J-Speaks: Big Game Statements Given By The Last Season's NBA Finalists

The Defending NBA Champion Cleveland Cavaliers and the team they defeated the Golden State Warriors are once again at the top of the mountain in the Eastern and Western Conferences respectably. They have been the standard that every other team in the Eastern and Western Conferences respectably is their measuring stick. On Wednesday night, they proved in front of a national television audience that they are head and shoulders above their competition.

In the front end of a doubleheader on ESPN, the Cavs (15-5) blew out the Knicks (12-10) on their home floor 126-94 on Wednesday night to win their second straight following a three-game losing streak, while also winning their eighth straight versus the Knicks and garnering their sixth straight victory at Madison Square Garden. They also handed the Knicks just their second loss in their last 10 games at Madison Square Garden.

Kyrie Irving led the way with 28 points going 9 for 17 from the floor, including going 4 for 6 from three-point range. James, who has the third highest scoring average at the "Worlds Most Famous Arena," at 28.5 points per contest trailing only former Los Angeles Lakers' future Hall of Famer Kobe Bryant at 29.9 and the great Michael Jordan at 31.8 had 25 points, going 10 for 14 from the free throw line with six boards, seven assists and two block shots. Love had 21 points and former Knick Iman Shumpert had 14 points and six boards off the bench.  

"I've never in my basketball career or since I've picked up a basketball when I was eight years old and learned how to play the game. Never in my mind have I ever felt I needed to take all the shots," James said to the media after the Cavs sixth win on road this season in nine chances.

"My little league coaches didn't allow it. But I've always loved the excitement of my teammates making shots and me creating shots for them. That's just my game. I'm not a volume guy. I don't like shooting a lot of shots. I make shots, but I don't have to take a lot of shots, especially on this team."

In the nightcap, the Warriors (20-3) won for the 16^th time in their last 17 games as they won at their Pacific Division rivals the Los Angeles Clippers (16-7) 115-98, beating them for the seventh straight time and improving to 10-1 on the road.

After a career-high 60 points on Monday night, All-Star guard Klay Thompson had 24 points going 8 for 18 from the floor, including 3 for 6 from three-point range. His fellow “Splash Brother” and back-to-back reigning MVP Stephen Curry went 0 for 6 from three-point range, but still finished with 19 points on 7 for 16 shooting with six assists and tied a career-high seven steals.

Draymond Green, who had missed 16 of his last 18 triples the last eight games had solid all- around game with a season-high of 22 points, five boards, four assists and two steals on 8 for 10 shooting, including 3 for 5 from three-point range.

Durant, who was just 5 for 17 from the field had 16 points, eight boards and seven assists, which led the team. Andre Iguodala, the 2015 Finals MVP had 10 points and six rebounds off the bench.

"We like to make shots, but hopefully it won't matter because when you can move the ball, create more possessions and obviously keep a team under 100 like that, that's a pretty darn special performance right there," Curry said to ESPN's J.A. Adande after the game.

The Cavs and Warriors dominated their opponents back on Wednesday night and went about it in similar ways and in different ways as well.

For the Cavs, they dominated the Knicks right from the opening tip and to start the half and that was all she wrote. They outscored their opponent on their home floor 36-26 in the first quarter and 29-17 in the third quarter. They shot 48.8 percent from the floor with 23 assists on their 39 made field goals and registered 23 fast points to the Knicks eight. To put a cherry on this Sunday, the Cavs went 22 for 40 from three-point range, the most triples made against a Knick team in franchise history.

As great as the Cavs were offensively, it was their defense that told the story of this one along with their three-point shooting as they held the Knicks to 40.2 percent from the field. The Cavs out-rebounded the Knicks 53-47, with Thompson garnering 20 boards and forced 16 turnovers that resulted in 17 points, with 11 steals, which magnified the absence of Knicks' starting lead guard Derrick Rose, who was sidelined because of a sore back.

In the case of the Warriors, who went just 7 for 30 from three-point range at the Clippers, who have lost five of their last seven games thanks to their amazing ability to find the open man, their effectiveness at the foul line and that they were at the top of their game defensively.

For the 16^th time this season, the Warriors registered 30 assists in a game with 32 on 42 made baskets with just 11 turnovers. To put that into perspective, they are the only team in the NBA with more than four games this season with 30 assists or more in a game. On Wednesday night, the Warriors registered assists on their first 11 baskets of the game.

They were a remarkable 24 for 29 from the charity stripe and they held the Clips to 39.6 percent shooting from the field and to just 8 for 26 from three-point range. The Warriors had 12 steals, 27 fast break points and outscored the Clippers in the paint 58 to 38. On top of that, the Warriors starting five outscored the Clippers' starting quintet 85-41 and got off to a great start with a 37-19 first quarter.

“You try to affect the games other ways when your shot is not falling,” Curry said. “That’s kind of the test. To stay locked in and not get frustrated because I know it won’t happen that often. We’d like to make every shot every night and have that free-flowing offensive rhythm. But for us, if we can defend and not turn the ball over, we’re going to be in good shape most nights. Tonight, was a testament to that.”

In games of the magnitude that the Knicks and Clippers had, it is imperative that your star players come out and play with a sense of urgency, which hopefully intern raise the level of the rest of the team.

Knicks perennial All-Star forward Carmelo Anthony, who along with Durant were named co-recipients of the 2016 USA Basketball Male Athletes of the Year award, with Anthony winning it for the third time and Durant for the second battled foul trouble for most of the night finished with just eight points on just 4 for 9 shooting. Second-year forward Kristaps Porzingis had just 12 points on just 5 for 15 shooting.

The Clippers All-Star duo of Chris Paul and Blake Griffin had nights to forget as they struggled the whole game. Paul had 15 points on 7 for 14 shooting, but was an abysmal 1 for 6 from distance with just five assists and Griffin had just 12 points, going 5 for 20 from the field with nine rebounds and seven turnovers. Center DeAndre Jordan had 10 points, 12 rebounds and two blocks, but he and Griffin did not dominate the Warriors on the boards.

A team of the caliber of the Clippers needed to do better than what they did out-rebounding their opponent 58-54, including 17-12 on the offensive glass.

“I turned the ball over, I missed some easy shots, forced some bad shots,” Griffin said. “We got some work to do, obviously.”

What is even more disheartening about this loss is the fact that the Clippers bench, which has played well this season outscored the Warriors reserves 57-28, with three-time Sixth Man of the Year winner Jamal Crawford scoring 21. Former Warrior Marreese Speights had 15 points and nine boards off the pine and Austin Rivers scored 14.

To bring home how difficult this loss was for the Clippers, head coach and the father of Austin, Glenn “Doc” Rivers said to ESPN’s J.A. Adande in an interview before the start of the fourth quarter as they were down 91-75, “There attacking us and we’re not responding. At the end of the day, you got to trust who you are and just keep playing. I thought we stopped playing for a while.”

Speights made his opinion felt after game when he said to the Orange County Register that, “First we need to start really just leaving the refs alone. Guys just got to sacrifice, do some other things than just scoring, do some other things than your personal goal. Just try something new. They’ve been doing it here for four or five years and it hasn’t been working so it’s time to try something new.”

While what the guy also known as “Mo Buckets” said was true and has the credibility to express those feelings, those kinds of emotions are not coming from the mouth of Griffin and Paul, the All-Stars, and leaders of the team, which also explains why they sleep walked through the game on Wednesday night.

It is hard to fathom that Thompson and Durant can go 6 for 21 from the field in the opening half and you are still down 62-49 at intermission. On top of that, the Warriors were 4 for 16 from three-point land in the opening half. How can that happen?

