NBA RECAP 11/1/08

For the moment it will probably be easier to do a top performers of the night style of recap, 15 teams is just too much.

HAWKS 95, SIXERS 89

STUDS
Joe Johnson (ATL)
Scored 35 points to carry the Hawks from 23 down to victory against the Sixers. I was DVRing this game early but chose to record another game instead as the Hawks looked terrible in the first half. Guess I missed out on a great comeback.

Elton Brand (LAC)
Had 17 points and 16 rebounds in tonight's loss. I don't think he'll average 20 ppg this year (he's averaging 18.3) but the rebounds and defense will be there night in and night out.

DUDS
Marvin Williams (ATL)
Williams shot 1-7 coming back from suspension.

BOBCATS 100, HEAT 87

STUDS
Gerald Wallace (CHA)
Crash had a monster game with 34 points (11-16 FG, 2-2 3PT, 10-16 FT), 9 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, and 3 blocks to give Larry Brown his first win in Charlotte.

Michael Beasley (MIA)
25 points on 10-16 shooting and he even blocked 2 shots. His lack of rebounding (4 reb in 42 mpg) is somewhat concerning though.

DUDS
Daequan Cook (MIA)
He shot the lights out the first two games, but was 1-8 tonight including 1-7 from deep. Don't expect consistency this season.

ON THE RADAR
Jared Dudley(CHA)
J-Duds started in place of Sean May, who was moved to the inactive list due to his poor conditioning. My only question is why they couldn't figure that out during the preseason, as it was clear then that May wasn't ready to return. That Dudley wasn't terrible (6 pts, 5 reb) probably ensures he'll be back there next game.

PACERS 95, CELTICS 79

STUDS
Marquis Daniels (IND)
13 points and 10 rebounds for Marquis, who is making the most of his PT with Dunleavy sidelined.

DUDS
Ray Allen (BOS)
Allen had 1o points and 4 turnovers and continues to remind us of his poor playoffs from a year ago. His all-star days appear to be over. Boston shot 34% from the field and committed 25 turnovers, so the fault of tonight's loss wasn't entirely his, but unlike Pierce or Garnett, he doesn't bring much to the table if his shot's not falling. If Boston doesn't repeat, Ray's gonna be the reason.

Eddie House (BOS)
Was 1-10 including 1-7 from three. Most of it probably came in garbage time, but he wouldn't have helped if the minutes were meaningful.

MAGIC 121, KINGS 103

STUDS
Dwight Howard (ORL)
29 and 14 with 5 blocks for Superman. Against the Kings, that should be the norm. The only starter that didn't score 20+ points was Jameer Nelson.

Kevin Martin (SAC)
Another day, another blowout in Sacramento. Martin had 31 points in a blowout loss. He's starting to remind me of Mitch Richmond, both in his one-dimensional offensive game, and subpar teammates.

DUDS
J.J. Redick (ORL)
Redick failed to score for the 3rd straight game. On a night where nobody else had a problem scoring, this is concerning. He'll eventually lose his rotation spot if he keeps it up.

Mikki Moore (SAC)
6 points and 1 rebound while Jason Thompson had 12 and 5 off the bench (actually led the team in boards, which says all you need to know about the Kings). If Theus holds true to his word, MM is a dead man walking.

PISTONS 117, WIZARDS 109

STUDS
Walter Herrmann (DET)
16/7/4 on 6-9 (3-4 3PT) shooting. Forget Rodney Stuckey, Herrmann is the bench player to watch out for in Detroit now.

Nick Young (WAS)
Young had 23 points off the bench and was a perfect 11-11 from the line in the losing effort.

DUDS
Amir Johnson (DET)
5 fouls in 10 minutes, Amir is really the starter in name only. Maxiell/McDyess combined for 17/10 off the bench.

Whoever was guarding Kwame Brown (WAS)
Kwame went 4-4 in only 8 minutes against the team that drafted him #1 overall.

WARRIORS 105, NETS 97

STUDS
Corey Maggette (GS)
Maggs scored 20 points on a night where he went 3-13 from the field. He was 13-15 from the charity stripe and the Warriors took an almost unheard of 52 free throws. He also chipped in 10 rebounds, and for those of you who think his solely a reaction to Baron leaving, think again.

Josh Boone (NJ)
Boone scored 17 grabbed 14 boards (9 offensive!) and blocked 3 shots, which is probably what he did to the Warriors last year.

DUDS
Yi Jianlian (NJN)
Went 0-4 from the field and was benched for defensive purposes. His backup Ryan Anderson had 12 pts and 4 reb and there could be a switch between the two down the line.

ON THE RADAR
DeMarcus Nelson (GS)
Nellie had 9 pts in his most extensive run (22 mins). He'd have had his first doubl e digit game if he didn't go 1-5 from the FT line.

MAVERICKS 95, TIMBERWOLVES 85
STUDS
Jason Kidd (DAL)
9/9/7 with 4 steals for Kidd. Opposing PG Randy Foye also shot 3-14 against him.

