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Another week in the NBA has come and gone. Next week I will offer my ten biggest disappointments of the NBA season…..until then this should keep y’all very busy this afternoon!!
Westbrook Sets another Record
My man Urkel went off on Wednesday night against the Orlando Magic and wound up with another triple double. Only this time his triple double was the highest scoring triple double in NBA history.
Detractors will say the game went into overtime. What they won’t tell you is Westbrook and his band of merry rejects men came back from a double digit fourth quarter deficit. You can catch all of it below.
You can also see the rare company Westbrook is keeping these days below.
Devin Booker Blows Up Boston
The Phoenix Suns don’t have much to play for this season but last Friday night they did. Much to the chagrin of the Boston Celtics players Suns guard Devin Booker went off for 70 points against the Celtics in their own barn. Watch it all below!!
The Cleveland Cavaliers Embarrassing Defense
How in the heck do the Cleveland Cavaliers expect to win a championship with a defensive efficiency ranking of 29th???? For the season this Cavs team has the same efficiency rating as the Portland Trail Blazers. That leaves the Cavs at #22 this season.
Last season post All-Star the Cavs ranked 12th. For the season they were number ten on the list. This bunch isn’t anywhere near where they were last season.
FYI: The last time an NBA team won a Championship was the 2004-2005 Miami Heat. Keep in mind their opponent the Dallas Mavericks were also outside the top ten in defensive efficiency.
Speaking of Defense
Check out this little nugget I stumbled across; the Golden State Warriors are leading the League in opponents three point field goal percentages. In an ever increasing reliance on the triple this stat is good to know come playoff time.
So how do the Warriors stack up against the history of defending the triple? I have that for you too!!
Carmelo See’s the Writing on the Wall??
Carmelo Anthony has been given a reduced role to finish the regular season. Presumably it’s to assess the young guys on the Knicks roster.
I for one am thrilled that Anthony is at "peace" with the decision his employers have made. It’s probably the best decision the Knicks Front Office has made in the past five or six seasons. Actually the Knicks stopped making good decisions LONG before Anthony forced the trade that wound up sinking the Knicks for the next decade.
I can’t wait for the day we can say R.I.P. to Anthony’s New York Knicks career.
Dwight Howard Taking Care of Business
I’m not a big Dwight Howard fan nor was I a fan of the Hawks signing him this summer but no one can deny that the Dude can still play a bit. Check out this chart. If he weren’t such a mental midget and locker room cancer I could actually root for the guy.
Mr. Unreliable Chimes in on NBA and Resting
Kevin Durant hasn’t made this space much this season. Outside of leaving the Oklahoma City Thunder and getting hurt Mr. Unreliable hasn’t done much to earn a spot here.
Then he opened his mouth about the real reason for the resting controversy. While what he said was merely stating the obvious but he also dropped names like LeBron James, Stephen Curry, James Harden and Russell Westbrook.
James has been given nights off this season to drink coffee and coach to rest. So has Curry although I didn’t see him coaching or drinking coffee on the bench.
Funny thing about this list is this; both Harden and Westbrook have played in every single game of their team’s respective seasons.
At least Durant is consistent. He’s about as accurate with his assessments as he is in the fourth quarter of big ballgames.
The Houston Rockets Crazy Offensive Numbers
This past summer I joked to friends that I thought Mike D’Antoni and James Harden would be a match made in basketball heaven. D’Antoni doesn’t care about defense and neither does Harden so when D’Antoni was hired by the Rockets I believed the pairing would make Harden the top Fantasy Basketball player this season. Look how many 100 point games this Rockets bunch has scored this season!
The Two Marc Gasol’s
Usually whenever the name Marc Gasol is mentioned the hope would be that there aren’t two of them. Memphis Flyer reporter Kevin Lipe and I discuss the two Gasol’s on our podcast Beyond the Arc.
The Warriors Do a GREAT Thing
As much grief as I give the Warriors I have to be fair to their organization. What they did for this little kid from Atlanta is really the best thing from this week…….