While you were sleeping
While You Were Sleeping... 1 March 2010
by Basketball John on Mar 1, 2010 5:00 AM MST
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Nuggets 89 @ Lakers 95
Do you feel a little dirty? Well don't. While there's not much that will give you more pleasure, a Lakers loss does nothing for us. The fight is for #2 and we need to stay within range of that.
Neither team played well at all but the Nuggets had one of the worst offensive performances that I've seen in a long time from them. They shot just 35% overall and just 28% from three-point land. JR Smith was 1-7 (why can't he do that against us). Add 20 turnovers and that spells loss.
From the Stiffs,
The Nuggets handed this game over to the Lakers within the first four minutes of the second half. Out of their first five possessions in the second half, the Nuggets had four one-on-one shot attempts - all missed shots - and a turnover. As a result, the Nuggets didn't score for the first three-and-a-half minutes. Compounding problems, Nuggets head coach George Karl waited too long to call his first timeout of the second half (after four of the five bad possessions and a nine point lead cut to three, Karl finally asked for time) as that early second half performance called for an immediate timeout and lecture.
As for Kobe, he struggled mightily with his shot, as Denver sent hard doubles at him. The only time in the first half he was able to exploit those doubles was when Powell or Odom would find the seams and made themselves available.
That all changed in the second half, as the Lakers made the needed adjustments against Denver's defense. The Lakers came out blazing, going on a 10-2 run, driven by two Derek Fisher threes, coming withing three of the Nuggets. But that turned out to be a false start, as the Nuggets answered back, pushing their lead back to 11. I have to admit, it looked at that point that the Lakers had given the Nuggets their best shot, and Denver had withstood it. I was wrong.
So go take a chemical shower, scrub yourself down, and rinse off the grime that comes from wanting a Laker's win.
AK gives us his take,
You're right, it feels wrong, but you'll get over it.
Click on through to the other side
While You Were Sleeping... 23 February 2010
by Basketball John on Feb 23, 2010 7:01 AM MST
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Just a couple of games affecting the Jazz last night
Pacers 82 @ Mavericks 91
The Mavs get a gimmee last night as they hosted one of the worst teams in the league in Indiana. Dallas shot just 38%. Haywood had 13 & 20 for the Mavs. He's been a pretty good pickup for them.
Of course the Pacers were playing without Danny Granger who could have provided a little more offense for them. He likely would have had the same case as bricktivits as the rest of the two teams though. Let's check in with Indy Cornrows,
The tone for this game was set early when both teams shared a barrage of rim clanking perimeter shots followed by a near-epidemic case of sloppy ball handling and passing.
I don't have the numbers to back me up, but I'm quite sure that the Mavs and Pacers combined to have more passes deflected or stolen in the first half than they had shots made. It was ugly, OK. Even Mavs' owner Mark Cuban found the play unpalatable at the half complaining to Clark Kellogg and Chris Denari at the half that his game at the gym earlier in the day wasn't as ugly as the first half.
Hmm, nobody from the winning team has anything up. Let's just go with this pic from a Dallas fan that won 10G on a half court shot (his shooting percentage was better than the teams),
So the Pacers didn't help us out at all. Combined with our loss, the Mavs are just a half game back of the Jazz now. Maybe Indiana should sign this guy? Let's go to Sloan for the final reaction to this game,
What do I want? Jeez, just a little help with the WYWS. Never mind.
Bucks 83 @ Knicks 67
New York has now lost 7 straight and are hanging out just above Indiana (so that loss isn't quite as bad), Sacramento, and Golden State. They're not going to "catch" Minnesota (remember how we lost to them twice this season? That was awesome) or New Jersey. But to have a shot at the three spot in the lottery? That's some sweet action.
| New York | 19 | 36 | .345 | 23 | 12-19 | 7-17 | 3-5 | 13-23 | 100.9 | 104.1 | -3.2 | Lost 7 | 1-9 |
| Indiana | 19 | 37 | .339 | 23 ½ | 12-15 | 7-22 | 2-6 | 14-20 | 99.1 | 103.8 | -4.7 | Lost 1 | 3-7 |
| Sacramento | 18 | 38 | .321 | 24 ½ | 13-13 | 5-25 | 2-9 | 10-23 | 101.2 | 105.8 | -4.6 | Lost 4 | 2-8 |
| Golden State | 16 | 39 | .291 | 26 | 12-16 | 4-23 | 4-8 | 9-26 | 107.4 | 110.7 | -3.3 | Won 1 | 3-7 |
| Minnesota | 13 | 44 | .228 | 30 | 9-20 | 4-24 | 3-8 | 7-27 | 97.9 | 106.5 | -8.6 | Lost 6 | 4-6 |
| New Jersey | 5 | 51 | .089 | 37 ½ | 3-24 | 2-27 | 1-11 | 4-31 | 90.0 | 101.2 | -11.2 | Lost 3 | 1-9 |
From the proprietors at Brew Hoop,
While the small-ball Knicks once again hemorrhaged points inside to Bogut and company, New York's often explosive offense could neither shoot straight from outside (5/24) nor find a way to get around Bogut inside (five blocks for the third straight game). Lee managed a very respectable 12/13 scoreline, but his opportunities were largely limited to mid-range jump shots and his typical assortment of garbage buckets around the hoop. Bogut had no such problems, scoring 14 points along with nine boards in the first 11 minutes of the game alone as the Bucks led by seven after one period.
