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.
12/09/2016
THE GAMES
ORL 88 (10-14) @ CHA 109 (14-9)
MIA 84 (7-16) @ CLE 114 (16-5)
TOR 101 (16-7) @ BOS 94 (13-10)
ATL 114 (12-12) @ MIL 110 (11-10)
HOU 102 (16-7) @ OKC 99 (14-9)
DET 117 (13-12) @ MIN 90 (6-17)
IND 103 (11-12) @ DAL 111 (5-17)
PHX 119 (7-16) @ LAL 115 (10-15)
NY 103 (13-10) @ SAC 100 (8-14)
(PHOTO CREDIT: Alonzo Adams/AP.)
ROCKETS’ RED GLARE
Do we believe in the Houston Rockets as title contenders now?
Well, I’m not sure most fans will believe in them. After all, they mostly see Mike D’Antoni as a one-dimensional coach that can never win the big one. Heck, D’Antoni-coached teams never made it to the NBA Finals.
But what they’re forgetting is D’Antoni helped usher in the change in the league. Remember the 2004-05 Suns? Remember when they were the most fun team in years because of all the pick-and-rolls, three-point shooting, small ball line-ups, and run-and-gun style of play? Yeah, their defense wasn’t the greatest but we sure loved watching them on offense.
Look at the thriving teams now. It’s what’s vogue in the league right now. How often do we see good ground-and-pound teams nowadays? Yeah, there are the Memphis Grizzlies. There are the Utah Jazz. There were the Indiana Pacers of a few years ago. But now we have the Golden State Warriors breaking the game on the offensive end. We have the Cleveland Cavaliers flinging from all spots. Even the San Antonio Spurs, who were called “boring” for years, transformed their game into something beautiful with their crispy ball movement. The entire league has Mike D’Antoni written all over it.
It’s just that he never won the big one. Does he have a chance with Houston? He has James Harden, who is a Top 5 (you can argue Top 3) player in the league right now. And he’s so good at revitalizing careers. Jeremy Lin. Chris Duhon. Steve Novak. Earl Clark. That’s just a few of them.
Now Harden has been charged to play point guard for this team. Clint Capela showed improvement last year but under D’Antoni and Harden’s play, he has a starring role. Eric Gordon‘s resurrected his career in Houston. And Sam Dekker, who we forgot about from last season, has become quite the role player off the bench.
Right now, Houston has won five straight. Their defense still isn’t the greatest (23rd in defensive rating) but their offense is 4th and is very hard to stop. They are 16-7 and are actually tied with the Clippers for third in the West. They do have some defensive-minded guys in Trevor Ariza and Patrick Beverley (they are 10-2 since Beverley’s return) so they might come up big when the playoffs come around.
I’m not sure if this is finally the year D’Antoni wins the big one. And he may never get that. But just remember who the trendsetter is when it comes to this offensive explosion the league is currently having. He’s like the ECW in the wrestling world.
THE REST OF THE LEAGUE
Even at 10-15, that’s still a better record than we all thought that the Lakers would have after 25 games. But their downfall was a bit different; it’s not because the team has regressed but because they were hit with injuries. Lou Williams has averaged 34.3 points per game in his last four in an unbelievable string but he’s pretty much the lone Laker keeping them in games. D’Angelo Russell could be back on Sunday so there’s that.
Toronto, losses to Cleveland notwithstanding, continue to play some good ball. And the other good news is that their two stars’ friendship has really grown over the years. Here’s an example after last night’s win over Boston.
The opposite of Durant and Westbrook is … https://t.co/yWZUZf0vAo
— Chris Walder (@WalderSports) December 10, 2016
I need a friend like that.
Lastly, Russell Westbrook got his seventh straight game with a triple-double. That’s tied for the second longest streak in history. Too bad, the Thunder lost in an otherwise messy game to the aforementioned Rockets. We keep wondering if he can keep this up for so long.
LINE CROSSER
(PHOTO CREDIT: Stacy Bengs/AP.)
Yes, yes. I know Westbrook got a triple-double but Andre Drummond got more than a perfect vision:
22 points, 22 rebounds.
Grabbing balls can be easy for some people.
WATCH THIS PLAY
(VIDEO CREDIT: NBA.)
Sam Dekker destroyed a man. Poor poor Enes Kanter.
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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