Things I Learned Watching Basketball on Sunday

The Superman "feud" is stupid, but the match-up is great

I'm totally sick of the talk about whether Shaq or Dwight Howard is the real Superman, but I have to admit that it makes the match-up between the two that much more entertaining on the court. It's such a fun battle to watch: a declining legendary big man against a young monster who's just beginning to realize his potential. They both looked like they had something to prove, so I've got to give some credit to Shaq's jackassery for thickening the plot. Dwight ultimately won the battle showing great confidence in the post, but Shaq kept it interesting by going 9-10 for 20 points despite foul trouble.

Orlando is deep

It's taken them a while to put it together, but the Magic seem to be figuring things out at the right time of the season. Orlando just has so many weapons on offense. After relying on Dwight in the post in the first half, the Magic were able to hold the Cavs off in the end thanks to Jameer Nelson and Vince Carter's offense. Mickael Pietrus AKA Air France also stepped up with his play on both sides of the court. I've enjoyed watching him since his days in Golden State. He's a talented athlete, with three-point range, and great perimeter D.

LeBron James can shoot the Cavs out of games

LeBron can make his presence known on the court unlike anyone else, but he has a tendency to take bad shots that hurt Cleveland. Take away his five missed three-pointers, and he would have been shooting well above 50%. The Cavs might have won the game, too. With that said, I've seen plenty of games where LeBron will sink a few threes in a row that initially seemed like bad shots.

I really, really love me some two-handed blocks

The Nuggets are for real

Denver made it to the Western Conference Finals last season pushing the Lakers to six games, and they're capable of making even more noise this year. The Nuggs have been impressive throughout most of this season, even when Melo's been out. Billups' emergence as a true leader has instilled a culture of winning that just wasn't there during the Allen Iverson years. In addition to this, Melo has expanded his game and stepped up his his once suspect defense. Denver's frontline is still one of my favorites in the NBA, with Birdman's energy and K-Mart and Nene's consistency. When J.R. Smith gets his head in the game, which he did in the 4th quarter against the Celtics on Sunday, the Nuggets are a very scary team. Rookie Ty Lawson also gives them an added dimension in the backcourt that they lacked last season when the aging Anthony Carter was the primary back-up at point guard.

Stephen Curry is really good

Not but a week ago, I was arguing with one of my friends that there was no chance that Stephen Curry could win the Rookie of the Year award over Sacramento's Tyreke Evans. While I still think Evans will win it, Curry's performance against the Hawks on Sunday has shaken my confidence a bit. After the Hawks had been leading by 18 in the 3rd quarter, Curry got Golden State back in it and took the game over. Although he had 4 assists to 5 turnovers against Atlanta, Curry has shown an ability to run the point as of late. His assists included a couple of perfectly placed cross-court passes that got the Oracle Arena crowd into it and really changed the game. I just love to watch Golden State pull off upset wins.

Hot Grizzlies Ground Down by Cavs

The Cavs mopped the floor with the Grizzlies tonight, beating them 105-89. They held Zach Randolph to only 8 points and 4 rebounds, forcing him into 5 turnovers. The Cavs played OJ Mayo extremely well too. All night they forced him into the shot blockers, with Shaq blocking two and Lebron getting a chase down block, which he swatted off the glass. The Grizzlies are one of the better fast breaking teams in the league, but the Cavs held them on the break. Rudy Gay was the only guy who could score on the Cavs in the first half and they held him to just 3 points in the second half. Just an all around show of defensive prowess by the Cavs. Lebron even sounded like KG out there screaming at his bigs to force Zach Randolph, who likes to go left, to his right.

With 15 assists Lebron hit his career high with only 4 turnovers. He was setting people up with ease, hitting Varejao for a couple easy baskets in the lane and getting Shaq the ball with very deep position. Lebron didn't need to score much and he took advantage of the Memphis zone with his distribution skills. One thing I did like about his scoring tonight was how he took smaller defenders in the post. He got single coverage from Mike Conley Jr., backed him down in the post and hit a baby hook over him. He did the same on OJ Mayo and got even deeper position for another hook. It was positively Carmelo Anthony-esque the way he took the small guys on his back down low. I hope he continues to do this throughout the year as it only adds to his offensive efficiency.

