I'm not sure how this makes sense for anybody, but whatever. I think that very fact is what makes this make sense, for two franchises that have been consistently (wait for it)...nonsensical. The Bobcats are probably going to give Jack a ton of time at the '2', and that's fine, I guess, but...is this really going to help them contend? I mean, seriously? And his contract? It's pretty atrocious. And I'm not sure how this really makes Jack any happier. But whatever.
Vlad also has a pretty bad contract, and presumably he'll take the option after this season, and so the Warriors are going to have two years of a bad contract for a pretty awful player. Acie Law and Raja Bell are both nice players, I guess, and expirings, but Raja's old and Law's...not really that good, so whatever. Anyway, yea, this whole thing is pretty stupid, and the only way anyone has made any real progress out of this is if Vlad opts out, and gives the Warriors a nice bit of cap space.
Monday, November 16, 2009
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Byron Scott fired, and we wait
So, I have no clue what to think of this. On the one hand, I've always thought that Scott hasn't really managed this team (and specifically Paul) as he really should, and then there's also the fact that he's really pretty awful at "growing" players.
But, what the fuck are they going to do now? I mean, this isn't a good supporting cast, and it won't be for anyone. The Hornets don't have money, and so we all sort of assumed they'd just stick it out with Scott. And I have no clue who they'll turn to now. It should be...interesting. Or something.
But, what the fuck are they going to do now? I mean, this isn't a good supporting cast, and it won't be for anyone. The Hornets don't have money, and so we all sort of assumed they'd just stick it out with Scott. And I have no clue who they'll turn to now. It should be...interesting. Or something.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
No look back; this instead
A day late on the Kareem news, but obviously I, like everyone else, am going to go ahead and say that Cap is the motherfucking man, and hopefully this shit is as (relatively) easily treatable as they're making it sound.
(games happened yesterday, I was doing stuff, and didn't really watch any of them. A fuckton of games tonight, like...a bazillion good ones, too. So, yea.)
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Looking back on...stuff, where holyfuck were there a lot of points last night.
Phx 119-115 PHI, UTA 95-93 NYK, SAS 131-124 TOR, GSW 146-105 MIN, NOH 112-84 LAC.
I mean...goddamn. 6 of 10 teams ended up on at least 110 points last night.
Anyway, moving onto actually talking about the games, I didn't catch all of any of them, but did manage to catch a decent part of a couple. So, onto those.
Raptors-Spurs
So, 255 points in a game involving the Spurs. I'm pretty sure that's a sign of the apocalypse. But if we have to go out...well, that's a cool thing to have happened, right?
It was a crazy game. The Raptors shot nearly 60% from the field, went 11 of 17 from three, only committed 11 turnovers, and held the Spurs to under 50%. So, how'd they lose by 7?
They got outrebounded. By sort of a lot...against a Spurs team that mostly played without anyone over 6'9 on the floor. That's...a problem. Now, granted, one of those sub-6'9ers was DeJuan Blair, who was sent from the heavens as god's gift to rebounding. But still. Bargnani could only grab four? And he's your starting center. That's a pretty big motherfucking problem.
Now, it didn't all come down to rebounding. The Spurs did hit some shots...a lot of them, actually. They were ridiculously efficient, and a lot of that was thanks to Manu's superstar level performance. 36 points on 8 of 15 from the field (6 of 8 from three!), 4 boards, 4 blocks (!), and 8 assists. Ridiculous.
But he wasn't alone. The suddenly somewhat awesome Richard Jefferson managed 24, 8, and 7, which is like a Stephen Jackson on steroids performance (or a tired LeBron, I guess). George Hill was quite impressive at the quasi-point, getting 22 and 5 on only 2 assists. And Matt fucking Bonner got 18. I mean, if these guys can come anywhere close to this with Duncan and Parker around, it will be motherfucking scary.
