Only five games were played on Monday, but three were excellent with the type of crowds that the play on the floor merited.

• Boston Celtics 107, Utah Jazz 102

 Team FIC Differential: Celtics +14.5

The Celtics and Jazz are two teams with very different 2010-11 objectives, but they also made gigantic trades last week that will yield results their fans will scrutinize for years to come.

Even though they lost the game, Utah’s perspective looks considerably more at ease after this game.

Derrick Favors played 16 high-quality, high-impact minutes and gave the SLC legitimate reason for optimism. Favors had nine points on five shots and also chipped in four hard-fought rebounds. His FIC40 of 24.0 was excellent and correctly depicted his play. Devin Harris also had a promising home debut, scoring 19 points and dishing five assists. Al Jefferson played inspired basketball against a team that traded him, scoring 28 points and grabbing 19 boards, continuing an excellent streak following D-Will’s departure.

But the Celtics simply find a way to win games like these, even if they still appear to be in post-trade bereavement. Kevin Garnett carried Boston on the glass and also had an efficient 16 points (all buckets coming on jumpers). But it was the late game shooting of Ray Allen that sealed the victory, along with a timely mid-range jumper from Rajon Rondo at the foul line under 30 seconds to keep the game at two-possessions.

Jeff Green struggled again to make a mark, collecting five points and two boards in just under 20 minutes. Doc Rivers seems to have no idea yet how to use Green, which is rightly disconcerting. What is clear for Boston is that they need bench scoring in a hurry, as they combined for just 16 of the 107. The Celtics won this game strictly because the Big 4 each had very strong games.

Game FIC Scores
Kevin Garnett, Celtics – 24.0
Rajon Rondo, Celtics – 17.8
Al Jefferson, Jazz – 23.9
Devin Harris, Jazz – 11.9

• Denver Nuggets 100, Atlanta Hawks 90

Team FIC Differential:  Nuggets +24.7

On the second night of a road back-to-back, in Denver no less, you knew the Hawks were expecting George Karl to try to run their team to death. But the pace was slower than expected even if the Nuggets did dominate the transition scoring differential.

Neither team shot the ball especially well, but the Nuggets received significant scoring from their bench with J.R. Smith and Raymond Felton combining for 35 on 22 shots. The Nuggets traded a dollar bill for four quarters, so depth is the positive byproduct and they cashed it in against Atlanta.

Al Horford was an island and the rest of the team was brick-surrounded. Losing Josh Smith to a knee injury was a big blow since he was playing an excellent first half.

Credit to the Nuggets for turning in another strong defensive effort post-trade.

Game FIC Scores
J.R. Smith, Nuggets – 18.0 (28.8 FIC40)
Nene, Nuggets – 5.9
Al Horford, Hawks – 26.2
Josh Smith, Hawks – 10.8 (33.1 FIC40)

• Chicago Bulls 105, Washington Wizards 77

Team FIC Differential: Bulls +48.8

The Bulls doubled-up Washington in the FIC differential category, which you could see looming ominously in the opening minutes. One team was playing organized, fundamental basketball and the other team was playing pick-up. We knew this would happen going in since these teams couldn't be more different except for the franchise being at point guard.

Joakim Noah’s 19 points on ten shots and 11 rebounds was the primary takeaway, as he was living at the rim offensively.

John Wall has a long ways to go to begin to reach Derrick Rose, but my main concern is to see him get healthy. His 10 assists against two turnovers matters more than his 3-for-14 shooting. He went 1-for-7 on his layups, which should improve dramatically once his health returns next season.

Game FIC Scores
Derrick Rose, Bulls – 19.0
Joakim Noah, Bulls – 17.2
Taj Gibson, Bulls – 12.0 (24.0 FIC40)
John Wall, Wizards – 7.8
Andray Blatche, Wizards – 12.9

• Phoenix Suns 104, New Jersey Nets 103

Team FIC Differential: Suns +2.6

Overtime wins in consecutive days on the road for the Suns, who are peaking at an opportune time. Bad mental lapses by Steve Nash and Grant Hill turned this into a needless overtime affair, but Channing Frye is the new Mr. Clutch with another game-winner.

For the Nets, the home debut of Deron Williams was a 13 and 18 (six turnover) night where he converted what he wanted near the bucket, but had his jumper badly fail him and couldn’t quite pull out the win for his new franchise. Brook Lopez had a nice 28 and 10 against his brother. 

Game FIC Scores
Jared Dudley, Suns – 13.5 (20.8 FIC40)
Steve Nash, Suns – 14.8
Deron Williams, Nets – 16.8
Brook Lopez, Nets – 18.9

• Sacramento Kings 105, Los Angeles Clippers 99

Team FIC Differential: Kings +7.3

Great atmosphere in Sacramento, even if it was under difficult circumstances no fan ever wants to experience. I went to the final San Francisco Giants game in 1992 thinking they were gone to Tampa Bay, so I’m empathetic to what the Kings’ fans are dealing with during this period of uncertainty.

As for the game itself,  the Kings outscored the Clippers 27-16 in the fourth quarter for the comeback win, which is of course the most satisfying way to watch a lottery team (that may be relocated) win a ballgame.

Marcus Thornton showed why he is capable of being one of the purest young scorers in the NBA on certain nights with 29 points on 16 shots and 16 of those points came in the fourth quarter. I believe in and root for DeMarcus Cousins, but the fact that he shot 3-for-10 from the line should tell him all he needs to know about how much he should rely on his jumper while his legs are still young.

The Clippers scored just 16 points in the fourth quarter, continuing their season-long trend of being unable to manufacture offense late in games.

Game FIC Scores
Marcus Thornton, Kings – 20.0 (29.6 FIC40)
Beno Udrih, Kings – 11.4
Blake Griffin, Clippers – 21.2
Randy Foye, Clippers – 10.4

• RealGM calculates the Floor Impact Counter using the following formula: (Points + .75 Defensive Rebounds + Offensive Rebounds + Steals + Assists + Blocks - .75 Field Goal Attempts - .375 Free Throw Attempts - Turnovers - .5 Personal Fouls)