there has to be a continued emphasis and something we work on every single day. We haven't, and it's starting to hurt us a little bit down on that end also, we haven't worked on any offense in a long time. We're in a stretch, that has hurt us I think a little bit, where we're not practicing enough but that's my point. Look, ultimately, it's my responsibility. Particularly at the defensive end. I think that and I always thought, this is just a personal thing, I mean, if you're team is not playing hard enough and not committed, that's an indictment as you as a coach and that's the way I look at it right now. I'm not getting the job done. My team is not guarding and so it starts with me and get us a lot of work in practice, but then there has to be something coming there, there has to be some competitiveness and some fire and some desire to stop and everything else.

This is, look, this is not to take anything away from them [the Cleveland Cavaliers]. If this were an isolated incident, if this were one game, they were unbelievable tonight. They played great, they played great. They played with great energy, they shot the ball well, LeBron [James] did make some tough shots, Mo Williams was terrific, the best he's ever been against us, they were terrific. So please, I don't want to take anything away from them, they did a great job tonight and were very, very good. If this wasn't pne in a series of games, where I looked at these same numbers, I could say that they played a hell of a game but the point is, we're looking at those kind of defensive numbers every night.

Do you think that Rashard Lewis' presence, at all, can help the team defensively? Given what he brings to the table?

He will help defensively, just in terms of having another guy out there that knows what's going on but look, if Rashard plays defensively the way he played last year, he'll help us defensively but I would add to that, if Dwight [Howard] were playing defensively the way he played last year, we'd be better. If Jameer [Nelson] were playing defensively the way he played last year, we'd be better, so it's not that simple. I mean, Rashard could potentially help us a great deal but until he gets out there, I don't know if he's going to bring greater energy and effort than the guys out there have been, or if it's more of the same. I really don't know.

Marcin Gortat:

I know that Stan Van Gundy said during the presser, that after the game, you guys were being honest with yourselves. What exactly did you guys say? Maybe not provide the details but the overall message?

Well, the message, the whole thing was about being honest about each one of us and we got to realize that we're not going to win the game just because we show up in the arena, play with our names [in the front of the jersey]. We still got to fight and we still got to bring a lot of energy into the game, to produce, and just to win. Be productive on the floor and just make sure that each one of us is going to do what we're supposed to do. I think a couple of guys on the team, including me, are not playing the same way we played last year and the way we've been playing the last couple of years so just got to come back, stay in front of the mirror, and just realize that if we're going to stop playing better, then the season might go by fast. I just believe that it's another step where we just trip and we still got a lot of potential and we're going to prove our name the next couple of weeks, months, and be a different team.

I know it's never good to lose but is it good to get this play out of the way now in November, rather than having to deal with this around playoff time?

It's hard to say. It's not good to lose at all. It's always good to win but obviously we're going to lose a couple of games and it's always good to lose those games at the end than right now in the beginning. If that's how the guy looking up top told us now in the beginning, than we have to come back and work harder.

Are there any players on the team that feel prideful, saying 'we can do better than this'?

Well, I think everybody is saying to themselves that thing. It's hard to be, for example in my situation, sitting in the locker room with so many great players and just all of a sudden, a Polish guy stands up, you, you, and you got to play better. I got to play better, it's hard to say that. I think each one of us knows that who's playing good, who's not playing well, and we just got to correct it and make it better.

Rashard Lewis is going to be coming back next Monday, what are the kind of things he can bring back to this team?

Well, I think everybody waits for Rashard. I think Rashard is a guy who, first of all, spreads the floor and makes great hi-lo passes. We're just waiting for him, he was one of the pieces on our team. Like coach [Stan Van Gundy] said, we look good in the practice, we're doing great in the practices, but that's just practice because we got Rashard to practice so I think the team is going to look way, way better with him so still, it's not an excuse. We still have to do our job and to be honest, we screwed up. We screwed up big-time.

Defensively, that's a big focus for the team trying to improve, but where do you start to begin getting back to how you guys were playing last year?

I think we just got to get into our energy, I believe that if we're going to get our energy, we got to get humbled, we got to get humbled. We're a little bit arrogant right now and we're confident about our game, but still, we just go to do our thing. Starting with me, I'm a little bit down with everything that I do, but still, I'm going to come back. I had a long summer so I'll come back to my game.

I know that a lot of people like to say that the season is a marathon, not a sprint, in terms of getting through the year. What's your guys' mentality, in terms of getting through this?