On Toronto's side, Hedo and Bosh were both quite nice, and Calderon got his usual ridiculous assist count. But, you know...defense. And rebounding. That's what seperates the Raps from the top squads, and it ain't just going to show up. Playing Rasho more than 2 minutes would theoretically help, but obviously you're sacrificing offense to do that...and the question is whether it's worth it. My answer? How the fuck should I know, that's up to you, Jay Triano. Goddamn.
GSW-Minny
There's the Warriors we know and love.
Jackson with a career high 15 assists, big games from Buike, great performances from Gette and Randolph, another ridiculous shooting night from Morrow...this is how it's supposed to be.
Alright, sort of. I mean, the Wolves sort of suck, especially without Kevin Love. But if they play with this sort of energy, and focus, and...willingness to give a damn, on a regular basis...the Warriors are motherfucking scary. But will it last? Probably not.
But motherfuck, we can hope. Right? Right.
ELSEWHERE
Nash murdered Philly, Paul destroyed the Clippers, and the Knicks were involved in the night's lowest scoring game. There we go.
A few nice games tonight, and also OKC-Sac, which should be wonderfully awful/entertaining.
I mean...goddamn. 6 of 10 teams ended up on at least 110 points last night.
Anyway, moving onto actually talking about the games, I didn't catch all of any of them, but did manage to catch a decent part of a couple. So, onto those.
Raptors-Spurs
So, 255 points in a game involving the Spurs. I'm pretty sure that's a sign of the apocalypse. But if we have to go out...well, that's a cool thing to have happened, right?
It was a crazy game. The Raptors shot nearly 60% from the field, went 11 of 17 from three, only committed 11 turnovers, and held the Spurs to under 50%. So, how'd they lose by 7?
They got outrebounded. By sort of a lot...against a Spurs team that mostly played without anyone over 6'9 on the floor. That's...a problem. Now, granted, one of those sub-6'9ers was DeJuan Blair, who was sent from the heavens as god's gift to rebounding. But still. Bargnani could only grab four? And he's your starting center. That's a pretty big motherfucking problem.
Now, it didn't all come down to rebounding. The Spurs did hit some shots...a lot of them, actually. They were ridiculously efficient, and a lot of that was thanks to Manu's superstar level performance. 36 points on 8 of 15 from the field (6 of 8 from three!), 4 boards, 4 blocks (!), and 8 assists. Ridiculous.
But he wasn't alone. The suddenly somewhat awesome Richard Jefferson managed 24, 8, and 7, which is like a Stephen Jackson on steroids performance (or a tired LeBron, I guess). George Hill was quite impressive at the quasi-point, getting 22 and 5 on only 2 assists. And Matt fucking Bonner got 18. I mean, if these guys can come anywhere close to this with Duncan and Parker around, it will be motherfucking scary.
On Toronto's side, Hedo and Bosh were both quite nice, and Calderon got his usual ridiculous assist count. But, you know...defense. And rebounding. That's what seperates the Raps from the top squads, and it ain't just going to show up. Playing Rasho more than 2 minutes would theoretically help, but obviously you're sacrificing offense to do that...and the question is whether it's worth it. My answer? How the fuck should I know, that's up to you, Jay Triano. Goddamn.
GSW-Minny
There's the Warriors we know and love.
Jackson with a career high 15 assists, big games from Buike, great performances from Gette and Randolph, another ridiculous shooting night from Morrow...this is how it's supposed to be.
Alright, sort of. I mean, the Wolves sort of suck, especially without Kevin Love. But if they play with this sort of energy, and focus, and...willingness to give a damn, on a regular basis...the Warriors are motherfucking scary. But will it last? Probably not.
But motherfuck, we can hope. Right? Right.
ELSEWHERE
Nash murdered Philly, Paul destroyed the Clippers, and the Knicks were involved in the night's lowest scoring game. There we go.
A few nice games tonight, and also OKC-Sac, which should be wonderfully awful/entertaining.
