Category: NBA General

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Around the Rim: Livingston’s Road to Recovery


1. In Kneed of Therapy
Shaun Livingston will miss the remainder of the season after ripping his knee to shreds in a game versus the Bobcats. If you just heard the diagnosis, you’d probably think we were talking about Daunte Culpepper or Carson Palmer. The MRI on Livingston’s left knee showed tears in the anterior cruciate ligament, posterior cruciate ligament, medial collateral ligament and lateral meniscus. If you saw the injury, you’d probably think you were reliving the Joe Theisman twig snapping. In addition to his ligament damage, Livingston also dislocated his patella. But the Clippers weren’t the only ones receiving bad news on Tuesday. New York also found out that they will lose their starting shooting guard. Jamal Crawford has a stress fracture in his right ankle that will require season-ending surgery. Oh well, those are the breaks.

2. Colossal Collapse
The Suns were down by 18 points at one point in the third quarter last night against the Pacers, but Phoenix came roaring back in the fourth quarter and ended up taking their 14 straight victory on the road against the Eastern Conference this year. With only one interconference road game remaining on the Suns schedule, they are one win away from becoming the first team in NBA history to go undefeated in the category. Indiana was rolling right along until 4:24 remained in the third quarter when they were leading Phoenix 77-59. Over the remainder of the game, the Suns scorched Indiana with a 45-15 run as Conseco Fieldhouse witnessed one of the most pathetic Pacers collapses of all time.

3. No Alumni Love in Detroit
Bill Laimbeer is upset that he didn’t receive any consideration for the available assistant coaching positions in Detroit before the season began. The Pistons didn’t even interview Laimbeer before hiring Terry Porter and Dave Cowens. One thing Laimbeer hasn’t done since retiring is mellow out, which could have something to do with why the Pistons don’t want to touch the original Bad Boy. Hell, Laimbeer was yelling at the referees during the worthless Shooting Stars competition over All-Star weekend. You would have thought he was back in the Finals again the way he was going off on the refs. Maybe if he could settle down a bit in his old age more NBA teams would give him consideration.

Tuesday’s Player of the Day: Jermaine O’Neal vs. Phoenix 40 min, 28 pts (FG: 13-24, FT: 2-2), 13 reb, 7 ast, 2 stl, 6 blk

Wednesday’s Game to Watch: Toronto (31-26) @ Houston (35-21) Tracy McGrady is making some noise for the MVP award as he has the Rockets in fifth place in a tough Western Conference. Since Yao Ming went down with an injury, T-Mac has stepped up big in his absence and Houston has won 10 of their last 15 games because of it. The Rockets are 20-8 at home this year, which is where they will host the Atlantic Division leading Toronto Raptors tonight. Chris Bosh has been making a run at MVP for the entire season as he averages 23 points and 11 rebounds per game. Despite losing to San Antonio on Monday, the Raptors have been playing excellent ball lately and could end up making some noise in the Eastern Conference’s postseason.

Buzzer Beater: One of the concerns brought up about the NBA’s All-Star game being held in New Orleans next year had to do with the lack of police protection. Now, does this speak poorly of the city or of the league? How many police officers does it take to handle David Stern’s fans? This is New Orleans isn’t it? They put on a little booze infested party every year called Mardi Gras that doesn’t exactly draw the most civilized of crowds. But after large crowds and additional crime swept through the streets of Las Vegas a few weeks ago, the league and city are worried about whether the recovering city is capable of hosting such a large event. I guess New Orleans can handle boobs and booze, just not ballers and bling.

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Around the Rim: Another Retiree Returns?


1. It’s Always Miller Time
First it was Scottie Pippen. Then it was Shawn Kemp. And now there’s a rumor that Reggie Miller could be returning to the court. Actually, Miller’s name was brought up by Mark Cuban before the Mavs went out and destroyed the Hawks, 110-87, on Monday night. This could all be completely fabricated, but if the skinny shooting guard is really considering making a return with Dallas it could spell disaster for the rest of the league. This is the absolute best opportunity for Miller to pick up a ring, but after fighting for 18 seasons in Indy, there’s no guarantee the greatest 3-point shooter of all-time will be content with a brief stint on a team in return for a championship.

