The Post Up: Howard’s Heroics

by Holly MacKenzie

Okay, okay.

So, I skipped the Raptors/Sixers game last night and I definitely made the right choice. I had originally wanted to see the Lakers and Hornets, get some extra sleep (I’ve got this stupid cough/cold combo that is threatening to get worse), and just hang out, but my goodness, the NBA wasn’t having any of that.

I definitely fell asleep just after the Kings/Clippers game. Not a problem except I hadn’t set my alarm to Too much Magic. Too little Thunder.wake up in time to write these recaps. What we’re going to do is go through the action in observations rather than recaps today. I’ll still try to get you the main info that you need, like scores and stats.

It has barely started, but does anyone else get the feeling that this season is going to be absolutely incredible? There have been so many amazing games, performances and storylines already. The passion and intensity have been through the roof and it’s only November. I truly love this game.

Dwight. Howard. 30 points. 19 rebounds. 10. Blocked. Shots. Amazing. What a line. And he’s on my fantasy team. The blocks this guy has been getting have been blowing my mind. The Magic defeated the Oklahoma City team 109-92. Oklahoma City was without Kevin Durant, who was resting a sore ankle. This one was way too easy for Dwight as the Magic opened up the game with a 39-point quarter. All of the Orlando starters finished in double-figures while Jeff Green had 25 points and 10 rebounds in the loss for OKC.

Lakers and Hornets, 93-86. After the Lakers dominated from the tip, then allowed Chris Paul to basically will his team back into it as they got very sloppy in the final minutes. Still, when they needed to they pulled it out and Kobe had a really pretty three with the shot clock winding down. Chris finished with 30 points, 13 assists and 7 rebounds. David West had 21 and 12. Kobe and Derek Fisher each scored 20 for LA as the Lakeshow moves to 7-0 on the season.

Atlanta and Boston, 103-102. I’m sorry to see your boys go down, Hawks fans, but be excited. What a great game. It’s like the Hawks are reminding people of the playoffs last year and have proven that they are for real. Paul Pierce is just getting ridiculous at the end of games. The best part about this game for the Hawks is, they did it all without Josh Smith. Very, very impressed with this Atlanta team. Joe Johnson had 28 points in the loss as Pierce put in 34, KG scored 25 points to go with 12 rebounds and Ray Allen added 17.

Suns and Rockets. 94-82. Because I live in Canada I didn’t get this game, even though I have League Pass. I’m not too impressed about that. I was informed about the fight and eventually found the stream online to catch up. Basically (and I think I’m getting this right, if I’m wrong, I know you guys will correct me), Barnes and Alston get into it and then McGrady and Nash come to calm things down. Instead of calming things down, McGrady decides to push Nash out of the way, by his face and neck. Shaquille O’Neal takes offense to this and moves McGrady out of the way. Alston and Barnes are thrown out, Shaq, Nash and McGrady are given techs. I think. Clarify if I’m wrong.

It also looked as though Yao had a hand in taking McGrady down . That was sort of funny.

Either way, Nash had a big half court three to end the quarter that was waved off because it was still in his hands as time expired. The Rockets went on to win that game and the Suns look as though they are struggling to find an identity. Nash has been in a serious funk and his assist numbers show it.

Shaq looked good last night. He looks thinner, trim, fit. Whatever you want to call it. McGrady shook free of his shooting woes and finished with 27 points on 11-18 field goals to lead the Rockets while Yao had 17 points and 15 boards. O’Neal had 18 points and 13 rebounds for the Suns in the loss.

Going over to the New York/Memphis game, 132-103. U-G-L-Y if you were rooting for the Grizz and I was. 132 points by the Knicks and Caputo’s boy Wilson Chandler tore it up. A career-high 27 points on 11-12 shooting was just crazy. The Grizzlies were helpless when it came to Chandler last night. The Knicks shot 59% from the floor for the game and connected on 19-34 three-pointers. That’s nuts. Nate Robinson went 5-5 from beyond the arc, as he dropped in 21 off of the bench. Jamal Crawford added 25.

There was a Javaris Crittenton sighting in the game though, which made me happy. I wish he was still with my Lakers. Greedy, greedy, I know. Rudy Gay had 20 points and OJ Mayo, 17 for the Grizzlies.

The Spurs struggles continue as they lost to Milwaukee last night, 82-78. Outside of Michael Finley, there is just no help for Tim Duncan. Duncan finished with 24 points while Finley had 19. Roger Mason Jr. has come back to reality and his offensive output just is not enough to make up for the absence of Tony Parker and Ginobili. Richard Jefferson had 19 points and Andrew Bogut, 10 points and 17 rebounds as the Bucks took the game.

Philly took down the Raps 106-96 in Toronto as Jose Calderon left the game twice due to a pulled hamstring. When he went out, things went downhill for Toronto, who struggled to get their offense going last night. Bosh and Jermaine O’Neal were huge for Toronto, with Bosh dropping in 30 and 12 and O’Neal with 19 and 11, but it was not enough as Elton Brand dropped 25 and Iguodala broke free to put up 18 points, 9 rebounds and 10 assists as the Sixers shot 53% for the game.

Portland defeated Miami 104-96 behind the strong play of Rudy Fernandez and a strong fourth that saw the Blazers outscore the Heat 31-21. Rudy finished with 25 points off of the bench as Brandon Roy had 22 and the Blazers got the win. Dwyane Wade was brilliant for the Heat, finishing with 36 points and 8 assists in the loss.

Washington, Utah, 95-87. Washington got a much needed victory over the Jazz, dropping them 95-87 thanks to Caron Butler’s 27 points and 9 rebounds. Antawn Jamison added 21 and the Wizards connected on 32-40 free throws while Utah attempted only 19 for the game (making 14). Carlos Boozer had 20 points for Utah and CJ Miles scored 16. Let’s hope for more big games from Caron because this Wizards team needs something positive from somewhere.
Please, lets not talk about how the Jazz look better without Deron.

Okay, think that’s a round up of most of the action. Thoughts on last night? Thoughts on these first few weeks of NBA action? It’s like, the Celtics have only gotten hungrier and the rest of the NBA has followed. I love it.