Golden State is now 33-2 and the Spurs are just three games back......neither has lost a home game this season.

J.R. Smith had his 14th career game with 8+ threes......only Steph Curry has more (16) in the past 30 seasons.


The Rockets face the Utah Jazz for the second time in four days......if they can beat them again, the Rockets will move to one game under .500. Speaking of Rockets, expect the Ty Lawson trade talks to heat up once his League imposed three game suspension for his DWI charge is completed this weekend.

LeBron James' 2015-16 shot chart......wonder if fans realize they are watching his decline?

The Rockets were trailing the Indiana Pacers by 10 with under three minutes to play when they went on a run and eventually won the game by 4 points in OT. The final minutes of regulation and OT, the Rockets played like the Rockets last post season. Dwight Howard's defense was some of the best I've ever seen him play......back to one game above .500.



Also this weekend:

Draymond Green is the first non-guard to record eight triple-doubles in a single season since Grant Hill (13) in 1996-97.

Warriors are the second team ever to begin a season with at least 18 wins in their first 20 road games (L.A. Lakers, 1971-72)

Stephen Curry recorded his seventh game this season with at least eight three-pointers, the most ever by a player in a single season.

The San Antonio Spur came close to losing their first home game, besting the Knicks by one point.

For the first time this season, the Houston Rockets are two games above .500. They reached this high water mark by winning their 5th game in a row, also a first for the season......LeBron James and the Cavilers in Houston tomorrow night (ESPN).

I've watched most of the last two games and I've seen a BIG difference in the play of, Terrance Jones......it's like he has matured in 2016. No more clinching his fist and making fat cheeks as he stomps around after being fouled. He's hustling, diving for loose balls and smiling. It's been a dramatic shift and I hope it continues!

One last Rocket oddity......they have won the last eleven of their games that went to overtime, an NBA record.

Golden State lost their 3rd of the season last night at Denver.

Even losing in Atlanta last night, this is the current state of the New York Knicks:

Something special is happening up in the OKC.

Their 5 highest paid players have scored 162 points in 52 minutes (length of an overtime game) = 155% offensive rating, the highest for any five in the NBA this season, including Golden States lineup of death.

This lineup features THREE players in the NBA's Top 10 PER (Player Efficiency Rating)......no other NBA roster has more than two.

Kevin Durant
Russell Westbrook
Serge Ibaka
Enis Kanter
Dion Walters

Here is the kicker......this lineup above has only played in 18 of OKC's 33 games this season, crushing opponants by a whopping 52 points.

This is all you need to know about how the Rockets played last night:


Dwight Howard has 14 points and 11 boards and a -17 +/-

James Harden has 11 points and 7 turnovers and is +1 +/-

......strange or typical?



Damian Lillard is the first NBA player to record 30+ points and 10+ assists without a turnover in a game this season.


Who wore it better: Swaggy P or E. Honda?



With their last win over the LA Lakers Thursday night:


The Warriors join the Bulls (95-96), Magic (95-96) & Celtics (85-86) as the only teams in NBA history to win 37-straight at home.

Golden State matches the best start through 40 games in NBA history, becoming the fourth team to begin a season 37-3 (1st since 95-96 Bulls).

thirty-four

The Cavs got humiliated. Lebron is getting the reality check that he had initially prepared for ehen returning to Cleveland that it would take some work and some years to be a championship team was delayed by the whirl of last year. But every season is different and scouting is better than ever and so teams must be connected and together enough to adapt and evolve on the fly every season. Have a huge back of tricks for "the what the defense gives you." That takes years to develop such chemistry while also bringing in the right role players for each situation.. Cleveland will take a few seasons to win a championship, just like how Kareem had to wait several years before he became a champion again, Wilt too. Lebron is a generation player and an all time great but that has never been enough, its always a team sport. What is MJ without Pippen? even the best all time players needed help and time. And all the best had their share of all time bad losses

The Cavs got humiliated. Lebron is getting the reality check that he had initially prepared for ehen returning to Cleveland that it would take some work and some years to be a championship team was delayed by the whirl of last year. But every season is different and scouting is better than ever and so teams must be connected and together enough to adapt and evolve on the fly every season. Have a huge back of tricks for "the what the defense gives you." That takes years to develop such chemistry while also bringing in the right role players for each situation.. Cleveland will take a few seasons to win a championship, just like how Kareem had to wait several years before he became a champion again, Wilt too. Lebron is a generation player and an all time great but that has never been enough, its always a team sport. What is MJ without Pippen? even the best all time players needed help and time. And all the best had their share of all time bad losses

We are in a bizaro era of NBA.. for decades if you said a guy went off and had 34-25 you'd assume his team won handedly.

