A bright spot amid the ongoing debate about Hassan Whiteside’s true effectiveness and the growing curiosity surrounding the Heat’s plans with Goran Dragic between now and the Feb. 23 trade deadline is the progress of Tyler Johnson.
Miami’s $50 Million Man uncorked 32 points in a double-overtime loss to Orlando last week, accounting for the highest total for a Heat reserve in franchise history. Johnson’s 13.4 points per game is the second-highest scoring average among players with no starts this season, behind only the Lakers’ Lou Williams (19.7 PPG) and ahead of OKC’s Enes Kanter (13.1 PPG).
We always say that paying too much attention to the L10 category in the standings feels somewhat remedial in this era of advanced stats, but the Trail Blazers’ ongoing 1-9 funk is like the car crash you can’t look away from.
Washington was an early pacesetter in the league’s Most Disappointing Team derby before the Wiz began to right themselves — while Minnesota, Atlanta and Detroit are all still on that list — but the Blazers have to top it as 2016 dribbles to a close.
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There’s a risk for further disappointment as well Monday night, with Damian Lillard’s ankle woes threatening to derail the scheduled showdown between the league’s two highest-scoring backcourts: Lillard and C.J. McCollum versus Toronto’s DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry.
Elite Mens Mike Weaver Jersey (We should note, for posterity’s sake, that the Nets are the first team to lose at home by 15 or more points after leading by 15-plus at halftime in — gulp — 30 years. It hasn’t happened since the Suns endured a similarly painful turnaround against the visiting Clips on Dec. 30, 1987.)