This post will likely go under ‘Thursday’ but its not. I sit here on my bed with my laptop on my chest–no worries its not hot yet (ps I just spent 5 minutes trying to spell the word laptop). Thankfully I’m able to rewatch Maria Sharapova’s dominant semi-final win in the Australian Open…come on now you didn’t think I was going to go a whole two weeks without sneaking some tennis in there. Especially when my future ex-wife is about to be in the finals. Be hopeful I don’t do a diary. Her groans in the background seemlessly blend in with the serenity of my fingers on the keyboard. Not a worry in my mind at all with my only class being cancelled tomorrow. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the premiere edition of Late Night Bonus Coverage.
New Orleans 96, Portland 81
- Well…yikes. Since I’m in such a good mood and remembered that this whole year is being played with house money I’ll list the positives. Blazers are 8 games above .500 in late January for the first time in…well I’m too lazy to look it up so lets say a while. Portland survived their 7-game road trip going 3-4 and being in every game. A far improvement from their early season struggles away from the Garden. This trip proved that the Blazers aren’t just a fluke. And they lost to a streaking Hornets team. Why’d they lose? If you answered Chris Paul you would be wrong. Tyson Chandler and Jannero Pargo did a number on the team from the 503. Chandler was a monster on the boards–14 on the day, 7 of those offensive rebounds. And Pargo couldn’t miss which makes me just want to vomit. Offensively we got a combined 4 points from Martell and Jack and while they may not be the main guys, those guys have to contribute. It didn’t happen. Nasty 6-game homestand coming up, we’ll see how they respond.
Minnesota 117, Phoenix 107
- Well…if you were wondering why I wasn’t so mad: at least we didn’t lose to Minnesota. Wait for it…wait for it….for the second time this year. Yes indeed 2 of those 6 wins have come agains the Phoenix Suns. And this is the first time this year that Minnesota has won 2 in a row. Celebration time indeed. Not only did the Suns lose…they got beat up. The T-Wolves outrebounded Phoenix 48-26. Shine that spotlight right on Mr. Stoudemire if you will. Mr. Stoudemire…how do you explain your team getting outrebounded by 20? Better yet..how do you explain Al Jefferson destroying you yet again this year. You are aware sir that he is averaging 32.6 points and 16.3 rebounds against you and the Suns? You do know that Jefferson had 8 offensive rebounds which is not only 7 more than you had on the night but also 5 more than your team as a whole? Enough with the jokes but to put Amare’s night in perspective…Steve Nash tied him in offensive rebounds. Even worse: Marko Jaric outrebounded him 8-6. Back to Jefferson…the man really IS an All-Star but is going to suffer Elton Brand-itis until the Wolves start winning. I mean he carries them night in night out, gets a double-double with ease even with double teams. I tip my hat to him.
Toronto 114, Boston 112
- No the Celtics aren’t exposed quite yet so cut that talk out. C’s gave up triple digits for the 4th time this season and only the first time in the Garden. How’d they lose? Basketball 101 says if you let a team shoot 58% from the field and 71% from behind the arc that you are probably going to be the recipient of a big fat nasty L. Toronto did exactly that and Boston suffered the consequences. Toronto was raining 3’s all over (15 on the night) in one of those games that they couldn’t find in playoff time last year against the Nets. Funny that Delfino nailed 5 and the widely praised sharpshooter Kapono made 0. It’s clear to me that Boston really wins their game on defense, they have to get back to that.
San Antonio 103, Lakers 91
- 54-45 at halftime, it looked as if the Lakers would steal one and that the Spurs were in complete hibernation mode. Except at halftime they decided to play like it was May for 12 minutes. And boy what a nice little reminder that was to the world. ‘Hey guys we just want you to know we’re still really good over here, we can turn the switch on and we’ll see you in May again.’ Yikes. 14-0 run to start the 3rd quarter…Lakers didn’t score until a Derek Fisher layup with 5:38 left in the quarter. Lakers lost the game not because of that run but because of the two threes they gave up at the end of the quarter. They had cut the lead to 70-66 with 29 seconds left. Brent Barry hits a three, turnover, Udoka hits a three and you now have 12 minutes to outscore the Spurs by 10 points. Chris Webber’s laughing somewhere: DJ Mbenga’s line read 2 minutes, 2 turnovers. Good signing. I’m surprised the Spurs haven’t used Udoka more to be honest, if they can fit him in the rotation watch out. How do you beat a team with both Bowen and Udoka. Exactly.
