October 29, 2014 – DownToBuck

Thaddeus Young 26 Points Timberwolves Debut Full Highlights (10/29/2014)

Thaddeus Young walked into Irma’s Diner and smiled faintly at the old-timey decor. It certainly fit his impression of what restaurants in Minnesota were like. Crocheted this and knitted that covered every piece of furniture in the operation, and the people sitting at the long bar were all either wearing overalls or sweatpants. Sitting down…

Otto Porter 13 Points Full Highlights (10/29/2014)

New seasons mean new chances for players who may have underperformed the previous year. Only a fool would cling on to results of past years, as if they were the sole predictor of future events. The truth is, changes in team composition, plus a myriad other factors, make NBA success very hard to predict. Always…

Marcus Morris 21 Points/5 Threes Full Highlights (10/29/2014)

Marcus saw his brother, Markieff, grab a heavily-contested rebound. Rather than dump it off to Dragic or Bledsoe, Markieff took the ball himself, and Marcus began to sprint alongside him. Not making eye contact, Marcus instead began to think the phrase “throw me the lob” over and over. He was sure it would work this…

Jabari Parker 8 Points Bucks Debut Full Highlights (10/29/2014)

Jabari is standing at the podium, ready to give his hall-of-fame inductance speech. In his mind he looks back fondly on one game in particular, the first game of his championship-ring adorned career, against the Hornets. They may have lost that night, but who is the real winner now? Looking over the assorted luminaries present,…

Marvin Williams 19 Points Hornets Debut Full Highlights (10/29/2014)

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: there exist no fans of Marvin Williams. There are merely a few fans (usually of his current team), who maintain that he is a good role player. But that’s it. Do not try to persuade me of your Marvin fandom in the comment section. Nothing you…

Brandon Knight 22 Points/13 Assists Full Highlights (10/29/2014)

It’s hard to tell if Brandon Knight is a good player or not. His stats look pretty damn good by themselves. Take this performance, after which he is leading the league in assists per game. Ask any Bucks fan, though, and you’ll end up with a tearful recollection of how the Bucks went to the…

Mike Scott 20 Points Full Highlights (10/29/2014)

The transformation in Mike Scott’s game is complete. The former interior scorer is now, almost exclusively, an outside threat. He knows the reality of the NBA: the easiest way to make yourself valuable is to be big, and to be able to shoot threes. This is especially valuable to the Hawks, who are collecting as…

Giannis Antetokounmpo 10 Points Full Highlights (10/29/2014)

It appears that the “play Giannis at the points oh man next Magic Johnson” movement has lost most of its momentum. The preseason game where it was attempted was a disaster, featuring a bunch of turnovers and not much else. It makes a lot more sense to let Giannis’ unique skills create a matchup problem…

Michael Kidd-Gilchrist 17 Points/2 New Jumpshots Full Highlights (10/29/2014)

Michael Kidd-Gilchrist has fixed (kinda) his jumper! The first offseason with shooting guru Mark Price didn’t seem to do any good, and I wondered if we would be forced to view his abominable “jumper” until kingdom come. This year, however, we were treated to some early clips on social media showcasing a totally redone form,…

Zach Randolph 25 Points/13 Rebounds Full Highlights (10/29/2014)

Checking his red polo shirt in the reflection of his car window, Zach Randolph smoothed out the creases and took a deep breath. Walking around to the back of the Krispy Kreme store, he found the service entrance. Sure that it would be locked, he tested the handle, which turned easily in his hand. Having…