Wednesday, November 10th, 2010 at 9:38 am  |  88 responses

Post Up: Cool Jazz

Paul Millsap gone wild. Safe for work, we promise.

by Adam Figman | @afigman

Utah 116, Miami 114

So we all saw this coming, right? Not the Heat losing to the Jazz—who the hell thought that’d happen?—but we knew that, when Miami does get beaten, it’ll be to teams that can dominate them in the paint. Well, meet Mr. Paul Millsap. Dude had 46 points, 9 rebounds and 3 three-pointers (what?) to take down a squad with a 39-point scorer (DWade ) and a triple-double getter (LeBron). Utah trailed by 22 in the second and 19 at half, but stormed back in the second half and forced OT after a 48th final minute in which Millsap drilled all three of his treys and added a bucket that tied things up. (Required viewing on the bottom of this post.) Deron Williams (21 points, 14 assists) played well but fouled out in regulation, and it was a pair of Francisco Elson free throws with 0.4 seconds remaining that gave Utah the W in extra time. Worth mentioning: Raja Bell’s halftime speech fired up the dudes in purple and supplied them all the momentum that the Heat, understandably, didn’t seem coming. Can’t be easy to win when the opposition is going all Hoosiers on you during early November regular season contests.

Indiana 144, Denver 113

Let me tell you about a third quarter. From the 24th through the 35th minute of this showdown, the Pacers shot 20-21, only missing when Josh McRoberts (goddamnit, Josh!) clanked a deep jumper that ruined his team’s perfect quarter. Everyone got involved in this one—Mike Dunleavy (31 points), Darren Collison (29), Tyler Hansbrough (20!), Danny Granger (19) and Roy Hibbert (17) were all a part of that third-quarter highlight reel. Indiana shot 56-87 (64.4 percent) on the night, and there wasn’t much the Nuggets could do except watch the shots continue to fall. Scoring 144 points during a National Basketball Association game usually means you’ll take home a victory. But still: Goddamnit, Josh!

Cleveland 93, New Jersey 91

In the front half of a home-and-home, the Cavs took down the Nets last night and pushed their record above .500 (4-3). I can’t tell if Cleveland is actually half decent or if their schedule has just been cake thus far, but either way, props to them. J.J. Hickson led the team with an 18 and 10 showing, while Antawn Jamison (16 points) and Anthony Parker (9 points) both hit big threes down the stretch. These two face off again tonight in Ohio.

Milwaukee 107, New York 80

I keep mentioning this, but it keeps being true: If New York doesn’t shoot well, they stand zero chance at coming anywhere close to beating, well, anyone. So yeah: they shot 37.8 percent from the field, and 26.3 percent from deep, and you can guess how things ended. Brandon Jennings led the Bucks with 19, and his team’s un-Knick-like 51.3 percent field goal shooting made all the difference. The Knickerbockers will rush home to face the Warriors at MSG tonight.

New Orleans 101, L.A. Clippers 82

With seemingly no intention of losing any time soon, the Hornets hosted the Clippers poorly last night, not offering them a drink or a bite to eat before beating them down and impolitely asking them to leave. Chris Paul was able to play under 30 minutes and still managed 13 points, 8 assists and 3 steals, while Willie Green led the way for the Bees with 19. New Orleans will try to keep its streak going Saturday against Portland.

Portland 100, Detroit 78

Behind LaMarcus Aldridge (19 points, 17 boards), the Blazers took an 11 point lead after one and held on from there. A telling stat: Detroit tallied 16 assists and 17 turnovers, while Portland dished 28 assists with only 14 turnovers. The homie Nicolas Batum dropped in 17 (Sidebar: Does Batum have a nickname? To be honest, I’d really love to refer to him as simply “the homie Nicolas Batum” from here out.), while Rudy Fernandez went for 13.

L.A. Lakers 99, Minnesota 94

The Lakers scored more points, but can’t we just give the T-Wolves the win this one time? Kevin Love scored 23 and grabbed 24 boards, while his (now) 1-7 squad finished only 5 points behind the (still) undefeated Lake Show. For what it’s worth, an impressive effort from Minny. Kobe led L.A. with 33, and Pau Gasol’s 18 and 10 double-double was pretty solid, too. Anyone printing up “Free Kevin Love” shirts yet? One of you guys really needs to get on that—but I want those royalties! Phil Jackson and crew are in Denver tomorrow night.

Performance of the Night: Of course: Paul Millsap: 46 points, 9 rebounds, 3 threes, 1 steal.
Moment of the Night: Let’s allow this one to soak in a little further:

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  • The D Train

    Co-sign Allen’s first sentence. NBA titles are not won in November. OKC might not be wildly over-rated. The Lakers might not go undefeated. NO might not be the second best team in the West. And Miami might not struggle once they get their stuff together. It’s early kids. Get excited. Get frightened. But don’t bother over-reacting to people’s premature, and often hyperbolic, statements on the Slam boards.

