Around the game: Long or short, there’s no in between for McLemore
It was quite something to watch Ben McLemore of the Houston Rockets when they were in Toronto earlier this season. He took 18 shots in that win over the Raptors, and 17 of them were three-pointers. It was noteworthy at the time, but has since become the norm.
According to NBA.com, McLemore hasn’t attempted a single mid-range shot this entire season. It’s either been at the rim or beyond the arc, and he hasn’t attempted a two-point shot of any description in his past four games. He’s averaging 7.8 threes per game and shooting 39.6 per cent from long range.
Not bad, Brad: It’s not entirely fair to say that any one player can single-handedly determine the success of a team, but Washington’s Brad Beal is certainly coming close.
This week, Beal put up backto-back games of 50 or more points, the first time anyone’s accomplished that on consecutive nights since Kobe Bryant did it in 2007. Beal had 53 or more points in each of those games — only Wilt Chamberlain and James Harden have ever done that in a back-toback.
Thanks to Beal, the Wizards are hanging around the Eastern Conference playoff race, four games back of No. 8 Orlando heading into Thursday night.
Winning Clip: The last thing Raptors fans probably want to hear is a team lamenting how it has had to fight through a rash of injuries this season, and that goes double if it’s the Los Angeles
Clippers and Kawhi Leonard.
But the Clippers are making something of the fact they are now 5-0 — with wins over the Lakers, Heat and Grizzlies in there — when they have been at full health.
“It always comes down to having a group of guys that are committed to winning, and I have that group,” Clippers coach Doc Rivers said. “This isn’t hard work. It’s joyous work.”
Celtics watch: It’s too early for Raptors fans to really do a lot of scoreboard watching.
Besides, they probably wouldn’t like what they see if they did. Thanks to Jayson Tatum, who is on the hottest streak of his career, the Boston Celtics have crept within one game of the Raptors in the loss column after an impressive back-to-back sweep of games in Portland and Salt Lake City this week.
Much of it is due to Tatum’s play. He lit up the Jazz for 36 points on Wednesday after scoring 41 in Portland on Tuesday, as Boston keeps winning without injured starting point guard Kemba Walker.