I touched on this in yesterday’s MVP rankings, and I did it again in this interview with CineSport’s Noh Coslov.
I called Chris Andersen the “missing link” for the Miami Heat, and you can add your own joke if you like. But here is the thing: The journeyman with an affinity for tattoos and blocked shots also has developed a sweet outside jumper. I watched the guy practice 18-footers for an hour in Philadelphia last week, and he was knocking them down at something like a 90 percent rate.
So watch for whether Erik Spoelstra begins turning to him for more than 18 minutes, as he has been doing since Birdman joined the Heat two games before their epic winning streak began. The book on the Heat was that size and rebounding was their Achilles heel, but that may not be the case if they’ve found the right guy to plug that hole.
As for tonight’s game in Boston, I already picked the Celtics to win in last week’s CineSport shoot, and I am therefore stuck with that pick. They are 6-point underdogs, BTW.
Also in this video, we discuss the Oklahoma City Thunder and the pair of barometer games they have this week against Memphis and Denver. You realize how much more Russell Westbrook has been shooting the ball than Kevin Durant? More on that in the aforementioned MVP rankings.