  • http://www.slamonline.com Kulchakris

    Co-sign D Train. However, as I mentioned in a prior post, there are some conclusions that can be drawn this early in the season. The Heat struggle with penetrating guards, and strong post play. It’s possible this will change, but most likely, they are we thought they were (word to Dennis Green).

  • http://www.slamonline.com Kulchakris

    And speaking of hyperbole, I wonder if Jeff Van Gundy still believes the Heat will go 67-7 the remainder of the season?

  • http://www.fiba.com Darksaber

    What was utterly jarring (to me) was how calm Milsap was after every.single.shot in that 4th quarter.
    1-2-3 three’s, a’int no thang.
    Push Udonis outta the way and sink the equalizer at the buzzer: cool beans.
    A real pro
    If Vince, Kobe, Wade or any of the “stars” had done that, the amount of posturing going on would have been ridiculous.

  • Bruno

    I remember Millsap battling LA bigs all alone in the playoffs cause boozer dissapeared

  • add

    glad to see hansbrough doin well

  • http://shinefluid@aol.com just Bcuz

    wow there is alot of HURT FEELINGS on this msg board lol guys take it easy. i dont think the players even care this much

  • http://slamonline.com Kap

    What is up about all the talk on trading Bosh? That is a huge knee jerk reaction. Damn, we are not even ten games into the season yet.

  • http://slamonline.com tealish

    @Dark – WORD. Just business as usual for this guy. Love it.

  • Glenn

    I love LeBron’s reaction to that first three Millsap hit. He was like, “What the F just happened?”

  • http://slamonline.com Kap

    No one mentioned Lebron shooting 5-18?

  • T-Money

    Kap: LeBron shot 5-18. / I’m a little annoyed by D-Wade’s defense right now. He gambles too much for my liking and hasn’t been as rock solid 1vs1 as I had hoped. House has been a pleasant surprise though. Meh./ E: What did Rio do or say? This is getting weird.

  • http://www.double-technical.blogspot.com Zee!

    Meanwhile, the Lakers are 8-0.

  • http://slamonline.com Allenp

    I think some things have to change for the Heat, but I think it’s a tad early to label them as completely flawed, or assume their flaws can’t be corrected.
    Bottom line, the Heat are a very similar team to those old Chicago Bulls teams (I know that’s blasphemy but it’s true) and those teams also had problems with quick guards and good post players. Hell Damon Stoudamire used to kill Chicago, and I think the Raptors with him as the helm were responsible for two of the Bulls’ losses during their 72 win season.
    And we saw what Chicago did in that three year run.

  • bdub

    Loving Milsap. Dudes holding my Fantasy team together. Oh and Co-sign D-Train.

  • The D Train

    @Allen: you make an apt comparison, but the issue for Miami, if changes are not made in schemes or personnel, is that the PG issue will be magnified because the best teams in the East feature just those kinds of PG’s. Boston, Chicago and Orlando (Jameer, to a lesser degree than the previous 2) could, in theory, expose that weakness over a 7 game series. As noted above, it’s early, but if that flaw remains, it could potentially be problematic over the course of a 7 game series.

  • http://www.twitter.com/TheDiesel Anton

    New nicknames as a result of this topic: “Goddamnit, Josh!” and “Chris Posh Spice”.

  • http://www.need4sheed.com Tarzan Cooper

    Paul millsap is a damn beast! Carlos who?

  • mAMba

    Last 4 times lbj has gotten a triple double (including playoffs) his team has lost.

  • http://slamonline.com JJAkroyd

    Please trade Chris Bosh before nobody wants him. Can’t score, can’t drive, can’t pass, can’t play D. 14.5 mil for jump shots and kiss LeWade’s ass.

  • Brickshooting J

    LOL @ the Comic Sans for the Cavs.

  • razilla tha beast

    who was supposed to be boxing him out on that last shot??? was it Bosh??? i bet it was

  • http://slamonline.com Allenp

    It was Haslem, actually. Haslem was ball watching and Millsap read that and crashed the boards. Bosh boxed out his man.
    I think that T-Money hit on a issue, which I noticed. I don’t understand why Lebron just passes the ball to Wade and then goes and stands in the corner. I don’t understand why they just run competing Iso sets.
    No high post action, which would be outstanding, they don’t even run a 2/3 pick and roll, which would be absolutely devastating, in my opinion. Two of the best plays last night were when Wade snuck backdoor and got a sweet dish from Lebron for a dunk, and when Wade cut off a post entry pass to Bosh, and got and easy handoff and finish with the foul.
    Just simple action that is magnified because of hte talent of the players involved, I don’t understand why the Heat don’t do this more. It’s very similar to what Mike Brown was doing, which is kind of troubling.

