The Round Up - March 24th, 2013.

Scott Halleran/Getty Images

The Young Guns: The Houston Rockets looked like that had everything under control heading into the fourth quarter with the lead, but they were playing against the San Antonio Spurs and you can never count them out for a late run to take the W. Which was exactly what they did except for the winning part. The Spurs down 6 with less than 6 minutes to play, would hold the Rockets scoreless for the next 4 minutes, to go on a 10-0 run to take a 4 point lead with a little more than a minute to go in regulation. But that all ended, when James Harden decided to take matters into his own hands, after hitting a pair of free throws to cut the lead to 1, he would hit the eventual game winning 17 footer for Houston's 3rd straight win. He finished with a game-high 29 points (6 of 16), 9 rebounds and 6 assists. San Antonio had two more chances to steal the win in the remaining 4.5 seconds, except that Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili would both miss in their attempts. In his second game back from a severe ankle sprain, Tony Parker led all Spurs with 23 points (7 of 13) and 7 dimes.

Flaming Engines: Without Dwyane Wade, the Miami Heat took on the fearsome Charlotte Bobcats in hopes to extend their winning streak to 26. Those hopes were soon dashed when the Bobcats opened the game up with a 19-8 run, but because they are the Bobcats, of course their lead would not last, as they watch the reigning NBA champions finish the game on a 101-58 run in the 32 point win. LeBron James registered for his 35th double double of the season, making it a career high. He had a near triple double, going off for 32 point on 11 of 14 shooting, 8 rebounds and 10 assists.

Too Close to the Sun: Despite Goran Dragic exploding for 31 points (10 of 19), 9 boards and 12 dimes for the Phoenix Suns, the lack of effort from everyone else was not enough to put away the Joe Johnson-less Brooklyn Nets on Sunday night. Down 12 at halftime, the Suns outscored the Nets 33 to 20 in the third, led by Wesley Johnson, who scored 17 of his total 21 points in the quarter to make this game watchable. But Phoenix would fall just short in the final 12 minutes, in the Brooklyn win. Deron Williams had 20 points (8 of 15), and 11 assists. His center, Brook Lopez added 21 points on 6 of 16 shooting and 5 rebounds.

A Few Notes: Do you know how bad things have gotten for the Minnesota Timberwolves? Even when they hit 50 percent (6 of 12) of their threes as the worst three point shooting team in the league and went 50 percent from the field, they still weren't able to beat the Bulls, getting out rebounded by 20 boards in the Chicago win. Carlos Boozer was among two other Bulls with a double double, getting his 34th of the season, with 19 points (9 of 15) and 12 rebounds. Nate Robinson came off the bench for 22 points (9 of 16) and 10 dimes in the absence of Joakim Noah. Derrick Williams led the Wolves with 28 points on 11 of 18 shooting and 5 rebounds.

The Utah Jazz threw another one away, in the loss to the Dallas Mavericks. A few more of these and they will be officially out of running for the 8th spot that currently belongs to the Los Angeles Lakers.

Fantasy Shoutouts: The Atlanta front court of Al Horford and Josh Smith caused all sorts of problems for the Bucks in the Hawks win. Horford had 24 points (10 of 16), 7 rebounds and 6 assists. Josh Smith added 23 points on 9 of 17 shooting and 9 boards. The Hawks ended the game on a 7-0 run in the final 40 seconds to complete the comeback victory.

Kevin Durant went for 24 points (10 of 17) and 10 rebounds, while Russell Westbrook chipped in with 21 points (9 of 18) and 9 dimes in the 20 point win over the Portland Trail Blazers. OKC held Portland to only 41 percent from the field, as the Western Conference Champs shot 52 percent on their home floor.

The Round Up - March 6th, 2013.

Layne Murdoch/NBAE/Getty Images

Don't Call it a Comeback: The New Orleans Hornets had 67 points in the first half, shot 57 percent from the field and even had a comfortable 25 point lead at one point against the Los Angeles Lakers, but everything fell apart in the 4th quarter. Up 18 heading into the last period, the Hornets did not expect much of a fight from the Lakers. If only they knew how wrong they were. For next 12 minutes, the men in purple held their opponents to only 9 points, while they go off for 33. 18 of which belonged to none other than Kobe Bryant, who once again willed his team to victory with 42 points (14 of 21), 7 boards and 12 assists. The Hornets could not find a bucket at all, going scoreless for the last 6 minutes (0 of 12 from the field). Dwight Howard (20 points and 15 rebounds) came up with a huge block late that led to a Kobe breakaway dunk, to complete a 20 to nothing run by the Lakers to end the game.

