Christmas Hiatus: Happy Holidays

Merry Christmas everybody, I'll be taking a week or so vacation for the holidays, so expect new posts and new recap haikus to continue at the start of the new year.

So here's to a great Christmas and a great 2011 for everyone.

Recap Haiku: December 22nd, 2010

Recap Haiku is the Pick and Scroll's daily recap featuring yesterday's NBA games.  I apologize for not doing one yesterday, I was still too traumatized by the events of the last Kings game, but we're now back to your regularly scheduled programming.

Hawks 98, Cavaliers 84
Jo Jo at his best
Still not worth a max contract
But he's very good.

Bulls 87, Wizards 80
Chicago's Big Three
Rose, Boozer, and Joakim
Is really quite good.

Pistons 115, Raptors 93
Another Big Lead
This time the Pistons held it
Led by Rip's face mask.

Knicks 112, Thunder 98
Raymond Felton, y'all
Most underrated pickup?
To this blogger, yes.

Celtics 84, 76ers 80
14 straight for C's
Despite tons of injuries
This team is so deep.

Hornets 105, Nets 91
Okafor Ballin,
Thornton and West helping out,
Makes CP3 glad.

Jazz 112, Timberwolves 107
"Never say Never"
That's the Jazz motto this year.
ANOTHER comeback.

Spurs 109, Nuggets 103
My condolences
To Carmelo Anthony
Who lost his sister.

Rockets 97, Clippers 92
Griffin is unreal
But he needs his team to help,
Night in and Night out.

Recap Haiku: December 20th, 2010

Recap Haiku is the Pick and Scroll's daily recap featuring yesterday's NBA games.

Jazz 101, Cavaliers 90
Sloan tied Pat Riley,
For the third-most coaching wins.
But he doesn't care.

Wizards 108, Bobcats 75
Since the Gilbert trade,
Wizards have been playing well.
Most of all, Nick Young.

Hawks 91, Magic 81
It's gonna take time,
For chemistry to happen.
Wasn't there last night.

Pacers 94, Hornets 93
Granger shoots for win
And Dunleavy gets the tip.
What a great ending.

Mavericks 98, Heat 96
Dallas hates the Heat,
Who they lost a title to.
Poured it on last night.

Spurs 118, Suns 110
Nobody better,
Than the Spurs are as of now.
Who knows when they'll lose.

Trailblazers 106, Bucks 80
Jennings out for weeks,
So Dooling starts in his place.
Bit of a drop-off.

Rockets 121, Warriors 112
Ellis v. Martin.
That's always a fun matchup.
Martin has more help.

Clippers 113, Timberwolves 90
Griffin and Gordon.
Two great pieces to build on.
Clips will be scary.

Recap Haiku: December 19th, 2010

Recap Haiku is the Pick and Scroll's daily recap featuring yesterday's NBA games.

Lakers 120, Raptors 110
Raps aren't giving up,
Gave the Lakers their best shot,
But wasn't enough.

Nets 89, Hawks 82
Plus-Minus is flawed
Sasha was +23!
Hawks hate the Machine.

Celtics 99, Pacers 88
Coach Jim O'Brien
Playing T.J. Ford and Jones
Over Roy, D.C.

Rockets 102, Kings 93
Kings have two bright spots:
Cousins is learning quickly.
Also, top 4 pick!

Pistons 111, Hornets 108 OT
Gordon on Fire.
Looked like his Bulls days again.
It was Bynum-ite.

Suns 113, Thunder 110
Grant Hill for 30!
Outscoring Kevin Durant!
Who says he's too old?

Recap Haiku: December 18th, 2010

Recap Haiku is the Pick and Scroll's daily recap featuring yesterday's NBA games.

Heat 95, Wizards 94
Low B-Ball IQ:
Thing McGee and Blatche both have.
Nick Young was Ballin'

76ers 97, Magic 89
Big trade for Magic
Meant only 8 men could play.
Advantage Sixers.

Cavaliers 109, Knicks 102 OT
Three L's in a row
For the slumping New Yorkers.
Yay, media hype!

Clippers 100, Bulls 99
Rose got to the line.
Had to hit both for OT.
He missed the second.

Jazz 95, Bucks 86
Utah's go-to move:
Get down by double digits
Then come back and win.

Spurs 112, Grizzlies 106 OT
This Spurs team is fun.
So are the Grizzlies at times,
When they aren't stupid.

Nuggets 115, Timberwolves 113
Career-High for Love
But not enough to get win.
Total bummer dude.

