Point Blank – February 20
An Abbott and Costello Night (“Who’s at PG?”)…The Clippers won the “floor game” much bigger than the scoreboard shows…Is a rout a-Bruin in Tucson?
There was quite a flurry before the end of the NBA trading deadline yesterday, much of it surrounding the key PG position, and several contenders were involved. But because of the league’s odd timing of the deadline, right before play begins again, instead of last week when the new players would have a few days to assimilate, that means a lot of scrambling going on for the Friday board. As always, it is not just a matter of predicting the outcomes when rotations are unsettled, but also of how to grade the results when they come in. It could turn into a comedy routine, so the task ahead is to prevent it from becoming a Comedy of Errors.
Pacers/76ers – Just when Philadelphia was beginning to develop a bit of chemistry, Michael Carter-Williams now leaves, heading to Milwaukee. But the 76ers have played the last three games without him, Tim Frazier going from seeing no action at all to starting. Frazier is clearly not ready (if indeed even able), shooting 6-27 with 13 turnovers in those games. Isaiah Canaan will get a pretty good look over the remainder of the season, but should not be expected to see any action tonight.
Knicks/Heat – The sense of optimism that emerged with the addition of Goran Dragic, has not lasted long. There is now the unfortunate news that Chris Bosh could miss the remainder of the season because of have blood clots in his lungs (the initial tests are inconclusive). He certainly will not play any time soon, although Dwayne Wade will be in action for the first time since January 27. Do not expect Dragic to be on the court tonight, with Mario Chalmers or Shabazz Napier getting the start.
Bulls/Pistons – Reggie Jackson finally gets that chance to start at PG that he had wanted, but Detroit now has to go through a third transition at the position, after having Brandon Jennings and D.J. Augustin running the show so far. But Jackson is unlikely to be ready to go tonight, which may drop the start into the lap of John Lucas III, who has only been with the team since the first of February, not playing more than 16:02 in any game. And there isn’t much behind him.
Suns/Timberwolves – A major shift in Phoenix, which had four PGs on the roster, playing three regularly, but dealt Dragic, Isaiah Thomas and Tyler Ennis, while adding Brandon Knight (Kendall Marshall shows up only on paper, and is going to be waived). The team chemistry will not have to change all that much, with an Eric Bledsoe/Knight back-court still having two natural PGs, but do not expect to see Knight in action this evening. Take a good look at Bledsoe props today, with the ball in his hands much more than usual, against the league’s worst defense.
Nuggets/Bucks – Carter-Williams has a chance to thrive under the tutelage of Jason Kidd, and perhaps Ennis can become a competent back-up. But that is for later, with a foot injury keeping Carter-Williams out of the rotation for a while. Tonight? It will be Jerryd Bayless getting the start. Bayless has only reached the 30:00 plateau once this season, and is coming off of a hip injury. The remaining options are O. J. Mayo or Jorge Gutierrez, neither much of a fit at the position. That could matter tonight, because Ty Lawson's short suspension has been lifted for Denver Jameer Nelson has practiced the last two days, after missing four games, which brings the Nuggets edges at the position for perhaps all 48 minutes. Now if only their focus and attitude could be trusted…
Celtics/Kings – The George Karl era begins in Sacramento tonight, and helping to ease the transition will be Andre Miller, who combines with Reggie Evans to supply two veterans that have played under Karl in the past. And eventually this team will be fun to watch, especially with the experiment of playing Rudy Gay at the #4, to really open up the court. But not tonight – with Darren Collison not expected to play, Ramon Sessions getting dealt, and Miller not likely to suit up, there will be a lot of Ben McLemore and Ray McCallum running the show. That is not exactly a way to bolt out of the gate in Karl’s debut. Meanwhile the newly-acquired Thomas will not play for the Celtics.
The basketball being played tonight across most of these games will not be a thing of beauty. But the Sports Books must post lines, so there may be a window or two of opportunity as these boards shift over the course of the day. As always, there is never any hurry, with plenty of games ahead, so if the investment only ends up being in Eric Bledsoe props, that is not necessarily a bad thing.
About Last Night…
The Clippers got a lot more interesting. Yes, they had won a pair of games before the All Star break, but those carried an * because of issues the opponents brought. Last night San Antonio had no such issues. So make sure you appreciate how the 119-115 came together – LAC shot a higher percentage from the field (54.5 vs. 51.2), won the boards by five, and had four fewer turnovers. That was a decisive victory for the “floor game”, much more than the scoreboard will show. But for as terrific as DeAndre Jordan’s line of 26 points and 18 rebounds in 36:45 shows, look at those FTs.
Gregg Popovich decided to play “Hack-a-Jordan”, and it worked – he was an awful 10-28 at the line, dropping the Clipper team total to 27-52. The NBA average is 75.4 percent from the stripe, so what would the margin have been had Jordan only connected at that average? It would have meant an extra 11 points. But Jordan is not going to be anywhere near average, now sitting at a wretched 40.8 for the season, and it is going to create an end-game headache for Doc Rivers – the Popovich strategy could become a major part of the game plan for future LAC opponents.
In the Sights…
It will be an all-day showcase for #650 Arizona, which has the ESPN Gameday crew in town to set up the national telecast of the game vs. UCLA on Saturday night. And the Wildcats are well-set to take advantage of the setting. There are bitter memories that remain from that 75-71 loss in the Pac 12 tourney in Las Vegas last March, and a team that has won its last three games by 81 points, not being challenged at all after intermission, there has been some saving up of physical energy that can now be unleashed (the starters only played 59 percent of the floor minutes vs. Southern Cal on Thursday).
But this one may be as much about the Bruins being vulnerable as Arizona being prepared to throw a KO punch. While Steve Alford’s squad has been able to at least hold serve at home, there have only been four step-up games away from Pauley, an 0-4 SU and ATS dumping vs. Kentucky, Oklahoma, North Carolina and Utah in which they lost to the spread by a shocking 70 points. Yet note that three of those were on neutral courts. This is a finesse team, not a physical one, which makes for yet one more bad matchup against an aggressive opponent that will play much better defense (#6 vs. #83 overall), dominate the boards (the Wildcats are #1 in the nation at clearing the defensive glass, and are #1 in the Pac 12 in both offensive and defensive rebound rate) and play at arguably their highest energy level of the regular season in a game in which the starters are allowed to go for the kill, instead of just winning and moving on. That is a mode they have not been in at home since that domination of Utah a month ago, and this looks eerily similar to that one going in.
This Week at Point Blank
Monday – What a “Bettor Better Know” – As the weekend connects to Monday night…
Special Edition – Billy and Me, the Epilogue
Tuesday – Preparing for a Bubble-bath…A sinking ship takes on more water…The Dawgs can not possibly shoot worse this time around…
Wednesday – Free Baseball Winners!!! (and an anything but shameless plug)…Pitino, in February…Could a Hurricane get reduced to a mild breeze…
Thursday – Making the proper “Associations”…The Cardinal sins were on defense (on the court, that is)…Will tonight’s tempo give Memphis the blues…