The Lakers weren't the only ones that fought back from a huge deficit last night. The Memphis Grizzlies, down 17 points in the third quarter against the Portland Trail Blazers came back to take the win without their All-Star, Zach Randolph (left ankle sprain). Marc Gasol led the charge with a game high 23 points (10 of 17) and 12 rebounds. Mike Conley added 20 points on 7 of 11 shooting and handed out 6 dimes. Blazers' rookie, Damian Lillard scored a team-high 20 points (8 of 16) in the losing effort.

Green Machine: Kevin Garnett passed Wes Unseld for 10th all-time on the NBA rebounding list with his 10 boards and 18 points (7 of 10) in the victory over the Indiana Pacers. Indiana started off hot with Roy Hibbert going off for 12 points and 7 rebounds in the first quarter, but dude would go scoreless in the rest of the game, as he watches his team shoot a horrendous 36 percent from the field. Boston, who shot a little better at 41 percent, executed a brilliant play in the final seconds to end the game on a 11-0 run.

Intrastate Battle: The Miami Heat fought off a 20 point comeback from the Orlando Magic to extend their winning streak to 16 games. The Big 3 combined for a total of 67 of Heat's 97 points. Dwyane Wade had 24 points (10 of 16) and 6 rebounds. While LeBron James went for 26 points (7 of 14),  including the game winning drive to crush the souls of the Magic. In his second game against Miami in this season, Nikola Vucevic got his second 20 and 20 game, scoring 25 points on 11 of 16 shooting and grabbing 21 boards to test the size deficit theory.

A Few Notes: The Charlotte Bobcats have dropped 8 straight games with the loss to the Brooklyn Nets last night. The Cats had a 10 point lead in the first half, but would come out of the second, empty handed, as the Nets held them to only 9 points in the third. Outscoring them 56 to 25 in the second half. Deron Williams has looked great since the All-Star break. He finished with 20 points (7 of 12) and 9 rebounds.

Klay Thompson knocked down the go ahead three in the remaining 15 seconds to seal the game against the Sacramento Kings. Things weren't exactly pretty, down at the Oracle Arena, as both teams shot under 40 percent from the field in the 87-83 Golden State win.

Dirk Nowitzki went for a perfect 3 of 3 from the field for 7 points in the 4th quarter to get the W for his Dallas Mavericks against the Houston Rockets in the Texas Showdown. The German sniper shot 9 of 16 for 22 points and snagged 5 rebounds in the process. Shawn Marion chipped in another 22 points. The Rockets had two chances to tie/win the game down the stretch, but James Harden failed to connect on both attempts. The Beard ended up with 28 points on 5 of 17 shooting and 9 assists. Chandler Parson helped him out with 23 points, going 5 of 8 from three.

The Cleveland Cavaliers outscored the Utah Jazz in the final quarter, 36 to 25 to defeat their opponents at home. Kyrie Irving put on an one man show late, going off for 11 of his total 20 points (7 of 20) to drag his team to another rare victory. The Jazz desperately needed this game to cushion off the Lakers from their 8th seed. But without Al Jefferson, and much help, Gordon Hayward's 25 points (8 of 17) and 7 assists was not enough. The Jazz have won only one of their last 5 games since the trade deadline. Is this an omen?

Fantasy Shoutouts: These two Atlanta Hawks have been on roll as of late. Jeff Teague had 27 points on 10 of 15 shooting and 11 dimes in the win over the Philadelphia 76ers, while Al Horford added 21 points (10 of 17), 12 boards and 6 assists.

In the point trading convention between the New York Knicks and Detroit Pistons, Raymond Felton led all scorers with 26 points (10 of 15), 6 rebounds and 4 assists. Amare Stoudemire came off the bench for a season-high 22 points (8 of 12) and 9 boards. Jose Calderon of the Pistons, was in a sharing mood. Dishing out 16 assists to go with his 10 points in the loss to the Melo-less (knee) Knicks.

Blake Griffin went off for his third career triple double against Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday night. The high flying time traveler had 23 points (9 of 14), 11 rebounds and a career high 11 dimes in the win. Jamal Crawford threw more than just a between the legs pass, he got 25 points on 11 of 16 shooting in just 26 minutes of play. The Clippers also dunked a lot.

Highlights

Yawn: ZZZzzzzz.

The Round Up - January 29th, 2013.

