Our quick look around the NBA, or what you missed while getting absorbed in the “Swingers” oral history….
Kevin Durant, Oklahoma City Thunder. Twitter has dubbed him the “Slim Reaper” and I, for one, like the new nickname. He dropped 36 points tonight on the Spurs, including a couple of clutch threes late and rather than having me rave about him here is what other NBA players tweeted on Wednesday night.
https://twitter.com/jcraw55/statuses/426211619392081920
https://twitter.com/QRich/statuses/426196724118331392
https://twitter.com/MrAnthonyMorrow/statuses/426196323830730755
DeMar DeRozan, Toronto Raptors. Somebody is making their All-Star case — 40 points on 22 shots. That would be a career high. What’s most impressive was he was 7-of-11 from the midrange (and 7-of-10) in the paint. DeRozan is likely going to end up one of those bubble guys who just misses making the All-Star team cut (could happen to his teammate Kyle Lowry, too) but this was the kind of “I should get an invite” game he needs.
Josh Smith, Detroit Pistons. I don’t want to pile on just Smith, because the issues with the Pistons offense run much deeper. Still, Smith was not good Wednesday night 2-of-10 shooting on his way to eight points. But it wasn’t just his play it was the timing — he had the chance to hit free throws and make it a one point game, and him missed both. Down just a couple late he turned the ball over. He was frustrating.
Jeff Green, Boston Celtics. When he is good, he can be very, very good. And for a night Green was good. He had 39 points on the night, including a ridiculous one-legged three pointer that tied the game late, sending it to overtime against Washington (where Boston won). It wasn’t just that shot — Green was 14-of-26 shooting and had a host of off-balance shots fall. He was making plays at both ends adding three steals to the mix, also.
