Our quick look around the association on a busy Thursday night, or what you missed while worrying about what could happen to Santa’s home due to global warming...
LaMarcus Aldridge, Portland Trail Blazers. I’ve been saying he is the best power forward in the game all season (yes, better than Kevin Love) and he showed it — 31 points on 12-of-22 shooting, plus 25 rebounds in the win over Houston. The list of guys who have done that in the last 30 years has only a handful of names like Barkley and Olajuwon. Actually, Aldridge shot 1-of-8 to start the game but was 11-14 the rest of the way, and had 9 points and 7 boards in the fourth quarter when the Blazers took a tie game and pulled away for the win. Amazingly Aldridge did most of that damage from the outside — he was 3-of-8 inside 8 feet but 9-of-14 from the midrange. The Blazers may be a jump shooting team but when they hit the watch out — just like Aldridge.
Dwight Howard, Houston Rockets. He had 32 points and 17 rebounds, which most nights make you the player of the game. He had 12 of those points in the fourth quarter and the Rockets tried to mount a few comebacks (Howard, as well as James Harden, were on the bench for the Blazers 10-0 run to start the quarter that really decided the game), and they got within a bucket but couldn’t get over the hump. Howard was also 4-of-6 from the free throw line and had three blocks.
Deron Williams, Brooklyn Nets. For the past couple seasons Williams has hobbled around while Chris Paul has carried the “best point guard in the game” mantle. These two used to have a rivalry and on Thursday night D-Will rekindled it. Williams owned the end of the second quarter when the Nets took control of the game, putting up 12 points in less than 6 minutes. His overall numbers may not impress — 15 points and 4 assists — but he put Paul on skates a couple times and rested the fourth quarter of an easy win. He looked like the D-Will Brooklyn needs.
Jared Dudley, Los Angeles Clippers. Before the season I was very high on the Clippers signing of Jared Dudley — he had a better career three point percentage than J.J. Redick, smart team defender, good glue player who can do everything. But not lately. Dudley was 1-of-7 in this game and is now shooting 34 percent overall and 22.2 percent from three in the Clippers last nine games. Not good enough, especially with them counting on him to step up from three with Redick out. Dudley knows he isn’t playing well. That said, expect him to turn it around, the guy can shoot.