Hey, what’s up, hello! Welcome to another edition of the NBA Roundup, where we start your day off right by getting you caught up on last nights hoops action. So take a break from your morning Soduku puzzles and let the dang kids feed themselves, its basketball time!
Chicago Bulls- 111 Philadelphia 76ers- 88
I think we jumped the gun on saying the 76ers will no longer be the worst team in the NBA this season. Oh that was just me? Whoops. Outside of Jahlil Okafor, this is a team that is still utterly atrocious and has literally no veteran presences. It’s just a bunch of children running around, occasionally passing and shooting and doing that basketball stuff. Because of that, from now on I will only update you with Jahlil stats because that guy is a lot of fun to watch on offense and he is the only one deserving (I might occasionally throw in a Sauce Castillo stat line because who doesn’t love some Sauce?). Tonight, he went 9-25 for 21 points and 15 boards, not bad!
For the Bulls, the defense finally showed up, holding the 76ers to just 35% shooting. Again, this isn’t saying a lot because of what Philly is, but it’s still improvement for a defense that came into the game as just the 14th ranked unit in the league. Doug McDermott and Nikola Mirotic continue to shine in Fred Hoiberg’s offense, with the two going a combined 6-13 behind the arc for 18 and 20 respectively.
Derrick Rose managed not to say anything that infuriated Chicago-fans any further, while also not getting injured. Lots of wins for the Bulls here.
Indiana Pacers- 97 Orlando Magic- 84
Okay, Paul George. We get it. You’re back.
George posted his 4th consecutive game with at least 20 points, this time dropping 27 as well as helping Indiana pull away late with a big time three around the 5 minute mark that put the Pacers up for good. He also scored 19 of his 27 in the first quarter, which is cool I guess. George Hill would add 23 on 8-13 shooting as well as maintain his awful bleached hair, while the very interesting prospect Myles Turner looked very strong in 20 minutes of work, pouring in 10 points and 4 boards. Indiana moved back to .500, getting to 4-4 on the season thus far with the win.
The Magic may have fallen to 3-5 on the year, but there’s still a lot to like here. Don’t Google Fournier continues to be a pleasant surprise, leading the way with 21 points and a pair of steals, while Victor Oladipo had a 15 point, 7 rebound effort in his return to Indiana after playing his college ball at IU. They’re still not a legitimate contender in the East and won’t be for awhile, but this is an Orlando team that is going to continue slowly gaining traction in the conference with all of the young pieces they have.
Minnesota Timberwolves-117 Atlanta Hawks-107
It’s cold outside, so we needed a few minutes to warm up. pic.twitter.com/orracvhRJP
— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) November 10, 2015
Don’t you just hate when a team makes an incredible comeback, only to run out of gas late?
I don’t. I love it. Serves them right for not playing that well the entire game. In fact, I wish both teams could lose to punish the team that almost choked it away. Makes me sick.
Anyway, the T Wolves were almost that team choking it away! Despite as much as a 34 point lead, the Hawks managed to come all the way back and bring it to 107-106 with just 3:00 minutes to go. Luckily, the Wolves have these two fellas by the names of Andrew Wiggins, who tied his career high with 33 points and came up with several huge buckets down the stretch, and Karl-Anthony Towns, who had a 17 point and 12 rebound performance. In just a couple of years, the T Wolves will be Lords of the NBA, winning all of the games they so choose to. Until then though, let’s just hope they can maintain a 34 point lead while two of the NBA’s best young players ball out.
Paul Millsap was largely the man leading the charge for the Hawks and his numbers reflect that. He shot 9-15 with 5 boards, 6 assists, and 22 points. Jeff Teague’s 24 point, 9 assist outing also nearly helped secure their Hawks an 8th consecutive win, but Atlanta instead falls to 7-2 on the season. Hey, Atlanta will always have it’s Twitter account, which they actually do a pretty good job with!
Denver Nuggets- 108 Portland Trail Blazers- 104
Man, that’s a tough couple of games for Portland.
After choking away an 18 point lead only to lose by 17 last night to Detroit, the Trail Blazers actually came out and played really well! The surprise that is the Portland backcourt of Damien Lilliard and CJ McCollum didn’t have the sexiest shooting night, going a combined 15-37, but their total of 46 points seemed to be enough for Portland, who also saw double-digit outbursts fro their entire starting 5, plus Allen Crabbe off the bench.
