Is Harden the NBA’s new King James?
Over the last two weeks, we’ve seen James Harden go “nuts,” tempers flare between two “hot” teams, a firing that happened a year too late, the fall of Wes Matthews, the “Usual Suspects” continue to dominate, and former “no-names” now stepping up in Miami. Two long “Ants” also dueled for supremacy, and King Kyrie scored more points in a Cavs’ uniform than LeBron James ever has.
This is The Weeks That Were.
James Harden Goes Nuts On King James
The intense overtime duel in the Houston-Cleveland game on March 1 involved some bad blood between the James(es) and their respective teams. As great as the game was, what everyone spoke about for a while afterwards was the dirty shot taken by James Harden toward LeBron. With 2:08 left in third quarter, LeBron and James Jones both double-teamed Harden to create a jump-ball scenario. Harden lost his balance and fell to the floor, but then kicked LeBron James below the belt while he was still on the floor.
Here's James Harden kicking LeBron James right in the nuts https://t.co/STzdp0SWRx
— The Cauldron (@TheCauldron) March 1, 2015
-The Vine was posted by The Cauldron
Harden was given a flagrant foul 1, which allowed him to stay in the game and sink Cleveland in the overtime thriller, dropping 33 points on the Cavs. Despite the obviously intentional, and unprofessional, kick, the Rockets as an organization took another shot at LeBron with this:
Long live the new King. Highlights, photos, recap & reactions from today's big OT win on http://t.co/VBY18eSOmU. pic.twitter.com/91utdhnqTx
— Houston Rockets (@HoustonRockets) March 2, 2015
Stay classy, Houston.
Heat and Suns Get Fiery
Please excuse the bad pun, but I believe it’s the perfect way to summarize the the entire March 2 showdown between those teams. There was no shortage of physicality on display, and tensions ran high in Goran Dragic’s revenge game as technical fouls and three third-quarter ejections created the biggest NBA story that night.
It all started with fewer than nine minutes to go in the third quarter as the Heat held a 12-point lead over the Suns. Goran Dragic, who had some choice words for the Suns’ organization a couple weeks before this game, stole the ball from P.J. Tucker and initiated the fast break. Salty Suns’ forward Markieff Morris wasn’t going to let that fly, and proceeded to chase Dragic to block the impending layup. Morris actually missed his right-hand block, though, and bumped Dragic in mid-air, sending the ex-Suns’ point guard careening to the deck beneath the basket and rolling past the photographers around the baseline. The referees gave Morris a flagrant foul 2 as a result and threw him out of the game with 8:43 remaining.
Markieff Morris' flagrant foul 2 on Goran Dragic https://t.co/rn4wrtaa7Z
— Jonathan Ebanks (@hogz4lyfe) March 12, 2015
-This Vine was posted by Vinnyviner
Even as a Heat fan, a flagrant-2 seemed excessive to me since it looked apparent that Morris’ contact was not malicious. Dragic was slow to get up afterwards, but stayed in the game until getting his fifth personal foul not even a full minute later. So if that wasn’t violent enough for you, then nothing represents the tension between two teams fighting for a playoff spot more than what happened between Miami’s Hassan Whiteside and Phoenix’s Alex Len.
Just four minutes after Morris’ incident, Whiteside and Len, two reliable, young centers who had been pushing each other all game, took their matchup to the next level. Whiteside grabbed an offensive board on an errant Dwyane Wade shot and dunked it right in Len’s grill. Len hit Whiteside in the face as he tried to contest the dunk, resulting in Whiteside falling down right on top of him after his jam. Mind you, they had been trying to one up each other with antics like this all game. Len then pushed Whiteside to the hardwood, compelling the Heat big man to perform a WWE-style takedown.
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-This GIF was found at SBNation.com
There were no punches and the benches didn’t clear, so things fortunately did not get as heated as they could have. Each of the bigs got ejected with 4:26 left in the third. Then all was calm…for less than a minute. Heat forward Henry Walker teamed up with Chris “Birdman” Andersen to lay the smackdown on Markieff Morris’ twin Marcus Morris as he attacked the basket. Walker’s hit was initially seen as a regular foul, but was soon upgraded to a flagrant-1, which makes it look soft in comparison to what else happened during this game.
Len was fined $20,000, while Whiteside drew a $15,000 fine. Markieff Morris earned a $15,000 fine for his ejection also. When the tempers cooled and everything got back to basketball, the Heat were able to prevail 115-98.
