The Post Up: Hot Shot, JR

by Holly MacKenzie / @stackmack

Merry Christmas Eve, to those who celebrate. Happy Thursday, to the rest of you!

Before I go into anything else, I get to shamelessly send you here. Vote if you wanna. Kinda fun, right? Love that people are still finding the Post Up this season and enjoying it. Love being mentioned with the other guys and feel pretty honored to be thought of as a break out blogger for doing what I love and talking hoops because I’d go crazy if I didn’t.

While you’re there, you can also vote for SLAMonline. Whooo.

Raps fans, how good did that 30-point thrashing feel? It will be interesting to see how the Pistons respond on the 27th back in Toronto. Especially if they’ve got more of their starting line up back.

Felt good, though. Can’t lie. I know the guys really, really wanted to get the three-game win streak before the Christmas break, so I’m happy that they got it.

Did I mention yesterday that Sonny Weems is flying out of Detroit this a.m. to surprise his mother after telling her he wouldn’t be able to make it home for the holiday? I just love that story. Love it.

Our girl Cali told me all about JR Smith going off on the Hawks. The game was in Denver and JR had 41 points…. and TEN three-pointers off of the bench in his 30 minutes of play. That’s pretty foolish. Apparently he was insane. I kinda wish I had seen the game. Denver got the 124-104 victory, and 41 of of the bench from JR. That just sounds silly, right?

While shooting 10-17 from deep, he connected on just 1-6 from the free throw line. This made me think of Nick Van Exel. Remember how he’d step back to shoot free throws? I kinda miss that lefty.

Jerryd Bayless was a baller for the Blazers again last night. Without Brandon Roy who was out with a strained shoulder, Bayless had –to quote Blazersedge’s twitter account–41 minutes 31 points 7 assists 2 rebounds 1 steal 1 block 0 turnovers & 1 postgame TV shout out to his mom for jerryd bayless.

Yeah, it was a good night for the guy who is proving nightly he deserves time. It was a huge win for the Blazers against the San Antonio Spurs, too. It’s got to be so emotional in that locker room, finally getting used to G.O. not suiting up, losing Przybilla, being without BRoy, knowing your coach can barely stand up on the sidelines, sheesh. They’ve got heart, and a lot of it.

Looking at the boxscore for Mia’s 80-70  victory over the Jazz shows a wild line from Dwyane Wade who did a little bit of everything: 29 points, seven rebounds, five assists, two steals and three blocked shots. Dude was all over the place. 37 percent shooting for the Jazz. Eeek.

K. Love is turning into a rebounding machine for Minny. 16 last night, as the Nets lost another game.

So…. The Warriors lost 108-102 to the Hornets… And they should not feel badly about it. While New Orleans played 11 guys, the Warriors had a seven man rotation. Monta Ellis logged all 48 minutes, Steph Curry had 47. Anthony Randolph got big minutes and would you believe, he produced? Six blocks in the first q. Eight for the game.

38 huge points for Kevin Durant as the Thunder steal a close one from the Suns. And… as I go to bed, the Kings and Cavs are in a tight fourth quarter. Oh man, I realize just how much league pass means to me when I don’t have it!

EDIT: worst OT ever? Cavs outscore Kings 13-0. Yikes.

Bron watch: 34 points, 16 rebounds 10 assists. Damn, Bron killed it. Tell me how it went down. I’m kinda bitter I missed it.