The Daily Fix: Wrapping Up Monday’s Preseason Action (Sonny Weems Sighting)
Another uneventful night in the NBA preseason:
Miami Heat 92, Atlanta Hawks 87
Quick Hits: Dwyane Wade didn’t play, but he’s not injured … Atlanta wants to play uptempo, but did it poorly for most of the game … Chris Bosh had Miami’s first eight points … Udonis Haslem didn’t play, recovering from offseason knee surgery… Lou Williams looks so much like Nightcrawler from X-Men it’s scary … You have to love DeMarre Carroll‘s effort; Luc Richard Mbah a Moute was getting minutes for years in the East, so why can’t Carroll? (“Scott Skiles isn’t his coach” is an acceptable answer) … Norris Cole still has a flat-top … Nothing better than Gustavo Ayon banging in the post against Joel Anthony … Roger Mason Jr. is a great fit in Miami (stand there, shoot 3s, play defense”).
Sacramento Kings 81, Golden State Warriors 94
Quick Hits: The Kings trudge out the same sorry lineup of Isaiah Thomas, Marcus Thornton, John Salmons, Jason Thompson and DeMarcus Cousins … Golden State once again bring Klay Thompson off the bench, starting Harrison Barnes and Andre Iguodala on the wings (first sub was Thompson for Barnes) … It’s a good sign for Kings fans that Thompson, Cousins, and Thomas were all playing with a lot of aggression.
Toronto Raptors 97, Boston Celtics 89
Quick Hits: Kris Humphries started next to Brandon Bass in the Celtic frontcourt, Jared Sullinger and Kelly Olynyk came off the bench … Terrence Ross went for 12 points, four boards and four steals; watch out for him this year … Tyler Hansbrough scored 17 points and grabbed nine boards. He could steal the starting job from Amir Johnson at some point this year … Avery Bradley scored 12 points on 16 shots… Jared Sullinger went for 14 points, six boards and four assists in just 20 minutes; that’s a good sign for Celtic fans … Rudy Gay scored efficiently, finishing with 17 points on 7-of-11 shooting. Let’s see if laser eye surgery can improve his leadership.
The Celtics have the most random collection of basketball players you could possibly have imagined. It’s like when you play a video game with franchise mode, simulate a few seasons, then jump into a game in 2015 and have no idea how a team could have gotten all those players. Jeff Green came up in OKC. Humphries and MarShon Brooks are known for their time with the Nets. Keith Bogans has been around. Gerald Wallace and Courtney Lee are now journeyman. Jordan Crawford is the cherry on top.
Chicago Bulls 106, Memphis Grizzlies 87
Quick Hits: The only person who could find genuine interest in this game is an NBA draft nerd who remembers seeing Jon Leuer, Willie Reed, Tony Gaffney, Melvin Ely, Nick Calathes and Jamaal Franklin in college. This is my life … Jerryd Bayless dropped 15 starting at the 2 … Taj Gibson and Carlos Boozer combined for 31 and 10 … Calathes had nine points and eight assists in 26 minutes … Nazr Mohammed might not be as good as Joakim Noah (maybe).
New Orleans Pelicans 94, Dallas Mavericks 92
Quick Hits: Anthony Davis led all scorers with 25 points … Tyreke Evans and Eric Gordon DNP … Brian Roberts was the second-leading scorer for the Pelicans with 17 points … Monta Ellis started at the 1 and scored 13 points with seven assists … Renaldo Balkman is back and just the same as he’s always been (five points, two rebounds, two blocks in eight minutes) … DeJuan Blair and Brandan Wright will be fighting for second-unit minutes; they’re decent foils to each other.
Los Angeles Clippers 89, Portland Trail Blazers 81
Quick Hits: DeAndre Jordan went for 16 points, eight rebounds, four blocks and two steals just in case you had him on your preseason fantasy team … CP3 filled up the box score with 15 points, eight rebounds, five assists and two steals … The Clippers’ bench shot 10-for-40 (25 percent) collectively … LaMarcus Aldridge didn’t play for the Blazers … Portland has a guy named Dee Bost and the Clippers have a guy named Mustapha Farrakhan.
Phoenix Suns 130, Maccabi Haifa 89
Quick Hits: Eric Bledsoe lit up Maccabi for 22 points, four assists and five steals … Rookie Archie Goodwin put up 13 points in 18 minutes… Goran Dragic dropped 16 and five on 6-for-7 shooting (20 minutes)… Marcus Morris and Markieff Morris each scored 10 points … Everyone but Archie Goodwin had a positive plus/minus.
CSKA Moscow 108, Minnesota Timberwolves 106 (OT)
Viktor Khryapa, Jeremy Pargo, Sonny Weems and Nenad Krstic all play for Moscow (too bad Trajan Langdon doesn’t anymore) … Khryapa scored 11, grabbed eight boards and dished out six assists … Pargo played 38 minutes and scored 11 points to go with six assists … Derrick Williams had 21 and nine in 30 minutes … Alexey Shved shot 2-for-12 and there are whispers of point shaving.
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