1. He Said It
Like Babe Ruth, Muhammad Ali and Joe Namath did before him; Gilbert Arenas has called his shot. While it might not have the same dramatics as a Super Bowl guarantee, Agent 0 did prophetically predict he’d drop fity’ on the Trailblazers when they hook up on February 11. “Well, it’s not the most important, but that’s the game I’m going to say is my next 50-pointer,” wrote Arenas on his NBA.com blog. “Tune in. I think ESPN or TNT needs to pick that game up.” Arenas already has three 50 point games this season and that number could grow in the next three weeks. So far, Arenas has been able to back up any talking he might want to do as he has the Wizards on top of the Eastern Conference for the first time in a long time.
2. The Answer is Carmelo
Who said that Melo and A.I. couldn’t share the rock? Well, maybe it’s a bit early to call this experiment a success but Carmelo Anthony and Allen Iverson did manage to handle their scoring roles quite nicely in Melo’s return to action against Memphis. By halftime, both had reached double figures in scoring. Granted it’s only the Grizzlies, but Denver looked sharp with their new lineup. Anthony led the way, scoring a game-high 28 points, as Iverson played second fiddle with 23. But regardless of who gets the majority of the points, it’s going to be tough for any team to match up with a backcourt that can put up 51.
3. Hot Heat Streak
Miami was down 3-2 early against New York last night, but that would be the last time they trailed in the game. That’s because it was at that point that the Heat ripped off a franchise record 27-0 run, giving themselves a 26 point cushion at 29-3. That’s a pretty impressive feat in itself but then you realize that the Heat were missing both team superheroes as Superman and Flash nursed injuries on the bench. The Knicks missed ten consecutive shots over the miserable span; even the Miami faithful cheered when New York finally hit a field goal.
Monday’s Player of the Day: Deron Williams vs. Minnesota 38 min, 21 pts (FG: 9-16, 3FG: 1-3, FT: 2-2), 3 reb, 15 ast, 2 stl, 1 blk
Tuesday’s Game to Watch: Phoenix (32-8) @ Washington (24-16) They did it once, now let’s see if they can pull off another stunner. It was way back on December 22 when the Wizards went into Phoenix and promptly ended the Suns 15 game winning streak behind 54 points from Gilbert Arenas. Since then, the Suns have lost one game and are riding a 13 game winning streak into Washington, where the Wizards are 17-3. Both teams are sitting at the top of their conference and they currently rank one and two in points per game (Phoenix: 111.5 ppg; Washington: 107.5 ppg). If this game even closely resembles their first meeting, then it’s definitely must see T.V.
Buzzer Beater: George Karl appears to think that Carmelo Anthony’s punishment was a bit severe after Kevin Garnett’s actions got the former M.V.P. a mere one game suspension. Karl references how similar the two incidents were, except for the fact that Melo’s punch landed. Sure, Karl has to stick up for his players but, Hello!, one situation ended with a some pushing and trash talk while the other ended with superstar sucker punches and players spilling into the crowd. Image is everything in today’s NBA. If you make the league look bad, David Stern will make you pay.
