basketballista

Hope everyone is having a good weekend!

Deron & Dimes

Jazz PG Deron Williams has 18 20-pt/10-ast games this season. (Utah’s franchise record is 28 – John Stockton) & the only other player with more is LeBron James with 19.

BIG game for Beaubois

Usually OKC is on the money with their draft picks, but after selecting Rodrigue Beaubois 25th overall in ’09, they traded him to the Dallas Mavericks for Byron Mullens.  Beaubois has shown his ability to provide instant offense, regardless of how inconsistent his minutes are.  Last night, Beaubois lit up the Warriors for 40 pts & nine 3-PT FG!  Warriors are making the rookies look really good this season.

On Point

Not only was this draft saturated with point guards, but it seems like it was saturated with excellent point guards, no matter how late the pick.  In a draft people referred to as ‘light,’ it looks like franchises have found their point guard for years to come–and some look primed for superstardom.

Speaking of Point Guards

The scariest thing about the Mavs is that they have three legit point guards to back up future Hall of Famer Jason Kidd.  Not only that, but their three backups (Jason Terry, Rodrigue Beaubois & J.J. Barea) are among the fastest guards in the NBA.

Matchups of the Night

Grizzlies vs. Bucks – the Bucks, currently struggling due to injuries, will take on one of the top starting 5′s.  It will be hard for the Bucks to contain Zach Randolph if Andrew Bogut doesn’t play & to keep up with the Grizzlies, Jennings will need to score tonight.

Trail Blazers vs. Thunder – Blazers, winners of 7 of their last 8, are coming off a good win in which they eliminated New Orleans from the postseason.  The Thunder are coming off an even better win in which they held the Lakers to 75 points.  Something’s gotta give…

With the west standings so tight, look for some exciting & ultra competitive games down the stretch.

A few quick points:

The Nuggets lost game 1 of a 5-game road trip to the Knicks Tuesday night.  It was a ‘must win’ for them since 10 of their last 11 games are vs. +.500 teams.  Dallas won vs. the Clippers last night but neither team trying to challenge the Lakers is playing their best basketball right now.

Bobcats pulled off a 95-86 OT win vs. the Wizards, in which combined point total ranked lowest for an OT game this season. Gerald Wallace was key, scoring 17 points & grabbing 19 boards. It was the 7th 15/15 game for 6’7″ Wallace.  No other player his height has achieved that this season & only one other player his height has done it within the past 6 seasons.  (Shawn Marion did it in 3 times)

Jason Kidd celebrated his birthday last night with a season-high 26 points to go along w/12 ast.

Matchups of the Night

Lakers visit San Antonio, as Spurs will determine where they stand against the best team in the west.

Denver puts Boston’s D to the test, as the Nuggets will try to rebound from last night’s loss at MSG.

A few quick points:

* Gregg Popovich called the 2010 free agent hype ‘much ado about nothing.’ He said there are some teams with money, but most FA will probably end up staying.

* OKC bench is not deep enough.  Maynor had a good game yesterday & I thought he was a great acquisition.  OKC starters carry the team & that is my biggest concern for them come playoffs.

* Al Horford proved a tough match for Tim Duncan yesterday–plus his team got the W.  Horford now has 30 double-doubles on the season compared to 20 all of last season.

* So many deep teams this season…Mavs, Cavs, Magic, Spurs to name a few.  The more rest starters & key players can get down the stretch, the better.

* Trail Blazers are one of the best teams at controlling the pace of the game.  Grizzlies are one of the best teams at playing their way & not adjusting to the other team’s lineups/mismatches.

Matchups of the Night

Hawks vs. Bucks & Spurs vs. Thunder – Hawks & Spurs played double-OT on Sunday & now have the 2nd night of a back-to-back against two of the hottest teams in the league.  Thunder had a tough game vs. the Pacers but they have won 7 of 10 & are a spot above the 7th seed Spurs in the standings. The Hawks will travel to Milwaukee where the Bucks, 8-2 in last 10 games, are coming off an impressive win vs. the Nuggets on the 2nd night of a back-to-back.  Bucks are 23-9 at home.

Suns vs. Warriors – When these two teams matchup, they have been known to produce some of the highest scoring & most entertaining games in the NBA.  This game is a must-win for the Suns, who are currently 5th in the West: a game below Jazz & a game above Thunder

Bucks are the Truth

After the Bucks secured a double-OT victory vs. the Kings, the team came into Pepsi Center & defeated the Denver Nuggets–a team that had only lost 5 games at home all year!  It is amazing how many role players have stepped up for the Bucks all season.  Last night as the Bucks snapped Denver’s 7-game home win streak, Carlos Delfino finished with 21 points (4 /6 3-PT) & 7 reb while Ersan Ilyasova had a double-double (14 pts/10 reb) off the bench.  I mentioned Ilysasova in yesterday’s notes–since the 2005 2nd round draft pick has made a huge impact this season after playing the past few years in Europe. Delfino, who left the NBA to play in Europe last season, has also been solid for the Bucks.

