Some NBA stuff

And speaking of stuff, that's what Serge Ibaka did with Mavericks shots tonight.
I helped cover the Oklahoma City-Dallas game tonight for The Associated Press, and the Thunder's Ibaka had an unusual double-double of 11 rebounds -- and 10 blocks!
Like his teammates, the Congolese big man didn't even start playing defense until the second quarter. OK City allowed just 57 points over the final three periods in its 95-86 victory.http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif
It got to the point where it appeared that Ibaka had posted a "No trespassing" sign at the foul line. So while the Thunder were (AP style)/was (grammatical) scoring 42 points in the paint against Dallas's Brendan Haywood-less defense, the Mavs were mostly bombing away from long range. And missing.
Dirk Nowitzki -- roughed up by the Thunder's defense, primarily Kendrick Perkins, and playing on a bad knee -- made just 2 of 15 field goal attempts.
As a center, Ibaka is far more Russell than Chamberlain, but don't you dare ever say I compared him favorably to either of those literal and figurative giants. However, while Ibaka would score very few points for your fantasy basketball team, he was already a giant in the blocked-shots category. He ranked third in the league before his double-digit night.
It might be that the Mavericks just suck inside, or it might be that I've seen some of the NBA's better defensive centers recently. The Suns' also impressed me when I saw him against Dallas. Gortat even can contribute offensively, so there's another low-profile guy to consider for an NbA fantasy team.
On the other hand, you might want to reconsider a number of your Mavericks picks. Tonight especially, they looked old and slow. Shawn Marion went limping out of the American Airlines Center after the game. He almost qualifies as young on a team that most resembles the 2005 All-Star team.
The lone exception could be Jason Terry, who never saw a shot he didn't like and still can make them.
True, the Mavs were playing without Haywood, who helped bring a defensive presence in the middle for a team that had lacked one seemingly forever. Without him, Oklahoma City resembled the Warriors who ran at will through the middle of Dallas' defense in the 2007-08 playoffs. Kevin Durant and especially Russell Westbrook played the roles of Steven Jackson et al. tonight.
OK, so Lamar Odom didn't play. (He's not getting any younger either.) And Jason Kidd, who might begin collecting his pension the day after he retires.
A last basketball note: The Thunder is/are for real.
My original intention for this post was to remind baseball fans, if you didn't already know or remember, why Jan. 31 and Feb. 1 are two of the best dates on the calendar. I decided while driving home that I can hold that topic for a day or so.