And get used to Seth from Posting and Toasting,
While double teams worked on occasion, the Knicks simply weren't going to stop Bogut with David Lee being the only player even close to qualifying as a "big man" on defense. Lee's arch-nemesis finished with 24 points, 20 rebounds, and 5 blocks, dominating the puny Knicks the way you or I would against a gaggle of second-graders. Consider Experiment 1: "Playing a lineup without any post defenders against one of the league's best 7-footers" a failure. The new-look Knicks fared pretty well on Saturday against the smaller Thunder, but were exposed all at once at the hands of Andrew Bogut.
Maybe NY would have fared a little better had the lights worked?
Let's go to Scott for the final word on this. Maybe he was part of a large league conspiracy to get the Jazz a good pick this year by laying the foundation for the Isiah Thomas years? Thanks Scott!
While You Were Sleeping... 19 February 2010
by Basketball John on Feb 19, 2010 6:26 AM MST
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Nuggets 118 @ Cavaliers 116
Man, it was a shootout last night in Cleveland. I don't like the Nuggets and I really don't like LeBron, but I was hoping that they'd pull one out to get us a bit closer to the Nuggets. No such luck as Carmelo was just filthy. He had 40/6/7 on the night including the game-winner in OT.
It's not often, in fact it doesn't happen at all, that night like LeBron's gets overshadowed. 43 points, 15 assists, 13 rebounds, 4 blocks, and 2 steals. A. Maz. Ing. And yet because they lost and because of Melo, this line won't quite have the same impact.
I didn't watch the whole game, but this was the closest that I've seen from the 80s and 90s years when stars would go head to head. Maybe a James vs. Anthony remake of Jordan vs Bird? Of course they're more popular with their first names so it would have to be LeBron vs. Carmelo. Maybe then we'd see James in the dunk contest?
It sucked to see Denver win, but I don't think it will ever get old seeing LeBron pout off the court. The Cavs last loss? That would be to Mr. Sundiata Gaines.
How did the Cavs fans react?
More blame? How about the love of the three point line. LeBron was 1-9 behind the arc, including a 3 at the buzzer that would have won the game. As a team, the Cavaliers went 7-22 from deep. 30% from three point land to go with 57% from the free throw line will usually equal a loss when playing a top-notch opponent. Still, the Cavaliers took the Nuggets to Overtime, and still, it took a great shot by Carmelo Anthony, in what was likely his best overall game, to beat the Cavaliers. I'll take that.
From the Stiff point of view,
Having watched every single Nuggets/Cavaliers game during the Carmelo Anthony/LeBron James Era, this was hands down the best of the bunch. We as NBA fans were privileged to witness an exceptional duel between two great teams led by their two great super stars. And we as Nuggets fans were even more privileged to witness a remarkable Nuggets victory.
Simply put, Melo and LeBron were spectacular tonight. While the Nuggets and Cavaliers have had some good contests over the years with these two in the league, rarely do both players play so exceptionally well against each other. LeBron's 43/13/15 game can be matched only by a performance by "Pistol" Pete Maravich...in 1974! And Melo proved once again why he might be the best clutch shooter in the NBA.
So even though we got to see the LeBron face, I'm still going with this face,
FESS is not pleased.
Celtics 87 @ Lakers 86
If this it the type of game that we could see in the finals, you don't want any part of it. After a pretty solid three quarters, the teams combined for just 28 points in the fourth quarter.
Things were going along smoothly, LA had even pulled ahead by 4, 84-80 after a Bynum dunk with a little over 7 minutes left in the game. If you're observant, you'll have noticed that in the sub headline, the Lakers only scored 86 points.
Fortunately for us, the Lakers just stopped scoring after that point. For the next 5 minutes, they wouldn't get a point, not even a free throw. They didn't score again until a layup by Odom with 2:29 left.
