7 Takeaways from Saturday Night's NBA Action
Saturday night arrived with the promise of at least two marquee matchups: Chicago Bulls-Indiana Pacers and Brooklyn Nets-Los Angeles Clippers.
But basketball fans were in for a bit of disappointment, as the Nets suffered a series of injuries and the Bulls-Pacers game quickly turned into a rout. As it turns out, the only sure thing each night in the NBA is that the New York Knicks will do something stupid and weird.
In fact, there were routs all over the map on Saturday, with eight teams winning by double figures. Of the eight blowouts, none of them could quite top the 37-point beating the New Orleans Pelicans laid on the Philadelphia 76ers.
Still, there were plenty of statements made and a few memorable individual performances to savor.
The Bulls Just Made the Central Division Interesting Again
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Coming into the season, no division race looked to be as promising as the one between the Chicago Bulls and Indiana Pacers. But then the Bulls and Derrick Rose struggled out of the gate while the Pacers soared to a 9-0 record, including an easy with over the Bulls in Indy.
Well, consider this "game on."
The Bulls didn't just end the Pacers' nine-game winning streak to start the season; they embarrassed the defending division champs, jumping out to a 60-35 halftime lead en route to a 110-94 win.
Derrick Rose played his best game of the season with 20 points, four assists and no turnovers.
After the game, Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau sounded pleased—if somewhat reserved—about his team's performance. Per The Associated Press (via Philly.com):
""We got off to a good start," Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said. "(The Pacers) missed some shots that they usually make. Overall, I thought it was a good win. We played very unselfishly."
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Don't be fooled, though; this was a huge win for the Bulls.
Anthony Davis Doesn't Need No Stinkin' Assists to Get a Triple-Double!
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According to Basketball-Reference, 11 players have recorded at least 10 points, 10 rebounds and 10 blocks in an NBA game.
Prediction: Anthony Davis will be the 12th.
Davis probably would have made that triple-double Saturday night if he had played a normal amount of minutes in the Pelicans' 135-98 curb-stomping of the Philadelphia 76ers. Davis had 13 points, nine rebounds and eight blocks in just under 29 minutes of action.
Davis will get that points/rebounds/blocks triple-double eventually. He'll probably get it this year. It's only a matter of when.
Struggling or Not, Kyrie Irving Can Still Light Up a Game
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The Cleveland Cavaliers have struggled to start the season, and the play of star point guard Kyrie Irving has been a big part of the reason why.
But Saturday night, Irving showed just why he is one of the league's most feared clutch players, scoring 39 points in the last three quarters, plus overtime, as the Cavaliers won their first road game of the season over the Washington Wizards.
Along the way, Irving showed off every move in the book...and a few that he just invented. Get a load of this amazing move he put on Glen Rice Jr.
The Cavaliers will need a lot more fancy moves from Irving if they want to compete for a playoff spot.
The Knicks Are Allergic to the Garden
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If there's anything more depressing than an underachieving train wreck of a team, it's an underachieving train wreck of a team that can't win at home.
Make that five straight losses at Madison Square Garden for the New York Knicks, who were spanked in the fourth quarter by the Atlanta Hawks en route to a 110-90 loss.
Reserve forward Metta World Peace didn't play in the loss, sidelined with a knee injury, per ESPN New York's Ian Begley. Or was he? Metta's brother, Daniel, went on Twitter before the game and raised the possibility of another shadowy Knicks front-office conspiracy, per Knicks beat writer Steve Popper.
Oh, those wacky Knicks.
LeBron James Has Spoiled Us with His Greatness
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LeBron James and the Miami Heat have gotten off to a slow start this season. Of course, only in Miami can a 7-3 record be considered a slow start. And only with LeBron can an average of 27.3 points, 5.4 rebounds and 6.9 assists be considered a slow start.
LeBron scored 30 Saturday night to beat the Charlotte Bobcats and cap a magnificent three-game stretch of shooting. He has been on fire from all over the floor, as shown by this ESPN shot chart.
The Kevin Loves of the world should take note: LeBron isn't quite ready to give up that MVP trophy.
Hack-a-Dwight Is Boring
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Twenty free throws. In one quarter. From one guy.
The Denver Nuggets didn't stage much of a comeback in Saturday night's 122-111 loss to the Houston Rockets, but it wasn't for lack of trying. They made use of the Hack-a-Dwight strategy to send Rockets center Dwight Howard to the free-throw line 20 times in the fourth quarter.
As a result of the Nuggets' fouling shenanigans, the quarter lasted roughly as long as Apocalypse Now Redux.
Howard did make the Nuggets pay for the strategy, hitting 70 percent of his free throws in the quarter. Hopefully he can continue to sink those free throws, or we'll be in for some five-hour games.
The Brooklyn Nets Are More Than Just Their Starting 5
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The Brooklyn Nets came into the season as one of the favorites in the Eastern Conference thanks to their star-studded starting lineup of Deron Williams, Joe Johnson, Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Brook Lopez.
But leading up to a West Coast road game against the tough Los Angeles Clippers, Brooklyn's starting lineup was reduced to only Johnson.
The Nets reserves had every reason to fold on the back end of a back-to-back, but they played a magnificent game against the Clippers, nearly pulling out the victory. Considering the age and injury history of Brooklyn's starting lineup, these reserves will need to be counted on many more times this season.
