Tag: Cleveland Cavaliers

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NBA General

Around the Rim: The Spurs are celebrating again



Wonder how the lil’ Frenchman is gonna
commemorate the event?

1. And that’s how the West is won
Most people figured that the Spurs wouldn’t be returning to Salt Lake City after they grabbed a Game 4 victory on Monday, and it turns out that most people were right. San Antonio came out of the gates with guns blazing and the Jazz were overwhelmed from the opening tip as the Spurs ended the series with a 109-84 victory that put them into the NBA finals for the fourth time since 1999. The Spurs stars had plenty of time to rest during the game but now they still have a whole week to kill before the finals kick off next Thursday. And with a veteran team for the most part, San Antonio will definitely opt for a chance to rest over the risk of rust. The Jazz have a lot to build on with Carlos Boozer and Deron Williams in the lineup, but as long as Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili are teamed up in SA, it is going to be tough for anyone to get past this squad.

2. Kobe’s flip-flopping like a fish

Well the Kobe Bryant rollercoaster took some unexpected turns on Wednesday when the Mamba said that he wanted out of Los Angeles and then promptly changed his mind after a talk with the Zen Master. Bryant went from hate to love in a matter of hours with his bosses, but what else can you expect out of Hollywood. We’re guessing that the twists and turns aren’t going to be ending anytime soon because even if Bryant has supposedly changed his mind about the situation, he still had some harsh words for his bosses which they probably won’t be forgetting anytime soon. And any coach in the league who was interested in Bryant before his about face will still be enamored with Mr. 81 now and they could end up sending LA some very tempting offers. But then again, we all know that there is virtually no way a trade could end up in the Lakers favor.

3. Dunk of the Day
This has nothing to do with the NBA but we figured that with hops like Willie Warren displayed in the “’07 Memorial Day Classic” it will be just a matter of time until we see this kid on the NBA big stage. Well, he’s at least good enough to get on Streetball with Hot Sauce and the crew.

Wednesday’s Player of the Day: Tim Duncan vs. Utah 29 min, 21 pts (FG: 7-14, FT: 7-8), 7 reb, 3 ast

Buzzer Beater: LeBron James looked like a whole different player during his two wins at home compared to the Cavs pair of losses in Detroit. Hopefully he can transition that energy into Game 5, which will be in the Pistons’ gym, because there is no way Cleveland can rely on rookie Daniel Gibson to produce the way he did in Game 4. Detroit has players who thrive in the big moments and it doesn’t get any bigger than having a 3-2 advantage with a trip to the finals on the line, so expect Chauncey Billups and Rip Hamilton to bust out of their mini-slumps in front of their home crowd. LeBron can’t win the game by himself but he has got to be an aggressive scorer to win this series. There’s plenty of time to be Magic Johnson later; the Cavs need LBJ to channel his inner Michael Jordan if they are going to keep their drive for a ring alive.

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NBA General

Around the Rim: Sorry Detroit; "No soup for you!"



She’s no Jessica Alba, but it’s not
bad for Cleveland.

1. Now it’s a best of three
After falling down 0-2 to the experienced Pistons, the Cavs looked like they wouldn’t be in this conference finals series for long, but there’s a good reason that people say a series doesn’t truly start until the home team loses. Now, that same Cavs team has evened up the best of seven at two apiece and LeBron James is looking like a true leader on the court after Cleveland won Game 4 91-87 on Tuesday. Larry Hughes wasn’t even expected to play but he ended up starting the game; however, it would be his replacement that grabbed the spotlight. An aggressive Daniel Gibson put together another great performance as he finished with 21 points by getting to the foul line 12 times, converting on all 12. But it doesn’t matter if the Cavaliers win all of their home games because they can’t advance to the finals without grabbing a victory in Detroit and there is no better time than Thursday night for Cleveland to do just that.

2. Buss-ted!

So what do you do when you’re old, rich and have a lot of free time on your hands? Well, if you are Los Angeles Lakers owner Jerry Buss you stay up way past your bedtime, get wasted and drive your gold station wagon the wrong way down the street. Buss blew at least a 0.08 when pulled over by the cops around 1 a.m. on Tuesday morning and was arrested on suspicion of DUI. The old geezer apologized for his actions but we gotta give him props cause when the 74-year-old Buss was pulled over he had some 23-year-old piece of ass in his Mercedes-Benz. Now, we don’t know what the relationship between these two was, but we’re guessing that she wasn’t his granddaughter which makes it a little suspicious. Its amazing how billions of dollars can make that creepy 51 year age difference just disappear.

