Game Article Preview: Minnesota Timberwolves @ Phoenix Suns
Even though they lost one more time, Minnesota showed some good moments of basketball against Golden State on their last game. Their problem keeps being their poor decisions down the stretch and especially the fact that they can't hit a 3 pointer to save their lives, something that puts them as the worst 3pts shooting team in the league by far. The good news is that Ricky Rubio is looking amazing lately, as he is looking far more explosive and his overall numbers have improved in both ends of the floor. Over the past five games, Rubio has averaged 14.2 points, 9.2 assists, 6.2 rebounds and 4.6 steals per game. The Wolves have been +17 in Rubio's 174 minutes of floor time during this span and -23 in the 66 minutes where he was at the bench. Nikola Pekovic is also looking better physically, after being banged up for a lot of time, while Andrei Kirilenko has also returned at the lineup after an injury. Thanks to all of this, the Wolves are now a more competitive team lately.
Phoenix is coming from a home loss at San Antonio, but they showed more effort in that game than in their previous contests. They never surrendered even though they were down in the score early on the second quarter and that's already something new and good for them. Phoenix's current top goal is to develop young players. The Morris Brothers played almost 20 minutes each and they brought a lot of energy to the team. They combined 5 offensive rebounds, more than the whole team of the Spurs had in that game, while Coach Hunter is rewarding the players who play hard on the court and not players like Michael Beasley, who was on the court for just 3 minutes against the Spurs!
If it wasn't for the fact that Miami is also on a winning streak and Indiana would be the hottest team in the Eastern Conference right now. They are playing great basketball on both ends of the floor. If their defensive level isn't surprising at all, as Indiana's defense has been consistently great all season long and they are the #1 ranked defense in the league in several different defensive metrics, their offense has been surprisingly good lately. Paul George has emerged this season and he is showing some flashes of being an elite player and Indiana has been having excellent outside shooting numbers over their last 10 games! On the other hand, they have been also more efficient down low as well. Roy Hibbert has been awful offensively the whole season, but he shot 5-9, 4-5, 4-8 and 3-6 FG over the team's last four games! But what has been more impressive in the Pacers has been their commitment on defense, with defensive ratings of 97.51, 85.04, 91.29, 86.04 and 81.91 on their last five games! All games below below 100 points per 100 possessions! Stellar!
After having lost several games in a row, the Warriors have now won their last three games, in a very positive sign for a team that will have a very easy schedule until the end of the regular season with a heavy dose of home games. Jamal Crawford and J.R. Smith has been having some media attention to win the 6th Man of the Year award, but these two players have been very far from the consistency shown by Jarrett Jack, who was the MVP in the game against San Antonio at home and on their road game at Minnesota last Sunday, where he had 8-19 FG, 23 points, 8 assists and even 5 rebounds! Golden State defeated Indiana at home earlier on the season and guess what? The MVP of that game was also Jarrett Jack with 8-9 FG in just 25 minutes of action!
Game Article Preview: Orlando Magic @ Philadelphia 76ers
Orlando's new players made their debut on their last game against Cleveland. Tobias Harris played 25 minutes, Beno Udrih 27 minutes and Doron Lamb 10 minutes, but that didn't matter at all as Orlando allowed 118 points to the Cavaliers, including 39 points in the fourth quarter! However, the Magic was playing their fourth game in five nights and these new players didn't even practice with the team prior to that game and had only participated in the shootaround. Orlando was still able to score 94 points and shoot 48.1% FG because Cleveland can't really defend these days. For today, Orlando had two days off to rest prior to this contest, so we can expect them to show a better team chemistry, however they don't really have a lot of talent available on their roster right now.
After getting crushed at home against Miami last Saturday night, the Sixers were much more competitive in the following day at NY against the Knicks. Even though they got down early on the first half, Philadelphia's guards took advantage of the Knicks's slow footed guards to attack off the dribble and penetrate into the basket. Thaddeus Young finally returned to the team and even though he had just 5-12 FG, 10 rebounds and 4 steals, it's curious that the Sixers with him on the court outscored the Knicks by 11 points in 36 minutes, something that shows how much Young is important to the team. The good news is that after the game, he said that his hamstring felt "pretty good", so he should be ready to play at his best tonight.
After getting crushed at home against Miami last Saturday night, the Sixers were much more competitive in the following day at NY against the Knicks. Even though they got down early on the first half, Philadelphia's guards took advantage of the Knicks's slow footed guards to attack off the dribble and penetrate into the basket. Thaddeus Young finally returned to the team and even though he had just 5-12 FG, 10 rebounds and 4 steals, it's curious that the Sixers with him on the court outscored the Knicks by 11 points in 36 minutes, something that shows how much Young is important to the team. The good news is that after the game, he said that his hamstring felt "pretty good", so he should be ready to play at his best tonight.
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