Tag: Miami Heat

Categories
Denver Nuggets

Around the Rim: Heat check


1. J.R. Smith shoots the lights out
While the Suns continue rolling right along despite Shaquille O’Neal delaying his debut, the Heat wound up with one of the most versatile players in the game and they still can’t get off the schnide. Of course, Denver was partly responsible for Miami’s 23rd loss in 24 games. J.R. Smith came off the bench to drop eight treys and 28 points in the 114-113 overtime road win while Kenyon Martin poured in 24 and Marcus Camby flirted with a triple-double at 12 points, 16 rebounds and seven blocks. And, as usual, Carmelo Anthony (24 pts) and Allen Iverson (16 pts) were good for their fare share as well. D-Wade finished with a game-high 29 points and 10 assists and the newest biggest loser Shawn Marion scored 23 to go with 18 boards.

2. B-B-B-B-Billups shines late

Rasheed Wallace got off to a sizzling hot start against Atlanta on Tuesday, connecting on his first six shots, including three 3-pointers, but in the end it was Chauncey Billups who saved the day. Billups scored 12 of his 16 points in the fourth quarter after shooting a miserable 0-for-8 during the first three quarter to give Detroit a 94-90 victory in Atlanta. The Hawks were led by Josh Smith’s 30 points and Al Horford’s 12 and 16 rebounds. And speaking of rebounding, Atlanta doesn’t have any time to sulk over the loss because tonight they head to Charlotte for a game against the Cats.

3. Bulls stung by Hornets
The Hornets slipped for a bit after grabbing the best record in the West, but a bout against the Bulls is sure to get anyone back on track. Chicago led by seven points at the half, but got absolutely trounced in the final 24 minutes, falling 100-86 in the Windy City. Point guard Chris Paul lit up the Bulls for 25 points and dished out 14 assists with a number of dimes going to fellow All-Star David West (27 pts). Tyson Chandler didn’t fare as well against his old club, scoring just four points, but grabbing 16 rebounds amidst a backdrop of continuous boos every time he touched the rock. Peja Stojakovic dropped 27 points of his own while Andres Nocioni was pretty much the only Chicago player to do anything productive, scoring 28 points on 8-of-15 shooting.

Tuesday’s Player of the Day: Chris Paul @ Chicago 39 min, 25 pts (FG: 11-21, 3FG: 1-4, FT: 2-2), 4 reb, 14 ast, 2 stl

Wednesday’s Game to Watch: San Antonio (33-17) @ Cleveland (29-22)
The Spurs are about to finish up their yearly rodeo road trip by returning to the city where they most recently won the NBA championship. Neither of these teams is currently playing up to their potential, but a Finals rematch could be just what the doctor ordered. However, the Spurs will be without Tony Parker once again which could be big for Cleveland because Mr. Longoria absolutely torched the Cavs in the championship round last year, earning MVP honors. But the injury bug is biting Cleveland harder than San Antonio at the moment. The Cavs currently have five players (Daniel Gibson, Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Larry Hughes, Damon Jones and Drew Gooden) guys listed as day-to-day with minor injuries.

Buzzer Beater: Normally, we’d say don’t even bother tuning into the celebrity basketball game at this weekend’s NBA All-Star weekend, but normally Alyssa Milano isn’t roaming the sideline. Here’s the rosters:

NEW ORLEANS TEAM
Ne-Yo, Zach Gilford, Taylor Hicks, Seth Gilliam, James Lafferty, Master P, Ruth Riley and AJ Calloway
Coach: Gabrielle Union
General Manager: Stephen A. Smith

HORNETS TEAM
Chris Tucker, Common, James Kyson Lee, Josh Peck, Terry Crews, Deion Sanders, Swin Cash and Tony Potts
Coach: Alyssa Milano
General Manager: Bill Walton (NBA Legend and ESPN Analyst)

Categories
Phoenix Suns

Bill Walton and Shaq won’t be sending Valentines to each other this year


For as goofy and outlandish as Bill Walton is, the guy knows his basketball and on Sunday he weighed in on the Shaquille O’Neal trade. Now, normally, people don’t even pay attention to the Big Redhead – heck, we get the feeling his own partners in the studio tune him out for about half the show – but, not the Diesel. Nope, Shaq hears all.

