1/8/16 -
We travel to face the Celtics who are 13-22 and struggling in their last 10. We are favored to win...
It is a close game but Augmon hits a last minute jumper to seal it! We win 108-105. Augmon led us with 20 points and 8 boards.
Ellis with 19 points and 8 assists. MCW with 14 points, 14 assists, and 4 boards.
Embiid with 14 points, 9 boards, and 2 blocks.
Theus with 14 points and 4 boards.
Noel with 8 points and 4 boards. He hurt his knee this game but can play through it.
We will play Noel less minutes while he recovers. It appears to only be a minor bruise though.
1/9/16 -
We come back home to host the Bucks as part of the 2nd night of a back-to-back. They are 21-17 behind their young potent lineup even with Jabari Parker hurt: PG Knight (81), SG Gene Hall (who we considered with a high 1st round pick now a 78), SF Giannis Antetokoumpo (76), PF John Henson (75) and C Larry Sanders (80). Their bench is led by SG O.J. Mayo (75)
We POUND the ball inside on them early and do major work building a 63-30 lead at the half. We cruise to a 126-88 win! We are now 18-18!
Augmon led us with 30 points, 6 boards, and 4 assists. He shot 11 of 19.
Ellis with 25 points and 7 assists. He shot 9 of 16.
Embiid with 19 points, 10 boards, 2 assists, and 3 blocks. He shot 6 of 8 from the field and 7 of 7 from the line.
Rodgers with 17 points and 5 boards off the bench in 22 minutes.
MCW with 11 points, 10 boards, and 10 assists. He shot 5 of 9.
Noel had his worst game - in 19 minutes he scored 0 points, 1 board, and 2 blocks.
Theus with 6 points, 12 boards, and 6 assists off the bench.
Deng with 8 points and 8 boards in 20 minutes. I thought about trading him but his salary comes off the books next year...
Watson with 8 points and 1 assist in 15 minutes.
Some news from around the league:
Nicolas Batum signed a 3 year 25 million dollar extension with the Trailblazers.
Durant and Carmelo were the players of the month for December.
My favorite combo guard from USC, Wilson Anderson had a great month and is now being projected top 3 in the draft. He is averaging 23 ppg and 9 apg.
Upcoming FA's (as of now):
Howard - 30 years old - rated 91.
Lance Stephenson - 25 years old - rated 87 (might be a good fit...)
PF Tim Duncan - 39 years old - rated 85
SG DeRozan - Former USC star is lighting it up. 26 years old. Rated 85 overall. If I don't get my USC rookie, he will be really hard for me to pass up
Wiggins - 20 years old - rated 84. I assume the team will use their option on him so he will disappear from the list.
PG Kemba Walker - 25 years old - rated 84.
PF Julius Randle - 21 years old - rated 84 - I'm sure team will use their option.
SG Kobe Bryant - 37 years old - rated 82.
MCW - we will use our team option on him.
G Stan Randolph is projected #1 overall. He is 6'4 220 and is tearing it up for Clemson. Our staff says this about him:
He is a supremely skilled ball distributor with great skills to find he open man. He can drive the lane and score when he gets to the basket. He has the potential to develop into something truly special. His weakness is his defense and post game. He also has some character concerns. He is averaging 24 ppg, 7 rpg, and 4 apg.