We got to make sure that we come to each game with the same mentality. We can't come and say we play Cleveland, Shaq, we got to focus on Shaq, LeBron, we still have to focus on the five guys on the floor. Everybody has to do his own thing, the thing that he has to do on defense, so we got to play with the same intensity, the same passion, and just have fun in the game. We got to do everything that's possible to do that every game the same way.

Canadian Content

rbala, Raptors HQ — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 05:27:45 -0000

There is some big commitment news from some high profile Canuck ballers, Canada Basketball has new vintage tees, Andy Rautins goes 7-10 from arc in the Syracuse win, newest NBA Canadian Matt Bonner throws one down and some assorted news bites in today's Canadian Content.

First we have some National Program news ...

Canada Basketball has a new line of vintage tees just in time for the holiday season. Support the National Program and pick one up. Canada Basketball | CANADA BASKETBALL LAUNCHES CB CLASSIC COLLECTION TSHIRTS

National Team invitee will be heading out to Iowa to try to make the opening day Energy roster. Russell Hicks drafted to NBA D-League - Niagara Falls Review - Ontario, CA

Second we have some news on a few Canadians in the NBA ...

Of course Captain Canada get a look. SLAM ONLINE | " The Post Up: Nasty Nash

Some Joel Anthony news. Miami Heat bench strong, reliable - Miami Heat - MiamiHerald.com

Burn this into your mind - Bonner dunked a ball. YouTube - Matt Bonner Dunks over the Raptors

Some NCAA news ...

Rautins had a monster game going 7-10 from the three for 22 points. Syracuse University Athletics - Rautins Leads Orange to 100-60 Win Against Robert Morris

A profile look on Gonzaga's Olynyk. Player Preview: Kelly Olynyk

Now for some prep news that includes three NCAA commitments for the coming year ...

Ludovic Ndaiye to Cleveland State. Hoopstars Canada

Things Heating up: Nastic picking up offers from big time programs | Crown Magazine

Melvin Ejim Inks With Iowa State - Iowa State University Athletics Official Web Site - www.CYCLONES.com - The home of Iowa State Cyclone Sports

Men's Basketball signs Tristan Thompson to National Letter of Intent - TEXAS LONGHORNS Official Athletic Site

Some headlines from the last few days around the CIS:

Gee-Gees no match for Badgers - Sports

Men’s basketball opens season with two losses - Queen's Journal

Women’s basketball drop both weekend games - Queen's Journal

You win some, you lose some | theVARSITY.ca

Brock gets taste of top program - Niagara Falls Review - Ontario, CA

Brandon Jennings 1 - Nuggets 0... (Nuggets/Bucks recap)

Andrew Feinstein, Denver Stiffs — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 05:27:19 -0000

MILWAUKEE, WI - With "great successes" like this, who needs failures?

I'll get into this more when I complete my story about my time spent with Nuggets head coach George Karl this week. But on Monday, Karl and I actually debated his quote about how if the Nuggets won half their road games on this six-game trip, it would be deemed "a great success." His argument was that if you win half your road games, that's a great success in the NBA. And over 41 road games, I agree with him. My counter, however, was that when you're playing the Nets (an injury-riddled bad team), the Pacers (an injury-riddled bad team), the Heat (a mediocre team), the Hawks (a tough match up, no question about it), the Bulls (another mediocre team) and the Bucks (an up-and-coming but young team with no bench), anything short of 4-2 can't be considered "a great success."

Agree to disagree, I suppose.

But let's be clear about something: George Karl didn't lose tonight's game. In fact, he drew up some great end-of-game plays that almost salvaged an overall poor performance by our Nuggets. The Nuggets lost because they played crappy defense (in spite of Carmelo Anthony's two amazing blocks) and missed a ton of good shots. Kenyon Martin missed at least four layups (and then compounded his poor shooting performance by begging Bennett Salvatore for a technical foul which he promptly received at the worst possible time). Same with Melo. And Chauncey Billups missed about four potential wide open "daggers" that would have swayed the game Denver's way. Even my Benedict Arnold Lakers fan of a brother - who was in the stands with me on our annual visit grandma tour - said: "the Nuggets looked well coached tonight." Oh, and did I mention that Brandon Jennings is really fucking good?