Memphis is a great rebounding team, with the number one rebounding differetial in the league at 4.7 a game. The Cavs are one of the best too, with a 4.5 differential, and were able to out rebound the Grizzlies by 3. That is a testament to their work ethic as a team on the block. They kept one guy on Randolph the whole game and wouldn't let him control the glass. Varejao did some pesky blocking out on Randolph and frustrated him all night.

This was a real strong win for the Cavs and it puts them a game and a half up on the Lakers for the best record in the league. They also have the longest win streak in the league at 9 games. They are looking strong going into the allstar break.

I expected a better game from the Grizzlies after they beat the Lakers at home, but the Cavs won easy in a blowout. Cavs coach Mike Brown said this week that he wanted some games that weren't so easy so the team could learn to execute in a close game. It didn't happen tonight as Lebron sat for the last 5 minutes of the game. I am a little worried about his lack of 4th quarter minutes because it looked like he got worn down late in games last year in the playoffs. I hope Mike Brown adjusts his minutes as the year goes on so he can be used to playing a full 48 minutes despite the blowouts.

'Melo's 41 topples Blazers, Bulls surprise Spurs

Nuggets 97, Blazers 94

After watching the Nuggets first two games against Western Conference threats the Jazz and Blazers, this team seems poised for a big season. The division rival Trail Blazers nearly closed the game out, but Carmelo Anthony's offensive attack proved to be too much as he scored 19 of his 41 points in the 4th quarter. 'Melo was excellent, consistently banging bodies in the paint for points. Chauncey Billups had another strong game with 22 points and 6 assists. I do have to question Chauncey's shot selection, who shot just 5-14 from the field. He has proven in the past to be one of the best pull-up jump shooters in transition, but he wasted several possessions on quick shots. Rookie point guard Ty Lawson saw less action tonight, as he struggled on defense against Rudy Fernandez, which landed him on the bench. No one else had big games for the Nuggets, but everyone showed up when needed, particularly Nenê who had a huge play in the closing moments. After getting an offensive board, he put up a miss, hustled after his own rebound, and made a nice hook shot over Greg Oden. But it was ultimately 'Melo, who got them the W on the road. One last thought before I move on to the Blazers. It will be big for Denver when J.R. Smith returns from his suspension, so that George Karl can stop playing two point guards at the same time. Plus, J.R. Smith = buckets… sometimes.

The Blazers struggled from the field, shooting just 34%. Spanish guard Rudy Fernandez was the only Blazer to have an all-around good game posting 22 points on 6-9 shooting. He was also perfect from the line on all 8 shots. Brandon Roy managed to score 30 points by getting to the line 18 times. Despite poor shooting, Roy did have some great plays including a buzzer beating three-point bank shot to close the 3rd quarter. Martel Webster started out strong with some big plays, but would finish with only 10 points. Portland's going to need their young big men Greg Oden and LaMarcus Aldridge to step up if they want to take that next step into the Western Conference elite. I still think they're a few years and possibly a few roster adjustments away from being true contenders.

Bulls 92, Spurs 85

I hardly watched any of this game, but this block on Richard Jefferson by Derrick Rose is worth a look. This kid has serious ups. Rose had a highlight worthy offensive play too, but it hasn't made it's way to youtube yet.

'Melo Posterizes Paul Milsap

I didn't watch this game too closely, so I'll spare you the details. The Jazz were looking pretty good (mainly Deron Williams), but the Nuggets looked just that much better. This steal and huge dunk by Carmelo Anthony on Paul Milsap kept the momentum with the Nuggets for good. The main point I want to make is that rookie point guard Ty Lawson out of UNC looked like a natural pro in his first game. He's looking to be a steal as the 18th pick in the draft.