Oct
31
By Chris Maynard, chris@hoops4thesoul.com
One night does not obviously make a season, but some interesting developments took place on the court tonight during the San Antonio Spurs’ victory over the Portland Trail Blazers, the Houston Rockets’ nail-biter over the Los Angeles Lakers, and the Utah Jazz’s whipping of the Golden State Warriors.
1. This Kobe Bryant drama is annoying. Has there ever been a player who puts himself before his team and the entire game of basketball like Bryant does? Bryant was a chucker tonight, shooting the ball an amazing 59 times tonight (32 times from the floor and 27 times from the free throw line). If it hasn’t been apparent before, Bryant is in this thing for himself, forcing shots all night and caring little about the Lakers until he had a chance to pull out a miracle. Bryant is an ego-maniacal nightmare who has completely lost it, as his fit at the end of the game when Rafer Alston swiped the ball from him revealed.
2. The Rockets showed why they are so tantalizing with their talent and yet going to be so disappointing in the end. Houston nearly blew a 12-point lead in the final 1:30 before Shane Battier broke a 92-92 tie with a three-point prayer with under three seconds to go in the game. With the near-collapse in mind, why is Alston starting on this team? The guy is not a championship point guard.
3. Once the Portland Trail Blazers figure out to play defense, this team is going to be scary in years to come. LaMarcus Aldridge was outstanding down low, shooting 12-19 from the field for 27 points. Compare Aldridge with the low-post game of Tyrus Thomas (the player whom the Bulls acquired in exchange for the draft rights of Aldridge), and it’s frighteningly clear that Chicago let a great one slip away. If Chicago had Aldridge at the four-spot, the Bulls would be everyone’s pick out of the East. It’s hard to have this revisionist history at this point as General Manager John Paxson took a chance on Thomas being the best athlete in the 2006 NBA Draft, but it’s clear that Aldridge is light years ahead of Thomas in year two of their young careers.
Back to Portland, this team has so much young talent, it’s scary. Brandon Roy (who struggled against Bruce Bowen), Martell Webster, Travis Outlaw, Aldridge and Greg Oden could form a tough starting lineup for the next decade. Portland fans should be very encouraged by the Blazers’ effort against the defending champions tonight. The Blazers are back and loaded.
4. Deron Williams is the best point guard in the game. The guy just plays his game every night. Williams notched 24 points, eight assists and four rebounds tonight against Golden State, and once again controlled the flow of the game. Williams makes his teammates better and knows how to complement the unique skills of players like Carlos Boozer.
The Jazz also got outstanding efforts from two question marks. Andrei Kirilenko returned to his old form at least for one night, with nine points, nine rebounds, eight assists and five blocks. Second-year man Ronnie Brewer was more than solid with 18 points in 27 minutes. With the way the Jazz play the game and how Williams gets this team moving, there should be no doubt that Utah will be ahead of the more talented Denver Nuggets in the Northwest Division at the end of the year.
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One night does not obviously make a season, but some interesting developments took place on the court tonight during the San Antonio Spurs’ victory over the Portland Trail Blazers, the Houston Rockets’ nail-biter over the Los Angeles Lakers, and the Utah Jazz’s whipping of the Golden State Warriors.
