1. The Mamba Strikes
Kobe Bryant is in trouble again for something he claims was unintentional, but at least there is no police involvement in this case. Bryant said that he was “shocked” to be suspended for last night’s game because of an elbow to the face of Manu Ginobili during the Spurs-Lakers game on Sunday. David Stern turned down an appeal hearing that was requested by Bryant yesterday. Last year, Bryant was suspended for two games after a stiff forearm to the throat of Mike Miller. The Mamba says that he felt awful after he realized Ginobili had gone down, but he also felt awful in a tearful press conference after being accused of rape. That doesn’t mean he didn’t sleep with a gold-digger.
2. Hopeful Hornets
One of the best point guards in the league could be back on the court by Friday; that’s because Chris Paul says he’s feeling great and ready to get on the floor. The Hornets have been destroyed by injuries this year after having a solid start to the season, but New Orleans has still been able to hold their own of late and win seven of their last ten. Desmond Mason and Tyson Chandler have been impressive in Paul’s absence and their numbers could get better when their leader returns. Even though Paul leads the team in scoring, he is much more focused on distributing the rock.
3. The Big Benchwarmer
After missing almost the entire season so far, Shaq made his long awaited return last week. But after playing in only two games, he’s been placed back on a very sturdy shelf. The Diesel hurt his calf in practice on Monday and is considered day to day. It looks like this could be the beginning of a series of nagging injuries for the big fella. O’Neal use to claim that despite his regular season obstacles, he would always be ready to go when the playoffs rolled around. But his age is catching up with his body and the results have not been pretty. Considering Shaq’s current conditioning, he’ll need to be completely healthy for a full four to six weeks before the postseason begins to be at his best when it counts.
Tuesday’s Player of the Day: Gilbert Arenas vs. Detroit 44 min, 36 pts (FG: 10-20, 3FG: 5-12, FT: 11-12), 7 reb, 11 ast
Wednesday’s Game to Watch: San Antonio (32-14) @ Utah (29-17) This is a great match-up despite the team’s struggles of late. Tim Duncan is currently playing some his best ball of the year, as he usually does during the Spurs yearly rodeo road trip. Utah has only lost six games at home and owns a commanding lead in the Northwest Division behind the play of Carlos Boozer and Deron Williams. The Jazz have been considering moving Andrei Kirilenko and bringing in someone like Ray Allen or Vince Carter since AK-47 just can’t seem to play up to his standards. Tonight, Kirilenko will need to step up against Bruce Bowen to possibly save in job in Utah.
Buzzer Beater: In case you hadn’t noticed; the Bucks suck. This January, Milwaukee has gone a pathetic 2-12. But things could be changing for the Bucks soon because Michael Redd has said that he could return by next week. That would put Redd in the lineup against Orlando. Currently, the Bucks are four games behind eighth place in the East; which isn’t exactly a death sentence in a fairly pathetic conference. Redd has been rehabbing since going down with a strained patellar tendon in his left leg, leaving his team with a 27.7 point hole to crawl out of every night.
5 replies on “Around the Rim: Knocked Out”
throwin’ elbows — Kobe has a history of “unintentionally” throwing elbows. That’s why Raja took him down in the playoffs last year. I’m glad the league sees through Kobe’s BS and suspended him.
Too bad the league didn’t recognize that Karl Malone was doing the same his whole career. That guy should have been suspended a few times.
Dirty Jazz — Karl Malone was one of the dirtiest players of all time. It’s amazing that he never really developed the reputation. Stockton wasn’t exactly a choir boy on the court either. By the way, can anyone explain to me why Nash is working on three MVP’s while Stockton never got one? Check the stats.
Nash vs Stockton — besides the short shorts? Cause the Jazz were BORING. Even though they made it to the finals that one year they were never a team anyone ever flipped through channels and stopped to watch. The Suns on the other hand are fun to watch. Watching the Jazz was like watching Princeton.
True — The Jazz might have been boring, but I don’t remember the Spurs being all that fun to watch and Tim Duncan and David Robinson have 3 MVP’s between them.
Stockton — another problem is that during his great MVP-type years players like Jordan, Magic, Larry Bird and Barkley were in the league.