This is the Hangover. This is where I get drunk on the NBA as I recap last night’s action as well as a few things going on around the league. Here’s your word vomit.
12/04/2016
THE GAMES
ORL 98 (9-12) @ DET 92 (11-11)
NO 92 (7-14) @ OKC 101 (13-8)
SAC 98 (7-13) @ NY 106 (11-9)
IND 111 (10-10) @ LAC 102 (16-6)
(PHOTO CREDIT: Nathaniel S. Butler/Getty Images.)
THE KNICKS ARE… GOOD?
I mean, I guess on paper they should be. They have Carmelo Anthony. They have Kristaps Porzingis. The casual fan still thinks Derrick Rose is a Top 20 player. And they know who Joakim Noah and Brandon Jennings are.
They started off 3-6. But since then, they’ve won 8 of 11 (and 6 of 8) to push themselves to 11-9. By all accounts, even the stats, whether they’re traditional or advanced, can’t explain the sudden surge of the Knicks.
Maybe it’s because they caught teams at the right time. Herer’s how it was in their last eight games: they beat the Hawks (who are on a super slump), the Blazers (Damian Lillard had just lamented how bad they were), the Hornets (who were coming back down to Earth), the Wolves (TWICE and we know they’re not a good team), and the Kings (perpetually a mess). They did lose to the Hornets a night after they beat them and they lost to the surging Thunder.
The margins of the games? Only once ended in double digits (win against the Hawks by 10). All close games, really.
But we can’t take away from what the players have done. Porzingis has been consistent this season. Anthony has been a relentless attacker. For all the crap we’ve given Rose in terms of his play, he looks a lot more relaxed and has been productive in his first season in New York. And role players like Jennings (his resurrection has been a boon), Courtney Lee, Justin Holiday, and Kyle O’Quinn have done their job. Noah hasn’t looked great at all this season but if he gets better, the Knicks will become more dangerous.
Jeff Hornacek has implemented more pick and rolls into the offense to play to his player’s strengths. For now, Phil Jackson hasn’t been too insistent on putting the entire Triangle offense. Let the Knicks grow under Hornacek’s tutelage and they might have something.
To be fair, it looked like they had something under Derek Fisher, too, until Phil canned him. Don’t go on a losing streak, Jeff.
THE REST OF THE LEAGUE
Are the Pacers a bad match-up for the Clippers or something? Indy has swept the season series with the Clips.
Reggie Jackson is back and that’s good for the Pistons offense. Unfortunately, they faced one of the top defensive teams in the Magic last night and they could only muster up 92 points against them in a loss.
By the way, I have a lot to say about Russell Westbrook. Let’s go to the next section.
LINE CROSSER
(PHOTO CREDIT: Layne Murdoch/Getty Images.)
So Westbrook got yet another triple-double:
28 points, 17 rebounds, 12 assists.
But he also got 10 turnovers. He got the rare quadruple-double on the turnover end. Since 1983, this particular kind of quad-dub has only happened five times.
In those five quad-dubs, only one ended in a loss. 14 turnovers by Jason Kidd? Yikes.
Also, that’s Russell’s fifth straight game with a triple-double (by the way, the Thunder won all of those games). That hasn’t been done since Michael Jordan did it in 1989. The longest such streak? Wilt Chamberlain got a triple-double in NINE straight games in 1968.
And Westbrook has 10 triple-doubles this season. We’re only in early December. We have to be concerned about the Thunder guard spontaneously combusting by the All-Star break.
Or Russell Westbrook really is a cyborg.
WATCH THIS PLAY
(VIDEO CREDIT: NBA.)
Speaking of that cyborg, look at Westbrook destroy yet another rim.
Follow Rey-Rey on Twitter at @TheNoLookPass for all tweets about the NBA and terrible pop music. Also, check out his podcast, Rey-Rey Is Fundamental.
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