As for Boston, they weren't much better as they scored just 7 points in that time frame, but it was enough. After that Bynum layup, both teams decided to just call it a game then because it was becoming just too hard to play basketball. Instead, they put in some NBA Cares hours and donated a few dozen bricks for those in need.
Like I stated before, we're still not likely to catch the Lakers, but even if we were rotting on the floor of the Western Conference, you can still enjoy a Lakers loss.
A few notes from CelticsBlog,
Every win against the Lakers is a good win. I mean, the Lakers didn't have Kobe, but we didn't have House, Giddens, or Walker, so that's pretty much a wash right?
- Ray was playing free and easy tonight. Nice to see that hot hand again.
- Sheed was the opposite tonight. He couldn't hit the water falling off of Wyc's yacht.
- Another game of runs. C's up early, LA makes a run, lather, rinse, repeat.
And the other side from Silver Screen and Roll,
I'm trying to sit here and explain to the world why this game doesn't matter. There's a decent argument to be made to that effect, and I'd love to convince myself of it. It's only one game out of 82. The probability is slim that it'll matter in any kind of race for home-court advantage. The outcome, a one-point loss suffered without Kobe Bryant at the hands of a desperate, elite opponent, probably says better things about the Lakers than it does the Celtics. All those statements are more or less correct and hold up to some analytical pounding.
But... come on. I'm not made of stone. No one's that coldly analytical. I wanted this one. It's the Celtics, man. Staples was rocking tonight, and I got sucked in, especially with the great Laker comeback in the fourth quarter. And with Cleveland stumbling earlier in the night, allowing an opportunity to make up crucial ground? I wanted this one badly.
Let's go to Deron,
While You Were Sleeping... 18 February 2010
by Basketball John on Feb 18, 2010 8:32 AM MST
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Lots of action in the league on Wednesdays normally and last night was no exception.
Spurs 90 @ Pacers 87
Just a putrid night shooting-wise from both teams. Indiana had 42% from the floor while San Antonio barely cracked 35%.
The Spurs won this game because they clobbered the Pacers on the offensive glass. When you're throwing up bricks at a rapid pace, there's going to be a lot of rebounding opportunities. Duncan had a crazy 26 rebounds with 11 of those on the offensive end. I don't know if he was just doing the tap drill to himself all night or what. All of those offensive rebounds by the Spurs led to 99 FGAs. They needed every one of them as they barely held on for the win.
Manu looked like his old self with 18/6/7 unfortunately.
The view from Pounding the Rock,
Both teams' shooting sucked - 35% for the Spurs and 42% for the Pacers. The three-point shooting was worse: 7-24 for 29% for SA and 5-19 for 26% for Indy. There goes your reason why both teams were held below 100 points. Or maybe... the Spurs defense did just enough to eke out a win despite the team itself struggling often to find the hoop, and with Mr. Fundamental shooting a horrible 4-23 (17%!!! My finals in calculus back in college was something like 36/200 or 18%, just a shade better than that! Just to clarify, I'm not that dumb... just a bad day at school all-around. And it was advanced calculus, by the way. Hmph).
And from Indy Cornrows,
The only problem was, the Spurs didn't bat an eyelash at any runs the Pacers threw at them. They just kept grinding and digging out critical offensive rebounds which spackled all of their blemishes on the night.
Nearly everything tipped in the Pacers' favor save for two critical parts of the game - the final score and rebounds.
While the Pacers held the Spurs to 35% shooting on the night and only made one less free throw than the visitors, the Spurs grabbed nine extra rebounds including 17 back-breaking offensive caroms.
Let's see what Gaines' reaction was last night after learning of the Spurs W,
I don't know what he was doing in his old college uni, but the news hit him like a ton of bricks.
While You Were Sleeping... 17 February 2010
by Basketball John on Feb 17, 2010 5:00 AM MST
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It's the re-return of While You Were Sleeping. I tried it earlier in the season but it just didn't feel right. A loss or a win to another team in the West just didn't seem significant enough to bother writing about it the next morning. Who cares who won/lost when you didn't know if they'd be winning/losing later in the season?
But after the All-star break seems just about right to start it up again. We only have 30 games left on the season and only 12, 12! are at home. Although wins/losses in Feb+ count the same as they do in November, nobody seems to care as much until you're coming down the stretch.
So for those that don't know how WYWS works, it's a recap of last night's action of the games that impact the Jazz. So while Boston/Cleveland may have been excellent, I don't really care about it. You won't see a recap from any games we play because there's a separate post for that.
Last season I used Boozer for his reaction to each game. This season I used the KOOF. I think I'm going to mix it up a bit; you'll see Jazz players, LOSTies, and others.
