Last Night In The NBA: Cure Your Hangover With Highlights From Another Wild Night Of Basketball

Good morning everybody happy Saint Patrick’s Day and welcome back to another edition of Last Night In The NBA where we bring you up to speed on everything that went down from the night before in the Association. Chances are you’re feeling pretty shitty right now after yesterday’s festivities so what better way to get yourself back to normal whether it’s on the toilet or the couch than to relax and watch a shit ton of basketball highlights. We had 8 games on the schedule on Saturday and surprisingly a majority of them were pretty close. There was a nice mix of upsets, some important playoff head to head battles, even some late night drama to cap it all off. Of course if you were out getting hammered and maybe you passed out a little early and missed some of the action that’s OK, here’s what happened.

Memphis Grizzlies (28-42) 128 vs Washington Wizards (30-40)

Our first matchup actually wasn’t all that bad even though it consists of two teams that absolutely stink. I’m not sure anyone could have seen this type of offensive explosion coming from the Grizzlies, that’s not exactly their M.O, but they certainly held their own the only issue is for a team that is known for playing lock down defense, there was definitely none of that to be found. The Wizards had 100 through the first three which is pretty bad, and these losses are certainly making it clear that the Grizzlies are going to keep their own pick this summer. Guys like Mike Conley were solid sure

and if you can believe it Chandler Parsons is in fact still an NBA player who actually saw the floor too!

Mix in a little 21/5 from my pal Avery Bradley and another 22 from JV

and like I said this wasn’t a case of the Grizzlies not being able to score, they just couldn’t stop a nosebleed.

For WSH, that nosebleed was really just Bradley Beal, a guy who has been on an absolute tear since the All Star break

Of all the things that have gone wrong in WSH this year, the fact that Bradley Beal has solidified himself as a sure fire stud isn’t one of them. His injury issues are a thing of the past, and he’s developed into one of the best two guards in the league. ow as a team the Wizards really couldn’t miss, they finished with 50/48% splits and 17 3PM all while taking care of the basketball with just 11 TOs. They are one of those teams that have the chance to move up the tank standings as teams like NO/DAL are just 1.0 and 1.5 games ahead of them, so maybe it’s time to rest Beal just a little bit in order to help their odds.

Cleveland Cavaliers (17-53) 116 vs Dallas Mavericks (28-41) 121

Two more lottery bound teams there seemed to have been a trend where these terrible teams for whatever reason put up really strong offensive showings. Maybe it’s because the reason they are so terrible in the first place is because their defense is pathetic, but the was another one where both sides really shot the ball well. The Mavs got offto a great start with three straight 30+ point quarters, they were balanced with 6 players in double figures and 51/46% splits with 16 3PM

but the real fun is obviously Dirk, a guy who is chasing Wilt on the all time scoring list and with his 14 points stands just 4 points shy

God do I love me some Dirk. He’ll most likely achieve this on Monday, and I’m almost positive it’s going to come on a classic Dirk fadeaway.

For CLE, at this point this is nothing new, they are terrible on the road, are in a big time tank off and now all that matters is the young guys continue to develop and they ultimately lose. They nailed both of those things last night

The Cavs have now lost three in a row and they are doing a great job keeping pace with NYK (8) and CHI (4) to maintain that top 3 tanking position.

Atlanta Hawks (24-46) 120 vs Boston Celtics (43-27) 129

We’ll talk more about the Celts later, so for now let’s spend some time appreciating the fact that Vince Carter can still ball

And Trae Young really does have Steph Curry range. I mean the man is ridiculous

Oh and John Collins is pretty good you could say. I sneaky need to see Zion in ATL because that trio would be fun as HELL to watch

They ultimately came back from a 25 point lead which was pretty predictable, and really all season even though they’ve been tanking at least ATL plays hard which makes them one of the bad teams actually worth watching.

Golden State Warriors (47-21) 110 vs Oklahoma City Thunder (42-28) 88

There is definitely a school of thought that of all the teams out West, the Thunder are one that could potentially give the Warriors a run in a playoff series. Well, they’ve now lost the season series 2-1, and yesterday even without Kevin Durant they got absolutely destroyed at home. That’s tough for the confidence and now that OKC has dropped two in a row they currently sit alone in the 5 spot. That’s not all that great either for a team that’s barely over .500 on the road.

To beat the Warriors you obviously can’t shoot 32/31%, and you also can’t get a combined 36 points from your two best players

Things got out of hand almost immediately with the Warriors dropping 40 in the first quarter, and honestly they weren’t really challenged at any point in this game. To make things worse Westbrook got another tech which means he’ll be suspended for their next game, and that’s not the best news when you’re currently trying to prevent a damaging slide. If OKC has any chance in a potential playoff series, it goes without saying that Westbrook/George are going to have to do better than a combined 11/41

For GS, pretty standard showing from them, great shooting splits, a bunch of threes, and Steph Curry pretty much being unguardable

They needed a win like this if only because DEN is still right on their tails for the #1 seed, but you almost forget this team also gets to add Durant to it eventually. Despite all their drama GS still has the 2nd best point differential in the league, the third best record in the league, and is very much still the force we all know them to be even if they did just lose to the Suns.

