Weekend Wake Up: Rose Rises While Hawks Soar, Butler Lifts Wiz, Billups Bombs Lakers

Heartening Bloom. Before we get too caught up in Tyreke Evans, Brandon Jennings, and John Wall, we should all recall that there is a tremendous young point guard who plays for Chicago. His sensational oop off a John Salmons alley above wasn’t enough to clip the Hawks (Josh Smith messed around and got a triple-double), but it’s certainly my takeaway from this game, and perhaps the highlight of the season, non-LeBron division. There’s another dunk from Rose below the fold, too.

Tough Juice Zaps Magic. I imagine it’s hard to be a Wizards fan right now, with all the young, vital talent of a few years back either suspended for stupidity or available to the highest bidder. But wins like the thriller on Friday night probably help. Caron Butler’s jumper with half a second remaining gave the Wizards a 92-91 triumph over their magical brethren for Orlando.

Mr. Big Shots. Chauncey Billups is 33, and in the part of his career that will see him cast as a slipping second banana to Carmelo Anthony instead of a star with juice left in the tank. And Chauncey Billups is still capable of dropping a career high 39 points, including nine threes, on one of the best teams in the NBA and propel his Nuggets to the occasional win over the Lakers in the Staples Center. It’s one game in February, so the win means nearly nothing for this season as a whole. But little things like this game are building Billups’ legacy of quiet greatness, and revealing that the Lakers’ point guard defense is atrocious.

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