Stats Rundown + Short Recaps

Lights Out: In the absence of Stephen Curry, Andrew Bogut and Harrison Barnes, the Golden State Warriors defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers on 69 percent three point shooting, they were 11 of 16 from beyond the arc. Klay Thompson led the way with a career high 32 points (6 of 8 from three) and 7 rebounds. Jarrett Jack added 26 points and 12 assists. Unfortunately for Cleveland, their savior, Kyrie Irving played with a cold and was unable to drag his team to victory.

Buck Wild: Brandon Jennings must have caught the All Star snub disease, because he could not miss tonight. After scoring only 4 points in the first quarter, Jennings went on a 16-0 run by himself in the second, knocking down a three in four straight possessions. He finished with a game-high 30 points (11 of 19), 2 rebounds and 6 assists. In spite of the 27 point loss, the Pistons were able to find a bright light in Andre Drummond. The rookie from UCONN had 18 points and 18 rebounds off the bench, making him the youngest to ever achieve this feat. Maybe Lawrence Frank will finally give him some quality minutes, I mean how can you not, after watching him grab a double double in 11 minutes.

New Formula: So apparently if Kobe passes the basketball, the Lakers will win whether they play defense or not. According to a small sample size of 3 games, which the Lakers have won, when Kobe has 10+ assists, the team is undefeated. Okay, enough of the sarcasm. This is Kobe's first time since 2009 to have 3 straight 10+ assists games. He has combined for 39 assists over this period, which is the most he has had in a 3 game stretch. Just so you know, we now live in a world where Steve Nash grabs more rebounds than Dwight Howard, Dwight Howard scores more points than Kobe and Kobe hands out more dimes than Nash. It's confusing, I know. Eric Gordon had a great game, he got 25 points on 7 of 12 shooting, and 6 of 8 from the three in the Hornets' (Pelicans) 30th loss of the season.

Don't Call it a Comeback: Down 21 points in the third quarter, the Portland Trail Blazers managed to put together a late run to comeback for the victory against the Dallas Mavericks. Dirk Nowitzski had his best game of the season last night with 26 points (11 of 21), 4 rebounds and 4 assists. However, he would get shown up by the double headed dragon of Portland. LaMarcus Aldridge had 29 points (12 of 20), 13 rebounds and two of the most important shots in the game, while J.J Hickson went for 26 points and 15 rebounds. The last 30 seconds of this game is absolutely bonkers. Words can not describe how crazy it was, so it is better if you just watch it below.

Jamal Crawford froze Wesley Matthews with the crossover.

Poor Wesley Matthews falls victim to Jamal Crawford's deceptive dribbling that he never practices. You knew he got him bad when you see Matthews's face on the replay. You are not doing yourself any favors by complaining after getting embarrassed like that. Just take it like a man. At least you came out with the victory against the Clippers.

The Round Up - January 26th, 2013.

Stats Rundown

Bomber: Just when you thought the Toronto Raptors learned something about close games after beating the Orlando Magic on a buzzer beater, they dropped another again. The man responsible? Kyrie Irving, had a game-high 32 points on 13 of 26 shooting, 4 rebounds, 5 assists, a 100 body twisting lay-ups and the game winning shot from long distance. This sophomore has now scored more than 30 points in 4 of his last 5 games. Also this was his 5th game winner, in his 85th career game. Way to make your fellow 20 year olds feel bad. I am super jealous.

 

Shutdown: The Philadelphia 76ers held the New York Knicks to only 35 percent from the field and 4 of 27 from the three in the win. Both J.R. Smith and Jason Kidd failed to register a single point in this game. For the Sixers, Jrue Holiday dropped a career high 35 points (16 of 25), 5 boards, and 6 dimes to show the world why he deserves to be an All Star.

Honorable Mention: To Tony Parker's 31 points on 13 of 17 shooting, 4 rebounds, 7 assists, and 2 steals in the victory over the Phoenix Suns. If he didn't play for the Spurs, he would be more than just an All Star.

Flipping the Script: The Cleveland Cavaliers, Washington Wizards and Charlotte Bobcats all won last night. It is a miracle.

The Washington Wizards defeated the Chicago Bulls to go 7-3 in their last 10 games. Surprisingly 5 of the wins actually came from projected playoff teams.

Despite shooting a rare 50 percent from the three, the Minnesota Timberwolves would fall to the Charlotte Bobcats. Led by Kemba Walker, who had 25 points (8 of 17), 8 rebounds and 8 assists, the Bobcats managed to keep to game close for Gerald Henderson to hit the game winner to snap their 16 game home losing streak (2nd longest in NBA history).

