NBA Preseason-October 20th

Washington 90, Philadelphia 89

The Good: Washington had five players reach double-figures, led by Randy Foye with 17 and Caron Butler with 16. The Wizards also had five players with 6 or more rebounds, as they gathered 50 total rebounds as a team. Andre Iguodala led the 76ers with 19 points. He also added 3 boards and 4 assists. Marresse Speights had his third straight strong showing, tallying 14 points and 8 rebounds in 23 minutes off the bench.
The Bad: As good as Speights has been for Philadelphia, Elton Brand has been equally bad. Coming off serious injuries the last two seasons, Brand struggled for his third consecutive contest, posting just 4 points and 2 rebounds on 1-of-4 shooting in 21 minutes. Fabricio Oberto and Dominic McGuire combined to shoot 0-for-8 in 42 minutes for Washington.
The Ugly: There were only 35 total fouls in this game, leading to only 17 free throw attempts for Washington. The Wizards only converted 10-of-17, for 58.8%, including a 1-of-5 effort by Brendan Haywood.

Charlotte 94, Milwaukee 87

The Good: Tyson Chandler was quiet in his debut with Charlotte, but the Bobcats pulled out the win behind 15 points and 4 steals from D.J. Augustin and 14 points on 7-of-8 shooting from rookie Gerald Henderson. Milwaukee got 14 points apiece from four players, including Andrew Bogut, who added 10 rebounds and 2 blocks, and lottery pick Brandon Jennings, who posted 8 assists and 2 steals.
The Bad: Michael Redd scored only 6 points in 25 minutes and Hakim Warrick went scoreless off the bench in only 5 minutes for Milwaukee. The Bucks were also plagued by mental mistakes, committing 20 turnovers and converting only 68.2% of their free throw attempts. Charlotte was better from the line, but committed an eye-popping 25 turnovers in the win.
The Ugly: Charlotte got the win, but it came at a huge cost. Starting guard Raja Bell will likely require surgery on his left wrist that would keep him out for most of the season.

Cleveland 96, Dallas 66

The Good: Cleveland destroyed Dallas behind five double-digit performances, led by 16 points apiece from Mo Williams and Zydrunas Ilgauskas. Williams added 6 rebounds and 11 assist, and Ilgauskas had 7 rebounds and 3 blocks. LeBron James tallied 12 points, 4 rebounds, and 7 assists, with 2 steals and 2 blocks. Kris Humphries may be the surprise of the preseason, as he continued his stellar play, posting 20 points and 9 rebounds in 29 minutes off the Dallas' bench.
The Bad: Would it be fair to simply say the Dallas Mavericks? Dallas shot 33.8% from the floor, 22.2% from the 3-point line, and only reached the free throw line 13 times. In their defense, the Mavs played without Dirk Nowitzki, Jason Kidd, Jason Terry, Shawn Marion, and Josh Howard.
The Ugly: In the four quarters of this game, Dallas scored 18 points, 16 points, 16 points, and 16 points.

New York 108, Boston 103

The Good: New York had a great showing against Boston after playing a stinker against Maccabi Tel Aviv on Sunday. Nate Robinson led the Knicks with 21 points and 5 steals, but Danilo Gallinari also had a promising showing, posting 18 points in 25 minutes. The starters played well too, as Al Harrington tallied 20 points and 8 rebounds and David Lee did his thing, with 19 points and 16 rebounds. Rajon Rondo had 20 points and 7 assists, and Marquis Daniels added 17 points off the bench for the Celtics.
The Bad: Boston settled for jump shots far too often in this game. They attempted 24 3-pointers, making only 6. Eddie House and Rasheed Wallace were a combined 5-for-17 from beyond the arc.
The Ugly: Hawks' center Al Horford claims that Paul Pierce welched on a $10,000 bet the two made during their 2008 first-round playoff series. Horford and teammate Marvin Williams claim that Pierce bet Horford that Boston would sweep the series, which eventually went to seven games.

San Antonio 119, Oklahoma City 102

The Good: Michael Finley led the Spurs with 20 points and rookie DeJuan Blair notched another double-double, with 17 points and 10 rebounds off the bench, while Manu Ginobili showed little rust in adding 7 points and 5 assists off the bench for San Antonio. Kevin Durant, Jeff Green, and James Harden showed the firepower that many expect will make the Thunder dangerous in the Western Conference, as each shot 50% or better from the field on their way to a combined 64 points. Russell Westbrook had an interesting line, posting 9 assists and 3 blocked shots.
The Bad: Oklahoma City shot just 61.9% from the free throw line and allowed San Antonio to top 30 points in each of the first three quarters. San Antonio committed 22 turnovers in the win.
The Ugly: Thabo Sefolosha scored just 1 point on 0-for-6 from the field and 1-for-4 from the free throw line, and registered a +/- rating of -24 over his 27 minutes.

