11 Takeaways from Wednesday Night's NBA Action
If you've got any loyalty to the New York Knicks, Brooklyn Nets or Cleveland Cavaliers, the takeaways from Wednesday night's loaded schedule are probably going to bum you out.
All three of those clubs failed to reverse their downward spirals, some in more gut-wrenching fashion than others.
It wasn't all doom and gloom in the Association, though. Josh Smith got to visit his old stomping grounds, the Toronto Raptors achieved an unlikely milestone and Dirk Nowitzki reminded everyone that he does his best work on hump day.
Oh, and Anthony Davis posted another absurdly good stat line, which, at this point, is pretty much like saying "the sun came up today." Yeah, the Brow's big performances are becoming pretty common.
Let's dive in.
Arron Afflalo Is Going to Make Some Lucky Contender Very Happy
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Arron Afflalo scored 30 points and knocked down seven of nine shots from long range on Wednesday, continuing an incredible hot streak that will almost certainly cause the trade speculation that has followed him for months to intensify.
Over his past five games, Afflalo is averaging 26 points, 5.2 assists and 3.8 rebounds on 56 percent shooting from the field. In that same span, he has nailed an incredible 61 percent of his shots from long range.
The 28-year-old wing still has three years and more than $22 million left on his current deal, making him an odd fit on an Orlando Magic team whose rebuilding effort needs younger, cheaper assets. After a rough shooting year in 2012-13, the 3-and-D wing is looking like someone who could be a major asset for a contending team.
If he keeps playing like this, expect the Magic to do their best to deal the swingman while his value is at its peak.
Oh, and for what it's worth, the Miami Heat weren't particularly impressed by Afflalo's big night. Miami blew the Magic out, 120-92.
J.R. Smith Is Concerned
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J.R. Smith doesn't seem like a guy who worries about much.
The damaging effects of poor judgment on social media? Not a problem.
Shot selection that would make Nick Young blush? No issue there.
But after the New York Knicks dropped a 103-96 overtime loss to the visiting Indiana Pacers, the typically unflappable Smith was concerned.
Per Ian Begley of ESPN New York, Smith said: "It's too early to panic, but me personally, I'm panicking. I don't like this. I don't want to play 3-8 basketball."
You might think that Carmelo Anthony's 30 points and 18 boards would be the biggest takeaway from this game. Or perhaps you're upset that I haven't yet mentioned Paul George's transcendent performance, complete with 35 points, five steals and phenomenal defense.
Those were both great to watch, but when Smith vocalizes actual concern for the fate of his team, it can't be ignored. I'm not sure how much worse things can get for the reeling Knicks, but when a guy like Smith is ready to panic, rock bottom can't be far off.
Hawks Fans Have Not Forgotten
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There were 13,167 people in attendance to watch the Atlanta Hawks host the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday, and I'm willing to bet there were at least that many satisfied, knowing nods exchanged between Hawks fans during the contest.
Josh Smith was back in town, and he brought with him the very same maddening, occasionally excellent play that made him such a divisive figure during his tenure in Atlanta. Hawks fans had seen this before.
Atlanta took care of the struggling Pistons 93-85, but one particular sequence typified the entire "J-Smoove" experience.
In the third quarter, Smith fired away from beyond the three-point arc and—are you sitting down?—he missed. The crowd cheered, elated that they no longer had to put up with Smith's infuriating love for a shot he never makes. He was 0-of-4 from three, by the way.
But just seconds later, Smoove stole the ball from former teammate Al Horford and took it all the way for an uncontested dunk. Boos echoed throughout Philips Arena.
Clearly, Hawks fans are still coping with their love-hate feelings for the franchise's former marquee player.
It Can Always Get Worse
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Maybe the Brooklyn Nets wanted to make sure they kept pace with the Knicks.
Or maybe Jason Kidd's disjointed, injury-prone bunch are simply such a mess right now that even the Charlotte Bobcats are too mighty a foe.
Brooklyn fell 95-91 to the Kitties, dropping its record to 3-8 on the season and losing Deron Williams to yet another ankle sprain in the process. Worse still, if Andray Blatche hadn't come off the bench to score 25 points on just 14 shots, this game would have been a blowout.
Per Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News, Kevin Garnett doesn't have any answers. KG was asked how to fix what ails the Nets, and he responded: "I don't know. If I knew, I'd share it with this locker room."
Things were looking bad enough in Brooklyn, but now we've got proof that they can always get worse.
Players-Only Meetings Probably Don't Work
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The Cleveland Cavaliers kicked the coaches out of the locker room on Nov. 13 after losing by 29 points to the Minnesota Timberwolves. Nobody's quite sure what happened behind closed doors, but it's becoming clear that the pow wow didn't do much to reverse Cleveland's downward trajectory.
The Cavs lost their very next game to the Bobcats.
Sure, they beat the Washington Wizards on Nov. 16 behind 41 points from Kyrie Irving, but that success didn't last long.
On Wednesday, Washington got a rematch.
The Wizards bolted out to a massive early lead and held on down the stretch, dealing the Cavaliers a 98-91 defeat. It was Cleveland's fourth loss in its past five games.
Dion Waiters was atrocious, hitting just two of his 13 field-goal attempts. And the four starters who began the game alongside Irving managed to make just two shots between them.
Maybe another meeting is in order.
Leading a Division Is Really Easy
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It seems like a lot of these takeaways have slanted toward the negative so far. It's hard to adopt a positive tone when half of the biggest storylines in the league revolve around highly touted teams falling apart, but here's a sunnier narrative: The Toronto Raptors are atop the Atlantic Division!
