| This happened a lot Sunday night. (Getty Images) |
Each night, Eye on Basketball brings you what you need to know about the games of the NBA. From great performances to terrible clock management the report card evaluates and eviscerates the good, the bad, and the ugly from the night that was.
| Kevin Durant | That's what an MVP performance looks like. Not just the scoring and knocking down the biggest shots in the biggest moments, but distributing (8 assists) and getting after it on defense. Not Durant's finest game of the season, but a gem that may have had the most impact on his season. The Thunder can now believe they can hang with a probable Finals contender, dominate, even, and that their home crowd can lift them to the highest levels. This wasn't a fluke, heartwarming win, it was a statement of arrival. And Durant was the messenger. | |
| Memphis Grizzlies | After six incredibly disappointing efforts, Memphis' noted intensity and approach returned with a vengeance. They were all over the Laker defensively. They were in their passing lanes and on the weakside rotations. They got out in transition offensively and kept theLakers having to adjust. They were relentless and they were just faster to the ball than the Lakers. This is the version of the team that can challenge for the Western title. | |
| Atlanta Hawks | Took him quadruple overtime to knock off the Jazz. It was an epic game, but the Hakws continue to do just enough to get by without every seriously challenging for anything signifcant. They pass with a win though and the fact they were able to muscle up that kind of energy given their schedule should be considered admirable. The Jazz are an upstart, but not that much of one. | |
| Los Angeles Lakers | All that progress during the Ramon Sessions start fell apart on Sunday night as the Lakers went back to their worst habits. A lack of effort and focus and in the middle of a series of odd rotation decisions, Mike Brown benchd Kobe Brown for most f the fourth qurater. Let me state that again. Mike Brown benched Kobe Bryant in the fourth quarter of a close game. The authorities have been put on alert. | |
| Miami Heat | I'm going to give this recap of the Heat's performance the same level of effort they gave against the Thunder. (Matt makes raspberry noise.) |
| E FOR EFFORT | |
| Joe Johnson (Scored 37 points, but more importantly, plugged in 55 minutes on the third game of a back to back to back and hit the game tying shot to send it into OT twice and wound up winning the game. So a good night.) | |
| Kevin Love (30 points and 21 rebounds in a big win over Denver as Love's MVP resume grows.) | |
| Raymond Felton (24 points, 5 rebounds, 7 assists. It lives!) | |