What a crazy possession.

Your Mighty Beardness: James Harden is doing pretty well as a Rocket. He had 29 points on 7 of 15 shooting, and 7 assists to weather Deron Williams's hot first quarter, where he dropped 20 points (7 of 7). But it didn't matter, because DWill would only score 7 points in the next 3 quarters and Houston would come out on top.

Don't Call it a Comeback: The Portland Trail Blzers went on a 10-0 run late in the game to comeback to beat the Los Angeles Clippers. Nicholas Batum got his second career triple double with 20 points (7 of 15), 10 rebounds, and 12 assists. Blake Griffin on the other hand, got 24 points, 8 rebounds, 10 assists, 4 steals and one of the most spectacular in game dunks in NBA history.

Highlights

Aerial Assault: The Denver Nuggets can run really fast, and score 28 more points than the Sacramento Kings.

Hot Potato: The Blazers shares the basketball very well.

Barnes and Poster: Harrison Barnes did this, shot 2 of 3 from the field and Mark Jackson still only gave him 13 minutes of playing time. Stop clipping the wings of the Black Falcon.

The Round Up - January 13th, 2013.

Stats Rundown

Kevin Durant and LaMarcus Aldridge both scored 33 points against each other. Unfortunately, in the game of basketball, there is a loser, and it happened to be the Portland Trailer Blazers. KD's 33 points on 12 of 21 shots, 4 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 blocks snapped his opponent's 9 game winning streak at the Rose Garden (home). On the other side, LMA shot 15 of 26 from the field, missing the biggest shot late in the fourth quarter to get his team the victory.

Honorable Mention: To David West's 27 points (11 of 19), 6 rebounds and 3 assist in the loss to the Brooklyn Nets, who are now 8-1 under P.J. Carlesimo. Sample size, people.

Boards: Dwight Howard returned from his shoulder injury to help the Lakers get their first win in 2013. He went for 22 points (9 of 11), 14 rebounds and 2 assists against the Cleveland Cavaliers. Before the start of this game, Mike D'Antoni said the Lakers season starts tonight (last night). Well, if you think a win over the second worst offense in the league can change things around, let's just say your job security isn't in the safest situation. You guys won even though you had a total of 22 turnovers, so that definitely doesn't say a lot about how bad your opponent was.

Time Machine User: Tim Duncan continues to be ridiculous, he had 12 points (4 of 8), 9 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals and 7 blocks in the victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves. He was 2 steals shy of the entering the short list of players that have achieved a 5 x 5, but at this stage of his career, a win is a win.

He must be learning from Manu.

Speaking of Manu, he injured his left hamstring in 12 minutes of play, it's nothing serious, but it is expected for him to miss at least a game.

Oh Canada: After winning 10 of the their last 13 games, the Toronto Raptors returned to their old self. Against the Milwaukee Bucks, Toronto started off the first quarter with a 20 point lead, only to allow the Bucks to outscore them 31 to 15 in the second and 33 to 18 in the fourth. The injury to Jose Calderon, who started off hot and Amir Johnson during the game shifted the momentum to Milwaukee, those two would later enter the game, but fail to get the W.

Weathered the Storm: Despite Stephen Curry and Harrison Barnes combining for 50 points and 12 of 15 from downtown, Denver somehow found a way to stay in reaching distance. The Nuggets would outscore the Warriors 37 to 18 in the 4th quarter to comeback from behind for the victory.

Highlights

Trailer: The Manimal is a special species that thrives on preying the basketball rim in the air.

Box Out: Or else Alonzo Gee will put you in the top 10.

Stuffed: In his first start, DeAndre Liggins was huge for the OKC Thunder, too bad we will all remember him as the guy that got his dunk blocked into the rim.

The Round Up - January 10th, 2013.

Stats Rundown

Instead of the usual lists of stats, I have decided to summarize the three games on last night into digestible bits.

New York Knicks vs. Indiana Pacers: Paul George has continued his impressive play as of late, his 24 points on 10 of 24 shooting might not be the most efficient but he got 11 rebounds, 5 assists and 6 steals to take down the Melo-less Knicks. Carmelo was suspended for confronting Kevin Garnett after Monday's loss, he was reportedly at grocery stores burning down boxes of Cheerios. The Pacers held the Knicks to a season low in points in the 81-67 win. Nobody scored for New York except for the dude below. Too bad, he went for 25 on 29 shots.