3. Hey! I’ll trade ya’!
The rivalry between Kevin Durant and Greg Oden has been limited to their on-court skill so far, but now that they are about to become professionals it’s time for their head to head competitions to extend off the court. Because there is more to being an All-Star baller than just points, rebounds and blocks; there’s also basketball cards and shoe deals. On Tuesday Oden signed a three-year deal worth at least $3 million with Topps while his soon to be division foe recently inked a deal with Upper Deck. Both guys will be great spokesmen for their companies but Oden is already getting some serious hype and in his new campaign the youngster is going to be featured with Hall of Famer Bill Russell. Not a bad way to start off your career if you ask us.

Tuesday’s Player of the Day: LeBron James vs. Detroit 44 min, 25 pts (FG: 8-19, 3FG: 1-5, FT: 8-9), 7 reb, 11 ast, 3 stl

Buzzer Beater: The games are coming fast and furious in the Western Conference finals with the Spurs and Jazz making a quick one day turnaround after San Antonio took a 3-1 lead on Monday. SA would love to get this series over with so they can rest up for whoever ends up making it out of the East and it’s going to be pretty tough for the Jazz to stop `em considering that the last time Utah won in San Antonio Karl Malone and John Stockton were wearing notoriously short shorts. OK, so it wasn’t that long ago but 1999 was still quite a while back. The wildcard in the series continues to be Manu Ginobili as his play off the bench is overwhelming whoever Utah decides to throw at him. And the Spurs also have another pair of players who know how to put the final nails in playoff coffins. Since Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Ginobili became a trio in 2003, San Antonio is 12-4 in series clinching games.

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Cleveland Cavaliers

It’s not easy being the King


It must be tough being LeBron James — Donyell Marshall misses a wide open shot to win the game and you’re the one who catches all the heat. But this post isn’t about basketball, it’s about some petition he refused to sign condemning genocide in Darfur.

Cavalier Ira Newble drafted an open letter to the Chinese government condemning the genocide in Darfur which was signed by all the Cavaliers except for LBJ and Damon Jones. LeBron James said he didn’t have enough information to take a stand. (Nobody cares what Damon Jones thinks.) Imagine that, a basketball player who never went to college admitting he doesn’t have enough information and therefore declining to sign something. Seems the logical thing to do doesn’t it? If you can’t even pick out Darfur on a map, how can you sign something condemning genocide in the country? state? province? island?

What’s interesting is that the author of this column is calling James out because he has a shoe contract with Nike and Nike has a huge interest in China. What’s not mentioned is that Damon Jones actually has a shoe contract with Li-Ning, a Chinese company. But again, no one cares about Damon Jones. We’re so sick of athletes and celebrities adopting a cause-o-the-day that it’s actually refreshing that LBJ declined to jump on board. Sure, his reasons might be monetary, but that doesn’t mean he has any obligation to attach his name to something he doesn’t feel strong or know enough about.

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NBA General

Around the Rim: Another rough night for the young King



A 2-0 hole would make anyone a
little nervous.

1. Second half meltdown
Cleveland had a commanding halftime lead (50-38) in Game 2 but somehow managed to bumble it away and slip into a 2-0 hole by scoring a pathetic 26 points in the final 24 minutes and losing 79-76. The Cavs had an opportunity to win the game in the final seconds but LeBron James missed a contested spinning shot in the lane that he will undoubtedly be criticized for because he didn’t dish the rock off. But this would be Rasheed Wallace‘s night as he came on strong in the fourth when he put in 10 of his 16 points, including the go-ahead bucket with 24 ticks left on the clock. If this feels familiar, it should; last year the Pistons took a 2-0 lead over Cleveland in a second round series that eventually saw a Game 7. We can only hope that the James Gang has enough heart to force another game of ultimate elimination. The Cavs will find out on Sunday night if Dorothy was right.

