New York Knicks @ Miami Heat
Pace = 82.5
NYK Off. Rtg. = 110.3
MIA Off. Rtg. = 123.7
As expected, the contest was a super slow paced game w/ Pace Factor = 82.5! Actually, it was the slowest paced contest of the 4 H2H’s games in this season. Chris Andersen was a late scratch for the Heat, so the Knicks would have some edge if they’ve decided to attack more down low using Amare Stoudemire, right? Well, NYK attempted 42 three pointers (almost half of the team total shots were treys!). If not JR Smith’s, IMO we would have won our Under Play with some ease because not only he hit 10 three pointers for 32 total points, but also, his defense was just hilarious with no effort whatsoever.
Los Angeles Lakers @ Los Angeles Clippers
Pace = 101.1
LAL Off. Rtg. = 95.9
LAC Off. Rtg. = 118.7
Unlike MIA vs. NYK, this contest was a run and gun affair but still, it was “slower” than the last H2H’s between these two teams. It looks like LAL came out w/ mindset of “slowing down” things just to not be embarrassed by the Clippers. Eventually, it worked as LAC helped them by committing 7 TO’s in the first quarter. This helps to understand why the Clippers scored “only” 25 points in the first quarter despite shooting 55% FG! Once the Lakers “forgot” that strategy and started to play at their usual pace, the Clippers easily scored 69 points in the next 2 quarters. We still could have won the “Over” in the 4th garbage quarter but he “needed” Nick Young to do his thing, unfortunately, he got injured late in the 3rd quarter and played only 2 minutes in the 4thQ.
Denver Nuggets @ Houston Rockets
Pace = 103.5
DEN Off. Rtg. = 109.4
HOU Off. Rtg. = 113.8
Despite a slow start in which the Rockets scored only 22 points in the first quarter while shooting just 32.0% FG, HOU completed torched DEN’s bad defense in the second quarter by scoring 47 points: they hit 65% of their shots, didn’t commit a single Turnover and even Omar Asik went 5-6 from the FT Line. The game was primed to be a HOU’s blowout… Then in the second half, HOU’s offense was just too stagnant, selfish play = 6 assists in the entire second half vs. 8 in the second quarter alone! Defensively, they allowed DEN to score 20 points in the paint in the 2ndQ. With 4:35 to go, DEN was up in the scoreboard by 13 points – a 30-points swing in just 20 minutes! From that moment on, HOU’s defense decided to show up again and held DEN to just 3 points (all FT’s) in the final 4:35 of the regulation!
Memphis Grizzlies @ San Antonio Spurs
Pace = 92.3
MEM Off. Rtg. = 99.7
SAS Off. Rtg. = 121.4
With Tayshaun Prince injured and OUT for the game, I thought that MEM’s coach would start Mike Miller @SF like he did in the second half vs. DEN. Miller’s shooting range would help the Grizzlies to spread the floor and punish the obvious SAS’s strategy to pack the paint. Well… Head Coach David Joerger decided to start Tony Allen and the game was over after just 12 minutes of action w/ MEM scoring just 10 points. As expected, SAS packed the paint and held Gasol & ZBO to just 1-7 FG while the Grizzlies didn’t ATTEMPT a single three pointer in the first quarter! As much as Lionel Hollins was “old school”, I really don’t see any improvement made by Joerger in this season.
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