01-31-20 NBA Blog Train Friday
The Blog Train is back! TGIF.
We had to take some time off. We needed to regroup, to revaluate and reassess everything.
Ultimately, life goes on.
It’s like Kobe said:
“What I’ve learned is to always keep going.”
The Blog Train rolls on with seven games on the Friday night menu.
Raptors -4 at Pistons UNDER 223
The defending champs marched into Little Caesar’s Arena and imposed their will. Raptors -4 and UNDER 223 would have been a double Pure Lock. Never in doubt.
The Blog Train is back which means that so is the Pistons injured bench gang!
The Pistons injured bench gang might be our new favorite segment.
Raptors 105, Pistons 92.
The Raptors have won 10 straight.
The Pistons have lost 5 straight.
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Bulls at Nets -5.5 OVER 219
Mr. Whammy was really letting Cristiano Felício have it when Felício was attempting free throws in the second quarter.
Bird told us that today is Mr. Whammy’s 84th birthday. Happy birthday, Bruce!
The Bulls injured bench gang was also really cracking us up.
Garrett Temple power dunk!? Level 3 cause it’s Garrett Temple? “Temple of Doom!”
Nets 133, Bulls 118.
Uncle Drew was deep in his bag Friday night. 54 points on 19 of 23 shooting, 7 of 9 from three, 9 of 10 from free, 5 assists and 5 boards. Kyrie was 3 points away from tying Deron Williams Nets’ franchise record.
In the latest episode of WHO HE!?, we have Adam Mokoka! #20 for the Bulls, Mokoka is a 6-5 21-year-old rookie from Paris on a two-way contract. Tonight was Mokoka’s fourth NBA game.
Double WHO HE!? alert! We also have Jeremiah Martin! #8 for the Nets, J-Mart is a 6-3 23-year-old rookie from Memphis who just signed a two-way contract on January 15th. From the looks of his Basketball-Reference and ESPN pages, it appears that this was J-Mart’s NBA debut.
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Mavericks +8 at Rockets Over 238
No Luka tonight, and he is set to miss the next six games with his ankle injury. *big sigh*
There is a perfect meme in here somewhere, but we don’t have it yet, and we don’t have the time right now to find it. We’ll come back to it later on, don’t worry.
Rockets 128, Mavericks 121.
For the Mavs not having Luka, this was a close one. But Harden’s threes were falling late and Westbrook scored 30+ again.
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Grizzlies at Pelicans -7.5 Over 242
No JJJ or Brandon Clarke in this one, so hopefully you jumped on the Pellies -7.5 and Over 242, woulda been another Double Pure Lock!
Zo to Zion oop!
Shoutout to all of the people who said that Zion has no basketball skills. #lol
In the second quarter, Zion air balled a free throw and yelled, “Oh shit!”
Then he yelled, “God damn!”
When you realize you cussin’ in front of the kids and moms.
When you apologize for cussing.
When you laugh it all off and drill the next free throw because you’re Zion.
Pelicans 139, Grizzlies 111.
Zion’s final stat line: 24 points in 29 minutes on 9 of 15 shooting, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 turnover and a +25 net rating.
Zion takes the first meeting vs. Ja but we’ll remember the Grizz didn’t have JJJ or BC.
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Thunder -1 at Suns Under 223
This one was back and forth with 21 lead changes.
Suns fans made us proud when they boo’ed Chris Paul every time he touched the ball. Why? Because CP3 was voted to the All-Star Game and Devin Booker was not. We can’t wait until the Suns play the Rockets! *checks schedule* Next Friday night!
Thunder 111, Suns 107.
Well, the team with an All-Star won the game, but both teams should have All-Stars! (Book did have 7 turnovers tonight, but nobody cares about that.)
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Nuggets +13 at Bucks OVER 226
There was not one but TWO Antetokounmpo’s in the starting lineup for the Bucks on Friday night.
Why? It was Greek Night! Thanasis played 5 minutes total in his first career start.
Nuggets 127, Bucks 115.
If you’re not betting the Nuggets when they are on the second night of a back-to-back, you’re doing it wrong.
Mike Malone deployed nine Nuggets tonight and all nine scored in double figures. Malone said it was their best win yet.
The Nuggets made a season-high 22 three pointers.
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Blazers +13 at Lakers Over 233.5
Whew. We knew this was going to be tough. And it was. But the tribute to Kobe was beautiful.
In the game, Dame continued his roaring tear.
Which included this power/poster dunk! Upper Level 3?
Blazers 127, Lakers 119.
Dame’s last six games have been UNREAL: 48, 36, 50, 47, 61, 34 and 34 points.
There is no doubt that Dame D.O.L.L.A. got that Mamba Mentality.
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One more Kobe quote from tonight’s tribute:
“You have to dance beautifully in the box that you are comfortable dancing in. My box was to be extremely ambitious for the sport of basketball. Your box is different than mine. Everybody has their own. It’s your job to try to perfect it and to make it as beautiful of a canvas as you can make it. And if you have done that, you have lived a successful life. You have lived with Mamba Mentality.”