2. The Magic make their coach disappear

The coaching carousel continues to turn in the NBA and the latest hard, plastic pony to become available is in Orlando where the Magic decided to part ways with Brian Hill after he spent two seasons with the team. Apparently a 40-42 record along with a first round sweep out of the playoffs just wasn’t gonna cut it in the Magic Kingdom. Where Hill goes from here is unpredictable, but he will have several options available to him over the off-season. However, the Magic are now forced to find a veteran coach who can take this talented team to a level that Hill wasn’t able to. While Stan Van Gundy isn’t exactly a grizzled vet, he does have head coaching experience with a winning club filled with marquee superstars, which is a lot better resume than most cheap, available assistant’s can offer. And with Rick Adelman out of the picture there aren’t a whole lot of proven winners available out there. Whoever the Magic decide to bring in is going to have to work fast because the Orlando bigwigs are certainly unwilling to wait for results; with a budding Dwight Howard and Jameer Nelson on the squad, the Magic are ready to start blossoming right now.

3. Former baller behind bars
The NBA family took a punch to the gut this week as former player Henry Charles James was sentenced to five years in the pokey for dealing drugs. James spent the 90’s bouncing from team to team but now he’s simply going to be bouncing from cell to cell in the prison system. Last summer, James was busted by an undercover police officer after making two separate deals with the officer for a total of $750 worth of crack cocaine. Police arrested him on September 7th after James brought several children along with him to the spot where the deal was to go down.

Thursday’s Player of the Day: Rasheed Wallace vs. Cleveland 33 min, 16 pts (FG: 7-10, 3FG: 1-3, FT: 1-2), 11 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl, 2 blk

Buzzer Beater: Historically San Antonio has struggled in Salt Lake City during the post season and this year the Jazz are undefeated at home in the playoffs, so it would seem that Game 3 would be the perfect opportunity for Utah to grab their first W in the Western Conference finals. But looks can be deceiving because, to this point, the Jazz have given very little reason to believe that they can turn this series around. Sure, they’ve had some fourth quarter surges behind the great play of Carlos Boozer and Deron Williams but San Antonio has simply imposed their will on the Jazz for two games now; in fact, Utah never led once during Game 2. The Jazz are going to have to get someone to step up as a third option if they are going to start chipping away at San Antonio’s 2-0 lead. However, the time for Utah is now and if they can’t win Game 3 then the Spurs will be playing for their fourth title since 1999.

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NBA General

Around the Rim: King James just got crowned by the Bad Boys



It’s even annoying when unspoken.

1. Detroit rocks Cleveland
Everyone knew that the Pistons were going to be focused on LeBron James every time that he had the ball in his hands. Everyone just didn’t know that they would be so successful doing it. King James finished the game with a career playoff-low 10 points after going stone cold from the field (5-15 FGs), but that didn’t keep him from putting his fingerprints all over the game with nine assists and 10 rebounds. The Cavs were a 3-pointer away from possibly winning the game as time was running out but Donyell Marshall choked on an open shot from behind the arc and Chauncey Billups sealed up the 79-76 Game 1 victory for the Pistons with a rebound off the miss. Rasheed Wallace was huge in the win as Tayshaun Prince finally decided to take a night off and finished with less than 10 points (8 points on 1-of-11 shooting) for the first time this post season. Game 2 rolls around on Thursday and you can expect that the Prince and the King will both avoid repeats of their poor performances

2. Forrest Gump’s favorite time of year
So, tonight is the big night; it’s the night that will change the future of two very lucky franchises forever. Hopes and dreams have run wild for months and months about just who would end up with the pair of freshmen phenoms Greg Oden and Kevin Durant. Barring any major league wheeling and dealing, tonight we will at least find out the two future homes of these kids, even if we don’t know who’s gonna go where. Here’s a look at all the teams participating in the lottery and their odds of getting the first or second pick:

Team 1st Pick 2nd Pick
Memphis 25.0% 21.5%
Boston 19.9% 18.8%
Milwaukee 15.6% 15.7%
Phoenix (from ATL) 11.9% 12.6%
Seattle 8.8% 9.7%
Portland 5.3% 6.0%
Minnesota 5.3% 6.0%
Charlotte 1.9% 2.2%
Chicago (from NY) 1.9% 2.2%
Sacramento 1.8% 2.1%
Atlanta (from IND) 0.8% 0.9%
Philadelphia 0.7% 0.8%
New Orleans 0.6% 0.7%
LA Clippers 0.5% 0.6%

And just too clarify; no, Phoenix doesn’t get to keep either of the top picks should they end up with them. Instead, they will have to return the pick to Atlanta if they land one of the top three picks. The Pacers will get the Hawks pick if Atlanta ends up with one of the top 10 picks.

