The Daily Fix: Just Another Preseason Wednesday, Featuring Alex Len’s Ineptitude

After watching my Pittsburgh Pirates go down pretty easy Wednesday night, I’m not in the best of moods. I took it out on Austin Rivers, the New York Knicks and Alex Len. Sorry, guys.

Anthony Davis Might Have a Good Year

New Orleans Pelicans 99, Orlando Magic 95

Quick Hits: Anthony Davis dropped 29 points in 31 minutes tonight, shooting 9-of-20 from the field and 11-of-11 from the line. He also blocked four shots and flaunted a plus/minus of plus-20 (led his team in plus/minus) … Eric Gordon and Tyreke Evans didn’t play; New Orleans reportedly hopes that this doesn’t become a trend … Ryan Anderson did what he does best: he made four 3s and grabbed eight defensive boards … Victor Oladipo played 25 minutes off the bench and posted this stat line: 10 points (4-for-9 FG), nine assists, five rebounds, four steals and a plus/minus of plus-22. He might be OK … Orlando elected to start Kyle O’Quinn at the 4, Maurice Harkless at the 3 and bring Andrew Nicholson and Tobias Harris off the bench. Harkless and O’Quinn combined for 14 points (4-for-13 FG) and six rebounds, while Harris and Nicholson combined for 30 points (12-for-23 FG) and 13 rebounds in fewer minutes. They apparently didn’t have to play against Davis as much as the starters.

Here’s an interesting position battle:
Austin Rivers: 29 minutes, 2-for-8 FG, four assists, seven points
Brian Roberts: 29 minutes, 5-for-9 FG, four assists, 16 points

I’m still taking the former Dayton Flyer over Doc’s kid. I think Monty Williams is leaning the same way.

Jon Leuer in the House

Dallas Mavericks 95, Memphis Grizzlies 90

If you didn’t watch basketball for two years, then read the Mavericks box score from Wednesday night; you would be convinced that there was a plane crash that Shawn Marion and Dirk Nowitzki heroically lived through. Devin Ebanks, Gal Mekel, Fab Melo, Samuel Dalembert, D.J. Kennedy, Ricky Ledo and Richard McConnell (that sentence needs nothing but subjects; believe me, I majored in English) …  Jon Leuer dropped 17 points, 10 boards and five assists. Leuer is Bo Ryan. They’re one in the same … Dirk Nowitzki scored 20 points on 10 shots. Everyone is hoping we can get one more year of prime Dirk before he and Mark Cuban dive head first into the Western Conference cellar.

Mike Dunlap, Say it Proudly: We’re Undefeated!

Phoenix Suns 104, Portland Trail Blazers 98

Damian Lillard and Goran Dragic led all scorers with 19 points each … Victor Claver has still never had a good game (Sorry, Chris Reichert) … Marcus Morris had his first good game in a Phoenix Suns uniform, scoring 15 points and grabbing seven boards (don’t worry Suns fans, it took him a while to have a good game in Houston, too) … Alex Len played 14 minutes and that’s the most positive statistic he posted. He also had four fouls, a turnover and two missed shots. Like I said, he did play 14 minutes … Eric Bledsoe shot 3-for-11, but ended up with six points, nine assists, five rebounds and four steals in what we call at The Daily Fix, a no-digit breakout. But seriously, plus-23 is a good sign for the man who started at point over Dragic Wednesday (don’t read too much into that).

NBA Team Versus Random European Squad

San Antonio Spurs 95, CSKA Moscow 93

Jeremy Pargo scored 20 points, grabbed six boards and dished out five assists, but it took him 41 minutes … Sonny Weems dropped 16 points and still has a great name … Remember what I said about the Toronto Raptors; box score? Well, these are the highlights from the Spurs’: Aron Baynes scored 12 points and grabbed seven boards in 24 minutes; Sam Young was the only Spurs player who didn’t score, going 0-for-6 on the night; Tony Parker led the team with five assists; And that’s it … .

The Rest of a Preseason Night

Minnesota Timberwolves 101, Toronto Raptors 89

Quick Hits: Kevin Love led both teams in points and rebounds after dropping 20 and nine on the Dinosaurs … Robbie Hummel posted a DNP; gotta be pulling for this guy. He could and probably still can ball, just was blessed with brittle bones … If you get the time, please take a look at the Toronto Raptors box score; unassuming is one way to describe it … Steve Novak took seven shots and two of them weren’t even 3s.

New York Knicks 103, Boston Celtics 102

The Daily Rant: Upon further review, maybe the Celtics won’t be all that bad. Guys like Avery Bradley, Jared Sullinger, Jeff Green and Courtney Lee might be ready to take on bigger roles, while Gerald Wallace is still serviceable (especially as a reserve). It’ll be interesting to see how the Cs fill out when Rajon Rondo comes back and what style of play they go with before he returns. Right now, their roster looks a little disjointed, but if everything is OK in the locker room, maybe they can stir things up a little bit. I’m always in the market for some more pot stirrers.

Quick Hits: Former Missouri point guard Phil Pressey posted 12 points, seven assists, a couple of steals and no turnovers in 28 minutes. With DeShawn Sims, Chris Babb and Damen Bell-Holter all gunning for roster spots, he has a decent chance to earn himself a spot … Jared Sullinger looked like he was moving pretty well, especially on the high pick-and-roll against guards. You can’t overlook pick-and-roll defense for a young big man; it’s always a good sign … Iman Shumpert and Tim Hardaway Jr. combined for 34 points on 13-for-17 shooting. The Knicks would be wise to start a youth movement in the backcourt, as they’re desperate for a variable to catapult them into the Eastern Conference conversation (right now they’re the nervous giggle after the conversation) … Josh Powell posted a beautiful plus/minus of plus-24 in 13 minutes; he’s kind of upset they added that stupid hockey stat to NBA box scores (I think it’s a good stat, but I’m just venturing into the mind of a Josh Powell).

Another Rant: I wonder how many times we’ll see Metta World Peace and Carmelo Anthony playing alongside each other this season. Can two players who are relatively the same size be any less alike? Melo is always under control and kind of slick, while MWP always looks like he’s about to fall over and his offensive game is incredibly ugly. Can MWP reinvent himself as a banger inside, a quality rebounder and stretch 4? It’d be pretty cool for Knicks’ fans if he did.

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