Yesterday we told you the NBA silly season has already begun. Any lineup is possible for any team; logic and past performances, while never infallible predictive tools, mean less and less each week until the playoffs begin. It wasn’t a complete surprise that the Spurs rested Tim Duncan and Kawhi Leonard. That can happen on a Gregg Popovich team at any point in the season. The shocker was the guys who did make the trip to Minnesota shooting 35% and getting blown out. A similar tale unfolded in Charlotte, where Paul Pierce was given a well-deserved night off, but his teammates simply quit.
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Tuesday Results
LAL @ ORL: It looks like a misprint in the box score. Dwight Howard (39 PTS, 16 REB, 3 BLK) went to the free-throw line 39 times and converted 25 of them. That’s 64%, compared to his 49% season rate, so the tedious ‘hack’ strategy backfired. It was a packed house, including a few thousand Lakers fans among the Magic faithful who came to jeer their former hero. Kobe Bryant (11 PTS, 8 AST, 7 REB, 2 STL) was content to take a back seat. Jameer Nelson (21 PTS, 7 AST) rose to the occasion and Tobias Harris (17 PTS, 15 REB, 3 BLK) hit three triples in perhaps the best all-around game of his career.
BOS @ CHA: One way to end a 10-game losing streak is to have your opponents hand you one, gift-wrapped. Paul Pierce (rest) has an excuse, but Kevin Garnett (5 PTS in 20 minutes) was lifeless and the Celtics always take their emotional cues from KG, so everyone else went through the motions. Gerald Henderson took advantage with a career-high 35 points, Ben Gordon (17 PTS, 2 REB, 2 AST, 2 STL) is enjoying the sixth-man role and even Josh McRoberts (13 PTS, 10 REB) had a double-double in this farce.
SAS @ MIN: Against a shorthanded and disinterested team, Ricky Rubio (21 PTS, 13 REB, 12 AST) had his first triple-double and the Timberwolves won with ease. J.J. Barea (17 PTS, 5 REB, 5 AST) had another strong game off the bench, and Alexey Shved (16 PTS, 7 AST, 3 REB) emerged from a shooting slump by going 6-for-8 with three 3-pointers. All the Spurs should have stayed home; Manu Ginobili (7 PTS in 21:37) missed eight of ten shots and Tiago Splitter (4 PTS, 11 REB) missed nine of ten.
WAS @ CLE: As expected, Dion Waiters (20 PTS, 6 REB, 3 AST) is the man to own and Shaun Livingston (12 PTS, 6 AST, 3 REB) will be useful until Kyrie Irving (shoulder) returns in a few weeks. Tristan Thompson (13 PTS, 14 REB) was solid up front and Alonzo Gee (17 PTS, 3 AST, 2 REB) knocked down four 3-pointers. John Wall (27 PTS, 14 AST, 7 REB) was terrific in defeat and Emeka Okafor (18 PTS, 11 REB, 2 BLK) dominated Tyler Zeller (4 PTS, 3 REB) but the Cavaliers’ bench outplayed the Wizards’ reserves.