Monday, November 9, 2009
only kind of looking back, last weekend's games, stuff
Alright, so I really didn't watch much basketball this weekend, and when you consider the fact that watching part of the GSW-Kings game probably made me considerably dumber, you can understand that I'll only have a few words to say about the Raps' win over the Hornets on Friday. But, here you go.
RAPTORS AND HORNETS
I sort of dig this matchup, at least theoretically, as I've always thought the Calderon-Paul battle at point seems interesting. And it was, with both guys turning in very good performances on Friday, although they differed simply because of the nature of their roles on their respective teams. Calderon was mostly a facilitator, getting 8 assists but also doing well to initiate the offense throughout the game. Sure, he ended up with 16 points, but I got the feeling that those weren't points he actively tried to get...if that makes sense. They just sort of came in the offense, as everything else he does seems to. Zero turnovers on those eight assists, and six of eleven shooting meant he had a pretty crazy efficient game.
Paul was everything for New Orleans, as he pretty much always is. Sure, Okafor and West, possibly even a guard or two, may occasionally contribute, but ultimately this team will always rely heavily on Paul's contribution. And at 21 points, 18 assists, 8-13 shooting, and just 1 turnover...what the fuck more can the guy do? He's setting up EVERYTHING for this team, and the inability of the rest of the guys to create is what really seems to make this offense so stagnant at times. And that's what really has made the Hornets such an average team, and one that's playing below even their modest expectations. There's no way Paul's not frustrated at this point.
Whereas Paul had/has very little help, Calderon was able to rely on the contributions of Chris Bosh and Hedo Turkoglu, who combined for 43 points on the night. The Raptors have been playing quite well so far, and to me they've looked like a team that could well go into the second round and be a problem for one of the "big three".
And there we go, another frustrating night from the Paulettes, and another loss for the Hornets, who are now 2-5.
Elsewhere, OKC beat down Orlando, Sacramento somehow managed to win both legs of a back to back, and the Blazers seemingly got their shit together. A few games tonight, including a somewhat intriguing matchup between Toronto and San Antonio.
RAPTORS AND HORNETS
I sort of dig this matchup, at least theoretically, as I've always thought the Calderon-Paul battle at point seems interesting. And it was, with both guys turning in very good performances on Friday, although they differed simply because of the nature of their roles on their respective teams. Calderon was mostly a facilitator, getting 8 assists but also doing well to initiate the offense throughout the game. Sure, he ended up with 16 points, but I got the feeling that those weren't points he actively tried to get...if that makes sense. They just sort of came in the offense, as everything else he does seems to. Zero turnovers on those eight assists, and six of eleven shooting meant he had a pretty crazy efficient game.
Paul was everything for New Orleans, as he pretty much always is. Sure, Okafor and West, possibly even a guard or two, may occasionally contribute, but ultimately this team will always rely heavily on Paul's contribution. And at 21 points, 18 assists, 8-13 shooting, and just 1 turnover...what the fuck more can the guy do? He's setting up EVERYTHING for this team, and the inability of the rest of the guys to create is what really seems to make this offense so stagnant at times. And that's what really has made the Hornets such an average team, and one that's playing below even their modest expectations. There's no way Paul's not frustrated at this point.
Whereas Paul had/has very little help, Calderon was able to rely on the contributions of Chris Bosh and Hedo Turkoglu, who combined for 43 points on the night. The Raptors have been playing quite well so far, and to me they've looked like a team that could well go into the second round and be a problem for one of the "big three".
And there we go, another frustrating night from the Paulettes, and another loss for the Hornets, who are now 2-5.
Elsewhere, OKC beat down Orlando, Sacramento somehow managed to win both legs of a back to back, and the Blazers seemingly got their shit together. A few games tonight, including a somewhat intriguing matchup between Toronto and San Antonio.
