Elton Brand reminded us why the Clippers were so good last year. He had 31-12 with 8 blocks. It's amazing how dominant this guy can be from anywhere on the court, especially if he is playing bad defensive teams like the Warriors. For a 6-8 guy, he is a fantastic shot-blocker too. But Brand is having a down year compared to last and thats one of the reasons they are struggling. His numbers are down across the board (except for his shooting %). He is scoring more than 4 points less than last year and that combined with a decaying Sam Cassell and a dysfunctional Corey Maggette is enough to derail this team. Brand was a MVP candidate last year and this year, he was not even an all-star though the West picked 16 players with all those injury replacements. But today was different for the Clips. Everybody chipped in with great games. Tm Thomas had a 17-10 night with quality shots. Meggette had 18 points and Livingston had 14 points and 14 assists. Thats the Shaun Livingston the Clippers have been waiting for. The Warriors were really good in this one until the 4-th reminding me of an old Warriors joke. What's the difference between a dollar bill and the Golden State Warriors? You can get 4 good quarters out of a dollar bill. The Warriors have a boat-load of wing players now and Nelson is just wheeling these guys in and out. They got Stephen Jackson, J-Rich, Pietrus, Matt Barnes, Azubike, Monta Ellis and Jasikevicius. Thats not even counting Al Harrington who in my opinion is an over-rated big. He is just a bigger wing player.
Denver lost at Dallas as Melo and AI combined to score 60 points and committed 16 turnovers. 16 TOs almost erases half of their 60 point output. Thats either a symptom of poor decision making or guys not having played together enough on this team. I think it's a combination of both. Nowitzki had 31-11 and Josh Howard had 27. They have now won 11 straight again. In other games, Toronto, Utah and San Antonio all won.
Denver @ Dallas - 95-115
Golden State @ LA Clippers - 90-103
Interesting games on the board for Feb 25-th (Sunday)
Chicago @ Detroit- Two teams on a roll run into each other here. Should be a playoff-intensity game on national TV.
Houston @ Orlando - T-Mac returns to Orlando. He might drop 45 here, or at-least try to.
Cleveland @ Miami - What a waste of a game without D-Wade.
Phoenix @ Atlanta - The Suns lost to the Hawks at home without Nash. Atlanta can expect a spanking.
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