Category: NBA General

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NBA General

Around the Rim: He’s Magically Offensive!


1. The Kid Has Potential
If there were any Dwight Howard doubters before Friday, his performance against the Spurs should have served as a revelation. At one point, San Antonio led by 18 points but Howard led his team all the way back to a tie with .2 seconds. What happened next was easily the play of the year. Howard took an inbounds, alley-oop pass from almost halfcourt and slammed it down with one hand as the buzzer sounded to give the Magic a 106-104 victory at home. It was the first game winner for Howard in his young career, and the first game winning dunk with under a second remaining since Jerry Stackhouse did it in 2002. If that’s not enough for one night, the game capped a three game performance in which Howard shot an astonishing 33 of 37 (89 percent). That’s the best three game shooting streak in the history of the NBA by anyone not named Wilt Chamberlain.

2. He’s a Wizard, Not a Psychic
Gilbert Arenas is a great player but he’s not going to be mistaken for Nostradamus anytime soon. Arenas predicted he would drop at least 50 on the Trailblazers in his blog a few weeks ago, but it didn’t quite work out the way Arenas foretold. Agent Zero ended the game shooting a pathetic three for 15 from the field and was held without a basket (0-8) from behind the 3-point arc as Portland rolled to a 94-73 victory. The nine points scored was Arenas’ third lowest total of the season. Looks like Arenas is going to have to wait until March 20 for another chance at revenge against Blazers coach Nate McMillan for his role in leaving Gilbert off the U.S. national team last summer. The Wizards have now lost four of their five games since Antawn Jamison went down with a left knee sprain on January 30.

3. Green with Envy
Paul Pierce is back, so what? In his first start since December 20, Pierce scored a game-high 29 points against the Timberwolves, but having their star back still doesn’t seem to be enough to get the Celtics a victory. Boston came up two points shy against Minnesota last night as Kevin Garnett racked up his second triple-double in three games with 26 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists. K.G. apparently has no sympathy for the woes of the men in green. The loss is the 18th consecutive for Boston as they slowly approach the single season record of 23 losses in row, which is currently held by both the ’96 Grizzlies and the ’98 Nuggets. And there’s no relief in sight for the Celtics who have six of their next eight games on the road, including a brutal five game Western Conference swing.

Sunday’s Player of the Day: Kobe Bryant @ Cleveland 43 min, 36 pts (FG: 12-24, 3FG: 1-5, FT: 11-11), 7 reb, 6 ast, 1 stl

Monday’s Game to Watch: Los Angeles Clippers (25-26) @ Detroit (31-18) Chris Webber has solidified his role within the team in the past two weeks and thanks to a six game win streak, the Pistons have shot to the top of the Eastern Conference. Detroit is 16-9 at home this year, which isn’t good news for the Clippers. Los Angeles has struggled to gather victories on the road where they are only 8-18 so far. The Clips are barely hanging onto the last playoff spot in the West as the Hornets, Timberwolves, Warriors and Kings are all looking to jump into the postseason picture.

Buzzer Beater: The feud between the Wizard’s centers has escalated as Etan Thomas and Brendan Haywood came to blows once again. Thomas was suspended by the team for two games after throwing a punch at Haywood during the team’s practice on Friday. Thomas said the punch was in retaliation for an intentional elbow; “This cat decides to hit me with a cheap shot during practice and I reacted,” said Thomas. This was round three between these two after coming to blows for the first time last season an

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NBA General

Mixed reaction to John Amaechi coming out



Wait… is that a synthetic ball?

As expected, the news that former NBA player John is gay has caused quite a stir in the NBA community. For the most part, the blogosphere has blogged about it and shrugged because Amaechi was a role player. But not so with certain NBA athletes. While team PR executives probably wish they would just say something along the lines of “as long as he’s a good teammate, it doesn’t matter if he’s gay”, some NBA players decided to actually not talk in cliches for once.

Here’s a smattering of quotes from various NBA players.

