Friday, January 21st, 2011 at 8:40 am  |  217 responses

Post Up: Won’t Back Down

DRose leads the Bulls, while the Blazers prevail.

by Adam Figman | @afigman

Charlotte 100, Philadelphia 97

Two teams that’ll be battling it out for a playoff spot battled it out last night, with the Bobcats prevailing behind DJ Augustin’s 31 points and a late, clutch J from Gerald Henderson. Thad Young led the Sixers with 21, and though his squad probably should’ve taken the Magic the night before, it’s hard to argue they should’ve gotten the W last night, as Philly shot 45.9 percent from the field and just 21.4 percent from deep. The Bobcats now have a half-game lead over the Sixers, giving the Cats the inside track to the postseason while the 76ers sit at ninth.

Chicago 82, Dallas 77

Extra sloppy. Both groups shot below 37 percent from the floor, but it was the Bulls who came out on top, led by their All-Star point man Derrick Rose and his 26 points. DRose made a couple of clutch plays late, while his team jumped ahead of the Mavs in the final quarter and then made the necessary plays to earn the victory. Or the Mavs were just downright terrible. Either way. Dirk Nowitzki led Dallas with 19.

Portland 108, L.A. Clippers 93

On paper, this looks like just another road loss, but in reality, it holds some weight. As the Clippers make the slow, torturous uphill climb towards the Playoffs, it’s mid-level Western Conference squads like the Blazers that they’ll be chasing. So an L to Portland means they lose a full game on their direct competition, which is never a good thing. The Blazers just brought more fire last night, grabbing the lead in the second quarter and dominating the ball from there out. Wesley Matthews did work, putting in 28, while LaMarcus Aldridge matched that scoring figure and snatched 8 rebounds. The Blazers also shot 56.4 percent from the field, so, yeah, they were flowing pretty well. In the loss, Eric Gordon dropped 35 for the Clips.

Actual Stats: DJ Augustin: 31 points, 8 assists, 4 rebounds, 3 three-pointers, 1 steal

Moment of the Night: Will these ever get old? Ever?

(H/T: @Jose3030)

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  • http://twitter.com/smileyoufckers Bryan

    Insanity.

  • http://Slamonline.com nbk

    I like plus/minus more then win shares. Basketball-refernced player rated isn’t bad. But the best thing would just be access to synergy sports

  • http://sdfjklf.com Jukai

    AllBall: No. Phoenix will not make the playoffs. I feel like they’re going to go on a long win streak and show that the trade really paid off, but it just took too long to adjust. At this point, Phoenix needs a big collapse from Portland, or a Carmelo trade. I don’t see either happening at this point.
    But hey, I’ll be watching on TV rooting regardless.

  • http://sdfjklf.com Jukai

    Advanced stats really aren’t that great, unless we really want to believe that Manu Ginobili is a top-5 player in the league every year. In which case, give the man his MVP.

  • http://sdfjklf.com Jukai

    and sorry if I’m being overly argumentative, NBK, but I HATE plus/minus. That’s so dependent on so many factors, the perfect example being Joel Anthony and Big Z, where Anthony was +10 and Big Z was -9 in the last game that the Heat played. Yeah, Joel Anthony had a decent game, but when Big Z was in, they were first adjusting to Joel Anthony playing center and then Lebron James, both for the first time. Arroyo turned the ball over like crazy and Wade was chuckng bricks. Why was this Big Z’s fault? He played exactly as he did in any other game, didn’t give the centers any buckets, but the Heat were out of sync. Is this solely Big Z’s fault?
    That’s why I don’t like plus/minus. Everything else is at least TANGIBLE, but plus/minus can realllllly screw things up.
    Hell, Nash was +8 and Dragic was +12. Did Nash play worse than Dragic? Hell no, but when Dragic was in, Young was out and there was no one scoring for the Wizards.
    It’s useful in many cases, but reallllly so misleading, especially when you’re only looking at a couple of games.

  • http://sdfjklf.com Jukai

    Duncan: 21 points, 15 rebounds, 8 assists, 5 blocks. Heaven forbid.

  • http://Slamonline.com nbk

    Once again I never go by a single stat. Plus/minus is good if your looking at it in a certain context. And it’s more of a scale of how much you help your team. That game Big Z was used in Lineups that are normally very beneficial, like say while LeBron was playing the 4 next to him. LeBron has been more effective as a 4 then anything else, but against Atlanta with big z Spoelstra felt something was missing. And I think it was speed because Horford and smith are mobile. And advanced stats are used by just about every team. Some GM’s swear by them – Like Daryl Morey for example.

  • http://sdfjklf.com Jukai

    NBK: How many times has Lebron played the 4 for the Heat? It can’t be very much, with Bosh/Haslem/Howard. Call me a traditionalist, I like them best with a classic lineup (purely preferential).
    Also, Daryl Morey hasn’t put together a team that has gone past the semi-finals in quite some time (if ever).
    I understand why Big Z didn’t play much, I’m just saying it makes Joel Anthony look like twice the player Big Z was when Big Z really played fine and everyone around Big Z collapsed.

  • http://Slamonline.com nbk

    Are you insinuating putting together a team in a market like Houston is easy? He has produced a winner every year with one team going about .500 (last season) without a healthy franchise player for a long stretch, at any point in his career as GM. And LeBron didn’t really get any run at PF when Haslem was healthy, but as soon as he went down Spoelstra didn’t really have a choice. And his PER at PF isn’t just slightly better, it’s 35.4 lol. big z may have seemed to play well, but obviously Atlanta dumped on them with him in so Spoelstra made a decision. We’ll see whose right next time they play Atlanta you or him, and I’m positive you’ll point it out

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

    Co-sign nbk. Morey is a fantastic GM.

  • http://sdfjklf.com Jukai

    I mean, how much time has Lebron played at power forward? Because for a good long stretch, it was Bosh and then Howard and that was it, no other power forward. Lebron playing forward was a relative new thing with Bosh out. That’s why I’m asking.

  • JTaylor21

    How many of y’all really believe that the nuggets can beat the lakers in the playoffs if they manage to keep Anthony? I guessing no one, then why does the media always act like the nuggets are a legit championship contender with Melo. I can’t remember how many times I’ve heard this week about how it’s unfortunate that melo wants to leave because the nuggets have something special. That’s why I hate the media, always making ish up. Melo better get out of Denver asap because there’s no light at the end of the tunnel.

  • http://Slamonline.com nbk

    I don’t really have the resources to give you an answer

  • http://sdfjklf.com Jukai

    JTaylor: I haven’t heard anyone mention that Melo’s team are contenders for a while. People just think if he leaves a playoff team and goes to the friggin Nets, he’ll be miserable
    NBK: To my knowledge, Lebron has only played the four before their long winning streak, and since Bosh has been injured. So, that’s why I’m asking. I want to use this as a “THAT’S WHY ADVANCED STATS MEAN NOTHING” argument but I’m too scared that you’ll pull out something to embarrass me. So I’m keeping my mouth shut.
    Everyone: Monta Ellis is convincing me to leave Westbrook off and take him for the all-star game.

  • http://sdfjklf.com Jukai

    F*ck my world, he just rolled his ankle. I have to keep my mouth shut.

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

    TIMMY AINT DEAD YET MOTHERFUCCERS!!!!!!!! ZBO!!!!

  • http://discounthotelsinnewyork.tkifoods.com Lilli Saches

    Well, it’s decent, but how about the other options we have here? Do you mind publishing one more post about these as well? Thank you!

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