The Daily Fix: Anthony Bennett, Victor Oladipo Star In Just Another Preseason Friday
Just five preseason games were played Friday night. We’re just a couple weeks away from these games being interesting, folks:
Cleveland Cavaliers 110, Orlando Magic 105
Quick Hits: Tristan Thompson looks like he has all the physical tools neccessary to be a good big man (scored 14 points and grabbed eight boards), but he just doesn’t look like a fluid basketball player to me … Anthony Bennett didn’t have to go up against elite size today, but the guy has scoring chops and I’m interested to see his role this season (scored 16 points, including two 3s in 22 minutes). Dion Waiters scored 21 points on 8-of-13 shooting … Maurice Harkless is incredibly raw and Tobias Harris looks light years ahead of him. I’m not giving up on Harkless or anything, but the guy needs to start figuring out how he fits with the other parts … Orlando’s main priority needs to be to find Victor Oladipo a backcourt mate. Oly (pronounced “Oh-Lee”) has the swagger, he has the intangibles and he has the intelligence. He’s a unique talent and because of that, Orlando needs to use their brains, not worry about if he’s playing 1 or 2 and just figure out what kind of guy will fit next to Oly. I think Oly’s going to be a stud and he’s going to be a winner (as I say most days, this isn’t all revolved around the preseason game I watched, it’s more of an idea that’s been brewing).
Toronto Raptors 100, New York Knicks 91
Quick Hits: Carmelo Anthony led all scorers with 24 points in just 25 minutes … Metta World Peace decided to take 17 shots (made just six) … DeMar DeRozan led Toronto with 20 points … Kyle Lowry racked up six turnovers in just more than half the game … Iman Shumpert looked very active for the Knicks and posted 10 points, nine rebounds and three steals; watch out for Shumpert this year if Mr. Potato Head can find him 30 minutes a night (come on, I can’t be the only one who thinks Mike Woodson looks exactly like a Mr. Potato Head, just with a custom beard).
Mike Woodson bears a striking resemblance to … something. (Flickr.com photo by Keith Allison)
Philadelphia 76ers 97, Boston Celtics 85
Thaddeus Young led all scorers with 20 points and five turnovers (that’s the preseason for you) … Jared Sullinger put up 19 and nine in just 23 minutes … Jeff Green shot a whopping 2-for-11 … Avery Bradley had four points and four fouls tonight, keeping his points-to-fouls ratio near 1:1 … James Anderson started for Philadelphia tonight and scored 16 points to go along with six boards. Why can’t he become a rotational player? What separates him from Courtney Lee? I’ve watched both guys extensively and Anderson is about as solid as Lee defensively, but he has a much more consistent shot. I need an explanation. Someone. Please. Help.
Miami Heat 86, Charlotte Bobcats 75
Doesn’t that score just look appetizing? When I see a score like that on NBA TV’s bottom line, I see a game that was played in a mist of grey. I picture Detroit Pistons and Washington Wizards basketball in March of the last two seasons. Straight ugly.
Quick Hits: LeBron James surprisingly led all scorers with 20 points … Michael Kidd-Gilchrist showed off his new jumper today, with a shooting percentage of 100 percent! Final stat like for MKG: three points, three fouls, one turnover, three rebounds (big night) … Jeffrey Taylor needed 12 shots to score 10 points, but since the rest of the bench combined to shoot 7-for-27, he got the game ball.
Portland Trail Blazers 96, Utah Jazz 86
Gordon Hayward scored 20 points on 11 shots in 26 minutes. Who’s gonna average more: Hayward or Kevin Martin? I want to say Hayward, I really do … Things have gotten so bad in Utah that Brian Cook played seven minutes for them … Damian Lillard scored 23 and dished out five assists in 29 minutes … LaMarcus Aldridge scored 20 points on 8-of-9 from the field and he is still the most under-appreciated star in the NBA.
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LaMarcus Aldridge will once again be the Trail Blazers primary scoring option down low. (Photo/Flickr.com)