And to further clarity; only the top three picks will be determined via the ping-pong ball bouncing lottery, while the fourth through fourteenth selections will be arranged according to the inverse order of their regular season record.

Monday’s Player of the Day: Rasheed Wallace @ Detroit 40 min, 15 pts (FG: 7-13, 3FG: 1-2), 12 reb, 2 ast, 7 blk

Buzzer Beater: The Jazz might have looked outclassed at times during Game 1 of the West finals on Sunday but nobody can point fingers toward the second year point guard who racked up 18 points in the fourth. Deron Williams carried Utah to a near comeback as he finished with game-highs in field goals and attempts (13-23), assists (9) and points (34); about all he didn’t do was hand out Gatorade to his teammates during timeouts. But the playoffs are all about adjustments and we guarantee you that both of these veteran coaches have been working the X’s and O’s with their teams since the final buzzer buzzed Sunday afternoon. Utah really needs to escape Texas with a split in the series but they definitely won’t have history on their side, 0-17 in their last 17 trips to San Antonio, as they head into the game. Then again, the Spurs have never beaten the Jazz in the postseason so, either way you cut it, somebody is going to make history by the end of this series.

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NBA General

Around the Rim: Quick turnaround doesn’t hurt the Spurs in Game 1



The Spurs were slam Duncan the Jazz
in Game 1.

1. Spurs continue to dominate Jazz in SA
The Utah Jazz took a beating in the second quarter of Game 1 against the Spurs in the Western Conference finals on Sunday and Jerry Sloan’s boys were never able to recover as San Antonio went on to take the opening game 108-100. Game 1 marked the first time that Utah had made it to the conference finals since 1998, and it showed as the club had the bewildered look of a team in unfamiliar surroundings (all except Derek Fisher, of course). San Antonio, on the other hand, appeared to have the routine down as they calmly executed their offense through Tim Duncan who finished with at least 20 points and 10 rebounds (27 pts, 10reb) for the tenth straight playoff game; that’s just two shy of Shaq’s all-time record. This is the fifth time in nine seasons that the Spurs have made it to the finals out west (1999, 2001, 2003, 2005 and 2007) and they are hoping that their fifth appearance will help to eventually yield their fourth ring. The Jazz have now lost 17 straight games in San Antonio in a streak of futility that lasts back to 1999.

2. T-Mac needs a new coach to hold him down

We all basically knew that the droopy-eyed Jeff Van Gundy had probably coached his final game on the Houston Rockets bench and on Friday the club fired him. Now, with four seasons under his belt, Eddie Jordan from the Washington Wizards is the longest tenured coach in the NBA except for the two guys in suits on the sidelines of the West finals. It’s funny that Van Gundy would get fired considering that Tracy McGrady said that if the Rockets lost their first round series to the Jazz it would all be on him. Guess the fellas in the front office weren’t quite ready to fire T-Mac. Wonder why? Anyways, don’t feel bad for JVG; like a cat, he landed on his feet after the Rockets tossed him out. In fact, Van Gundy spent his first day off from coaching by calling the Spurs/Jazz Game 1 on Saturday for ABC.

3. Brotherly love
The NBA is all about symmetry. So, if one Van Gundy brother gets fired then the other one is probably about to get hired. It’s like cowbell; the NBA needs more Van Gundy. Stan Van Gundy appears to be the leading contender for the head coaching vacancy in Indiana where Rick Carlisle was given the boot after the Pacers failed to reach the playoffs. But Stan has options; after spending Friday in Indy with the Pacers, he will be out in Sacramento today for an interview with the Kings. Looks like Ron Jeremy Stan Van Gundy will be back on the sidelines by next season, and he should be after the job he did in Miami. Hell, if it wasn’t for Pat Riley’s enormous ego, SVG just might have been the first Van Gundy brother to grab a ring.