Also, we're only going to hit on the teams with a chance to make the playoffs this season in the West. So that means no updates on the Clippers, Kings, Warriors, or Timberwolves unless they're playing another team.
Also, I'm hesitant to include any Knicks talk as it doesn't impact this season directly and it still seems like bad karma for that pick if we root for losses for a team that isn't a rival or even a team in our conference. That said, that pick could be a big deal for next season. So I'll talk about it until they win a couple in a row and then I'll stop until they lose a couple in a row. We'll see if my words have the power to alter the cosmos.
So, let's get going.
While You Were Sleeping... 2 November 2009
by Basketball John on Nov 2, 2009 6:30 AM MST
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Hornets - 87 @ Celtics - 97
Chris Paul's frustration in New Orleans could be getting ugly. After their loss last night to the Celtics, some words were said,
BOSTON -- Rajon Rondo had nothing to say about New Orleans' Chris Paul in the locker room after the Celtics' win on Sunday. He and Paul both had said plenty out on the court.
The two point guards drew matching technical fouls in the first half and had to be restrained from each other following the final whistle.
Paul remained out on the court even after Rondo had been dragged back to the Celtics' locker room, and the incident quickly died down from there.
This may have stemmed from some comments earlier (Chris Mannix via Hornets Hype)
Kendrick Perkins just told me that Rondo said "Chris Paul has the stats that he has because he has the ball in his hands all game." Yikes.
Anyway, things could be going down hill there especially if they continue to lose. They were blown out in their first game against the Spurs. They had to rally to beat the Kings. They played pretty well last night but the Cs put them away late.
Blazers - 83 @ Thunder - 74
Just from glancing at the box score, this one might have been a painful one to watch. Kevin Durant and Brandon Roy combined for a blistering 8/38 from the field. Neither team shot well at all. I like this quote from ESPN's recap,
Tuckered out after a 42-point performance the previous night, Roy scored 16 and got aggressive late to finish out the Portland Trail Blazers' 83-74 win against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday night.
My little kids get tuckered out as well.
Grizzlies - 123 @ Nuggets - 133
This game on the other hand had pretty much no D. Carmelo went for 42 points while OJ Mayo tried to keep pace with 40 of his own. The Nuggets pulled away in the 3rd and the Grizz never got closer than 6.
T-Wolves - 112 @ Suns - 120
Does anyone play defense in the league any more? Maybe that takes longer to come around when the season first starts. Steve Nash had another 14 assists. Stockton averaged that many in '91. Absolutely crazy. And Channing Frye is somehow the most lethal three-point shooter on the planet now.
Hawks - 110 @ Lakers - 118
Lots of third-quarter collapses tonight. The Hawks were in this at the half before folding in the third. Kobe was also apart of the 40-point club as he finished with 41.
Where's the KOOF?
I didn't want to wear him out. Lot's of action last night. So, KK2, what's the final say on last night's action?
Not pleasing. Too many wins in the WC last night.
While you were sleeping... 30 October 2009
by Basketball John on Oct 30, 2009 7:01 AM MDT
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Just two games in the association last night with really only one pertaining to the Jazz.
Nuggets - 97 @ Blazers - 94
Melo is tired of being left out of all of the pre-season MVP talk and has apparently decided to elbow his way into the conversation. You know, as much as you can two games into the season.
He had added 41 points last night and Oden got the yips and couldn't make a couple free throws. Instead, Denver is now 2-0 on the season with two huge wins over division rivals.
KOOF, what's your take?
"Bring both of them on... at the same time."
While You Were Sleeping... 29 October 2009
by Basketball John on Oct 29, 2009 5:00 AM MDT
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Or, while you were pulling your hair out...
Thanks to the poll we ran earlier, the KOOF will be taking over duties here for Boozer. Doesn't look like the KOOF will be getting much playing time anyway, so he'll be fresh.
Seems a bit early to start this. I started it late last season as a way to recap games from around the association that impacted the Jazz playoff standings. As of this morning, the Jazz are out of the playoffs.
Nevertheless, we'll take a look at a few games that impact the Jazz. We'll also be following the Knicks this season as their 2010 pick will be one of the things we can look to after losses like these.
Hornets - 96 @ Spurs - 113
We can find a little comfort in the misery of others as Chris Paul and the Hornets fell to the Spurs. This one doesn't even look like it was close. Paul had 26 & 9 with Okafor adding 18 & 10. The Spurs were too much and looked dominating. Bad news.
The KOOF is indifferent
Rockets - 108 @ Warriors - 107
Don't know how this affects the Jazz other than it seems like we play the Rockets every other week.
Can't cheer for the Rockets
via uweekly.com
Knicks - 93 @ Heat - 115
Presented with no commentary.
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