Beyond the starters, Chris "Birdman" Andersen is yet to regain his swagger from last season (we're already hearing whispers among the fan's about Birdman not living up to his new contract) and this can't be discounted. Birdman single-handedly changed the energy of games throughout 2008-09, and he's yet to do so once nine games into this one. And Ty Lawson had first off night as a pro as he's probably not used to playing in four back-to-backs (including the preseason finale against the Lakers) within three or so weeks.

And I hate to bag on the refs but...oh screw it...I'll bag on the refs. It was a very inconsistently called game (with Salvatore involved, I'm shocked!). Lots of non-calls that became calls. Inconsistency on charges versus blocking fouls. And a ton of make up calls that threw the game somewhat out of whack. But made shots and stingy defense overcomes bad officiating, and the Nuggets had neither going for them tonight.

Back to that Brandon Jennings kid. Wow. Just wow. It's an obvious statement but he had his finest game as a rookie and the Nuggets ultimately paid the price for it.

Bottom line is when your team shoots 39.8% from the field and your opponent shoots 48.8%, you're not going to win very often. And thus, the six-game road trip ends with a respectable, albeit somewhat disappointing, 3-3 split. Nine games in at 6-3 is nothing to be ashamed of, but I think we can hold off on any "great success" quotes until the Nuggets get back on the road and do some real damage.

(Pardon the brief recap, but I have to catch a 6am flight back to Denver tomorrow and have a ton of writing to do to recap this entire trip!)

Photo courtesy of AP: Darren Hauck

Hawks 114, Knicks 101

Seth, Posting and Toasting — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 05:47:34 -0000

More photos » by Frank Franklin II - AP

Yeah...that won't work. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

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Oof. Is it too much ask for the Knicks to stick to the same script? An awful start and failed comeback would've had me perfectly at ease this evening. No such luck. New York flipped it up tonight, just to keep us interested and mess with our heads. They played a strong, cohesive first half, the Garden crowd rocking all the while. Toney Douglas got the start and looked sharp from the outset. Danilo Gallinari was connecting, Al Harrington was driving, and Larry Hughes was wreaking havoc on both ends. In a season of otherwise solid second halves, though, you bet your ass the Knicks picked this one to tank after halftime. The previously adequate defense completely crumbled, and the Knicks made bonehead play after clumsy mistake en route to a blowout loss.

It sucked. Notes after the jump..

- Like I said, Toney Douglas started this one. He took Larry Hughes's spot in the lineup (noteworthy that it was Hughes, not Chris Duhon), and played very nicely. Toney continued his accurate shooting, canning pull-ups from either side, finishing near the rim, and draining a couple threes as well. His 23 points were an early career-high. He posted only 1 assist to 3 turnovers, which reflects both slightly rough point guard play from Toney and utter inability to finish from Toney's teammates. On the other end, Ghostface had a bit of trouble striking a balance between fouling Mike Bibby and staying in front of him. By the end, though, his defense looked sharp. Overall, Toney Douglas did what Toney Douglas do. I have a feeling TD's got a bit more point guard savvy than his line suggests. It'll just take more reps and a better sense of his teammates to make it work.

- That point about Douglas's teammates not finishing was actually a major theme of this game. Several different Knicks found new, wonderful ways to deny Toney his assists. I'm talking missed layups, dropped passes, silly turnovers, and all sorts of things you'd see in a typical JCC ballgame.

- I've never seen David Lee rendered so ineffective. His shot attempts were pretty limited (4-9) and he simply couldn't hang with Al Horford. I usually cut Lee slack for suffering against legit centers, but Horford isn't even that big a dude. Davd looked weak out there. Clyde quipped that Horford was "Bogarting" Lee around the basket. If we're sticking with the Hollywood metaphors, then Lee was Beckinsale-ing.

- Speaking of which, where the hell is Darko Milicic? Everybody's been asking after Darko in the comments, and I just don't have a good answer. Perhaps he's hurting and I didn't see anything about it. In any event, New York could have used him to maim Horford tonight.

- Like the Knicks, the Hawks switch pretty much everything on defense. They just do it with a lot more conviction and better angle management. You know what I mean? The Knicks always look like their tripping over each other when defending the pick. The Hawks got it right.

- Danilo Gallinari's start was nice, including a steal and fast break dunk that made me soil myself. After that, Gallo faded into the background. The Cock just couldn't get touches, and attempted only 8 shots in 31 minutes. I kept forgetting he was on the court. I won't discount his steal and 7 rebounds, but Gallo desperately needs to make more of an impact out there.

