Great day of NBA ball on MLK day. Kobe and Wade went at each other and put on a good show. Looked like Wade outplayed Kobe again, but the Lakers role players were better and they won the game. I was amazed at the number of 3's the Lakers hit. This game followed the Memphis-Phoenix game and it looked like a seamless transition given the number of 3's the Lakers took and made. The game was pretty fast-paced and both teams scored a lot of points. The Lakers got some shooters now and with Kobe willing to share the ball more, they can do some damage in the West. Wade was awesome again and the Heat are playing well now. They can do some damage in the East themselves when the Diesel returns. Wade had a couple of key turnovers that cost them in the end. But this guy is awesome. He is so quick and nobody can stay in front of him. He gets a LOT of calls too. Even Kobe had to complain to the refs about the preferential treatment to D-Wade!
As expected, the Suns and Grizzlies played a fun one. Memphis ran with the Suns and stayed close at the half. It was 76-72 at the half! But even then you could see that the Suns had way too much firepower! It's amazing the array of athletes and shooters and play-makers they have. Amare, Marion and Barbosa are the athletes. Barbosa, Raja Bell, James Jones and Nash are the shooters. Nash and Diaw are the play-makers and all these guys are top-notch at what they do. They space out, they find the open man, they shoot the open 3 (without any conscience) and they make it more often than not. Now they have won 10 straight again.
Agent-0 Gil Arenas was on again today. He scored 51, but more importantly, hit the game winning 3 again at the buzzer again. I think Sloan should have doubled him since he is the kind of guy who may not give up the ball and force something up even if a team-mate is open. He is kind of weird and childish, but as a pure basketball talent, he is just awesome. Washington should be real glad they got him for 65 mill or whatever they had to pay to get him away from the Warriors. Good choice indeed!
Speaking of the Warriors, they got back on track and beat the Clippers at home. The Clips are still struggling on the road and it's hard to tell what the problem is. Looks like they may have too many weapons and the ball doesn't make it to the paint to Elton Brand. When you got Mobley, Cassell, Livingston and Maggette on the perimeter, Brand (and Kaman) can go for long stretches without seeing the ball. Another problem could be the outside shooting of Livingston and Maggette. Whatever it is, they are clearly under-achieving. Apparently Maggette also wants to start or wants out. Magic Johnson on TNT was even suggesting a Dunleavy for Maggette trade. I think the Warriors would love that though Dunleavy had a good game today with 18-13 after being thrown under the bus by Nellie. Monta Ellis was back with a 24 point game and thats a good sign for the Warriors.
San Antonio lost to Chicago. I kind of saw this coming. San Antonio is losing a lot of tough match-ups these days. They have never looked this vulnerable over the last few years. In other games, Kidd (19-9-10) almost had a triple double again and Chris Bosh had a 27 point night.
In other news, Detroit is apparently signing C-Webb for the rest of the year. Not sure what the impact is going to be. I doubt if this will be significant. What's C-Webb going to give them that they can't get out of Sheed or Dice?
Miami @ LA Lakers - 118-124
Utah @ Washington - 111-114
San Antonio @ Chicago - 87-99
LA Clippers @ Golden State - 93-108
Phoenix @ Memphis - 137-122
Interesting games on the board for the Jan 16-th (Tuesday)
Houston @ Dallas - Can T-Mac raise up and challenge the Mavs in Dallas?
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