Every night there are some stupendous, silly, stupid, or downright outlandish individual lines from around the lig. Doing Lines lets you know which one tops the list.O.J. Mayo didn't exactly make a big splash in his first three preseason games -- the rook shot just 34.1%, including an atrocious 14.3% from long distance, while scoring all of 14, seven and 11 points, respectively. Maybe the tweener's game doesn't translate to the NBA after all ...
... or maybe making snap judgments on a guy three meaningless games into his career is incredibly stupid. Mayo finally had the scoring explosion we knew was in him, lighting up the Pacers for 26 points in just 30 minutes last night.
Will the NBA three-point line be a problem for him? It doesn't look like it: he shot 6-8 from behind the arc and 10-17 from the field. Of course, there's more to basketball than simply filling up the bucket, but he came through on the other end of the court with five steals.
OKC's First W: While my early pick for ROY was lighting it up in Memphis, last year's ROY was helping the Thunder get their first official win since the move. Kevin Durant was criticized for his 43% shooting last year but came through on Monday with a solid 8-16 night from the field (not to mention 10-11 from the line). Toss in five boards, four dimes, four steals and three blocks, and he filled up all the right columns in the box score.
Playing the Right Way: Larry Brown is tough on all of his players, but he's notoriously hard on his point guards. With that in mind, Raymond Felton and rookie D.J. Augustin earned a little extra time to let their bruised egos heal after combining for 17 assists and just four turnovers in a combined 57 minutes last night against the Hawks. Before their heads get too big, of course, Brown will definitely remind them of their pitiful shooting (a combined 5-18 FG), not to mention their one-point loss to the Hawks.
