Built Ford Tough

Wolves are lucky that Love was doing such a great job of getting to the line (even if many of his were the pump and jump fouls that were supposed to no longer be called but oh well) or else this game would be completely out of hand instead of the 12 point game it is at the end of the 1st half. He has 20 points despite making just 3 FG as he is 14-17 from the stripe. Milwuakee has done a great job of spreading the ball around and getting everybody involved. They have 60 points and yet Jennings is the only one who has scored in double figures. I really like the Jennings/Livingston backcourt that the Bucks had at the end of the half. They did a great job of controlling the tempo, distributing the ball and running the offense. Udrih was a bit wild during the early/mid parts of the 2nd but once those two came in they really settled the team down and were the major reasons for the Bucks run at the end of the 2nd to extend the lead to 12 points.

Really impressed with the Bucks ball movement so far in this game. Livingston, Jennings and Dunleavy have all done a great job of finding the open man and not being ball stoppers out there. Love with 10 free throws in the first 10 minutes.

Barea gets so many bailout calls. He gets completely out of control and just launches himself into the defender, yet the refs give him the call almost every time. I guess if it works he might as well continue to do it. Nice job of Jennings running the break. He needs to do more of this kind of stuff rather than chucking up a low percentage floater like he normall does. Very nice pass to find Jackson for the And 1.

He made the shot, but I really don't like that three from Bosh there. I know he was wide open and all, but the Heat need to continue to pound the ball inside as they are getting absolutely whatever they want in the paint when LeBron, Wade and Bosh decide to drive into the paint. Continue to put the pressure on the Celtics defense by attacking and not settling. Once they start sagging off trying to protect the paint, then you take advantage from the outside.

This New Jersey team is going to really struggle without Lopez in the lineup. I knew that already, but after watching the first quarter tonight and a bit of the game last night, it really made it clear just how much they would have to rely on him in order to win games this year. Deron is going to have to play like a top 5 player in the league in order to simply give this team even a chance to win games.

Nets offense is absolutely putrid without Williams on the floor (and it isn't much better with him on it, either). 11 points in the 1st quarter and they had only 13 last night as well. They really need a better backup point guard than Sundiata Gaines. He can't run an offense to save his life, and it doesn't help having him out there with the likes of Shelden Williams, Memo Okur and Damian James. I never realized just how bad this team is when you take Lopez out of the lineup and have Williams on the bench.

I think that it will be close (between Boston, Philly and New York) especially since the condensed season favors the Sixers youthful legs as opposed to the Celtics being on their last legs and the Knicks having little to no depth. If either one of the Celtics or Knicks suffer any sort of injury to their main rotation, I could see Philly sneaking in their and finishing better than them. In the end, I do think that the superior talent on the Knicks and Celtics will end up prevailing and that the Sixers will finish about 3-5 games behind them. I know one thing, though, I will definitely be checking out more Sixer games this year. I've always like Collins as a coach and been a big fan of Holiday since he came into the league (he was my number 2 choice behind DeRozan in the draft and when I saw him fall to 17 I desperately wanted Colangelo to find a way to get another pick), but I never really caught many of their games last year. I'll make sure that changes this year as they are a very entertaining team.

Liles placed on the IR (retrospective to last Thursday) with concussion like symptoms after taking that huge hit from Gaustad in the Buffalo game. And, Ron Wilson got his Christmas wish. He got his new Red Ryder BB gun and also a one year contract extension.

Yeah, that is going to be a huge blow to the Canadians. Luckily for them, Huberdeau looked fantastic and didn't show any lingering effects from the broken foot that had kept him on the shelf for the last month and a half or so. With DSP out of the lineup, they are going to need Hub to continue to be a force offensively and guys like Connolly and Schwartz are going to really need to step up and provide the secondary scoring that the Huberdeau/Stone/Strome line needs.

Watching the game last night made me think that this Sixer team would be among the leagues best if they somehow managed to get a legitimate number 1 option. They have all the pieces to surround a star with. Iguodala is the ideal all-around wing you want beside a star, Brand, despite his contract, is a very nice 3rd option assuming he continues to stick those 15 foot baseline jumpers, Holiday is an awesome all around point guard and then they have great bench play with guys like Lou, Thad and Turner as well as good shooters like Meeks. It is too bad the Sixers don't really have any means of acquiring that stud player because they are a playoff team, would have to gut the core to make a trade for one (if anybody would even go there) and have no cap space to sign one. Could you imagine a lineup of: Howard Brand Iggy Meeks Holiday with Williams, Thad, Turner and Hawes off of the bench? That would be a very dangerous team and could easily end up with a top 3 seed in the East. Now, enough with the fantasy scenarios. I do think that this team will be right in the thick of things with the Pacers and Hawks for that 5th seed in the East (I'm no including Orlando since I believe Howard gets dealt). They aren't on the level of the Bulls, Heat, Knicks and Celtics, but I could definitely see them finishing 5th in the East. They are just really scrappy, well coached and play very solid defense. If Holiday can take the next step in his development and Iguodala can become a more reliable scorer, I see them as the most dangerous lower seeded team in the East.

