Storylines
Indiana’s Dominant Defense
We have to look back a bit before this week to fully understand how good the Pacers have been lately. Before their 99-91 loss to the Clippers Thursday night, they had won five games in a row, by a combined 119 points, an average of 23.8 points per game. They gave up over 100 points only three times in the month of February, with one of those coming in an overtime game and winning two of the three. This week they beat a mediocre Pistons team by 18, the Warriors by 11 even though Stephen Curry scored 38 points and had two of the best crossovers of the year. Their last game was a loss to the Clippers in which their starting center Roy Hibbert wasn’t playing due to a one-game suspension (more on that later). Indiana had trouble because of this, allowing 50 points in the paint. Blake Griffin had a double-double with 18 points and 14 rebounds. Other than tonight, Indiana’s defense has been great and I wouldn’t expect any less as they play Toronto, Chicago, Boston and Orlando before their marquee matchup against the Heat Sunday, March 10th.
Chicago’s Offense
They are praying for Derrick Rose to come back, simply stated. While their offense can compete against most mid level teams, they simply cannot keep up against the top tier of teams. On February 21st, they scored only 67 against the Heat before losing on the 24th by 30 points to the Thunder, 102-72. This second game also saw the Bulls shoot 29.1% from the field, the worst performance by any team in one game all season. Just go look at the boxscore to see the level of ugliness. Luol Deng was the only Bulls player with more than five made field goals, going 6-14 and Marco Belinelli was the only other player with four or higher. Their offense clearly needs to make some changes if they want to go anywhere in the playoffs. They have to find some consistency in their lineups and find a way to get Carlos Boozer to contribute consistently on the offensive end. They’ve beaten Miami once this year and clearly have the talent to get the job done, it is just a matter of shooting better and making better decisions. Until they can do that, they will continue to pray for Derrick Rose’s return.
Minor Notes
-Since nobody was hurt in the Warriors/Pacers rumble on Tuesday, I think it’s okay to laugh at the hilarity of the six foot three inch Stephen Curry getting tossed aside by the seven foot two inch Roy Hibbert. It didn’t seem like it was going to escalate during the Lee/Hibbert pushing and shoving phase but then Curry, Lance Stephenson and Klay Thompson got involved and it got a bit out of hand. No serious punches were thrown and I don’t think there would have been any suspensions if it hadn’t spilled into the courtside seats. Once it gets near the stands, it’s only a matter of time before the Commissioner’s Office comes calling.
-Will Doug Collins be back for the 76ers next year? That is the question everybody is asking now, after Collins criticized his team’s effort following a ten-point loss to the Orlando Magic on Tuesday. He has never lasted more than three years coaching any team and it seems that his time might be coming in Philadelphia. The team was expected to compete for the Atlantic Division title this year and instead is currently 22-34 and has had Andrew Bynum on the floor for all of zero games this year. They took a calculated risk trading for Bynum and it clearly hasn’t paid off but they have a budding star in Jrue Holiday and it might be best to simply let Bynum walk this summer and build around Holiday instead.
Games of Note
2/24: The Mavericks-Lakers showdown last Sunday brought out the vintage Dirk Nowitzki as well as the ever present superstar Kobe Bryant. Dirk had 30 points on 11-19 (4-4 3PT FG) shooting while hitting a number of his signature fadeaway jumpers. Kobe came into the building after hearing Mark Cuban ponder whether the Lakers should amnesty Bryant at the end of the season and proceeded to score 38 points, pull down eight rebounds and dish out seven assists. After the game Kobe sent out one of the greatest tweets of all time, writing “Amnesty THAT”, to the entertainment of everyone except Mark Cuban.
2/26: Sacramento took Miami to double overtime, eventually losing 141-129. Marcus Thornton had 36 points on 11-18 shooting and LeBron James had 40 points on 14-23 shooting while dishing out 16 assists. Dwyane Wade contributed 39 points as well in a game that could have been one of the most unlikely outcomes in any random NBA game in a long time.
2/27: There were several games of note on Wednesday. Brandon Knight had a career high 32 points in a 96-95 Pistons win. Steph Curry had another insane night, putting up 54 points against the Knicks in a 109-105 loss. The most impressive part? He shot 11 of 13 from beyond the arc, one off tying the NBA record for three point baskets made in a game. Memphis erased a 25-point deficit, matching the largest comeback in team history, against the Dallas Mavericks to win 90-84. This is their 8th straight win, solidifying their four-seed in the Western Conference. Statistic of note: Dallas scored 5 points in the whole third quarter. Milwaukee beat the Houston Rockets 110-107 on a ridiculous Monta Ellis buzzer beater. The Thunder destroyed the Hornets 119-74, with Kevin Durant putting up a triple-double (18 pts, 11 reb, 10 ast) in just 27 minutes of play.
2/28: As mentioned before, the Clippers beat the Pacers 99-91, with Chris Paul putting up 28 points on 11-18 shooting and dishing eight dimes as well. The Lakers blew the Timberwolves away 116-94, with Kobe scoring 33 points in 32 minutes. The Lakers also gave him and Steve Nash much needed rest, allowing them to sit the whole fourth quarter after pulling away early in the 4th quarter.
Playoff Implications
-The Lakers have continued to play good basketball, going 5-2 in the last seven games. Kobe has been scoring more and assisting less but Nash and Dwight Howard have also both stepped up. Their problem is that their losses just look awful. No transition defense, Dwight looking soft in the post, and a stagnant offense without Nash or Kobe on the floor.
-The Warriors have continued to look inconsistent, going 3-2 in their last five games following a six-game losing streak. When this team is healthy, they are a dangerous and dynamic young team that isn’t afraid of anyone. Health though, is not one of this teams strong suits, with Curry’s ankles always a risk to give out and Andrew Bogut has played just 12 games this year in between ankle problems and current back problems. If this team gets healthy for the playoffs, they will be the team nobody wants to play.
-The Eastern Conference playoff teams are basically set. Toronto sits in ninth place, six games behind Milwaukee for the eighth spot. There is definitely room for change within the eight teams, as seeds 2-6 are all within 3 games of each other while the Heat sit pretty comfortably atop the standings. Brooklyn is hoping to catch the Knicks and get home court advantage in at least the first round while everybody is hoping the red-hot Pacers cool off sometime soon. Although Chicago has had issues explained earlier with their offense, they are extremely dangerous six-seed currently and although teams obviously won’t lose on purpose, there might be some reason to resting starters at the end of the season if it means playing the Atlanta Hawks or Brooklyn Nets rather than the Bulls.
Player of the Week
Obviously, Stephen Curry. He had two ridiculous games against the Pacers and Knicks scoring 38 and 54 points in those games respectively, with the latter number being the highest of any single game in the league this season. With games against Philadelphia, Toronto and Sacramento coming up, look for Curry to continue his hot shooting and also hopefully work on distributing a bit more. He won’t be able to put the team on his back every night and a couple of soft defensive opponents in a row are the perfect time for him to experiment with being a little more creative in the point guard position.