2. More Mavs
The Mavericks also made some news on the court last night as they became the first team in league history to three winning streaks of 12 games or more. Dallas is currently on their second 12 game win streak of the season, with their first streak also being 12 and their second streak lasting for 13 games. In all, only four teams have been able to put together three separate streaks of at least ten wins with the last one coming in 1999-2000 when the Lakers ripped off win streaks of 16, 19 and 11. And for just a bit more perspective on this accomplishment, there are 11 teams that have never had a 12 game winning streak in the history of their franchise: Charlotte, Cleveland, Golden State, Indiana (as an NBA franchise), L.A. Clippers, Minnesota, New Orleans/Oklahoma City, Orlando, Toronto, Memphis and Washington.

3. Clipper Clipped
The Clippers had a serious scare last night when Shaun Livingston hurt his left knee early in the game. His knee completely twisted underneath him in a gruesome manner as he fell while running on a break away slam. Luckily, X-rays were negative but that doesn’t mean there isn’t some serious damage. Livingston was coming of a career-high game with 14 assists on Saturday but the kid has never played a complete season. The Clips want Livingston to start taking over the ball handling responsibilities with Sam Cassell approaching the end of his career, but it’s going to be tough for L.A. to ever find consistency with a player who is chronically injured. Livingston has now dislocated each of his knees during his brief NBA career. But what do you really expect; they are the Clippers after all.

Monday’s Player of the Day: Tim Duncan vs. Toronto 34 min, 24 pts (FG: 11-15, FT: 2-4), 16 reb, 4 ast, 2 stl, 4 blk

Tuesday’s Game to Watch: Dallas (47-9) @ Minnesota (26-30) The Mavs have won 12 straight but they are right in the middle of a tough stretch in which they play six games in ten days. Tonight’s game is also the second of a back-to-back for Dallas after they defeated Atlanta last night. Despite dropping two in a row in Minnesota, the Timberwolves are actually a pretty tough opponent in their own gym. On the season they are 17-11 in Minnesota where they have defeated teams like Washington, Phoenix, Houston, San Antonio, Chicago and Utah. Kevin Garnett has been attacking the glass lately with 36 boards in his last two games.

Buzzer Beater: Kobe Bryant led the Lakers past the Jazz on Monday night with 35 points, but they probably didn’t come in the fashion your thinking about. As he does sometimes, Bryant struggled from the field but like any good superstar he drove to the hoop and created contact. Kobe basically camped out at the free throw line where he was 21-24 for the game, while he was only 7-21 from the field. LA got big efforts from Smush Parker and Lamar Odom, but that’s not typical for the Lakers. Next up for the purple and gold is a rivalry game against the Kings.

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Around the Rim: The Suns Run


1. On the Verge of History
The Suns are 4-0 since Steve Nash returned to the lineup and nobody is happier about it than Amare Stoudemire. Last night, Nash had 14 points and 13 assists with a bunch of those passes going toward helping Stoudemire score a season-high 43. Phoenix pulled out a 115-106 victory over the Hawks in Atlanta to improve to 13-0 against the Eastern Conference on the road. The Suns are now only two wins away from sweeping the East in their gyms with back to back games at Indiana and Philadelphia on Tuesday and Wednesday. While Phoenix has already obtained some lofty accomplishments this season, should they win their next pair of games they would become the first team to sweep its interconference road schedule.

2. Nets Bets Payoff
For a majority of the season, rumors surrounded the possible trades of Vince Carter and Jason Kidd from New Jersey. Well, the Nets are probably breathing a sigh of relief that they didn’t pull the trigger on any deals leading up to last Thursday’s trade deadline. New Jersey is 2-0 since the deadline passed thanks to big games from their resident superstars. Against Sacramento on Friday the duo combined for 48 points, 24 rebounds and 15 assists. Last night against the Knicks, they went off for 51 points, 13 boards and 22 assists. The good news for the Nets is that with the win they moved two games ahead of New York in the Atlantic Division. The bad news is that they are still five games behind division leader Toronto.