Trailblazers 96, Warriors 95
Great night to watch games.
Most went down to the wire.
That is sooo Wesley.

Thoughts on the Magic-Suns-Wizards Blockbuster

I'm going to Orlando to play with Hedo? Ball.

The Magic made two trades today in the hopes of possibly re-invigorating their franchise's title hopes.  The first was with the Phoenix Suns in which they sent Vince Carter, Marcin Gortat, Mickael Pietrus, their 2011 first rounder and $3 million to bring back former Magic player Hedo Turkoglu, Jason Richardson and Earl Clark.  The 2nd trade was for much maligned star Gilbert Arenas, for which they swapped Rashard Lewis.

Recap Haiku: December 17th, 2010

Recap Haiku is the Pick and Scroll's daily recap featuring yesterday's NBA games.

Pacers 108, Cavs 99
Blow it up Cavs.
Trade everyone and start fresh.
Rebuild through the draft.

Lakers 93, 76ers 81
Hawes against LA.
He is a Lakers Killer,
Rest of team isn't.

Thunder 102, Kings 87
DeMarcus Cousins
Improving by leaps and bounds.
But Kings still losing.

Heat 113, Knicks 91
Knicks were overhyped.
James got his Triple-Double,
And Heat got the win.

Raptors 98, Nets 92
Bargnani, a star?
He sure was against the Nets,
Outplayed Brook Lopez.

Clippers 109, Detroit 88
Clips with a blowout,
Surprisingly on the road.
Pistons are a mess.

Hawks 90, Bobcats 85
Joe Johnson returned,
Had a so-so performance.
But it was enough.

Hornets 100, Jazz 71
After some bench time,
Thornton is back to 6th man.
Its about damn time.

Rockets 103, Grizzlies 87
Dominant first half
For the streaky Rockets
Means an easy win.

Mavericks 106, Suns 91
Dirk and Steve: Old Buds
But Dirk got the best of him,
Since Nash left early.

Trailblazers 107, Timberwolves 102
With Brandon Roy out,
Rudy had a career night.
Aren't you glad you stayed?

Recap Haiku: December 16th, 2010

Recap Haiku is the Pick and Scroll's daily recap featuring yesterday's NBA games.

Nets 97, Wizards 89
Nets are 1-0
With Vujacic on the Team.
Sasha is Machine.


Celtics 102, Hawks 90
Jason Collins starts?
Are you effing kidding me?
Has to be Blackmail.


Spurs 113, Nuggets 112
Manu, the Poo God
Again hit the Game-winner.
Then he got the stop.

Recap Haiku: December 15th, 2010

Recap Haiku is the Pick and Scroll's daily recap featuring yesterday's NBA games.

Celtics 118, Knicks 116
Show at the Garden
Paul Pierce with the Game Winner
Amar'e's won't count.

Lakers 109, Pacers 94
Payback was needed
Kobe and Pau meted it,
Never gave up lead.

76ers 105, Clippers 91
The Duke Hawes era
Has officially begun.
He's too cool for school.

Bulls 110, Raptors 93
Il Mago was out,
Not that it really matters.
Still wouldn't have won.

Heat 101, Cavaliers 95
Where was this effort
When LeBron came to Cleveland?
Boobie outscored him.

Hornets 94, Kings 91
So frustrating.
Kings get 23 point lead,
Still manage to lose.

Grizzlies 113, Bobcats 80
Big time Grizz smackdown
on a reeling Bobcats team.
They missed having Crash.

Thunder 117, Rockets 105
K-Mart: great scorer,
But an awful defender.
Thabo! scored 15.

Spurs 92, Bucks 90
Who else would it be?
But Manu Ginobili,
As the horn sounded.

Suns 128, Timberwolves 122
Channing Frye for Three!
Was probably heard a lot.
Made 7 of 12.

Mavericks 103, Trailblazers 98
LaMarcus Aldridge
Was a one man wrecking crew.
But didn't get help.

Thoughts on the Nets-Rockets-Lakers Trade

If you haven't heard by now, the New Jersey Nets, Houston Rockets, and Los Angeles Lakers have agreed in principle on a three team trade.  New Jersey receives a 2011 first round pick from Los Angeles, a 2012 first round pick from Houston, and Sasha Vujacic.  Houston receives Terrence Williams and Los Angeles receives Joe Smith.