Well when you only shoot 40 percent in the first half; go 4 for 14 from three-point range, register just seven assists; commit nine turnovers and surrender 16 fast break points, well that is how.

It is also how as the game is winding down, you see the likes of Warriors and Cavs star players on the bench can be having a good laugh and joking around at the expense of their opponent and that opponent express their frustration, which results in Coach Rivers, Griffin, and Paul each getting technical fouls.

James, Richard Jefferson, Irving, and Tristan Thompson were doing the water bottle challenge with the game in progress. They were trying to see who can flip a Dasani water bottle and have it land standing up from the bottom.

After the game, Irving said to the media about what happen, “If you land it, you just like a legend. I was just trying to follow in the kids’ footsteps and really just put my mark on the water bottle challenge. It was awesome.”

That situation can be looked at like this, Jackson disrespected James and he and his teammates responded in kind by blowing the Knicks on the court and having a good time on the bench. To the victor go the spoils. 

On Wednesday night, we saw that the Cavaliers and Warriors are the two top teams record wise in the NBA. We also saw two teams on the national stage play at their best where it matters most at the defensive end. We also saw two teams with major star power, utilize their other teammates and got fantastic results. When that happens, they are hard to beat.

“Great night defensively,” Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said after the game. “If we defend like that and take care of the ball, even on a night when shots aren’t going in, we have a chance to win anywhere, even on the road against a great team.”

Information, Statistics and Quotations are courtesy of 12/7/16 3:30 p.m. edition of “NBA: The Jump” on ESPN with Rachel Nichols, Chauncey Billups, Richard ‘Rip” Hamilton and Tracy McGrady; 12/7/16 10:30 p.m. contest between the Golden State Warriors versus Los Angeles Clippers on ESPN with Dave Pasch and Mark Jackson, sideline reporter J.A. Adande; 12/8/16 2 a.m. edition of NBATV's "Gametime," with Vince Cellini, Dennis Scott and Shaquille O'Neal; www.espn.go.com/nba/standings; www.espn.go.com/nba/matchup?gameid=400899769 and www.espn.go.com/nba/game?gameid=400899772.

J-Speaks: The Perfect, Imperfect Spurs And Their Record Setting Head Coach

Last season, the San Antonio Spurs set a franchise record for wins with 67, with 40 of those victories coming at home and tied the NBA record with the 1985-86 World Champion Boston Celtics going 40-1 at the AT&T Center. This season, the Spurs have gone just 5-4 on their home court, but they have been an entirely different team on the road and their head coach made some history along the way.

With their 105-91 victory at the Minnesota Timberwolves (6-16) back on Tuesday evening, The Spurs (18-5) improved to 13-0 on the road, moving them past the 1969-70 World Champion New York Knicks taking sole possession of the second-best road start to a season in NBA history. They also improved to 5-1 in the back end of back-to-backs.

Reserve guard Patty Mills, who scored 15 points off the bench on Tuesday night said of the Spurs undefeated mark away from home, “Maybe there’s just a little extra focus when we go into someone else’s arena. It’s hard to put your finger on it.”

To put the Spurs road start into perspective, they were averaging 108.1 points per contest on the road. Their average margin of victory was a +9.5 and they shot 49 percent from the field.

"This has been what we've been doing all year. We want to get better in that first half. Starting the game in the first quarter, but luckily we were able to come out with some energy in that second half to pull it off," Spurs All-Star forward Kawhi Leonard, who led the Spurs with 31 points in their eighth win in a row over the Timberwolves said to NBATV's Dennis Scott after the game.

The Spurs magical carpet ride away from home on Thursday night on national television as they lost at the Chicago Bulls (12-10) 95-91 for their first road loss of the season and falling one game short of tying their Western Conference rivals the Golden State Warriors, who won their 14-0 games away from Oracle Arena a season ago and overall started the season 24-0.

The Spurs shot just 40.2 percent from the floor in the defeat; went just 4 for 5 from the free throw line, while the Bulls were 21 for 27. They were out-rebounded 57-53; outscored on the fast break 16-9 and in the paint 46-42.

Leonard, the 2014 Finals MVP led the way for the Spurs with 24 points, going 10 for 19 from the field with eight boards and five assists. Mills had 16 points off the bench hitting 4 for 6 from three-point range and Gasol, who played the past two seasons in the “Windy City,” had a double-double of 13 points and 10 boards, but perennial All-Star LaMarcus Aldridge had just 10 points on just 5 for 15 shooting.   

That first road loss also ended a 14-game winning streak on the road for the defending Southwest Division champions, whose last loss was back on Apr. 8 at the Denver Nuggets 102-98.

There is a lot of ways to explain why the Spurs have been so good on the road. For starters, they early season schedule was very road heavy, which meant more time for this veteran team, which has seven new faces on the roster and the fact that future Hall of Famer Tim Duncan is no longer with the team because he retired this off-season.

Another reason for the Spurs road success is their uncanny ability to make plays in the closing moments, especially after trailing by double-digits. Just ask their last four opponents like the T’Wolves.

Leonard hit a pair of three-pointers down the stretch that ended any hopes for the Timberwolves of winning one night earlier.

The previous night at the Milwaukee Bucks (11-9), the Spurs scored just nine points in the second period and trailed 48-35 at intermission. With 7:27 left in the third quarter, the Spurs were behind 57-42, but the reserves led by backup center Dewayne Dedmon, who had 10 points and Rookie forward Nicholas Laprovittola, who had five assists keyed a second-half rally where the Spurs outscored the Bucks 36-23 in the third to cut the deficit to 73-71.

The rally was completed in the closing moments as All-Star LaMarcus Aldridge hit what turned out to be the game-winning basket with 21.2 seconds remaining after Giannis Antetokounmpo was called for goaltending that gave the Spurs the lead and the win after Bucks forward Miraz Teletovic missed a game-winning triple with 3.9 seconds left.

The Spurs used a second half rally back on Nov. 23 at the Charlotte Hornets (13-9) outscoring them 60-54 in the second half to beat them 119-114.

They used a similar formula two days later outscoring the Boston Celtics (13-9) 87-67 over the final three quarters to win 109-103 the day after Thanksgiving.

While Leonard had 25 points and 10 boards to lead the way, it was the 56 points the defending Southwest Division Champions got from the bench that made the difference. Mills had 19 points off the bench. David Lee had 15 points and 12 boards in 18 minutes. Rookie forward Davis Bertans also had 15 points.

Even if they do break the record for consecutive road wins to start a season, that is not the ultimate goal for the five-time NBA champs. That is why head coach Gregg Popovich even in victory through the media reminds his team, especially in after game pressers that maintaining winning habits will help them as the season progresses when they play against better competition.

“I thought we played well the first 10 minutes and then we went to sleep like they were going to give us the game,” Popovich, who won his 1,099^th game as an NBA head coach, passing his mentor Larry Brown for seventh all-time in NBA history said of his team’s play after the Spurs 116-107 win at the Lakers back on Nov. 18.

He was less than thrilled with the Spurs 96-91 win versus their interstate rivals the Dallas Mavericks (4-17), who were without Aldridge and starting lead guard Tony Parker, who were resting.

“This was a pathetic performance on the part of the Spurs,” Popovich said during his 30-second interview with the media after the game. “You know, they had some guys out, we had some guys out, but they had a lot more out than we did. I thought we showed a lack of humility, a lack of respect for the opponent, a very pathetic performance on both ends of the court. It was an awful performance, Oh, and they deserved to win the basketball game, I forgot to say that.”

To bring into context how upset Popovich was at the Spurs play, the Mavericks who have struggled shooting the ball from the floor this season, shot 47.3 percent from the floor back on Nov. 21 against the Spurs. They out-rebounded their division rivals 49-44 and forced 14 turnovers that resulted in 14 points.

