206 Weekend Tracker: The Golden State Warriors march on and Terrence Ross shines

This weekend was packed with NBA action and considering that I am going to attempt to cover all of the action that took place, let's split this up into three separate parts.

FRIDAY

12 games were played Friday night, as Aaron Brooks certainly carried the torch for the PNW. He scored 18 points on an incredibly efficient 8-10 from the field, hitting some very timely shots late in the fourth quarter, using an array of impressive floaters. Considering his hot shooting performance, it's not surprising that Brooks finished a +23 on the night.

Brooks solid play earned him the right to close the game next to Derrick Rose, and even though that won't be the way the Bulls will close games very often, it was fun to watch. The Bulls came away victorious, knocking off the Portland Trail Blazers 115-106. If you missed this game, I suggest that you find a way to watch it. It featured a vintage Derrick Rose and a fun duel between Rose and Damian Lillard. (See that here).

Jeff Green had a big night against the New York Knicks on Friday, scoring 28 points on 45% from the field, 50% from behind the arc (4-8), and he knocked down six of his seven free-throw attempts. I have been a little harsh on Green in the past, and probably a little too negative about him. While I don't believe that Green will ever be a max player, and he probably shouldn't be a team's number two option if they have hopes of winning a title, he is a solid NBA starter who is physical on the wing, can play defense, and score in bunches.

As I noted here, Green has struggled mightily to shoot the ball from behind the arc this season, so it was nice to see him light it up from deep against New York. Friday was his second best performance from behind the arc this season, being topped only by his 6-10 performance against Detroit on December 3rd.

Avery Bradley missed this game as he was suffering from flu like symptoms, and the Knicks ended up winning 101-95.

Isaiah Thomas made his return to the lineup Friday after missing the previous eight games nursing an ankle injury. While Thomas had a pretty forgettable performance, going just 3-11 from the field and 1-6 from three, it was nice to see him back on the court. The Suns have struggled in his absence, going 3-5 over that eight game span. How much of that struggle can be attributed to the absence of IT is a question for our friends over at Bright Side of The Sun.

Moving right along....

SATURDAY

Klay Thompson and Tony Wroten headlined Saturday evening with impressive outings.

Thompson filled it up once again Saturday, scoring 25 points and shooting an impressive 45% from behind the arc, which is amazing considering he took 11 shots from deep. Golden State's meteoric rise this season has been well documented, and following the 115-98 win over Dallas on Saturday, the Warriors record stands a ridiculous 21-2.

This start has prompted comparisons to the 1996 Bulls team that went 72-12, (Kerr was a member of that team), and while Kerr has quickly dismissed it, the fact that the Warriors have caused people to make the comparison is definitely impressive. While I don't know if the Warriors will match or exceed that mark (I agree with Kerr and don't think they will) I do know this: They are the best team in the NBA at the moment.

While Thompson is a member of a team that is being compared to (arguably) the greatest team of all time, Tony Wroten might just be a member of the worst team of all time.

The brutal season for the 76ers continued on Saturday, as they lost to the Memphis Grizzlies 120-115 in Overtime. The Sixers were up by 18 at one point, and head Coach Brett Brown had some very sad quotes, and the look of a man endearing a struggle, comparable to Frodo's struggle to destroy the ring.

On a more positive note, in Tony Wroten's second game back from a sore knee, he scored 17 points, impressively, in 19 minutes. Wroten had an very efficient performance against his former team, going 7-11 from the field and added five assists, though he did have three turnovers. Wroten has seen his minutes drop after the return of Michael Carter-Williams, he is averaging approximately 29.4 minutes per game in the 10 games that both he and Williams have played, down from the 33.4 minutes that he averaged during MCW's absence.

SUNDAY

Terrence Ross had a solid performance on Sunday, scoring 22 points on only 11 shots. He seems to enjoy playing in Madison Square Garden, Husky fans remember what he did at MSG during his time at Washington. Maybe he just enjoys playing against the Knicks' terrible defense.

Ross was hot from behind the arc, going three for five, and was moving without the ball well. It seemed that the Raptors focused the offense around Ross a bit more, as they were setting numerous pin down screens to get him open. This was highlighted in 12-point third quarter, that included two emphatic dunks. You can see the highlights of his performance here.

As I mentioned before, the Warriors knocked of the Pelicans 128-122 in overtime to notch their 16th straight victory. While Klay didn't shoot the ball from behind the arc as well as he did Saturday, going just 2-7, he made up for it by being aggressive and getting to the foul line, knocking down seven of his nine attempts. He averaged 27 points over the weekend. You can find the highlights of his performance on Sunday here.

Kevin Durant had a nice outing against the Phoenix Suns Sunday, scoring 23 points in just 24 minutes of action. He also added 8 rebounds and went a perfect 6-6 from the line. The Thunder are 6-1 with Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook both in the lineup, and have won six straight games.

They stand at 11-13, just a few games out of the eighth playoff spot. They look like they will make up the ground they lost while Westbrook and Durant were out and make the playoffs. It still will be very difficult for them to gain a top four seed at this point, which should make for a very interesting first round match up if they are one of the bottom two or three seeds.