- I harp on Al Harrington's accessories way too much, but I might as well add that this mouthguard that's half blue and half white just makes Al look like he's missing teeth. I think it's squashing his brain as well. Some of those fouls and shot attempts were remarkably poor.

- To be fair, Harrington did a decent job backing down Josh Smith's wiry ass a couple times (but not enough), and did a better job on Horford than Lee did (including a delightfully emasculating chair-pull. Malik Rose is smiling up in heaven. What?).

- Chris Duhon can't buy a bucket right now. Shit, he can't rent one. I don't think he could even test drive one. I don't think he could even window shop for one.

- Wilson Chandler really did his darndest on Joe Johnson. Wil kept a low profile (in a good way) on offense, focusing his efforts on staying in front of the dastardly Armadillo Cowboy (®). Johnson was actually held to 8-19, but it felt like he was hitting tough shot after tough shot.

- Speaking of which, watching Jamal Crawford from the opponent's perspective is still a wild experience. The feeling is identical, yet opposite. Instead of lamenting his shot selection but celebrating his improbable buckets, I found myself celebrating his shot selection but lamenting his improbable buckets. He can be positively infuriating in either light. I'll always have a soft spot in my heart for Jamal Crawford. Soft in the sense of compassion, but also soft in the sense of aortic decay. He's that kind of player.

- I'm looking forward to Eddy Curry's return. He really does look as svelte as I've ever seen him, though I think like a quarter of that weight was in his head, and I mean that literally. Jeez.

- The only real rotation Knicks with decent plus-minuses? Douglas (0), Gallinari (+4), and Jared Jeffries (+1). Just saying.

And with that, I'll wash myself of this one. Goodnight, y'all.

Game 9 Recap: Blazers 107, Timberwolves 84

Dave, Blazersedge — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 04:30:57 -0000

More photos » by Jim Mone - AP

Mr. Brewer, meet the Shoo-er.

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Nice game! What else is there to say?

The Timberwolves came out with energy as expected. They gave everybody a preview of what better teams are going to try to do to the three-guard lineup, posting Ryan Gomes against Brandon Roy and running their offense through him. They also ran hard, rebounded hard, and shared the ball. But one of the blessings about playing young teams, as the Blazers have taught us in reverse over the years, is that they have trouble sustaining their otherwise-solid game plans. A little lineup changing, a little pressure, a little more rebounding, a little better care by the Blazers on offense and the ‘Wolves were back to their familiar selves. After falling behind 23-18 in the first quarter the Blazers pasted 32 on Minnesota in the second and 35 in the third. You knew they wouldn't be able to keep up with that kind of scoring but they overachieved in the not-keeping-up department, scoring only 19 in each stanza. By then it was a blowout and the fourth didn't matter, even for pride.

Much of the credit for the steamrolling goes to Greg Oden who is slowly coming to the realization that nobody without a huge, athletic, active center can stop him. He looked like the high schooler playing with 6^th graders out there on the boards. He also dunked multiple times again, sometimes off of alley-oops and sometimes after great spins from well-established positions. The major caveat is that Minnesota doesn't have a strong defensive middle, but it wasn't too long ago that Greg looked tentative against any kind of opposition. Oden smashed his way to a double-double in the first half which made the ‘Wolves pay extra attention to him which opened up the offense for Portland's shooters. With the synergy going and the whole offense flowing Minny was grass and the Blazers were mowing. We saw great passing, good shooting, energetic defense, and a loose, relaxed team cruising to a win.

Portland shot over 55% for the game. At first they couldn't buy a three-pointer with a coupon and a platinum card but once Minnesota started chasing their own tails on defense the long shots came free and easy, leaving the Blazers at 40% for the game. The refs called almost no fouls so neither team prospered from the line. Portland only got 6 offensive rebounds but they held Minnesota to 3, further compounding their scoring difficulty. The Blazers also denied the ‘Wolves any inside looks. Much of the credit there goes to Joel Przybilla who swatted away shots like they were paper wads coming at a trash can. Portland fielded too much talent and depth at every position and they were better able to utilize it. And that was that.

No Blazer played more than 27 minutes tonight which is nice for a road trip game.