The deal makes sense for all three teams.  New Jersey deals a player in Williams who, while very talented, has been a bit of a disappointment and headcase (he was recently sent to the D-League as punishment for excessive tardiness) for an expiring contract in Vujacic and two more first round picks with which to use as assets, possibly in a trade for Carmelo Anthony.  New Jersey now has four first round picks within the next two years (one each from Houston/L.A./Golden State and their own) with which to entice Denver, as well as their lottery pick from this year, Derrick Favors.  Along with several expiring contracts, that's a much more appealing offer than one New York, team Carmelo reportedly wants to be traded to, could put together, as the soonest first rounder New York can send out in a trade is in 2014.

Houston's Daryl Morey has also struck again, essentially dealing a lottery protected pick for a guy drafted #11 overall last year, and at the position of biggest need for the Rockets.  Williams is a player who needs guidance, and a team like Houston, with players like Battier (whom Williams admires), is more capable of giving it than a young rebuilding team like the Nets.  Morey has now acquired two lottery picks from last years draft (Jordan Hill and now Williams) for less than if he had the picks in the first place.  In a minor second trade, the Rockets are sending little used guard Jermaine Taylor to the Sacramento Kings with cash for a 2nd rounder they likely won't ever receive.  This saves them from keeping Taylor's contract on the books if they had waived him to make room for Williams.

On the Lakers end, the deal was almost purely financial.  As they are over the Luxury tax, Vujacic's deal of about $5.5 million would've cost them double that amount (you pay one dollar for every dollar you are over the tax), so by subtracting that amount with Smith's contract, the team saves about $8.7 million. That's quite a bit of savings.  There's also the fact that unlike Vujacic, Smith is a veteran who can actually provide some solid frontcourt minutes for a Lakers team that has a propensity for bigs that get hurt.  This will be Smith's 13th different NBA team (tied for an NBA record), so he knows his way around the league.

So for now I'm calling this trade a clear win for the Rockets and the Lakers, and a wait and see approach for New Jersey.  It all depends on what they use the picks for.

Recap Haiku: December 14th, 2010

Recap Haiku is the Pick and Scroll's daily recap featuring yesterday's NBA games.

Bobcats 97, Raptors 91
Nazr Mohammed
He had 18 points, 8 boards
In 19 minutes.

Lakers 103, Wizards 89
Kobe zinged the Prez
Then Lakers zinged the Wizards.
Oh, and Bynum's back.

Sixers 82, Nets 77
Brook Lopez and Hawes,
Who do you think did better?
You're probably wrong.

Pistons 103, Hawks 80
Pistons got big lead
Finally prevent rally
And close game out strong.

Rockets 118, Kings 105
Plantar Fasciitis
means "No Tyreke soup for you!"
Sad Kings fan is sad.

Nuggets 111, Magic 94
Magic play good team
And they lose miserably.
Probably need Trade.

Warriors 108, Timberwolves 99
Manna From Heaven
Wasn't enough to stop Dubs,
Carried by Monta.

Recap Haiku: December 13th, 2010

Recap Haiku is the Pick and Scroll's daily recap featuring yesterday's NBA games.

Heat 96, Hornets 84
Nobody stopped Wade
And LeBron made crazy shots.
This team is scary.

Bulls 92, Pacers 73
Batman was needed
But crime won't fight itself, right?
Guard the cave, McBob.

Grizzlies 86, Trailblazers 73
4th Quarter Collapse.
Z-Bo led the way for Grizz,
Killed some Zombies too.

Bucks 103, Mavericks 99
Bogut fouled out,
But Bucks defense closed it out.
Mavs streak has ended.

Jazz 108, Warriors 95
Hurry back Stephen,
Monta shouldn't be Point Guard.
Seven Turnovers.

Recap Haiku: December 12th, 2010

Recap Haiku is the Pick and Scroll's daily recap featuring yesterday's NBA games.

76ers 88, Hornets 70
Chris Paul needs some help
And not the Jarrett Jack kind.
Get to work Dell Demps.

Knicks 129, Nuggets 125
No defense was played.
Amar'e outshined Melo,
Who might want to stay.

Lakers 99, Nets 92
Lakers not in form
Barely held off scrappy Nets
Lamar came up big.

Spurs 95, Trailblazers 78
Duncan's 1000th game
Ends like most of the others,
With the Spurs winning.

Thunder 106, Cavaliers 77
Cleveland is a mess,
And Hickson will have nightmares
Of James Harden's beard.

Magic 94, Clippers 85
Magic might've won
But they'll need to do better
To beat the good teams.

Recap Haiku: December 11th, 2010

Recap Haiku is the Pick and Scroll's daily recap featuring yesterday's NBA games.