When the Spurs met back up with the Mavericks at the close of November, Popovich was a lot happier with his team performance especially being without Parker, Manu Ginobili and Pau Gasol and after their sluggish start, which they trailed after three quarters.

“We dug down deep, didn’t moan and groan or whine, stuck with it and kept pounding away and found a way to win,” Popovich said of the Spurs, who out-scored the Mavericks 33-21 in the fourth quarter to win the game 94-87.

The Spurs in their 11^th straight road win to open the season held the Mavericks to 42.9 percent from the field; out-rebounded them 50-42 and outscored them on the fast break 12-3.  

The thing that must be understood about the Spurs and the approach that coach Popovich has taken throughout his career with the team, it is not about just winning games, it is about taking care of business and getting better along the way. It is about improving and sharpening the details of what you want accomplished from practice to game time. It is about the team working together in cohesion and having the understanding that having bad habits during the season can lead to a tough loss late in the year and even in the playoffs where you might be going home early.

That was in full effect this past Tuesday at the Timberwolves when he saw the Spurs fall behind in the first quarter 10-1 and he subbed out his entire starting five. The bench in that game had 42 points in the victory.

It is also why Popovich again voiced his displeasure in their previously mentioned first road loss of the season on Thursday night at the Bulls.

“Our opponents have outplayed us physically and execute-wise in most first halves for most of the season, and somehow we put it together in the second half and play harder and smarter than we did in the first half,” Popovich said. “We got it to four, then some execution mistakes. That’s the disappointing part, that we’re not a very consistent team and we haven’t learned as a group the game is 48 minutes.”

Barring a cosmic chain of events, the Spurs will be in the playoffs for the 20^th straight season. They are the favorites to win the Southwest Division for the sixth time in the last seven seasons. For them however, it is about being in the best possible position to contend for another title and for that to happen, they must for starters be healthy and they must get better at doing the little things to make that dream a reality. On top of that they have to ready to play the entire game, which Popovich stated after the game to NBA on TNT's Allie LaForce.

"I don't remember playing tonight. I didn't play. Guys get a lot of money to be ready to play. No Knute Rockne speeches. It's your job," Popovich said toe LaForce and the rest of the press after the game.

"If your a plumber and you don't do your job, your don't get any work. I don't think the plumber needs a pep talk. If the doctor botches up operations, he's not a doctor anymore. If your a basketball player you come ready. It's called maturity. It's your job."

Information, Statistics and Quotations are courtesy of 11/19/16 2 a.m. edition of NBATV’s “Gametime,” with Casey Stern, Steve Smith and Mike Fratello; 12/9/16 12 a.m. edition of “Inside the NBA” on TNT presented by Kia Motors with Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith, Charles Barkley and Shaquille O’Neal; www.espn.go.com/nba/standings; www.espn.go.com/nba/team/schedule/_/name/sa; http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_San_Antonio_Spurs_seasons and http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knute_Rockne .

J-Speaks: Dustup Between LeBron James and Phil Jackson

For a decade-plus, four-time MVP, perennial All-Star and three-time NBA champion LeBron James has proven himself to be one of the greatest to play on the professional hardwood. New York Knicks’ President Phil Jackson with his 11 NBA titles as head coach of the Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers is one of the greatest to ever coach in the NBA You would think these two who have accomplished so much in the NBA would have the highest level of respect for each other. While James has been of that caliber, Jackson more has downplayed the success of others whether it be opposing players or fellow coaches and that can to the forefront recently and it really irked a lot of people, especially James.

Not too long ago in an ESPN.com article done by longtime sportswriter Jackie McMullen, Jackson, an 11-time champion as head coach of the Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers said of James that, “When LeBron was playing with the Heat, they went to Cleveland and he wanted to spend the night. The don’t do overnights…You can’t hold up the whole team because you and your mom and your posse want to spend an extra night in Cleveland.”

The word posse was the word that rubbed James’ inner circle and business associates the wrong way.

All around, it was a very unpleasant affair and it gave the notion that those associated with James are just there because of his greatness on the court that has given him many opportunities and successes off the hardwood and James made that point clear back on Tuesday.

"I've always given the upmost respect to everyone. All my peers. People that's laid the path for me and laid the path for coaches and players and things of that nature," James said to the press.

"I've always given respect to others. It's always like I told you before a while ago it's always shade thrown on me. So it let's me know that I still got a lot more work to do."

When asked by a report if Jackson were to approach him, would he entertain that discussion.

James' response was a simple, "No."

NBA on ESPN/ABC color analyst and former Knicks head coach Jeff Van Gundy said during the telecast of the Cavaliers versus Knicks contest on Wednesday night that Jackson’s statement had no racial overtones.

“I do understand after further thought why LeBron James and his friends Rich Paul and Maverick Carter took offense to it,” Van Gundy also said. “These guys Maverick Carter and Rich Paul have established themselves in the business world and posse does have a hangeronish implication that I don’t think Phil Jackson necessarily meant, but I think they took it that way. What it teaches all of us is words we use, innocuous words. You might consider them innocuous can be hurtful to others and you really got to think before you speak.”

The reality is that we all have been guilty of using such words to describe people who are or act different from the norm.

What moments like this do though is make all of us take an inner look at ourselves and hopefully give us the strength and willingness to be better. To look at the situation from a different perspective. Some people will get it from the jump; others it can take a while and some have to be embarrassed in order to understand what they did was wrong, like Jackson.  

Looking back at his career as the head coach of the Bulls and Lakers, he has always been dismissive of the success of other coaches and star players in the NBA and has thrown jabs at opposing coaches, NBA referees, star players of others teams and from time to time some of his own players like for instance his former stars with the Lakers in Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal and future Hall of Famer Kobe Bryant.

Jackson took a shot at the best player on his team Carmelo Anthony, who had a season-high of 35 points on 13 for 27 from the field in the Knicks 114-103 win at the Miami Heat (7-15) back on Tuesday night.

"Carmelo a lot of times wants to hold the ball[...]," Jackson said of his best players in ability to utilize the famed "Triangle Offense.

"We have a rule: If you hold a pass two seconds, you benefit the defense. So he has a little bit of a tendency to hold it for three, four, five seconds, and then everybody comes to a stop."

Anthony had been pretty quiet about the situation, until the close of this week when he posted on his Instagram page at carmeloanthony where he said, "EGO is the only requirement to destroy any relationship. So. be a BIGGER person, skip the "E" and let it "GO."

He followed that post that had a picture of the legendary Muhammad Ali that said "UN-Phased (MyLifeSummedUpInOnePhoto)."

Early on Friday, Jackson responded by saying, "I didn't talk to him so I don't know where was coming from with those comments. If he wants to talk about it, cool. If he don't, cool. In my eyes it's over... I feel like we're playing good basketball, and just to have a temporary black cloud over our heads."

On top of that Jackson as President of the Knicks is being covered differently now that he in the front office of an NBA organization as opposed to being the head man on the sidelines. Before, when he made swipes at others through the press, they saw it as a positive that he needled people and sidetracked their concentration. Today, that tone and sparing is viewed as a major negative and a distraction.

It was a topic for discussion on a local New York radio station, CBS Sports Radio and Jackson said that he realizes in his current position with the Knicks that he can no longer talk about team and how they conduct themselves any longer and should not be talking about other teams.

“That’s a topic I’m not going to discuss because, one, we’re not supposed to discuss other team’s players in this position that I have here…,” Jackson said. “So I violated one of the tenets of our thing. And the obvious thing is, the word itself carries connotation. And I just don’t understand that part of it, the word. So I guess word choice could be something I could regret. But yeah, talking about other teams’ players, that’s out of the box.”

