NBA RECAP 10/31/08

SIXERS 116, KNICKS 87
In case you were excited by the Knicks blowout of another lottery team, this should bring you back down to earth.

STUDS
Elton Brand (PHI)
Was total money from mid-range tonight, torching the Knicks for 24 pts and snagging 14 rebounds in a blowout win.

Andre Miller (PHI)
A line of 20/7/8 is as good as it gets for Dre.

Willie Green (PHI)
18 points on 8-10 shooting off the bench.

David Lee (NYK)
With 13/11/3 and 3 steals, he was the lone bright spot for NY.

DUDS
Zach Randolph (NYK)
Z-Bo scored only 12 points on 5-19 shooting. The Knicks were -28 points with him on the court. In case you didn't know, that's really, really, really bad.

RAPTORS 112, WARRIORS 108
Another close and entertaining game for the Warriors, they actually played "Tall Ball" for a change and made a feverish comeback with their defense before the offense fell off in overtime. The Warriors are essentially playing without a PG and are playing competitively, as if we needed more confirmation that Don Nelson is an offensive genius.

STUDS
Chris Bosh (TOR)
31 and 9 on 12-24 shooting. Tough to complain.

Andrea Bargnani (TOR)
You know he loved the pace of this game, as he scored 19 points off the bench (8-10 FG) and he even blocked 3 shots.

Al Harrington (GSW)
Little Al had 26 points and 11 rebounds, pouring in 6-12 from downtown as a matchup nightmare.

DUDS
Jermaine O'Neal (TOR)
Had as many points as he did fouls (5) as he shot 2-10.

HEAT 103, KINGS 77
Well, at least the Heat won't be the league's worst team as they manhandled a Sacramento team that should contend for that spot.

STUDS
Dwyane Wade (MIA)
Forget the 20/4/8 line. Wade had 4 steals and 4 BLOCKS tonight. He's back.

Jason Thompson (SAC)
Thompson had 10 pts and 7 reb (18 mins) off the bench, following up an 18 and 10 performance in the opener. Coach Reggie Theus said the player that rebounders will get to start. Thompson has outrebounded starter Mikki Moore in the first two games and could find himself starting soon. Remember when everyone was lambasting this draft pick?

DUDS
Kevin Martin (SAC)
9 points, 0 assists, and 5 turnovers. K-Mart is 7-27 from the field to start the season.

Beno Udrih (SAC)
2 points, 2 assists, and 5 turnovers. Remember when Marko Jaric got his mega contract? Why didn't Sacramento?

Mikki Moore (SAD)
As mentioned previously, Moore is on the verge of losing his starting job as he has grabbed only 3 rebounds in 2 games.

SWAHH!?
Mark Blount (MIA)
2-2 from 3pt range.

CELTICS 96, BULLS 80
The Boston defense held Chicago to a .298 FG%. There is no doubt the Bulls are still a middling offensive team, or that the Celtics are the best defensive team by leaps and bounds.

STUDS
Kevin Garnett (BOS)
The reigning defensive player of the year had 18 and 10, while completely shutting down the opposition.

Derrick Rose (CHI)
Was the only player who could score against the Celtic defense. Didn't post a great line (18-4-1) but in his 2nd game and against the defending champs, it's tough to be disappointed.

DUDS
Tyrus Thomas (CHI)
2-17 from the field. Semi-redeemed with 7-8 FT and his defense, but a Starksline is tough to swallow.

Luol Deng (CHI)
2-10 from the field. Were you expecting Boston's defense to fall off without James Posey? Think again.


GRIZZLIES 86, MAGIC 84
The Magic have not looked good in their first two games, losing to non-playoff teams.

STUDS
Rudy Gay (MEM)
Led the Grizz with 29 points.

DUDS
Dwight Howard (ORL)
14 pts and 14 rebs but 5 fouls and 5 turnovers. Should have dominated the Memphis frontline but did not.

Mickael Pietrus (ORL)
Didn't play a very smart game, with 5 fouls and 3 turnovers in only 17 minutes. He's not a shooting guard.

J.J. Redick (ORL)
Didn't score again, and seems to be losing his spot to Keith Bogans (27 mins, 7 pts).

NUGGETS 113, CLIPPERS 103

STUDS
Nene (DEN)
The Nuggets were +30 with Nene on the court. To put that into perspective, the next best player was Iverson w/ +10, and the worst was Nene's backup Chris Andersen at -17. That's was 22 pts (10-15 FG), 11 boards, and 3 blocked shots will do for you.

Kenyon Martin (DEN)
Gotta quote Yahoo for this one.
"Kenyon Martin missed nine of his first 10 shots and finished with 13 points. But he also grabbed 13 boards, made a key defensive stop to send the game into OT and made a 3-pointer in the final minute of the game to secure the victory."

Al Thornton (LAC)
30 points and 11 rebounds for the "Most Improved Player" favorite.

Tim Thomas (LAC)
20 points and 7 rebounds. Remember when his future was supposed to be full of games like that?

DUDS
Baron Davis (LAC)
Went down with a back injury and didn't return. Was easily the Clippers best player in his 13 minutes on the court though.

Jason Hart (LAC)
The Clippers were -25 with Hart in the lineup. Ya'think they missed Baron? Hart contributed 3 points, 2 assists, and 5 fouls in 29 minutes of play.

Cuttino Mobley (LAC)
14 points on 5-18 shooting. Chipped in 5 turnovers as well.

Ricky Davis (LAC)
Missed all four shots and finished with a 0-0-1 line off the bench. Paul Davis by comparison finished with 9-4-1.

BLAZERS 100, SPURS 99

STUDS
Brandon Roy (POR)
26-5-7. 3 steals, only one turnover to carry the Blazers to their first win over the Spurs in three years.

Nicolas Batum (POR)
Batum provided 12 points and 2 blocks off the bench after barely playing in the opener.

Tim Duncan (SAS)
27 and 10 for Big Fundamental.

Tony Parker (SA)
24 and 11 for Little Fundamental. They're going to put up huge numbers together until Ginobili comes back, but may not get many wins.

DUDS
Steve Blake (POR)
With only 6 points and 2 assists in 33 minutes, he's gonna have to do more to hold the job. Jerryd Bayless notably rode the pine tonight, but Blake couldn't capitalize.