On the darkest night of the year

I watched a lot of damn games. Good fun.

Dallas is looking very good. LeBron had a bad game, and the Heat have many serious holes, but the Mavs pretty much controlled the game, despite some Heat flurries. Dirk was schooling Bosh so badly in the 1st quarter. Chandler is big and aggressive. Kidd, Terry, Butler and Barea form a potent perimeter. They have great depth. Serious stuff.

Miami, on the other hand, has major problems when the trot out Carlos Arroyo for anything but garbage time. That guy is doing nothing. Bosh's defensive presence (or lack thereof) is another major issue. Big Z has actually been serviceable in the middle, and the return of Mike Miller will help, but Miami still has work to do. But check this: During the Miami broadcast, they were hawking tocket packages to upcoming games. The Heat have available tickets. Who knew?

I really like the Hawks switchign Al Horford to power forward. He is going to go off. What this means for Josh Smith remains to be seen. He is sorta in that Kirilenko-Marion family of effective undersized fours who struggle at the three.

Does Gilbert's arrival mean the end of the Jameer Nelson era? I am not a Nelson fan, but I am not sure Gil should be running the show. Arenas is better than Nelson in every aspect of the game. But considering that Orlando brought back Turkoglu to presumbaly recreate the magic that lead to the Magic's magic moment of losing the in the Finals, my guess is that they will want the ball in Hedo's hands for a good portion of the game. Then factor is the mega-addition of Jason Richardson and his ability to score, and then the main game plan of getting it to Dwight, having a run-the-offense type liken Nelson may make sense for the Magic. Will that make sense to Gilbert? Losing the dead weight of Rashard Lewis was a great move for Orlando, but Arenas in Orlando is not necessarily smooth sailing.

LaMarcus Aldridge is going off. The last one standing of the Blazers three pillars of future glory, LaMarcus is emerging as a true force on both sides of the ball. Tough times in Blazerville, but there is still some fight in P-Town. Wes Matthews is a gem. Rumors are some teams are inquiring about Roy. Crazy as this sounds, if Roy cannot CARRY the franchise, the Blazers should move him as soon as possible. Look how Milwaukee is still holding the bag for Michael Redd. Breaks my heart to even tender these thoughts, but the NBA is unforgiven, and one hallmark of greatness is health.

By the by, with Yao out and likely done, who is the NBA's tallest player?

Warriors Wolves Worthwhile

Good game in Oaktown featuring the streaky Warriors and the promising Wolves. By record, neither team has much to be proud about. But this game had great action and energy. Plus the subplots: Heat reunion with Dorell Wright squaring up with Michael Beasley, Monte Ellis 48 minute offensive masterpiece, Darko’s career high 25 points, the lithe David Lee battling the burly Kevin Love, the return of Johnny Flynn and Martell Webster and the reawakening of Andris Biedrins. Good stuff. Ellis was silly, with all sorts of acrobatic drives and dagger jumpers. What a dynamo! Darko was something is his own right. Great presence in the post, hard cuts in the lane and a hook shot that looked damn good. Sort of poetic justice that he is on Ironwood’s juggernaut.

I caught a good bit of the Houston-Sacramento game, and all I can say is that the Kings look like they are almost ready to pack it in for the season. I mean, they quit playing. The Rockets were on a roll, no doubt. But, jeez, it was sad. Especially in contrast to the battling Warriors and Wolves. Paul Westphal looks 100 years old.

I am looking forward to the Celtics-Knicks game. Great to see a little excitement back in MSG.

First quarter already

KG is going on a rampage right now. Several young bigs had their way with Kevin last season, and they made it known. Now with his knee feeling better, KG has come to collect some tolls.

Historically speaking, it should be no surprise that the Clippers suck so bad so early despite having several exciting young players. Yet I am surprised. The other L.A. has some serious juice. The just always lose. The absence starters Baron Davis and Chris Kaman to early season injuries explains a lot. What is not so clear why Davis is coming off the bench behind Eric Bledsoe. Davis is a flawed player in that he is aging and not in top shape. But starting Bledsoe is a joke.

Miami is beginning to settle in.

I cannot tell if Orlando should be taken seriously. Ever since Rashard Lewis stopped taking whatever enhancements he got popped for, he has been miserable. Vince is old. Jameer is to today's young pgs what Juwan Howard was to the generation of power forwards that came into the League from 95-97.

I like Chicago quite a bit. Joakim Noah is among my favorites to watch. And that D Rose. Whew. Help me. The Boozehound will help a lot in the regular season. Guard long bigs in the post season is where the money's at.

L.A.. Uptight. City in the smog. They are good, though.

I am surprised that Memphis has stumbled so much early. O.J. not playing much. Anyone know the low down? I have yet to watch them play. Houston is a team I have watched several times, and likewise, I am surprised they have not won more.

San Antonio is playing brilliantly. High level execution by veterans, with Timmy picking his spots on his offense in order to hold down the Spurs D. Tony Parker is rolling. Pop has got a team. As does Rick Carlisle. Tyson Chandler has found a good home in the middle of Dallas's high octane attack. Dirk is a wonder.

A little praise for Danny Ainge. Two huge sidenote swipes in the acquisition of the KG and Ray Allen: Giving up the Celtics' best young player in Al Jefferson while holding onto to Rajon Rondo, and trading the rights of #5 pick Jeff Green for #35 pick Glen Davis. Davis is friggin dope.

TWolves Continuing to Explore New Markets and Create Excitement

From SBNation:

On December 8, the Minnesota Timberwolves will play host to the Oklahoma City Thunder at the Target Center. The team has also chosen that night to celebrate Jewish Heritage Night. In conjunction with this, the team is going to attempt to set the Guinness World Record for the most people spinning dreidels at the same time.

In addition to the attempt at the dreidel-spinning record, there will be a Hannukah fun zone, kosher food, Jewish games and sing-alongs, and a menorah lighting.

So, Happy Hannukah everyone, from the T-Wolves!

In honor of this exciting evening, here are the Maccabeats! (I'm checking to see if a clip of this can be played on the Jumbotron next Wednesday).