Stephen Hunter (Sixers): “For real? He’s gay for real? Nowadays it’s proven that people can live double lives. I watch a lot of TV, so I see a lot of sick, perverted stuff about married men running around with gay guys and all types of foolishness… As long as he don’t make any advances toward me, I’m fine with it.”

Shavlik Randolph (Sixers): “As long as you don’t bring your gayness on me I’m fine. As far as business-wise, I’m sure I could play with him. But I think it would create a little awkwardness in the locker room.” (Can you imagine Shavlik blocking a shot and yelling, “get that gayness out of here!”)

LeBron James: “We spend so much time together, we’re like family. You take showers together, you’re on the bus, you talk about things. With teammates, you have to be trustworthy. If you’re gay and you’re not admitting that you are, you’re not trustworthy. It’s the locker room code; it’s a trust factor.”

OK, we think we understand this now. You can be gay in the NBA as long as you tell your teammates, wear blinders in the shower, and don’t bring your gayness on them.

Of course, there were also players and coaches who said they would be accepting of a gay player. Grant Hill applauded Amaechi’s decision to come out and said, “The fact that John has done this, maybe it will give others the comfort or confidence to come out as well, whether they are playing or retiring.”  And as always, Moe Cheeks is one of the classiest guys in the NBA: “I take people as they are… I would think players would do the same thing, take people for who they are. Who am I to pass judgment on anyone?”

Isiah Thomas: “We preach acceptance. We’re proud of our diversity. No matter what your sexual preference might be, there’s an acceptance and a tolerance level that should be accepted everywhere. No one should be excluded. If it’s in my locker room, we won’t have a problem with it. I can’t speak for somebody else’s locker room, but if it’s in mine, we won’t have a problem. I’ll make damn sure there’s no problem.”

Troy Hudson: “I just knew him as a teammate. He was a cool guy. I didn’t expect that [announcement]. He kept it pretty hush-hush. That’s his own personal preference. So you can’t fault a man for who they are or what they are. It’s probably a good thing for himself that he finally opened up. He’s probably been going through a lot trying to keep it a secret.”

Tracy McGrady: “To each his own. That’s his own sexual preference. I had no problem with it when I played with him. You kind of had a sense. It didn’t bother me. As long as a guy is producing on the basketball court, I don’t care what he is. I have no problem with it. He is what he is. If he wants to come out and let everybody know his sexual (preference), it doesn’t matter to me. I don’t care. I wouldn’t have cared then. If he would have come out when I was his teammate, I wouldn’t have cared. If he was producing on the basketball court and was keeping it professional, I would have had no problem with it.”

Eddy Curry: “If one of my teammates came out and said that, I’d be supportive of him because those are my teammates. Those are the guys I went to war with night in and night out. Regardless of what he does off the court, we battle together.”

Links:
[Yahoo]: Amaechi to come out publicly
[Philly.com]: Former NBA player reveals that he is gay

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NBA General

Around the Rim: Chicks Dig the Long Ball



Dirk prepares for 3pt contest

1. He’s Got An Outside Shot
The All-Star festivities are now complete as the NBA has announced the participants of the league’s 3-point shootout. At the top of the list are a couple of the best players in the game as Gilbert Arenas and Dirk Nowitzki agree to work double duty by participating in the long bomb competition and the actual All-Star game. In addition to the All-Star duo, Jason Terry, Jason Kapono, Mike Miller and Damon Jones will participate. While Dirk is having a great campaign so far, he might be getting a bit of preferential treatment when it comes to his outside proficiency. Good thing he’s the defending champion because, although his percentage is spectacular, he has only connected on a total of 46 treys. That’s 39 fewer than Jones’ 85, which is the fewest amongst the other five competitors. Oh well, get ready for more Larry Bird comparisons than you can shake a stick at.

