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.
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| Team | Grade | Analysis |
|---|---|---|
 |
D- |
Houston hung, but without Dwight Howard, just didn't have enough weapons to throw at Brooklyn. They were without Patrick Beverley, Howard, Terrence Jones, and Greg Smith, so there were times they played without a center. Jeremy Lin played... OK offensively but struggled defensively and without most of their athleticism in the paint the Rockets struggled to defend adequately down low. James Harden had 26 points on 10 shots, which is great, but this was another game where honestly, the number of fouls he draws bogs down the offense and gets it out of rhythm, and he's still not playing any defense. |
 |
B |
Solid all-around win. Shaun Livingston continues to play well, and you could just watch the Nets' veteran knowledge overwhelming the Rockets' rotations. Joe Johnson just crushed the Rockets. perimeter, in the post, everywhere. He overwhelmed them. The Nets continue to be an exceptionally dangerous team flying under the radar. |
 |
B- |
They made very few mistakes. 1. They went away from Dirk Nowitzki on the game-deciding possession. Monta Ellis was blocked a the rim by Jermaine O'Neal. Maybe it was a goaltend. Maybe it wasn't. But Nowitzki needs to get the ball there. 2. They kept Jose Calderon on Steph Curry and on the gamewinning possession (above), Vince Carter left the double. Outside of that, they played a great game. But they get Monta-heavy too often, go away from Devin Harris and his defense to Calderon too often, and don't play defense, at all. Tough loss. |
 |
B+ |
This wasn't pretty. For an offensive game, there were a lot of mistakes. They got a great game from Jordan Crawford which they can't count on, and Draymond Green had a great game until the last five minutes of the fourth. They had to survive about fifteen daggers. The reality is that when things get tough, the Warriors' best option for offense is just to launch threes. Not work for quality ones, just launch. It worked tonight with Andre Iguodala, Klay Thompson, and Steph Curry. They should go to it more often. Huge win for the Dubs on the road. |
 |
B |
Damian Lillard and LaMarcus Aldridge were great. The rest of the team did their thing. They controlled the tempo, and in the 4th quarter, blew the doors off a terrible team. Portland's getting hot again. . |
 |
F- |
Nick Young scored 40 in the most Nick Young way possible and it ended in the most Nick Young way possible. Steve Nash ran the offense beautifully. The Lakers are horrible, so they lost badly. |
