We’ve harped a bit on Detroit’s
up and down offense in this space recently, and it was pretty up and down on
Sunday afternoon, but it’s this team’s defense that has completely and utterly
fallen apart under coach Michael Curry. And I think you’ll join me in assuming
that the letdown isn’t completely the coach’s fault.
Portland’s a very underrated
offensive team, the squad’s slow pace tends to hide the fact that they can
score with anyone in this league, but Detroit
gave up a pro-rated 118.5 points per 100 possessions in this loss. At home.
That stuff just hasn’t tended to happen over the last, oh, seven years.
And it wasn’t due to some glaring hole, though Rasheed
Wallace did not have one of his better games. Each and every Blazer just seemed
coolly efficient and on top of things. And though Detroit’s bench (Rodney Stuckey especially,
that cat had it, and finished with 15 points and five assists in 26 minutes)
brought them back into the game after an early deficit, the Pistons just
couldn’t cover all angles on Sunday.
Rasheed was … not great. One rebound in 39 minutes, and I’m
having a hard time recalling a night like that from any big man in this league
outside of Eddy Curry over the last, oh, seven years. And Eddy Curry’s probably
played more than 38 minutes about ten times in his career, if that. He scored
11 points on 12 shots, only scoring those 11 because three of his seven
ill-conceived three-point attempts went in, and LaMarcus Aldridge (27 points,
and a Curry-like four rebounds in 40 minutes) ate him up on the other end.
An entertaining game from two of the more scatterbrained
teams in the NBA, Philadelphia roared out to a hot start while the Bulls tried
to figure out what state they were in, and by the time Chicago remembered how
to run an actual play, the Sixers passed on the whole "defense" thing for the
final three quarters. Not the finest hour for either side.
The Sixers really did stink it up defensively, I know some
of Chicago’s stats were pumped up by Larry Hughes nailing a series of late-game
corner three-pointers that he won’t consistently hit again this year (though
that won’t exactly stop him from trying), but there’s no excuse to give up
113.2 points per 100 possessions to a Chicago team (ranked 24th in
the NBA in offense) that was averaging 102.8 entering the contest. A contest in
Pennsylvania.
The state where the 76ers play.
Chicago
stayed close because Drew Gooden hit some tough, tough shots in the face of
Elton Brand’s fine defense on Sunday. Gooden’s effort all season hasn’t waned,
but his concentration has been Drew Gooden-esque as ever.
On Sunday, he had it
all together. By the second half, it was time for Ben Gordon to exploit the
fact that he could get an open 19-footer whenever he wanted to, and Derrick
Rose (18 points on 8-15 shooting, 10 assists, five rebounds, two turnovers)
just filled in everywhere else.
Brand, Andre Miller, and Thaddeus Young played well for
Philadelphia, but Andre Iguodala was worthless (he and Luol Deng should go on a
reunion tour of invisible concert halls), and Louis Williams (1-9 shooting,
horrid defense) continues to be a massive letdown this season.
I’m going to really have a tough time telling you how great
a game Chauncey Billups had against the Rockets, partially because of the slow
pace of this one, and partially because you get it. As in, "yeah, 28 and 10 assists. I get it. Great game."
It has to, somehow, go beyond that. This guy was so good,
and he’s been so brilliant for this team, that you almost wish more people were
paying attention. And understanding why this team is so much better. Yes, it’s
Billups. But, no, the defense hasn’t improved considerably. Just a bit, but
just enough; at least in comparison to the first 50 games from last season.
It’s the offense that has gotten way better, but it’s hard to tell because the
raw numbers are down because they don’t run nearly as much. And because the
Nuggets don’t run, they win.
Anyway, as you mentioned, 28 and 10 for Billups. 28 and 10
and every bit of it was needed with Carmelo Anthony aching. Nene (17 and 10 in
35 minutes, no turnovers, no blocks) nearly played Yao (18 and 11 in 31
minutes, three turnovers, three blocks) to a draw, J.R. Smith was hot off the
bench again, and the Nuggets (I’m looking at you, Kenyon) managed not to punch
anyway in a game the refs let get away from them at times. And Mick lost his
guitar.
This wasn’t much of a surprise, actually. Even though the
Suns handed the Nets a huge loss in New
Jersey a little while ago.
Nobody on the Suns could guard Devin Harris. It wasn’t just
Steve Nash getting burned, either. Raja Bell
would get switched onto him after a screen and roll gone awry, and Harris would
score. Sean Singletary got a lot of it. 47 points on 56 percent shooting for
Harris, with seven rebounds, eight assists, and four turnovers in over 40
minutes. The guy is having an AMAZING year.
On top of that, Phoenix
couldn’t stop turning the ball over. 21 in the game, and every Sun was at
fault. Topping it off was the length of Steve Nash’s rest in the fourth
quarter: almost four and a half minutes. In a close game like that, where Devin
Harris needs to be forced to play defense, it was too long. Nash made half his
shots and had an assist to close
the fourth quarter, but he could have played better, but the wheels were
too cold.
The Nets just ran it. Vince Carter was a brilliant second
banana, scoring 28 while often setting up the pass that led to the assist.
Trenton Hassell (and I don’t say this often, I’m not one of those guys) didn’t
score, but had a great game during his 24 minutes. And the Nets just don’t give
up. No fluke, no surprise, just game.
Los Angeles Lakers
112, Toronto 99
There’s only so much you can do against the Lakers. That
makes no sense and all the sense in the world, actually. This team is so
perfect in so many ways that you just get the feeling they could be winning by
an average of 25 a night if Phil Jackson weren’t testing things out and hitting
the cruise control button every so often.
The early position they discover and utilize on offense. The
way they get out on shooters. The way they cause teams that aren’t used to
coughing up the ball to cough up the ball. The rebounding — I know Toronto can’t rebound to
save its life and was playing without Jermaine O’Neal — it wasn’t even close. 54
to 36. 34 assists on 47 field goals for Los
Angeles. Ridiculous numbers across the board.
Yes, Boston
is 16 and 2, but man, this is a special, special team.
(PHOTO CREDIT: GETTY
IMAGES)
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