[Bytor Peltor]

Golden State is now 33-2 and the Spurs are just three games back......neither has lost a home game this season.

J.R. Smith had his 14th career game with 8+ threes......only Steph Curry has more (16) in the past 30 seasons.

 

The Rockets face the Utah Jazz for the second time in four days......if they can beat them again, the Rockets will move to one game under .500. Speaking of Rockets, expect the Ty Lawson trade talks to heat up once his League imposed three game suspension for his DWI charge is completed this weekend.

LeBron James' 2015-16 shot chart......wonder if fans realize they are watching his decline?

 

[Bytor Peltor]

The Rockets were trailing the Indiana Pacers by 10 with under three minutes to play when they went on a run and eventually won the game by 4 points in OT. The final minutes of regulation and OT, the Rockets played like the Rockets last post season. Dwight Howard's defense was some of the best I've ever seen him play......back to one game above .500.



Also this weekend:

Draymond Green is the first non-guard to record eight triple-doubles in a single season since Grant Hill (13) in 1996-97.

Warriors are the second team ever to begin a season with at least 18 wins in their first 20 road games (L.A. Lakers, 1971-72)

Stephen Curry recorded his seventh game this season with at least eight three-pointers, the most ever by a player in a single season.

The San Antonio Spur came close to losing their first home game, besting the Knicks by one point.

[Bytor Peltor]

For the first time this season, the Houston Rockets are two games above .500. They reached this high water mark by winning their 5th game in a row, also a first for the season......LeBron James and the Cavilers in Houston tomorrow night (ESPN).

I've watched most of the last two games and I've seen a BIG difference in the play of, Terrance Jones......it's like he has matured in 2016. No more clinching his fist and making fat cheeks as he stomps around after being fouled. He's hustling, diving for loose balls and smiling. It's been a dramatic shift and I hope it continues!

One last Rocket oddity......they have won the last eleven of their games that went to overtime, an NBA record.

Golden State lost their 3rd of the season last night at Denver.

Even losing in Atlanta last night, this is the current state of the New York Knicks:

 

[Bytor Peltor]

Something special is happening up in the OKC.

Their 5 highest paid players have scored 162 points in 52 minutes (length of an overtime game) = 155% offensive rating, the highest for any five in the NBA this season, including Golden States lineup of death.

This lineup features THREE players in the NBA's Top 10 PER (Player Efficiency Rating)......no other NBA roster has more than two.

Kevin Durant
Russell Westbrook
Serge Ibaka
Enis Kanter
Dion Walters

Here is the kicker......this lineup above has only played in 18 of OKC's 33 games this season, crushing opponants by a whopping 52 points.

This is all you need to know about how the Rockets played last night:

 

Dwight Howard has 14 points and 11 boards and a -17 +/-

James Harden has 11 points and 7 turnovers and is +1 +/-

......strange or typical?



Damian Lillard is the first NBA player to record 30+ points and 10+ assists without a turnover in a game this season.


Who wore it better: Swaggy P or E. Honda?

 

 

With their last win over the LA Lakers Thursday night:


The Warriors join the Bulls (95-96), Magic (95-96) & Celtics (85-86) as the only teams in NBA history to win 37-straight at home.

Golden State matches the best start through 40 games in NBA history, becoming the fourth team to begin a season 37-3 (1st since 95-96 Bulls).

[Bytor Peltor]

thirty-four

[SuchFriendsAreDangerous]

The Cavs got humiliated. Lebron is getting the reality check that he had initially prepared for ehen returning to Cleveland that it would take some work and some years to be a championship team was delayed by the whirl of last year. But every season is different and scouting is better than ever and so teams must be connected and together enough to adapt and evolve on the fly every season. Have a huge back of tricks for "the what the defense gives you." That takes years to develop such chemistry while also bringing in the right role players for each situation.. Cleveland will take a few seasons to win a championship, just like how Kareem had to wait several years before he became a champion again, Wilt too. Lebron is a generation player and an all time great but that has never been enough, its always a team sport. What is MJ without Pippen? even the best all time players needed help and time. And all the best had their share of all time bad losses

[SuchFriendsAreDangerous]

The Cavs got humiliated. Lebron is getting the reality check that he had initially prepared for ehen returning to Cleveland that it would take some work and some years to be a championship team was delayed by the whirl of last year. But every season is different and scouting is better than ever and so teams must be connected and together enough to adapt and evolve on the fly every season. Have a huge back of tricks for "the what the defense gives you." That takes years to develop such chemistry while also bringing in the right role players for each situation.. Cleveland will take a few seasons to win a championship, just like how Kareem had to wait several years before he became a champion again, Wilt too. Lebron is a generation player and an all time great but that has never been enough, its always a team sport. What is MJ without Pippen? even the best all time players needed help and time. And all the best had their share of all time bad losses

[SuchFriendsAreDangerous]

We are in a bizaro era of NBA.. for decades if you said a guy went off and had 34-25 you'd assume his team won handedly.

