QUOTE OF THE WEEK: Los Angeles Lakers forward Antawn Jamison, on the drama surrounding the team this season (hat tip to Hoopsworld): “I dealt with LeBron leaving Cleveland and guys bringing firearms in the locker room. This is mild.”
LINE OF THE WEEK: LeBron James, Miami at Houston, Nov. 12: 40 minutes, 14-26 FGs, 5-8 3-pointers, 5-8 FTs, 10 rebounds, six assists, zero turnovers, 38 points in a 113-110 win. After a quiet first half, James scored 16 points in both the third and fourth quarters, draining eight jumpers of at least 19 feet. He had 10 points in the first 3 1/2 minutes of the second half and eight points in the game’s final two minutes.
LINE OF THE WEAK: Jan Vesely, Washington at Charlotte and at Dallas, Nov. 13 and 14: 26 minutes, 0-1 FGs, 0-4 FTs, four rebounds, zero assists, one block, seven fouls, zero points in a pair of losses. That’s right – Vesely had consecutive disappearing acts in which he produced next to nothing coming off the bench. He got a start in his next game, which is all you need to know about woeful, winless Washington.
TRILLION WATCH: Brooklyn Nets forward Josh Childress moved to the head of the class with an awesome 8 trillion featuring a minus-12 in Thursday’s nationally televised win over Boston. Childress may have the top spot for a while; aside from Quincy Pondexter’s staggering 11 million, last season’s “best” was an 8 trillion.
GAME OF THE WEEK: LA Clippers at Oklahoma City, Nov. 21. There is a school of thought that says the Clippers are the team the Thunder don’t want to see in the playoffs. The Clippers already have beaten Memphis, the LA Lakers, San Antonio and Miami, all on their own floor. This will be a true road test.
GAME OF THE WEAK: Cleveland at Orlando, Nov. 23. Yeah, you’re clear to hit the mall on Black Friday.
I think , in fact, the Griz are perfect for a 7 game series. The small trend is a trend of ONE year. ONE. Maveriks didnt play it. Lakers didnt. Size can wear you down. Fast break points have about NOTHING to do with small ball or big ball. One thing i want to add about memphis……..mike Conley is the most underrated guard in the NBA. And Pondexter the most underrated pure on ball defender in the NBA. Both are crucial for the Griz. Yes, Zbo is unstoppalbe when healthy and gasol has dialed up his game several clicks…….but conley helps it all hold together. I think the west is spurs and OKC and Memphis….with an outside chance for denver to get it together. Clips wont…trust me…..and lakers clearly wont (IMHO). Its those three teams ….all small market , all tough, all aggressive and well coached. Poor david stern.
I do love the style of ball that the Grizz play, and I have enjoyed watching Gay, Gasol, and Randolph the last few years. And I even predicted they would beat the Spurs in the playoffs two years ago I loved them so much.
But when you look at how Miami beat the Thunder in the playoffs last year, going small and forcing Kendrik Perkins out of the game, which opened the lane up, will the Grizz stay true to their indentity in a playoff series that is all about match-ups. I know they just recently beat the Heat and Knicks, but can they win this way in the playoffs? With three-point shooting and fast break points becoming increasingly important I just don’t see enough easy buckets for the Grizz in a playoff series. And even with their high output of offensive rebounds most teams play better defense and rebound better in the playoffs, so even that advantage will probably shrink a little.
And again, I still hate an article being broken up into multiple page views.