Portland Trail Blazers (42-27) 103 vs San Antonio Spurs (41-29) 108

This matchup may not have gotten the hype which is pretty fitting for both of these teams, but it was definitely important. The Spurs tied the season series with POR with this win, which given the fact that they trail by just 1.5 games is key. If they were to tie the advantage goes to whoever has the better conference record, which in this case is SA and it’s not close.

The Blazers who are holding onto a top 4 seed for dear life certainly didn’t get much outside of Dame and Nurkic

they shot the ball like shit with 41/25% splits and got killed in FTA 30-14. Hell if they just played an ounce of defense in the fourth quarter they win this game, they had a 4 point lead heading into the final frame, but allowing 36 points is never going to get it done. They now move to a game under .500 on the road, and that’s why keeping a top 4 seed is so important for them. For whatever reason, this is a different team away from home and they are much more beatable when matched up with any of these teams out West.

For SA, 8 wins a in a row is now the longest active streak in the league, they are a game behind OKC and are 8-2 over their last 10. In typical Spurs fashion they did it with balanced scoring and solid defense

and this is now 10 straight wins at home. Sure maybe they benefitted from a little hometown cooking with how uneven the fouls and FTA were, but that’s not their problem. The Spurs are rounding into shape as a team nobody is going to want to face in a series, and I don’t know how they’ve done it but they just won’t tie. This may be one of Popovich’s more impressive seasons when you think about all they lost to start the year.

Phoenix Suns (17-54) 138 vs New Orleans Pelicans (30-42) 136

OK this game made no sense which is what you may expect with two tanking teams like this. Defense obviously wasn’t a factor for either side, which makes for fun basketball as long as you’re not trying to win. The Suns had half their points from from two guys

and then their bench even showed some life as well

so Suns fans are happy about that but this game isn’t about the Suns in my opinion. It’s about the beautiful tank job we saw from NO when it came down to crunch time.

For NO, they too had a great offensive night with 9 players in double figures. You shouldn’t lose games in which you have that many guys play well, but you also should never underestimate the desire to tank.

but like I said the story is the ending. I haven’t seen a tank job executed like this maybe ever, so I have nothing but respect for NO taking it to a whole new level

That is how you deliberately throw a game folks, I’m sure Adam Silver is thrilled. If that wasn’t a “I’ve had enough of this shit” move then I don’t know what is.

Indiana Pacers (44-26) 100 vs Denver Nuggets (46-22) 102

This matchup right here was a lot more dramatic than it needed to be. The Nuggets were well on their way to a much needed win with about three minutes to go before Tony Brothers got involved and things got interesting. Before that though they were fairly dominant offensively led by Jokic

and right after he had hit a game winner earlier in then week, this time it was Paul Millsap’s turn to be the hero

Now the Nuggets were in this position in the first place because of a pretty weak ejection of Jokic with 3 minutes left, leaving them without their go to player to run the offense through. That’s why IND was able to crawl back into the game because I think it’s time we admit Jamal Murray may not be the best crunch time shooter

I would say Brothers reacted a little quick there, it’s Jokic man and all he did was scream at you. We see MUCH worse not result in an ejection and at that point of the game it’s some bullshit in my opinion.

For IND, a Bogdanovic game winner was off the mark and thankfully the Pacers finally lost a goddamn game. The positive spin is they had 5 players with at least 15 points, but they blew a big lead by scoring just 15 points in the third and all of the sudden BOS is breathing down their neck for the 4 spot. Their schedule doesn’t exactly get any easier, so stealing this game would have been huge for them.

Brooklyn Nets (36-35) 98 vs Utah Jazz (40-29) 114

Don’t look now but the Nets are starting to slide a little bit, now in the 7 spot with only 2.5 games separating themselves and MIA. Defense has been an issue with them lately and that didn’t really change here. Offensively nothing was dropping, just 34/33% splits and only three guys in double figures which is definitely not going to get it done in a tough place to play like UTA.

Dinwiddie and Russell combined for 42 points, but other than them it was mostly dogshit.

For UTRA, it was the complete opposite. Another team streaking in the West, everyone got involved in this blowout win and that’s encouraging

6 players in double figures, Jae Crowder notched his 5,000th point, they got to the line at will and used a strong first half to build their lead and never looked back. Now 23-12 at home this season they are doing everything they can to stay in the playoff race, now it’s just a matter of if the Spurs will ever lose again so that UTA can catch them. I will say though, when Donovan Mitchell gets it going he is one of the more unstoppable guards this league has. He can definitely take over a playoff series by himself.

And that’s it! Hopefully this helped you with your hangover. If not may I suggest cracking open another beer. We have 8 more games on today but if you’re planning on going out and celebrating again, just check back tomorrow and I’ll bring you on to speed on what you missed.