When owners first suggested moving the 3pt line back i laughed. Why? Conventional wisdom is that the law of averages will always work out, and NBA Jam rules apply live by the three die by the three... but its clear as the coming generation of players are practicing the 3 more shooting percentage is improving so conventional wisdom no longer applies. The only D that has been able to stop the 3 was that smothering hypertrap D by 2011-13 Heat but that style of play was to exhausting long term especially against good ball moving teams..

So I'm not sure that if overall 3point shooting efficiency continues to improve if conventional defense can adjust.. it just my warrant a rule change and moving it back. That or changing illegal defense rules so that 3point shooting won't be as effective at floor spacing and allowing for open layups

We are in a bizaro era of NBA.. for decades if you said a guy went off and had 34-25 you'd assume his team won handedly.

When owners first suggested moving the 3pt line back i laughed. Why? Conventional wisdom is that the law of averages will always work out, and NBA Jam rules apply live by the three die by the three... but its clear as the coming generation of players are practicing the 3 more shooting percentage is improving so conventional wisdom no longer applies. The only D that has been able to stop the 3 was that smothering hypertrap D by 2011-13 Heat but that style of play was to exhausting long term especially against good ball moving teams..

So I'm not sure that if overall 3point shooting efficiency continues to improve if conventional defense can adjust.. it just my warrant a rule change and moving it back. That or changing illegal defense rules so that 3point shooting won't be as effective at floor spacing and allowing for open layups

thirty-one




Former Rocket Matt Bullard calls Rockets games on TV and makes a weekly hour long appearance on Houston sports radio. When he was winning Championships with the Rockets, said Rockets only had three plays designed to take a three-pointer and said Coach Rudy T would call for it before they attempted.

In the past, foreign players always had the upper hand at 3's due to it being such a part of the European game......today, you have high school kids who attempt more 3's than some NBA pros back in the early 90's. Not only does the league have better shooter, but the overall approach to how the 3 point line is utilized has changed, defenses have not options but to adapt!

Tonight in a home loss to the Detroit Pistons, James Harden became the first player with (33 points / 17 rebounds / 14 assist) since Wilt Chamberlain (53/32/14) on March 18, 1968.


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I just don't think defenses can adapt if the 3pt shooting percentages keep improving because 3pt shooting spreads the floor and opens up the hoop and no matter what paint shots will always be the most efficient. Indeed initially "small ball" was about having just the threat of 3pt shooting open up driving lanes for dunks and layups BUT the Spurs and Warriors been so unnaturally effecient at 3pt shooting that they just opting to take the 3s!!! Perhaps a hyper trap defense like the 2012 Heat or 1988 Pistons could pull it off but that Heat lost to Spurs 3pt shooting eventually and Pistons got beat by the Triangle.

When Spurs beat Miami they didn't change shit about their same defense that lost to Miami. They just shot the fucking shit out of Heat and finished with effective FG% of .56 for the series and over .40 3pt shooting. That shit is just unnatural for an entire team. Further they neutralized Heat's hyper trap defensive by using that great 3pt shooting and so swinging the ball all across the 3pt line completely exhausting the Heat defense who had to respect Spurs 3pt shooting cuz they were making even well contested shots. I think ironically Spurs can beat these Warriors in WCF if they play that same style and shoot similar but im not sure its even possible!

What Spurs did to Miami can beat Warriors for similar but opposite reason Cavs came close in Finals, by milking the fuck out of the clock and i exhausting the defense. Cavs did it to Warriors by having endless grind out 20 second iso possessions and Spurs beat Miami by swinging the ball around for 20 seconds

GSW lead after First Quarter in last three games

@Cleveland +13
@Chicago +16
Indiana +14

The Rockets welcome back Josh Smith......


