For the week of January 23-29, 2012
So as another week goes by, there were some interesting developments. The Wizards won just as many games this past week as they had all season. Orlando is showing signs of fatigue due to Howard’s trade situation, closely similar to the “Melodrama in Denver”. The Hawks may have finally found their style, and the Bobcats may have a star in Kemba Walker, but in badly need of a team.
STANDINGS
Team w l GB Home Road Division
Miami 15 5 - 9-2 6-3 3-1
Atlanta 15 6 ½ 8-1 7-5 4-1
Orlando 12 8 3 6-4 6-4 3-0
Washington 4 16 11 3-8 1-8 2-2
Charlotte 3 18 12 ½ 2-8 1-10 0-8
ORLANDO
Of the five games on slate last week, the Magic lost four of them including three straight. Is there a sense of “drama” in Orlando, or are there just having one of those phases?
Mon. Jan. 23 at Celtics: L 87-56
Boston had all kinds of injuries as still managed to hold the Magic to their lowest point output in franchise history. Five players sat out for the Celtics in this game including Rajon Rondo and Kevin Garnett, but Paul Pierce and Brandon Bass both had 19 points. Dwight Howard had 18 points and 14 rebounds for the Magic.
Tue. Jan. 24 at Pacers: W 102-83
Dwight Howard became Orlando’s all-time leading scorer in this game, scoring 14 points and passing Nick Anderson for the mark. Meanwhile, Ryan Anderson (no relation) added 24 points and 8 rebounds in a “rebound” game to doom the Pacers in Indiana.
Dwight Howard for "da jammmmm" -- courtesy of bron1417
Thu. Jan. 26 vs. Celtics: L 91-83
The game is in Orlando this time, but the result is the same. Orlando makes it a much more interesting game, but Paul Pierce scores 24 points and 10 rebounds as Boston comes back from 27 points to beat the Magic in a stunning fourth-quarter collapse. Rondo and Allen sat out with injuries.
Fri. Jan. 27 at Hornets: L 93-67
Obviously, the Magic never recovered from a collapse against Boston. For the second game this week, the Magic are held to under 70 points in a game as New Orleans (four wins all season) shot 51% from the field and stole the ball 14 times to beat Orlando. The Magic had 23 turnovers in this game; of which converted into 28 points for the Hornets. Jameer Nelson was knocked out of this game with concussion-like symptoms.
Sun. Jan. 29 vs. Pacers: L 106-85
Talk about reeling; Orlando has now lost three in a row after the Pacers get their revenge in a loss earlier this week, ending a six-game losing streak. Danny Granger scored 24 points for Indiana; Dwight Howard scored 24 points to go with 13 rebounds, but missed eleven free throws. The Magic led at halftime, but lost the lead and was losing by as much as 23 in the fourth quarter.
UPCOMING SCHEDULE
01/30 at Sixers 7:00pm
02/01 vs. Wizards 7:00pm
02/03 vs. Cavaliers 7:00pm
02/04 at Pacers 7:00pm
ATLANTA
All four of last week’s games were on the road. The Hawks handled like a team with true talent – poised and confident. Teams like that go a long way. Atlanta looks better than ever, but how long will it last?
Mon. Jan. 23 at Bucks: W 97-92
Milwaukee is a very good losing team. Not that their good at losing; but they can keep a game close. They just need more star power. Josh Smith had 19 points and 13 rebounds for Atlanta. For the Bucks, Andrew Bogut scored six points and grabbed 12 rebounds. Brandon Jennings added 21 points and 11 assists, but the Bucks were simply outplayed by a team with more talent; even after they beat the Knicks and the Heat before this game.
Wed. Jan. 25 at Spurs: L 105-83
When a team shoots almost 50% from three-point range and has almost 30 assists in the game, that team is usually hard to beat. Case in point, the Spurs beat the Hawks. Even though this was a rare loss for Atlanta, this was actually the first time they had been blown out by a team this year. Shocking, isn’t it?
