Derrick Rose was one of several significant injuries to hit the NBA recently
The sport of basketball has officially become a “Game of Thrones”-esque bloodbath. “Lightning,” “The Beard,” and “Big Hass” all continued to turn heads, while Eric Bledsoe and company outdid one of basketball’s best in stunning fashion.
This is The Week That Was.
Falling Stars
The sky had metaphorically fallen in the NBA last week. We witnessed a plethora of superstars twiddling their thumbs on the sidelines as they missed time due to an existing ailment or suffered a sudden, severe injury. Kevin Durant missed the entire week with a foot injury he sustained on Feb. 19. The lightning to Durant’s thunder, Russell Westbrook, had a crater carved into his face after being kneed in the cheekbone by teammate Andre Roberson on Feb. 28.
Westbrook kneed in the face by his own teammate https://t.co/J1HTUbhSwl
— Jonathan Ebanks (@hogz4lyfe) March 1, 2015
-This Vine was posted by Vinnyviner
Stephen Curry missed the Warriors’ loss to the Pacers on Feb. 22 with heel pain. On Feb. 28, the LeBron James-less (sore back), Kyrie Irving-less (left shoulder) Cavaliers also fell to Indiana. LaMarcus Aldridge sat on Feb. 22 with a sprained right thumb. Anthony Davis missed the whole week with a bum shoulder. DeMarcus Cousins was kept out of a Feb. 28 matchup against San Antonio with an ankle sprain. Last, but certainly not least severe, Derrick Rose sadly suffered a torn medial meniscus in his right knee, which was the same meniscus he tore last season.
The amount of injuries the league’s stars are accumulating and the amount of gametime these guys are missing isn’t good for the NBA, its product, and the paying customers. It lowers the quality of basketball overall when teams are missing their best contributors, and that is a disservice to the fans. Due to the week-long All-Star break and the NBA’s 82-game schedule, we have seen more instances of the dreaded “four games in five days” scheduling issue than ever before this season. We are left with a total of 1,230 games that need to be played in just 170 days. That’s insane, and the league doesn’t care that exhausting their players to this degree has put them at an unnecessary risk. The current 82-game schedule is simply too much on the human body, but considering that the league will lose money by lowering that number, don’t ever expect that total to fall.
Harden Puts Rubio in Crutches…And Starts a Twitter Beef
On Feb. 23, James Harden once again decided to take his game to the next level on the hapless Minnesota Timberwolves in his effort to clinch the MVP award. I’ve gone on and on about Harden in these GIF articles, and even still he never ceases to amaze me. Harden bludgeoned the opposition with a disgusting triple-double of 31 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists. He also didn’t disappoint on the money stats by recording five treys, a steal and a whopping four blocks. Sure, he may have missed 13 of his 20 shots, but hitting 12 of his 15 tries from the charity stripe made up for it. Basically if you didn’t start him in your fantasy league last Monday, you’re:
A) A crazy person who shockingly hasn’t been institutionalized yet.
B) A lazy person who doesn’t care about the opportunity to utterly humiliate your opponent in this glorious game of fake baskets and balls.
-OR-
C) A crazy person who shockingly hasn’t been institutionalized yet.
The highlight of this game that has recently made its rounds across the interwebs occurred in the third quarter when Harden annihilated Ricky Rubio with a most deceitful crossover. Oh you sneaky bearded devil, you!
"The Bearded One" embarrassing the mess outta Ricky Rubio https://t.co/XtJfaqJagn
— Jonathan Ebanks (@hogz4lyfe) March 1, 2015
-This Vine was posted by cvbg22
I congratulate Rubio on having the hustle to still try and contest the shot, even though it was all for naught. After the third quarter, the Rockets decided to have a little fun at Rubio’s expense.
After 3, Rockets lead Timberwolves 84-75. Ricky Rubio may be dead. Harden: 24p/10a/9r Smith: 12p/2r/2a D-Mo: 12p pic.twitter.com/t1Paysjnrp
— Houston Rockets (@HoustonRockets) February 24, 2015
The Timberwolves then rallied behind their star point guard.
@HoustonRockets pic.twitter.com/BBryOZTnIJ
— MN Timberwolves (@MNTimberwolves) February 24, 2015
The Rockets didn’t let up, though.
@MNTimberwolves Ask that girl if the hospital she's in has crutches. For Ricky.
— Houston Rockets (@HoustonRockets) February 24, 2015
@HoustonRockets ………
— MN Timberwolves (@MNTimberwolves) February 24, 2015
The Rockets ended up putting down the Timberwolves 113-102.
Epic PG Duel In The Wild Wild West
We live in an era where talented point guards are a dime-a-dozen, but two of the league’s better ones put on an exciting show on Feb. 26. Both Russell Westbrook and Eric Bledsoe showed everyone during their matchup why they are two of the best two-way point guards in the league today. While Phoenix did end up coming out on top in the 117-113 overtime affair, the score alone just doesn’t tell the full story on how things played out.
The Suns spent most of the game leading by at least eight points, but the Thunder fought hard in the final few minutes to turn this into a winnable contest for OKC. With just 20 seconds in regulation and the Thunder down 109-106, Westbrook decided to attack the basket instead of going for the triple…which resulted in a successful three-point play to tie things up with 13.4 seconds left.