He really can’t win in this situation,” Walton said of O’Neal. “Because what he did in Miami by saying, ‘I can’t play at all,’ and now it’s, ‘I’m going to win the championship (in Phoenix).’ That is just absolutely ludicrous. Shaq’s arrogance is an insult to people who think.

Wait, did somebody say insult?

O’Neal’s response: “Bill Walton has broken the Big Man Pecking Order Code — Ordinance 2257 — which means his resume isn’t quite good enough to speak on what I have done.

“One thing I hate is a hypocrite. So if I’m faking an injury, his whole injury-plagued career is a fake. Here’s a guy who only played one or two seasons injury-free, and now he’s talking about me being injured. So, one thing I really hate is a hypocrite.

In 16 years, Shaq has earned the right to say whatever he wants to whoever he wants, but we gotta side with the Dead Head on this one. Walton can’t even sniff Shaq’s jock when it comes to statistics and career accomplishments, but he’s got every right to say O’Neal was loafing in Miami… because it certainly appears that he WAS!

C’mon Shaq; you missed 17 games for a Miami squad that has a horrible record, but now you’re suddenly healthy enough to run with the Phoenix Suns?!?! And don’t try to give us that B.S. about the amazing attributes of the Suns training staff. Shaq has proven over and over and over again during his career that he hates to lose and he’s proven he’ll turn on anyone once the crap hits the fan. This is just the latest case. To say otherwise is simply an insult to people who think.

Links:

[NewsOK.com]: Shaq battles back

Categories
Miami Heat

Around the Rim:The more things change, the more they stay the same


1. Marion can’t spark the Heat
The Heat were one unhealthy, unhappy superstar lighter on Sunday with Shaquille O’Neal departed for the desert, but you wouldn’t know it by looking at the scoreboard. Shawn Marion made a dazzling debut for Miami, scoring 15 points, grabbing 14 rebounds and getting a trio of steals and blocks, but the result was the same: a loss. Kobe Bryant racked up 33 points to lead the Lakers past the Heat by 10 points, 104-94. Lamar Odom continues to improve his play with Andrew Bynum out, finishing with 15 points, 18 rebounds and six assists while Pau Gasol scored 12. In addition to Marion, all of the other Heat starters finished with double-digit points, led by Mark Blount’s 22 and Dwyane Wade’s 19.

2. Carmelo gets the best of his buddy

It got really ugly really quick in Cleveland for the home team last night. Right out of the gate, the Nuggets ran all over the Cavs and when the brutality finally ended, Carmelo Anthony and Allen Iverson combined for 52 points in a 113-83 stomping. It got so bad for Cleveland, LeBron James reverted to a five-year-old, throwing a mad fit between the third and fourth quarters when the Cavaliers were staring up from a 26-point hole.

I know he hates losing to me,” Anthony said with a laugh.

But even if James can’t stand losing to Melo, he’s still got love for his bro and he’s happy to be lining up across from Anthony in this year’s All-Star game.

People realize he’s one of the best players in our league, definitely one of the best scorers,” James said. “It took five years to finally get the opportunity.

3. The P.P. show
Paul Pierce did what Paul Pierce wanted to do against the Spurs on Sunday and it turns out Paul Pierce wanted to win. With Kevin Garnett sidelined again due to an abdominal strain, the O.C. (Original Celtic) reminded everyone that Beantown is his town. Pierce finished with a game-high 35 points, including 14 of the team’s 20 first quarter points, leading Boston to a 98-90 victory over San Antonio. Manu Ginobili started equally hot for the Spurs, scoring 11 in the first period before ending with 21. Boston improved to 5-2 without Garnett and after the game, Celtics coach Doc Rivers broke the news that K.G. won’t be back into the lineup until after the All-Star game. But the biggest bummer of all is that Rivers hinted he might even miss the All-Star game itself. So, maybe Chris Bosh’s campaign will pay off with a starting spot after all.

