I think it’s obvious that I am big on Demarcus Cousins. Looking back, I should have ranked him #1. No, not above LeBron James (who had 20 points and 5 assists, FYI) for this season. I meant #1 all time. Better than Jordan, Magic or Chamberlain. Bigger than the Beatles! Okay, so, obviously I’m not really going to say he’s the greatest basketball player who ever has and ever will live, that’s not true, nor is he really better than LeBron & company, but Cousins did get 21 points, 9 rebounds and a little ol’ three, too. That’s something to get excited about. Mercy! Anyway, here’s what else happened the past couple of nights in the NBA preseason:
Jose Calderon – Made 3 of 5 three pointers, helping him to reach 15 points. Also had 4 assists and 2 steals. He’s solid and dependable, like a man should be.
Greg Monroe – He went 7-16 on Wednesday, scoring 17 and grabbing 10 rebounds. In the pre-preseason, I wrote, Monroe’s “numbers are trending handsomely upward, and it looks like that should continue, both in terms of minutes and production.”
John Lucas III – On Wednesday, he came off the bench and had 16 points (6-12), including 3 threes and 5 assists. Two write ups in one week, nice work by John Lucas Wolverine Claws. *snikt*
Cole Aldrich – Starting for OKC, he had a double double (10 points, 11 rebounds – 4 of which were on the offensive side) and 3 blocks.
Russell Westbrook – Netted 19 points in under 17 minutes. I think he had a plane to catch.
Terrence Jones – He played 25 minutes off the bench but managed 20 points, 6 boards, a swatted shot and even a three. By the way, five of those rebounds were offensive. And no, not offensive like Kids Bop.
Kevin Love – Had a decent game: 12 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists. Yet, he also somehow went 0-4 from downtown. Time to iron out those wrinkles, K-Lo.
Nando De Colo – He had a double-double in the interesting points/assists combo with 9/11. Never forget.
Michael Beasley – Went 14 points, 5 assists, 2 steals. Easley Peasley.
Steve Nash – With his new team, he had 13 points, 4 assists, 2 steals. Okay. Hoping for more in the regular season, but okay.
Damian Lillard – Had a sweet night with 14 points, 5 rebounds, 7 assists, and 2 threes. Draft him!
LeMarcus Aldridge – You can draft him, too, if’n’ya want. On the night, 8 rebounds, 14 points, 1 block.
Carlos Delfino – Only scored 1 in 7 attempts behind the arc. Get this guy some contact lenses.
Ray Allen – Scored 4 three pointers, but only 1 assist, 1 rebound, no steals.
Blake Griffin – Went 8-16 for 19 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, and even managed 3 of 5 from the free throw line. What a bum!
J.R. Smith – Scored 20 points (and only one of those was a three), plus 6 assists and a steal. Hmm, I might be keeping tabs on him like a jealous lover.
Jordan Crawford – Speaking of Jordan…oh, wrong Jordan. Anyway, this Jordan scored 17 points, including 2 threes, but not much else (2 rebounds, 1 assist).
Bradley Beal – I feel like this guy is going to be discussed quite a bit. Had 15 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists, plus a three and a steal. I almost wrote steak, but that would have been too delicious.
Steve Novak – He went 7 for 7 from three point land. Holy crap. That is really the only reason you would ever want to own Super Novak, but the problem is those type of games are sprinkled between 4 and 6 point efforts.
Nick Young – Forever Young, I wanna be forever Young, do you really want to live forever? Forever? Forever? Not sure the answer to that question, Alphaville, but I do know Nick played 30 minutes as a non-starter and managed 22 points, including 3 of 4 from downtown.
Jrue Holiday – Also scored 3 of 4 from beyond the arc, but he went up to 27 points and didn’t even need 20 minutes to do it.
Nikola Vucevic – Little Niki had 12 points, 10 rebounds, and a block.
Quentin Richardson – Didn’t even play 10 minutes, went 2-6 with a 1 rebound. He’s been pretty much a non-impact player since joining Orlando. Not really sure why he’s on the team.
Brian Roberts – On Thursday, he had 16 points, 8 assists, 2-3 from downtown. Brian Roberts has a good game the same night the Orioles beat the Yankees in extra innings of game 4 of the ALDS. Somewhere, the baseball Brian Roberts sheds a tear.
Anthony Davis – Here is your rookie update: 12 points, 9 rebounds, 1 block vs. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist‘s 1 point, 4 rebound, 2 block effort.
Carl Landry – Tom’s son had 24 points on 9-12 shooting, with 8 rebounds and a dime.
Stephen Curry – If you love assists, you’ll love Curry’s 10 assist, 13 point game. If you also enjoy three pointers, Curry provided 2 of those as well. Curry was very satisfying.
David Lee – Did Not Play (Coach’s Decision). I ignored most of the DNP, but this one bothered me. Lee just had a great game this week, so we’ll keep an eye on this to make sure it’s nothing serious (I did not see the game and have not been able to find out anything alarming at this time, which is good).
MarShon Brooks – Will miss a week with tendinitis in his right foot. Don’t share that with Lee!
Joe Biden – Laughed a lot at Paul Ryan.
