The NBA Roundup: March 29, 2013

Milwaukee’s win won’t do much for their Playoff seeding, but it just threw a wrench into the Lakers’ campaign to lock up eight spot in the West. Meanwhile, the Pacers remained the East’s second seed while the Kings saw a rare inspired effort from DeMarcus Cousins.

Day’s Best:

•        Remember years ago when the only thing missing from Ben Wallace’s game was his offense? Well, our prayers are answered by way of Larry Sanders, who could end up as a much improved modern version of Wallace simply because he can score in more ways. Against the Lakers, Sanders dropped 21 points on 8-of-11 FG shooting to go with 13 rebounds and 2 blocks.
•        We haven’t seen much from Paul George since the All-Star break, but his all-around production against the Mavs (24 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists, and 3 steals) is a bright reminder of why Indiana is better than 13 other East teams right now.
•        DeMarcus Cousins’s season-high 34 points to go along with 14 rebounds was mighty impressive. Now if he can just do it with more consistency.

Larry Sanders got the better of BOTH Pau Gasol and
Dwight Howard in the Bucks' win over LAL.
(image by Gary Dineen/Getty Image)

Day’s Worst:

•        Phoenix has won just 6 games since the All-Star break. The implication? The Suns have the worst record in the West. The WORST. Yes, Hornets fans are jumping for joy. Yippee.
•        Steve Nash sat the entire fourth quarter against Milwaukee. If this latest injury is serious, then the Lakers might as well hand eight seed to Al Jefferson’s Jazz.
•        And here I thought the Mavericks were raring to shave. OJ Mayo, Vince Carter, and Elton Brand combined to shoot only 10-of-31 from the floor.

The NBA Roundup: March 21, 2013

This series of daily Roundups will be different from our regular NBA posts, which focus more on the Hoop Nuts’ opinions, feature stories, and listings/rankings. The NBA Roundups will focus exclusively on daily recaps (credit to the Sports Network) and will attempt to give the day’s best and worst.

Needless to say, for all NBA diehards, this series will be reminiscent of the Daily Dime or the Daily Zap.

Let’s start with the games from yesterday, March 21, 2013 (all times are Manila time):

Day’s Best:

•        LeBron James’s triple-double against his former team – 25-12-10. MVP this early?
•        Duncan continues to defy Father Time. The Big Fundamental dropped 25 and 13 to go with 6 dimes and 4 blocks. #oldmancan
•        CP3 remains to have my vote for the planet’s top PG. 19 points, 6 rebounds, 9 assists, and 5 thefts? Man.

It's not too early. LBJ might already be the MVP.
(image by Tony Dejak/AP)

Day’s Worst:

•        OKC and MEM played a really tight game. It was great for hoops purists, but for the NBA’s nouveau fans who are wont to like high-scoring affairs, this was not ideal – both clubs combined to shoot under 36%!!! I LOVE OKC, but tonight they were… bleh.
•        Boston shot 32% and was outrebounded 30-12 in the second half against NOH. The result? You guess. #droppedtheball
•        Monta Ellis shot the Bucks out of their game against ATL. Ellis made just 2 of 14 FGs, wasting the monster double-double effort of Larry Sanders – 19 and 14.

The NBA: February 2013 Position Battle – The Top 5 Centers Right Now

No Dwight. No Chandler. No Gasols. The only All-Star on this list is Chris Bosh, and, well, that’s not saying much after he was on the wrong end of a couple of highlight plays. Still, this might give us all a glimpse of who will be big producers in the second half of the season.

Note: All of the following stats are based on the last five games of each player as computed by HoopsStats.com.

5. Al Jefferson (UTA) - 23.0ppg, 7.8rpg, 1.4spg, 1.6bpg, .571 FG%, 24.4 EFF

The Jazz are in the thick of the Playoff race out West, and their 6-3 February standing is pretty impressive. Big Al has been a BIG part of that, of course, with his all-around polished game. Other teams are taking a close look, too, since he’ll be a free agent after the current season.

4. Chris Bosh (MIA) - 17.5ppg, 10.0rpg, 1.5spg, 1.0bpg, .585 FG%, 24.8 EFF

An 8-1 February has Miami solidified at the top spot in the East, and if Bosh continues to quietly put up great numbers, then a repeat title run is a very real probability. A double-double, a steal, a block, and nearly 60% FG shooting EVERY NIGHT? Including 20 points, 12 rebounds, 3 blocks, and 2 steals against OKC before the All-Star Weekend? Phew. Man. Bosh is a beast.

3. Nikola Vucevic (ORL) - 16.4ppg, 12.6rpg, 3.0apg, .600 FG%, 25.0 EFF

Is it too early to call him the marvelous Montenegrin? Vucevic continues to be awesome in 2013, and though the Magic have nothing to show for, he’ll surely remain one of the big draws of the reeling Orlando franchise. His best this month so far? A 17-point, NINETEEN REBOUND effort against Portland – in the Magic’s only win in nine February games.

2. Larry Sanders (MIL) - 13.0ppg, 10.5rpg, 5.5bpg, .545 FG%, 25.0 EFF

The 2010 first round pick is finally coming into his own, averaging his best NBA numbers ever. And things might continue to get better. Milwaukee is holding on to the eighth spot in the East, and Sanders is really the only solid slotman in the Bucks’ thin frontline. Let Ersan Ilyasova hurl the three-bombs, and let Sanders grab the ribbies and protect the paint. I mean, FIVE AND A HALF BLOCKS PER GAME. Whuuut?!

1. Al Horford (ATL) - 20.6ppg, 9.6rpg, 3.0apg, 1.6spg, 1.0bpg, .652 FG%, 28.0 EFF

The Hawks have been inconsistent in February, but Horford has reeled in 20+ point performances in his last three games to grab the top spot among the league’s bigs. There’s no one part of his game that really jumps out at any observer, but he’s been the most consistent of the lot, and that’s a big part of what makes him such a dependable player. Also, look at that FG% number – the guy makes more than 65% of his shots. And this is a guy who takes about 14 shots a game. Insane.

Al Horford is maybe one of the most consistently
solid big men in the game today.
(image by John Raoux/AP)