My first introduction to hip hip was The D.O.C. Then came N.W.A., 2Pac, Too Short, and Cypress Hill. I was strictly Westside. I then moved out to the east coast for college, which is when the Notorious B.I.G, Nas, Mobb Deep, KRS-One, Wu-Tang, and Tribe Called Quest all started making noise. It was a glorious time. In addition, I was exposed to the Beastie Boys, De La Soul, and the OGs like Grandmaster Flash and Run D.M.C. West coast boy and east coast music melded together beautifully, even with all that stupid drama back then. Anyways, the world was all about West Coast vs East Coast, but then Andre 3000 came onto the scene with his southern funk and swag. It was fantabulous. I always admired Andre 3000 because he adapted, changed, and was diverse, as he was not just a music star, but became an actor and fashion entrepreneur. That’s how I think about Andre Drummond. When he started get full run in the NBA, he was a straight beast. Accumulating double-dubs (points and rebounds) and provding those D stats. But the free throw shooting was worse than atrocious and dimes? Fuhgeddaboudit. He improved in both categories, though, last season. Upping his free throw shooting to 60%, after languishing in the 38% range, and the assist number vaulted up to 3, after being around the 1 mark. Outlier? Possibly, but at least he’s shown that it’s within the range of outcomes. As for last night…..
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 26 | 22 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 11/17 | 4/6 |
Andre 2622.
Beep….Boop….Bop. By the way, the Stocktonator loved him last night, as it had Dre as the fifth best play on the slate.
Here’s what else I saw last night:
James Harden will miss two games due to a strained left hamstring. Hope he has a Good Neighbor.
James Ennis will also miss two games due to a hamstring strain as well. It sounds like Carmelo Anthony has been “busy” this week. He and Gerald Green will soak up more minutes.
Bobby Portis is out 4-6 weeks with a MCL sprain. Has Jabari Parker been “busy” as well?
Luke Kennard suffered a shoulder sprain. Who cares?
Blake Griffin
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 26 | 10 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 4/5 | 9/13 | 4/5 |
Holy shit balls! That’s three consecutive games with a block for Blake. And he notched his first steal of the season. Now I know this season is cuckoo.
Langston Galloway
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 8 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1/3 | 3/6 | 1/2 |
Played 27 minutes and looked to be the main beneficiary of the Kennard injury. Who cares?
Reggie Jackson
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 16 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3/8 | 4/12 | 5/10 |
Only played 23 minutes. I’m sorry Ms. Jackson, Reggie wasn’t going to shoot lights out every night. He did have some foul trouble last night, but the turnovers have been low and the assists have been nice.
Ish Smith
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 10 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2/4 | 4/7 | 0 |
Played 26 minutes. I wish Ish continues to swish so we can flourish and not look foolish to relish a sweetish finish
Kevin Love did not play so Channing Frye got the start and played 21 minutes. Do I need to continue?
Cedi Osman
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 3 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1/3 | 1/8 | 0 |
Played 30 minutes. He’s 10-for-35 in his last three games. Not great, Bob. With that said, he’s still grabbing boards, dishing out dimes, and has a steal in every game.
Larry Nance Jr.
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 11 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5/8 | 1/2 |
Played 28 minutes. Just play him!
Jordan Clarkson
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 18 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2/4 | 8/12 | 0 |
I’m kind of disappointed at the one rebound and one steal. He must’ve fell down and the ball landed on top of him for the rebound. As for the steal, someone must’ve tripped on a wet spot and the ball ended up in his hand.
Kyle Korver
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 21 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4/7 | 7/10 | 3/3 |
Why is he still on this squad? Oh yeah. He has one more year left on his contract at $7.5 million. That’s a lot of Quicken Loans.
Gordon Hayward
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 5 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1/4 | 1/5 | 2/4 |
It’s gonna take time guys.
Jayson Tatum
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 24 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1/3 | 8/18 | 7/7 |
Played 34 minutes and led the team in shot attempts. There are movies that end up having an all-star cast organically, usually because those stars weren’t stars yet. But there have been many movies that mish mashed a bunch of A-list stars and wrote a script around that concept. Always felt weird watching those movies. Anyways, during those movies, it always took time for the hierarchy to get established. That’s what this Celtics team reminds me of. Is Tatum the leader of the pack?
Al Horford
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 19 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3/5 | 7/16 | 2/2 |
Love and marriage. Love and marriage.
Kyrie Irving
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 15 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2/6 | 6/13 | 1/4 |
Please refer to the Tatum blurb.
Jaylen Brown
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0/2 | 1/8 | 4/6 |
Played 24 minutes. Remember that UPS commercial, What can Brown do for you? Well, Jaylen is shitting all over my optimism for him from last season.
Marcus Morris
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 21 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4/5 | 5/10 | 7/8 |
Played 30 minutes. That’s two big nights for Morris this month. I think his quota has been satisfied. See you in a few weeks.
Terry Rozier
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0/2 | 2/5 | 0 |
Played 25 minutes. Just one more rebound. Geez, just one more.