Sunday’s Player of the Day: Deron Williams @ San Antonio 42 min, 34 pts (FG: 13-23, 3FG: 2-5, FT: 6-7), 7 reb, 9 ast, 1 stl

Buzzer Beater: Tonight starts the fifth straight conference finals for the Detroit Pistons as they graciously welcome LeBron James and his Cleveland Cavalier companions over to the Palace for Game 1. And don’t think for a second that either of these teams has forgotten exactly what happened during their series in last year’s playoffs. The Cavs had Detroit on the brink of elimination after winning three straight games to go up 3-2 but, unfortunately for Cleveland they were playing an experienced, veteran club who wasn’t willing to just go away. The Pistons would go on to win the final two games and shockingly eliminate LeBron from the postseason. Both teams have improved significantly last year, so while the series might be tweaked from a year ago, you can still expect to see a pair of clubs not giving an inch in this conference championship. Don’t sleep on the East; this should be another down to the wire series with these two growing rivals.

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NBA General

Around the Rim: Detroit is going home, and that’s a good thing


1. Detroit makes the East finals, again
Detroit was on the verge of giving up a 3-0 lead to the Chicago Bulls but the Pistons went into Chi-Town for Game 5 and sealed up their fifth consecutive trip to the Eastern Conference finals with a 95-85 victory. In typical Detroit fashion, there was no flash or flare from any one player; it was just nine role players falling into line for the one uniting cause. The former Bad Boy and current Baby Bull Ben Wallace had to be extra disgusted as his old team celebrated in his new arena after he could only muster six points and seven rebounds in the elimination situation. Now that’s one stone cold fro! So, now there’s only thing on Detroit’s mind…

2. Who’s coming with us?

The Cavaliers will have another chance to put away those pesky Nets but this time they are going to have to do it with an arena full of fans telling `em that they suck. Then again, some Cleveland fans were making it rain boos during the fourth quarter as the Cavs shot just 3-of-16 in the period and didn’t make a bucket in the final 6:58 of the game. If Jason Kidd can manage to give another Big O type effort then this series will most likely be headed to the most loved and feared prospect in the playoffs: Game 7. Kidd is just short of averaging a triple-double for the series (14.4 pts, 11.8 reb, 8.8 ast), but don’t feel bad for the guy; after all, he is averaging a triple dip over the entire playoffs. That’s an amazing average of 14.2 points, 10.8 rebounds and 11.2 assists over an 11 game stretch! And so we don’t overlook his defensive production, we should also point out that Kidd is also 1.82 steals and .45 blocks per game. He’s a virtual human Swiss Army Knife.

3. And on the other side of the bracket
We know that the Utah Jazz are patiently awaiting the winner of the Phoenix/San Antonio series, but what we don’t know is if we are going to be witness to one or two more big time brawls before the West finals are set. The Suns fans are still pissed about the Amare Stoudemire and Boris Diaw suspensions for Game 5 in which the Spurs barely escaped Phoenix with victory and a 3-2 series edge, but obviously Mike D’Antoni and his staff are no longer concerned with the past. They can’t be; it’s time to win or go home as the old saying goes. The Spurs have got to be a bit worried after the Stoudemireless Suns almost bucked the odds because Steve Nash now has his favorite target back in the lineup which has got to be giving Gregg Popovich some serious stress headaches. Luckily, San Antonio will have the advantage of playing at home with a raucous crowd yelling at the top of their lungs. We just hope that they can come up with something a little more clever than “Dirty! Dirty!”

Thursday’s Player of the Day: Rasheed Wallace @ Chicago 39 min, 16 pts (FG: 7-14, 3FG: 2-8, FT: 0-1), 13 reb, 4 ast, 2 blk

Buzzer Beater: First the USA Basketball committee tried to put together a team of NBA superstars who were supposed to razzle-dazzle the international competition, but instead they just got exposed for the selfish hot dogers they were. So, then the masterminds decided that they would go after the hungrier, grittier ballers who weren’t afraid to get their hands dirty against the scrappy Euros and other quickly acclimating squads. That’s a much better strategy than trying to assemble another Dream Team except for when those hardnosed guys decide to turn you down. Recently crowned defensive player of the year Marcus Camby told USA Basketball that although it was a great honor, he would not be able to accept their invitation to participate in the qualifiers for the 2008 Olympics. So, now where does the red, white and blue look for their presence in the middle? None of the superstars are walking through that door, to steal a phrase, and the lower tier Cambys and Brad Millers of the league have other agendas (family, rehab, vacation, rolling in money) and don’t want to be part of the humiliation that has become USA Basketball. That gold medal is just becoming more and more unrealistic with every day that passes.

