The Indiana Pacers are doing about as well as expected, with 6 wins and 10 losses. They’ve played without Mike Dunleavy, who is normally their second best player and would at worst be third best this season depending on how much you like point guard T.J. Ford. But they have one problem that has been the case for a while now. The Indianapolis Star (Mike Wells) reports:
The biggest issue I have with the Pacers offense is the same one I had during the summer – they don’t have anybody to score for them in the post. Starters Troy Murphy and Rasho Nesterovic are perimeter big men. The Pacers tend to settle for jump shots too often when the game gets tight. Roy Hibbert may be their best low-post scoring threat. That should tell you something because he’s raw offensively.
Marquis Daniels, playing only one minute less per game this season than Danny Granger, has stepped up, shooting 46.0% for 16.1 points, 6.3 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game. Assuming Dunleavy’s knee eventually heals enough for him to play, Daniels will lose many of those minutes. But still, he should be proud of his performances so far this season.
At the end of the third quarter in Philadelphia, Chicago Bulls rookie point guard Derrick Rose unleashed a crossover on 76ers point guard Andre Miller that was so nasty I was forced to replay it 15, maybe 20 times.
The fact remains that the Jazz have been bitten hard by the injury bug this season. Consider that last year Jazz players missed a grand total of 45 games due to injury or personal reasons through the entire 82-game regular. Through Friday night’s home win over the Sacramento Kings, however, Jazz players had missed 52 games due to injury or personal reasons already. And that’s in only 17 games. Deron Williams, Utah’s unquestioned floor leader, missed 13 games with a sprained left ankle. His return this week has seemed to energize the entire club even though the Jazz are still missing Carlos Boozer, one of the few NBA players who can average 20-plus points and 10-plus boards.
Warriors forward Al Harrington said he had this date marked the moment he got traded to the New York Knicks. His controversial clashing with coach Don Nelson led to his eventual departure from the Warriors, who traded him for guard Jamal Crawford on Nov. 21. But he couldn’t completely move on with the reunion date looming so close. Saturday, it happened, and Harrington showed up. “I dreamed up 60, 30 rebounds, 15 assists,” Harrington said with a smile. He wasn’t that far off. Harrington had 36 points and 12 rebounds in 39 minutes as his Knicks took down his former Warriors 138-125 at Madison Square Garden. Harrington played like the versatile weapon he always claimed to be. He knocked down 5-of-7 from 3-point range, grabbed four offensive rebounds and had a handful of dunks. He was playing up to the crowd and chest-bumping with his teammates.
The Los Angeles Daily News (Ramona Shelburne) reports: Clippers center Chris Kaman sat out Saturday’s game and could miss all of next week with a strained left arch. A team spokesman said it was unlikely Kaman would travel with the team on its upcoming three-game road trip. Kaman had a cortisone shot to help relieve the pain after Wednesday’s game against the Nuggets, but said he’s only experienced “minimal relief.” “Right now I’m feeling pretty sore so I don’t know what’s going to happen,” he said. “Hopefully it’ll calm down next week and I can get back out there.”
The St. Paul Pioneer Press (Phil Miller) reports: Mike Miller’s 19-foot jumper to beat the Thunder on Friday was a feel-good moment for the first-year Timberwolf and his victory-starved team. But the 16 shots Miller took before that game-winner might have been even more significant. Miller hit eight of 17 shots in Oklahoma, and was noticeably more willing to assert himself at the offensive end. Along with a 10-for-19 night against the Spurs three weeks ago, it was just the second time since coming to Minnesota on a draft-night trade that Miller resembled the perimeter gunner he had been in Memphis. “He got into a nice rhythm and took some good shots,” said forward Craig Smith. “He can make them.” He can if he takes them, but that’s been the catch for Miller in Minnesota. The 6-foot-8 swingman is a career 46 percent shooter, and 40 percent from three-point range. But Miller has tried to work his way into the Wolves’ offense slowly this year, and has passed up shots he didn’t hesitate to try in his previous nine NBA seasons.
Luther Head, who had played in just five games this season, started in McGrady’s place and then drove the Rockets to a stunning 103-84 rout of the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday night at Toyota Center. Head, who had not played since Nov. 15, made seven of 11 shots in scoring 21 points, two more than he had in the season’s first 16 games combined. “You have to sit down and think and keep yourself ready, keep yourself motivated,” Head said of sitting out so many games. “It’s tough, but if that’s what I have to do, it’s what I have to do.” Head started against San Antonio last season and was told he was starting Saturday about 30 minutes before the game. “You get pumped,” he said of his reaction to that news. “It’s, ‘OK, I’m going to get to play tonight. I’m going to get a certain amount of minutes because I’m starting.’ “