3. Go Go Kapono
There was no continuation of the friendly rivalry between LeBron James and Dwyane Wade in yesterday’s game between the Cavs and Heat but Miami didn’t need the services of Wade as they outplayed Cleveland in the fourth quarter of yesterday’s game. The hideous orange uniforms probably didn’t help the Cavaliers any either. The future is up in the air for Miami while Wade is seeking a second opinion before having surgery on his injured shoulder. But Shaq is beginning to round back into form for Miami after going off for 19 points and 11 rebounds in the club’s latest victory. Sounds good, but it’s gotta be a brutal blow to the Daddy’s ego that the team’s best perimeter shooter, Jason Kapono, is matching his stats by scoring 17 points and grabbing 11 boards of his own. .

Sunday’s Player of the Day: Amare Stoudemire @ Atlanta 45 min, 43 pts (FG: 14-25, FT: 15-17), 16 reb, 6 ast, 3 blk

Monday’s Game to Watch: Los Angeles Lakers (32-25) @ Utah (37-18) The rotating door in Salt Lake City continues to revolve as Carlos Boozer finally returns to the lineup but the Jazz immediately lose Andrei Kirilenko and Mehmet Okur to injuries. Both players are questionable for the game against LA, but even if they don’t make it into the game Utah will still have a decided home court advantage (22-6). The Lakers have no chance to catch Phoenix over the final stretch of the regular season as they are already sitting 11 ½ games behind their division’s leader. But the Lakers can improve on their current sixth seed position. Kobe Bryant’s All-Star MVP performance has spilled over into his current run as he has now lead his team in scoring for 12 straight games. Unfortunately for Los Angeles, they are 5-7 over that span that included the worst losing streak of Phil Jackson’s career (6 games). Still, it’s hard to feel bad for a guy that has nine rings on his fingers.

Buzzer Beater: Even though the trade deadline has passed, the rumors are still running wild. Kevin Garnett can opt out of his contract after next season and there is already speculation that he will join the Lakers after doing so. If KG can remain patient for another season then his dreams of a NBA championship could be finally fulfilled. Sure, there’s lots of time and anything can happen but if Garnett and Kobe Bryant are able to join forces and have quality role-players surrounding them, it could become a pretty dominant team. But, at this point, the talk is nothing more than guesswork and guesswork isn’t going to get The Big Ticket past the first round of the playoffs.

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Around the Rim: It’s a Ring Thing


1. Lord of the Rings to Be?
Now that the trade deadline has passed, the only interesting move left for teams to make involves the veteran champion, Scottie Pippen. Looks like the two leading candidates in the Pip sweepstakes are the San Antonio Spurs and the Los Angeles Lakers. Pippen would be an excellent addition to either team, but he could probably adapt to Phil Jackson’s system a little bit quicker since he has some past experience with the Zen Master. San Antonio would offer a better opportunity for Pippen to get his seventh ring. He’d be joining a veteran team and most likely assume a role similar to the one Robert Horry has filled for the past few years. Pippen can’t be the player he once was, but any team would be happy to acquire a guy who has big game experience as the season is reaching its end.

2. The Nowitzki Experience
The Mavericks franchise tried to give their superstar a push for MVP last night by passing out about 20,000 T-shirts to the crowd. But Dirk didn’t really need any help as he scored 31 to go with 11 rebounds, six rebounds and two blocks. There’s lots and lots of big-time talent in the league this year, but Dirk has outshined them all. The Mavs have been riding on the back of Dirk all year en route to the league’s best record on three separate 10+ game win streaks. With one of the sweetest strokes in the game today, Nowitzki has been shooting the lights out all year long as he is averaging 25 points per game. And considering that the award usually is simply handed to the best player on the league’s best team; Nowitzki is definitely in the driver’s seat for the NBA’s most prestigious individual award.

3. Headbandless Hero
Remember at the beginning of the season when everybody thought that something was wrong with Ben Wallace? Well, that doesn’t seem to a topic of conversation anymore. Big Ben might have had the greatest game of his career last night against the Cavaliers when he had 14 points, 19 rebound, five assists, two steals and seven blocks. After a slow start to the year, Wallace has methodically increased his rebounding average back to double digits (10.5). But the Bulls are still sitting five games behind the Central Division leading Pistons. Chicago could have probably benefited from a trade, but Luol Deng and Ben Gordon just have too much potential for the Bulls to let them go.

