Friday, December 7, 2012

12/7: Butch Jones, New York Triples, etc.

Greetings! Let's go!
  • Tennessee has hired former Cincinnati and Central Michigan head coach Butch Jones to take over for the fired Derek Dooley. I loved this move, and it's the best possible outcome for a coaching search that had flown off the rails quickly in Knoxville. Nice recovery.
  • NBA! New York went into Miami, without Carmelo Anthony (!), and won by 20 points. The Knicks hit a mind-boggling 18 threes in the game, but also held Miami to just 42% shooting on the night and the combination of those two things was enough to overcome a 31/10/9 from Lebron. The biggest issue from Miami (other than allowing 18 threes) was a combined 6 for 25 shooting night from Bosh and Wade. That spells trouble. In the late game, OJ Mayo put away the Suns late in a 97-94 win for Dallas. The Mavs got huge bench contribution that sparked their offense including 16 points each from Brandan Wright and Darren Collison, as well as 15 points and 7 boards from Chris Kaman. Phoenix was led by a 15-point, 17-rebound night from Markieff Morris, but it wasn't enough to hold on for the win. 
  • The Denver Broncos took care of business in Oakland last night with a 26-13 win over the Raiders. Peyton Manning threw for 310 yards and a touchdown, while Knowshon Moreno had his best game in years with 119 yards on 32 carries for the Broncos. Nothing really stood out for Oakland except for the shocking disappearance of the red-hot Brandon Myers from the offense, as he murdered all fantasy owners (myself included) with a 2-target, 1-catch night. At any rate, Denver is better than Oakland and they showed why. 
What to watch for on Friday (in chronological order)...
  • 7:00 - NBA - Celtics @ Sixers (ESPN) - Both teams are 10-8 and scuffling a bit. I still think Boston is a legitimate East contender, and Philly doesn't have the size (without Bynum) to beat them up inside. 
  • 7:30 - NBA - Wizards @ Hawks (SportSouth) - Washington stinks. Atlanta is playing well. Seems like the perfect spot for an upset!
  • 9:30 - NBA - Lakers @ Thunder (ESPN) - I really wish Steve Nash was on the court. Kobe vs. Durant and Westbrook is nice, but I'm intrigued to see how spry Dwight Howard looks here against Ibaka and company. 
Enjoy!

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