Analyzing The Action & Sifting Through The Statistics: March 11 Recap

Every night, (or at least those in which I can catch the games) I will breakdown the games individually, and help recap it for those who missed it, or just plain weren't interested in the game to begin with.

There were only three games tonight/last night, so it should be a relatively quick skim through.

The two TNT games were a bit of a letdown, matchup wise. The Magic get their spotlight once again, regardless of their opponent, and it ended with a beatdown, no surprise there. But as a fan of basketball, I have to say, the late game is always more exciting than the predecessor, and not only because West Coast teams score at will... Alright, that might have something to do with it.

Atlanta 109 - Washington 99- The start of a three games-in-three nights run for the Wizards, they kept it close through three, but eventually got too sloppy and Atlanta pulled away, thanks to fourth quarter shots by Bibby, and a single-handed effort by Crawford off the Atlanta Bench

Javale McGee and Andray Blatche combined for 50 points and 19 rebounds, but Blatche also committed 7 turnovers, and was wasting possessions that he wasn't scoring on. McGee had the strongest game I've seen from him, catching alley-oops repeatedly, as well as tip-slamming misses on the offensive glass. Nick Young did his best to equal Crawford's production, but had trouble maintaining his early success. Besides those three, nobody on the Wizards really looked ready to play tonight.

The Wizards shot an atrocious 1-13 from beyond the arc, while Atlanta connected on 8-17, Crawford and Bibby acounting for 75 percent of those makes.

Joe Johnson was relatively quiet and struggled through a stretch late with his shot, but still managed to finish with 18-7-5.

Basically just the case of the better team winning, as the Hawks had more players come through in the clutch, while the Wizards seemed to go away from their big-man tandem in the final minutes, although it had dominated earlier in the game. Jamal Crawford is still proving he is the best 6th man in the game at the moment. With the win the Hawks, moved into 3rd place in the Easter Conference, 1/2 a game ahead of the Celtics.

Orlando 111 - Chicago 82- This is a game where Orlando pulled away early in the first quarter, and kept on pulling in the second. They held a 32-point halftime lead, and Dwight Howard didn't play after the 9-minute mark of the third quarter.

The main news from this game is that Derrick Rose left the game after the first quarter with a sprained left wrist, and will be re-evaluated. This is a huge blow for the Bulls who are fighting for a playoff spot at the moment, and face a tough schedule in the coming week. Without Rose, and already missing Joakim Noah and Luol Deng, this could be a death sentence for the Bulls.

The Bulls came out flat tonight and the Magic just poured it on them, hitting open shots and then hitting contested shots. No Magic starter played more than 28 minutes, and Howard played just 19, tallying 12 and 6 before leaving with 4 fouls. The large lead enabled him to take a seat and rest for the remainder of the game, whooping and hollering from the bench quite often throughout the fourth quarter.

The funniest part of the game was the way that the TNT announcers were pouring it on Joe Alexander when he came in for mop-up duty in the fourth quarter. Alexander, who had four fouls in his first five minutes, basically tackled Anthony Johnson for a loose ball, and then followed that hit by jumping right on the back of Brandon Bass on a block attempt. For the remainder of the night, the announcers kept pointing out how much of a letdown Alexander was, and suggesting perhaps he would be better suited for a spot on the Bears, not the Bulls, roster. Poor Joe.

Chicago tried to rally to start the second half, and made a quick run that cut the lead to 19, and had Stan Van Gundy sweating (almost), but a quick 10-1 Magic run, powered by Jason Williams and Gortat helped squash that. One note, during the final minutes, Magic fans were chanting "We want Foyle", hoping that Van Gundy would take heed and throw Adonal Foyle into the game, but alas, he was nowhere to be found. Poor Adonal.

Portland 110 - Golden State 105- This was a game that, for the most part, Golden State deserved to win. They led most of the way, came out with intensity, and despite playing with only nine healthy players, looked to be the more energetic and balanced attack. The crowd was behind them, role players were doing their jobs, and all seemed to be clicking. Until foul trouble came.

Monta Ellis and Corey Maggette both ended up fouling out late in the fourth quarter, and  Stephen Curry and Anthony Tolliver had to sit for considerable stretches when they picked up their fourth or fifth fouls. It was the story of the game, a questionable call or poor decision by a Golden State player would swing momentum back into Portland's favor.

Portland outscored the Warriors 27-to-9 in the fourth quarter, and the Warriors couldn't get anything to fall.

Brandon Roy had 41 to lead the Blazers, but only three points in the fourth quarter, when LaMarcus Aldridge picked up the slack. Aldridge, quiet throughout the first three quarters, scored 10 of his 14 points in the final period, and teamed with Marcus Camby, helped to counter Don Nelson's small lineup in the fourth quarter. With Corey Maggette at center, the Warriors didn't have the size to rebound or defend inside, and the Warriors pounded it in possession after possession.

Though, despite the collapse in the fourth quarter, the Warriors trailed by just three with 40 seconds left in the game. Portland called timeout and came out with a good look for Aldridge who missed the shot, but they were able to get the offensive rebound with 28 seconds remaining to all but put the game away. Nelson told his team not to foul, and would allow the Blazers to run the clock to 4 seconds or so and hope they could force a miss.

CJ Watson, defending Andre Miller at the top of the key let the clock tick down to 9 seconds, keeping Miller in front of him, but for some reason, at that moment, he ran at Miller and found him. Don Nelson was in disbelief on the sideline and motioned for Watson to come over and gave him a quick talk about what to do in the situation. Miller sunk both free throws which accounted for the final score.

It was another exciting late-night TNT thursday game which we have become to expect it seems.

PLAYER OF THE NIGHT- Brandon Roy- 14-22 FG, 13-17 FT, 41 Points, 8 Rebounds, 3 Assists, 4 Turnovers, 2 Steals, 1 Block.

DUD OF THE NIGHT- Derrick Rose going down with the sprained left wrist.