Thursday’s Player of the Day: Gilbert Arenas vs. Sacramento 45 min, 43 pts (FG: 12-22, 3FG: 3-8, FT: 16-17), 7 reb, 7 ast, 3 stl

Friday’s Game to Watch: Utah (35-18) @ Denver (26-26) Every game involving the Nuggets is interesting as everybody is waiting to see Carmelo

Anthony and Allen Iverson finally gel. So far, it hasn’t happened. In fact, the two have still yet to even play in a significant number of games together. Overall, the Nuggets are 9-4 over their last 13 games with the latest loss coming while the dynamic duo was intact. Utah hasn’t been the team they were when the season started, but they are still a very dangerous club. The Jazz have won six of their last seven as Mehmet Okur and Deron Williams continue to pick up the slack while forward Carlos Boozer continues to watch from the bench.

Buzzer Beater: As usual, we approached the trade deadline with lots of talk about superstars changing teams. But, as usual, the deadline came and went and nobody of significance was involved in a swap. Jason Kidd, Vince Carter, Pau Gasol, Mike Bibby and Ray Allen were just a few of the names dropped in the weeks leading up to yesterday. And what about Corey Maggette? Trade rumors have been swirling around him for months now as his relationship with Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy seemed to deteriorate daily. Apparently, they are going to have to tolerate each other for a few more months. In the end, only lower tier players got new addresses; Anthony Johnson to Dallas, Fred Jones went to Portland in a deal for Juan Dixon who got sent to Toronto and the Jazz picked up Alan Henderson.

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Our very last Tim Hardaway hates gays story


(Until our next Tim Hardaway hates gays story…)

It doesn’t surprise us that Scoop Jackson is friends with Tim Hardaway. Morons tend to like other morons as company. But we have to hand it to Scoop, he got the interview that probably no one else would have gotten. And he didn’t have to bojangle for it!

Basically, Tim Hardaway blames the entire situation on his misuse of the word ‘hate’ and that it means something different to him than the rest of the world.


But I was never brought up to hate anybody, you know that. But that’s just the word and that’s how we used it. You know when we got a whopping we’d be like, “I hate my moms” or “I hate my dad,” and at the time you really didn’t hate them, but that was the word you used. You know I can go into a restaurant and say, “I hate this food, I hate the chef, I don’t even know why I came back to this restaurant.” But I know I can’t use the word like that, or let’s say I’m not supposed to. People have come up to me and told me, “Tim, you can’t say that you hate gay people because it’s not the same term.” But that’s how I talk. That’s the way I am.

Timmy also went to the Jim Mora Jr. Defense and said that he forgot he to censor himself because he and Dan LeBatard are “real cool and [they] were just having fun on the radio.”

Finally, Timmy still stands by his bigoted views on gays.


No. I don’t want to … try to find some type of understanding of why they live the way they live or why they are the way they are. Maybe I could go to therapy, maybe someone can help me out with understanding [them], the sensitivity of the issue. But as a person, my beliefs are my beliefs. I don’t have to condone it and I don’t have to be around it. But I don’t have to hate it either.

You’ve got to admire Hardaway for his conviction even if he is a moron. The latest fallout? Miami’s Channel 10 has decided not to rehire Hardaway as the Heat playoff analyst this year. Good luck with the rest of your career, Timmy. Maybe you can do Dancing with the Stars with Elton John to repair your image.

Links:
[ESPN]: ‘I don’t have a hate bone in my body’

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NBA General

Around the Rim: There’s No Crying in Basketball!


1. Tears of a Clown
Just when it looked like things were going to start turning around for the Miami Heat, Dwyane Wade injures his left shoulder and a loss spoils Pat Riley’s return to the bench. Wade got wrapped up with Houston’s Shane Battier in the fourth quarter and appeared to be in pain as he headed for the bench with 27 points and nine assists. Eventually he was taken from the court in a wheelchair. Geez, what a drama queen. And we thought your new Eurkel commercial was the extent of your thespian talents. Seriously though; a wheelchair? But despite his theatrical exit, should this injury prove to be serious, it could spell the end of any legitimate hopes Miami had for a title defense. Before last night, the Heat had been, well, hot, winning six of seven since the Daddy made his way back into the lineup at the beginning of the month.