It wasn’t though! Free throws from JJ Hickson (19 points, 13 boards) and Emmanuel Mudiay (18 points, 6 boards, 5 assists) sealed it for a Nuggets team that moved to 3-4 on the season. Denver, who is not particularly great, was allowed to shoot 52% on FGA. I’m no expert, but if Portland wants to make a legitimate run and surprise people just a year after losing LaMarcus Aldridge and Wes Mathews, they’re going to have to figure their defense out and find a way to beat bad teams.
San Antonio Spurs- 108 Sacremento Kings- 96
The Kings continue to be a team that can hang with the big guys for awhile, but eventually fall apart late in game due to simply not having the talent. Tonight, Sacramento actually led the Spurs after a quarter and were back by just 3 entering the fourth, but a 34-19 score in the final period of play sunk the Kings, who fell to just 1-6 thus far. DeMarcus Cousins did return after missing a game, shooting just 5-20 but still managing to have 21 points and snag 12 boards.
The Spurs continue their slow ascent back to the top of the NBA and boy, is it fascinating to watch. While their bench has already shown they’re amongst the best in the league, it was the starting unit that won this team the ball game. LaMarcus Aldridge went 7-12 shooting for 16 points and 9 rebounds, while Kawhi Leonard continues to stake his claim as a legitimate MVP Candidate, going 10-13 from the fire for 24 points.
Oh and whatever deal Tim Duncan made with the devil to never age, I’ll sign that deal immediately. He had 11 points and 14 rebounds for the Spurs, who moved to 4-2.
Golden State Warriors- 109 Detroit Pistons- 95
Coming into this game, the Detroit Pistons appeared to be the NBA’s “It” team. Andre Drummond was dropping 20/20’s like it was nothing, Stanley Johnson looked to be the real deal, and the Pistons were off to a 5-1 start!
Last night, they kept things very competitive.
They still lost be 14. The Warriors are just that good.
To their credit, the Pistons did give Golden State a scare, coming into the fourth quarter back by just 4 points. Andre Drummond continues to look like the NBA’s next top Center, dropping 14 points to alongside 15 rebounds. The bench remains Detroit’s largest obstacle, as Stanley Johnson seems to be the only player capable of giving the Pistons unit any pop whatsoever, dropping 20 points on 9-14 shooting last night.
In yesterdays roundup, I declared that the Pistons are back and I stand by that. Today, I’ll kick off your day with another grand sweeping declaration- The Warriors will go 82-0.
I mean my God, this team is absurd. They shot 12-21 from behind the arc last night for a 57% clip, with Klay Thompson finally finding his shooting stroke for 24 points on 10-17 shooting, including 4 three balls. Steph Curry added 22 points for the Warriors, who are now 8-0 and have won 23 consecutive games at the Oracle Center.
They will never lose again.
Los Angeles Clippers- 94 Memphis Grizzlies- 92
In what may or may not have been the absolute worst finish to an exciting game of all time, the Clippers managed to break the Grizzlies hearts and move to 5-2.
Over the final minute of play, there were a combined 16 free throws, two fouls on three point attempts, and Marc Gasol missing a free throw that would have sent the game to Overtime right after the Clippers had seemingly gifted the game to Memphis after an atrocious foul after an earlier Gasol miss. It was wild and boring and featured lots of commercial breaks and free throws. So if Lexus advertisements and Jamal Crawford free throws are your thing, you would have loved it.
For Los Angelas, Blake Griffin maintains his status as rising MVP candidate, going for 24 points and 12 boards. Deandre Jordan added 13 points and 12 rebounds of his own, while everyones favoriite former Duke player to hate JJ Reddick contributed 16 points, 6 of which came in the final minute of play when he first drilled a three from dead on, then was fouled on a 3PA. Classic asshole Duke.
The Grizzles, had a particularly painful loss. Despite falling to just 3-5, Memphis has faced plenty of critics thus far for their blowout losses to Cleveland, Golden State, and Portland. Finally, the Grizz seemed to show up and play well against a legitimate playoff team, only for Marc Gasol to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. To his credit, Gasol played relatively well, dropping 18 points alongside Zack Randolph, who had 26 and 9 boards.
But hey, maybe the league hasn’t passed Memphis by quite yet and maybe it wasn’t fair to act like one of the NBA’s most consistent teams over the past few years was dead because of a slow start. Huh.
Oh and remember that time Pistons fans hopped on my on Twitter about a tweet I made in regards to Jackson’s near-absurd $80 Million deal last night after Reggie put up 40 in a win? He went 7-19 last night. Totally worth double what Mike Conley is making and almost as much as John Wall is. Totally.
Have a good day. Kristaps Porzingis and the Knicks play tomorrow!
