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.
11/26/2016
THE GAMES
SA 112 (14-3) @ WAS 100 (5-10)
NY 102 (8-8) @ CHA 107 (8-7)
DET 88 (8-10) @ OKC 106 (10-8)
MEM 110 (11-6) @ MIA 107 (5-11)
MIN 102 (5-11) @ GS 115 (15-2)
(PHOTO CREDIT: Dan Honda/Bay Area News Group.)
REMEMBER THAT NOTHING IS FOR SURE
The Warriors have won their 11th straight game after taking care of the Minnesota Timberwolves. They are now 15-2. Remember that they started off 21-2 and 24-0 in the previous two seasons. Their starts have been amazing since Steve Kerr got there.
They look great right now. They could even end with another 70-win season. But as we learned last playoffs, nothing is for sure anymore. The Warriors ended with the best regular season of all-time at 73-9 but they still didn’t win the championship (remember the played-out “blew a 3-1 lead” jokes). Let’s remember that championships aren’t won in any other month but June but you sure have a better chance of winning them if you won in every other month.
There have been plenty of teams that we thought were “sure things” that didn’t win the championship. The 67-15 Dallas Mavericks got upset by the Warriors in 2007. The 63-19 Seattle SuperSonics got upset by the Denver Nuggets in 1994. Heck, the 2013 Lakers were hailed as a superteam and they never got it going.
So before you can dismiss this season and say, “Oh, my gosh. It’s boring. It’s going to be Warriors and Cavs again!”, why not just enjoy it? Sure, the NBA isn’t as random as the other sports leagues; usually, the best teams DO win. But stranger things can happen in the NBA, especially (and nobody wants this to happen unless you’re an awful human being) if injuries comes into play.
Warriors/Cavs III is likely. But don’t count the other teams out like the Clippers and the Spurs.
THE REST OF THE LEAGUE
You know what’s pretty impressive? Russell Westbrook getting triple-doubles on back-to-back nights.
By the way, to those that are complaining about their favorite team being on a back-to-back, just remember that every team that played on Saturday night WAS on a back-to-back. So in terms of fatigue, teams were even on that aspect.
I expected the Pistons to be a little better even without Reggie Jackson. I suppose they’re not that bad as they’re hanging out at 8-10. But maybe I was hoping for too much from them.
They are 5th in defensive rating as Stan Van Gundy has instilled that discipline in them. But they’re having trouble scoring (20th in offensive rating and 26th in points). One of their concerns is that they are having trouble making three-pointers. Most SVG teams would fire away from the outside but they are only 29th in made threes, 27th in attempts, and 27th in percentage. The only one shooting above the league average (.349) in threes is Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (.366) as everyone else has regressed. I also expected Andre Drummond to make a jump in scoring and he hasn’t done that.
Ish Smith isn’t doing a bad job running the team; they’re sixth in least turnovers. But they badly need Jackson’s scoring because that has been their main problem at the moment. It definitely could’ve helped against OKC.
While the Dubs are winning, the Spurs continue to silently win. They won their ninth straight game. But shhhhhh.
Charlotte took back their win against New York in their home-and-home. Kemba Walker has been off to a fantastic start as he’s been getting into the lane with the greatest of ease AND he’s converting his threes. He’s currently 12th in scoring with 24.5 points per game.
LINE CROSSER
(PHOTO CREDIT: Alonzo Adams/AP.)
Westbrook gets another trip-dub at:
17 points, 13 rebounds, 15 assists.
As of the end of Saturday night, he tied LeBron James as far as career triple-doubles go (he got his 44th). But as of this writing, LeBron since got another triple-dub in an early game against the Sixers. I’ll write about that tomorrow in my super late recaps.
WATCH THIS PLAY
(VIDEO CREDIT: NBA.)
For the second night in a row, someone cried wolf as JaVale McGee gets plastered by Andrew Wiggins.
Can we have both Zach LaVine AND Wiggins in the dunk contest?
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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