First game of the day was Denver and Houston. The game was fairly entertaining and had a nice pace to it. Both teams really elected to use guys who hadn’t seen much action a lot. Ty Lawson got hurt and ended up with an ice pack on his shoulder so he didn’t play a lot and I didn’t see Colby Karl there either.

The pace was nice like I said but Denver could not get it’s shots to fall. several of them just rimmed out and they trailed for the majority of the game. They did make a comeback later but it didn’t matter.

Laurence Ekperigin was fantastic tonight. Took great shots and was able to seal himself away from defenders to get lay-ups and dunks. Has a nice mid range jumper and knows the pick and roll.

Othella Hunter finally had a good game. I remember him playing a few seasons ago with the Hawks and was excited to see him play and until today he had let me down. He rebounded well but his offense is still below average.

I was shocked to see JR Smith there, but apparently he wanted to play and the coaching staff let him. He was the typical bad JR Smith we all seen in the playoffs. Taking 30 foot three point shots and not playing defense. Nuggets fans have nothing to worry about, JR Smith will be the JR Smith of the last several season.

Chase Budinger thought he was Kobe Bryant tonight. He scored the first 12 points of the game and hit nearly everything he took. His shot looks beautiful when he shoots in rhythm and he can run the offense as well as the point guards as well.

Jordan Hill also had a great game. Didn’t look to score much but when he did he was effective. He did a nice job on the boards as well.

Patrick Patterson’s games have gotten progressively worse. He did end up with 10 rebounds to salvage his day but his offense is terrible. He took about six horrible long range shots and several bad fade aways.

The second game I caught was between the Knicks and Raptors and it was a great game. Really high pace and really a lot of fun to watch. The teams combined to scored 65 points in the first quarter which is a great change of pace from teams scoring 65 points in a game.

Both teams really wanted to run. The Knicks are trying to implement their run and gun style with their new rookies. The Raptors seemed to be trying the same thing. This made it a really entertaining game to watch and there were several very nice dunks in transition.

Bill Walker continues to disappoint. He did basically nothing in 20 minutes of play,

Jerome Jordan and Andy Rautins continue to look like dudes for the Knicks. The one thing in Jordan’s favor is that he can block shots and play some defense. Rautins seems to be a flat out bad pick.

Landry Fields however continues to impress. I watched him a lot today and he continues to remind me of a young version of Lamar Odom. Very good ball handler and similar body size. I think the Knicks will be happy with him.

Marcus Landry finally played and played well. He took some good shots and moved well without the ball. However he needs to actually do something on the defense end occasionally; standing there will not cut it in the NBA.

Sunny Weems had a good game for the Raptors. Very efficient shooter and will make the extra pass.

DeMar DerRozan looks to be having his coming out party and is an early candidate for MVP of the tournament. He had a very good game for the Raptors. He could make Raptor fans forget about Chris Bosh because he does have the complete skills package.

I also like Soloman Alabi. He’s not a scorer but has good NBA size and can rebound.

The last game I attended of the day, there was another but I didn’t go, was between the Bulls and Clippers. The game was the John Lucas show. The Clippers did nothing, and I mean nothing for about 15 minutes of game time. From the 5 minute mark in the second quarter until under a minute in the third they scored six points all on free throws.

Oddly enough though the Clippers got up 10-0 and the Bulls went on like a 50-13 run. Needless to say this game was an absolute bore fest.

John Lucas was fantastic. Made great shots, passed the ball and ran the offense flawlessly.

Trent Plaisted did a very nice job too. Has a good NBA body and works really hard. Has some very good moves around the basket as well.

Morris Almond continues to shoot and do nothing else.

Al-Faruq Aminu was about the only Clippers player who played well. He did try to take the game over and missed a ton of shots but compared to his teammates he did wonderful.

Eric Bledsoe was abused by John Lucas. It wasn’t even close, Bledsoe just looked terrible out there.

Sofolkis Schortsinitis is a huge man. He must be 350 pounds. He is quick for someone that big though.