11-23-08 Recap

Celtics beat Raptors: Not normally a great offensive team, the Celtics put on quite a show on the road against a pretty good team. They shot 61.6% for the game, including 10-17 on three-pointers. If they could have turned the ball over a little less (18 in the game), their point total could have been staggering … It’s hard to highlight any great offensive performers when everybody does well, but some of the best were Ray Allen (8-12 shooting), Kevin Garnett (7-10), Kendrick Perkins (6-8), and Tony Allen (5-7) … Jermaine O’Neal left the game with another injury, and Raptors fans should be concerned. His games played totals for the past four seasons are 44, 51, 69, and 42, respectively.

76ers beat Warriors: Golden State could neither push the tempo nor score efficiently, two keys for them. Philadelphia played great defense, limiting the Warriors to a 89.0 efficiency for the game … Corey Maggette has missed a few games due to injury, but in the games he has played he’s been sub par for his standards. He’s never had a true shot percentage this low (55.0%) before, although the season is still very young … After a breakthrough game against the Clippers and a strong follow-up against the Blazers, Anthony Morrow has cooled down, shooting a combined 4-15 during the last two contests … Elton Brand earned his contract, scoring 23 and grabbing 12 rebounds.

Timberwolves beat Pistons
: Shocking not only because of who won, but by how easily they did it … The Timberwolves won every quarter. Their best quarter was the third, when they outscored the Pistons 32-18 to give themselves a 24-point advantage heading into the final period … Al Jefferson was solid, but the real stars for Minnesota were Ryan Gomes and Randy Foye. The two combined to make 18 of their 23 field goal attempts … Detroit’s backcourt struggled mightily. Richard Hamilton, Allen Iverson, and Rodney Stuckey combined to miss 22 of their 27 attempts.

Nuggets beat Bulls: Chicago had the lead going into the fourth quarter, but they ran out of gas at the end … Ben Gordon may have had an interesting offseason, but he’s still the same player. When he’s on, he’ll score in bunches, but he doesn’t contribute much else besides shooting … MVP of the game was Kenyon Martin. He went a perfect 10-10 for 26 points and added eight rebounds. He accomplished this in only 32 minutes of play … Carmelo Anthony wasn’t too shabby either. He finished two assists shy of a triple-double.

Lakers beat Kings: Sacramento kept this one surprisingly close, losing by just ten points … The Bobby point guard duo of Bobby Jackson and Bobby Brown went 15-26 for 36 points for the Kings … I had my doubts when Sacramento drafted Jason Thompson, but he’s had a great year so far. His PER is near the top among rookies … I have nothing to add regarding the Lakers, other than that they’re very, very good.

Picks
Milwaukee at Orlando: Magic
Philadelphia at Charlotte: 76ers
Houston at Miami: Rockets
San Antonio at Memphis: Spurs
Chicago at Utah: Jazz
Sacramento at Portland: Trail Blazers
New Orleans at L.A. Clippers: Hornets

Prediction Record: 109-58

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