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NBA General

Around the Rim: Another ESPN Instant Classic was just born



And this was the scene before the game.

1. Phoenix gets burned in the Valley of the Sun
Game 5 between the Spurs and the Suns was a tale of two halves. The first half saw Shawn Marion light up the jumbotron with 20 points and 11 rebounds en route to an 11 point lead at the break as San Antonio was a nonexistent 0-of-7 from behind the arc. Fast forward past the Frisbee catching dog or whatever ridiculous half time gimmick the Suns front office pulled out of the hat for this game and in the second half, the Spurs were a very existent 8-of-16 from three land as Marion could only score four points and grab six boards over the final 12 minutes. Algebra 101 taught us that if you add those two halves together you get an 88-85 San Antonio victory, which is equal to one whole win for the guys in black; giving the Spurs a grand total of a 3-2 lead in the series. And you thought we slept our way through high school. The Suns fought a heck of a fight without their All-NBA first teamer Amare Stoudemire and Boris Diaw but Manu Ginobili played terrific down the stretch, minus a few unforgivable turnovers, while Bruce Bowen and Michael Finley hit several ginormous shots. Throw in the usual 20 point, 10 rebound, 3 block (21, 12 and 5 to be exact) game from Tim Duncan and the incredibly unyielding NBA rulebook and it all simply added up to odds that Phoenix just couldn’t overcome.

2. Like nats, the Nets just won’t go away

There must be something in the water over in the Eastern Conference because the Nets, like the Bulls, keep finding a way to avoid elimination and keep their postseason hopes alive. Perhaps they’re using the Vitamin Water that failed to get Tracy McGrady out of the first round but allowed him to perform one of the sweetest sheep tosses ever caught on camera. Now, Game 5 between the Nets and Cavs was nowhere near being as interesting as the Highland Games, but how could it when the final score was 83-72 and the Nets won despite scoring just six points in the final quarter on 1-of-15 shooting. Still, what the game lacked in excitement, it certainly made up for in importance as the Nets are now within one game, 3-2, of Cleveland with the series headed back to Jersey for Game 6. Whatever the mystery substance might be that New Jersey is chuggin’, they certainly didn’t share any of it with LeBron James. His royal highness finished the game with just 20 points as he missed nine of his 14 field goal attempts. Thank goodness for free throws.

3. Whoa No Nellie!
He’s only been back behind the clipboard for a year now, but Don Nelson could be done with the Golden State franchise that he rapidly resurrected into the feel-good story of the year. Well, at least until they got eliminated by the Jazz they were. And forget about all their poor sportsmanship that resulted in tons o’ techs and flagrant fouls. But, other than that, totally a feel-good story. Still, Nellie might not be ready to write another chapter in this book because, as he says, he’s “not so sure it’s important that I stay on.” C’mon, Nelson, stop being modest. This team would be on the fast track to a Jailblazers-esque reputation without the Don around to keep this fast paced squad in check, both on and off the court. Talk about a fork in the road! Golden State could grow into a Western Conference contender with Nelson at the helm or they can take their old position alongside the Clippers, Hawks and Bobcats of the league with some other ham-fisted, poor excuse of a coach. Fans of The City better hope Nellie feels like his body can take another yearlong beatdown or they can forget about using those yellow “We Believe” shirts for anything other than wearing to the gym.

Wednesday’s Player of the Day: Shawn Marion vs. San Antonio 46 min, 24 pts (FG: 9-16, 3FG: 2-4, FT: 4-4), 17 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl, 1 blk

Buzzer Beater: Mark Cuban is one of the most annoying, childish and arrogant human beings to ever walk the face of the earth. Oh, and he cries like a baby too! Having said that, he also makes some pretty solid points from time to time. After all, he didn’t become a billionaire by being an idiot. So, as much as it pains us to agree with this jackass, here’s an excerpt of what Cubes had to say about the Spurs/Suns suspensions in his blog.