— Jonathan Ebanks (@hogz4lyfe) March 1, 2015
-This Vine was posted by Vinnyviner
The Suns were denied their final chance to win the game in regulation when Serge Ibaka rejected Markieff Morris’ shot attempt. Bledsoe then chipped in four of the Suns’ first six points in overtime to create a 115-111 lead with 1:51 remaining in OT. The Thunder would ultimately fail to overcome this deficit and have their seven game winning streak snapped by a Suns team that was 2-8 in their last 10 going into that contest.
Let’s take a look at some of the incredible highlights each team’s noteworthy point guard created.
Here you have Bledsoe sweeping across the lane and making a statement by going right at Enes Kanter, who dominated the Suns down low with Alex Len in foul trouble. Bledsoe ended up drawing the foul and converting the and-one.
Bledsoe with the hoop and the harm! https://t.co/eQsn5O34hT
— Jonathan Ebanks (@hogz4lyfe) March 1, 2015
-This Vine was posted by NBA on TNT
Now we see Westbrook successfully tying things up at 106 with 33.1 seconds left after hitting a difficult contested layup over P.J. Tucker and dishing the rock to Ibaka for some quick points in the paint on the ensuing possession.
Impressive bucket and assist from Russell Westbrook tie it late https://t.co/9HTETpN3Jo
— Jonathan Ebanks (@hogz4lyfe) March 1, 2015
-This Vine was posted by Anthony Slater
Here is Bledsoe rising to the occasion on defense in overtime to keep the Suns ahead. He chased down Dion Waiters from behind to deliver an emphatic block that hyped up the crowd.
Eric Bledsoe #Rejection on Waiters #NBA https://t.co/xu3aHbZHnD
— Jonathan Ebanks (@hogz4lyfe) March 1, 2015
-This Vine was posted by StreetHistory
You’d think that Westbrook was totally awesome in this one based on his highlights and stats alone. I mean, he did put together an out-of-this-world triple-double with 39 points, 14 boards and 11 assists to go along with three steals in 43 minutes of physical, frantic basketball. The glaring negative of his performance was that he had to jack up 38 (really?) shots to get his 39 points! The guy only hit one of his 10 triples attempted. This effort anointed Westbrook as the only player in over 30 years to shoot 38 times and record 10 dimes in a game. He actually managed the difficult task of surpasssing the “ball-hoggyness” of the post-Shaq, pre-Gasol Kobe Bryant.
Let’s just say Westbrook could learn a thing or two about efficiency from Eric Bledsoe. He almost finished with a triple-double of his own, recording 28 points on 11-of-16 shooting, 13 rebounds, nine assists and four blocks in 42 minutes of play. Westbrook’s stat line was still more impressive overall, but Bledsoe showed that he is ready to handle the extra responsibility made available to him when Goran Dragic and Isaiah Thomas were jettisoned. The Suns’ victory tied them with New Orleans in the playoff race, as both teams were just one-and-a-half games behind the Thunder after this matchup. The Pelicans and Suns aren’t ready to give up the fight for the playoffs just yet!
40 Points, 13 Rebounds, 11 Assists, One Dent
If Westbrook truly is the lightning to Kevin Durant’s thunder, then the heavens apparently planned for lightning to strike the very next night in Portland on Feb. 27. In other words, Westbrook pulled off his third straight triple-double that night, notching 40 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists. However, the Thunder left the game seeming rather dismayed. It’s not because they lost another close contest 115-112, but because Westbrook suffered a cringe-worthy injury to his face, which I touched upon earlier.
To give you a rundown of what happened, the Thunder were in control throughout the second half, but allowed the Blazers to make a huge comeback that put Portland up 113-110 with several seconds left. Next, Westbrook was fouled by Wesley Matthews as he attempted the game-tying three with about two seconds remaining. Westbrook, an 84 percent foul shooter, bricked the first shot, thus forcing the Thunder to create another scoring opportunity to have a chance at victory. He hit the next two free throws, but fell to the floor after the final foul shot. As he raced to get up in time for the Blazers to inbound the ball, he took a hard knee straight to the cheek from teammate Andre Roberson.
Westbrook painfully stayed on the floor, before arising to watch Damian Lillard sink the game’s final two free throws. As he stood upright, it was clear to see the dent that was created directly between his right eye and right earlobe.
-This GIF was found on Imgur.com
Fortunately, he underwent a successful procedure to address his right cheek injury on Saturday. He will be re-evaluated this week to see when he will be able to play again.
Beware the Wrath of Whiteside
If there is anything NBA fans have learned since Jan. 1, it’s that the NBA is Hassan Whiteside’s league, and everyone else is merely playing in it. He continues to shut up the naysayers and statistically dominate the glass better than everyone else. His performance against the Hawks on Feb. 28 was just another example of how unstoppable he can be down low.
The Hawks were in control throughout much of the game, but Whiteside’s aggressive post play and defensive intensity spawned a 9-3 third quarter run that put Miami back in it with four minutes left to go in the third period, down 56-49. His eight offensive boards throughout the game gave the Heat many second-chance scoring opportunities. He also continued to impress in the post with his lethal hook shot.
Whiteside was the star of the Heat’s best highlight on Saturday. With 6:43 left to go in the third quarter, he grabbed an offensive board in heavy traffic from an off-target Henry Walker jumper. Whiteside then nailed a very tough contact shot, resulting in an and-one that he successfully converted.
-This GIF can be found on Fans.Heat.NBA.com
All in all, “Big Hass” finished with 14 points, two blocks, and a ridiculous 24 rebounds in the Heat’s 93-91 loss to the Hawks.
Jonathan Ebanks is a correspondent at FantasyPros. To read more from Jonathan, check out his archive and follow him @hogz4lyfe.