2. Seamless Transition
The integration between Chris Webber and the Detroit Pistons is reaching completion. C-Webb has become a vital contributor with an all around effort that has helped Detroit climb to the top of the Eastern Conference. The Pistons are on a five game winning streak after knocking off the Lakers last night as Webber put up one of his most complete efforts as a modern day Bad Boy. During the team’s hot streak, Webb has averaged a solid 16 points, seven rebounds and four assists to compliment Detroit’s other high profile stars. Since being inserted into the starting five, the Pistons have gone 9-2 as Webber’s presence opens passing lanes, giving his teammates open shots. But the assist has to go to Philly for letting go of Detroit’s newest role player.

3. Disappearing Act
The Wizards have been struggling since Antawn Jamison went down with an injury. In fact, Washington has only been able to win one game out of four after sitting atop the Eastern Conference during most of December and January. In the three losses, the average margin of defeat is 17.7 points. Apparently, Gilbert Arenas and Caron Butler shouldn’t have been receiving all of the glory during the team’s hot streak. Jamison was playing some of his best ball before the injury, averaging 19 points and eight rebounds. Right now, the Wizards are just looking to pick up some wins before Jamison returns, which is scheduled to be by the end of the month.

Thursday’s Player of the Day: Ruben Patterson @ New Orleans 49 min, 28 pts (FG: 10-23, FT: 8-10), 16 reb, 3 ast, 5 stl

Friday’s Game to Watch: Houston (31-17) @ Dallas (40-9) The Mavericks are running away from their home state competition and Houston is currently sitting at third in the Southwest Division, nine games behind Dallas. Houston has won six of their last seven games thanks to a rejuvenated Tracy McGrady who has been carrying the Rockets during the absence of Yao Ming. The Mavs have an impressive 23-3 record at home, while racking up a remarkable 26 wins in their last 28 games. Dirk Nowitzki is an early MVP candidate after leading the Mavericks to the league’s best record.

Buzzer Beater: Chris Paul is good, he’s really good. The Hornets have gone 4-2 since Paul returned to the team after sitting out with injury for the past month. New Orleans is even winning some close games since Paul came back. After pulling out a two point victory over Denver in overtime on Wednesday, the Hornets took down the Bucks in a double overtime affair last night. And even though Paul struggled from the field (3-17), he dished out 10 assists that contributed to six other players scoring in double digits. Amazingly, the Hornets are only 1 ½ games away from moving into the playoff picture. The Clippers and Nuggets had better watch their backs.

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NBA General

Around the Rim: Midseason Movements


1. Trade Hate
If you’re getting sick of all the constant trade rumors about Pau Gasol, Corey Maggette, Vince Carter and others, then there is finally some relief in sight. That’s because the NBA’s trade deadline is just a mere two weeks away. At last, we should begin to see some serious movement with some of the bigger names in the league. If the GM’s decide to pull the trigger on some of these deals then we could end the season with a vastly different league than originally existed. In addition to aforementioned players, guys like Ray Allen, Andrei Kirilenko, Ben Gordon and Kevin Garnett are some of the other names being tossed around.

2. Buyers Remorse

In a heartwarming tale of a boy and his dog; Ron Artest has been accused of animal cruelty. Neighbors in his Loomis California gated community complained about a malnourished Great Dane that Artest had locked up within a fenced area. Artest was issued “pre-seizure” notice stating that the dog would be taken if the care did not improve. On Monday, an underfed “Socks” was removed from the property and Artest now has 10 days to schedule a trial. Apparently, the dog was being feed off the profits from Ron’s rap career.

3. Special Treat
Who would have guessed that Dennis Rodman’s foolish antics would be imitated by player’s years after his retirement from the league? On occasion, Rodman would remove his jersey after a game and throw it into the crowd. Nowadays, Gilbert Arenas carries on the tradition by tossing his top into the crowd after every home game. But we know that NBA ballers love top one another, so J.R. Smith took Arenas’ idea and improved by 100 percent. Not only does Smith toss away his home white jersey after games, but he also remains generous and gives the opposing team’s fans a souvenir after every game as well. Let’s just hope that nobody ever attempts to carry out the Worm’s unaccomplished desire to run off the court naked after the last game of his career.