Friday, November 6, 2009
Not really looking back
...but this image will probably suffice in summarizing Cleveland's offense last night, and for the majority of the early part of this season
Anyway, lots of games tonight/this weekend, and I'm not sure if I'll try to get something up before Monday. Maybe. But maybe not. But, you know. Wait. No, you don't, because I don't. What?
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Looking back on...stuff, featuring...the Wrong Way
Lots of games, lots of interesting games, and lots of interesting stuff. And what am I going to rant at you about? The Warriors' win over the Grizzlies. Oh hell yes.
Grizz-GSW
Two teams that will never, ever be said to play fundamental basketball. And we love them for it.
But you know what? This one wasn't particularly...out of control? It was like these teams had sought help for their wrong way-itis, and sure...it wasn't completely effective, but it kind of helped. There were actually a lot of assists dished out during the game (fifty-three in total), and though that was partially because of less than stellar defense...the guys on the floor showed a willingness to avoid "chucking" in a particularly egregious manner. And that was nice.
Oh, anyway, summarizing the game. Nellie went Curry-Monta-Azubuike-Jackson-Biedrins to start. And then Biedrins got three fouls in the first few minutes, and Mikki Moore had to come in, and...well, that team mos def wasn't getting any motherfucking rebounds. But they weren't really scoring, either, and then with the Grizzlies getting off to a pretty decent start shooting...it wasn't great for Golden State. AI came off the bench firing, and was hitting at a pretty nice rate. He ended up with 17 and 7, and is...presumably angry about not starting, or something. But he played well, did what he's sort of meant to do for them, and you can't really fault his performance in this game. Him and Gay were the impetus for the Grizzlies getting out to a pretty nice lead early on.
But the Warriors got back into, and eventually took over the game through strong efforts from Corey Maggette and Anthony Morrow, particularly the latter, whose strong third quarter really helped in separating the two teams after the half. I should also mention that although the shots weren't really falling for Ellis and Jackson, they both did a good job of instigating the offense and really creating chances for teammates. Stephen Curry, too, who somewhat impressed me with his ability to do things other than shoot. But then again, they were playing the Grizzlies.
Anyway, all we can take from this game is that Nellie must REALLY hate Anthony Randolph (who only got in seven minutes), and that we weren't wrong in saying that the Warriors can sometimes be pretty dangerous. Sometimes.
Elsewhere The Lakers managed to beat Houston in overtime, behind a big effort from Kobe, and the Hornets also got an overtime win, mostly thanks to the awesomeness of Chris Paul. And, alright, Peja made a game tying three at the end of regulation. There. I said it. Dwyane Wade pretty much murdered Gilbert and the 'Zards, who couldn't pull off the win after coming back from eighteen down early on. Also? Other stuff.
Just the two games tonight which is...a change of pace. Bulls-Cavs, which seems to end up on TV approximately seventy-six times a season, and Spurs-Jazz. No idea what to expect, really, but...TNT, tonight! If nothing else...Barkley will be there(but so will Reggie Miller).
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Looking back on...stuff, for the games of 11/03/09
So, a lot of games last night, and a lot of interesting stuff. I managed to watch most of one, and bits of a couple others...so let's start with the one I caught most of.
Wizards-Cavs (or DeShawn Stevenson's answer to the Civil War)
This one started out so promising for the 'Zards. Cleveland were playing...just like they've been all season, really, on the offensive end. Just no imagination, no...anything early on for the Cavs. And for Washington? It was all working. Butler was hitting, Gilbert was legitimately running the point...everything was everything. And they got out to an eighteen point lead. Yes, the Wizards had an eighteen point lead on the Cavs. In Cleveland. But if you've looked at the boxscore or anything...you know they lost by twelve. And so what happened?
Well. Everything that was going right? Yea, the opposite of that started happening. The Cavs..I'm not going to act like the offense was a thing of beauty, but they exploited Washington's deficiencies. LeBron got to the line. Shaq went to work on the block...and Shaq's meaningful contribution was opening up the offense, and the rest of the team started getting open shots. And from there, it was working. Now, the problem for Cleveland is that their theoretically challenging playoff opponents have guys that can do something that resembles guarding Shaq, which the Wizards...just couldn't do at all. But I guess this is a start.
