The win over the Hornets definitely swings the mood meter in a positive direction after the last few weeks. Obviously, it’s nice to get a win, but it's even nicer to set a few records in the process. There are only 25 games left in the season, and as lovely as it would be to figure out how to get into the Play-In game, having the 11th toughest remaining schedule doesn’t bode well for us. We shall see how things play out, but this team is still so fun to watch, and that means a lot, based on the last few years.
Game #54 - 2/10 @ Denver (146-117 L)
Welp… I guess we’re back to our losing ways, now having lost our last two games in a row. Yes, the Nuggets are an outstanding team with arguably the best player on the planet leading the way. But it is a bit of a bummer to have been sporting such good defense and then getting 146 slammed down our throats. This victory boasts their seventh straight win, so not only are they a good team, but they are also jelling as a unit. They almost doubled us in assists (a stat I care a lot about), which shows how much they were moving the ball, and they had 12 steals to our 4. These stats alone show the hustle they had compared to us. It wasn’t a boat race, though, as we were only down 9 halfway through Q3. This was tough for the Blazers to stomach, as they caught a hot team at the wrong time.
Game #55 - 2/12 @ Denver (132-121 L)
Wash, rinse, and repeat. Two is a coincidence, and three is a steak. So, we’re here again, wondering if any signs of positivity are a fluke for this team. We are only 4.5 games out of 10th, which, if someone said that at the beginning of the season, would probably be feeling about how I think - a hint of positivity. Sadly, this game was never really within reach, as Denver was ahead by 15-ish points the whole game. It was great to see seven different players score 10+ points, though. That means we have a good distribution of players who feel confident enough to score the ball or get the ball in the right spot to take a shot. To put us in the West's bottom 10-12 teams, I want to believe this is a slump. We are definitely beating some of the teams we should probably beat, and then we’ll occasionally beat a team we have no business beating, i.e., Milwaukee or Indiana. The All-Star Break came at a convenient time because we needed a bit of a refresh after losing these last three games.
All-Star Break
Honestly, LOL. The All-Star Weekend has quickly become the laughingstock of sports in the US. The fact the 4 Nations tournament is getting significantly more press and joy than the NBA is quite embarrassing. It doesn’t help that CP3 and Wemby were disqualified during the Skills Challenge. The All-Star Game itself has lost all meaning. MLB went through this a few years ago and figured out how to make it essential. The NBA needs to create an incentive that’s either a Finals home-court advantage for the East/West team or a monetary incentive. It’s genuinely a shame no one cares to watch these games. It doesn’t help when the face of the league, LeBron James, decides a few hours before tip-off not to play.
Game #56 - 2/20 vs LA Lakers (110-102 L)
This is a game we’ll want back. Although the Lakers were in control the entire game, we did catch momentum at the end, but LeBron’s 40-point performance and Austin Reaves scoring 32 was enough for them to hold on. Unsurprisingly, Deni leads the way with 28 points, with Toumani, Scoot, and Sheldon scoring 10+ points. It would’ve been great to have won without Luka on the court, but it wasn’t in the cards for us tonight. It seemed like the difference was rebounding, as we lost that battle 48-33. This Lakers team is interesting because, with Luka, they’re great offensively (defense is still a bit up for debate); without him, they’re a medium team. Who knows how they’ll finish the season, but they are a wild card for the playoffs.
Game #57 - 2/22 vs Charlotte (141-88 W)
Ohhhhh baby. Nothing better than a franchise record-setting margin of victory. I referenced this earlier in beating the teams we’re supposed to beat. Charlotte is trash and has no business competing with us. By no means do I think we should be winning by 53, but a double-digit victory feels about right. We had FOUR guys score 20+ points - Toumani, Ant, Shaedon, and Jabari - with a pleasant surprise from Jabari. This game put him over the 1k points mark. As a Bari loyalist, I find his growth and impact on this team incredible. Toumani tied the franchise record for +/- in a game with +45 (which is an insane number). On top of that, this game marked the 12th scorigam this season and the 3,157th unique score in NBA history. Why do we care? Unsure, but it’s fun to be part of history on a historic night.
Record: 1-3 (24-33)
Next Week’s Games: 2/24 @ Utah, 2/26 @ Washington, 2/28 @ Brooklyn, 3/2 @ Cleveland