The Vipers have now won 6-of-8, but the last one was the big one.

An absolute drubbing of the New Mexico Thunderbirds.

Coming off of easily their worst game of the season, and a practice that I really don’t think was originally scheduled, the Vipers got off the mat and led by double-figures pretty much from wire-to-wire (except when the Vipers had less than 10 points).

Garrett Temple answered the Vipers’ prayers, coming back from a week off due to a right ankle injury to start and star. He hit four three-pointers, three of which in the early going as the Vipers jumped out to a 21-point lead.

It wasn’t just Temple, though. It was the whole team. Everyone played a similar numbers of minutes and contributed. The Vipers have a ton of talent, sometimes it takes some time for talent to mesh. Remind you of anyone?

The Miami Heat were 9-9. Not exactly bad, but under the weight of expectations, unacceptable. The Vipers were 6-5. Not exactly bad, but under the weight of expectations, unacceptable.

It was probably even tougher for the Vipers because they had more than three stars, and most of the depth is at the wings (more like having LeBron, Wade and Carmelo instead of Bosh).

But, the Vipers’ top-notch coaching staff was always going to figure it out… and they did. Chris Finch is still the best head coach in the league. Paul Mokeski is the best assistant, and could easily be a head coach in the league or an assistant in the NBA (something he has done before). Jai Steadman is also a key contributor and has a great basketball mind.

The Vipers are at home for the longest time. No real road trips for a good month. Time to take advantage of that and get some wins.