On offense, Washington just went to shit. Gilbert started pressing, Butler started missing, and the Cavs defense got a fuckton better. With Jamison out, Gilbert and Butler need to play well, and they need to get a contribution from guys like Blatche and Foye. And none of that really happened, and so they got an eighteen point lead overturned pretty damn quickly.
Elsewhere The Bulls came back against the Bucks, the Celtics manhandled the Sixers, the Mavs managed to overturn a big deficit against the Jazz, the Lakers squeaked past OKC, and the Magic finally looked like...something other than the best basketball team in the history of the universe, I guess. Oh, and the Blazers lost. Again.
And there we go. More games tonight, and more stuff tomorrow.
Wizards-Cavs (or DeShawn Stevenson's answer to the Civil War)
This one started out so promising for the 'Zards. Cleveland were playing...just like they've been all season, really, on the offensive end. Just no imagination, no...anything early on for the Cavs. And for Washington? It was all working. Butler was hitting, Gilbert was legitimately running the point...everything was everything. And they got out to an eighteen point lead. Yes, the Wizards had an eighteen point lead on the Cavs. In Cleveland. But if you've looked at the boxscore or anything...you know they lost by twelve. And so what happened?
Well. Everything that was going right? Yea, the opposite of that started happening. The Cavs..I'm not going to act like the offense was a thing of beauty, but they exploited Washington's deficiencies. LeBron got to the line. Shaq went to work on the block...and Shaq's meaningful contribution was opening up the offense, and the rest of the team started getting open shots. And from there, it was working. Now, the problem for Cleveland is that their theoretically challenging playoff opponents have guys that can do something that resembles guarding Shaq, which the Wizards...just couldn't do at all. But I guess this is a start.
On offense, Washington just went to shit. Gilbert started pressing, Butler started missing, and the Cavs defense got a fuckton better. With Jamison out, Gilbert and Butler need to play well, and they need to get a contribution from guys like Blatche and Foye. And none of that really happened, and so they got an eighteen point lead overturned pretty damn quickly.
Elsewhere The Bulls came back against the Bucks, the Celtics manhandled the Sixers, the Mavs managed to overturn a big deficit against the Jazz, the Lakers squeaked past OKC, and the Magic finally looked like...something other than the best basketball team in the history of the universe, I guess. Oh, and the Blazers lost. Again.
And there we go. More games tonight, and more stuff tomorrow.
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Looking back on...stuff, where Chris Paul is angry at everyone
Alright, so only a few games last night, and I apparently missed the two more interesting games. The Rockets somehow beatdown the Jazz, on the road, and the Kings and Grizzlies combined to score a bazillion and six points, with Kevin Martin contributing...half of that? I don't know.
But I did watch (most of) the Hornets Knicks game, and so....
HORNETS-KNICKS SUPERFANTASTIC RECAP
What a...typically weird game for two annoying teams. Paul dished out eight assists in the first half, but only got two points and didn't even really try to score. It's possible he was trying to somewhat prove a point, I guess, or maybe he was just laying the groundwork for trying to get his in the second half. Anyway, Okafor and West did decently enough to keep the game close with their scoring, but the Knicks' quasi-powerful offense put up 58 in the first half and got out to a 6 point lead at the break.
Paul almost immediately switched things up in the second half, and though it wasn't on some "fuck this, I'm scoring" shit, he was definitely looking for his shot. And with this...group at his disposal, who can blame him? Paul did quite nicely in the third, and the Hornets were playing pretty good 'd' here to hold the Knicks to just 19 points. After three quarters the Hornets had the lead, and I'd sort of gotten the feeling that this was where the Knicks would fall apart.
