CHI @ CLE: Without Dion Waiters (ankle) and with Daniel Gibson (10 PTS) in the starting lineup, the Cavs were at a huge disadvantage. Marco Belinelli (23) enjoyed a confidence-builder in his second start for injured Rip Hamilton (foot), and as expected, Joakim Noah more than held his own (13 PTS, 15 REB, 5 AST, 2 BLK) against Anderson Varejao, who did manage another double-double (11 PTS, 13 REB, 3 AST, 3 STL). Luol Deng added 22 for the Bulls, and Kirk Hinrich (11 PTS, 8 AST) played so well that Nate Robinson was barely needed. Cleveland never recovered from an 11-point first quarter. When third-string PG Donald Sloan (14) is your leading scorer, you won’t win many games.
LAL @ NOH: Congratulations to Kobe Bryant on surpassing 30,000 points with 29 last night and for sustaining his greatness all these years. Dwight Howard (18 PTS, 8 REB, 5 BLK) was strong, but for once it was a team effort. Antawn Jamison had a decent game (15 PTS, 4 REB) filling in for Pau Gasol (knee) and Chris Duhon dished out 10 assists; the Lakers even got 29 points from their bench. Ryan Anderson (31 PTS, 9 AST) is the go-to guy for the future Pelicans, Greivis Vasquez (16 PTS, 9 AST, 5 REB) had another solid line and Robin Lopez (15 PTS, 4 REB, 5 BLK) continues to impress, but New Orleans isn’t very deep without Eric Gordon (knee) and Anthony Davis (ankle) so they were no match in the second half.
DEN @ ATL: This was fun to watch. Al Horford (25 PTS, 12 REB, 4 AST, 4 STL) was terrific all night, and Josh Smith recovered from a very quiet first half to finish with 16 points and 11 boards. However, Jeff Teague (9 PTS on 4-of-16 shooting) got blown out by Ty Lawson, who erupted for 32 points, 7 assists and 5 steals. Kosta Koufos (illness) sat out, allowing Timofey Mozgov (6 PTS, 13 REB) a rare start at center. Corey Brewer is suddenly thriving off the Nuggets’ bench (another 19 points) in the role some of us imagined chronically-hurt Wilson Chandler (hip) was born to play. However, I have no clue what’s wrong with Andre Iguodala (5 PTS, 7 TO) — if you’re ever going to buy low, Iggy’s hit rock bottom.
MIL @ SAS: We’ve seen it happen countless times. A guy like Larry Sanders becomes a star off the bench, blocking 22 shots in three games, then gets promoted to the starting lineup, where he finds things much more difficult. In foul trouble all night, including a technical, Sanders (4 PTS, 7 REB, 1 BLK) was no match for Tim Duncan (17 PTS, 10 REB, 2 BLK) and we can expect more rotation shuffling from the league’s most infuriating coach, Scott Skiles. Ersan Ilyasova (17 PTS, 5 REB) did OK off the bench and Monta Ellis (21 PTS, 11 AST, 3 STL) had a nice line but the Spurs were never really threatened. Tony Parker and Gary Neal each scored 22 and several bench players made big contributions.
ORL @ UTA: It wasn’t hard to predict Al Jefferson (31 PTS, 15 REB) would take Nikola Vucevic (6 PTS, 16 REB) to school, but Big Al collapsed in a heap with back spasms late in the game, making Jazz fans, teammates and fantasy owners nervous. It’s hard to say whether he will play on Friday; Enes Kanter would be a very good streamer if Jefferson sits. Paul Millsap (22 PTS, 4 REB, 3 BLK) and Glen Davis (18 PTS, 12 REB) had a good battle. Marvin Williams (8 PTS, 4 REB) was a surprise starter for Utah after missing three games with a concussion. For the Magic, Jameer Nelson (17 PTS, 5 AST, 5 REB, 2 STL) played well, but rookie Moe Harkless (scoreless in 15 minutes) is not a starting SF just yet.
As they say, practice makes pefrcet . Also, it sometimes depends on the physique and athleticism of the player, but actually, anyone can shoot like them with practice and honing of the skill/art.