When owners first suggested moving the 3pt line back i laughed. Why? Conventional wisdom is that the law of averages will always work out, and NBA Jam rules apply live by the three die by the three... but its clear as the coming generation of players are practicing the 3 more shooting percentage is improving so conventional wisdom no longer applies. The only D that has been able to stop the 3 was that smothering hypertrap D by 2011-13 Heat but that style of play was to exhausting long term especially against good ball moving teams..

So I'm not sure that if overall 3point shooting efficiency continues to improve if conventional defense can adjust.. it just my warrant a rule change and moving it back. That or changing illegal defense rules so that 3point shooting won't be as effective at floor spacing and allowing for open layups

[SuchFriendsAreDangerous]

We are in a bizaro era of NBA.. for decades if you said a guy went off and had 34-25 you'd assume his team won handedly.

When owners first suggested moving the 3pt line back i laughed. Why? Conventional wisdom is that the law of averages will always work out, and NBA Jam rules apply live by the three die by the three... but its clear as the coming generation of players are practicing the 3 more shooting percentage is improving so conventional wisdom no longer applies. The only D that has been able to stop the 3 was that smothering hypertrap D by 2011-13 Heat but that style of play was to exhausting long term especially against good ball moving teams..

So I'm not sure that if overall 3point shooting efficiency continues to improve if conventional defense can adjust.. it just my warrant a rule change and moving it back. That or changing illegal defense rules so that 3point shooting won't be as effective at floor spacing and allowing for open layups

[Bytor Peltor]

thirty-one

 

Originally Posted by SuchFriendsAreDangerous

When owners first suggested moving the 3pt line back i laughed. Why? Conventional wisdom is that the law of averages will always work out, and NBA Jam rules apply live by the three die by the three... but its clear as the coming generation of players are practicing the 3 more shooting percentage is improving so conventional wisdom no longer applies.

Former Rocket Matt Bullard calls Rockets games on TV and makes a weekly hour long appearance on Houston sports radio. When he was winning Championships with the Rockets, said Rockets only had three plays designed to take a three-pointer and said Coach Rudy T would call for it before they attempted.

In the past, foreign players always had the upper hand at 3's due to it being such a part of the European game......today, you have high school kids who attempt more 3's than some NBA pros back in the early 90's. Not only does the league have better shooter, but the overall approach to how the 3 point line is utilized has changed, defenses have not options but to adapt!

Tonight in a home loss to the Detroit Pistons, James Harden became the first player with (33 points / 17 rebounds / 14 assist) since Wilt Chamberlain (53/32/14) on March 18, 1968.

 

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[SuchFriendsAreDangerous]

I just don't think defenses can adapt if the 3pt shooting percentages keep improving because 3pt shooting spreads the floor and opens up the hoop and no matter what paint shots will always be the most efficient. Indeed initially "small ball" was about having just the threat of 3pt shooting open up driving lanes for dunks and layups BUT the Spurs and Warriors been so unnaturally effecient at 3pt shooting that they just opting to take the 3s!!! Perhaps a hyper trap defense like the 2012 Heat or 1988 Pistons could pull it off but that Heat lost to Spurs 3pt shooting eventually and Pistons got beat by the Triangle.

[SuchFriendsAreDangerous]

When Spurs beat Miami they didn't change shit about their same defense that lost to Miami. They just shot the fucking shit out of Heat and finished with effective FG% of .56 for the series and over .40 3pt shooting. That shit is just unnatural for an entire team. Further they neutralized Heat's hyper trap defensive by using that great 3pt shooting and so swinging the ball all across the 3pt line completely exhausting the Heat defense who had to respect Spurs 3pt shooting cuz they were making even well contested shots. I think ironically Spurs can beat these Warriors in WCF if they play that same style and shoot similar but im not sure its even possible!

What Spurs did to Miami can beat Warriors for similar but opposite reason Cavs came close in Finals, by milking the fuck out of the clock and i exhausting the defense. Cavs did it to Warriors by having endless grind out 20 second iso possessions and Spurs beat Miami by swinging the ball around for 20 seconds

[Bytor Peltor]

GSW lead after First Quarter in last three games

@Cleveland +13
@Chicago +16
Indiana +14

The Rockets welcome back Josh Smith......

Originally Posted by Bytor Peltor

East Top 5
01. Cleveland 21 - 9

^^^December 31, 2015

01. Cleveland 30 - 11 (January 22, 2016)......randomly desperate!

These are too good not to share:

Did someone say player-coach?

 

December

 

January

 

 

[SuchFriendsAreDangerous]

Also Blatt was only third coach to be fired the season after reaching Finals BUT come on, this firing actually surprised NO ONE and if you have been watching Cavs games you could see why. Cavs were winning games in spite of Blatt not necessarily because of him. His rotations qere terrible. He never adjusted to the length and number of games in NBA (international games are shorter and have less per season) indeed he played a 7man rotation all of last season and more or less did the same this year. Can't win a title by running guys into the grond. Spurs play at least 9-10 players a game, Warriors too.. Blatt was in over his head and just wasn't adapting well.. Cavs management realized they would just be wasting this season with him and all the players were going to Lue anyways!