Via: @cjzero

Dallas Mavericks vs. Sacramento Kings: Things are not going well for the Sacramento Kings lately. If you haven't heard, their incapable owners, the Maloofs are trying to sell the team to Seattle buyers for approximately 500 million dollars. Nothing is finalized yet, but the deal seems to be done. It sucks for a city with such a dedicated fan base to lose their team for the benefit of another, who also went through a similar situation. Back to the game, in a situation with high stakes, DeMarcus Cousins stepped up for the challenge. The Kentucky product led his team with 29 points (9 of 14), 9 rebounds and 4 assists, in the unfortunate loss. The game did go into overtime, thanks to a huge three from Isiah Thomas.

The bad news was that Cousins was ejected from the game for an inadvertent elbow to Vince Carter. It was definitely undeserving, especially with the game on the line. There is definitely unfair bias towards the big man and I am not so sure what he did to earn it in the first place.

Time Machine User: Despite the elbow to his face, Vince Carter played like he was back in 2001. He came off the bench for 23 points and 5 rebounds to help the Mavs avoid a 11 straight loss in overtime, which would be the highest in NBA history.

Miami Heat vs. Portland Trail Blazer: The Blazers came back in the 4th quarter to beat the Heat 92-90 at the Rose Garden. Miami led through out most of this game, until a psycho Nicholas Batum went on a run of his own. He stole the basketball twice, both ending in points in critical situations to fuel the comeback. The French man went for a game high 28 points on 8 of 15 shooting, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, and 2 steals. Down 3 with a minute left in the clock, Portland desperately needed someone to be their hero and Wesley Matthews was exactly that. He knocked 2 back to back three pointers to take the lead, and thanks to Mario Chalmers for missing the game winning shot, the Blazers take the win.

This is what Dwyane Wade does now instead of playing defense. Referees are not liking the new him. (Via: @cjzero)

Shout Out: To Chris Bosh's 29 points (13 of 18), 4 assists and 4 blocks.

Sager Suit: Craig has toned it down a little, but he kept the crazy on the tie. (Via: @jose3030)

Indiana Pride: Here's a taste of that great Reggie Miller color commentary. Everything he says makes sense.

Highlights

Freight Train: For you safety, please don't chase after LeBron James in transition. Trust me, the bad outweighs the good.

Unorthodox: J.R. Smith can jump off which ever leg he wants to and dunk the ball with which ever arm he desires because he can.

The Round Up - January 7th, 2013.

Stats Rundown

LaMarcus Aldridge dropped 27 points, grabbed 10 rebounds, and handed out 5 assists in the overtime win against the Orlando Magic. For the last few years, this guy has been consistently posting up 20 and 10 every night, but his effort always goes unnoticed due to the lack of success. Fortunately the arrival of Damian Lillard and growth of Nicholas Batum gives him a team that he finally deserves. Portland will be a fun team to watch in the next couple of seasons.

Missed 6: What does J.J Redick and Gordon Hayward have in common? Well, they both missed only six shots in their respective 27+ point games. Redick went 6 of 10 from the 3, scored 29 points and dished out 5 assists. Gordon Hayward had 27 points (4 of 5 from the three), 6 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 blocks in the Utah Jazz victory over the Dallas Mavericks.

Hayward needs more playing time, he is solid on both ends of the floor and will reward you with plays like this. I know nobody keeps count, but aside from LeBron James, and Kenneth Faried, this guy might lead the league in transition blocks.

Grizzly Surprise:Wayne Ellington first made his name in the blowout victory over the Heat at the beginning of the season, but he has been quiet ever since. That was until last night, where he shot 6 of 7 from the three, and scored 26 points on 11 shots, he only missed once.

Dimes: Jameer Nelson has become the Orlando Magic' all time leader in assists with 2,777. Not to take anything away from Jameer, but it can't be too difficult when you played with a healthy Dwight Howard early in your career.

Rookie Watch: Bradley Beal has earned 3 consecutive Rookie Watch honors and deservedly so. This is by far his best game in terms of contribution. He had 22 points (7 of 17), 5 rebounds, 4 assists and the game winning shot to embarrass Kevin Durant in his hometown.

Time Machine User: I think every Boston Celtic fan should thank me because ever since I uploaded my piece on their problems, not only have they fixed those said problems, they are now also on a 3 game winning streak. Paul Pierce went off for another big night at the MSG, going for 23 points (10-18), 3 rebounds, 6 assists and a couple of daggers down the stretch to get the victory.