Individual Notes

All hail Greg Oden. 18 points, 11 rebounds, and a lot of in-your-face play was what most Blazer fans had in mind when he was drafted. We're seeing the beginnings of him fulfilling that promise. For the first time ever (probably) he had 0 fouls and 0 turnovers, though part of that came from playing Zach Randolph-like defense on Al Jefferson. Good though! He needs to realize that he can't stop every shot, especially from a smaller and offensively potent player. Get your hands up, make him shoot it over you, but let him shoot every once in a while. They score a little but you stay in the game a lot. And when you stay in the game...smashy smashy!

Brandon Roy scored 14 on 7-11 shooting. He had 5 assists as well. It wasn't Brandon's best defensive effort early or late. But early he was outsized and late the game was all but decided. He kept his friends and neighbors in the flow of the game offensively, only taking over at the outset of the third period to make sure the Blazers got off on the right foot. At some point his teammates are going to have to keep Brandon involved as much as he tries to keep them involved. It's all well and good to have balanced scoring but that's not likely to do against the great teams. I hope somebody is reminding him that it's OK for him to take a bunch of shots.

LaMarcus Aldridge was fairly quiet until a back-breaking stretch at the end of the third when he pretty much destroyed the ‘Wolves all by himself. He did the things you want though: shot smart, ran the floor, put in effort. 5-9 shooting, 4 rebounds, 2 assists.

Andre Miller dished ten dimes against the (lack of) defense and added 9 points on 4-7 shooting. His jumper is still uglier than the love child of Ernest Borgnine and Ethyl Merman, but so be it. The offense has been working better since he's helmed it.

Steve Blake had an off night despite a couple of beautiful assists. He couldn't hit a three, shot 2-7, and finished with 5 points. It didn't matter too much.

As mentioned above, tonight the part of the angry old man with the off-limits lawn was played by Joel Przybilla while the ‘Wolves played the kids with the errant Frisbee. All he was missing was a cane to shake as he yelled, "Get outta here you no-good kids!" 4 blocks, 11 rebounds, just go away and leave him alone.

Travis Outlaw went up and down offensively and finished with 9 points but he was part of the crew that ended the size advantage that Minnesota was trying to exploit early. Decent defense for Trav.

Apart from a couple steals Martell Webster struggled early but came on strong late to amass 16 points.

Perhaps the ‘Wolves will get credit for waking up Rudy Fernandez. The first half saw him hesitant on offense and over-pursuing on defense. But then he started hitting some shots and he fell into the Rudy Groove. He ended up 5-7 for 15 points. He had 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals, and 2 personal fouls but he missed the factorial line by committing 4 turnovers instead of 1. Mathematicians everywhere cringed.

Jerryd Bayless played 12 solid minutes, ran, penetrated, recorded a couple assists, scored 7 on 3-6 shooting, and remained the only Blazer guard to consistently stay in front of his man on defense.

Final Thoughts and Links

Play time is over. The tough part of this trip commences Friday in New Orleans. I don't think we'll see the same Blazer team. But that's not the goal, really. We want to see a more cohesive Blazer team than we saw last week. In that way these last three games have been valuable (hopefully) regardless of the quality of opponent.

Boxscore

Check out the reaction at CanisHoopus.

You can see your Jersey Contest scores for the month and for the night right here.

Enter the form for Friday's game over here.

--Dave (blazersub@yahoo.com)

Raptors' Rapid Recap - Toronto 99 - Chicago 89

RaptorsHQ - Franchise, Raptors HQ — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 04:42:03 -0000

Final Score - Toronto 99 - Chicago 89

-The Raptors looked like they were still on their road trip in the first half, jacking up as many 3's as possible and allowing the Bulls to get whatever they wanted offensively.

-The result? Bulls shooting over 50 per cent from the field at times and ending the half up by seven.

-Perhaps Triano tore into the troops before the 3rd quarter because suddenly the 3-point shooting stopped and the Raps looked to go inside first. The defence stepped up as well and Chicago scored only 18 in the Q.

-Things got worse for Chicago in the fourth as not only did their key threat on the glass Noah get in foul trouble, but the shots weren't falling for the Bulls and they scored only 11 points.

-The Bulls and Raps ended up shooting about 40 per cent each from the floor when all was said and done, and were almost even on the glass. The difference came down to Toronto's finish; while the Dinos made baskets and got stops at key times, Chicago came unglued.

-Huge kudos to Jay Triano (something we'll be talking about more tomorrow morning.) Ending the horrid Jack/Calderon crunch time experiment and using Wright on Derrick Rose was great, but Jay gets bonus points for yanking Bargs and going with the much more defensively active Amir Johnson in the clutch.

