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.
12/30/2016
THE GAMES
CHI 101 (16-17) @ IND 111 (16-18)
BRK 95 (8-24) @ WAS 118 (16-16)
MIA 114 (10-24) @ BOS 117 (20-14)
NY 92 (16-16) @ NO 104 (14-21)
LAC 116 (22-13) @ HOU 140 (25-9)
MIL 99 (15-16) @ MIN 116 (11-22)
DET 98 (15-20) @ ATL 105 (17-16)
POR 94 (14-21) @ SA 110 (27-6)
PHI 124 (8-24) @ DEN 122 (14-19)
DAL 99 (10-24) @ GS 108 (29-5)
ONE MORE FOR THE “SHORT GUYS”
I am personally 5’7″. I love basketball. But I also know that basketball is a tall man’s game. Coaches and scouts salivate over height and length (especially length these days). While I appreciate all sorts of skill sets and gifts in basketball, I also pull for the “shorter” guys to do well. We’ve seen them over the years. Spud Webb. Muggsy Bogues. Allen Iverson. Earl Boykins. Heck, I can appreciate a guy like J.J. Barea. They’re the little big men scoring buckets and whizzing by giants every night on the court.
I didn’t give Isaiah Thomas that same appreciation early.
And why not? He’s 5’8″ (he’s listed at 5’9″ in the NBA but you know how the league will fudge players’ heights, sometimes). He was picked last in the 2011 NBA Draft. I thought that, at the most, he’d be a “nice scoring option” off the bench that would change the pace of the game.
The Kings drafted him and he improved in his scoring every season there. He topped out at 20.3 points per game in 2013-14. But Thomas felt “disrespected” by the Kings and he eventually bolted to Phoenix, where Jeff Hornacek tried to emulate the three-guard rotation the Bad Boys of the Pistons had. That didn’t work out and that entire thing fell apart. Thomas was then traded to Boston, where Brad Stevens was able to maximize him.
Thomas became an all-star last season and averaged 22.2 points and 6.2 assists as the Celtics made the postseason. Now the Celtics are third in the East and I.T. is on the forefront. Against the Heat, Thomas spit out 29 points. In the FOURTH QUARTER. He went on to score a total of 52 points and he is currently 5th in the league in scoring. Isaiah Thomas has been dynamite this season and I can’t help but feel inspired since, again, I’m only 5’7″. Isiah Thomas (without the extra “A”) from those aforementioned Bad Boys didn’t even score 50 in an NBA game!
Sorry I even put an ounce of doubt on you, Isaiah.
THE REST OF THE LEAGUE
Hey, Philadephia has eight wins now. At the end of 2015 last season, they only had three wins. And apparently, Joel Embiid is inspired to become an all-star because “his celebrity crush” won’t go out with him unless he becomes one. Well then!
So the Spurs won again. They’ve won nine games when they trailed by double digits. Once again, nobody is talking about them as we’re ALL talking about a Warriors/Cavs trilogy. But ya know, the Spurs are on pace for 67 wins again. Didn’t they just lose Tim Duncan?
The Rockets put 140 on the Clippers. That’s five straight losses for the Clips while Mike D’Antoni, James Harden, and Eric Gordon continue on their road to redemption. Of course, not many people are putting their stock on Houston because of Harden’s inconsistencies on the defensive end and D’Antoni himself not being too concerned with defense.
Austin Rivers got ejected after he bumped into the ref. After that, Daddy coach Doc followed him to the lockers as he also got tossed. How often does a father/son combo get ejected in the same game? Never! Until Friday night.
Kevin Durant got a triple-double by the third quarter. I guess he wanted to join in on the fun, too. It’d be great, though, if Durant, Harden, and Russell Westbrook were all on the same team.
So the East’s standings below Cleveland and Toronto look muddled again. Boston and Charlotte are at 3 and 4. After that long swoon, the Hawks are at 5 and, suddenly, a 10-4 spurt put the Wizards at 6. Knicks and Bulls round off the eight but it’s not like either team is playing well.
Meanwhile, Detroit continues to sink. He’s basically been the opposite of George Hill for Utah. The Pistons are 4-10 since he came back. Yikes.
LINE CROSSER
So yeah, James Harden and Kevin Durant both got triple-doubles but there is no way we’re ignoring Isaiah Thomas.
52 points, 9/13 three-pointers.
29 points in the fourth quarter. Exceptional.
WATCH THIS PLAY
(VIDEO CREDIT: NBA.)
Andrew Wiggins took flight and flew by one of the Plumlees. (What’s up, Miles?)
Follow Rey-Rey on Twitter at @TheNoLookPass for all tweets about the NBA. Also, check out his podcast, Rey-Rey Is Fundamental.
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