Empty the Bench

By: Zachariah Blott

Jason Kidd and Josh Smith have a historically monstrous night: Fans at last Friday’s OT showdown between the Hawks and Mavericks were treated to a rare triple-15, a near quadruple-double, and one of the oddest plays in NBA history. First, 36-year-old Jason Kidd earned his 104th career triple-double, putting up 19 points, 17 assists, and 16 rebounds. This is the first 15-15-15 game since 1996, when a 22-year-old Kidd pulled the trick in a win over the Clippers. Not only was Kidd’s stat line magical, but his final 5 minutes of regulation were outright ridiculous.

With the Mavs losing by as much as 13 in the fourth quarter, Kidd owned the last 4:53 of regulation, registering 9 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists over that stretch to force overtime. The true craziness came with 1:37 left, when Kidd ran full speed into Atlanta coach Mike Woodson, who was standing a step or two out on the court directing his team’s defense. Even though they’re not allowed to be there, we see coaches on the court all the time, but Kidd saw an opportunity in this never-paid-attention-to situation, and ran into Woodson, forcing the refs to call a technical foul. The coach tried to avoid Kidd at the last second, but to no avail. Watch for yourself.

Lost in the Mavericks’ spirited comeback/overtime victory, Kidd’s triple-double, and this zany play, was the performance put on by the Hawks’ Josh Smith. The multi-talented forward nearly had the fifth quadruple-double in NBA history. Smith filled the stat sheet to the tune of 18 points, 11 rebounds, 8 assists, and 7 steals in the loss. David Robinson was the last player to accomplish the feat, doing so back in 1994.

Sacramento and Houston clash with familiar faces: A few weeks after the trade deadline, Sacramento and Houston squared off with PF Carl Landry and SG Kevin Martin playing significant roles for their new teams in an 84-81 victory for the Kings. Landry continued his solid contributions for Sac-town, scoring 22 points (7-13 shooting) and grabbing 10 rebounds (5 offensive), along with 2 steals, 1 block, and going 8-8 from the free throw line. Martin had 14 points, but he was only 3-13 from the field, and he turned the ball over 4 times. His poor defense and shot selection have predictably continued for Houston, who are 2-5 since his arrival, sliding quickly into next-year mode.

Orlando out-rebounds Golden State by 100%: I understand that a team with Dwight Howard will out-rebound opponents quite often. But what happened to the Warriors on Wednesday was inexcusable. The Magic doubled them up, 58 rebounds to 29. The following Orlando players had as many or more rebounds than Golden State’s leader that night: Howard (12), Matt Barnes (7), reserve Marcin Gortat (8), reserve Brandon Bass (7), and 6-0 point guard Jameer Nelson (6). In the Warriors’ defense, they are currently contending with innumerable injuries and Don Nelson’s leadership.

Zachariah Blott cannot recommend Rick Telander’s “Heaven Is A Playground” enough.

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