Highlights
Highlights

Breakfast Special: Get Rich or Die Tryin’, James Harden

- by Fox Doucette

James Harden dropped a 50-cent piece on the Lakers, and just for good measure, he added 10 rebounds and 11 assists because he’s playin’ 2K on the XBone while the rest of us are all playing “Lakers Vs. Celtics and the NBA Playoffs” on the old Sega. Of course, it helps that Harden is the darling of the referees, as he shot 18-of-19 from the free throw line, but any time you go 14-of-26 from the field, even if you shoot like hot garbage on three-pointers (4-of-12), you done good, son, especially since the reeling Rockets proved one of the …

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Highlights

Breakfast Special: O Canada, Our Warrior-Crushing Land

- by Fox Doucette

No Kawhi Leonard? No problem! The Toronto Raptors were good before, they engaged in some serious addition-by-subtraction shipping the three-pointer-averse DeMar DeRozan out of town, and they they went out and demonstrated that team-first supremacy in Oakland Wednesday night as they beat the Golden State Warriors 113-93 on national television. If you’re going to wreck the Dubs, holding Stephen Curry to 10 points on 3-of-12 shooting—and watch as this becomes a theme later, since “take away the star” got another team a big win that we’ll get to in a minute—is a fine way to do it. Once again, Serge …

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Highlights

Breakfast Special: Even Boban Cannot Save You

- by Fox Doucette

When Boban Marjanovic has one of those HERO OF SERBIA games off the bench, shoots 7-of-9, leads the Clippers with 18 points in just 16 minutes, pulls down seven rebounds, and keeps the game within the margin (he was minus-1) in that time frame, that’s a good sign for Los Angeles. Unfortunately, that was just the third of the game that wasn’t total garbage for the Clips, as the Raptors pounded them like cheap steak 123-99 in a game that was over by the end of the third quarter, when the score was 103-74. Serge Ibaka had 25 points to …

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Highlights

Breakfast Special: LeBron, D-Wade, and Era Farewells

- by Fox Doucette

LeBron James and Dwyane Wade brought the world four Finals runs in Miami, tons of entertaining basketball, and no small few great matchups as foes when the King toiled in Cleveland. And Monday night, we got the last time the two men will meet on a basketball court in a regular-season NBA game (and no, Wade doesn’t get to be an All-Star. Unless Victor Oladipo stays hurt. Then we can talk.) Of course it was a competitive game. The Lakers won 108-105 to go to 17-10 overall and 11-4 at home. Wade got some extended run off the bench and …

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Highlights

Breakfast Special: Bucks 2, Raptors 0

- by Fox Doucette

Twice this season, the Milwaukee Bucks and Toronto Raptors have met in a preview of the Eastern Conference Finals. And twice this season, the Bucks have emerged victorious. Sunday, they even did it on the road, winning 104-99 in Canada in a surprisingly defensive matchup between two powerhouse offenses. Then again, even though the Bucks and Raptors are 2nd and 4th respectively in Offensive Rating, they’re also 4th and 7th on defense, and yes, that’s Milwaukee in the better position in each case even as they trail the Raptors by 2.5 games in the East standings. The Bucks shot 41.4 …

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Highlights

Breakfast Special: Garbage Day

- by Fox Doucette

When the closest game in the NBA on any given night is 22 points, you know you weren’t exactly treated to the best competition the game has to offer. But what did you expect when two games involved a playoff team against a tank crew and the third involved one of the most feast-or-famine teams in the league? Boston beat the Knicks 128-100 in a snoozefest opener, Utah beat Houston 118-91 in the nightcap, and over on League Pass Portland pantsed the Suns 108-86 in a game that was over in the first quarter—Portland led 34-9 after one and cruised …

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Highlights

Breakfast Special: Steph Curry Eviscerates Cleveland

- by Fox Doucette

Stephen Curry‘s disemboweling of the Cleveland Cavaliers was a lot more fun when LeBron James was on the losing end, wasn’t it? Against the Canton Charge wearing Cavs uniforms, it’s just not the same. Steph had 42 points on 11-of-20 shooting including 9-of-14 from three, pulled down nine rebounds, and dished seven assists as the Warriors thrashed Cleveland 129-105 at the Q. Kevin Durant is better as the sidekick, and in that role he came an assist shy of a triple-double with 25, 10, and 9. And Jonas Jerebko (!) led the team in plus/minus at +25 in his 22 …

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Highlights

Breakfast Special: When We Bring to the World Disorder

- by Fox Doucette

The Dallas Mavericks would make the playoffs if the season ended today. And while you may be asking yourself how a team so wretched last year could be so good this year, consider one simple stat. Per point differential, the Mavs, who went 24-58 last season, played more like a 33-win team. Then they added Luka Doncic, who’s positioned himself as a frontrunner for Rookie of the Year. They are now on pace to go 45-37 by record and 47-35 by point differential. So Doncic adding 12 wins in theory and 23 in practice as a combination of statistical regression …

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Highlights

Breakfast Special: Every Game A Finals Preview

- by Fox Doucette

The Toronto Raptors, every time they play a Western Conference team, get “potential Finals preview” added to it. Such is the nature of a Western Conference where it seems like every team except the Suns has looked like a title contender at least once this season. This time, it was the West-leading Denver Nuggets who came to Toronto…and became just the third team all season to beat the Raptors in Canada. Denver won 106-103 behind a huge triple-double from Nikola Jokic; he had 23 points, 11 rebounds, and 15 assists. Jamal Murray had 21 points, seven rebounds, and eight assists, …

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Highlights

Breakfast Special: Devin Booker’s Fragile Body

- by Fox Doucette

Devin Booker continues to suffer the slings and arrows of one minor injury after another. He left the Suns’ 120-96 loss to the Lakers Sunday with Los Angeles up 49-43 in what would prove to be a 40-15 outburst in the second quarter. Booker was plus-6 for the game. No good can come of this for an already gods-awful Phoenix team that now stands 4-19 in the standings, a 14-68 pace by record and 12-70 by point differential. On the Lakers’ side of things, Kyle Kuzma led the scoring with 23, LeBron James had 22, six Lakers scored in double …

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