Whether that was the case or not, it certainly did not help the Knicks (12-10) on Wednesday night as they were taken to the cleaners at Madison Square Garden by the Cavs (15-5) 126-94. James was spectacular with 25 points going 7 for 10 from the floor and 10 for 14 from the charity stripe with six boards, seven assists and two block shots. Irving led the way with 28 points, hitting 9 for 17 from the floor, including 4 for 6 from three-point range and 6 for 6 from the foul line with six assists. Kevin Love had 21 points and former Knick Iman Shumpert had 14 points off the bench hitting 4 for 6 from long range.

This dustup between two proud successful men in the NBA is a prime example of what happens when one person thinks one thing and does not do his homework. Phil Jackson is not the first to express his feeling that have no business being said and he will not be the last either. The words that come out of ones out of mouth may not matter to them, but it could hurt someone else. Being cautious about what you could say can keep you from putting your foot in your mouth and save you a lot of backlash and above all keep a situation from becoming worse.

In the case of the Knicks, this is the kind of situation that can keep them from making the playoffs this spring because they lost to the best team in the Eastern Conference and a lot of their dirty laundry got aired for public consumption. If they do not fix this, it will only get worse.

Information, statistics and quotations are courtesy of the 12/6/16 3:30 p.m. edition of "NBA: The Jump" on ESPN with Rachel Nichols, Amin Elhassan and Stephen Jackson; 12/7/16 7:30 p.m. telecast of the Cleveland Cavaliers versus New York Knicks on ESPN with commentators Mike Breen, Jeff Van Gundy and sideline reporter Lisa Salters; www.nba.com/games/20161207/CLENYK#/boxscore and 12/9/16 3:30 p.m. addition of "NBA: The Jump" on with Rachel Nichols, Richard Hamilton and Tracy McGrady.  

J-Speaks: Hot NBA All-Star Guards on Monday Night

Since the start of the season, Oklahoma City Thunder All-Star lead guard Russell Westbrook has been playing at a level that seems unreal. He has been putting up video games numbers like it is not a big deal. He added to that resume this past Monday night, but his performance was outdone by a career night from a “Splash Brother.”

Westbrook in the Thunder’s (14-8) 102-99 win at the Atlanta Hawks (10-12) on Monday night garnered his sixth consecutive triple-double with 32 points, 13 rebounds and 12 assists helping the team to their sixth win in a row and sending the Hawks to their seventh consecutive defeat and 10^th loss in their last 11 games.

"I'm just blessed and happy to be able to play the game that I love," Westbrook said to an ESPN reporter after the game about his streak of triple-doubles. "I have amazing teammates that help me out a lot."

On the opposite coast, Golden State Warriors (18-3) All-Star guard and one-half of the “Splash Brothers” Klay Thompson exploded for an NBA-high for this season and a career-high 60 points going 21 for 33 from the field, including 8 for 14 from three-point range and 10 for 11 from the free throw line in just 29 minutes as the defending Western Conference Champions defeated the Indiana Pacers (10-11) 142-106. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Thompson scored 60 points in the fewest minutes in the shot clock era (since 1954-55). He now leads future Hall of Famer Kobe Bryant (2005-06) and now Hall of Famers Karl Malone (1989-90) and George Gervin (1977-78) who accomplished their 60-plus point performances in 33 minutes. 

Westbrook’s triple-double was his 11^th on the season and 48^th of his career, which is fifth all-time in NBA history, gave him the most in succession since Hall of Famers Michael Jordan and Oscar Robertson streak of double-figures in points, rebounds and assists in seven straight games back in 1961 and 1989 respectably. Westbrook’s streak tied him with the late great Hall of Famer Wilt Chamberlin, who had a five-game streak back in 1968 and Hall of Famer Oscar Robertson did it five straight times in 1961 and 1962. 

The longest streak of triple-doubles is held by Chamberlin, who did for nine straight games back also back in 1968.

“I know there’ so much talk about Russell and what he’s doing because what he’s doing is really incredible and remarkable,” Thunder head coach Billy Donovan, who has now a 61-35 record said after the game. “It’s obviously the league has not seen something like this in a long, long time. But I also give Russell a lot of credit and our guys. We’re a team. These guys are all together trying to fulfill their role. There all trying to do their jobs. There all trying to play together. There all trying to make each other better. To help each other.”

Thompson had 40 of those points in the opening half in just 18-plus minutes on 15 for 22 shooting hitting five triples helping the Warriors to an 80-50 lead at intermission.

Thompson, who had 17 points (of the Warriors’ 38 points) in the opening stanza; 23 (of the Warriors’ 42 points) in the second quarter and 20 (of the Warriors’ 36 points) in the third joined Chamberlin and Hall of Famers Rick Barry and Joe Fulks as the only players in Warriors history to score 60 in a game. Barry was the last to score that jaw-dropping amount when he scored 64 points on Mar. 26, 1974 against the Portland Trail Blazers.

“It felt great obviously,” Thompson, who received an ice shower from his backcourt mate Stephen Curry during his interview with Comcast SportsNet Bay Area’s Rose Gold-Onwude after the win. “It was fun. I was in a great rhythm. Took all good shots most part. Still missed a few wide-open threes I wish I could have back, but it was a fun night to say the least.”

Just around this time two years ago, Thompson had a 37-point third quarter on his way to a then career-high 52 points versus the Sacramento Kings in a 126-101 win back on Jan. 23, 2015.

The previous high scorer in a game this season was ironically enough was Westbrook who had 51 points to go along with 13 rebounds and 10 assists in an 113-110 overtime win by the Thunder versus the Phoenix Suns (6-15) back on Oct. 28.

Thompson said to Gold-Onwude that continuing his hot shooting streak into the second half occurred because he and his teammates treated each possession like Gold, no pun intended.

“We’re trying to build great habits,” he said. “Our assists to turnover ratio tonight was phenomenal. We got to keep that up. I’m proud of the way we played.”

The Warriors bringing Thompson’s point into perspective had 45 assists on their 54 made field goals, with 11 of those assists coming from Curry, who also had 13 points. They had 25 assists in the opening half with just two turnovers.

They were 14 for 37 from three-point range; had 30 fast break points; committed just 11 turnovers and forced 14 turnovers that resulted in 22 points; out-rebounded the Pacers 63-45, including 16-9 on the offensive glass and outscored them in the paint 62-44.

Kevin Durant had a solid night as well with 20 points, eight boards, four assists and two block shots. Draymond Green, while he had just two points had five boards, 10 assists and four of the Warriors 11 steals.

To illustrate how unreal Thompson’s amazing night of scoring was, he had 60 points in 29:03 on Monday night, an NBA record. His teammate Curry had 46 points in 29:46 back on Apr. 13, 2016 in the Warriors 125-104 win versus the Memphis Grizzlies, the season-finale, which was the team’s NBA record breaking 73^rd victory. Cleveland Cavaliers guard J.R. Smith had 45 points in 29:31 back on Apr. 13, 2009 for the Denver Nuggets in a 118-98 win versus the Sacramento Kings. Smith was 13 for 22 on the night, including going 11 for 18 from three-point range. Hall of Famer of the Boston Celtics Larry Bird scored 43 points in 29 minutes as the C’s won versus the Cleveland Cavaliers 126-96.

What made this night even more phenomenal is the reaction to each shot that Thompson connected on. Oracle Arena was rocking. The crowd was on its feet throughout the game. The Warriors bench was up cheering just as loud as the fans. Curry on a couple of occasions on the bench was doing wind sprints showing his joy and appreciation for his teammate’s hot hand.

