In spite of probably THE craziest day we’ve had on NBAToday, there was some basketball played on Thursday. TNT did not disappoint, with two high-flying matchups that featured what many thought to be the two best teams in each conference (arguably).

So, instead of going through the normal wrapup, lets play “Five Things You Should Takeaway From Game”.

Nuggets 118, Cavs 116 (OT)

1. Carmelo is a top 3 player in the NBA. Maybe top 2. I’ll grudgingly argue that Kobe is the best player (which pains me). But as far as this season goes, Carmelo Anthony is proving to all why he belongs in the conversation as MVP. His 40 points in this ball game, including the last shot Denver took in OT (which by the way, was over LeBron James).

2. Lebron vs. Melo was masterful. It made me wish I had “Duel of the Fates” playing while watching these two square up against each other.You sometimes even saw a smile come out of Carmelo after watching LeBron hit a big shot, and then he’d go down and match it.

If you don’t know what Duel of the Fates is, stop what you are doing and go watch Star Wars Episode I.

3. Is LeBron doing too much? Concern over Cleveland’s team play was evident last night. Does LeBron really trust his players? I’m basing this totally on stats right now, but look at the monster game LBJ had – 43 points, 15 assists, 13 rebounds, 4 blocks. What bothers me about this that after LeBron, not a single player – including the PGs on the team – had higher than Mo Williams’s 3 assists.  Yes, LeBron is getting his teammates involved, but he honestly shouldn’t try to be the point guard on this team.

4. JR Smith is starting to creep into the picture for 6th man of the year. I still think Jamal Crawford wins this award hands down, but its nice to see another player enter the conversation. He’s now averaging 15 points a game in ~27 mpg this season. He knocked down some big shots last night, which helped keep the Cavs in check when they could have started a run.

5. BIG Z – We all know he got traded in return for Antawn Jamison, but the bigger question – what will they do with his puppet?!

"...who wants to buy some DVDs?"

Celtics 87, Lakers 86

1. If you love the Celtics (which you should) this game should concern you. Why? What are the Lakers without Kobe Bryant? Maybe a 6 seed or a 7 seed in the West. And the Celtics barely squeaked by on this game. If it wasn’t for a bad decision by Phil Jackson and a TRBL shot by Derek Fisher, the C’s would have lost this game. I am even further worried about the playoff chances of the Boston Celtics, and this game didn’t do anything to appease that.

2. Ray Allen came alive. After some less than desirable shooting performances  the past couple of games, it was very good to see Allen get back in his rhythm. He shot 10-15 from the floor, including 4-6 from the 3-point line. Thats 66 percent on both numbers. INCRBL!

3. Rasheed Wallace looks bored. His play is starting to bother me. Why are we standing at the top of the key and chucking up three’s?  We already have a player like that-  his name is Brian Scalabrine. Everytime Sheed shoots the ball I have a painful flashback to an Antoine Walker jumpshot that just makes my stomach churn. Sheed – get down low, body people up, and stop playing soft. He went 2-11 tonight and finished with 4 points.

4. No Kobe? Throw it down low. This game featured one of the best rebounding teams in the NBA (Lakers), and one of the worst (Celtics). Without Kobe in the lineup, the Lakers used their size to their advantage. Lamar Odom had a solid double-double off the bench with 14 points and 13 boards. Andrew Bynum chipped in 14 points and 9 boards. Gasol had 22 points and 7 boards. Artest, you ask? 15 and 8. I have to give credit where it is due – it was a nice coaching decision to pound the ball down low and rely on the big men to take over the game.

5. Nate the Great – Nate Robinson was not in action last night, as he was still making his way to join the team. As a fan who bleeds green, I’d like to say happy trails to JR Giddens, Eddie House, and Bill Walker as they will now go join the Knicks. I had the opportunity to meet Eddie House and JR Giddens earlier in the year at a Nets game and they were class-acts. Good luck with the Knicks and any other future endeavors.

This is Duts, and I love Thursdays in the NBA.