Rajon Rondo gets his roller skate on
Yes, it lacks Baron Davis' killer wardrobe and the New Edition soundtrack. That vid will never be topped. But you've got to admit -- Rondo moves just as fluidly on the roller rink as he does on the court. Kid looks smooth out there. Real smooth.
Lakers regain top spot
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Behind the boxscore, where the Chicago Bulls could happen
Chicago 108, Utah 96 This is how the Chicago Bulls, with the right coaching, right effort on both ends and correct rotation choices, can play every night. Not with another lottery pick. Not with another trade. Not with a modest free agent signing. This roster, this group, this team, these sorts of results.
I'm convinced of it even after watching them get blown out, and I'm just as convinced of it (no more, I promise) after watching what was easily the team's most satisfying win in months.
Chicago closed out on the perimeter as best it could, made things distracting when Utah (42.7 percent from the field) tried to finish in the paint, caused heaps of turnovers (17), and generally kept focus (which is enough, sometimes, for this batch of mopers) on the offensive end.
Drew Gooden was active and inspired going up against the guy (Carlos Boozer) he had to replace in Cleveland back in 2004, and responded with a 24-point, 10-rebound, five-assist and three-block effort. Gooden, sans headband but plus a whole lotta beard, smacks of some crusty Bolshevik from the early 20th Century, and that appeals to me for some reason.
Chicago's bench was great, with Tyrus Thomas providing energy, Ben Gordon nailing a series of second half shots, and Thabo Sefolosha (+17 in only 13 minutes; and I'll be going to that stat a lot today, because we had a few instances on Tuesday where the stat can be presented nearly without qualifiers) completely changed the tone of the game upon coming off the bench in the first quarter.
The Jazz have been hearing about the team's road woes for a while now, Utah is stuck at 14-20 (as compared with 28-3 in Salt Lake City), with three road games coming up. I have a feeling this loss will get their attention.
A lot has been made about Milwaukee's pathetic commitment to the defensive end this year - and, well, a lot should be made about Milwaukee's pathetic commitment to the defensive end of things, because the Bucks are a solid 30th in the NBA in defensive efficiency.
But the issues don't stop there. For a team featuring Michael Redd, Mo Williams (though not tonight), and a host of other strong offensive talents, there is no reason for the Bucks (20th) to be as bad as they are offensively. You go down a box score like this, see that Andrew Bogut made half his shots on his way toward 23 points, see that Charlie Villanueva continued his potent streak (24 points), but it hardly tells the story: this team takes some horrible shots.
And not just your typical quick perimeter hits early in the shot clock. We're talking poor fundamentals, here: hooks and runners around the basket sent up without shoulders squared, without follow-throughs, and without a strong commitment (there's that word again) to the type of shot it should be.
Washington won this game by attacking early and keeping its wits about them when Milwaukee made a third quarter surge.
A quirk for the junkies: Antawn Jamison (eight turnovers) and Michael Redd (seven) were coughing the ball up all night. Quite the oddity, considering that Jamison was second in the NBA in turnover ratio last season (only letting loose in 6.2 percent of the possessions he used) among power forwards, and Redd has long been one of the more careful ball-handlers in the NBA.
Scads of offensive rebounds, a sound free throw advantage, and the continually satisfyingly strong play of Mike Dunleavy Jr. gave Indiana a much-needed win.
The Pacer small forward is averaging 18.3 points per game at this point, and while his 5.3 boards a night might seem a little slim, the Pacers are a good enough rebounding team (with essentially two rebounding specialists rounding out the frontcourt) to get away with it.
SuperSonics rookie Jeff Green (15 and five rebounds in 33 minutes) is looking more and more comfortable on the NBA level. He may have been a reach with the fifth selection in last year's Draft, but I don't think Seattle regrets the pick in the slightest.
The Trail Blazers are likely out of the playoff picture, but it's hard not to be swayed by this team's veteran-like savvy. The shots weren't falling tonight for Portland, but they stuck with the offense, made life hell for Al Jefferson in the first half (Jefferson rebounded to finish with 20 and 10), rarely turned the ball over (seven miscues, nice), and made a point to get to the line.
They also made a point to not bail the Timberwolves shooters out with freebies. Minnesota shot just nine free throws in the loss, making eight, and I'm hard pressed to recall a point that should have had the Wolves taking more (read: getting screwed on calls). The team is just too full of young slashers who still think they can make crazy shots (a lot of the time, they're right) without needing to absorb contact or get to the line occasionally.
For slashers Randy Foye, Corey Brewer, and Rashad McCants to play about a combined 90 minutes and not take a single free throw attempt? That's not going to work.
You can't read too much into this: as much as the NBA fandom at large wants Phoenix to get back to its winning ways, the Grizzlies stink and most teams worth that day's per diem should be taking Memphis down by 20 points at a time
Phoenix does need to pay attention to this: Gordon Giricek scored 18 points in 30 minutes during the blowout, and missed his only three-point attempt. GG can stroke the three-pointer, sometimes, but he's more of a slasher and scorer than shooter. More of a solid scorer and sometimes-slasher than suspect-shooter, susceptible to sending too many 20-footers to the back of the rim, I'd say. Ten times fast.
If Phoenix can involve Gordon in its offense without asking him to stand in the corner and hit threes, they may have something here, as limiting Raja Bell's minutes (at 35 a game right now) wouldn't hurt. Bell had a great game with 20 points on 14 shots.
Los Angeles Lakers 117, Toronto 108
Yeah, it was Kobe Bryant Blog Day and all, but I'm not sure why Phil Jackson couldn't find more than 1:22's rest for his All-Star guard in this win. Then again, I've learned not to question the 11-time champion (nine as a coach, twice as a player) too much.
Kobe was great (34 points, seven rebounds, seven assists, four steals), and the Laker offense was just brilliant in the win. The slower pace affected things, but the Lakers threw in a pro-rated 125.8 points per 100 possessions on Tuesday night, and that's a ton (Phoenix leads the NBA at 114.6 per 100).
The Lakers go for a few too many steal attempts, but it's a long season, and great teams can't help but test the limits a few times. Though Los Angeles has been pretty flighty on D over the last month, the focus and preparation that a seven-game series creates and demands should have things turned around a bit. In the meantime, enjoy one of the finer half-court offensive teams I've seen in years.
Behind the boxscore: Coby Karl and Luke Walton combined for just six points, five rebounds, four assists, and two block in their combined 24:45, but the impact these two had on the win was palpable in a way that went beyond they're modest stats.
Or was it? The pair's +16 mark in limited time looks like a stat, to me at least.
I might be way the hell off on this, but something seems up with T.J. Ford. He's obviously playing with a chip on his shoulder, for whatever reason, but the Raptors always seem to do poorly overall when he's out there nailing shots. Ford had 28 points on 23 shots and four assists in the loss, but his team was -6 overall with him out there. Not passing final judgment, just passing the observation along.
Suns share ball in 21-point rout of Grizzlies
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