The season seems to have settled in a bit but with the passing of Dec. 15th trades will for sure be plentiful. Last week also saw big match ups between potential post season contenders and injured stars beginning to emerge from their team's injured reserve lists.
1. On Tuesday, in the first rematch from last years seven game eastern conference finals, Indiana won a close battle, maintaining just enough control over the Heat to come away victorious 90-84.
2. On Thursday the Rockets and Blazers squared of in a preview of a potential playoff matchup for the two young contenders. LaMarcus Aldridge and Dwight Howard both had stellar performances. Howard getting 32 points and 17 rebounds and Aldridge scoring 31 points while pulling in a monster 25 boards to carry the Blazers to a 111-104 victory.
3. The Blazers continued their relentless domination in a statement win over the 76ers on Saturday, 139-105. Portland set a new franchise record for threes in a game, 21, breaking the previous record of 17 set just a week prior on December 6th against the Jazz. The Blazers shot a ridiculous 56.8% from outside (higher than from the rest of the floor). They also racked up 40 assists, further proving this team has a right to be in the discussion.
4. With some of their primary wings, J.J. Redick and Matt Barnes, sidelined with injuries the Clippers signed veteran free agent Stephen Jackson who played for the Spurs most of last season, being let go right before the playoffs. The terms of the contract were not disclosed but the Clippers are certainly hoping to replace the sorely missed outside shooting of J.J. Redick while he recovers from a broken hand. Jackson is certainly capable of hitting big outside shots but at the age of 35 this should not be seen as the big move to answer all or even many of the Clippers big questions.
5. As Sunday December 15th passes we have now entered into the stage of the season in which free-agents signed over the summer become eligible for trades, thus opening the full potential of the trade market. With many big names being speculated about;Deng, Gasol, Asik, Shumpert, David Lee, Rajon Rondo, even Tom Thibodeau and so on and so forth, expect to see pieces fall fast and freely. As teams jostle for position, both high and low, many big moves are expected to take place and any player moved before Thursday December 19th will be eligible to be traded again before the February 20th trade deadline. This promises to be a potentially big week.
6. In regards to Omer Asik and the Houston Rockets a trade may already be in place. While no official statement has been released it is alleged to be a three team deal involving the Sixers and possibly the Celtics, potentially seeing Thadeus Young and Jeff Green in new uniforms. Whatever the actual deal is expect Rockets GM Morey to pull the trigger on it by Dec. 19th if he doesn't find a better offer by then.
7. On Saturday Rajon Rondo who has been out so far this season with a torn ACL was cleared to rejoin team practices. No word as of now on when he will fully return to the team but coach Brad Stevens is hoping to see his point guard on the court come January. Rondo will certainly be a plus for a Celtics squad that was expected to chuck away the season yet are now sitting atop the Atlantic division and about to get to get a boost from his return.
8. In other injury related news Tyson Chandler has been cleared to return to practice with the flailing Knicks. He has been practicing since Monday, engaging in non-contact drills and has even thought it possible to return as early as Wednesday's game against the Bucks.
9. Staying with the Knicks Carmelo, one of the lone consistent (enough) bright spots for New York, had a behemoth performance against the Hawks on Saturday, carrying his team to another victory 111-106. With a win over the Bulls earlier in the week and defensive anchor Chandler set to return sometime soon things are starting look up for the forlorn men in orange and blue.
10. The Hawks fighting for their own relevance in a largely irrelevant conference had a last minute win in overtime against Washington on Friday. Tied at 99 and facing a second overtime period Al Horford sank a fall away jumper at the last second to close it out for Atlanta.
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