IND @ TOR: This was a fun game to watch, though 19,800 Raptors fans went home unhappy as David West took it over, scoring 14 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter. George Hill (who missed the whole preseason) started at PG, played 33 minutes, had 7 assists to one turnover and hit the game-winning floater.
Much-hyped Toronto rookie Jonas Valanciunas had a double-double (12 & 10) midway through the third quarter, then didn’t see much more action. Kyle Lowry looks fantastic (21 PTS, 8 AST, 7 REB, 5 STL) and as we thought, Jose Calderon (15) played SG for long stretches in addition to his backup PG role. Landry Fields (scoreless in 26 minutes) was a $20,000,000 mistake by overrated Raptors GM Bryan Colangelo.
SAS @ NOH: This game wasn’t pretty in the second quarter, when the teams combined for 34 points. Oldtimers Tim Duncan (24 PTS, 11 REB) and Tony Parker (23 PTS, 6 AST) got a lot of help in the third from Kawhi Leonard. The sophomore, who Gregg Popovich has proclaimed a future star, finished with 19 points, 7 rebounds and 5 steals. For the Hornets, Anthony Davis (21 PTS, 7 REB, 1 STL, 1 BLK) had a strong debut, Greivis Vasquez dropped 13 dimes and Al-Farouq Aminu (17 PTS, 7 REB, 2 STL, 3 BLK) was such a pleasant surprise, you might want to add him to your watch lists.
SAC @ CHI: The only good King in the first half was Tyreke Evans, who finished with 21 points and eight rebounds. I hinted yesterday that Joakim Noah might keep DeMarcus Cousins in check, but didn’t expect Noah to dominate like he did. Carlos Boozer (18) and Richard Hamilton (19) picked up the slack for Kirk Hinrich, who shot 1-7 while playing with a strained groin. For Sacramento, James Johnson started at SF but had a miserable night; 1-8 with 4 TO in 21 minutes. Rookie Thomas Robinson got his feet wet in 21:33 off the bench without impacting the box score.
GSW @ PHO: The good news? Stephen Curry played. The bad? He missed all six 3-point shots and was 2-14 on the night. Andrew Bogut also appeared (8 PTS, 6 REB, 1 BLK in 18:29) but David Lee saw plenty of time at C. The normally efficient Lee ruined his fantasy owners’ week with 2-16 shooting. Rookie SF Harrison Barnes got the start but played less than 14 minutes. Somehow, the Warriors won, as Carl Landry (17 PTS, 6 REB) had a big second half. The Michael Beasley era in Phoenix got off to a poor start (8 PTS) and unheralded P.J. Tucker (10 PTS) seems to have passed Wesley Johnson (DNP-CD) on the depth chart. Goran Dragic (17 PTS, 8 AST, 6 REB, 3 STL) and Luis Scola (15 PTS, 11 REB, 3 STL, 3 BLK) were heroic in defeat.
Bidding only against himself, the man who wears hand-made $1,200 shirts came up with a ridiculous $38 million for DeMar DeRozan yesterday. Doug Smith in the Toronto Star calls it “an unnecessary gamble” and Bruce Arthur in the National Post pulls no punches: “…he’s a wing who can’t shoot threes, doesn’t really rebound or pass well, and whose advanced numbers have either held steady or dropped since he was drafted.”
But DMDR *is* twice as good as Fields, so why not?
“Landry Fields (scoreless in 26 minutes) was a $20,000,000 mistake by overrated Raptors GM Bryan Colangelo.”
Who overrates Colangelo, Kent? Clearly not anyone with a rudimentary understanding of statistical analysis. I guess the idiot braintrust of MLSE are the only ones who overrate him, unless the metric is best dressed GM.