Brian Shaw Done in Denver
The Nuggets have played as hard as possible night in and night out, but one look at their record would say that they are a team in tanking-mode, when that couldn’t be further from the truth. The Nuggets have many fast, young, athletic players, which is perfect for a team that wants to run and play some up-tempo basketball. Brian Shaw, a Phil Jackson disciple, tried to slow the team down and have them play a more traditional inside-out offense. His scheme didn’t play towards the strengths of his energetic team and he soon lost buy-in in the locker room. In fact, tension between the players and Shaw had been rising since last season, and Shaw failed to win back his players. The Nuggets officially gave up on the season when they decided to get what they could from trading Arron Afflalo at the deadline, fired Brian Shaw on March 3, and appointed Melvin Hunt to be their interim head coach.
What’s crazy is now that the Nuggets have thrown in the towel, they have actually started to play much better basketball. The team went 4-2 in their first six games with Hunt at the helm, crushing Atlanta in that span and losing respectfully to the Spurs and Rockets. Hunt is succeeding with the Nuggets for a number of reasons. First and foremost, he’s been around his players since the George Karl days and truly knows their strengths, personalities, how to motivate each of his guys, and how to connect with each of them on a personal level. Second, the fast pace allows them to run with the best teams in the league, and up-tempo ball is a much more fun and desirable style of basketball to play. Third, impact players like Kenneth Faried and Danilo Gallinari are finally getting starters’ minutes. Shaw gave each of them 27 and 21 minutes a game, respectively. Hunt has bumped up Faried and Gallinari’s minutes to 30 and 29 per game, respectively, during his first six games as coach.
Westbrook and the “Unibrow” are Space Aliens
I’m convinced that neither of these guys can possibly be human. The things they do on a nightly basis is absolutely ridiculous. Just six days after getting a crater in his face, and four days after having surgery to fill the crater, Russell Westbrook earned his fourth straight triple-double on March 4. This feat hadn’t been accomplished since Michael Jordan did so in 1989. On the one-year anniversary of his trip-dub against the 76ers (which he achieved in just 20 minutes), Philadelphia faced his wrath once again in the form of a career-high 49 points, a career-high 16 rebounds and 10 assists. Yeah, it required an overtime and 42 minutes of action to get him there, but you can’t hate on it, regardless.
As awe-inspiring as Westbrook has been this season, one play he pulled off during his studly performance that night was easily one of the greatest feats of athleticism we have ever witnessed in sports. After the Thunder started off the game poorly, a simple inbound pass to Westbrook with 3:30 left in the first quarter transformed into a legendary 94-foot coast-to-coast slam.
-This GIF can be found on IMGFlip.com
Westbrook spanned the whole court with just five dribbles and took off from the dotted line to put the ball home! The Thunder eventually finished the first quarter on a 20-2 run, with Westbrook finishing the first 12 minutes with 16 points, six rebounds and three dimes. That run didn’t mean much, since the Sixers eventually lead by as much as 16 points in the second half. However, the Thunder pushed back out in front after an 18-0 run.
Up 108-99 with two minutes remaining after Westbrook hit a putback, swiped the ball away, and then nailed a dagger, the Thunder still couldn’t pull away. They allowed Philly to drain crazy three after crazy three to force overtime. It was all for naught, though, since Westbrook and the Thunder rolled to victory 123-118. It’s worth noting that Westbrook tried so hard to get that 10th assist in the fourth quarter to complete the triple-double. He continuously attempted to setup his teammates for easy baskets via the pick-and-roll, but after being unsuccessful, he decided to scrap that idea and fully take over the game to get the win.
Meanwhile, the league’s most unstoppable defender returned to the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans on March 4 from a shoulder injury. Anthony Davis is a big who puts the “power” in power forward every night. This time, he shut down the Detroit Pistons with what may have been the most impressive stat line of the night; 39 points, 13 rebounds and eight blocks. Let me remind you that he put up those numbers with a rather serious right shoulder joint sprain he sustained from a collision with Hassan Whiteside on Feb. 21. Even Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy said regarding Davis, “I think it’s a major mistake that they’re playing him tonight.” Who’s to say whether Davis won’t aggravate the injury in the future, but his shoulder certainly looks fine after he set the career franchise record for blocks with 437, beating David West’s 435. After the game, a stunned Van Gundy admitted, “Anthony Davis not only blocked eight shots, but they intimidated the heck out of us.”
