- Cam Newton is eligible...er.. ineligible... er... eligible... the NCAA ruled yesterday that he is indeed ELIGIBLE to play as of today, after Auburn very quietly ruled him ineligible on Tuesday... what does it mean? Not a whole lot... other than he's eligible to see the field on Saturday, but this investigation is going to continue until a final verdict... and this isn't it...
- Joe Johnson out 4-6 weeks with an elbow injury... this should be a riveting case study... both on the "decline" of Joe Johnson, and what the offense will look like without him... in last night's 3 point win over Memphis, Mo Evans started at the 2 (and played well) with Jamal staying in his normal role... I like this model, but the long-term effects will be increased minutes for not only Evans, but definitely Marvin Williams (without a primary backup)... this isn't a "sky is falling" scenario, but treading water for 4-6 weeks should now be the goal...
- The Lakers have lost 4 in a row... seems... impossible?... 109-99 loss to embattled Houston last night and the champs are scuffling... they are still getting relative production from their current big 3 (Kobe/Gasol/Odom) but Kobe is getting shot-happy, and they just aren't defending like they were early... not cause for too much concern, but they need to get it corrected...
- NBA Box Score Check - Russell Westbrook is playing out of his mind!... 38/15/9 last night, even in 3OT is impressive just because he led the team in all 3 categories in their 3 point win over NJ... Boston edges Portland 99-95 behind steady play from Rondo and 28 from Pierce... encouraging signs from Brandon Roy from what I saw though... Orlando throttles the Bulls... not exactly a welcome back party for Carlos Boozer in the 107-78 drubbing... maybe a little statement from Orlando?.... Utah has won 7 straight, beating Indiana last night behind Deron Williams' 24 and 16 dimes... Blake Griffin!... He did enough last night to make himself the story rather than the Spurs losing a game (finally)... yes, it was a road back-to-back for SA, but Blake did whatever he wanted all night en route to 31 and 13... Baron Davis returned and really gave the Clips a lift too... 10 dimes in 24 minutes? Wow....
- If you don't know who Kyrie Irving is... you should... the Duke freshman PG was the best player on the floor last night in Durham... 31 points, 6 boards, 4 assists in Duke's 84-79 win over Sparty... the Blue Devils are so deep that Seth Curry played 7 minutes last night... 7!
- Jon Gruden isn't going to Miami... that shouldn't surprise anyone... but in this day and age... people NOT doing things equates to news...
- The Cavs have hired an investigator to look into tampering charges against the Heat... this was inevitable IMO, but why would Dan Gilbert wait 5 months to do it? Doesn't make sense to me...
What to watch for...
- Heat @ Cavs - TNT 8:00 - Lebron's "homecoming"... this is going to be a madhouse... TNT is taking the pregame/postgame live to Cleveland, and that says it all... on the court? I think Cleveland wins the game actually... they've had this one circled for months... but if Lebron is who we thought he was, he'll come out and play like a man on fire here... not sure if he has it in him though, it's gonna be nuts...
- Suns @ Warriors - TNT 10:30 - Nothing like following a game with tons of emotion/storyliens with good old-fashioned open-court scoring... this could be in the 130s... that sound you hear will be me screaming "Ole!" at my television...
- Texans @ Eagles - NFL Network 8:00 - ah, Thursday night football... the noticably unsuspended Andre Johnson needs to go off for them to have a chance, but I like the Eagles in the game... they'll throw the ball all over the yard against that putrid defense...
- UCLA @ Kansas - ESPN2 9:00 - 2 historic programs matching up... always nice... UCLA is a little down (still) but noticably more talented than last year's team, and seem to be potentially turning the corner after losing Collison, Westbrook, Love, & Westbrook early in a 2 year period...
- Arizona State @ Arizona - ESPN 8:00 - Pac-10 rivalry football... That sounds nice... Arizona is better... they are playing at home... and I generally don't believe in ASU...
Busy night...
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