^^^December 31, 2015

01. Cleveland 30 - 11 (January 22, 2016)......randomly desperate!

These are too good not to share:

Did someone say player-coach?


December


January

Also Blatt was only third coach to be fired the season after reaching Finals BUT come on, this firing actually surprised NO ONE and if you have been watching Cavs games you could see why. Cavs were winning games in spite of Blatt not necessarily because of him. His rotations qere terrible. He never adjusted to the length and number of games in NBA (international games are shorter and have less per season) indeed he played a 7man rotation all of last season and more or less did the same this year. Can't win a title by running guys into the grond. Spurs play at least 9-10 players a game, Warriors too.. Blatt was in over his head and just wasn't adapting well.. Cavs management realized they would just be wasting this season with him and all the players were going to Lue anyways!

Also a lot of reports that Blatt had completely lost control of locker room, like to the degree that made McHale look like Pat Riley

So, what Coach Lue said confirms what you said?

By taking a couple of weeks to fix, is Coach Lue saying players 8-12 aren't in "game shape" because they never see any action (due to Cavs using seven man rotation) or is the seven man rotation so beat down they need weeks to recover / rebound from such heavy minutes? Either way, it will be intriguing to see how Coach Lue formulates a plan to get the balance right.

Last week, Lebron James played three straight games where he scored fewer than 20 points......a first since his rookie season:

@Houston 19
Golden State 16
@Brooklyn 17


Rockets haven't lost a game (Milwaukee, Dallas) since Josh rejoined the team.
Ariza dominated making a season high six 3-points, Ariza had made five 3-points in the previous game.
James Harden collected his second triple-double of the season.
The Rockets are now playing with a swagger we haven't seen since last season. At the Pelicans tonight followed by a trip to San Antonio on Wednesday.



Speaking of San Antonio, The Spurs are on pace to have the highest point differential in NBA History.

The Golden State Warriors are on pace to have the second highest point differential in NBA History.

If not for the Spurs, The Warriors point differential would be the highest in League History.

The fact each is happening in the same season is sort of mind bogging and shows just how much better they are than anyone else!

The Spurs are riding a 13 game winning streak (last loss @Rockets Christmas Day) going into Oracle tonight......on the line is GSW 38 game home winning streak dating back to January 2015.

Coach Kerr on The Spurs: "It's Remarkable to me, I'm 50 years old, I've been retired for 13 years and there's still three guys and the same coach who are all on that team. It makes no sense. The continuity and just the program they've built, it's an amazing 20 year run!"

Tim Duncan not playing, tonight's game on NBA TV.

Thirty




They won every quarter......

Personally i am just increasingly more convinced that teams are disrespecting the warriors by NOT playing their "best" against them. Frankly the Spurs could have at least played better and the Cavs clearly said Meh at halftime. I'm not diminishing what Dubs are doing but its starting too look like teams are chasing Warriors with a target on their backs like they did Heat and Lakers. Maybe they think its useless, maybe its a strategy like when Popp benched his starters in their games against Miami so Spoelstra wouldn't have any scouting video for playoffs

...

Wanted to say NOT chasing Warriors with target

I had good intentions of going back and finding where you had mentioned this in the past, but my time is short this afternoon. Basically when the Spurs totally dismantled the Miami Heat in their last NBA Championship Match-up, you discounted the Spurs "legacy" due to the fact The Spurs had never repeated. That when you win a Championship, you have a target on your pack and you will be receiving everyone's "best" when you face them. Fast forward a couple of seasons and it's almost as if you're reversing course......but I understand, the Golden State Warriors are showing us a regular season domination that's unprecedented and this is the best conclusion you have to offer.

How many 30-20 games does Dwight Howard have......SEVEN! The only players over the last 30 years with more are Hakeem, Shaq, Barkley and Ewing.

Last night was Kevin Durant's 45th career 40-point game, the most in the NBA since he entered the league in 2007-08.