To add a fundamental point to Thompson’s evening, which was illustrated by longtime color analyst for the Warriors in Jim Barnett, the first 18 of the first 24 points by Thompson came from inside three-point range  as he shot just three times from long distance to that point. It was all from the result of ball movement; solid screens from the likes of backup center JaVale McGee and Green. That is how you get 33 quality shots on 46 touches; how 20 of Thompson 21 field goal makes were assisted and how you only take just 11 dribbles in the contest.

Getting back to Westbrook and the Thunder, coming into this season, the question was could Westbrook be able to make things happen offensively in terms of scoring while being able to get the rest of his teammates involved?

That question he has answered with an emphatic yes and Westbrook has had to do so with the departure of Durant to the Warriors back in the summer. He has been very special in his ability to score and making his teammates better, especially during this winning streak in garnering these triple-doubles.

In their win at the Hawks on Monday night, Anthony Morrow had 15 points off the bench, connecting on 4 for 6 from three-point territory. Oladipo, who has averaged 17.8 points per game in the last 10 games had 14 points along with six rebounds. Starting center Steven Adams had his fifth double-double on the season with 12 points and 10 rebounds and Enes Kanter added 10 points off the bench.

What took place on Monday night was two of the best in the NBA performing at a level that is something you have needed to see to believe. Westbrook and Thompson put on display what hours and hours of work behind the scenes; an attention to detail and a willingness to bring a level of play to the court that made their team and teammates better and rose their level of play.

Westbrooks ability to create and draw attention from the opposing team has given him the chance to get his teammates open shots they have made and has developed a trust that when they are presented with the opportunity that they will capitalize on it.

In the case of Thompson’s historic night, getting the open and good shots he did came off the fact that he has teammates that are willing to set great picks and his ability to constantly be in motion to get open and when he does the result is bucket after bucket after bucket.

They both had great nights and are big reasons why their teams have had the greatest chance of winning on a nightly basis not just this season, but for the past few.

Information, statistics and quotations are courtesy of 12/5/16 and 12/6/16 7 p.m. addition of NBATV’s “The Starters,” with Tas Melas, J.E. Skeets, Leigh Ellis and Trey Kerby; 12/6/16 2 a.m. edition of NBATV’s “Gametime,” presented by Kia Motors with Vince Cellini, Sekou Smith and Brent Barry; 12/6/16 3:30 p.m. addition of ESPN's NBA: The Jump with Rachel Nichols, Amin Elhassan and Stephen Jackson; www.nba.com/games/20161205/INDGSW#/recap; www.espn.go.com/statsistics/player/_/stat/double-doubles; www.espn.go.com/nba/boxscore?gameid=400899756; www.espn.go.com/boxscore?gameid=400899749; www.espn.co.uk/nba/boxscore?gameid=290413007 and www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/20151230GSW.html.

J-Speaks: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly in October/November in NBA

It has been one amazing start to the 2016-17 National Basketball Association (NBA) season. We have last season’s participants in The Finals last June at the top of their respective conferences and another consistent playoff participant trying to reach the top. Two of the league’s top talents have taken their games to great heights this season. Two teams have had a rough start out of the gate and one perennial playoff participant and their best player in NBA history see their best days slipping behind them. Here is The Good, the Bad and the Ugly of the NBA for October/November 2016.

The High Flying Defending Champs

When the Cleveland Cavaliers (14-5) won the title this past June, they not only won their first title in franchise history, they won the city’s first pro sports title in 52 years. Four-time MVP and Akron, OH native LeBron James made good on his word of bringing a title to “The Land.” The question coming into this season is would the Cavs bring that same sense of urgency into this season give themselves a chance to repeat? They have answered that question with a high pitched yes.

Finishing the month and a half at 13-3, standing at 13-4 overall record to start the season, a top the East, which consists of a six-game winning streak to start the season; a three-game winning streak and a four-game winning streak.

The “Big Three of James, Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving are as in sync on the court as they have ever been.

James so far this season has garnered three triple-doubles, giving him 45 for his career, which put him into 6^th place on the NBA’s all-time list in that category.

Irving, who was a major part of Team USA capturing Gold in the Rio Olympics this summer has taken that momentum into this season scoring at a career-best of 24.7 per contest and is shooting a career-high of 48.3 percent from the floor and 42.5 from three-point range.

He has scored 20 points or more on nine occasions and 30 points or more on three occasions, including a season-high 39-point performance on 14 for 27 shooting, including going 5 for 11 from three-point range as the Cavs won at the Philadelphia 76ers (4-17) 112-108 back on Nov. 27. James had a triple-double with 26 points, 10 rebounds and 13 assists as the Cavs defeated the Sixers in their own building, the Wells Fargo Center for the second time this season. Kevin Love had 25 points, hitting 4 for 8 from long range and grabbing 11 boards. 

“We’ve been clicking for a few games now. It feels really good, and then especially when we can get into the high 100s. Other guys are playing their roles and we’re just trying to make plays,” Irving said about he, James and Love to FOX Sports Cavs’ sideline reporter Allie Clifton after the win. “They allow us to lead them every single night and we try to do that to the best of our ability.”

Along with the emergence of Irving, Love (21.4 ppg, 10.5 rpg, 45.6 FG%, 41.8 3-Pt.%) has found a solid comfort zone as a Cavalier, unlike a season ago.

The best example of this was his 40 point, eight rebound performance on 12 for 20 shooting including going 8 for 12 from three-point range in the Cavs 137-125 versus the Portland Trail Blazers (12-10) back on Nov. 23.

Love had 34 of those points in the first quarter are the second most in a quarter in NBA history. That was three short of Golden State Warriors guard who had 37 points in a quarter back in 2015 versus the Sacramento Kings.

The 137 points scored by the Cavs was a season-high. They went 21 for 36 from three-point range, with 16 triples in the opening half, setting a new NBA record. The eight triples by Love in the opening quarter were the second most in NBA history. One shy of the 9 threes hit by Thompson back on Jan. 23, 2015 versus the Kings.

James had another triple-double of 31 points on 11 for 21 shooting with 10 boards and 13 assists to go along with three steals. Irving finished with 20 points and six assists.

 “It was all really in the flow of the offense,” Love said to Clifton after the victory. “Nothing really out of the ordinary. Just finding my shots. Picking my spots and more than anything Kyrie and Bron were finding me all over the court.”

While the Cavs have gotten off to a tremendous start to their defense of their championship, they have had a chance on two occasions to flash back on what they accomplished. First they had a ring ceremony for the ages when back on Oct. 25 when the team from the front office to the coaches to the players received their championship rings and raised their championship banner before the 20,562 inside the Quicken Loans Arena and the 1,000 outside taking in all the festivities.

The team then proceeded to take down the New York Knicks (11-9) 117-88 as James had a triple-double of 19 points, 14 assists and 11 rebounds. Irving led the way with 29 points going 12 for 22 from the field, including 4 for 7 from three-point land. Love contributed 23 points, 12 boards and three steals going 9 for 12 from the charity stripe. Veteran Richard Jefferson had 13 points off the bench.

Before the team’s 105-94 win over the struggling Washington Wizards (7-12) back on Nov. 11, where James reached another milestone becoming the youngest player to score 27,000 career points, the Cavs visited the White House in our nation’s capital as they were shown a great deal of love and appreciation by the first family of President Barack Obama and his staff and First Lady Michelle Obama.

The Cavaliers made history a season ago, but they came into this season wanting to make more. They came together in the playoffs and are as united as ever and even though there is a lot of season left, they look every bit like a team that wants to make more history and repeat as champions.

