Category: General NBA insight

Here’s the San Antonio Express-News Blog with some insight on the Spurs rotation and what it could mean in the big picture:

The Spurs boast arguably the deepest roster in the NBA, with nine players getting regular minutes and scoring between 17.8 and 8.4 points per game. Eight have a Player Efficiency Rating above the weighted average of 15.0. The league-leading production differential of their bench is nearly double that of No. 3 Memphis.

That depth saved the Spurs this season, allowing them to stay afloat while missing five of those players for significant chunks in January and February. Healthy once more, they’ve gone 9-1 since the All-Star break to surge atop the league standings at 46-16.

But as critical as it’s been, the Spurs’ emphasis on balance over raw star power doesn’t bode well from a historic perspective. Indeed, according to the NBA’s weekly media newsletter, there hasn’t been an NBA championship with nine eight-point scorers since the Celtics back in 1966.

That’s about as obscure as it gets from a statistical threshold. And while rare, ensemble championships are far from unheard of in the NBA.

Here’s a video of the top 10 NBA dunks of the week, through March 8, 2014:

From Jodie Meeks’ big day to the final result, this was definitely a surprise.

Meeks scored 24 of his career-high 42 points in the second half, and the Los Angeles Lakers beat Oklahoma City 114-110 on Sunday despite a triple-double by Thunder star Kevin Durant.

Pau Gasol added 20 points and 11 rebounds for the injury-ravaged Lakers, who had lost 29 of their previous 37 games. Meeks was 11 of 18 from the field and 14 for 14 at the line while becoming the third player to reach the 30-point mark this season for last-place Los Angeles (22-42).

“The most important thing is that we keep going out there and fighting and not giving up,” Meeks said. “The season isn’t going the way that we planned, but we still have 18 games left. So we’ll play them hard and see what happens.”

Meeks is averaging 19.2 points in 11 games since returning from a sprained right ankle. Before the injury, he was averaging 14.4.

— Associated Press

Dirk Nowitzki says he wasn’t thinking about the last time the Dallas Mavericks blew a 30-point lead and lost.

The biggest collapse in franchise history was a long time ago, and he was too busy trying to make sure it didn’t happen again.

Nowitzki scored 22 points, Devin Harris hit the go-ahead shot in the final minute and the Mavericks rallied in the fourth quarter after blowing their huge first-half lead, beating the Portland Trail Blazers 103-98 Friday night.

“You’re just out there battling,” Nowitzki said. “They’re a very, very good team. They came back a lot quicker than we wanted it to be, but we kept fighting and got the win.”

LaMarcus Aldridge finished with 30 for Portland, including 18 in the third quarter when the Blazers went in front for the first time at 69-67 after trailing 44-14 early in the second quarter.

— Associated Press

Jared Sullinger was at a loss to explain how his Boston Celtics could win while committing a season-high 28 turnovers.

“I honestly don’t know,” he said.

Try this: 20 points, nine assists and seven rebounds by Rajon Rondo, a 62-37 rebounding advantage by the Celtics and a horrible 4-for-30 shooting performance on 3-pointers by the Nets.

The result was a 91-84 victory in which Brooklyn never led and had its four-game winning streak stopped Friday night.

The rebounding “was obviously the difference in the game for us, from our standpoint. That, and they missed the 3s,” Boston coach Brad Stevens said. “I’d like to say that it was this outstanding 3-point defense, but I think when you re-watch it, it’s a lot of open 3s they missed.”

— Associated Press

There’s little margin for error, and the New York Knicks know it.

They need a big finish to the regular season, and after the way they’ve started the last two games, maybe they have one in them.

Carmelo Anthony scored 18 of his 29 points in the first quarter, sending the Knicks to a rare easy night in a 108-81 victory over the Utah Jazz on Friday.

With a long way to go to get back into playoff position, the Knicks won their second straight following a seven-game losing streak. They began a favorable portion of their schedule by opening an early double-digit lead and remaining comfortably ahead the rest of the way.

— Associated Press

Gerald Green scored 25 of his career-high 41 points in the third quarter and the Phoenix Suns erased a 16-point deficit to beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 128-122 on Thursday night.

Markieff Morris added 24 points, including two free throws with 24.4 seconds to play. Goran Dragic scored 22, including six of the Suns’ final 12 points after Oklahoma City led 118-116.

Russell Westbrook scored a season-high 36 for the Thunder, who would have pulled a half-game ahead of Indiana for the NBA’s best record with a victory. Kevin Durant added 34.

Green’s outburst fell one point shy of a Suns record for most points in a quarter set by Stephon Marbury in 2002. His career-best eight 3-pointers also was one shy of the franchise mark.

— Associated Press

Tim Duncan had 23 points and 11 rebounds, and the San Antonio Spurs never trailed against the Miami Heat, weathering a sluggish third quarter for an intense and emotional 111-87 victory Thursday.

Tony Parker scored 17 points, including 14 in a wild first half, Boris Diaw added 16 and Kawhi Leonard had 11 for San Antonio, which has won five straight.

Chris Bosh had 24 points, LeBron James added 19, Dwyane Wade had 16 and Michael Beasley 11 for Miami.

James, who ditched the protective mask he was wearing early in the first half, was hounded by Leonard into shooting 6 for 18.

— Associated Press