Fri. Jan. 27 at Pistons: W 107-101 OT
In Detroit, Joe Johnson scored 30 points to help the Hawks beat the Pistons in overtime. The Hawks scored the first twelve of fourteen points in overtime, that included three-pointers from Josh Smith and Marvin Williams. Greg Monroe picked up 22 points and 11 rebounds to lead Detroit in this game.
Sun. Jan. 29 at Hornets: W 94-72
At one point in this game, the Hornets missed twelve shots in a row. It was what Atlanta needed to bust this game wide open. New Orleans loses for the sixteenth time in eighteen games. Jeff Teague was the hot man for Atlanta, scoring 24 points in the game. Joe Johnson added nine points and nine rebounds for the Hawks.
Three games for the Hawks this week; two of them are at home. All three of their opponents are against non-playoff teams. Although one of them may make some noise this year…
UPCOMING SCHEDULE
01/31 at Bucks 7:00pm
02/02 at Spurs 7:30pm
02/04 at Pistons 7:00pm
MIAMI
In a nutshell, D-Wade is back, Chris Bosh is ballin’, and Lebron is still…Lebron. The Heat wins all of last week’s games, and controls first place of the Southeast Division this week.
Tue. Jan. 24 vs. Cavaliers: W 92-85
Chris Bosh put up 35 points to help Miami beat Lebron’s old team. For Cleveland, who has only beaten Miami once since “The Decision”, they got 17 points from Kyrie Irving, the “main man” in Cleveland now, and got 11 points and 11 rebounds from Anderson Varejao. The Heat committed 18 turnovers in this game.
Wed. Jan. 25 at Pistons: W 101-98
Lebron became the closer down the stretch, making his last six free throws in a close game to help Miami beat the Pistons in Detroit. Lebron had 32 points, Chris Bosh added 27, and Wade was still out with an ankle injury. Austin Daye was the leading scorer for Detroit. He had 28 points and six rebounds. Pistons turned the ball over twice as many times as the Heat did (22 to 11).
Fri. Jan. 27 vs. Knicks: W 99-89
D-Wade is back after being out of the last six Heat games, and the Knicks really could do nothing about it although they tried so hard. Carmelo sat out this game with ankle, thumb, and wrist injuries (did he collide into a brick wall?). Lebron’s numbers were 31, 8, and 7. Bill Walker may be a name you hear again in the future. The Knicks made 18 three-pointers, and Walker made seven of them. Tyson Chandler also added 12 rebounds for New York
Sun. Jan. 29 vs. Bulls: W 97-93
In the first of four contests between the two superpowers of the Eastern Conference, Miami wins. Derrick Rose scores 34 points, gets six rebounds, and six assists, but missed two critical free throws at the end of the game that would have gave the Bulls the lead (and probably the win), but instead makes room for Bosh, who made both of his free throws to give the Heat enough insurance to secure the victory. Lebron scored 35 and Wade scored 15.
UPCOMING SCHEDULE
01/30 vs. Hornets 7:30pm
02/01 at Bucks 8:00pm
02/03 at Sixers 7:00pm
02/05 vs. Raptors 1:00pm
CHARLOTTE
Last week, this team lost all of their games. The week before that, they lost all of their games. When is this sadness going to stop? This is not even funny anymore. This is interesting. Next year, may be something to look forward to. That guy Kemba Walker is becoming a pretty good player. He averages 12 points and four rebounds in 27 minutes of play. Two players are slightly ahead of him in points, but play far more minutes.
Tue. Jan. 24 vs. Knicks: L 111-78
Kemba scored 25 points and grabbed five rebounds for Charlotte. But the Knicks win by 33 with its star player, Carmelo, scoring only one point in the game. Tyson Chandler had 20 points and 17 rebounds. The Knicks moved well with the ball, creating 26 assists. Melo had four of those assists to go with 11 rebounds.
