Seriously. Has a team ever wanted to make the playoffs LESS than the Nuggets?
Line of the Night: I thought this might have been Mike Miller’s (6.2) first line of the night, but he already earned that honor on Day 144 (my mind is as sharp as Miller’s haircut). The two-time, two-time, two-time champ scored 34 points with a season-high 8 threes and added 10 rebounds, 6 assists, and 2 blocks.
Honorable Mentions: Some good fantasy performances yesterday. If your team is in the playoffs, one of these performances probably either put your team over the top or totally screwed you. As part of the Sonics 151, Kevin Durant (5.6) scored 37 and added 8 boards, 9 assists, and 3 stea1s in 51 minutes; Monta Ellis (5.5) had 35 (off 17-26 shooting) with 10 assists and 4 steals; a t-dub for Chris Paul (5.4) with 16/10/13. Paul easily could have had a quadruple-double, but he didn’t want to embarrass the Warriors so he took it easy with 5 steals; Carmelo Anthony (5.2) scored 38 with 11 boards and 3 steals.
Talk to Me Steven Jackson: “The season’s almost over, so there’s no need to change anything, we just have to shoot better. We shoot better and we win. It’s that simple.”
Honorary Waiver Wire Line of the Night: The days of the waiver wire have just about passed us, but we can still celebrate lesser goodness that the WWLotN encapsulates. Jeff Green (5.1) was also involved in the Sonics OT smackdown and shot 14-21 from the floor, scoring 35 points with 10 rebounds and a couple threes.
Vladimir Radmanovic (4.9) finished with 21 and 14; Travis Diener (4.1) had 18/5/5; and Josh Powell 21 and 10.
Talk to Me Isiah Thomas: “I think he continues to grow. He played a lot of minutes tonight, he played 44 minutes. I thought his defensive assignments, he didn’t miss any assignments and he was able to follow the schemes.” – regarding rookie Wilson Chandler (he can follow schemes!)
Biggest Loser: People require Steve Blake (2.0) do exactly one thing – get assists. When he can’t even do that right, you’ve got a biggest loser. Blake was 3-11 from the floor, finishing with 7 points and 3 assists in 34 minutes.
Dishonorable Mentions: It’s not Joel Anthony’s (1.2) fault that the Miami Heat are running him out there for 27 minutes a game to get slaughtered by NBA-level talent, and yet, it’s actually happening. Anthony had 4 points and 1 rebound in those 27 minutes.