  • http://www.chicagonow.com/blogs/chicago-bulls-confidential/ Diesel

    Man, Lebron really “just disappeared” in OT. What’s the point of having 3 all stars on a team when 2 of them are just standing and watching at any given time? 3 players used to having the ball in their hands at all times are uninterested when the ball isn’t in their hands – shocking. Sacrificing for the better of the team is easy when all eyes are on you and everything is new. Once people slowly lose some interest in this team, and the honeymoon period is over, this whole situation will get worse.
    Whoever said Boston didn’t dominate Miami in the paint – Did you just chose to not pay attention to Shaq, KG, and Big Baby the whole game?
    Comparing Miami to a Bulls team playing without their best player, while also trying to implement a new coach and system makes tons of sense. Whatever helps cope with the pain I guess.

  • http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/olybb/news/story?id=5493184 Jackie Moon

    So, it’s obvious now, right? Kobe is better than DWade and Lebron.

  • http://thetroyblog.com Teddy-the-Bear

    Paul Millsap had the best individual performance of the season. Also, probably the greatest individual performance in a regular season game since T-Mac’s 13 points in 35 seconds.

  • http://thetroyblog.com Teddy-the-Bear

    Damn, this is why I find the Utah Jazz incredibly likable, and why they’re fast becoming one of my favorite teams to watch. They don’t give up, they’re talented, the coaching is maybe the best in the league, and they’re just grimy as f*ck on every possession. AK-47 also gets props for his big 3 in OT to take the lead for Utah.
    It’s funny that the decline in centers had led to a huge growth in dominant power-forwards in the league. Millsap is officially one of my favorite players.

  • http://slamonline.com Bryan Crawford

    Comparing this Miami Heat team to those Bulls squads in any shape, form, or fashion is just RIDICULOUS. How can such an analogy even be made? Especially when this team has done nothing but underperform and fall short of the expectations placed on them thus far. The excuse making for a team that everyone wants to see succeed for God knows what reason is staggering.

  • http://slamonline.com Bryan Crawford

    For the record, the 72-10 Bulls lost to Toronto only once that season.

  • http://slamonline.com Bryan Crawford

    Additionally, using the 72-10 Bulls as the mirror for what this Heat team could accomplish is just flat out stupid. Why? Because that team didn’t set out to win 72 games that season. That was never the goal or the expectations placed on them. These guys have that in the back of their minds though. So does everyone else, apparently. It’s foolishness.

  • The D Train

    Bryan makes a valid point, at least in part. I am not sure that we can prove that MJ didn’t set out to lay waste to the rest of the league at a historical clip that season. I think the part that is valid is that IF those ambitions were shared amongst the Bulls players, they sure weren’t talking about it…or more appropriately the media was not talking about it. After Nick and the O-Town Wonders stripped MJ and knocked the Bulls out the year before, one could argue that MJ was more motivated than he was at any point in his career, in addition to being questioned by the media more than he had been since the first title. A highly motivated MJ might not have sparked conversations about winning 70 publicly, but I don’t think any of us knows that he didn’t have some sort of historical marker set in his mind, to try and erase the stink of the previous season’s memory.

  • http://slamonline.com Bryan Crawford

    DTrain, back then, the media didn’t start talking about 72 wins for Chicago until it was a REAL POSSIBILITY, not in the summer or at the beginning of the season. Big difference.

  • The D Train

    As far as the Heat, I think Bryan uses a quote that we have to consider when we argue about these cats. He refers to the “expectations placed on them.” That is important to keep in mind. If sensationalistic journalists and hyperbolic fans want to say and write crazy things, it really is not the (perceived) sane person’s job to try and refute their ludicrous ramblings. Granted, we all try from time to time (myself obviously included), but it is an exercise in futility. I think it’s insane to think that a team that has never played together and seemingly lacks the belly fire (to steal a phrase from Bart’s ballet teacher) of that Bulls team could win 70+ games. That line of thought, however, is based on my perspective and my biases. Just like those who write and talk about Miami winning 70+ are basing their expectations on their perspectives and biases.

  • http://slamonline.com tealish

    Happened again!
    Florida teams just can’t close out the Jazz!

  • http://thetroyblog.com Teddy-the-Bear

    Utah has the best frontcout in the NBA.

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  • arjae828

    @ allen p. only difference is those chicago teams played in a different era. You were allowed to hand check. Nowadays if you look at a guard you’ll get a foul. And the league is ripe with talented points. D.Will. D.Rose. J.Wall. Rondo. CP3. T.Parker. B.Davis. A.Miller. It’ll be tough to disregard that. I mean Bron and Wade are superior athletes but it’s still tough for them. Ronnie Price blew right by Dwade on the last possession of regulation and d.will crossed bron out his shoes at least 3 times that i could count. You saw it too, if you were watching closely. They’re (wade and bron) already stars so they’re kinda scared to get crossed, (especially considering they’re under a microscope)so they concede midrange jumpers, which dwill absolutely destroyed them with and so will most other guards. I’d also contend that the Lakers get killed by good point guards ALL THE TIME. Everybody goes off on D.Fisher. But the Lakers have size. Miami doesn’t.

  • http://slamonline.com Allenp

    I compared that Chicago team to Miami in how they are constructed and where their strengths and weaknesses lie. I think that’s a viable comparison.

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