Sunday’s Player of the Day: Amare Stoudemire vs. Washington 43 min, 31 pts (FG: 10-17, 3FG: 1-1, FT: 10-10), 13 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl, 4 blk

Monday’s Game to Watch: Cleveland (28-22) @ Orlando (32-20)
When you talk about the future of the NBA, two of the first names to roll off your lips have to be LeBron James and Dwight Howard. At the ripe, young age of 23, James leads the league in scoring, averaging 30.1 points per game while Howard is the NBA’s best rebounder, pulling down 14.5 boards and he’s only 22. But it’s not just James and Howard who are getting better and better, the teams surrounding the young studs are constantly improving as well. Along with Boston and Detroit, Cleveland and Orlando are really the only other Eastern Conference teams getting any love as potential representatives in the Finals.

Buzzer Beater: The Phoenix Suns have Shaq on the roster, but they still haven’t needed the big fella. As Shaq Daddy continues to sit, the Suns continue to shine, but it’s getting harder. Phoenix eked out a one-point victory, 108-107, over the Wizards at home on Sunday night. All five Suns starters finished in double-digits with Amare Stoudemire (31 pts, 13 reb) and Steve Nash (10 pts, 12 ast) recording double-doubles. Even in victory, the Suns could have used the defensive skills of Shawn Marion. The entire Wiz roster went off, including some guys name Andray Blatche (10 pts, 11 reb), Roger Mason (18 pts) and Nick Young (10 pts).

Categories
Cleveland Cavaliers

Around the Rim: Beantown letdown


1. 30 X 9 = A place in history
We’re pretty sure it’s safe to say it now: “They’re baaaaaacckk.” With a 114-113 victory over Boston on Tuesday night, Cleveland improved to 27-20 on the season which might not sound too spiffy, but don’t forget these guys were 10-14 in mid December. Not surprisingly, the Cavaliers won because of another outstanding effort from LeBron James. Something about lining up across from the fellas in green brings out the best in LBJ as he became the only player besides the “ultimate playa” Wilt Chamberlain to score at 30 points on Boston in nine consecutive games, finishing with 33. Oh, and he also threw in 12 assists, nine rebounds and five steals. Even without Kevin Garnett in the lineup for the fourth game in a row, Boston had a chance late thanks to 24 points from Ray Allen and Paul Pierce’s 19.

2. Giant trade talks in Phoenix. Literally giant

So, the big rumor floating around the NBA is that Shaq will most likely be heading to Phoenix for Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks. Now, we understand why Miami wants to move the Diesel; we just don’t know why the Suns want to take on him and his enormous contract. Shaq is a shell of his former self and at this point he’s just hanging on for another ring anyway he can get one. Phoenix might have added another All-Star to their lineup, but this deal favors the Heat in a big way. Marion is one of the most underrated players in recent history, averaging 18.4 points, 10.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.88 steals and 1.36 blocks over nine years. Along side a healthy Dwyane Wade, box scores won’t have enough space to hold all their stats! And one more thing Marion provides that should really please his potential coach-to-be is his durability. The Matrix has only missed five games in his entire career!

3. 76ers 1-8-7 the Wiz
Things went from bad to worse to holy $#!+ for the Wizards last night. Everything was lined up for an easy road victory against the 76ers but, suddenly it all went haywire as Caron Butler left the game with a strained hip flexor in the third quarter. Once he was out of the way, Philly proceeded to rip off a 17-0 run to erase a 12-point lead, snatching a 101-96 victory from the jaws of defeat. The other A.I. – Andre Iguodala – led the Sixers with 20 points while Thaddeus Young scored 17 points on 8-of-10 shooting. Andre Miller was smoking right along with 11 points and a season-high 14 assists, but Maurice Cheeks mysteriously benched him during the big run. It might have been a strange move, but at 19-30, nobody in Philly is going to argue with a winning strategy. Well, nobody except Miller.