2. Two Games, Five Players, 178 Points
Last night’s game between San Antonio and Atlanta saw a trio of players combine for whopping 100 points as the Spurs’ Manu Ginobili put up a season-high 40, while Tim Duncan scored 30. On the other side of the court, Joe Johnson had a team-high 30 points to match Duncan’s output. But two is always better than one and the Spurs took the contest, 103-96. During one stretch in the first half, Ginobili scored 24 consecutive points for San Antonio as he took a 27 point performance into the locker room at halftime. But that wasn’t the only game had an impressive offensive output. The New Jersey Nets’ Vince Carter (46 points) and the Hornets’ David West (32 points) combined for 78 points. Guess Vince figured that if he’s going to go out, it might as well be in style. Today at 3:00 p.m. ET marks the deadline for teams to make any trades before the postseason push begins.

3. Shining Sun
Maybe there’s something to this Steve Nash for MV-Three talk after all. As Nash rested a sore shoulder for two weeks, the Suns were outplayed by some of the more miserable teams in the league. By the time Nashty returned, Phoenix had dropped three of four games by a combined 46 points. Since emerging back into the lineup, the Suns have won their last two games by a total of 35 points. Against the Clippers, Nash scored 13 while dishing out 12 assists; he followed that with a 14 point, 13 assist effort against Boston. On a team that is as loaded as the Suns are, it’s pretty amazing that subtracting one player can create such a striking difference in performance. This isn’t like Minnesota losing Kevin Garnett or Kobe Bryant going down on the Lakers. Phoenix has two additional All-Stars in Amare Stoudemire and Shawn Marion on their ultra talented roster. Hell, even Van Halen was able to make some good music after David Lee Roth left.

Wednesday’s Player of the Day: Mike Miller @ Golden State 49 min, 45 pts (FG: 16-27, 3FG: 9-17, FT: -6), 5 reb, 6 ast, 1 stl

Thursday’s Game to Watch: Miami (26-27) @ Dallas (44-9) Everything had been lining up perfectly for an awesome Finals rematch; until last night. Pat Riley’s back, Shaq’s coming off a 20 point, 16 rebound performance, Dallas has put together a nine game win streak and Mark Cuban is taking shots at players’ leadership abilities. But a majority of the luster was removed from this match-up when Dwyane Wade started sobbing like a baby before being wheeled off the court like a geriatric coot at Country Meadows nursing home. However, the emotions should still be high as this young rivalry continues to develop. Unfortunately, without their star, the Heat are facing the difficult task of defeating the best team in the league on their home floor, where they hold a 24-3 record. But as Rudy T once said, “Never underestimate the heart of a champion.”

Buzzer Beater: We all knew that it was going to happen eventually. We all knew that “Dancing With The Stars” would come looking for NBA talent after the NFL’s Jerry Rice and Emmitt Smith showed the world what twinkle toes were all about. But that still doesn’t keep you from scratching your head at the selection. Prepare yourself to witness retired baller Clyde “The Glide” Drexler performing the electric slide in a sailor suit or the two-step dressed in the traditional attire of crotch-hugging Wranglers on NBC’s primetime lineup. Drexler could prove to be Baryshnikov, but does it really matter? At this point, he’s just another sporting icon reduced to reality-show celebrity status. And plus, how much satisfaction can he get by beating a one legged Heather Mills?

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Around the Rim: Child Support Payments are a Bitch!


1. One Last Reign?
First it was Scottie Pippen who was on the comeback trail, now Shawn Kemp is considering making a return to the NBA. But while Pippen could be back in uniform within the next few weeks, Kemp will probably not be helping any team make a postseason push until next season. When Kemp was last seen on a court he looked nothing like the young Reign Man who is considered by many to be one of the most explosive players of all time. At 36 years old, Kemp will most likely have to wait until he can get an invite from a team during training camp. Of course, he’ll have to resist the buffet line over the next six or seven months if he wants to be taken seriously by any coaching staff.