To Be Determined: Grizzlies Blown Out by Rockets

djturtleface, Straight Outta Vancouver — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 04:15:46 -0000

by Pat Sullivan - AP

about 5 hours ago: Memphis Grizzlies' Marc Gasol (35), from Spain, is surrounded by Houston Rockets' Chuck Hayes, center, Shane Battier (31) and Luis Scola, left, during the first quarter of an NBA basketball game Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2009 in Houston. (AP Photo/Pat Sullivan)

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If you wonder why there isn't a score up, it's actually because, as I write, there are like three minutes left in the game. The Houston Rockets dominated the Memphis Grizzlies tonight. Crushed. Destroyed. Obliterated. They literally took the soul from this young team and spat in it's face.

As to quote the always Grizzlies knowledgeable @HPbasketball:

The Grizzlies are going to drop to 1-8; getting beat by a team who's #1 option was the Lakers' #5 option.

The missing truth here is that the Grizzlies didn't just get beat. The Rockets just absolutely trampled all over their battered corpse. Check out The Dream Shake to hear more about what it feels like to win; check over the jump for some recap and the like.

Rockness Monster: Hasheem Thabeet, for not showing up. Seriously, the Grizzlies played this bad. Even for the guys with decent lines, they played terrible -- terrible. This might have been one of the worst efforts I've ever seen from a professional basketball team.

U-Turn: Well since the Grizzlies looked absolutely pathetic last night and they looked absolutely pathetic tonight too, I think I'm going to have to award this one to Marc Gasol. Despite facing a lineup that at times had nobody bigger than 6' 8" tall, Gasol managed to go 1-7, almost foul out, and be so useless that Steven Hunter was a pleasant surprise. In case you've never heard of Steven Hunter, you probably still already know that's a bad thing.

Bitter Lemon: Was there anything that wasn't a bitter lemon this game? How about nominating Marcus Williams for making the worst damn decisions of any backup point guard ever. Backup point guards are supposed to protect the ball and get the hell out of the way. Marcus Williams is doing his best "Stevie Franchise" impression. Even Steve Francis shouldn't be doing an Stevie Franchise impression at this point.

Oh, and the rest of the bench can't score and dribbles around like they're still in college. DeMarre Carroll is great for energy; shooting isn't energy, so stop doing that. I don't think Sam Young even knows he's a professional yet.

Sleeping With the Enemy: Don't feel like talking about this madness.

Atlanta Hawks 114, New York Knicks 101 or Al Horford only cares about the second half

hawksdawgs, Peachtree Hoops — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 03:39:53 -0000

More photos » by Frank Franklin II - AP

Wait, team's double team me?

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boxscore

recap

So that turned good in a hurry. The crusify list was long with two minute to go in the first half. My short list included Woodson, Joe, Horford, and Harrington. Two quarters later I couldn't care less about Harrington, Joe Johnson raced his way to near 50% shooting from the field, Horford requested game mvp honors, and Woodson only had one or two small gripes to his name.

Hawks fans are so use to knowing what kind of game it is going to be after two quarters, it makes this one is all kinds of confusing. The copy and paste button is pissed. The "after going down big, the Hawks forced shots and failed to have the energy to get stops on the defensive end" won't work. The "finally taking the lead in the second half, the Hawks had nothing left to keep it" clearly did not happen. And the Hawks "dominating a lesser opponent only to let up in the second half and let "x" back in" just does not fit. I am not even talking stereotypical loses. The Hawks are starting to defy stereotypical wins.

Overall, I can't put my finger yet on why, but tonight, I can. The starting front court had 47 points, 21 rebounds, 4 steals, 3 blocks, and 7 assists. Any team in the league is not ok with those numbers, they are ecstatic. Those are Christmas list numbers.

The Hawks did everything they were suppose to do, it just happened over two quarters instead of four. It is tough to project offensive strategies from a Knicks game and a few defensive weaknesses were on display, but when the Knicks luck ran out and the Hawks focus came in, they did what they needed to do to win, and now, the next step is doing it without three starters playing 40 plus minutes.

Go Hawks!

Sixers beat Nets, barely.

jsams, Liberty Ballers — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 04:04:00 -0000

by Bill Kostroun - AP

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Until further notice, the Sixers are a below average basketball team and there are very few games they "should" win, but this was one of them. For a team with as many talented players as the Sixers, it shouldn't take 48 minutes to eek out a win against a depleted Nets team, who came into tonight's game with an 0-7 record and only 8 players on their active roster. I'm not taking anything away from the Nets because they are an NBA team and what they lacked in health and talent, they made up with effort and team ball. I guess that's what it comes down to; the Sixers have some good players, but they aren't a good team -- yet.