The Celtics got into the heads of the Knicks in this game, especially Carmelo, who shot 6 for 26 from the field. Apparently Kevin Garnett said some things to cause Melo to go into the Boston locker room for a yelling match. Later, he was filmed waiting for Garnett in front of the team bus. Nothing physically actually happened off court, but people on twitter said (not legitimate sources) KG made sexual remarks (involved cheerios, or something) about Melo's wife during the game. 

Smash: J.R. Smith and Tyson Chandler executes the perfect pick and roll.

Headbands: The New York Knick leads the league in using head bands to cover up cuts on players' heads. (Via: @BeyondtheBuzzer)

Bizarro World: First, the Washington Wizards beat the Oklahoma City Thunder, making them probably the best championship contending team killers. They are 2-2 against the Heat and Thunder, 3-26 versus the rest of the league.

Then we have the Chicago Bulls shooting lights out from behind the arc. For a team that usually makes 5 threes a game at a rate of 36 percent, they went for 10 of 14 against the Cavs last night, and 71 percent of them fell. It is a miracle.

Jokes: Every single tweet from Kobe has been gold so far. He even addressed the rumored fights with Dwight Howard in the most twitter way possible, via photo. (Via: @kobebryant)

Pop Death Stares: You can already guess that Coach Pop doesn't sit well with losses. (Via: @HPbasketball)

Don't be like Pop, enjoy your morning.

Amir Johnson got away with a ridiculous Double Dribble.

From the National Post:

“You can’t teach that,” Johnson said after the game. “You can’t teach that at all. I think I sold it with my pump fake.”

 This is incredible, but stranger things have happened in Toronto.

The Round Up - January 1st, 2013.

Stats Rundown

He might take a questionable amount of unadvised 3 pointers, but Josh Smith does a lot of other things right. J-Smooth had 23 points (11 of 20 shooting), 13 rebounds, 7 assists, 3 steals and 4 blocks in the victory over the New Orleans Hornets. To add to his amazing line, he also grabbed his 5000th rebound last night, get him to the All Star game people.

Honorable Mention: To Carmelo Anthony's 45 points on only 24 attempts, 7 rebounds and 4 assists. Even though the Knicks lost, Melo couldn't miss shot in the game. Just watch.

Dishin': Jrue Holiday is putting on a solid All Star campaign, 26 points (10 of 19), and 10 assists. Despite the horrible start he got off to, he is now averaging 19 and 9, showing everyone that he is one of the best guards in the East.

Back court Vibes: Holiday's partner in Philadelphia didn't do too bad himself, Evan Turner got 22 points, 13 rebounds, and 5 assists to carve up the imaginary Lakers defense.

Rookie Watch: Bradley Beal is finally showing off his shooting stroke, the kid went for 22 points (7 of 16), 4 rebounds and 2 assists in another Wizards loss, because they are the Wizards.

Damian Lillard might not have gotten the honor, but he did do this to the New York Knicks.

Time Machine User: Kobe Bryant is going to kill someone if the Lakers continue to struggle. His 36 points (14 of 29), and 6 rebounds was a waste of effort and it will continue to be, unless someone, everyone is playing defense.

Clyde Suit: Mean and Green. (Via: @jose3030)

WTF: The Madison Square Garden held a baby race during the halftime. Not exactly sure how to feel about this. (Via: @blazermb)

It's Over: The Los Angeles Clippers' 17 game winning streak has come to an end at the Pepsi Center in Denver.

Highlights

Vinsanity: Vince Carter still got some bounce in his old, old, brittle legs.

What's luck got to do with it: Jodie Meeks is livin' on a prayer.

Feed the Beast: I know we all want some of whatever Javale McGee is cooking. This his first made 3 in the NBA, and we can expect more because the Andrew Bynum itch is strong.

Jared Jeffries sings the Greatest Hits.

This compilation of songs sang by a defensively minded forward with no offensive skill set had the potential to be a great album. That was until he butchered the 'N Sync song. Completely unacceptable and an absolute deal breaker. He had the high pitch voice to sing it too, but just couldn't nail the moves and emotion in the song. People just don't know how understand how good 'N Sync was until they try to cover their songs. They are the best pop boy band to be ever assembled and their existence was a blessing. (Sike, I am just pulling your leg, or not.)

The Round Up - December 22nd, 2012.

Stats Rundown

Via: @blakegriffin - This was from yesterday, too crazy to not post. New brand logo?

If James Hardens wants to score, all he has to do is put his beard out in front, make contact with his defender, (while making sure they get a mouthful of hair) and he will get free throws. At least that was it looked like in every game. He had another efficient night, going for 31 points on 13 shots, 8 assists, and 3 steals in the 30 minutes of Grizzly butt whooping.