Wed. Jan. 25 at Wizards: L 92-75
Charlotte was out of this game by halftime; the Wizards had built a 20-point lead and finished the game with just as assists as they did with turnovers – 23. The Bobcats never had a lead in this game. Nick Young scored 20 for Washington. This poses even more problems for Charlotte, who at this point have lost six straight and now without D.J. Augustin and Gerald Anderson – their top two scorers. This was big for Washington: they end a three game losing streak, they win their first game with a new coach, and for the first time this season the Wizards dominated a game.
Fri. Jan. 27 at Sixers: L 89-72
For the second straight game, the Bobcats never had a lead. I think the Sixers were showing out because co-owners Will and Jada Pinkett Smith were in attendance along with Jaden. Charlotte head coach Paul Silas was ejected in this game after disputing some referee calls. Lou Williams scored 17 and Jrue Holiday added another 15 for the Sixers. Kemba was the leading scorer for the Bobcats with 14.
Sat. Jan. 28 vs. Wizards: L 102-99
A few days ago, Washington ran through the Bobcats. Charlotte made sure that didn’t happen again. But the Wizards collectively had a balanced attack, blocking ten shots, shooting 53% from the field, and John Wall had a double-double with 13 points and 10 assists. Kemba had a triple-double to lead Charlotte in a close game. His numbers were 20, 10, and 11.
On an eight-game losing streak, the Bobcats have three games up this week. They have a road trip to the west coast dealing with some strong teams. Do not be surprised if the Bobcats pull one off…
UPCOMING SCHEDULE
01/31 at Lakers 10:30pm
02/01 at Blazers 10:00pm
02/04 at Suns 9:00pm
WASHINGTON
The Wizards are on a roll! Sounds like a joke, huh? Winning as many games last week as they did all season sounds impressive – but when they play against a team worse than them in the Bobcats, it doesn’t sound all that good. But they are making strides.
Wizards are looking to improve under their new coach, Randy Wittman.
Mon. Jan. 16 at Sixers: L 114-106
The Sixers are one of the surprise teams this season. Elton Brand and Jrue Holiday both scored 17 points to help Philly beat the Wizards. Andre Iguodala had seven points, seven rebounds, and eleven assists. Jordan Crawford led Washington with 17 points. Washington did not make a three-pointer game, and to this point, still the only team in the NBA yet to win a game away from home. This would eventually Flip Saunders last game at Washington’s head coach.
Wed. Jan. 17 vs. Bobcats: W 92-75
Charlotte was out of this game by halftime; the Wizards had built a 20-point lead and finished the game with just as assists as they did with turnovers – 23. The Bobcats never had a lead in this game. Nick Young scored 20 for Washington. This poses even more problems for Charlotte, who at this point have lost six straight and now without D.J. Augustin and Gerald Anderson – their top two scorers. This was big for Washington: they end a three game losing streak, they win their first game with a new coach, and for the first time this season the Wizards dominated a game.
Fri. Jan. 20 at Rockets: L 108-104
Washington was in foul trouble early and turned the ball over consistently. This led to easy romp by Houston, with a guy named Chase Budinger replacing the Rockets leading scorer, Kevin Martin. Budinger had 22 points and eight rebounds. John Wall had 17 points, eight rebounds, and six assists.
Sat. Jan. 22 at Bobcats: W 102-99
A few days ago, Washington ran through the Bobcats. Charlotte made sure that didn’t happen again. But the Wizards collectively had a balanced attack, blocking ten shots, shooting 53% from the field, and John Wall had a double-double with 13 points and 10 assists. Kemba had a triple-double to lead Charlotte in a close game. His numbers were 20, 10, and 11.
Chances are that the Wizards will not win two games in a week again for a while. Washington has talent they just need more chemistry. Hopefully, their new coach in Randy Wittman will give them the motivation needed to turn this program around.
UPCOMING SCHEDULE
01/30 vs. Bulls 7:00pm
02/01 at Magic 7:00pm
02/03 at Raptors 7:00pm
02/04 vs. Clippers 7:00pm
