Match-Up of the Night: Familial Obligations vs. The Blog

Because of family related post-Thanksgiving obligations, I'm not going to have an opportunity to write a complete Match-Up of the Night post. But I still wanted to leave you with a couple of quick notes going into tonight's game.

-Darko Milicic did an excellent job guarding Tim Duncan when the Spurs played the Grizzlies on Monday night. He consistently held the positional advantage over Duncan, who responded by forcing shots that he didn't need to take. If Duncan can get going, this game will not be close. But if the Grizzlies somehow manage to derail Timmy for a second time, they will have a fighting chance at nabbing only their second road win of the season.

-Hill has been playing excellently recently. In his last 4 games he is averaging 20.5 points per game (the very simple math it took me to calculate that number is the most advanced metric you will ever see independently produced by yours truly). At a certain point teams are going to have to begin responding defensively, but I don't believe the Griz have enough tools to slow down Mr. Hill. Tomorrow night's game against the Rockets (whom he played excellently against in a narrow victory earlier this month) will be a more definitive testament to what Hill can do consistently.

-Udoka and Thomas both played very well on Wednesday. When they are playing well, this is a considerably more dangerous team. Tonight could be telling as to whether they have finally risen above their early season struggles or whether they merely got it together for a game against the easily derailed Bulls.

I hope everyone enjoyed their Thanksgiving. I spent mine perched above the 30 yard line of Darrel K. Royal Memorial Stadium cheering on the Longhorns as they took down rival Texas A&M in impressive fashion. Not a bad way to spend an evening if I do say so myself. And just so everyone knows, the final vestiges of Thanksgiving-related family stuff, dove-tailed by the always pleasant travel experiences that punctuate the holiday, may mean 48 Minutes of Hell is a bit neglected over the next 48 hours. If that happens, I'll do my best to take a look back at this weekend's games on Monday.