Denver 129, Minnesota 100

The Good: Denver had five reserves in double-digits, and shot 58.8% from the field as a team as they dismantled Minnesota, who was playing without Kevin Love (broken hand) and Al Jefferson (flu-like symptoms and Achilles tendinitis). Carmelo Anthony had 24 points in only 23 minutes, and former Piston Aaron Afflalo added 20 to lead the reserves. Corey Brewer had 23 points to lead the Timberwolves, and added 7 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals.
The Bad: Minnesota struggled all over without their best two players. The worst shooting night by any Denver Nugget was Joey Graham's respectable 3-for-7. Minnesota saw starters Oleksiy Pecherov and Damien Wilkins, and reserve Ramon Sessions combine to go 3-for-23 from the floor.
The Ugly: Minnesota was outscored by a whopping 38 points in the 19 minutes Sessions was on the floor.

LA Lakers 113, Golden State 107

The Good: The Lakers took the lead in the first quarter and never looked back in this one. Kobe Bryant was back on his game after two off nights, posting 21 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 steals on 7-of-12 shooting, and Andrew Bynum had yet another good game, with 20 points and 9 boards on 7-of-11 from the field. Ron Artest attempted only 3 field goals in 29 minutes, but led the Lakers with 8 assists. Anthony Morrow led the Warriors with 24 off the bench and Ronny Turiaf (12 points and 12 rebounds) and Stephen Jackson (15 points and 10 assists) notched double-doubles for Golden State.
The Bad: Anthony Randolph had an effort characteristic of a young player, posting only 1 points, 1 rebound, and 1 assist in 20 minutes. The Lakers were out-shot from the floor and the 3-point line, but won due to an 11 point edge at the charity stripe.

Phoenix 143, Sacramento 127

The Good: Holy offensive explosion, Batman! The Suns scored above 30 points in each quarter, including 42 in the third quarter, despite only making 41-of-87 field goals (47.1%). Sacramento, by comparison, made 49-of-98 field goals, for an even 50%. The difference in the game was at the free throw line, where Phoenix had an unprecedented night. Sacramento committed 36 fouls, leading to 56 Phoenix free throw attempts, of which Phoenix converted 91.1%. That's 51 points from the free throw line! Phoenix also made 10-of-21 3-point attempts for 47.6% and were led by 29 points from Channing Frye and 27 from Amare Stoudemire. Goran Dragic added 21 points, 8 rebounds, and 4 assists off the bench. Omri Casspi had 22 points and 7 rebounds, Tyreke Evans had 21 points and 8 assists, and Kevin Martin had 20 for Sacramento, who shot 8-for-15 from beyond the arc. The Kings also collected 20 offensive rebounds, but it wasn't nearly enough.
The Bad: No one playing in this game could even spell defense. I'm hesitant to blame the Suns' feast at the free throw line on the referees, as the Suns themselves were only whistled for 19 total fouls to the Kings' 36.
The Ugly: Phoenix finished the game without both Steve Nash (ankle injury) and Grant Hill (technical fouls).

Utah 108, Portland 97

The Good: Utah shot over 50% from the field, exactly 50% from 3-point range and over 83% from the free throw line in their win over Portland. Deron Williams led the Jazz with 27 points. The Blazers got strong performances from a couple of young players, as rookie forward Dante Cunningham and second-year point guard Jerryd Bayless combined to score 30 points off the bench. Martell Webster shot poorly, but collected 2 steals and 4 blocks in his 29 minutes.
The Bad: Portland shot just 2-for-15 from 3-point range, and their starters contributed only 28 points in the loss. Mehmet Okur and Paul Milsap combined to shoot 1-for-12 for the Jazz.
The Ugly: Brandon Roy attributes the Blazers' preseason struggles to chemistry problems, likening the team to a quarterback trying to get on the same page as a new receiver. One can't help but wonder if this is due to Nate McMillan naming Steve Blake the starting point guard over Andre Miller before the start of training camp.

LA Clippers 108, Maccabi Tel Aviv 96

The Good: The Clippers had seven players in double-figures, led by Chris Kaman with 18 points. Blake Griffin notched yet another double-double with 13 points, 10 rebounds, and 4 assists in 29 minutes. Chuck Eidson led Tel Aviv with 18 points.
The Bad: The Clippers shot just 4-of-15 from 3-point range and committed 18 turnovers, while securing only 7 steals as a team.