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Brad Beal goes off for 51 in Portland, Steven Adams is thriving in OKC, and Devin Booker falls victim to a Back-to-Back. It’s the Hoops Roundup for Wednesday, Dec. 6th. Let’s get it…
Scores from Tuesday, Dec. 5th
Phoenix 113 – Toronto 126
Utah 94 – Oklahoma City 100
Washington 106 – Portland 92
Phoenix 113 – Toronto 126
Phoenix (9-17)
Toronto (15-7)
Lowry (20p/6r/10a) and DeRozan (20p/7r/8a) carried the Raps to a nice, clean win over Phoenix – their fourth straight and eighth of their last ten.
More importantly, just one night removed from his career high 46 point outburst over Philly, Devin Booker was carried off with a strained left abductor.
I know I’m not an NBA coach and that I don’t fully understand and that back in the days guys didn’t rest and the game has gone soft and yada yada. But with overwhelming research and evidence that playing back-to-backs significantly increases the risk of injury, and with the Suns not exactly chasing a playoff spot this season, I don’t really understand the motivation behind playing Devin Booker nearly 40 minutes on the second night of a B2B.
I don’t know, maybe that’s just me.
Utah 94 – Oklahoma City 100
Utah (13-12)
Oklahoma City (11-12)
It’s no secret this start has been rocky. Russ, PG, and Melo are trying to get comfortable with each other. Ball and player movement has been pretty stagnant. And most importantly… they haven’t been winning. Even after three straight wins, they’re still just 11-12.
But jot this down… OKC is about to go on a run.
They’re finally starting to figure out their spacing, and the biggest beneficiary is Steven Adams, who has now posted 66 points on 28-34 shooting in his last three games. The paint is clearer than it’s ever been for Adams, and he’s cleaning up on the boards and on Russ’s little dump offs.
After a tough start to the season, OKC now plays 7 of their next 10 against teams at or under .500 heading into a Christmas showdown hosting Houston. Don’t be shocked to see this team rip off 7 or 8 of their next ten and climb themselves right back up towards the top of the West.
Oh and Donovan Mitchell continues to be awesome for Utah even after seeing their six game win streak snapped last night.
They’ve got an absolutely BRUTAL rest of December. Seriously, LOOK AT THAT SCHEDULE. 8 of 12 on the road. Houston, Cleveland, and OKC twice. At Boston, home for San Antonio, and at Golden State. Jesus H Christ.
Outside of at Chicago, their two easiest games are at Milwaukee this Saturday and at Denver the day after Christmas. Those are both nearly as bad as the rest of the schedule.
I can’t remember seeing a stretch like that in a long, long time. If they come out of those 12 games with anything over 4 wins I’d consider that a massive victory.
Good luck, Utah
Washington 106 – Portland 92
Washington (13-11)
Portland (13-11)
Second night of a road back-to-back, coming off a humiliating 47-point loss in Utah scoring a not-so-nice 69 points, now on their sixth straight game without John Wall… and Brad Beal fucking DELIVERED.
Dude came out and hung 51, single handily burying the Blazers on a night where the Wiz absolutely needed him to. The other four Wizards starters combined for just 21 points on 7-30 shooting, and other than a 14p/5s game from Oubre and 10p/7r on 5-5 shooting from Mike Scott off the bench, this one was all Beal.
21-37 from the field. 5-12 from three. And most impressively, all done while going just 4-5 from the stripe. Rarely, if ever, do you see a guy hit a point total like that without at least double digit trips to the line.
Wall’s two week timetable would have him returning some time this weekend. But after hearing him say he has no return date in mind just two days ago, I wouldn’t be surprised to see them hold him out until next Friday 12/15 against the Clips or even Sunday 12/17 hosting the Cavs.
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Schedule for Wednesday, Dec. 6th
7:00 Sacramento @ Cleveland
7:00 Chicago @ Indiana
7:00 Atlanta @ Orlando
7:30 Dallas @ Boston
7:30 Memphis @ New York
8:00 Golden State @ Charlotte ESPN
8:00 Detroit @ Milwaukee
8:00 Denver @ New Orleans
8:30 Miami @ San Antonio
10:30 Minnesota @ LA Clippers ESPN
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