Very pleased to see Sonny playing so well in Europe. It sounds like he is playing like he was in the final year of Bosh's tenure and that was a Sonny Weems that won many Raptor fans over. He wasn't just a chucker on offense like last season, but played solid defensively, chipped in on the glass and scored within the flow of the offense. I thought that the decision on his part to go to Europe for the year was a good one as it would help him mature as not only a player, but a person as well. Hopefully he continues to progress over there and is able to come back to the NBA and carve out a successful career in the league, much like Anthony Parker did.

Fesenko is actually a really good defender and I was hoping that the Raptors were able to clear a roster spot to sign him, like reports suggested Colangelo was trying to do. I don't know exactly where he will fit in with the Warriors, though. They already have Biedrins, Udoh, Lee, Brown and Tyler on the roster so I don't expect to see Kyrylo to get many minutes. He is a very nice insurance big man though, so I do like the signing for the Warriors.

Great game. You have to question Iguodala not looking to get Williams the ball for the game tying three, especially after he scored 10 straight Sixer points including back-to-back threes, but Iggy hit two huge ones earlier in the game and he also was 4-7 from deep for the game. A very entertaining game, though. The thing I liked most about it is that it wasn't sloppy and ugly like a lot of games so far this season. It was actually a well played game from both teams.

Williams has no conscience. What a huge three. I actually thought he was going to take the first look from about 30 feet away, too. 3 point game with 23 seconds left. Blazers need to get the ball into Crawford's hands, especially after Felton's poor decision making down the stretch.

Was playing lazy on defense so Casey sat him for most of the 3rd quarter.

Never count this team out. They are a really scrappy bunch, as you would expect from a Doug Collins coached team. Felton doing his best to keep the Sixers in it, though. Two straight poor decisions with the ball that led to turnovers.

Holiday and Iggy with some huge 3's to really cut into the Blazer lead. In a matter of about 2 minutes they managed to cut the lead from 13 to 7. Good timout by McMillian to try and halt some of this momentum that the Sixers were building.

And now it is the Blazers turn to go small and it is Philly who can't handle it (even though they only have one big on the floor as well). I really like this unit the Blazers have on the floor, though. Aldridge/Wallace/Batum/Matthews/Crawford. They don't have a true center or point guard, but they are incredibly athletic, have great spacing and are great defensively with their quickness and length. I really like Nate's decision to put this lineup out there. It has completely turned the momentum in their favor and blown this game wide open.

Fortunate, if you ask me. Not saying that the Blazers played poorly or anything, but the Sixers completely outplayed them once Collins went small and could've easily had this game tied if not for two mistakes (Leaving Batum open and Williams being sloppy with his handle to give Crawford a wide open dunk off the steal). Should be a great 4th quarter, though.

Aldridge and Wallace are playing really well for the Blazers combining for 39 points and 12 rebounds. Too bad the rest of the team is giving them little to no help scoring, although Felton does have 8 assists despite his poor shooting. Camby doing a nice job on the glass with 9 boards and he also has dished out 5 assists. Hawes has looked fantastic for the Sixers. He already has a double double (10 points/12 boards) and also has 7 assists to go with them. I don't think I've ever seen him play this well of an all around game before. I doubt he keeps it up, but if he is able to, this Sixer team is going to be very tough.

Nice play from Gentry, but you have to question having Morris be the one to try and make that cross court pass to Nash after Lopez set a solid screen to free him up. Gordon did a great job of preventing Nash from getting the ball, but you have to think that the play would've been better if it had been Grant Hill who was throwing the pass instead of Morris. A very nice win for the Hornets, though. Nice to see Gordon hit the game winner in his Hornet debut.

Huge jumper from Gordon with 4 seconds left to give the Hornets the 1 point lead. Nice job of backing Dudley off and then rising up and sticking the jumper. His mid range jumper has been wet this game. He is 9-11 from inside the 3 point line and 0-6 from behind it.

Unlucky break for the Hornets. Looked like Ariza was there in time to draw the charge on Lopez. Instead, they called a block and Lopez gets the And 1. I like how the Hornets have been sharing the scoring load, but they really have struggled a bit in half court situations during the past 7 minutes or so that I have watched. With Jack out of the lineup due to a suspension, their lack of a point guard is really showing through. Gordon is doing his best trying to run the offense, but it just isn't in his nature. Their offense has basically consisted of players taking turns isolating their man and trying to create for themselves. EDIT: And just as I say that, the Hornets show some fantastic ball movement that led to a hook in the lane for Landry. Very nice possession for the Hornets there.

Nice spin move from Kaman out of the post. Too bad he ended up too deep underneath the basket to really be able to turn it in to anything other than a kickout to Ariza. Suns bench has been terrific in this game. 34 points from the Suns 2nd unit, led by Lopez's 15/7.

If Turner was a bit quicker and a bit more athletic, he would be an absolute star. He has such a good handle for a wing, sees the game so well and has a very good skill set. He just isn't quite quick enough to be able to really dominate at this level. He had two really nice moves that he set up so well with head fakes and ball fakes, but he just couldn't finish because he wasn't able to elevate quick enough which resulted in Camby blocking his shot. I really like him and Holiday in the backcourt together, though. Those two are going to develop into a formidable backcourt for years to come if you ask me.