Jerami Grant
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 10 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1/3 | 4/10 | 1/1 |
Got the start…finally…and played 31 minutes. Pat Pat got his chance and didn’t do much with it. This should be Grant’s job going forward.
Steven Adams
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 12 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5/10 | 2/6 |
Don’t fret. Al always gives him a hard time.
Russell Westbrook
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 13 | 15 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0/5 | 5/20 | 3/5 |
Second game back and the Celtics play good D, like #1 in defensive rating good. He’ll be messing around on a nightly basis soon. So far, I basically faded all the wrong players this season. Guess who else was on that list?
Dennis Schroder
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 10 | 3 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1/3 | 4/10 | 1/2 |
Dennis is going to be menace, as he played 24 minutes last night, which could be where he settles into.
Hamidou Diallo
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 6 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3/7 | 0 |
Played 20 minutes, after playing 21 the prior game. Could be carving out a little niche for himself.
Al-Farouq Aminu
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 4 | 15 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0/4 | 2/10 | 0 |
Played 30 minutes and is a reliable source of rebounds. Didn’t shoot well last night, but is a 36% shooter from downtown and will usually provide close to 10 points a game.
Jusuf Nurkic
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 18 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0/2 | 7/14 | 4/7 |
Played 30 minutes and has posted a double-dub in back-to-back games. Nurkic has the ability to do it all, except provide threeecolas. His issue is inconsistency. Anyone know a guy?
Damian Lillard
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 41 | 7 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5/10 | 13/23 | 10/12 |
Lillard had 7 points at halftime.
Zach Collins
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 17 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2/2 | 7/7 | 1/1 |
Played 18 minutes. Looks to be the future. The question is when is the present?
Evan Turner
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 8 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4/5 | 0 |
Played 28 minutes and seems to be the lead dog for the second unit. There’s value in that, even though ET kind of sucks.
Jonathan Isaac
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 10 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0/2 | 4/8 | 2/2 |
Played 30 minutes. Slowly but surely. It’s happening.
Aaron Gordon
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 17 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2/5 | 6/11 | 3/6 |
Has all the tools to be a superstar. Inconsistent, though, which makes me want to fade him. But then, I realize that he’s still only 23 years old. I’m curious to see if he can reach his ceiling, and what that exactly would be.
Nikola Vucevic
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 24 | 11 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2/3 | 10/16 | 2/2 |
#9 player on Basketball Monster. Mic drop.
Mohamed Bamba
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 8 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0/1 | 4/5 | 0 |
Played 20 minutes. Nice to see him getting a consistent 19-20 minutes of run each game without being overwhelmed. Sure, there will be ups and downs but that’s to be expected from a rookie. Ceiling is limited, though, as the front court in Orlando is packed.
Terrence Ross
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 21 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 5/9 | 8/14 | 0/1 |
It’s appropriate that his last name is Ross, as the price is always cheap, and once in a while you will find something great, but most of the time you end up getting what you paid for.
Paul Millsap
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 6 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 0/2 | 3/9 | 0 |
Continues to struggle. At some point, we are going to stop being Poor Saps right?
Nikola Jokic
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 24 | 11 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 1/5 | 6/17 | 5/5 |
Great line for most. A Jokic for Nikola.
Jamal Murray
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 22 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1/5 | 8/17 | 5/7 |
It was only a matter of time. He’s too good. Plus he received an uptick in usage without Barton.
Monte Morris
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 20 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2/2 | 6/9 | 6/6 |
A full Monte. Played 27 minutes after receiving 29 the game before. Back-to-back games with 3 rebounds and 7 assists. The main beneficiary of the Barton injury?
LeBron James
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 28 | 11 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1/5 | 10/17 | 7/10 |
79-3!!!! If LeBron messes around on a nightly basis like last night…..<insert shrug emoji>.
JaVale McGee
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 21 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 10/16 | 1/1 |
Played 32 minutes!!! I’ve been to too many craps tables that have been scorching hot, where I wait…and wait…and wait…then finally place a bet and then….SEVEN OUT! So, when I’m at a table and I decide to sit out a shooter, but said shooter goes on a heater, I just have to sit back and take one for the team. You’re welcome.
Lonzo Ball
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 12 | 6 | 8 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 2/5 | 5/10 | 0 |
Played 33 minutes. Zo is going to be so good. Defense. Offense. You name it. Could be messing around on a nightly basis sooner rather than later.
Johnathan Williams
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1/2 | 0 |
Someone to monitor, as he’s been the only “big” off the bench. Has played 14, 20, and 12 minutes so far. But, if JaVale is going to play 30 minutes every night? Fuhgeddaboudit.
Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2/3 | 0 |
Played 12 minutes. Balled out in the Summer League, but struggled during the preseason. He’s someone to keep an eye on as the season progresses, though, because he’s a lights out shooter who is also athletic enough to take it to the rack and play some D. Svi for 3!!!
Lance Stephenson
| PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | 3PT | FG | FT |
| 12 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2/3 | 5/11 | 0 |
Lance’ll make you dance. Taking advantage of the minutes afforded him due to the suspensions to Brandon Ingram and Rajon Rondo. Should be doing less dancing and more sitting very soon.