But, to their credit, they didn't. Now, I'd say that part of that was because the Hornets defense definitely fell off, and the Knicks were able to score...almost at will. But New York did show some heart, and an actual willingness to...try, or something. Anyway, despite Chris Paul's late three point semi-barrage, the Knicks won this one. And the Hornets continue to play somewhat like shit, and unfortunately I'm pretty sure that's sort of going to be how it is this season. Sigh.
Anyway, the title refers to an incident where Al Harrington sort of tackled Paul (going after a loose ball), and it seemed like Paul punched him in the head. I'm not sure this actually happened, but after the Rondo thing...I don't know, the title seemed to fit. Whatever.
A ton of games tonight, including some pretty good ones, so that's nice.
But I did watch (most of) the Hornets Knicks game, and so....
HORNETS-KNICKS SUPERFANTASTIC RECAP
What a...typically weird game for two annoying teams. Paul dished out eight assists in the first half, but only got two points and didn't even really try to score. It's possible he was trying to somewhat prove a point, I guess, or maybe he was just laying the groundwork for trying to get his in the second half. Anyway, Okafor and West did decently enough to keep the game close with their scoring, but the Knicks' quasi-powerful offense put up 58 in the first half and got out to a 6 point lead at the break.
Paul almost immediately switched things up in the second half, and though it wasn't on some "fuck this, I'm scoring" shit, he was definitely looking for his shot. And with this...group at his disposal, who can blame him? Paul did quite nicely in the third, and the Hornets were playing pretty good 'd' here to hold the Knicks to just 19 points. After three quarters the Hornets had the lead, and I'd sort of gotten the feeling that this was where the Knicks would fall apart.
But, to their credit, they didn't. Now, I'd say that part of that was because the Hornets defense definitely fell off, and the Knicks were able to score...almost at will. But New York did show some heart, and an actual willingness to...try, or something. Anyway, despite Chris Paul's late three point semi-barrage, the Knicks won this one. And the Hornets continue to play somewhat like shit, and unfortunately I'm pretty sure that's sort of going to be how it is this season. Sigh.
Anyway, the title refers to an incident where Al Harrington sort of tackled Paul (going after a loose ball), and it seemed like Paul punched him in the head. I'm not sure this actually happened, but after the Rondo thing...I don't know, the title seemed to fit. Whatever.
A ton of games tonight, including some pretty good ones, so that's nice.
Monday, November 2, 2009
Looking back on...stuff (post-weekend edition)
Not a lot of great games this weekend, I have to say. The Knicks went to overtime a couple times, but...well, those games involved the Knicks. But, here's some stuff about two games.
GSW-PHO
So, the Warriors are still frustrating as hell. Who'd have thought? They were in this game for a while, and Azubuike and Curry were having nice nights. With some teams you get the feeling that a couple players are stepping up every night to make a difference, but with this Warriors squad it's more like a bunch of guys are just not doing shit. If that makes sense. Anyway, it was a game for quite a while, but then the Warriors gave up/started sucking, and the collapse led to a somewhat easy Suns victory. They've not exactly started the season in an encouraging fashion, but I still have no idea what we'll get from this team. So I'll just expect more disappointment.
On the Suns' side, they've started quite nicely, albeit with a somewhat favorable schedule. The (once again) wide open offense is working for everyone, as the squad at Gentry's disposal is pretty much ideal for this. Just about every single player is a great fit for this season, so...we're perhaps a few players having truly resurgent seasons away from the Suns being a semi-factor. I don't think they've got a real shot at any sort of meaningful contending, but they could creep into the five or six slot. Possibly.
Here, everyone was efficient as fuck, mostly because the Warriors' D is awful when they put up as little resistance as they did on Friday night. Like I mentioned in their preview, the Suns have five or six really solid guys, and when those guys all have it going they really are a scary team. I'm hoping Leandrinho is going to keep playing well all season, as the NBA is just a little bit less fun when he's not being awesome.