Most games with 30 points and 10 assists this season
Russell Westbrook: 6
Stephen Curry: 3
James Harden: 3
Damian Lillard: 3
John Wall: 3

Blake Griffin has suffered suspected broken hand in undisclosed team-related incident......glad the Rockets traded cash for Josh Smith last week.

Lakers have had a 10-game losing streak against a single opponent 3 times in team history...Knicks & Celtics twice......now add the Dallas Mavericks to this list.

42-4

The Warriors have scored 120+ points in 5 straight games

First team to do so since the Suns in February 1993.

The Warriors have not trailed in any of the last 186 minutes they have played.

Kobe's coming back!

LA Lakers fielding trade offers.

For Kobe? Nonsense. Stop reading gossip pages

I'm not sure what gossip pages you are referring to, but I don't read anything like that.

I was actually listening to a sports gambling radio show and one of the host mentioned that a Europesn sportsbook was taking futures for which NBA team Kobe would be traded?

It could be a bunch of noting, I just found it odd.

The Rockets have dropped three in a row and once again are .500 (25-25)......didn't lose their 25th last year until the middle of April.

Most FG's without a miss in a triple-double in NBA history:

1966-67 Wilt Chamberlain: 18
1965-66 Wilt Chamberlain: 12
Last night Draymond Green: 9

Russell Westbrook has 17 triple-doubles in the last 2 seasons, 8 more than the next-closest player (Draymond Green: 9).

The All-Star Game lineups were released. The Boston Celtics Isaiah Thomas becomes the lowest draft pick (60th) of any player to make an ASG since NBA went to 2 rounds in 1989. In that time span, there were two players who went undrafted and were named All-Stars: Ben Wallace and Brad Miller.

Whoa now lets be careful before we start throwing around Wilt comparisons with Draymond Hreen. He is a product of the Dubs system, i doubt he would play as well as he has elsewhere. Not to diss him but yeah...

Rockets gonna be Rockets its why they are such a great rival to the Clippers.

For all the drama it is quite clear Coach Lue is handling biz.

Spurs bouncing back somewhat to reality and no, can't even remotely blame lack of Timmy for two huge blowouts.

Why are Lakers getting so much national TV? Hey at least we Angelinos can have the satisfaction that we dismantled and destroyed the Suns with the Nash deal, they haven't sniffed the playoffs or even competent bball since.

Heat down low getting back their stride after a big skid with some bad blow out losses..

What is up with Portland? Roster got gutted yet they still competitiv with a team of nobodies?

Are Thunder legit? Can isolation basketball really work in the pace and space era?

Oh yeah, Kobe ain't going anywhere, trust me. Im born and raised in LA. Lakers have sabotaged so much of their team to keep Kobe for this retirement tour. He will be one of only a handful of players to play for just one team and likely the only one to pull off 20 seasons on one team. He aint giving that up and the Kobe retirement tour has a SIXTEEN WIN LAKERS selling out road games! That alone might be an all time NBA record

There you go again......why would you think I'm comparing Draymond to Wilt?
It was a stat, a stat with only TWO names on it:

Wilt Chamberlain
Draymond Green

If you want to blame anyone, blame Elias.

Speaking of Elias and your Lakers......the LA Lakers are the ONLY NBA franchise that has never lost more than ten consecutive regular season games......Minnesota trying to hand The Lakers their 11th straight loss tonight in LA.

The Boston Celtics have scored 110+ points in six straight games, nine out of their last ten games......their longest such streak since 9-game streak in 90-91.



Spurs: 8-0 following losses this season; all 8 wins have been by double digits, winning by an average of 20.6 PPG

Heat: until they hit Houston tonight and loss to a Dwight Howard-less (no Clint Capela) Rockets team.



No answer for what's happening in Portland or Phoenix???

OKC: see my post from last week......sort of flying under the radar......wonder if all the "where is Durant going" talk going to catch up with them?


Most Triple-Doubles Through 3 Quarters - Since 2008-09 Season

Russell Westbrook 9
Stephen Curry 4

Lakers may have got your message about the 11 losses.. currently 77-62 Lakers..

