Where Four Poor Teams Play On Thanksgiving (Day 31)

Two games on Thanksgiving night. In the first, the Atlanta Hawks rolled the Wizards, 116-96, behind Josh Smith's all around line of 20 points on 8-14 shooting, 4-4 free throws, with 14 boards, 5 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks. Joe Johnson (21 points on 8-16 shooting, 3-5 treys, 2-2 free throws, with 5 boards, 5 assists, no turnovers) was typical Joe Johnson, and Al Horford (15 points on 6-11 shooting, 3-3 free throws, with 13 rebounds, a steal and 2 blocks) had a double-double, as well. The Wizards were led by Gilbert Arenas and his 21, 6 and 8, with 4 treys and 3 steals.

In the second game, the Clippers beat the Kings, 100-82. What puzzles me is why NBA schedulers chose to air this game on a national holiday on national television. This game was boring and awful.  What puzzles me even more is why guys like Luther Head and Donte Greene have starting jobs on an NBA team. I mean- I know that the team is struggling, but ever since this nonsensical lineup shuffle, the Kings have been even worse. Whatever. If you're being blown out by the Clippers on national TV, then you've definitely got a problem. Good news for the Clippers, however. It seems as though the Clippers, whose 1-2 combo is usually Baron Davis (laziness) and Chris Kaman (ankle), have found a new 1-2 combo: Eric Gordon (28 points on 8-17 shooting, 1-3 treys, 11-12 free throws, with 4 boards and 6 assists) and Blake Griffin (25 points on 7-11 shooting, 11-15 free throws, with 15 rebounds, 5 assists, and a steal).