Welcome to the NBA Hangover. We jot down NBA stuff mostly from last night that we want to talk about. Check it out.
Patrick Beverley made the biggest (however controversial) play of the game.
(PHOTO CREDIT: Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images.)
Christmas for the NBA fan is… well… Christmas. We get five NBA games that day and no sports league has a strangehold on that day more than the NBA. To a lot of casuals, the regular season begins on Christmas Day. (Also, the regular season LITERALLY began on Christmas Day in the 2011-12 shortened lockout season.) I said back in 2008, when they began showing FIVE games on Christmas Day that it felt too much. Now I don’t see it any other way.
The main event for a Southern California guy like me is the battle between TWO GOOD Los Angeles teams. Rarely do we see this happen but both L.A. teams are legit contenders this season as the Clippers with Kawhi Leonard and Paul George took on the Lakers with LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
Patrick Beverley collided with James early in the game. James tried to take a charge and he got a knee to the groin for his troubles. He would stay in the game but James admittedly mentioned after the game that it affected him throughout.
It baffles me about how fans judge Kyle Kuzma. It’s obvious he’s a good NBA player and can score in bunches. And he’s adjusting to a new role and battling through injuries. Kuzma can still be that #3 guy and it has showed in the last couple of games. He scored 15 of his 25 points in the first quarter.
We joke about Kawhi being a robot but that dude is strong. He was getting whatever he wanted. He ended with 35-12-5.
There were times where LeBron was clearly not himself. Nevertheless, he scored some buckets in a nice little spurt in the second half.
Paul George and Lou Williams didn’t shoot well. But Montrezl Harrell got going after some adjustments. He scored 18 points.
When the Lakers got up by 15 early in the third quarter, I expected the Clippers to make a run. And they did. They tied the game at the end of three and eventually took the lead late in the fourth.
The biggest play came when…
Watch This Play
Beverley blocked LeBron’s attempt at a three-pointer that would’ve tied the game with 3.4 seconds left.
(VIDEO CREDIT: NBA BandWagon Fan.)
After some replays, the call was overturned and it was the Clippers’ ball. It sealed the win for them.
Now I saw a lot of arguments over this on social media. How it took away from “the spirit of replay.”
What spirit? It was out on LeBron James. These are black and white calls.
“But normally, in the first 46 minutes, that would be out on Beverley!”
Let’s be honest here; how often does that sort of play happen in the first 46 minutes? It was deflected out of a shot and we can see if it goes off someone or not.
So we’re trying to get this call right, correct? So they did. Why are we complaining here?
If anything, maybe don’t be put in a position where the refs have to make the call. Beverley made a fantastic play. If we’re talking about “SPIRIT”, maybe we should talk about “DESERVING.” Maybe Beverley DESERVED to get the call because he made a clutch defensive play.
Either way, the Clippers took the duke and go up, 2-0, in their season series with the Lakers.
The Clippers stifled the Lakers late. What baffled me was that the Lakers started becoming passive on offense and slowed down when it was probably not conducive against a team like the Clippers. We saw a couple of Anthony Davis isos (one of which the jumper went in) but it was best for them to let the ball fly around.
I tend to be not too hard on players but the fans have been very disappointed with Rajon Rondo. Yeah, it didn’t seem like he was doing much out there. The Lakers really need a more threatening playmaker that can create shots for himself and others. The only one that can be that double threat is LeBron.
But that Clippers depth, though. Mo Harkless does all the dirty work. So does JaMychal Green. Landry Shamet gave them a perimeter threat. And when Lou couldn’t get his offense going, Harrell provided the punch off the bench. And obviously, it helps to have two threats in Leonard and George. Davis talked about “giving the game away” and he was right because they went away from what they were doing. But it’s also right that the Clippers played a hell of a game and took advantage of what was going on late.
Can’t wait for their January 28 game.
Bullet Passes
The Golden State Warriors upset the Houston Rockets in what was supposed to be the dud of the day. But is it really an upset? It’s pretty much death, taxes, water is wet, and the Warriors beat the Rockets.
James Harden was limited as the Warriors threw everyone at him. And somehow, Harden only got one foul shot in this game. He missed it.
Damion Lee led the boys in San Francisco with 22 points and 15 boards. And Draymond Green looked like his old self with 20 points and 11 boards. More importantly and IMPRESSIVELY (because of their current roster), the Warriors have won three straight.
Christmas miracle, indeed.
Joel Embiid played his best game this season as he went for 31 points and 11 boards. Giannis Antetokounmpo was heavily shadowed by Embiid and he was forced into an 8-for-27 shooting performance. Giannis had been shooting well from three recently but he missed all 7 of his attempts.
Being the Bucks, they did make a run late. But it was too much for them and the Sixers showed today why a lot of pundits picked them as a lock for the East Finals.
Jaylen Brown showed what he could do as he sank 30 points against the injury-riddled Raptors. Toronto has lost two in a row and you start to wonder when the injuries will catch up to that team. They’ll have a bit of a soft schedule in the second week of January but you hope that some of their injuries would be healed by then. After all, indefinite means we don’t know.
Because the NBA is weird, the Nuggets had their 7-game win streak stopped by those not-so-great Pelicans. But maybe it’s because the Pelicans have their number as they also won their Halloween match-up.
Derrick Favors made his presence felt. Him not playing may be one of the main reasons why the Pelicans have a mediocre record. But he kept the offense flowing and was big (along with Jrue Holiday in the perimeter) defensively. Brandon Ingram scored 31 while making a Christmas-high 7 threes.
Pelicans have won three of four. Their 13-game losing skid likely doomed their playoff chances but it’s nice to get a confidence boost like this.
The Scoreboard
BOS 118 (21-7) @ TOR 102 (21-10)
MIL 109 (27-5) @ PHI 121 (23-10)
HOU 104 (21-10) @ GS 116 (8-24)
LAC 111 (23-10) @ LAL 106 (24-7)
NO 112 (9-23) @ DEN 100 (21-9)
Hope y’all had a great holiday!
Rey-Rey is on Twitter at @TheNoLookPass.
TNLP on FaceBook.