11-25-08 Recap

Wizards beat Warriors: In Ed Tapscott’s debut as head coach, the Wizards came through with a pretty convincing win … Golden State scored 100 points, but that’s deceptive because the game was played at a fast pace. Their offensive efficiency was actually below average … It was also the debut for Jamal Crawford in a Warriors uniform. Crawford had a so-so game, dishing out seven assists but scoring just nine points on 4-10 shooting … Washington got contributions from its usual two stars, Caron Butler and Antawn Jamison, but also from a third player this time. Butler went for 35 points, eight rebounds, and six assists. Jamison has 25 points and an impressive six offensive rebounds (11 total). Andray Blatche may have had the best game of them all, though. He finished with 25 points (11-18 shooting), 12 rebounds (five offensive), five assists, and five blocks.

Cavaliers beat Knicks: Everybody spent the night discussing LeBron James’ future plans, but there was actually a basketball game played as well … In this basketball game I speak of, Cleveland gave New York quite a beating. The final margin was only 18 points, but the Cavs were up by 29 going into the fourth quarter … Thanks to such a big early lead, James did not have to play a ton of minutes (30). Even in limited time he finished with 26 points on 7-14 shooting … Tim Thomas and Al Harrington struggled in their Knicks debuts. The two combined to shoot 9-25 and commit seven turnovers.

Suns beat Thunder: The Suns needed a 29-17 fourth quarter and a strong finish to beat the one-win Thunder. Shaquille O’Neal didn’t play because it was the second night of a back-to-back, but the Suns probably thought they would take this one easily … When Kevin Durant is having one of his good nights, Oklahoma City is not a bad team. Tonight was one of those nights. Durant finished with 29 points, and made all eight of his free throws.

Mavericks beat Pacers: Indiana is a decent team, but their defense keeps letting them down … Their expected win percentage based on points scored and points allowed is better than their actual win percentage, so most likely they’ve just been unlucky so far … Danny Granger was able to play, and scored 22 points with nine rebounds … Jason Terry and Dirk Nowitzki scored plenty of points, but that’s no surprise. The surprise is Antoine Wright exploding for 24. His previous-high was ten and he has a PER of 4.69.

Lakers beat Nets
: New Jersey kept the game close at halftime, but the dominance of the Lakers was just too much … What makes Devin Harris so special is his ability to get to the free throw line. He’s currently the league leader in free throw attempts per game. He attempted 13 against Los Angeles … The Nets have a fleet of big men, but none of them could stop Pau Gasol or Andrew Bynum. Gasol made nine of his 12 shots on his way to 26 points and eight rebounds. Bynum finished with 15 and six … The Lakers shot over 50% as a team.

Picks:
Milwaukee at Atlanta: Hawks
Oklahoma City at Cleveland: Cavaliers
Charlotte at Toronto: Raptors
Golden State at Boston: Celtics
Orlando at Philadelphia: 76ers
New York at Detroit: Pistons
Phoenix at Minnesota: Suns
Indiana at Houston: Rockets
Chicago at San Antonio: Spurs
Memphis at Utah: Jazz
Miami at Portland: Trail Blazers
New Jersey at Sacramento: Kings
Denver at L.A. Clippers: Nuggets

Prediction Record: 118-61

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