I wouldn't say Thunder are under the radar, i am more wondering about the overall efficacy of their x's and o's. Again, can isolation bball win big in the small ball, help defense era? Really Lebron era Heat revolutionized basketball by incorporating elements of D'Antoni's small ball (albeit no where near as fast) with excellent defense. Small ball defense works when its elite help and rotation defense with some traps on pick and roll. Spurs perfectionized the Heat model after spending years as a defense first team to the tune of two Finals and a revenge championship. Then warriors incorporated it to beat Cavs and now beat up on the league. We can also to a degree give some credit to the SVG Howard Magic who had a team with a center and four small ball shooters as helping push the trend. Now? Big centers just aren't winning big. I doubt they will disappear as bball goes in cycles but for now centers like Bosh and Draymond Green are winning more than classic bigs like Brook Lopez or Boogie Cousins

Lakers may have got your message about the 11 losses.. currently 77-62 Lakers..

I wouldn't say Thunder are under the radar, i am more wondering about the overall efficacy of their x's and o's. Again, can isolation bball win big in the small ball, help defense era? Really Lebron era Heat revolutionized basketball by incorporating elements of D'Antoni's small ball (albeit no where near as fast) with excellent defense. Small ball defense works when its elite help and rotation defense with some traps on pick and roll. Spurs perfectionized the Heat model after spending years as a defense first team to the tune of two Finals and a revenge championship. Then warriors incorporated it to beat Cavs and now beat up on the league. We can also to a degree give some credit to the SVG Howard Magic who had a team with a center and four small ball shooters as helping push the trend. Now? Big centers just aren't winning big. I doubt they will disappear as bball goes in cycles but for now centers like Bosh and Draymond Green are winning more than classic bigs like Brook Lopez or Boogie Cousins

Interim Minnesota Head Coach Sam Mitchell's response to Kobe dropping 38 on his team 10 years after dropping 81 on his team: "I hate him, I hate him. If I don't ever see him again, it won't be too soon."

Laker's won 119-115

Kobe Bryant is the oldest player with at least 35 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists in a game since Karl Malone in 2003.

Kobe Bryant: 7-11 from three tonight (64%)

Tied for 4th-best 3-pt pct of his career (min. 10 3-pt FGA)

During last years regular season, the Houston Rockets NEVER loss three games in a row. This season, it's happened on five different occasions and we're still not to the All-Star break.

The four game win streak the Miami Heat road into Houston with yesterday......the franchises first since LeBron took his talents back to Cleveland.
The Heat were too much for the Maverivks in Dallas tonight......Heat improve to 9-1 vs Mavericks since losing to Dallas in the 2011 NBA Finals.
Mavericks now 9-11 in 2016.

45-4 are the Golden State Warriors.
Curry had 44pts and ten 3-pointers before the end of the 3rd Quarter.

Warriors with 30+ assists in 8 straight games, now their longest single-season streak. Last 8-gamer, 1988-89 Hornets (Dell Curry on team).

Hornets are officially 1-24 against Lebron. They were bound to win one at some point

East Top 5

01. Cleveland 38 - 14
02. Toronto 35 - 17
03. Boston 32 - 23
04. Atlanta 31 - 24
05. Miami 29 - 24

East Bottom 2

Brooklyn 14 - 40
Philadelphia 8 - 45


West Top 5

01. Golden State 48 - 4
02. San Antonio 45 - 8
03. OKC 40 - 14
04. LA Clippers 35 - 18
05. Memphis 31 - 22

West Bottom 2

Phoenix 14 - 40
LA Lakers 11 - 44

This is the first time in NBA history two different teams have 45+ wins before the All-Star break:



The LA Clippers have gone 18-5 since Blake Griffin's injury and LOST ground to GSW, Spurs and OKC.

The Rockets dropped two games to Portland in the week leading up to the All-Star Game and are now one game below .500 and OUT of the playoffs.

McHale Comments Publicly About His Firing

Last week against Golden State......Kevin Durant: 40 points & 14 reboundss.

Last time a player posted 40+ points & 10+ rebounds vs defending champion on the road: Ralph Sampson in 1983-84.