You Got Mail: LeBron James ties Karl Malone for the third longest streak of 20+ points games to start the season at 24. His 30 points, 9 rebounds and 7 assists in the victory over the Utah Jazz extends his zero personal foul streak to 6.

Block Party: Robin Lopez's hair alone blocked 6 shots, the rest of body had 24 points (11 of 16) and 11 rebounds in the loss to the Indiana Pacers.

Rookie Watch: Future ROY, Damian Lillard got 25 points (7 of 13), 7 assists and the game clinching jumper against the struggling Phoenix Suns.

Time Machine User: World Class Chucker, Kobe Bryant scored 34 points on 41 shots (Made only 16), and somehow only got one free throw attempt. For fun, you can guess how many Kobe-WTF-ref faces made over the span of his 44 minutes of playing time. He also had 10 rebounds and 5 assists in the overtime victory against the Golden State Warriors.

Great Canadian: Steve Nash returns with a horrible haircut, but was soon forgiven after hitting the dagger to seal the win in overtime. He finished with 12 points (5 of 8 and perfect from the three) and 9 assists. Steve Nash makes basketball really fun and here's prove:

Bucked Up: No one on the Milwaukee Bucks had double digit points, except for Monta Ellis, who scored 37 points in the loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Please Come In: The Denver Nuggets were invited to score 78 of their total 110 points in Charlotte Bobcats' paint. I was told after the game, that the Bobcats were gracious hosts and the Nuggets would love to visit again.

Grinch Clutch: The Houston Rockets mascot got Salmonella. Yes, their mascot is a giant teddy bear. (Via: @talkhoops)

Skates: Masked Kyrie Irving gets rid of his defender to make a pass to maskless Tyler Zeller.

Unibrow Alert: There was a unibrow sighting in New Orleans. He was caught dunking backwards.

Ball on Goggles: Kirk Hinrich may I ask you how many successful blocks you average a game to make you believe that this would be effective in stopping a dunk? Your 0.never sure doesn't think so.

A Quick NBA Round Up - December 13th, 2012.

Stats Rundown

This is Carmelo Antony's world and we are just living it in. At least it was, until he got injured and had to leave in the third quarter after only playing 23 minutes. He finished the game with 30 points, 22 of which was scored in the 1st quarter. You can watch him score in the video below or settle for the Lakers' impenetrable defense, which is just as good and available in the exact same video.

SHEEEDDD: Scored his 16,000th point on a "Ball Don't Lie" less night. Very disappointed.

Rookie Watch: Damian Lillard is going to win ROY, 29 points (11 of 22 shooting), 7 rebounds and 6 assists in the victory over the San Antonio Spurs.

Time Machine User: Kobe Bryant continues to dominate in the losing streak. 31 points, 10 rebounds and 6 assists in the loss to the New York Knicks.

Old Buddies: Reunited and it feels so good. Both our lower bodies are so screwed.
(Via:@marcel_mutoni)

Sager Suit: That is just too much, too soon. Let the rookie adjust, Craig.

WTF, are you wearing dawg. (Via: @cjzero)

Skates: One of the billion times Damian Lillard dropped Patty Mills. (Via: @cjzero)

It happens again, Patty should either get new shoes or learn to play Tony Parker defense.

Emulating Legends: Kobe Bryant paid tribute to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

Roy Hibbert pulled his shorts up to hide blood on his jersey to stay in the game.

Normally, when a player has blood on himself or jersey, the officials will stop the game to get you cleaned up. If you don't get done in the 30 seconds they issue, the coach can call a 20 second timeout, at worst, they will bring in a substitute.

It was a critical situation, the Pacers, who once led by 18 points were pushed back in the corner by the Blazer's 21-9 run. Roy Hibbert did not want sit because it would mean Ian Mahinmi coming back in and that is not happening. So when no one was watching, he pulled up his shorts to tug in the part of his jersey that was stained by Damian Lillard's blood. Everything worked out and the Pacers got the win.

He didn't go full Urkel, but it sure was weird look for a 7 footer. The plan didn't actually work, well it did in that sequence, but the refs caught him in the next possession and he had to get cleaned up anyways.

 Source: BDL

The Round Up - December 3rd, 2012.

Stats Rundown:

Blake Griffin scored a season high 30 points (14 of 20) and 11 rebounds in the victory over the Utah Jazz.