Wednesday’s Player of the Day: Dirk Nowitzki vs. Memphis 37 min, 38 pts (FG: 14-20, 3FG: 2-2, FT: 8-9), 10 reb, 6 ast, 3 stl, 4 blk

Thursday’s Game to Watch: Los Angeles Lakers (30-19) @ Detroit (29-18) The Lakers have been one of the most surprising teams in the league over the past two seasons. Despite losing Shaq to the Heat, Kobe has done an impressive job of not only carrying the Lakers, but carrying the Lakers to unexpected victories. But L.A. has struggled on the road, which could lead to trouble in Detroit where the Pistons are 14-9. Chauncey Billups and Richard Hamilton have led the Pistons offensively as they have ripped off a streak of eight wins in their last 10 games.

Buzzer Beater: Kevin Garnett might not be called “The Kid” anymore, but he showed why he’s stilled referred to as “The Big Ticket” last night. Garnett put up the 17th triple-double of his career last night with 17 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists against Golden State. K.G. is one of the freakiest athletes to ever enter the NBA and it’s so unfortunate that he might never get the chance to realistically compete for a championship. At least Charles Barkley, Karl Malone, John Stockton and Patrick Ewing got to play in a Finals series.

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NBA General

Around the Rim: Revenge of the Purple Dinosaurs


1. O Canada!
So what if the Atlantic Division is horrible, at least a team has finally risen to the top of the heap. And as unbelievable as it sounds, that team is the Toronto Raptors. With a 3 ½ game cushion over their competition, the Raptors are enjoying their first taste of success since a young Vince Carter took the franchise to the postseason. Quietly, the Raps have ripped off a streak of 12 wins in their last 16 games, but next up is a big time showdown between two of the leagues most promising young studs as Chris Bosh locks up with Orlando’s Dwight Howard tonight in Toronto. When these two get together its reminiscent of the budding rivalry between Kevin Garnett and Tim Duncan in the late 90’s.

2. Irish Green or Soylent Green?
Can things get any worse for the Boston Celtics? First, their slide continues as they have now lost a franchise record 15 consecutive games after falling to the Pistons last night. There’s been Tony Allen’s self destruction; and then there’s Paul Pierce. Pierce has been out of action since December 20 after being diagnosed with a stress fracture in his left foot and on Tuesday he was sent home from Detroit with a swollen left elbow and a fever. Throw in the comments by Pierce that he would rather have a veteran on the team than Greg Oden or Kevin Durant and you have all the ingredients for a dysfunctional meltdown of classic proportions. By the way, Paul, you are the veteran on the team.

3. D’oh!
One day after saying that he was only going to Las Vegas because he was “into the free money,” Chicago’s Tyrus Thomas was fined $10,000 by the NBA powers that be. But as badly as Thomas simply wanted to “get my check,” it looks like he will now have to put forth a bit of effort. Third and fourth place in the slam dunk contest only pull down $16,125; second place gets $22,500. So, if the rookie really wants to be stuntin’ after he pays his penalty then he’s going to have to fly like an eagle and pull down the $35,000 first prize.

Tuesday’s Player of the Day: Pau Gasol vs. Houston 41 min, 30 pts (FG: 13-28, 3FG: 0-1, FT: 4-6), 13 reb, 5 ast, 5 blk

Wednesday’s Game to Watch: San Antonio (32-16) @Washington (28-19) The Spurs are back on the road after getting five full days off since losing back to back games to Utah and Phoenix. Tonight starts the second half of an eight game road trip for San Antonio who is 16-8 away from home this season. Washington is 19-5 at home where Gilbert Arenas scored 37 against the Lakers and Caron Butler put up a career-high 38 against the Sonics in their last two home games. It’s a classic battle between offense and defense with lots of All-Star power on the court among Butler, Arenas, Tim Duncan and Tony Parker.