Stephen Curry is the first player in NBA history to hit at least one three-pointer in 100-straight regular-season road games.

"Get off my lawn" post alert


I'm so sick of the NBA turning into a glorified 3point contest! Bball reference Twitter posted about Isiah Thomas 25 assist game. Keep in mind this is the same 2x Champion Isiah Thomas who ESPN somehow thought they with a straight face could rank below Curry on an all All Time list???

So to replies were embarrassing. Someone said how can we even compare that 1985 game to today's NBA because there was just one 3 in that entire game. Others took that to explain how that is why Curry is better then Isiah....

We're talking about one of the best defenses in NBA history and somehow Curry, the cupcake kid who needs Klay to play defense for him, is somehow better than that simply because his voach lets him jack up volume 3s at 11 attempts per game???

I feel like grumpy cat or those idiots who think basketball as a whole was better in the 90s (to be sure, IT WASN'T) but i am honestly so turned off by sheer ignorance and hyperbole of today's NBA "fans" that think i need to take a bball hiatus like i did in the boring mid2000s hero ball peak.


Indeed all this high volume 3point shooting is really just as boring as Hero Ball and its essentially the same shit just off the pass instead of off the dribble. Its just as predictable and boring to watch

Because Stephen is making 3's at the highest rate in NBA History?

Speaking of, Kobe, who has missed more shots than anyone in NBA History (talk about coaches letting someone shoot in volume, Iverson too) may someday be passed by Curry on the All-Time points scored list with fewer shot attempts and minutes / games played.

I'm not aware of the "twitter" war which you mentioned, but Isiah Thomas carrier numbers, according to Basketball-Reference, are more comparable to:

Earl Monroe
Derek Harper
Stephon Marbury
Steve Smith
Joe Dumars
Jason Terry

Thru six years, Stephen Curry's carrier is more comparable to:

Tiny Archibald
Dwayne Wade
John Stockton
Gilbert Arenas
Clyde Drexler

The biggest difference between the two, Curry is just reaching his "peak" and has the opportunity to become a much better player.

Some fun All-Star festivity stats:



Curry & Thompson are the first teammates to win the 3-point shootout in consecutive seasons.

Thompson had 27 points in the final round to tie the single-round record Curry set last year. The previous record of 25 was set in 1986 by Craig Hodges and tied by Jason Kapono in 2008. Keep in mind that the money-ball rack (with four additional points) was introduced in 2014.

Thompson is the sixth player to win the Three-Point Contest as a member of the team with the best record at the All-Star break. He prevented Curry from joining Larry Bird as the only reigning MVPs to win the Three-Point Contest.




In Vegas (or your local bookie), the total in tonight's NBA All-Star Game is 318.5 points......it opened at 305.

Steph isn't merely making them more, he is making them more because upwards of SEVENTY PERCENT of his total FGA are from behind the arc. #Boring #Predictable

With all due respect, if you can't see the problem in that I'm not sure you understand the fundamentals of basketball. The goal is to make paint shots. The 3 is a mechanism to create space, hence the evolution of what we call pace and space. However the warriors said fuck it and just shoot the 3s for the sake of 3s. And hey, its their right and clearly they're good at it. But i agree with Poppovich, its not fundamental basketball and frankly its ruining the game. Indeed i almost think NBA needs to bring back the handcheck. Put Isiah hand checking Curry see how ma y the kid makes ;)

Also Isiah didn't have to hide on defense, something Curry has to do behind his boy Klay

50, 50, 50, 50, 50, 50, 50, 50, 50, 50, 50, 50, 50, 50, 50, 50 50



Curry has made 22 of last 31 3-pointers attempted over last two games.

The ONLY player in NBA history with 10+ 3-pointers in consecutive games.

Curry tied HIS (NBA) record for 3-pointers made in a season (286) and there are still 24 games left in the season. Curry is currently on pace to make 400 3-pointers this season.

Reggie Miller's BEST regular season doesn't crack Curry's top six.

Golden State are 53-5......they only need to go 19-5 to tie the Chicago Bulls best regular season record.

What I like about Curry is that he does not flop, whine, or act like a prima-donna BITCH like LeBronBron....