That said, they still won the game and evened their record at 4-4. But after eight games, their record isn't what concerns me; it's how they've gotten there.

Here are a few things we can agree on after eight games.

According to rumors -- mostly from disgruntled Wizards fans -- Eddie Jordan was tough on rookies. Well, they're no longer rumors. From not playing Jrue during a freakin' pre-season game because he was afraid Nate Robinson would damage his psyche to pulling Jrue after one rookie mistake, and sitting him for the remainder of the game, Eddie has done nothing to disprove the rumors. It'd be one thing if he was sitting Jrue in favor of a legit backup point guard, but he's playing Royal Ivey instead. Come on now. Rookies make mistakes, and Jrue shouldn't be expected to play perfect in order to stay on the court.
Elton Brand is done. I'm tired of waiting. We've made enough excuses for him. It's time to accept the fact that he's a rich man's Reggie Evans, with a higher basketball IQ and less hustle. He can't finish around the rim, and I cringe every time he takes a jump shot.
Marreese Speights needs to replace Sam in the starting lineup. I've said it before, and I'll say it again: M16 is the Sixers most talented offensive player. He's not the best defender -- so what. What he brings to the table on the offensive end heavily out-weighs what he doesn't bring on the defensive end.

The one positive we can take out of tonight was the play of Thaddeus Young. To this point in the season, Thad has been nothing short of awful, but it was only a matter of time before he turned it around. I'm not ready to say he's officially turned it around after one good game against the Nets, but his jumper looked 10 times better than it had at any point during the season. If he can regain his late-season form of last year, paired with the improved play of Lou, Andre and Marreese, the Sixers should start to see improvement.

I'm still holding out hope that Eddie Jordan's abysmal rotations will improve, the defense will improve, and the Princeton Offense will show up sometime within the next 12 games. It's still way too early to make any snap judgements, but if there's no improvement after 20 games, the Sixers are in deep, deep trouble, as is my 47-win prediction.

Player of the game: Marreese Speights

Celtics rock the Jazz

jimmyt, CelticsBlog — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 05:00:30 -0000

by Michael Dwyer - AP

Kevin Garnett and the Celtics had the Jazz singing the blues.

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A little practice can go a long way. Fresh off of a three-day rest, the rejuvenated Celtics returned to the TD Garden and beat up on the already beaten up Utah Jazz, 105-86. All five of the starters starters, as well as Rasheed Wallace and Marquis Daniels scored in double figures on the night, as the Celtics worked the ball well and got all involved.

"Over the stretch of eight games we barely had any practice time," said Paul Pierce, who scored 13 points while adding six boards and six assists. "So throughout that course sometimes you play, you play, and you really don't practice and you lose some of the discipline that you have throughout the course of practicing before you play."

"It's like just revisiting everybody's individual lab," said Ray Allen. "You go in there and mix up your potion, whatever it is... your game together. When you're not in [the gym] for a while you definitely need to get that feeling back to it."

Doc Rivers could not stress enough how important it was to get back in the gym and work out some of the kinks. It seemed that many of the issues were addressed, as the Celtics held their opponent to 90 points or lower for the eighth time in nine games. The only time they didn't hold their opponent to under 90 points was in the loss to Phoenix on November 6. In fact, the Celtics are the only team in the shot clock era to hold opponents to under 90 points in their first six wins.

"I just thought the execution tonight was absolutely fantastic- especially the beginning of the game," Coach Doc Rivers said. "I think we got two or three lay-ups and two wide-open shots to start the game. And the defense, the hands were active."

Once again the Celtics jumped all over the opponent in the third quarter, scoring 30 points in the quarter and holding the Jazz to 18. With 3.8 seconds left in the third quarter, Rajon Rondo drove down the court and laid in the ball at the buzzer to give the Celtics a 22-point lead.

"It's called get out of the way play," Rajon Rondo joked. "Rasheed stepped up and set a great pick, and left me one on one with the big, and I just tried to get to the rim as quick as possible. It was just good spacing on the floor. Doc brought in shooters so you couldn't leave the corner."

