Russell Westbrook is single-handily destroying the NBA.
Russell Westbrook’s 2015 Triple-Double World Tour continued last week, and the Thunder guard now has five in his last six games, which included last night’s stat line of 30 points, 17 assists, and 11 rebounds in a 108-104 win over the Toronto Raptors. The one game he didn’t have a triple-double in? That came in a 108-105 loss to the Bulls last Thursday, but Westrook still finished with 43 points, 8 assists and 7 rebounds. The performances from Westbrook have resulted in both wins and losses for the Thunder, but there is no doubt that his level of play lately has been unequaled by any other player in the league — and it looks to continue for at least as long as Kevin Durant is still sitting out.
Tony Parker is starting to play like Tony Parker.
Much can be said about the Spurs this year, and it’s no different from the things we hear about them every them every year: they are old, don’t care anymore, sleepwalk through the regular season, etc, etc, etc. San Antonio’s 2-7 mark during their annual Rodeo Road Trip was a bad sign, but yesterday’s performance from Tony Parker could be a glimpse of what’s to come for the team as the regular season winds down. Parker, on a day where Tim Duncan failed to score a field goal, racked up a season-high 32 points in a win against the Bulls, and he did it in his usual fashion, darting to the basket in transition, making running floaters, and hitting mid-range jumpers while taking care of the basketball. Parker is now averaging 25 points in his past three games, and the rest of the Western Conference playoff teams are obviously not excited. The hamstring that has plagued him earlier this season seems to be a memory at this point.
The Charlotte Hornets are cementing their spot in the playoffs.
The Hornets have quietly won five in a row, and now own the seventh playoff seed in the Eastern Conference. Lance Stephenson still hasn’t been a factor, but Mo Williams is averaging 20.2 points and 10.8 assists during the win streak, and the team has seemed to of regained their defensive tenactity as well. With Miami and Boston treading water, the Hornets should be able to stay in playoff position with their current level of play.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eiLdzeqweS0
Draymond Green does not like Dahntay Jones.
The Golden State Wariors defeated the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday, largely due to Draymond Green’s 23 points. Naturally, he was the one to get the post game interview with ABC afterwards.
During the segment, Clippers guard Dahntay Jones walked into view of the camera, bumping Green as he went past. Green took a moment to stare at Jones before resuming the interview, and addressed “the bump” to reporters later on in the locker room.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pf2UDWz2-BI
“I think he wanted a reaction from me, but he don’t play,” Green said while noting that Jones is averaging a career-low 4.6 minutes per game this season.
Green also explained his lack of reaction, saying, “Me getting suspended and him getting suspended, it’s different. If Jones gets suspended, they may not even notice. He got some camera time, which he needed because there wasn’t much celebration from their bench today, so you didn’t see him much. He got the camera time he was looking for.”
Jones would later deny that the bump was intentional.
Michael Beasley still has some things to work through.
Fresh off of a season in China, the much-maligned former lottery pick Michael Beasley has been a fairly productive player for the Heat since signing his initial 10-day contract with the team, averaging 10.5 points and 4.6 rebounds per game. He was recently rewarded with another 10-day contract, but not before a major mental blunder in the closing seconds during a game against the Washington Wizards on Friday.
Beasley helped the Heat overcome a 35-point deficit with 13 points in the fourth quarter alone, and had the chance to tie the game with 1.6 seconds left off an inbounds play. But then, this happened:
“That was just lack of experience,” Beasley said after the game. “I was just so anxious to get the last shot and do great for my team that I just had a brain cramp. That was my fault.”
