What was that we said about the Heat being by far the best team in the league? They definitely aren’t playing like it. At least Denver is holding up their end of the bargain. The Nuggets played like legitimate Western Conference threats last night, their energy wearing down Miami in the second half of their win. Would there be any team more fun to play on than Denver? George Karl doesn’t just want to play fast. He wants quicker shots. He wants a faster pace. And he wants to run teams out of the gym. It also helps to have Ty Lawson too. LeBron James dropped 35, but Lawson was the real star, going for 24 and nine while missing only two shots all night. If we could watch Denver every night of the year, we would. So much energy. After Nene‘s bucket and foul to go up eight early in the first quarter, Erik Spoelstra looked like he was ready to throw his hands up and bounce. In fact, every time they showed Spo throughout the night, he was caught in some deep trance, like he couldn’t believe what he was seeing. You gotta love what Denver has put together considering the lockout-shortened season. J.R. Smith and Wilson Chandler are still balling in China, Kenyon Martin is back stateside but still without a team, and Denver has quietly become one of the best teams in the Western Conference. They re-signed Nene and Arron Afflalo – which was the right thing to do – but who else do they try and lock down long-term? Danilo Gallinari wants to get paid. Rudy Fernandez is never truly happy and always one bad outing away from saying he wants to hand in his papers and go home. And how much are you going to pay Ty Lawson to make him their franchise point guard? … At one point in the first half, LeBron broke out on the fast break, and Andre Miller was all alone guarding the hoop. While he hacked the hell out of James, we were positive we heard him mumble in his best Danny Glover voice, “I’m too old for this s—” … Chris Bosh ain’t exactly a Dime favorite, but you gotta respect the man with everything he’s gone through in the past year, getting hated on for virtually everything. He told GQ recently that Dwyane Wade (who says his sprained ankle from last night is the worst one he’s ever had) is undoubtedly the team’s go-to player down the stretch. No one is arguing with him saying he’s wrong. But was that the right thing to say? … Is there any question the Chicago Bulls have the best defense in the NBA? The Celtics started 5-for-26 from the field, and if it wasn’t for Rajon Rondo (who scored or assisted on every point in the first quarter), the Bulls probably could’ve packed up and went home by the middle of the second quarter. But Boston wouldn’t die, and in the second half, they chipped away at the lead. Eventually halfway through the fourth, the Celtics cut what was once a 20 point lead down to one on a Mickael Pietrus corner trey. The Garden crowd was partying like it was 1986. But Derrick Rose came down and hit a jumper, and then kept killing it down the stretch, scoring 12 of his 25 in the final few minutes to put it away. He even hit a wild, reverse layup that reminded us a whole lot of another Chicago legend. A messed up toe? It doesn’t affect MVPs … Keep reading to hear about Kobe’s big night …
Kobe Bryant is on another level right now. There’s nothing else that needs to be said after the Mamba dropped 42, his third straight with at least 40, in the Lakers five-point win over Cleveland. His legs look phenomenal. Everything is fluid. He’s rising and hitting like we’re watching a YouTube video from 2004. Some doctor in Germany is due to make a whole lot more money. If you’re an older vet, how do you not investigate to see what Bryant did this summer? … The one bright spot for Cleveland is that Kyrie Irving dropped 21 points. He now has 20-plus points in four consecutive games. Not quite Iverson levels. But it’ll do … San Antonio stayed undefeated at home, beating the Blazers by 16 by completely dominating the final frame despite 29 from LaMarcus Aldridge … Yes, the Sixers won again by 31. But it’s pretty sad when we don’t spend time on the team that’s destroying everyone, and instead are concentrating on an embarrassment. The Wizards are a joke. They are so bad that when some of the Dime crew went out last night in Baltimore, no places were even showing the game. If David Stern is going to do anything, do something about this team. The poor Wizards bloggers on Twitter were going so far as to say they have abusive girlfriends who treat them better than this team. They’re now 1-10 after Philly hit them with a balanced execution (Jodie Meeks led the way with 26) … Detroit blew out Charlotte by 17 behind Jonas Jerebko (22 points, nine rebounds) and Greg Monroe (19 points, nine rebounds). At one point in the first half, Byron Mullens (18 points) caught a half-court alley. This guy has to be the Thunder’s first mistake. Save for rebounding (not even Hitch could help him), he’s everything you’d want out of a young guy. Too bad Scott Brooks wants his big men to fit into a certain type of player. The Thunder should’ve given him some run, and have to be kicking themselves now … George Hill (22 points, five steals) and Indiana survived by five against Toronto as Jamaal Magloire airballed a free throw by literally three feet … Ricky Rubio (12 points, nine assists) was the story at the beginning (He started his first game. We never thought we’d see the day that Luke Ridnour was a starting shooting guard in the NBA.), but it was Kevin Love (34 points, 15 rebounds… 17 of those points in the third quarter) who anchored a seven-point Minnesota win over the Hornets … Samuel Dalembert had his best game in a Houston uniform, going for 21 points and 16 rebounds in the Rockets’ 14-point win over the Kings … Dallas ran all over Milwaukee by 26 as they held the Bucks to 31 points in the second half … Without Steve Nash and Grant Hill, the Suns were beat by New Jersey. Somebody pissed off Deron Williams, who only went for 35 and 14 with six threes, the best game he’s had since leaving Utah. Great news. We were beginning to wonder if he was going to go all year playing like Andre Miller … And this is one of the coolest things we’ve seen: a chase-down block tracker. With video. Awesome … We’re out like the Wizards.
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