The Rising Warriors

After a record setting 73 regular season wins a season ago, the Golden State Warriors (18-3) season ended with a thud in The Finals falling to the Cavs in seven games after leading the series three-games to one. The organization did not take that lightly and they went out in the off-season and hooked the biggest fish in the NBA free agent pond and hooked perennial All-Star and 2014 MVP Kevin Durant to join All-Stars and 2015 champions Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green. The question for them is could four All-Stars and two former MVPs co-exist with one ball?

A mark of 16-2 in Oct./Nov., which included a 12-game winning streak, which unfortunately ended this past Thursday night in a tough 130-124 double-overtime loss versus the Houston Rockets (14-7).

The trio of Durant, Curry and Thompson has been a success so far because they each have averaged averaged over 20 points or more with Durant leading the way with a scoring average of 27.0 (7^th NBA); Curry is averaging 26.2, which is 8^th in the league and Thompson is averaging 22.5.

To bring this into a better context, if the latest “Big Three” can maintain this for the season, it would mark the fourth time in Warriors history that they had a trio average 20 points or more. The first time it occurred was in the 1968-69 season with Jeff Mullins (22.8 ppg), Hall of Famer Nate Thurmond (21.5 ppg) and Rudy LaRusso (20.7 ppg) for the then San Francisco Warriors. It happened again in the 1971-72 season with Mullins (21.5 ppg), Thurmond (21.4) and College Basketball Hall of Famer Cazzie Russell (21.4). The famed Run-TMC trio of eventual Hall of Famers and all-time Warrior favorites of Chris Mullin, Mitch Richmond and Tim Hardaway, Sr. were the next trio to accomplish this, when they averaged 25.7, 23.9 and 22.9 respectably in 1990-91. The last group trio of Warriors to average 20 points or more were former All-Star Baron Davis, current Indiana Pacers guard Monta Ellis and current panelist on “NBA: The Jump,” on ESPN Stephen Jackson, who averaged 21.8, 20.2 and 20.1 points per contest respectably back in the 2007-08 NBA campaign.

What has allowed the trio of Durant, Curry and Thompson to work well on the court is that they have been able to evolve their games, while contributing in other ways to help the Warriors win.

For example, while Durant has become a consistent rebounder this season garnering seven double-doubles this season. After their 129-100 setback in the Warriors home opener versus the San Antonio Spurs (17-4) back on Oct. 25, Durant followed up his 27-point 10-rebound regular-season Warrior debut with a 30-point, 17-rebound, six assists performance as the Warriors won 122-114 at the New Orleans Pelicans (7-15).

In the long anticipated contest versus his former team the Oklahoma City Thunder and former running mate Russell Westbrook, Durant scored 39 points going 15 for 24 from the floor, including going 7 for 11 from three-point range and grabbing seven boards as the Warriors won at Oracle Arena 122-96 back on Nov. 3.

Along with rebounding the ball at a high clip per contest, Durant has bought into the playing consistent defense as evidence by his six-block performance to go along with 28 points, 10 boards and five assists in the Warriors’ 115-102 win versus the struggling Minnesota Timberwolves (6-14) back on Nov. 26.

While Curry has kept pace scoring wise to his back-to-back MVP seasons the last two years, Thompson and Green have had to make some adjustments to their games.

In the early stages of this season, Thompson had his struggles shooting the ball starting the season 3 for 16 from three-point, which is a far cry from his career percentages of 41.6 percent. Since then, he has gone 50 for 134 from behind the arc, a more representative 37.3 percent.

As for Green, he has sacrificed his scoring to do the dirty work, particularly at the defensive end, especially since the team said goodbye this past off-season to center Andrew Bogut, Marreese Speights, Harrison Barnes, and Leandro Barbosa. Three players who not only fit in well with the team, but were major parts in helping the Warriors win it all two seasons back.

While his scoring dropped from 14.0 a season ago to 10.7, Green’s rebounding, assists, block shot and steals averages are either the same from a season ago or even better. He averaged 9.5 boards last year, he is averaging an even nine this season. He averaged 7.4 assists per game a season ago, he is averaging 7.0 in 2016-17 so far. He averaged 1.4 blocks and 1.5 steals per contest last season, Green is averaging 1.7 block shots and 2.1 steals this season.

The greatest example of Green’s commitment to doing the dirty work things to help the Warriors win came back on Nov. 28 in the team’s 105-100 win versus the Hawks (10-12) when Green scored only four points and grabbed just three rebounds, but he had seven assists and four blocks, including two big ones in the closing moments of the game that preserved the victory for the Warriors.

“The thing about defense is you have to want it and I’ve talked about it my whole career and there’s very few guys that really want it defensively,” swingman Andre Iguodala said after the victory to Comcast SportsNet Bay Area sideline report for the Warriors Ros Gold-Onwude. “It’s not any tricks or anything special to it. You just want it and you got a guy that really wants it. Puts his heart and passion into it and he’s very smart. It’s going to take him a long way and he’ll have a few Defensive Player of the Years.”

For the Warriors, this season is about getting back to The Finals and this time winning it all unlike a season ago. They feel that the addition of Durant gives them the scorer that they did not have in The Finals back in June. For them it will about their commitment to the defensive end and their ability to rebound the ball consistently that will make all the difference in whether they are back in The Finals for a third straight season this spring.

The Triple-Doubles of Russell Westbrook

When Durant left in free agency to join the Warriors, the mantle of leadership and best player fell into the hands of perennial All-Star Russell Westbrook, who also signed a three-year contract extension in the off-season. The question for him was he up to the task? So far this season, he has been up to it and then some.  

Not only is the former UCLA Bruin ranked second in the league in scoring at 31.0 points per contest, he is second in assists per game at 11.3 and ninth in rebounds per game at 10.9.

Your eyes are not deceiving you, Westbrook is averaging a triple-double so far this season. He has garnered four straight double figure contest in scoring, rebounding and assists. His nine triple-doubles so far this season give him 46 for his career, which moved him past LeBron James into six-place on the NBA’s all-time list.

His most recent triple-double of 35 points, 14 rebounds and 11 assists came this past Wednesday night as the Thunder won versus the Wizards and his former head coach for seven seasons Scott Brooks 126-115 in overtime.

While the numbers are eyepopping, this triple-double is a prime example of how Westbrook has been performing so far. Through the first three quarters, the All-Star lead guard had 14 points, but was just 5 for 20 from the field with eight boards and six assists. In the fourth quarter and the extra frame, Westbrook had 21 points, shot 7 for 15 from the floor with 6 boards and five assists.

“I never stop. My mentality is to always keep going,” Westbrook, said to FOX Sports Oklahoma’s sideline reporter Lesley McCaslin after the game. “My job for this team is to keep staying in attack mode. I missed some easy shots, but one thing about me is I will never stop.

He had that same mentality when he garnered the third of his triple-double of his second four triple-double streak of his career when he shot just 9 for 23 from the field with 27 points, 17 rebounds and 14 assists when the Thunder won at the Knicks 112-103 two nights earlier. Two nights prior to that, Westbrook went 8 for 22 from the field for 17 points, 15 assists and 13 rebounds as the Thunder knocked off the Detroit Pistons (11-11) 106-88.

Back on Nov. 25 in the team’s 132-129 win at the Denver Nuggets (8-13) in overtime, Westbrook shot just 9 for 25 from the field, but had 36 points, 17 assists and 11 boards as he went 15 for 17 from the free throw line.

Perhaps Westbrook’s best triple-double he has put up was when he had 51 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists in the Thunder’s 113-110 overtime win versus the Phoenix Suns (6-14) back on Oct. 28. He shot 17 for 44 from the floor, including an abysmal 2 for 10 from three-point range, but he shot 15 for 20 from the free throw line.

