…Not Quite There.

Another road beating for the young Blazers. Denver’s second quarter run took the lead to double digits where it stayed for the majority of the game. Different story than last night. B-Roy and LaMarcus struggled and the rest of the team followed suit. I told you I wouldn’t be mad. Other thoughts from tonight:

Story of The 0-Fors Pt. 2
-Minnesota finally won a game! 108-103 home win over Sacramento is nothing to be mad about. Rashad McCants dropped 33 but more importantly Randy Wittman succumbed to his desire to win and played Antoine Walker 30 minutes. The worst player in the L responded with 19 and a couple buckets to keep the lead up in the 4th. Congrats Randy now you’ve got yourself a problem. For Sacramento, Ron Artest came back which pretty much ended John Salmons surprising little run.

-Scrappy Seattle finally won a game even though Durant was still off and PJ is crazy. He has to just get a rotation and stick with it. One day Jeff Green is getting a bunch of minutes, the next Delonte is playing and Earl isn’t…one game Wally is playing a bunch the next he doesn’t. Petro who was getting 10 rebounds early is getting 3 minutes. There just seems to be no sense he’s like Doc Rivers on acid. Seattle won this game because Miami refuses to throw the ball to Shaq. When does Shag get four field goal attempts? Unbelievable. At least Heat fans got to see the return of D-Wade. He will make them infinitely better. Unfortunately Shaq may kill Ricky Davis in public before that gets to happen.

-Golden State…the last team standing. Hosting Detroit minus Chauncey. Up 40-25 at the end of one. Up 64-51 at halftime. Up 96-87 with nine minutes left in the game and Detroit goes on 12-0 run over the next 4 minutes and takes the lead. The Warriors end up losing another close one. They really need Jackson back so freaking bad it is sad. Jackson’s return will send Azubuike to the bench which means they’ll actually get some production from the bench. Monta Ellis didn’t start and responded with 6 points. Yikes. Detroit is Detroit, there really isn’t anything that can be said about them in November.

Houston….We Have A Problem.
-Phil Jackson’s “Brokeback” comment was hilarious. I was dying when I heard it. I don’t think he should have apologized or gotten in trouble for it. I love it. Houston started out hot jumping to 6-1 early, including a win over the Spurs. They justified their off-season hype and seemingly nudged their way into the Elite making them a 4th superpower. Not so fast mister. Back-to-back losses at Memphis and at home to Lakers might have some asking some questions. Especially considering they are about to enter one of their roughest stretches of the season. At San Antonio on Friday, home vs. Phoenix on Saturday and home vs. Dallas on Wednesday. Hopefully T-Mac and his elbow won’t be out because this will be the true test of just how good the Rockets are. Are they on those teams level or are the still under the glass ceiling with Utah and Denver? We shall see.

The C’s are good…but I’m intrigued
-Scariest part about Boston’s win over New Jersey. Six players in double figures. Their defense is pretty scary right now. That’s why I don’t think that a couple losses will hurt this team that much. They have three very determined superstars and a tremendous defensive scheme. Honestly, they should come out of the East. I think it would be a battle between them and Detroit but I think it is a battle that Boston can win. I just thank them for aiding in the resurrection of the East.

Starbury Returns
-Well that didn’t take long for that fire to go out. Who else thinks Isiah called and either a) begged for Marbury to come back or b) threatened his life. Seriously…I was watching Outside The Lines and they showed a bunch of shots of Isiah on the bench interacting while someone was talking on the phone. That man is smooth as hell. Seriously, if he could act HE should have been Frank Lucas in American Gangster. Doesn’t Isiah seem like a mob boss sometimes? Like behind that smile he could just whip out a gun and shoot you? Oh well. Marbury was back so was Zach….same result. Chris Kaman beasted on the boards again in a game where neither team played well at all. New York has got to stop turning the ball over. You can’t win on the road shooting 33 percent AND turning the ball over 20 times. It’s impossible.

What’s That Sound?
It’s Indiana crashing back down to earth. This is what happens when you have to depend on Danny Granger and Mike Dunleavy to win. They are good players but just way too up and down. And yes I want you to admit that Granger isn’t quite there yet Coup.