The win was also impressive because of Andrew Bogut’s limited production (5 fouls in 15 minutes). Bogut scored 2 points but he did have 3 blocks, giving him a streak of 16 straight games with at least 2 blocks.

The Bucks have now won 14 of their last 16 games.  The team will play its next 5 games in Milwaukee.

East Updates

* Derrick Rose & Joakim Noah returned to the lineup for the Bulls. The win over the Sixers snapped the team’s 10-game losing streak.  The Bulls are 0-4 this season when both Rose & Noah don’t play.

* Celtics top Mavs & are now 24-12 on the road this season

* Bobcats offense goes cold in 71-77 loss to Heat.  Charlotte shot 29.2 % from the field with only 8 total assists.

Matchups of the Night

Red-hot Spurs come to Atlanta & the Blazers will try to set the pace vs. the Suns

Questions

* Toronto added a lot of new pieces in the offseason, but were they the right pieces to complement Bosh? Who are the team’s toughest players on the floor? A coworker & I were discussing this yesterday.

* Can the Bucks win a first round playoff series?

It’s Not How You Start, it’s How You Finish

Joe Johnson began Friday’s game vs. the Bobcats 0/9. His first field goal wasn’t until the 4th quarter! But Johnson hit the game winner with less than a second left as the Hawks notched a W to rebound from a 1-point loss vs. the Raptors. New owner Michael Jordan made the trip to ATL.

Brandon Roy missed 14 straight shots before sinking the game winning jumper on Friday.  It wasn’t a pretty win as Portland shot 32.1% from the field, which set a new franchise record for lowest FG% in a win.

Another Record For LeBron James

LeBron became the youngest player to reach 15,000 points–beating the previous record holder Kobe Bryant by nearly 2 years!  LeBron is one of 6 players to achieve this milestone within 1st 7 seasons.  The others are: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Wilt Chamberlain, George Gervin, Michael Jordan & Oscar Robertson. Once again, LeBron is among elite company.

Young Bucks

The Bucks vs. Kings double OT thriller definitely delivered. Brandon Jennings had 35 pts & 8 ast while tying a rookie record with eight 3-pt FG made. Ersan Ilyasova, a 2nd round draft pick in 2005, left the NBA to play in the euroleague after the 2006-07 season. Wise decision for development since he’s making everyone look now.  (Side note: wishing Tyreke Evans a very quick recovery after leaving game with a concussion in the 4th qtr.)

Baby Ice & Thunder on a Roll

Thunder have achieved team’s first 20-win season since 2004-05! The defensive turnaround is incredibly impressive. This year Thunder allow 44.2 opp FG% (3rd in NBA).  Last season team allowed 47.5 opp FG% (27th in NBA). Those numbers are unbelievable & make a huge case for Scott Brooks as COY. Who is your favorite to receive the award?

Matchup of the Night

There are a few good ones tonight.  GS vs MEM in the play small vs. play big battle. Celtics visit the Mavs & Jennings and the Bucks try for a win vs. DEN–probably not the team you’d choose to play on the 2nd half of a back-to-back.

Though as always–anything can happen. What are your thoughts?

Morning Trivia:

Chris Bosh became the first player to score 10,000 points for the Raptors. Three teams in the NBA have never had a player reach that scoring plateau.  Can you name them?

Notable:

LeBron James has led or tied his team in points, rebounds & assists an NBA-best 15 times this season.  While racking up that many assists usually earns one a reputation of being a great teammate, James’s actions off-court speak as loudly as his performances. He should not only be judged by what he says, but by what he doesn’t say. And in the days of star players constantly calling out their teammates in front of the media, I don’t remember LeBron doing so once. It is often said that the best coaches were average players, since the greats can’t always relate to all 15 guys. This has never seemed to be a problem for LeBron.  Below is a list of the top 5 scorers from the 2007 playoffs-the year the Cavaliers reached the finals. (only James is technically on Cavs roster now)

1. LeBron James:               25.1 ppg
2. Zydrunas Ilgauskas:      12.6 ppg
3. Drew Gooden:               11.4 ppg
4. Larry Hughes:               11.3 ppg
5. Sasha Pavlovic:              9.2 ppg

Matchup of the Night:

Bobcats vs. Hawks:  Bobcats had a great win vs. KD & the Thunder while the Hawks are returning home & looking to rebound from a 1-point loss in Toronto.  Hawks won decisively in last matchup.

Also – rookie PG’s Brandon Jennings & Tyreke Evans will face off at 10 pm et in Sacramento