Westbrook is a player who accepts the challenge of doing whatever it takes to win a game, something that Brooks knows all too well and say so after his team lost earlier in the week.

“He’s hard to stop. He’s a terrific basketball player. Playing at a high level,” Brooks, who led the Thunder to the Conference Finals three-times as Thunder head coach said after the game on Wednesday.

The player of Westbrook was major reason the Thunder got off to a 6-1 beginning to this season, especially with the fact he has built a trust in his teammates. That trust was put to the test after the team went 2-7 after that great start. They have rebounded though with four straight wins.

If Westbrook can keep this up, he would become just the second player in NBA history to average a triple-double in a season. The last to do it was Hall of Famer Oscar Robertson, who in the 1961-62 NBA campaign averaged 30.8 points, 10.5 rebounds and 11.3 assists per contest through 79 games.

For Westbrook, it is about winning basketball games and getting the Thunder back to the postseason with him as the bus driver.

Harden at the Point

Last season, All-Star guard James Harden had career-highs across the board, but the Houston Rockets were just a .500 team at 41-41 and were bounced in five games in the opening round against the eventual Western Conference Champion Warriors. On top of that, Harden did not make either the First, Second or Third All-NBA teams. The addition of new head coach Mike D’Antoni, who moved Harden to the point guard position; the fact that he came into training camp in the best shape of his career and with new additions, he has put up even better numbers and there is cohesion this season.

The Rockets finished Oct./Nov at 11-7 and a big reason for that are the career-high averages of 28.7 points (4^th NBA), 11.6 assists (leads NBA) and 7.6 rebounds per game by Harden.

To bring this into clearer focus, Harden had just three triple-doubles last season and in the early going of the 2016-17 NBA campaign he has garnered four already, which is second in the league to the nine of his former teammate Westbrook. On top of that, Harden is second in the NBA in double-doubles with 15, two behind Miami Heat center Hassan Whiteside and three behind the 18 of Westbrook.

In the middle part of last month, Harden joined Hall of Famer and former Rocket Elvin Hayes as the only two players in franchise history to register back-to-back triple-doubles when he had 24 points, 15 assists and 12 boards in a 101-99 win at the Spurs on Nov. 9 and three nights later recorded 25 points, 13 assists and 11 rebounds in the Rockets’ 106-100 setbacks at Toyota Center versus their interstate and Southwest Division rivals.

Two big reasons why Harden has been at the top of his game has been the new system under D’Antoni and that the Rockets have players that make that system go in off-season additions in sharp shooters Ryan Anderson (12.9 ppg, 41.2 3-Pt.%) and Eric Gordon (16.6 ppg, 39.9 3-Pt.%), alongside mainstays Trevor Ariza (12.7 ppg, 38.1 3-Pt.%) and Patrick Beverly, who just returned to the lineup recently after missing the early part of the season recovering from knee surgery.

Moving Harden to the point and being surrounded by perimeter shooting has been a perfect marriage so far. The team is winning and he is playing at the kind of level that the Rockets look ever bit like a playoff team that will be highly seeded if Harden can keep this stellar level of play up.

The Bad

The Lows of the Atlanta Hawks

Back on Nov. 16 after a 107-100 win versus the Milwaukee Bucks (10-9), the Atlanta Hawks (10-12) at 9-2 looked every bit like the team that was going to seriously challenge their playoff nemesis the Cavs for supremacy in the East. The addition of Dwight Howard in the off-season gave the Hawks the presence in the paint that they were sorely lacking. Dennis Schroder was lifted to the starting lead guard spot and was playing at a nice level. Things have changed a lot as the month of November concluded for the guys from the ATL.

This past Wednesday, the Hawks fell at the Suns 109-107 to finish their five-game road trip at 1-4, losers of four straight.

To put the struggles of the Hawks as they closed out November into perspective, in the first 11 games where they went 9-2, they were averaging 107.8 points per contest on 48 percent from the field and 35.7 percent from three-point range. Coming into this past Wednesday’s action, the Hawks had lost six out of seven and were only averaging 90.2 points per contest on 41.8 percent shooting from the floor and just 29.4 percent from three-point territory.

In that setback in the middle of this last week, Schroder played well scoring 14 of his career-high 31 points in the fourth quarter to go along with nine assists on 13 for 23 shooting in the loss at the Suns. Howard had a double-double of 17 points and 14 rebounds and Kent Bazemore had 22 points and Tim Hardaway, Jr. had 21 points.

The real low-point of Hawks struggles came five nights prior when they defeated at the Utah Jazz (13-9) 95-68 back on Nov. 25. The 68-point output was the lowest for the Hawks since Jan. 14, 2013. The Jazz held the Hawks to 31.3 percent shooting; they shot just 8 for 25 from long range; were out-rebounded 61-48; registered just 11 assists and were out-scored in the paint 40-28.

The Hawks followed that loss with a 109-94 setback at the Los Angeles Lakers (10-13) 109-94 two nights later, when they did get off to strong start leading 32-21 after the first quarter, but a 35-16 second quarter and a 25-17 fourth quarter did them in. On top of that, their reserves were outscored 65-24.

The Hawks had a chance to get back on track this past Monday night at the Warriors and for three quarters they were neck-and-neck with the current Western Conference leaders, but another rough final quarter where they were outscored 25-19 put them on the wrong end of a 105-100 score.

While the Hawks have gotten solid play from Howard, Schroder and Paul Millsap, the one guy who has been inconsistent this season for them has been sharp shooter Kyle Korver, who in the last four losses has scored a total of 19 points going 6 for 21 from the floor, including just 5 for 15 from three-point territory.

Over the last two postseasons, the Hawks have had their season conclude at the hands of the Cavs in four-game sweeps in the Conference Finals and Semifinals respectably. If they have any inclinations of changing those fortunes, they must turn things around soon. They have the talent and the head coach in Mike Budenholzer, but they have to get that consistent level of play back if they want to be a serious threat to the Cavaliers.

Rough Sledding in Minnesota    

It is one thing to have a talented team. It is another thing for that talent to mesh together and understand that to win consistently in any pro sports league, you must be willing to do the little things and play with a tenacity and vigor each night to give yourself a chance to win. That has been major problem for the young Timberwolves and their new head coach Tom Thibodeau.

Back on Nov. 30 on the front end of a home-and-home against the Knicks, second-year forward Karly-Anthony Towns had a career-high of 47 points on 15 for 22 from the field and 17 for 20 from the free throw line with 18 rebounds and three blocks, but his team lost 106-104 thanks to a game-winning jumper by Carmelo Anthony with 2.3 second left in the game.

This game was a microcosm of the T’Wolves season thus far. Their best player turns in a career night and they lose.

Their second-best player Andrew Wiggins can have a stretch where had a career-high of 47 points going 14 for 21 from the field and 17 for 22 from the charity stripe in a rare 125-99 victory versus the Lakers, but his recent struggles from the floor have him shooting just 41.7 percent from the field this season.

Starting shooting guard Zach LaVine has been playing very consistent this season, but has had his highs and lows in terms of mixing his game up from shooting from the perimeter and using his great athletic ability to take people off the dribble and attack the basket.

To top it all off, the T’Wolves have had their struggles at the defensive end, which has irked coach Thibodeau, whose entire coaching philosophy from his days as an assistant to his time as head coach for five seasons for the Chicago Bulls.

They rank 19^th in points allowed giving up 105.6 points per contest. The Timberwolves are 25^th in rebounds per game at 42.3 and 28^th in opponent’s field goal percentage giving up 46.9 percent.

There have been a couple of moments this season where the Timberwolves have shown what they are capable of when they are focused.