Buzzer Beater: If there can be anything comforting about a 15-game losing streak, this little tidbit is it. In this decade, every team that has experienced a similar span of futility (15 straight defeats) has ended up with the number one pick in the draft. Paul Pierce might want to rethink his idea that teams don’t grow through the draft because those top picks turned into Yao Ming, LeBron James and Dwight Howard. Ask the coaches, players, GMs and fans of Houston, Cleveland and Orlando if they’d like to go back in time and trade those kids away.

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So which former NBA player is gay?


Update: Speculation here and here is that the player in question is John Amaechi.

Buried in a Chicago Tribune column was this little tidbit:


Publicist Howard Bragman, from a Los Angeles-based company called Fifteen Minutes, was spreading the word at the Leigh Steinberg Super Bowl party Saturday that a former NBA player he represents will be announcing publicly that he is gay on Valentine’s Day. Bragman would say only that the player has been retired for about three years and was not a member of the Bulls or the Nets. He added that the player was not a prominent name in the NBA. The player also has a book that will be released in conjunction with his public disclosure.

So basically it’s a nobody trying to sell some books. Yawwwwwwn. It’s appropriate that the PR company representing him is called Fifteen Minutes because that’s about how long this is going to be on the radar. It’s not that the nation doesn’t care about gays in the NBA, it’s just that the nation doesn’t care about bench warmers. You know the guy at the end of the bench who is always the loudest cheerleader? If he came out and told the world he was actually the Dalai Lama, nobody would care. On the other hand, Michael Jordan could be caught buying Crab-B-Gone and it’d be in the blogosphere for days. Sorry Mr. Gay Nobody, if you didn’t average at least double digits in points a game, no one cares. Well, except maybe the homophobes at Snickers.

Links:
[ChicagoSports.com]: Manning’s dad: Don’t give up on Grossman

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NBA General

Around the Rim: Jordan Judges and Kobe Critiques


1. Dunking Royalty
Finally, the league has brought together the best of the best for the slam dunk competition. Too bad they’re only there to repeatedly hold up placards with the number 10 on them. Michael Jordan, Jul ius Erving, Dominique Wilkins, Kobe Bryant and Vince Carter make up the list of superstar judges who will grade an all new group of mediocre dunkers. But this year, the league has decided to spice things up by throwing in a couple of big fellas into the competition as Dwight Howard and Tyrus Thomas join Nate Robinson and Gerald Green. And thanks to Robinson’s time consuming performance last year that lulled the audience to sleep after 14 attempts, there is a two minute time limit placed on each player.

2. Money Hungry
Most players will tell you they simply love playing the game, it’s their childhood passion and it’s a privilege to make a career out of a game. Then there are the players that will tell you the truth, like Chicago’s Tyrus Thomas. When asked how it felt to be a part of the All-Star experience, Thomas replied, “I’m just going to go out there, get my check and call it a day.” He was then asked if it’s beneficial for a rookie to take part in such an event. “I’m just into the free money,” said Thomas. At least he’s honest.

3. All-Star Performance?
Carmelo Anthony did something last night that most people would assume he had done numerous times before. While everyone is aware of Melo’s scoring abilities, last night was the first time he ever displayed his complete array of talents by racking up his first triple-double. Could this performance help convince David Stern to put Melo on the All-Star team?

Melo’s triple dip marks the 17th time someone has gotten a triple-double this season. Only Jason Kidd with eight and Andre Igoudala (two) have pulled off the feat more than once. The other players on this season’s list include LeBron James, Boris Diaw, Ryan Gomes, Andre Miller, Chris Paul and John Salmons.

Monday’s Player of the Day: Carmelo Anthony vs. Phoenix 40 min, 31 pts (FG: 12-27, 3FG: 0-2, FT: 7-8), 10 reb, 10 ast

Tuesday’s Game to Watch: Phoenix (38-10) @ Portland (20-29) Phoenix is always just one win away from ripping off another massive win streak, and chances are tonight will be one of those wins. The Suns won their last game against Denver, so a win tonight would officially begin another streak. Amare Stoudemire has an interesting matchup with Zach Randolph who is looking to sneak onto the Western Conference All-Star team. A big performance against one of the league’s best teams could go a long way in helping David Stern come to a conclusion.