Clippers 111, Kings 85
- Only notable because I hope this ends all of this ‘Hey the Kings aren’t that bad look for them to make a push for the playoffs’ talk. The hierarchy is clear in the West. There are 10 teams that are really good, 3 that are pieces away from being up there and 2 that are just plain horrible. Al Thornton had 23 and 9 but the star of the show was Chris Kaman. 20 and 21.
Cleveland 121, Washington 85
Orlando 112, Memphis 85
- I just thought it was cute that the two teams that really got blasted on Wednesday scored the same amount of points. How the Cleveland Cavaliers scored 120 points is simply beyond me to be honest with you. I’ve been staring at the boxscore in shock like the first time I saw Pamela Anderson naked. Back when that was still a good thing. Cleveland has Washington’s number dating back to a couple years ago. They shut down Caron and Antawn, so the win was going to be theres…but 5 guys in double figures? I guess Ilgauskas wants to be an All-Star or something. To the Orlando/Memphis game…well…Turkoglu nailed 6 three’s. That guy has been huge for the Magic, he’s outplayed the 110+ Million Dollar Man for sure. JJ Redick sighting: 7 points in 3 minutes. The guy can score. I really would not mind having him on the Blazers.
Chicago 108, Indiana 95
- Battle of two teams in the East who are battling for one of those lower spots. Really from 7 on down it’s pretty bad in the East. No one is able to separate from anyone because they just win 1, lose 2, win 2, lose 3. Every team is up and down. Case in point…both of these teams. Who would have thought Chicago would have had a shot without Deng or Gordon? Certainly not I. Can’t predict things like Kirk Hinrich apparently finding his stroke and dropping 38, 10 assists and 7 rebounds. Or Noah’s 14 points and 15 rebounds aka his best imitation of Ben Wallace when he was with the Pistons. For Indiana, Danny Granger was on fire (33) but Mike Dunleavy was not (2/12, 10 points) and neither was Tinsley (2 pts in 30 minutes). Can’t be a .500 team when you’re depending on Dunleavy and Tinsley to bring it every single night to be successful. They’re good but they are inconsistent as all heck.
Houston 109, Seattle 107
- Only relevant because the Rockets were able to come from behind and steal a victory. Remember when the New York Giants were 0-for and left for dead but they beat the Redskins on the road. It saved their season and brought them all together. This may be a tad dramatic…but I think a win like this can really give Houston some much needed momentum. T-Mac was back and in full effect tonight. In those final 5 minutes, McGrady had 7 points and 3 assists. That’s how you take over a game. The Rockets have vastly underachieved this year…but they cannot be slept on. Quietly they are 9-3 on the month and have won 3 in a row. The big test for Houston comes in their next three games: @ Portland and then at home against Uta
h and Golden State. All teams that are fighting for the right to even think about having a playoff life.
Dallas 102, Charlotte 95
Detroit 86, Philly 78
- The two sure things that actually went down tonight. These two are the definition of good teams just finding ways to get it done on the road. Coup still loves the Mavs…I’m not sure why. Why Sam Vincent continues to start Jeff McInnis is beyond me. He’s horrible. You might as well start Matt Carroll and keep his confidence from last year up. He can actually…ya know….shoot. Slide Felton back to the 1 and play on from there. Or just have MJ talk to them every single second of the day, that seems to work too.
Denver 107, Atlanta 100
- No Melo…No problem? Not when Linas Kleiza steps up the plate: Denver is 4-1 when he scores 20+. Also could K-Mart be re-opened? 20/10 is a good sign for Nugget fans. Atlanta is in desperate need of someone who can score off the bench. Josh Smith had a triple double though: 22 pts, 12 rebs, 10 assists. Just to nitpick he did shoot 23 shots and turned the ball over 7 times.
Bonus coverage is over. I’m tired and Maria stopped grunting. Sigh.