In their 125-99 win at the Lakers mentioned earlier, the Timberwolves shot 48.1 percent from the floor; out-rebounded the Lakers 54-41; scored 21 points off 17 forced turnovers and registered 10 steals.

In their 98-85 victory at the Suns back on Nov. 25, the team rallied from an eight-point deficit outscoring the Suns 31-10 in the fourth quarter. The T’Wolves held the Suns to 40.5 percent from the field and to 6 for 26 from three-point range and forced 26 turnovers that resulted in 23 points.

This team is as talented as any in the league and it’s young talented full of potential. When you say Karl-Anthony Towns, Andrew Wiggins, Zach LaVine, Gorgui Dieng, rookie Kris Dunn, Nemanja Bjeilcia, Shabazz Muhammad and Ricky Rubio, you are saying names that are game changers. With that being said, they have a long way to go before they can even mention being a playoff team.

Highs and Lows of Trail Blazers

Last season’s surprise of the league resided in the Pacific Northwest. The Portland Trail Blazers led by the dynamic backcourt of All-Star Damian Lillard and last season’s Kia Most Improved Player C.J. McCollum led the team to 44 wins; a First-Round victory over the Los Angeles Clippers in six games and battled the eventual West Champion Warriors in before falling in five games in the Semifinals. Coming into the season no longer the underdog, the Trail Blazers have been up at times as well as down.

A 112-105 win versus the Denver Nuggets, their second against their Northwest Division rivals this season brought the Trail Blazers record to 7-4. They finished the month 3-6 however and their biggest culprit has been their play at the defensive end.

In their three straight defeats following their victory versus the Nuggets, the Trail Blazers gave up 113, 126 and 113 versus the Chicago Bulls (11-8), at the Rockets and at the Pelicans from Nov. 15-Nov. 18. In that 113-88 loss versus the Bulls on Nov. 15, the Trail Blazers held the Bulls to 41.8 percent shooting and to just 7 for 20 from three-point range, but were out-rebounded 75-54 and outscored 52-36 in the paint.

Their worst effort at the defensive end came against the defending champion Cavaliers on Nov. 23 where they lost 137-125.

How bad was the Trail Blazers effort defensively at the Cavs? They allowed the Cavs to shoot 53.3 percent from the floor, including 21 for 36 from three-point range.

To bring the Trail Blazers defensive struggles into clearer context, they have surrendered 100 points or more to their opponent the last 13 games to close the month since they only gave up 94 points in a 100-94 win at the struggling Dallas Mavericks (4-15) back on Nov. 6.

While they gave up over 100 points again versus the Pelicans on Nov. 25, they played with a lot more effort and energy in the 119-104 win, especially their front court.  

While the backcourt of Lillard and McCollum played well scoring 27 and 24 points respectably, with Lillard garnering 11 assists, starting forward Maurice Harkless had a double-double of 19 points and 11 rebounds. Starting center Mason Plumlee also had a double-double of 12 points, 14 rebounds and eight assists. Meyers Leonard had 15 points and nine boards off the bench and very quietly forward Ed Davis, who has been starting in place of the injured Al-Farouq Aminu had nine points and six boards.

Speaking of the guy that his teammates refer to as “The Chief,” Aminu has been absent for 13 games recent weeks due to a left calf strain. His absence has been a major reason the Trail Blazers have struggled at the defensive end.

Last season, the Portland Trail Blazers surprised the league and maybe even themselves. They are not surprising anybody this season. With that said, they have won more games at this point this season than they did a season ago. If the Trail Blazers want to be taken seriously as this season continues, they must play better defensively. They have enough at the offensive end to contend with anybody.

The Ugly

Tough Times in “Big D”

For the past decade-plus, the Dallas Mavericks have made the playoffs. They claimed the NBA’s ultimate prize in 2011 when they beat the Miami Heat to capture their first Larry O’Brien Trophy in franchise history. While they have made the playoffs in four of the past five seasons, they have not gotten past the First-Round and even though they made some solid additions this season, their path to the postseason this year seems out of reach and their best player in franchise history and future Hall of Famer is near the end.

The Mavericks started this season with a five-game losing streak, which started with a 130-121 overtime loss on opening night at the Indiana Pacers (10-11) back on Oct. 25.

They proceeded to win two straight with victories versus the Milwaukee Bucks (10-9) (86-75 in overtime on Nov. 6) and at the Lakers (109-97 on Nov. 8).

That was followed by eight straight defeats, the longest losing streak in the Dirk Nowitzki era, which was capped by a 128-90 defeat at the Cavs.

One big reason for the Mavericks struggles has been injuries to the likes of Nowitzki, who has played in just five games this season because of a lingering Achilles problem. The likes of J.J. Barea and Deron Williams have also missed time this season because of injury.

The injuries to their top guns are a major reason the Mavericks are dead last, 30^th in points scored at 92.3 per game and field goal percentage at 41.2 percent; 28^th in assists per game at 18.9 and 27^th in three-point percentage 32.3 percent.

There have been some bright spots for the Mavs during a rough first month of this season. Harrison Barnes, who came over in a sign-and-trade during the off-season has averaged career-highs of 20.9 points and 5.8 rebounds per game on 45.9 percent from the field. Swingman Wesley Matthews, two years removed from a serious Achilles injury has played well averaging 15.1 points per game, up from the 12.5 that he averaged a season ago in his first season with the Mavs.

It is seasons like this that you learn what a team that has been a playoff perennial is made of. Are players that will have an opportunity, will they take advantage. Will the team’s head coach, in this case Rick Carlisle, will he hold the team to the same standard despite key players being out? More than anything, will the team put their best foot forward?

The answer to all those questions has been yes. The players who have played have competed, even though the Mavericks have been on the wrong end of the scoreboard. Carlisle has coached the team the same way as he always has since being in “Big D.” Earlier this season, owner Mark Cuban, who has not been shy about expressing his opinion said that they will not tank this season.

Even if Nowitzki comes back this season and is anywhere close to his Hall of Fame level of play, it might not be enough to get the Mavericks back in the playoff race in the rough Western Conference. The question then becomes, will this be Nowitzki’s swan song? If so, it would be a tough end for a player and a team that when he first got there was awful and turn itself to a perennial playoff participant and a champion.

Information, statistics and quotations are courtesy of www.espn.go.com/nba/standings/statsitics/team; 11/21/16 7 p.m. contest Golden State Warriors versus Indiana Pacers on Comcast SportsNet Bay Area with Bob Fitzgerald and Jim Barnett and Ros Gold-Onwude; 11/21/16 2 a.m. edition NBATV’s “Gametime.” With Matt Winer, Rick Fox and Brent Barry; 11/24/16 2 a.m. edition of NBATV’s “Gametime,” with Vince Cellini, Dennis Scott and Greg Anthony; 11/26/16 1 a.m. edition of NBATV’s “Gametime,” presented by Kia Motors with Vince Cellini, Steve Smith, and Mike Fratello; 11/28/16 2 a.m. edition of NBATV’s “Gametime,” with Vince Cellini, Rick Fox and Brent Barry; 11/28/16 6 p.m. edition of NBATV’s “The Starters,” with Tas Melas, J.E. Skeets, Leigh Ellis and Trey Kerby; 11/29/16 2:30 a.m. edition of NBATV’s “Gametime,” presented by Kia Motors with Casey Stern, Dennis Scott and Brent Barry; 11/30/16 6:30 a.m. edition of NBATV’s “Gametime,” presented by Kia Motors with Ernie Johnson, Kevin McHale, Chris Webber and Greg Anthony; 12/1/16 7 a.m. edition of NBATV’s “Gametime,” presented by Kia Motors with Vince Cellini, Dennis Scott and Shaquille O’Neal.