Also a lot of reports that Blatt had completely lost control of locker room, like to the degree that made McHale look like Pat Riley

[Bytor Peltor]

Originally Posted by Bytor Peltor

Tyronn or BUST!


After tonight's home loss the the Bulls, Coach Lue said: "guys aren't in shape, got tired early and couldn't play up-tempo style he wanted to play. Said could take couple weeks to fix."
^^^this is going to be epic!

Originally Posted by SuchFriendsAreDangerous

Cavs were winning games in spite of Blatt not necessarily because of him. His rotations qere terrible. He never adjusted to the length and number of games in NBA (international games are shorter and have less per season) indeed he played a 7man rotation all of last season and more or less did the same this year. Can't win a title by running guys into the grond.

So, what Coach Lue said confirms what you said?

By taking a couple of weeks to fix, is Coach Lue saying players 8-12 aren't in "game shape" because they never see any action (due to Cavs using seven man rotation) or is the seven man rotation so beat down they need weeks to recover / rebound from such heavy minutes? Either way, it will be intriguing to see how Coach Lue formulates a plan to get the balance right.

Last week, Lebron James played three straight games where he scored fewer than 20 points......a first since his rookie season:

@Houston 19
Golden State 16
@Brooklyn 17

Originally Posted by Bytor Peltor

The Rockets welcome back Josh Smith......

Rockets haven't lost a game (Milwaukee, Dallas) since Josh rejoined the team.
Ariza dominated making a season high six 3-points, Ariza had made five 3-points in the previous game.
James Harden collected his second triple-double of the season.
The Rockets are now playing with a swagger we haven't seen since last season. At the Pelicans tonight followed by a trip to San Antonio on Wednesday.



Speaking of San Antonio, The Spurs are on pace to have the highest point differential in NBA History.

The Golden State Warriors are on pace to have the second highest point differential in NBA History.

If not for the Spurs, The Warriors point differential would be the highest in League History.

The fact each is happening in the same season is sort of mind bogging and shows just how much better they are than anyone else!

The Spurs are riding a 13 game winning streak (last loss @Rockets Christmas Day) going into Oracle tonight......on the line is GSW 38 game home winning streak dating back to January 2015.

Coach Kerr on The Spurs: "It's Remarkable to me, I'm 50 years old, I've been retired for 13 years and there's still three guys and the same coach who are all on that team. It makes no sense. The continuity and just the program they've built, it's an amazing 20 year run!"

Tim Duncan not playing, tonight's game on NBA TV.

[Bytor Peltor]

Thirty




They won every quarter......

[SuchFriendsAreDangerous]

Personally i am just increasingly more convinced that teams are disrespecting the warriors by NOT playing their "best" against them. Frankly the Spurs could have at least played better and the Cavs clearly said Meh at halftime. I'm not diminishing what Dubs are doing but its starting too look like teams are chasing Warriors with a target on their backs like they did Heat and Lakers. Maybe they think its useless, maybe its a strategy like when Popp benched his starters in their games against Miami so Spoelstra wouldn't have any scouting video for playoffs

[Bytor Peltor]

Originally Posted by SuchFriendsAreDangerous

Personally i am just increasingly more convinced that teams are disrespecting the warriors by NOT playing their "best" against them. Frankly the Spurs could have at least played better and the Cavs clearly said Meh at halftime. I'm not diminishing what Dubs are doing but its starting too look like teams are chasing Warriors with a target on their backs like they did Heat and Lakers. Maybe they think its useless, maybe its a strategy like when Popp benched his starters in their games against Miami so Spoelstra wouldn't have any scouting video for playoffs

...

[SuchFriendsAreDangerous]

Wanted to say NOT chasing Warriors with target

[Bytor Peltor]

I had good intentions of going back and finding where you had mentioned this in the past, but my time is short this afternoon. Basically when the Spurs totally dismantled the Miami Heat in their last NBA Championship Match-up, you discounted the Spurs "legacy" due to the fact The Spurs had never repeated. That when you win a Championship, you have a target on your pack and you will be receiving everyone's "best" when you face them. Fast forward a couple of seasons and it's almost as if you're reversing course......but I understand, the Golden State Warriors are showing us a regular season domination that's unprecedented and this is the best conclusion you have to offer.

How many 30-20 games does Dwight Howard have......SEVEN! The only players over the last 30 years with more are Hakeem, Shaq, Barkley and Ewing.

Last night was Kevin Durant's 45th career 40-point game, the most in the NBA since he entered the league in 2007-08.

Most games with 30 points and 10 assists this season
Russell Westbrook: 6
Stephen Curry: 3
James Harden: 3
Damian Lillard: 3
John Wall: 3

Blake Griffin has suffered suspected broken hand in undisclosed team-related incident......glad the Rockets traded cash for Josh Smith last week.

Lakers have had a 10-game losing streak against a single opponent 3 times in team history...Knicks & Celtics twice......now add the Dallas Mavericks to this list.