Buzzer Beater: Caron Butler did a lot to quiet his critics last night when he dropped a career-high 38 points on the Sonics. The young journeyman is en route to his first All-Star Game, where he will join up with the Wizard’s main man, Gilbert Arenas. And while he is having a solid season, if you want to get picky about it, he’s the most questionable Eastern Conference All-Star. But when the coaches are forced to choose between Joe Johnson on a pathetic Atlanta squad or Butler who plays for one of the conference’s best squads; unfortunately, they’re gonna automatically take the winner every time.

Overtime Buzzer Beater: Read yesterday’s Buzzer Beater and simply replace the words “three” with “four,” “Sunday’s” with “Monday’s” and “Hawks” with “76ers” in the next to last sentence.

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NBA General

Charles Barkley still doesn’t have a gambling problem


Hey, it’s only a problem if you lose! Barkley said he won about $700,000 in Las Vegas this weekend from blackjack and betting on the Super Bowl. But he also said he lost $2.5M in a six hour period last year. But Barkley still denies he has a problem.


It’s a stupid, bad habit. I have a problem. But the problem is when you can’t afford it. I can afford to gamble. I didn’t kill myself when I lost two and half million dollars… I like to gamble and I’m not going to quit.

Barkley is one of our favorite athletes. He always gives great quotes and isn’t afraid to make fun of himself. So let’s hope that someone he actually respects sits him down and tells him to cut it out. Just because you can afford to lose $2.5M doesn’t mean you should. Perhaps Ron Jaworski should tell him the sad tale of Leonard Tose.

Links:
[SI]: Charles Barkley says he won about $700,000 gambling in Las Vegas
[SC]: Charles Barkley is a big black whale

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NBA General

Around the Rim: They played basketball yesterday too


1. O.K. Okur
While Carlos Boozer has received most of the praise for Utah’s fast start this year, it will be Mehmet Okur who must keep the Jazz in tune over the next month. Okur has been far more important to the Jazz than his stats show, and his last two games are far more indicative of how Jerry Sloan will utilize the Turkish big man. Against the Spurs, Okur had 31 points (10-14), hitting three 3-pointers, and 11 boards. He followed that with a 29 point, 12 rebound effort against the Suns. The Jazz won both games. Okur is a poor man’s Dirk Nowitzki who must now play at a consistently high level for Utah to maintain in the West. That’s something he hasn’t done over any significant span of his career.

2. Road Trip Detour
The Lakers thought they were heading to a routine morning shootaround before meeting the Wizards on Saturday. Instead they received a 45 minute long tour of the historical landmarks surrounding the D.C. area by a bus driver who doubled as an untrained tour guide. Call it one of the Zen Master’s many means of motivation because it worked as Los Angeles beat the Wizards with all five starters scoring in double figures. Kobe Bryant was so inspired that he dropped 39 on Washington. This might sound like odd pregame behavior, but Phil Jackson is known to have some very eccentric conduct. Jackson won’t touch fans before a game because it disrupts his aura; which is probably a medically sound decision when in L.A.

3. Gambling Man
Gilbert Arenas combined two of his favorite things in life, gambling and filling the hoop, to make a little extra cash off teammate DeShawn Stevenson. Arenas bet that he could make more college treys with one hand than Stevenson could with both. And Agent 0 came through again, hitting 73 of 100 one-handers while Stevenson started hot but couldn’t keep his cool and came up short as Arenas constantly taunted and distracted him. How much does a simple wager of this sort cost friends in the NBA? Just a meager $20,000; that should be enough to pay off the ice sculptures Gilbert had at his birthday party.

