In this week’s edition of “NBA Week in Review” I’m going to discuss seven items that piqued my interest during the past week in our fascinating NBA world. We’ll look at how Blake Griffin is tearing it up beyond our wildest imaginations, whether Darko Milicic and Kevin Love are the future in Minnesota, the recent winning streak by the New York Knicks, and whether LeBron James and the Miami Heat’s struggles are legitimate long-term issues.
Why seven items? In honor of former Celtics guard and Slam Dunk Champion Dee Brown, of course!
Here we go….
1. Blake Griffin is a beast, I tell you! This is not just about the stats, although averages of 31.0 points on sixty-percent shooting, 14.3 boards, and five assists over his last three would normally be enough to warrant instant recognition league-wide. It’s not just about the dunks either, even though Griffin is dominating ESPN highlight-reels with his sky-walking jams. It’s the incredible way Griffin is accomplishing all this with a skill set so unique that the only player I can compare him to at this stage is a young Charles Barkley with better hops and a less-effective jumper. It’s also the way he and youngster Eric Gordon are breathing new life into the Los Angeles Clippers that fans finally feel may last more than two months. Two consecutive victories and counting for these new-look Clippers, including an upset over the Hornets.
Check out a clip of Blake highlights HERE.
2. Milicic and Love nearly topple Spurs, becoming a fearsome dynamic duo? Can Darko Milicic and Kevin Love sustain this down-low dominance? After nearly defeating San Antonio after being ahead by more than twenty points and succumbing in overtime both are putting up very impressive numbers for the suddenly-competitive Timberwolves. Including Darko’s breakout game vs. the Lakers he and Love have combined for averages of 40.7 points and 24.6 boards during the past three games. Darko has swatted fourteen shots in those contests as well! If the Wolves can find a suitable long-term solution at the point and these guys continue to develop I think Minnesota could be extremely competitive next season. Heck, this season!
Check out highlights of the Spurs win against the Timberwolves HERE.
3. Are the Knicks as legit as their five-game winning streak? I am highly doubtful that they are but hey, five consecutive wins in the NBA deserve praise no matter the opposition. However, they didn’t exactly knock out heavyweight champs - the Kings, Warriors, Clippers, and Bobcats (twice) are not exactly Boston and San Antonio. Stoudemire is leading the charge as New York has scored more than 110 points in five of their last six contests and Raymond Felton is quietly putting together a stellar season (17.8 points, 8.0 assists, 1.9 steals) as the orchestrator of Coach D’Antoni’s fast-paced offense. Contests loom against the Hawks and Hornets in the coming days - we should know more by then.
4. Are the Miami Heat’s struggles a long-term issue? I’m not really sure, to be honest. This team is obviously still learning each other offensively and Dwayne Wade simply isn’t shooting well as he recovers from his wrist injury (11-47 shooting in his past three). Teams are closing out on Miami’s shooters recently and the long-range percentages of James Jones and Eddie House are suffering greatly. The loss of Udonis Haslem will be the biggest challenge this team will overcome defensively right now, as Haslem has been acting as the anti-Bosh - Bosh has been shooting better recently but his inadequate defense leaves a big hole underneath the hoop that Haslem filled capably. Plus, with questions looming over Coach Erik Spoelstra’s ability to lead this team over the long haul, the drama in Miami will only intensify with each loss in the future. I know it’s still early, but could LeBron be yearning for Jamison and old buddy Mo? We’ll find out soon as James heads home to Cleveland this week.
5. Derrick Rose has earned my respect and hopefully yours as well.
I was hesitant to jump on the Derrick Rose bandwagon - I kept telling myself that he was incredibly overrated and wouldn’t thrive because of his lack of a three-point shot. I admit now that I was terribly wrong and if not for my faith in the Indiana Pacers I would be predicting the Bulls to win the Central Division in a landslide. After Chicago’s thrilling overtime victory over the Suns on Wednesday Rose left me in awe of his quickness, calm under duress, and ability to get others involved. While he put up a few shots that had me grimacing on my couch he more than made up for it with all the positive plays, including two freebies to tie the game in regulation and a lay-up at the buzzer to send the game into a second extra session. Rose is averaging 26.3 points and 8.3 assists so far this season and when Boozer returns, look out below.
Check out highlights of Bulls vs. Suns from Wednesday night HERE.
6. Shaquille O’Neal can still deliver, folks. As a Celtics fan it was definitely sweet to see Shaq deliver a throwback performance against the Nets this week, scoring 25 points on 9-10 shooting, eleven rebounds, and four clutch free-throws for Boston. It’s amazing to think that even after all these years O’Neal can still be incredibly dominant at times when he gets deep position in the post. It was O’Neal’s highest point total since scoring 26 points on March 18, 2009 while playing for Phoenix. I look forward to hopefully seeing a performance like this in June!
7. Game I’m looking forward to this week? That would be on November 30th, as the Indiana Pacers head to Los Angeles to take on the Lakers. The Pacers have won two straight including their destruction of the Heat this past Monday and have been playing excellent defense during their previous four games. The Lakers? Yeah, they are still the Lakers and are in the midst of a superb five-game winning streak. Looking forward to the center matchup between Roy Hibbert and Pau Gasol in this one!