Greg Monroe is a product of the New Orleans area and had a nice game of his own that night with 13 points, 15 rebounds and five assists. With that being said, Davis actually dominated Monroe down low much more than the stats suggest, as demonstrated by this late-game swat.
Anthony Davis' block on Greg Monroe https://t.co/EhiGwV5uhV
— Jonathan Ebanks (@hogz4lyfe) March 12, 2015
-This GIF was uploaded by Vinnyviner
Apparently, Norris Cole also agrees that Davis isn’t human. After the game, Cole commented, “He’s not human. He’s definitely not a human being.” The agreements with me stopped there as Cole then added, “He’s not an alien either. If video game is an option, that’s what he would be.”
So Long Wes
Wes Matthews rupturing his Achilles' tendon 🙁 https://t.co/5shlMuqzYy
— Jonathan Ebanks (@hogz4lyfe) March 14, 2015
-This Vine was posted by Vinnyviner
The Blazers were able to get the win over the Mavericks on March 5, but a valued member of their squad was a casualty in the process. Wes Matthews suffered a non-contact leg injury that was eventually reported as a ruptured Achilles’ tendon. The injury has officially knocked him out for the rest of the season.
It serves as a massive strike to Portland’s championship aspirations this year. Matthews is looked at by many as the heart and soul of the team. Plus, his 16 points per game made him the third-highest scorer on the team. In fact, he was likely the third best player on the squad in actuality. What’s most important in all of this is his own well being, though. We here at FantasyPros wish Wes Matthews nothing but a full recovery. One thing I can respect about Matthews is that he still decided to talk to the media after the game, on what may have been the most disappointing night in his life.
10-Day Contracts For Everyone!
It’s a testament to the Miami Heat’s scouting department that they were able to find contributors like Hassan Whiteside and Tyler Johnson. Plus, Erik Spoelstra’s coaching prowess goes on display whenever he’s gotten maximum effort from Michael Beasley and Henry Walker. If anyone told you before the season that these four guys would be the players that a NBA team was going to depend on to make the playoffs, they would have been laughed out of the room.
The Heat’s starting lineup for their bout against the Kings on March 7 was a ragtag quintet of Shabazz Napier, Dwyane Wade, Henry Walker, Udonis Haslem and Chris Andersen. With a starting lineup this unexciting, you’d think the Heat were the team entering the matchup 18 games below .500. Mind you, this was their 25th different starting lineup in 62 games, so due to injuries and poor performance from the point guard spot, they’ve had to switch things up every two or three games. If Beasley got the start, it would totally look like the franchise went back in time to 2008.
Anyway, the Heat started off the game by taking three minutes just to get their first bucket, and spent most of the first quarter down. However, they actually managed to take the lead in the first with a lineup of Tyler Johnson, Mario Chalmers, Henry Walker, James Ennis and Michael Beasley. Remember folks, three of these guys were in the D-League this season, while one of them was in China! The team still finished the first quarter down 30-26, but Tyler Johnson finished strong with seven points and great passing.
GIF: Birdman threw down this nice dunk earlier in the 1st quarter! pic.twitter.com/Mgm7lZUtYs
— Miami HEAT (@MiamiHEAT) March 8, 2015
Rudy Gay’s 18 points in 19 first-half minutes crushed Miami, and the Heat entered halftime down 61-47 with their lead producer as the improbable Tyler Johnson. In the third quarter, DeMarcus Cousins initiated his Hassan Whiteside impersonation and just started dunking all over the Heat, fueling a run that extended the Kings’ lead to 16. Johnson, Wade and Beasley answered back, accounting for a 10-4 run that narrowed the deficit to 10, 78-68, to finish the third quarter. Beasley actually started to play defense in the fourth quarter, and Johnson really began to dominate in true Whiteside-fashion. This Wade jump shot pushed the Heat in front during the fourth period.