2. European Vacation
The NBA will be sending four teams to Europe in October to participate in training camps and exhibition games. It’s too bad for the fans across the pond that the teams making the trip are Memphis, Boston, Toronto and Minnesota. As of now, the Celtics and Grizzlies are the two worst teams in the entire league and Minnesota is barely clinging to the final playoff spot in the Western Conference. Surprisingly, the Raptors own the fourth best record in the East. But while the overall teams are not that impressive, the individual talent should have the fans lining up for tickets. Kevin Garnett and Chris Bosh will provide the primary star power this fall, with Paul Pierce and, possibly, Pau Gasol acting as supporting actors.

3. Mr. MVP Returns

Steve Nash has missed the last four games and in that time, the once white-hot Suns have lost three in a row. But Nash is looking to get back on to the court tonight when Phoenix travels to Los Angeles for a game against the Clippers. And it’s not a moment to soon for his All-Star teammates, Shawn Marion and Amare Stoudemire, who were running all over the court for the West on Sunday as they combined to score 47 points. While the Suns are anxious to get back into the win column, their division lead remains intact as the Lakers are sitting a full 10 games behind. The main concern for Phoenix right now is to chip away at the 4 ½ game lead that Dallas has over the Suns for the best record in the league.

Tuesday’s Game to Watch: Denver (26-25) @ San Antonio (35-18) Playtime is over and now teams are getting serious about improving their place in the playoff seeding. The Nuggets are hoping to finally have their dynamic duo together for the road game against the Spurs after Allen Iverson received some additional rest by pulling himself from the All-Star game over the weekend. Carmelo Anthony had a great outing against the other superstars as he scored 20 points and grabbed nine rebounds in just 25 minutes. San Antonio will be looking to take advantage of their home crowd after struggling on their annual rodeo road trip. As the oldest team in the league, the Spurs were grateful for the break which allowed some of the veterans to rest their elderly bones. Even Tony Parker and Tim Duncan got to take it easy during the All-Star game as they combined for only 39 minutes in the contest.

Buzzer Beater: Baron Davis is rumored to be eyeing the 27th as the date when he will return to the court after undergoing knee surgery just last Tuesday. That would be great news for the Warriors considering that they have lost four of their last seven games. But the good news doesn’t stop there for Golden State. Jason Richardson could return by Wednesday when the Warriors host the Grizzlies. J-Rich has missed the last 22 games. Currently, Golden State is only one game away from being in the playoff picture, which would be a remarkable feat considering their string of injuries and lack of big bodies while playing in a stacked Western Conference.

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Stu Scott is the biggest tool in Vegas

Considering all the d-bags that end up in Vegas every weekend, it took a truly special effort for Stu Scott to win this award. Stu – please, stop trying so hard. You’re like the white guy who wants desperately to be black. We know life is pretty tough all around you… like when the public be all up on your private beaches… but seriously… just stop. No one is buying it.

(photo from The Big Lead.)

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Around the Rim: All-Star Weekend Recap


1. The Game
Vegas is supposed to be a city that never sleeps, but a last night’s All-Star game changed that. The game was never even close as the West destroyed the East by 21, 153-132. The West was up 20 at halftime and would eventually stretch it out to 30 thanks to a trio of players with at least 20 points. Kobe Bryant picked up the MVP trophy with 31 points while Amare Stoudemire had 29 and Carmelo Anthony put in 20. Every player on both rosters scored in the contest, but it was a struggle for Caron Butler to get a bucket in his first All-Star appearance. Butler connected on his only hoop (1-7 FG) with just 4:07 left in the game, while his Wizards teammate never heated up in the game either. Gilbert Arenas was just 3-8 in the game for eight points.

