Suns vs Bobcats: This was atroicious. The Bobcats seriously zone press. I
thought Calipari tried that in Boston more than a decade ago and it failed
miserably. The best player by a mile for Charlotte is Ben Gordon, and he comes
off the bench. Byron Mullens is huge (maybe 7'1), yet he does nothing but shoot
jumpshots. Charlotte has enough size, that you would think they could be a real
good defensive team, but unfortunately their bigs are not intelligent to make
use of their physical tools. You forget MKG is out there......I'm not sure why
Charlotte chose to build around a role player.
Nets vs Heat: Brooklyn had Miami's attention, which was bad news for
Brooklyn. Everything was sharp about Miami yesterday. Miami is better this
year for 3 reasons. First, they no longer have lulls in the offense. They're
running a play every time that involves all 5 guys and they look crisp. Second,
they're deeper. Adding Lewis (nice weapon in the pick and pop) and Allen has
provided some much needed quality depth. Finally, what a difference a playoff
run has made for Chalmers. He's been playing great. As always, he's a top
defender and decent spot up shooter, but he's making great decisions and passes
when he has the ball this season.
Nuggets vs Rockets: This was Harden's first truly bad game. He got
frustrated early because the referees would not give him the call when he brings
his arms up under the defender on his drives. So instead of getting free throws
early in the game he had 4 bad turnovers. The other problem was Andre Igoudala,
who was a better defensive player than Harden was an offensive player (at least
for today). Ty Lawson had his way with Jeremy Lin. Asik is a great rebounder,
but he might be the only one with that mindset on the roster. When Asik went to
the bench, Denver was all over the boards. Kenneth Faried looked great again
matched up against Patterson and Morris.
Lakers vs. Jazz: Utah came out hot, and LA came out sluggish. For most of
the game LA was trying to dig its way out of that hole and they got it to 6
points, before they ran out of gas. Utah is tough at home, so it's not the
worst loss. Lakers had a hard time getting the ball to Dwight, and in the 2nd
half Kobe just decided to take over. Pau took the game off, but still ran up
and down the court. Steve Blake is a serious problem. Lakers need to upgrade
that immediately. Steve just does nothing well. He's an average passer, a
below average shooter, a below average defender. Even when Nash gets back, the
Lakers are in trouble if Blake is playing over 15 minutes a game.
Cleveland vs Golden State: A healthy Bogut does wonders for the Warriors.
He makes them a decent defensive teams. Every day I'm more impressed with Klay
Thompson. He got into foul trouble early and was taken out the game, but I like
his potential. However, the Cleveland backcourt puts crazy pressure on opposing
defenses. Kyrie and Dion pretty much do everything for the Cavs. Kyrie will
often go several possessions in a row where he plays the off guard. They're
interchangable. Kyrie is far more efficient right now, but Waiters has no
fear. He changes speeds well and he's going to grow into a really tough pick
and roll/pop player. Had Cleveland had Varajeo, they might have won this game.
Kyrie is tough. Golden State was trying to run away with the game, but Kyrie
started hitting tough shot after tough shot. He still has room to grow in his
floor game, but Cleveland will need to get him some more weapons.
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