As I was watching the excellent games from the previous few nights in the league, I knew the NBA was off to a great start but couldn’t help miss the game-winners that were a staple by this time last season (c’mon Kob, don’t make it look like you were playing for that contract last year!). After a few texts, no one felt like stepping up to the plate, except for one person:
Russell Westbrook: “Naw man, I gotta run this team on the safe side with no KD.”
Ginobili: “-This is an automatic response from the Spurs organization. We thank you for your interest but unfortunately cannot value your request for a game-winning shot, which would violate our non-excitement clause.-“
Garnett: “HOW’D YOU GET MY NUMBER YOU ******?! I WILL BREAK YOU!”
Rudy Gay: “Why not? It’s not like I got anything better to do.”
Without Wade, the Heat seemed to be making all the right plays to steal a win over the Grizzlies. And when your $111 million dollar man is being man-handled by Zach Randolph in every way imaginable, stealing is the correct term. Randolph had 21 points and 13 rebounds and made key rebounds and a block on #6 to keep his team afloat. Bosh magically re-appeared in the 4th quarter and banked in a three-pointer then House stripped Rudy, eventually tying up the game. LeBron “don’t call me a PG because I don’t like the responsibility” James had 29 points and distributed his way to 11 assists. With 5.5 seconds left and reeling from a costly turnover, Gay dribbles up the key, goes right and fades away from James for the win….GOT IT!
I have to admit, I was thinking that the Grizz don’t get a quality look and that Eddie House takes yet another game-altering shot the Heat. Adding injury to insult, Udonis Haslem went down in the 3rd quarter and sources say that he may have a possible torn ligament in his ankle and a dislocated toe. I’m not saying the Heat are in trouble, but ESPN’s usually-optimistic “Heat Index” is currently at “OK Don’t Panic, Juwan Howard Will Step Up, Right?!”
The Spurs make it a league-best 10 straight wins as they beat the Cavaliers thanks to Tony Parker (19 points, 9 assists) and Tiago Splitter (he does exist!) adding 18 points off the bench. Mo Williams led the Cavs with 21 points and 6 assists and JJ Hickson led the team in dropped balls due to stone hands. At this point last season, the Spurs were 6-6 as Popovich and company are emphasizing a strong early spark which will put them in a better position to grab home court advantage for the playoffs. This is a tough call, but I’m making it: One…more…run. Unless the Hornets grow a few inches across the board, the Spurs take the Lakers to 7 games in the WCF amid some controversial calls.
I’m not going to lie, fam – not much to see here. Disgruntled employee #15, the artist formerly known as Carmelo Anthony, scored 28 points to show the Nuggets what they’ll be missing once he’s gone. Nene Hilario (I wonder if he has a good sense of humor) backed him up with 22 points and 8 rebounds to beat the Nets. Brook Lopez had 20 points and 8 rebounds for the Nets but they could not capitalize on their late comeback, flirting with a 2-point game before deciding the extra effort was just not worth it.
Sparked by C.J Miles’ 25 bench point points, the Jazz rallied past the Blazers in yet another 4th quarter comeback. Trailing the game early until the middle of the 4th, Miles kept making it rain and gave his team a two point lead before deciding to hit three more treys. LaMarcus Aldridge (24 points, 11 rebounds) hit a jumper to cut the lead to two but Utah’s comeback machine went on an 11-2 run that iced the game. Portland was without Brandon Roy for the second straight game and his backup Wes Matthews couldn’t put together any semblance of a revenge game against his former employer, finishing with 16 points on 6-of-16 shooting. After seeing the initial All-Star ballot, why is Paul Millsap left out? Meanwhile, I fully expect Yao to get somewhere between 6 and 9 billion votes.
Overtime
“Check My $tats” of the night: Blake Griffin – 44 points, 15 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 steals, 1 block. ROY lockdown.
Separated at birth of the day: Scott Brooks and Liam Neeson.
Unfortunately, this is the highlight of the Knicks’ season so far. Fortunately for us, it’s hilarious.
K-Love explains why Beasley yells at rookies.
Check back tomorrow as Adam’s got you covered, including the Lakers/Warriors game tonight.
I’m out like the Knicks’ manhood.