DUDS
Randy Foye (DAL)
As you just read, Foye couldn't buy a bucket tonight.

ON THE RADAR
Gerald Green (DAL)
GG had a GG as he scored 9 points and played well down the stretch against his former team. Stackhouse started over Wright, who didn't play tonight, so Green may have taken Wright's rotation spot for the time being.

HORNETS 104, CAVALIERS 92
STUDS
Chris Paul (NO)
Paul had 24 points and 15 assists, and the team was +21 with him on the court. The Hornets were without Chandler or Peja tonight and they still didn't have any problem dispatching the Cavs. If the Hornets don't make it to the Western Conference Finals, I'll be shocked.

James Posey (NO)
15 points off the bench and locked down LeBron James (15 pts, 6-15 FG, 5 TO)

DUDS
Maurice Williams (CLE)
Badly outplayed by CP3, the team was (-19) with him on the court, pretty symmetrical if you ask me. 11 points on 5-15 shooting, 4 assists and 4 turnovers. LeBron can't do it every night.

ON THE RADAR
Rasual Butler (NO)
Started in place of Peja and had 14 points and hit 3 threes. Everyone forgets he was in the rotation, because he was hurt during the playoffs.

BULLS 96, GRIZZLIES 86
STUDS
Derrick Rose (CHI)
Scored 26 points to carry Chicago to victory over the Grizz.

Kirk Hinrich (CHI)
18 points and 4 assists off the bench. Sixth man of the year?

Drew Gooden (CHI)
7 points, 20 rebounds, and 3 blocks. Were you worried about his production suffering at center?

DUDS
Mike Conley (MEM)
6 pts, 2 asts, and seems to be losing PT to Kyle Lowry (12 pts, 4 asts).

ON THE RADAR
Hakim Warrick (MEM)
Darko started the first game, Arthur started the next two. Warrick had 18 and 7 off the benchto help remind Grizzlies fans that he's the most consistent PF on the team right now.

ROCKETS 89, THUNDER 77
STUDS
Carl Landry (HOU)
Landry had 14/11 off the bench against the badly overmatched Thunder.

Kevin Durant (OKC)
As usual, the lone bright spot, scoring 26 points.

DUDS
Oklahoma Shooters (OKC)
The team was 0-4 on threes (Watson 0-3, Westbrook 0-1), showing they haven't addressed last year's weakness (they were 2nd worst 3pt shooting team last year only ahead of Philly). On a potentially offensive note, I'm guessing theywon't be calling them the Oklahoma City Bombers anytime soon.

RAPTORS 91, BUCKS 87
STUDS
Jose Calderon (TOR)
Scored a career high 25 points to go with 5 reb and 9 ast in the win.

Ramon Sessions (MIL)
After not playing the first two games, started for injured Luke Ridnour and had 12 pts and 9 asts. Even though he allowed Calderon to have his career night, Sessions is right back in the PG mix.

DUDS
Richard Jefferson (MIL)
Tough night for RJ as he shot 3-13 and committed 5 fouls. As mentioned the other night though, with 8 rebounds it's good to see that part of his game making a comeback.

LAKERS 104, NUGGETS 97

STUDS
Kobe Bryant (LAL)
33 points for Kobe is nothing new.

Pau Gasol (LAL)
16 points and 16 boards, picking up where he left off against Denver.

Anthony Carter (DEN)
Led the Nuggets in scoring with 20 points, which probably isn't a great indicator of team success. Also had 6 boards and 6 assists to go with his 8-9 shooting night (2-2 3pt).

DUDS
Carmelo Anthony (DEN)
Played like crap in his first game back from suspension, scoring most of his 13 points with the game out of reach.

JAZZ 101, CLIPPERS 79
STUDS
Deron Williams (UTA)
Okay, Williams didn't play tonight, but he obviously had the best seat in the house as his team won by 23 without him. Along with the Hornets and Lakers, they're an elite team in the west.


DUDS
Baron Davis (LAC)
Sat this one out with injury, and it's pretty obvious the team has absolutely no chance without him.

Ricky Davis (LAC)
Had another 1-7 shooting night and is starting to show last season wasn't a fluke.

SUNS 107, BLAZERS 96
STUDS
Matt Barnes (PHX)
21 points for Barnsey, to go with Amare's 23, Nash's 20, and Shaq's 16. If D'Antoni were still coach, the score of this game would have been 132-126 and two of those players would have finished with 30+ points.

Rudy Fernandez (POR)
Continuing to show the Olympics were no fluke, Rudy had 20 off the bench.

DUDS
Leandro Barbosa (PHX)
1 point on 0-3 shooting. If there's any player Kerr should have "sold high", it's Barbosa. He obviously wasn't going to fit on a team putting defense first. Maybe sending Barbosa/Diaw to D'Antoni's Knicks wouldn't have been such a bad idea after all...