Honorable Mentions: To LaMarcus Aldridge's 25 points (12 of 17), 13 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 blocks. Mo Williams had 20 points (7 of 11) and 12 assists against the Clippers.

Boards: Can someone box out Andy please, Varejao got the usual 18 rebounds (9 Offensive), to go with his 17 points, 2 assists, 3 steals and 1 block in the win over the Detroit Pistons. Get him to the All Star game.

Rookie Watch: Damian Lillard didn't shoot too well, 6 of 16 from the field and still got 24 points, 3 rebounds and 9 assists in the overtime victory against the Charlotte Bobcats.

Damaged: Look below to see why Ronny seems so troubled. (Via: @cjzero)

Deja Vu: Jeremy Evans reminds Ronny Turiaf of what it feels like to be dunked on. Poor Ronny just recently recovered from the preseason trauma, now he has to go to the therapists to stop the nightmares from recurring.

Franchise Records: Something tells me that the Los Angeles Clippers records weren't set that high. Jamal Crawford just shattered the consecutive free throws made streak with 45.

Game Winning Flop: I guess just being part of the Clippers rubbed off on Chauncey Billups, but if you ask him about that play, it was just veteran smarts. (Via: @BeckleyMason)

Creativity: What is with the self passes nowadays? Remember the good ol' days where you pass off the backboards. This must be the future, we are using the opponent's body now.

Don't Call it a Comeback: The Portland Trailer Blazers came back from a 18 point deficit in the last five minutes of the game to bring it into another overtime, where they beat the Charlotte Bobcats by 6.

As expected, the Toronto Raptors do not possess the ability to win close games, even after cutting a 17 point lead to one in the fourth quarter with 2 minutes to go, they still fell to the Denver Nuggets.

Ben "Threes" Gordon: His 29 points (9 of 16 shooting, 8 of 12 from three), 3 rebounds and 5 assists against the Blazers got him to the 10,000th point mark.

Innocent Bystander: The Bobcats were channeling their inner Jordan today, how else am I suppose to explain this Byron Mullens dunk on LaMarcus Aldridge.

Magic vs. Lakers will be uploaded soon, as well as Clippers vs. Jazz. Stay tuned.

The Feed: Los Angeles Clippers vs. Portland Trail Blazers [11/08/12]

Recap:

The Los Angeles Clippers holds off the Portland Trail Blazers 103 to 90, after nearly blowing a 25 point lead they built in the first half. Chris Paul led the way with 21 points, 6 assists and DeAndre Jordan added another 21 (8 for 10 shooting) to go with his 8 rebounds.

After shooting only 35 percent (LA shot 58 percent) from the field in the first 2 quarters, the Blazers rallied a 18 to 4 run in the third. Nicholas Batum sparked the charge with 12 of his 23 points in the quarter, his defense on Chris Paul helped limit their opponent to only 17 points, while Portland went for 32 points on 71 percent shooting.

The Blazers managed to get as close as 4 points behind, but Jamal Crawford came off the bench with a 25 point performance that iced the game. Fatigue settled on the Portland starters in the fourth, with the lowest scoring bench in the league, Terry Stotts was forced to overplay them. Unfortunately the production failed to maintained. The Clippers closed the game with a 14 to 3 run that rendered the Blazer's comeback effort pointless.

Offensive End:

Los Angeles got whatever they wanted in this game. DeAndre Jordan looked great, using his length to score over LaMarcus Aldridge. As always, the Clippers go to the post,  ran Chris Paul pick and rolls that allows him to dissect the floor and utilized ball movement to take advantage of Blazer's rotations.

Portland plays an uptempo style, they space the floor very well but they weren't able to hit shots early and it buried them body-deep in the first half. LaMarcus Aldridge had a lot of opportunities, with DeAndre Jordan on him. The Clippers big man likes to stay in the paint to help, with Lillard's dribble penetration to kick the ball out, the All Star should have knocked the open jumpers down.

Defensive End:

Before they got lazy the Clippers played great defense, they completely stopped Portland in the paint, holding their foe to 30 points, to their 56. With their size, they like to pack the paint, so they are slower to get out to the shooters.

The Blazers only played defense in the third quarter. In the rest of the periods, their rotations were slow, and were just getting blown by every time.

Rookie Watch:

Damian Lillard didn't do bad against Chris Paul, scored 16 points and handed out 4 assists.

Meyer Leonard dunked a lot, got 8 points and 6 rebounds.

Highlight of the Night: Meyers Leonard might have read the instructions to get a NBA highlight.
Step 1: Find Ronny Turiaf.
Step 2: Dunk on him.