Hooray!
After defeating the Philadelphia 76ers 108-98 behind 33 points from DeMar DeRozan and a solid all-around performance from Rudy Gay (18 points, eight rebounds and eight assists), the 5-7 Raps sit above the Knicks, Nets, Sixers and Celtics.
Toronto came into this season with plans to shed expensive contracts and build for the future, but it appears that the struggles of their Atlantic Division brethren have provided a pleasantly surprising alternative.
I'm not sure if a sub-.500 team has ever won a division, but I doubt it.
Onward toward history, Raptors!
Chris Paul Knows How to Seal the Deal
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The Los Angeles Clippers notched an impressive 102-98 road victory against the Minnesota Timberwolves, and in a narrative that has played out countless times before, Chris Paul was the man who took the Clips home down the stretch.
CP3 pumped in 16 points in the final five minutes of the contest to secure the win. Jumper after jumper found the bottom of the net as Paul navigated in the pick-and-roll expertly. Getting to any spot he wanted against a terrific defender like Ricky Rubio was truly a sight to see.
He finished with 20 points, 11 assists, six boards and four steals.
Notably, Paul's double-double was his 12th in a row to start the season. That feat broke Magic Johnson's record of 11 straight games with at least 10 points and 10 dimes to begin a campaign.
Based on the way he played, I'm guessing Paul doesn't care too much about his terrific start to the season. He's more interested in finishing things.
What's Old Is New
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Dirk Nowitzki is 35 years old, practically ancient by NBA standards. He's been around long enough to pass Jerry West and Reggie Miller on the NBA's all-time scoring list in the same week. He moved past the latter in the Dallas Mavericks' 123-120 thriller over the Houston Rockets.
All those points (25,298, to be exact) and all those miles don't seem to have slowed Nowitzki down a bit. The sweet-shooting forward put up 35 points to complement 37 from a resurgent Monta Ellis in the Mavs' stunning comeback victory.
With his team trailing by 14 at the end of the third quarter, Nowitzki caught fire, pouring in 14 points in the final period to stun a Rockets team that got a season-high 33 points from Dwight Howard.
Dallas is now 8-4 on the season and is showing real signs of being a legitimate playoff team. It's still awfully early, but almost nobody foresaw this club coming together quite this well.
There's a palpable chemistry between these Mavs, and it all starts with Nowitzki, the old man playing like he's got another 10 years left in him.
Your Daily Anthony Davis Slide
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It takes a lot to necessitate a slide from a game between the New Orleans Pelicans and Utah Jazz. The two teams aren't exactly at the top of the NBA news cycle. Fortunately, Anthony Davis specializes in "a lot."
Actually, in the Pelicans' 105-98 win over the out-of-tune Jazz, Davis made a lot out of a little. It took him just 12 shots to net a game-high 22 points. And as we've come to expect, he dominated in every other aspect of the game, finishing with nine rebounds, four assists and eight blocks.
That's his second consecutive game with at least eight blocks, which, even after having typed it out, just seems wrong.
Davis is a complete beast on both ends, so just go ahead and assume that in every forthcoming edition of "Takeaways," he's getting his own slide. That's just the way it's going to be.
The Warriors Will Never, Ever Beat the Grizzlies
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OK, that's probably an overstatement. But following a 88-81 overtime defeat, the Golden State Warriors ran their losing streak against the Memphis Grizzlies to 11 consecutive games.
So it's fair to harbor at least a little doubt that the Dubs are ever going to find a way to knock off the big, bad Grizz.
It probably didn't help that Stephen Curry sat out the game after suffering a mild concussion against the Jazz on Monday, but the real culprit in Golden State's latest loss to Memphis was the total ineptitude of the bench.
Head coach Mark Jackson had to slot Harrison Barnes into the starting lineup to replace Curry, and with Jermaine O'Neal and Toney Douglas both nursing their own injuries, only Draymond Green and Marreese Speights played meaningful minutes off the bench against Memphis.
Green has shown major improvement since last season, combining a now-respectable outside stroke with his signature mix of toughness and rebounding. But Speights, the man signed to replace Carl Landry, has been awful all year.
He was just 1-of-5 in 13 minutes against Memphis.
The Warriors can't afford to play Andrew Bogut 43 minutes, well, ever. Jackson had no choice but to risk the big Aussie's health by doing so against the Grizzlies.
If Golden State had had a healthier, more reliable bench, it might have done the impossible by beating Memphis. Instead, the streak goes on.
The Blazers Are Road Warriors
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The Portland Trail Blazers upped their record to 10-2 by beating the Milwaukee Bucks 91-82 on Wednesday.
There wasn't a lot of aesthetic appeal in the low-scoring, cold-shooting affair, but behind 21 points from LaMarcus Aldridge and 19 from Damian Lillard, the Blazers kept their surprising early-season roll going.
And the most impressive part of the win was that it gave the Blazers a remarkable six straight victories on the road.
It's easy to question the Blazers' sparkling record because, frankly, they've still played just two teams (Houston and the San Antonio Spurs) with winning records this year. But it's really tough to overlook the kind of road success this team is enjoying.
Schedule be damned, winning away from home is always tough.
For a little context, Portland won 11 games on the road in the entire 2012-13 season. Already more than halfway to that total this year, it's starting to look like the Blazers are for real.
We'll get a better idea of their staying power when they take on the Chicago Bulls and the Golden State Warriors in their next two games. Right now, though, everything's rosy for Rip City on the road.
