I took my son to the Atlanta Hawks/ Detroit Pistons game last night. As you know, the Pistons have the worst record in the NBA. So it should’ve been a pretty easy win for the Hawks. But the Pistons made it far too interesting in the fourth quarter, but the Hawks pulled it out by 8. The only reason it was close, is Malachi Flynn for Detroit went off for 50 points. He hit almost everything he shot. Coming into the game, he averaged 4.6 ppg on the season. The previous game he had 9, and the one before that he had only 3. The dude is not even a starter for the worst team in the NBA. In the last 12 games, he’s scored 3 points or less 6 times, with a high of just 17. Just insane how he well he played for one night. You ever witnessed a crazy game like that, where someone unexpectedly has a crazy game?
That's a great example and I agree completely - especially compared to football. Imagine a 64 team tournament for football where an 11 seed ends up in the final four and 1 seeds are occasionally beaten by 16's, 2's beaten more frequently by 15's, so on and so on.
Bad players can have awesome games. Back when I was a grad student at Illinois and Illinois had good teams then I was shooting by myself at IMPE, the open gym. It must have been between the Spring semester and summer classes. In walks 7 varsity players, one guy I recognize as a former Illinois State starter and another guy. They needed a tenth to play full court so that was me. I couldn't miss. The guys I paid to see play started setting me screens and passing me the ball. My best day ever playing hoops.
that was a hell of a performance by him, a role player scoring 50....can't remember the last time I saw something like that. you picked a great game to go to, especially when both teams are out of contention that said, just to be in the NBA these days you have to be so good...and even a bench player can catch fire....
yes there's so much more parity now...so many talented players out there...and with the 3-pt shot being a much larger part of offenses in both college and the NBA, one player getting hot can change the game
Bias aside, I think this is one of the most impressive heat checks in NBA history. He was 0-4 from 3 in the first half then hit 10-10 in the 2nd half.
Yes, it happens and has happened to me a few times; When I was in 8th grade, I played for the JV basketball team; I was an ok player. One day at practice, I made 33 free throws in a row. The next game, I was fouled and missed the front of a one and one. At halftime, the coach ridiculed me and never played me the rest of the season. Another time, me and three friends drove to Chicago for fun. We went bowling one night. I was a very casual bowler for fun like most of us were. I probably bowled around 110, 120 or so when I bowled a game. In this night in Chicago, I bowled a 274 with 8 strikes in a row at one point. My friends stopped bowling and I just kept bowling like a pro. Of course, it went to my head and I bowled something like a 115 the next time I bowled. Totally weird
Terrell Taylor for Creighton against Florida in the 2002 NCAA Tournament! He didn't even have the decency to play well at all in the first half, which would have at least allowed us a chance to make half-time adjustments to try to stop the guy. Went 8 of 10 on 3-pointers in the second half including the double-clutcher with less than a second left to beat us 83-82. Refs screwed us royally also on a couple of late calls/non-calls that would have ended it. Still grates on my nerves!
The shot making ability up and down the nba is at an all time high. While totally rare, I’m not surprised by it. I think Tony Delk had a similar 50 pt explosion as a pro, but the league was averaging far fewer points back then.
I looked up Flynn’s stats after his 50 point game. The very next game he was 0-12, and only had 3 points. After that, he had a game with 3 pts and then he had 9 the following game. Amazing how one night you can be so good, and then the next few games be so bad. That’s basketball.