Orlando-Toronto
Christ, what a game. I went into this one wondering if the Magic could pull it off, sans Vince and 'Shard, and who steps up? JJ motherfucking Redick. 27 points on 14 shots, along with 5 dimes. How fucking deep is this team? Christ.
Obviously, it wasn't just Redick. Ryan Anderson has stepped up in a big way for Orlando so far, making that trade look goddamned brilliant, and he got 20 points against the Raptors. Howard and Nelson put up big numbers, but both were at least forced to work for their numbers. Toronto could have lived with the decent but not great production from those two, if it hadn't been for the other guys stepping up. Sort of the same thing I alluded to with GSW, except this time it's in the positive sense.
Toronto fought back well after going down big early on, but Orlando's crazy-awesome three point numbers (17 of 32) really killed them eventually. As we sort of knew from the beginning, this Raptors squad has a lot of offensive threats, and Chris Bosh and Andrea Bargnani really hurt Orlando in this one. Their defensive effort wasn't really awful in this one, as...if the other team's going to go 17 of 32, there's not a ton you can really do. I don't think they are ever going to be the Spurs of days past, but it's hard to blame Toronto's potentially porous defense for this loss. On another day, perhaps they win this game, and I think Toronto would have probably taken one out of two from Orlando and Cleveland if it was offered beforehand.
GSW-PHO
So, the Warriors are still frustrating as hell. Who'd have thought? They were in this game for a while, and Azubuike and Curry were having nice nights. With some teams you get the feeling that a couple players are stepping up every night to make a difference, but with this Warriors squad it's more like a bunch of guys are just not doing shit. If that makes sense. Anyway, it was a game for quite a while, but then the Warriors gave up/started sucking, and the collapse led to a somewhat easy Suns victory. They've not exactly started the season in an encouraging fashion, but I still have no idea what we'll get from this team. So I'll just expect more disappointment.
On the Suns' side, they've started quite nicely, albeit with a somewhat favorable schedule. The (once again) wide open offense is working for everyone, as the squad at Gentry's disposal is pretty much ideal for this. Just about every single player is a great fit for this season, so...we're perhaps a few players having truly resurgent seasons away from the Suns being a semi-factor. I don't think they've got a real shot at any sort of meaningful contending, but they could creep into the five or six slot. Possibly.
Here, everyone was efficient as fuck, mostly because the Warriors' D is awful when they put up as little resistance as they did on Friday night. Like I mentioned in their preview, the Suns have five or six really solid guys, and when those guys all have it going they really are a scary team. I'm hoping Leandrinho is going to keep playing well all season, as the NBA is just a little bit less fun when he's not being awesome.
Orlando-Toronto
Christ, what a game. I went into this one wondering if the Magic could pull it off, sans Vince and 'Shard, and who steps up? JJ motherfucking Redick. 27 points on 14 shots, along with 5 dimes. How fucking deep is this team? Christ.
Obviously, it wasn't just Redick. Ryan Anderson has stepped up in a big way for Orlando so far, making that trade look goddamned brilliant, and he got 20 points against the Raptors. Howard and Nelson put up big numbers, but both were at least forced to work for their numbers. Toronto could have lived with the decent but not great production from those two, if it hadn't been for the other guys stepping up. Sort of the same thing I alluded to with GSW, except this time it's in the positive sense.
Toronto fought back well after going down big early on, but Orlando's crazy-awesome three point numbers (17 of 32) really killed them eventually. As we sort of knew from the beginning, this Raptors squad has a lot of offensive threats, and Chris Bosh and Andrea Bargnani really hurt Orlando in this one. Their defensive effort wasn't really awful in this one, as...if the other team's going to go 17 of 32, there's not a ton you can really do. I don't think they are ever going to be the Spurs of days past, but it's hard to blame Toronto's potentially porous defense for this loss. On another day, perhaps they win this game, and I think Toronto would have probably taken one out of two from Orlando and Cleveland if it was offered beforehand.
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