Every night the NBA can be a cold hard reality — there are winners, there are losers. It’s the nature of the game. We know you are busy and can’t keep up with every game, so we’re here to bring you the best and worst of the NBA each week night. Here’s what you missed while watching every goal (and assist) Cristiano Ronaldo racked up in 2014....
Detroit Pistons. They have won five in a row since the addition by subtraction of waiving Josh Smith — and in the East five wins can put you back in playoff contention. The Pistons are now just four games out of the eight seed and making the playoffs. Think about that for a second. Sunday’s fifth straight win came over the Kings thanks to 35 points from Brandon Jennings who had his jumper going — he was 5-of-5 from the midrange and 5-of-8 from three. That’s emblematic of what is going on, Detroit’s true shooting percentage is up 7.3 points since Smith was traded. Or, look at it this way, in the last five games the Piston’s offense is 13.7 points per 100 possessions better and their defense is 11.7 per 100 better. This is not all about the Smith trade, but the improvement also is not a coincidence.
Sacramento Kings. On the flip side of smart moves by management, there is Sacramento, which canned well-liked coach Mike Malone and have struggled since then. Think it’s not a lot about the coach?
I asked DeMarcus Cousins if losing Michael Malone hurt more than anyone realized: "It’s clear. We’re not the same team."
— Jason Jones (@mr_jasonjones) January 5, 2015
Kobe Bryant. He had 20 points on 14 shots, plus six rebounds and six assists, but all anyone will talk about is the game winner. Kobe had struggled of late with game winners and game tying shots, he’s not what he used to be in terms of explosiveness, but if you let the man get to his spots on the court he will beat you. Like he did knocking down the game winner to beat the Pacers Sunday.
Chris Bosh, Dwyane Wade. The two remaining guys of the big three have struggled this season without that third guy in the mix. However, they are still putting up numbers some nights. The pair scored 51 points — or 58 percent of the team’s points — in an 88-84 Miami win over Brooklyn on Sunday. They did that on an efficient 36 shots, too. This was a win the Heat needed, having lost four in a row and about to head out West for a rough road trip. With the pressure on the big guys stepped up.
Rajon Rondo, Tyson Chandler. They are becoming a dangerous pick-and-roll tandem, adding another weapon to one of the league’s best offenses. The kinks are still being worked out having Rondo at the head of the Maverick’s offense, but things are starting to click (Chandler shot 6-of-7 on the night, hitting all six of his attempts at the rim).
I'd say Rondo is figuring it out with Mavs. Points at Chandler to go to rim. No reaction from Love. Easy lob, dunk.
— Ethan J. Skolnick, 5 Reasons Sports (@EthanJSkolnick) January 4, 2015
Phoenix Suns second quarter. To be fair, they caught a tired Raptors team at the end of a tough West Coast road trip, and frankly even when they’re rested the Toronto defense isn’t impressive. That said, the Suns still dropped 43 on the Raptors in the second quarter on 78.3 percent shooting (and 83.9 true shooting percentage), and that’s impressive. As tends to happen when the Suns get hot it happened when the Suns got out and ran and their guards got hot — Isaiah Thomas had nine points, while Gerald Green and Eric Bledsoe each had eight. The Suns pulled away that quarter and went on to win 125-109.