GIF: This @DwyaneWade jumper gave Miami the lead just moments ago! pic.twitter.com/AFdL2rQuN8
— Miami HEAT (@MiamiHEAT) March 8, 2015
That shot was followed up by a Henry Walker three to put the Heat up by four. Beasley then fouled out and…get this…got a standing O! In what bizarro world do you see Henry Walker hitting a big time triple, Beasley playing defense and facilitating a fourth-quarter comeback and Tyler Johnson taking over a game like one of the league’s best point guards? Even the Heat were so surprised that they just went bonkers on the sideline:
GIF: Check out the EL HEAT bench reaction to some exciting 4th quarter basketball! pic.twitter.com/zxCpCgrtIM
— Miami HEAT (@MiamiHEAT) March 8, 2015
The Kings did tie things up with 40 seconds remaining and forced the overtime. Tyler Johnson kept on rolling in OT, but the lack of Beasley and his newfound defense allowed the Kings to stay with the Heat late in the period. Mr. Johnson wasn’t going to let this one slip away, and de-throned the Kings with the biggest three-pointer of his career. Miami won the contest 114-109 in the most exciting game you may ever see between two teams who were a combined 49-73 entering a matchup. Tyler Johnson finished with 24 points and Beasley dropped 18, while Walker and the Birdman finished with 11 each. Huge contributions from the most unlikely sources. We learned that Tyler Johnson is a solid role player that any team can use, and that Beasley’s third stint in a Heat uniform has been his best yet. The team has dealt with so many setbacks this season that it would be easier to give up and look toward the future, but this group of underdogs has shown incredible passion as they continue to fight. That willpower transformed a 16-point deficit into a five-point win.
Battle of the “Ants”
— Jonathan Ebanks (@hogz4lyfe) March 14, 2015
-This Vine was posted by Hardwood Paroxysm
On March 9, two really large (long?) “Ants” faced off against each other in what happened to be a more exciting matchup between the two than people expected. Two of the league’s most graceful, athletic bigs, Anthony Davis and Giannis Antetokounmpo, boast arms that could seemingly reach to the sky, but they can move and control their bodies like swingmen.
Giannis vs. Pelicans' non-existent transition D = LOOK OUT BELOW https://t.co/eHP6gx7Smx
— Jonathan Ebanks (@hogz4lyfe) March 14, 2015
-This Vine was posted by BrewHoop
We haven’t seen much in the way of emotion from Antetokounmpo, which made his mean mug on this dunk all the more menacing.
The only thing better than a Giannis dunk? GIANNIS STINKFACE https://t.co/9oEqwjOjWG
— Jonathan Ebanks (@hogz4lyfe) March 14, 2015
-This Vine was posted by BrewHoop
Tyreke Evans looked foolish on this next Antetokounmpo dunk after a weak flop attempt.
Tyreke flops, Giannis slams. https://t.co/pLUO1ngNj7
— Jonathan Ebanks (@hogz4lyfe) March 14, 2015
-This Vine was posted by BrewHoop
What’s crazy about the Greek Freak is that so much of his skill set seems to be natural. The height, the quickness, the raw speed, all of it is natural. Those traits have aided the development of his more polished skills, like his scoring ability, passing and defense. He can do it all and stuff the stat-sheet, which is exactly what he did against the Pelicans. The 6’11” monster finished with a career-high 29 points, five boards, four dimes, three steals and three blocks in what was probably the best game of his young career. If he continues to turn in performances like that and develop his versatility, he will undoubtedly become a matchup nightmare for all NBA clubs.
The freakish big on the other team has already become nightmare. The Unibrow tied his career-high of 43 points and also finished with 10 rebounds and six assists to fuel the Pelicans to a 114-103 victory over the Bucks. Davis can dunk with the best of them, but the growth in his shooting game was immense in this one.
That just goes to show you that Davis still has room to grow. His jump shot now has more distance on it than ever. Also, adding even more muscle to his bulked up frame can help him to finish in traffic better than he already does.
— Jonathan Ebanks (@hogz4lyfe) March 14, 2015
-This Vine was posted by Hardwood Paroxysm
Insane Irving
Apparently, basketball to Kyrie Irving is no more complex than picking up a controller and dropping a load of points on some poor, unsuspecting team in NBA 2K15. He looked like a man among boys and the true king of Cleveland after scoring a career-high and NBA season-high 57 points on Pop and the Spurs. That alone is ridiculous enough, but consider the fact that the Spurs contested 30 of Irving’s 32 shots, and he hit 19 of them anyway. 35 of his points came in the second half and he drained all seven of his threes. One of them was a buzzer-beater to send the game into OT:
-This GIF can be found at HuffingtonPost.com
Irving went on to score 11 points in overtime to push the Cavs to a 128-125 victory. The Spurs played better basketball throughout, and should have won this one. They spread the ball and exploited mismatches, but their downfall was a total inability to stop King Kyrie. Irving’s effort knocked off LeBron James 56-point game in 2005 to claim the franchise record.
Jonathan Ebanks is a correspondent at FantasyPros. To read more from Jonathan, check out his archive and follow him @hogz4lyfe.
