The Los Angeles Clippers overcame the Philadelphia 76ers 104-88 in a game that lived up to my expectations. The revelation of the game for me was Chris Kaman, who is one of only three players this season averaging twenty and nine. (Chris Bosh and Zach Randolph are the other two.) Kaman finished with 26 and 10 after being troubled by the defence of Samuel Dalembert early.
The game itself was not gripping enough to keep me entertained, so I started playing a look-a-like game with the players. It wasn’t a very entertaining game either, but I do think that the winner is Chris Kaman, whose mug shot could easily lead your regular Aussie bloke to think that rugby league star Darren Lockyer had grown 30cm, put on 30kg and and signed a contract worth an extra $30 million.
Surely Blake Griffin will be back in time for the Denver game on January 22.
Spurs 108, Heat 78
The San Antonio Spurs crushed the Miami Heat in a 30 point blowout at home on New Year’s Eve. Despite a fast start by Michael Beasley, with 20 first half points, the Heat faded badly in the third quarter under the pressure of the Spurs’ defence. Dwyane Wade spent the entire fourth quarter on the bench, finishing with just sixteen points and seven turnovers.
More concerning for Heat fans is that this was another game when Wade’s demeanour on the bench and not his play on the court was the focus of TNT’s cameras. With every addition to the Spurs’ lead, with every wild Heat pass to a spectator, with every uncontested Spurs’ layup, the displeasure on Wade’s face grew. It seems that the off season free agency of 2010 is destined to be the defining period for the Heat franchise in this next decade. Can Miami build a championship team around Dwyane Wade?
Watching the game on One HD, Tim Duncan looked great for the Spurs. I could watch his mid-range bank shots all day. Again and again, he took advantage of Joakim Noah’s refusal to body up, and kiss after kiss, the shots fell. Brad Miller had more success with a more physical defense, but Duncan had a great shooting rhythm. The question is, how much does Duncan have left?
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