2. Dunk Contest
Gerald Green won the slam dunk contest as he did his best Dee Brown imitation while leaping over tiny Nate Robinson. He then went on to jump over a table. It was a decent performance but nobody is going to be ranking it up there with Vince, ‘Nique and Mike. Dwight Howard got screwed because he’s tall as he slapped a sticker onto the backboard just a mere 12 ½ feet off the ground. But it was lost on the judges who seemed to kinda stingy with their scores. The commentators even began referring to Michael Jordan as “the Russian judge.” The Mount Rushmore of dunkers probably wasn’t impressed with very many of the slams because it’s hard to give someone a 10, knowing that you could have thrown it down better.

3. 3-Point Shootout
Jason Kapono easily won the 3-point contest over big names like Gilbert Arenas, Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Terry as he put up 24 points in his final run. That ties the record for most points in a final round and was just one point away from tying the most points ever. But it really shouldn’t have been a surprise as Kapono is leading the league in 3-point shooting by nailing 56 percent of his attempts. He has hit 89 of 159 from downtown this season, which is the best first half shooting performance in the history of the league by anyone who has shot at least 75 treys. In all, it was a good weekend for the Heat as Dwyane Wade defended his crown in the skills competition. Now, let’s see if All-Star successes can jumpstart the Heat down the stretch.

Sunday’s Player of the Day: Kobe Bryant vs. The East 28 min, 31 pts (FG: 13-24, 3FG: 3-9, FT: 2-2), 5 reb, 6 ast, 6 stl

Buzzer Beater: Every year he gets a little bit older and a bit more out of shape, but every year Shaq proves that this is still his league. Even if you don’t like Shaq, he’s an entertaining guy and he understands that the All-Star game is about having fun and putting on a show for the fans. From break dancing during practice, to unveiling his latest concept shoe that doubles as a slot machine, to kissing Tracy McGrady on the head after a slam; he makes it fun. And he’s always going to bring the ball up the court on at least on possession and try to cross somebody over; last night it was Mehmet Okur, and even though he missed the shot, that’s a play that the fans are going to remember. But now that the game is over, Shaq’s going to return to his serious self as the Heat make a push toward the postseason.

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2007 NBA All-Star Game Live Blog – 2nd Half


Welcome to the 2007 NBA All-Star Game Live Blog. The action will get under way in a little less than half an hour and we’ll be covering it for you. Newest comments will appear at the top.

Postgame And the MVP is…Kobe Bryant. And he wasn’t even booed as David Stern handed him the trophy. The snoozefest is finally over and not a minute too soon. I can’t believe I missed Family Guy for this.

End of 4th This was never a contest as the West spanked the East by 21, 153-132. The West was only two points away from tying the all-time record for points in an All-Star game. But it really doesn’t matter because nobody would have been awake to see it.

1:00 60 seconds til the pain goes away.

3:01 Only 15 fouls in the game. Where are these refs during the regular season?

4:21 Looks like Kobe’s going to take home the MVP for the game but Stoudemire is a close second.

8:25 Thank goodness for Shaq. The Diesel showed off his ball handling skills as he tried to shake and bake on Mehmet Okur, but his pull up jumper came up short.

11:30 The crew is struggling for topics of discussion. Eva Longoria and Tony Parker’s wedding plans have taken over the show. Parker said he’s not involved in the planning. He’s just going to show up and get a wife. Kinda like Tyrus Thomas picking up his check.

End of 3rd Only one more quarter to go. The East are pathetic and they’re the healthy ones. The West is missing a ton of talent but hold a 119-88 lead. Caron Butler hasn’t received any love from his coach; he’s only played six minutes in the blow out.

1:25 At this point, the only thing that’s still up in the air is the MVP. Even Gilbert Arenas has admitted defeat in an interview with Aldridge.

4:42 The Suns are starting to take over the game. Stoudemire has 12 points in the quarter so far and Shawn Marion is throwing down some nice slams.

9:28 Eddie Jordan calls a time out as he tries to stop the bleeding with the East trailing 89-65. David Aldridge reported that Jordan admitted he didn’t feel he belonged at the All-Star game, and so far he’s right. The fans are going to start heading for the exits soon if he doesn’t motivate his squad.

Halftime Please let there be a wardrobe malfunction during Christina Aguilera’s performance. That’s the only thing that can save this halftime show. Well, at least Christina is holding down a job. When’s the last time Britney Spears was seen on camera without being drunk or pantyless?