Grizzlies 84, Clippers 83
Vinny Del Negro,
Why'd you have to call time out?
Blake had breakaway

Celtics 93, Bobcats 62
An epic smackdown
'Cats didn't top 16 points
in any quarter

Hawks 97, Pacers 83
I like you Pacers
But when Dunleavy scores most
Not gonna win games

Raptors 120, Pistons 116
Pistons had huge lead
Then Jerryd Bayless happened.
Shame, 'cause Ben was great.

Bulls 113, Timberwolves 82
Bulls have new motto
"They're taking care of business"
They are on a roll.

Rockets 110, Cavaliers 95
Go, Speedracer, Go!
40 points on 19 shots.
Sweet efficiency.

Mavericks 103, Jazz 97
Jazz like to come back
But they dug too big a hole.
Twelve straight for Mavs now.

Heat 104, Kings 83
First Wade erupted
Then LeBron joined in as well
So many weapons.

Recap Haiku: December 10th, 2010

Recap Haiku is the Pick and Scroll's daily recap featuring yesterday's NBA games.

Knicks 101, Wizards 95
Silly Amar'e
With a Kemp Triple Double
Knicks keep winning though

Nuggets 123, Raptors 116
Congrats, George Karl
On your 1000th victory
Beat Cancer's Ass too.

Pacers 100, Bobcats 92
Jack got hot early
So of course he keeps shooting,
To Pacers delight

Bulls 88, Lakers 84
Kobe won't pass shit,
Especially not to Rose
But Rose was more clutch

Thunder 97, Hornets 92
Westbrook is Awesome
And Kevin Durant is too
Its just not fair, man

Timberwolves 109, Pistons 99
Darko, you savage
Getting career highs in blocks
Against your first team.

Bucks 97, Rockets 91
Bogut, back to form
And Bucks hit their jumpers too
Bad combo for Rox.

Spurs 108, Hawks 92
A few days ago
I dropped Blair on fantasy
I look like fool now

Jazz 117, Magic 105
What's wrong with Magic?
That's four losses in a row.
Credit to Jazz though.

Trailblazers 101, Suns 94
Camby, Nash and Hill
They're old, but still play great too
Respect your elders

Heat 106, Warriors 84
After a slow start,
Heat are finally clicking
For Dubs, Udoh's back.

Recap Haiku: December 9th, 2010

Recap Haiku is the Pick and Scroll's daily recap featuring yesterday's NBA games.

Celtics 102, Sixers 101
Rondo didn't care
About Iggy's cool layup,
Threw the perfect pass.

Mavericks 102, Nets 89
Cuban speaks his mind
called Prokhorov a pussy
Good thing the Mavs won.

Trailblazers 97, Magic 83
Nate's winning gameplan:
Guard everyone but Howard
That is so Wesley.

Recap Haiku: December 8th, 2010

After trying, and failing, to do a daily recap of every NBA game earlier this year, I've thought of a new, more fun way to do it that won't cause me to be put on an IV drip of caffeine.  Presenting: Recap Haikus!

Bulls 88, Cavaliers 83

Blizzard in Cleveland

Couldn't cool off Derrick Rose

Byron Scott is peeved

Celtics 105, Nuggets 89

Gary Forbes is cool

But he is not Carmelo

Bad sign for next year 

Diagnosing Tyreke Evans Troubles

To anyone that has watched the Sacramento Kings at all this season, it is painfully clear that Tyreke Evans is not playing up to the fairly high standard that he set in his excellent Rookie season.  Without a doubt, Evans struggles are a big part of why the Kings have gone on to claim the NBA's worst record (4-15).  What exactly is wrong with him?
Perhaps the main problem with Tyreke as of now are the injuries he's playing through.  During the summer if you remember, Tyreke was invited to try out for Team USA, but after spraining his ankle, wasn't able to and eventually was cut.  He has sprained his ankle a few times since then (and not from wicked Derrick Rose crossovers), and has since changed his shoes to add more support.

More worrisome than the ankles however has been the fact that Tyreke has Plantar Fasciitis, a nagging foot injury that tends to get worse the more you do stuff like run and jump.  Running and jumping is kind of a big deal for Tyreke and most NBA players.  Last year, Joakim Noah had to miss 18 games due to a severe case, because often the only way to let the condition heal is to simply rest, a luxury not easily afforded in an 82 game season.  Evans went to a foot specialist at the behest of his agent yesterday, and says he will continue to play through the pain, as he did in his college year in Memphis (he also said he didn't have it last year, so this has come and gone with him before).