It is certainly special when a team has a bench full of guys who can play a significant role in any game at any moment. That has been the case so far this season, as players coming off the bench have stepped up and excelled in their role. Kevin Garnett, who had a game high 18 points tonight, is quick to rave about how happy he is with the bench so far.

"[Marquis Daniels] makes everything so easy because he can hound the ball, he can score, he's a post threat. And Rasheed, he just stretches the defense. The shocker here is probably Shelden Williams. He's rebounding, he's keeping the balls alive, he's perfect for this team. He's that live wire that we need, especially with Glen [Davis] being out and he's came in and filled the void that was lost for a second."

The Jazz were clearly outmatched and outcoached for the majority of the game, and they could do nothing but tip their hats to the Celtics on their way out.

"In the second-third quarter, they came out, they executed their offense," Jazz Coach Jerry Sloan said. "They do a great job executing their offense and they're very, very, good defensively. They made it tough for us. We turned the ball over for 15 points in the first half... and they just were all over us."

There was a chance that we would not see the Rajon Rondo / Deron Williams matchup tonight because of Williams' back problems, but he was cleared to play after the pre-game shoot around. He ended up scoring 13 points and dishing out seven assists, in a less-than-Williams-like performance, but didn't blame his poor performance on his back.

"We all played bad today," Williams admitted. "We all have to play better to win, and we haven't done that on a consistent basis this year- and it's frustrating."

"We're soft- and there's no way around it," Williams continued. "We're not playing tough at all. They were quick on loose balls, quick on the floor. They did what you have to do to win. They're a great team. They have a group of guys who know their roles, one through ten."

Mavs@Spurs Game Thread Part 2 - Keith Bogans Coming Out Party

silverandblack_davis, Pounding The Rock — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 02:50:48 -0000

Holy beelzebub, we're in the lead.

Harmonizing Win

Jeff Clark, CelticsBlog — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 02:52:10 -0000

no soup for you

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The Jazz were in town, but it was the home team making sweet music tonight. There was great balance with 7 different players scoring in double figures. The defense was stellar again and it led to a comfortable win. Which is nice because nobody played longer than 32 minutes. We even got to see Bill Walker on the court for the first time this year.

Pistons Smoke Bobcats 98-75

David Arnott, Rufus on Fire — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 03:19:17 -0000

More photos » by Duane Burleson - AP

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Charlie Villanueva looked like an All Star while leading the Pistons' dominating victory over the Bobcats, 98-75. He had 30 points through the first three quarters, and Detroit put the game away for good in the third period.

It's easy to turn everything into a microcosm. But when everything in a given game can be the microcosm, it's just what reality is. We knew going into the season that the offense was going to be miserable, but none of us figured it would be this disgusting. I'm hoping the putrid play we've been watching -- clanking jumpers, awkward post ups, nobody moving away from the ball -- is just a slump that happened to come at the start of the season. But eventually, we won't be able to chalk the crappiness up to bad luck, anymore. As it stands, we're staring down the barrel of a landmark terrible offense, and there doesn't appear to be any reason to think that will change.

Highlights and lowlights after the jump:

BAD

-- Just as there's no precise moment when we'll tumble over the edge of despair regarding the Bobcats' season, there's no precise moment when we'll all have acknowledge that maybe, just maybe, last season was the anomaly, and Boris Diaw just isn't that good. Tonight was a particularly uninspired game from Boris, but the turnovers, the lack of rebounds, and the drop in scoring back to his pre-Bobcats levels are all indicative of a guy who's a nice complementary player, but who's also horribly miscast as a key cog. Don't look at his contract details unless you want to cry.

-- Vladimir Radmanovic: DNP-CD. Amazing. Dude was, ostensibly, our 7th man going into the season. Larry Brown must have been trying to send a message that the space cadet thing has to end.

-- Under 50% from the field. Under 30% from three. More turnovers than assists. Choose your indicator, and the Cats weren't up to snuff.

GOOD

-- Nazr Mohammed, with 13 points and 8 rebounds in 15 minutes, continues his renaissance, garbage time notwithstanding.

-- (Good for the Pistons) Will Bynum is a pro's pro. I was going to make this point about the Magic's reserves last night, but it also applies here. Guys like Bynum and Matt Barnes bring what they bring, production-wise, but if you were to attempt to quantify the attitude that you want from your athletes, I think those guys embody a lot of desirable traits. They don't take their jobs for granted. They're intense about doing their jobs well. And they'll go toe to toe with anyone; it might actually be impossible to intimidate them.