Sports 4 Dorks

Minnesota 106,
Detroit 80

Detroit
continues to have major offensive issues. The team was first in offensive
efficiency at the time of the Allen Iverson trade, they’ve now dropped to 10^th,
and the defense has fallen off as well. Sunday was a pathetic showing, just 87
points per 100 possessions, and the final score actually indicates a game that
was closer than it was. Only a 30-28 fourth quarter after Minnesota took it easy turned this into a
regular blowout, instead of a shocker.

Defensively, the Pistons had no clue when it came to Randy
Foye. Nobody in the Detroit
backcourt could stop him, everyone got a chance, and the third-year guard
finished with 23 points and 14 assists with just two turnovers. He just kept
moving. Mike Miller continued his "I
don’t care about shooting anymore" turn with a nine-point, eight-rebound, and
seven-assist game in only 24 minutes. And Al Jefferson (19 and eight boards)
was nearly unstoppable in the third quarter.

Boston
118, Toronto 103

You keep thinking that a Raptor team like this is ready to
turn the corner, ready for a definitive win that tells you that things are
different now, but it never seems to show up. Then you tell yourself that, even
at home, a 15-point loss to the defending champs doesn’t seem out of the
question. Even if you played them awfully close earlier in the month.

Then you look at the 118 points, and go right back to
feeling lousy. Boston
has had terrible issues offensively this season, so how can that happen? Then
again, Boston isn’t as bad as it has played offensively this year, Rajon Rondo
and Kendrick Perkins are bound to play better, and Tony Allen continues to
round back into 2006-07ish form. Boston
is so good. You have issues, still. It makes sense.

61.6 percent shooting for Boston. Goodness. That’s a "players only
meeting" sort of stat.

Philadelphia 89,
Golden State 81

Philly in a nutshell: dominant in the first half with 57
points. Playing unsure of themselves and playing not to lose in the second with
32 points. And then Andre Miller has to clinch it, late.

Elton Brand (23 points), Andre Iguodala (15), and Thad Young
all had OK games, but they needed a ton of shots to put up those numbers.
Philly won this by nailing everything in the first half and by pulling down a
ton of offensive rebounds (22 overall) over the course of the game.

Andris Biedrins finished the game with two fouls, eight
rebounds, 10 points, four assists, three turnovers, two steals and two blocks.
And I have no idea why he played only 30 minutes.

Los Angeles Lakers
118, Sacramento 108

Los Angeles’ (rightfully) celebrated defense took the night
off in this win, but it hardly mattered against a Kings team that has to try to
out-shoot its opponents for the win, and (um …) can’t really out-shoot its
opponents for the win.

The Lakers out-shot their opponents for the win, and
dominated the glass. The ball was moving, 28 assists on 45 field goals, as
eight of the nine Lakers that played scored in double-figures. Let’s get it
together, Machine.

Denver 114, Chicago
101

After a while, the excuses about not know the team personnel
have to be overcome. The Bulls coaching staff has been in place for months,
they’ve been legally practicing for nearly two months, and even though Vinny
Del Negro, Del Harris, and Bernie Bickerstaff all had big roles on different
teams this time last year, that doesn’t mean a damn on November 23^rd.

And it certainly doesn’t mean you play three 6-3-and-under
guards, a small forward with footspeed issues, and an undersized power forward
down the stretch and expect to win. Don Nelson wouldn’t even do that, and he
rarely expects to win.

A bogus coaching job from Vinny Del Negro from beginning to
end in this one, Denver
took over in the fourth by spreading the floor and getting into the paint on a
lineup that featured Lindsey Hunter, Derrick Rose, Ben Gordon, Andres Nocioni,
and Drew Gooden.

Del Negro’s response to a series of layups and dunks was to
bring in Aaron Gray to supposedly guard the rim. Of course, Gray’s never
changed a shot in his life because he’s too slow, so the pattern continued. Denver enjoyed a 31-16
fourth quarter advantage as Joakim Noah and Tyrus Thomas get lied to again.

Kenyon Martin (26 points, eight rebounds, two blocks in 32
minutes) did not miss in 10 attempts from the field.