First, let me go on the record as saying that in the event that a vote comes up to change the rules about suspensions for players leaving the bench, I will vote against changing it.

Why ? Because its incredibly simple to educate players about the rule. Its a rule they fully understand and they understand the consequences of violating the rule. That makes the NBA stronger because it removes uncertainty. Can it result in a game(s) being impacted , yes. However, that impact results from an action a player knew violated the rules and was a mistake. There is no uncertainty about it. All they had to do was not leave the bench.

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NBA General

Around the Rim: Spurs and Suns get even more physical



Nash is mad as hell and he’s not
gonna take it anymore!

1. Wait; who won that game?
If you decided to turn in early last night and skip out on the end of Game 4 between San Antonio and Phoenix then shame on you. The Spurs were in control for almost the entire game, but almost was just enough space that the Suns needed and they put together a late surge that closed an 11 point gap and gave Phoenix a 104-98 victory that tied up the series at two games apiece. It was a stunning turn of events in SA as it looked like the Spurs were ready to take a commanding 3-1 advantage but it quickly fell apart as Tim Duncan got nailed to the bench with his fifth foul. As the game was coming to an end tempers began to flare as Robert Horry delivered a hard forearm shot that sent Steve Nash flying into the scorers’ table. A brief melee broke out with Horry, Nash and Raja Bell but the situation was quickly diffused as Horry was ejected from the game. However, what could prove to be quite costly was Amare Stoudemire‘s and possibly Boris Diaw‘s decisions to leave the bench area when the scuffle broke out. If David Stern decides to go by the book then their actions are worthy of an automatic one game suspension.

2. Cavs advance; well, almost

The Nets stuck around until the final buzzer but when the horn sounded it was Cleveland who had grabbed a 3-1 lead in the series and put themselves in an excellent position to finish this thing off at home on Wednesday. LeBron James is just one little victory away from etching his name into Cavaliers history by taking the team to their third conference finals ever. It has been 17 long, long, long years since the Cavs last made an appearance in Eastern Conference’s big show. And New Jersey made it a lot easier than it should have been as the Nets’ big three just couldn’t get anything going offensively because they combined for a pathetic 11-of-48 from the field. Sorry, Jay-Z, but that’s just not gonna cut it when King James is exploding for 30 points, nine rebounds and seven assists. Cleveland fans finally have some positive postseason memories to hold on to; hopefully Michael Jordan’s runner over Craig Ehlo hasn’t been too damaging over the years.

3. Could Larry Brown and Greg Oden be a package deal?
It looks like Larry Brow is the top candidate for the open head coaching gig with the Grizzlies, but in typical Larry Brown fashion he’s not making any decisions until he’s sure he’s going to get exactly what he wants. And apparently what Brown wants is the same thing that every coach is desires, Greg Oden. The draft lottery will be held on May 22 which means that we should know exactly where the ol’ ball coach stands by the time the last logo gets pulled from its oversized envelope. Memphis has a great chance of grabbing the top pick which would give the Grizz a solid core for the Yoda-like guru to mentor into young Jedi masters. But the journeyman doesn’t have the patience these days to groom some stick figure into the defensive stopper that his systems so desperately require. It’s an all or nothing situation for Memphis in this year’s lottery. But, then again, we can’t imagine the Grizzlies being too disappointed if Kevin Durant falls into their laps.

Monday’s Player of the Day: Steve Nash @ San Antonio 41 min, 24 pts (FG: 8-12, 3FG: 2-3, FT: 6-8), 2 reb, 15 ast

Buzzer Beater: After two long years of singing the praises of Steve Nash, today we finally usher in a new era of elite as Dirk Nowitzki dons the MVP crown and reduces Nash from “reigning” to “former” MVP. Dirk will probably be so stoked during his press conference that he starts doing his best impersonation of German sensation David Hasselhoff during his acceptance speech. Not! But if Dirk started mumbling while picking at a plate of food with his shirt off, you’d have to admit that it would make for some entertaining television. Hell, we couldn’t really blame the guy if he did show up to the ceremony in a drunken stooper just like his childhood hero. It’s gotta be rough when your best friend and the previous MVP is still ballin while you’re having to pretend to be happy and smile for the cameras when all Dirk really wants to do is hide under a rock until training camp begins.