Sunday’s Player of the Day: Joe Johnson @ New Jersey 49 min, 37 pts (FG: 12-23, 3FG: 4-6, FT: 9-10), 5 reb, 8 ast, 1 blk

Monday’s Game to Watch: Chicago (28-20) @ Utah (31-17) Ben Gordon is smoking hot and the Bulls are rolling because of it as they have now won eight of their last 11 games. Chicago received a scare when Ben Wallace went down last week, but he seems to be back to his normal intimidating self again. The Jazz are undermanned without All-Star Carlos Boozer in the lineup but they still hold an impressive 17-6 record at home. The Mehmet Okur/Ben Wallace match-up should be interesting, considering Okur use to ride the pine behind Wallace in Detroit. While Gordon and Deron Williams will provide plenty of backcourt highlights.

Buzzer Beater: New Jersey just cannot get over the hump as they lost yet another game by two points or less. Two weeks ago, the Nets lost three games in a row by a single point each. Then it looked like they might have finally gotten on track when they beat Denver and Utah in back to back games. New Jersey even got a little break of their own when Vince Carter buried a buzzer beating 3-pointer to beat the Jazz by a point. But now, the Nets have lost three in a row that includes Sunday’s home loss by two points to the lowly Hawks. The only thing worse for New Jersey than all of the close losses are all of the blowout losses.

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NBA General

Around the Rim: David’s Dilemma


1. Save Face or Send a Message?
In an ironic twist of fate, commissioner David Stern now holds Carmelo Anthony’s All-Star future in his hands. Earlier in the season, Stern dished out a 15 game suspension to Melo for his involvement in the New York brawl. Now, the commish is responsible for assigning two players to the west’s team to replace the injured Yao Ming and Carlos Boozer. Anthony got snubbed by the coaches and the fans this year despite leading the league in scoring. Stern backed off the synthetic ball issue after player complaints continued to mount; will he be able to forgive and forget when it comes to Melo? If Anthony doesn’t make the squad, he would become the first player ever to miss the All-Star game while leading the league in scoring.

2. Wade’s Way
Dwyane Wade carried the weight of his entire team during the fourth quarter of last night’s game against the Cavs as he single-handedly outscored the entire Cleveland team. In the final 12 minutes, Wade went off for 24 points while LeBron’s boys could only muster 23. Making matters worse for Cleveland is that they held a 12 point lead with less than eight minutes remaining. The 24 points were also a Heat record for points scored in the final quarter. Wade finished with a fat 41 point game to go along with five assists, three steals and two blocks.

3. Low Blow
After writhing around on the floor because of an allegedly inadvertent pop to the face by Kobe Bryant on Sunday, Manu Ginobili decided to dish out a little “unintentional” punishment of his own last night. With about nine minutes remaining in the game, Ginobili drove to the hoop and delivered a running knee shot right to Amare Stoudemire’s unborn children. As most men would do, Stoudemire crumpled to the ground before jumping up and looking to throw down. After the game, Stoudemire said that he thought the knee was on purpose and called Ginobili a flopper; he was right on both counts. (We also want to point you to this hilarious video of Avery Johnson getting too excited and hitting Josh Howard in the nuts by accident.)

Thursday’s Player of the Day: Amare Stoudemire vs. San Antonio 43 min, 24 pts (FG: 9-18, FT: 6-7), 23 reb, 1 stl

Friday’s Game to Watch: Los Angeles Lakers (28-18) @ Indiana (24-21) The Kobe Show has hit the road, and it’s going to be a while before the performance returns to Hollywood. Tonight’s game is the third in an eight game road trip for the Lakers; so far they’re 1-1. The Pacers have only lost seven games at home this year behind the great play from Jermaine O’Neal, who was named an All-Star last night. Indiana has also won four of their last five with the last win coming at the expense of the pathetic Celtics. The same Celtics that Kobe scored 43 against on Wednesday.

Buzzer Beater: How did the fans get the West so wrong? Steve Nash has won the last two MVP’s and his biggest competition for this year’s award seems to be Dirk Nowitzki, yet both players were forced to make the team via a coach’s vote. The fan vote has become a pathetic popularity contest where performance is apparently irrelevant. Heck, health doesn’t even matter to the fans; Shaq got voted in despite playing in only four games by the time the votes were due. To borrow a phrase from Bill Walton; “How sad.”