Categories
NBA General

Around the Rim: Now that was some smooth Jazz styling



Carlos Boozer is at the edge of his
first conference finals appearance.

1. The City is becoming a ghost town
After the Warriors eliminated the Mavericks from the playoffs, the Golden State faithful celebrated to a point that even Joakim Noah thought was a bit over the top. Well, after the Warriors lost Game 4 to fall down 3-1 against the Jazz, the largest crowd to ever see a basketball game in the state of California (20,679 to be exact) reacted as if they had just seen their precious Warriors for the last time this season. And they were right. Golden State is a completely different team at home than they are on the road and in Game 5 the supportive sea of yellow that cheers insistently for the Warriors’ excessively ridiculous 3-point attempts will now become a baby blue lagoon of venom and hate for any and all outsiders. Especially Jason Richardson after he delivered a hard, flagrant foul to Mehmet Okur in the late moments of the game that got him sent to the showers a bit early. But it didn’t really matter at that point; Utah already had the game well in hand and J-Rich was having a horrendous shooting game (3-12 FG) anyways. And after mesmerizing the nation with a dunk of John Starks over Michael Jordan or Kevin Johnson over Hakeem Olajuwon proportions, Baron Davis also struggled (6-16 FG) when it came time to draw the series even. Guess the motivation of having Jessica Alba in the crowd has to wear off at some point.

2. No mo’ “fo’ fo’ fo'”

Remember the Luol Deng that exploded onto the postseason scene during Chicago’s first round sweep of the defending champion Heat? Well, after virtually disappearing in the first two games of the Pistons/Bulls series, it seems safe to say that Deng is back on track and Chicago can finally remember how it feels to win because of it. After putting up 21 points and 14 rebounds in Game 3, Deng had another outstanding performance with a game-high 25 points to go along with a baker’s dozen off the glass. That’s 13 for all you non-pastry chefs out there. But Detroit still has a 3-1 advantage in the series and it is doubtful that starters Rasheed Wallace, Chauncey Billups, Chris Webber and Richard Hamilton have a repeat of their pitiful shooting performance (13-of-45 FG) when Game 5 takes this rivalry back to the hardwood at The Palace of Auburn Hills.

3. Spurs/Suns saddle-up for Game 4
After Game 1, Steve Nash had a gash on his nose and Tony Parker had a bump on his noggin. After Game 2, Amare Stoudemire called Bruce Bowen “dirty” because he says that Bowen tried to purposely injure him. That’s about as physical as it can get, right? Wrong, because in Game 3 Manu Ginobili got a nice sized mouse under his left eye thanks to an inadvertent Shawn Marion poke and Nash took a knee right to the jewels when he tried to guard Bowen a bit too tight. But in the end it was San Antonio who grabbed a 108-101 victory in the game and a 2-1 advantage in the series. Phoenix is now facing, for all intensive purposes, a must-win situation for Monday’s Game 4 in SA because the Suns do not want to be looking at a scenario in which they must win three straight against a team as good as the Spurs. Put your mouthpieces in because this series is turning out to be the championship caliber slugfest that we never got to see between Oscar De La Hoya and Floyd Mayweather.

Sunday’s Player of the Day: Carlos Boozer @ Golden State 44 min, 34 pts (FG: 13-19, FT: 8-11), 12 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl, 1 blk

Buzzer Beater: The Cleveland Cavaliers had been quietly and effortlessly making their way through the playoffs until New Jersey finally knocked them off their high horse and handed the Cavs their first loss of the postseason. In a statistical abnormality, the Nets were led in scoring by not one, not two, but three players who finished the game with 23 points apiece. Oddly enough, Vince Carter, Richard Jefferson and Jason Kidd weren’t the only players to finish with 23 points as Larry Hughes racked up the night’s magic number as well. LeBron James finished the contest with just 18 points even though he’s got the number 23 on his jersey. Oh, well, it’s not like it would have mattered; the Cavs would have still lost by six points even if James had reached the 23 point plateau.