Tuesday’s Player of the Day: LeBron James vs. Boston 42 min, 33 pts (FG: 11-21, 3FG: 4-8, FT: 7-10), 9 reb, 12 ast, 5 stl, 2 blk

Wednesday’s Game to Watch: Utah (31-18) @ Denver (29-18)
You knew that the Jazz wouldn’t remain on the outside looking in at the playoff picture for long and, sure enough, here they are rolling over opponents and resembling the team that went to the West Finals last season. This is definitely not the same Jazz squad that lost to Denver three weeks ago. Utah is riding a nine-game winning streak into the Mile High City where the Nuggets own a 20-5 record. Overall, Denver has won seven of their last 10 games, including their current three-game streak. The wild card in this game will be Mehmet Okur’s long range ability that can draw Marcus Camby out of the paint and away from the basket on defense.

Buzzer Beater: Who needs Tony Parker when you’ve got Damon Stoudamire? Okay, not really, but Stoudamire did pretty decent in his first action of 2008, scoring 11 points on 4-of-7 shooting, including a pair of treys, helping the Spurs roll over Indiana 116-89. San Antonio clamped down their patented defense in the third quarter, limiting the Pacers to just nine points, and the route was on. Tim Duncan led six Spurs in double-figures, scoring 19 points to go along with 15 rebounds and six assists in just 32 minutes of action.

Categories
NBA General

Around the Rim: Drum roll please!



The All-Star men in the middle

1. And your starters for the 2008 All-Star extravaganza are…
Without even knowing the lineups, the All-Star game is always one of the best nights of the year. Luckily, the fans did a bang-up job of selecting the conferences’ starting fives. For the East, it’s going to be Jason Kidd and Dwyane Wade as the guards, LeBron James and Kevin Garnett, the top overall vote getter, receive the nod at the three and four spot while Dwight Howard will start at center. On the other side of the floor, Kobe Bryant and Allen Iverson will serve as the starting backcourt with Carmelo Anthony, Tim Duncan and Yao Ming holding things down in the frontcourt. We gotta give the fans some credit for this one because a late surge in voting for the Answer kept Tracy McGrady – missed 12 of previous 17 games – from grabbing a starting guard spot. However, the votes for A.I. also relegate Steve Nash, Chris Paul and Deron Williams to the bench for the opening minutes of the game.

2. Spurs narrowly avoid embarrassment

The Spurs grabbed another much-needed victory on Thursday, but we don’t think there was any celebrating in the locker room after the game. San Antonio barely eked out a 90-89 victory over the ultra pathetic Heat, resorting to a last second defensive stand against Dwyane Wade to preserve the W. But any way you cut it, Miami now has 15 consecutive losses in the record book. Tim Duncan continues to play outta his gourd, scoring 30 points, grabbing 11 boards and dishing out a nickel’s worth of dimes. Even with Duncan going crazy, Manu Ginobili continues to steal the show for S.A. Ginobili stuffed the stat sheet with 18 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists, but more importantly hit the go-ahead bucket with 36.5 seconds left. D-Wade went off for 27 points with nine assists as Shaquille O’Neal was looking dapper from the bench in a custom tailored suit.

3. Missed it by that much
In a game that featured two teams riding losing streaks, somebody had to win. The lucky recipients were the Warriors who bounced back from a horrible loss to Minnesota to beat New Jersey 121-119. Okay, so technically it wasn’t a losing “streak” for Golden State, but one loss to the Timberwolves should count for around three losses to average teams. Either way, the Warriors are back on track after Monta Ellis put up a career-high 39 points and Baron Davis recorded the eighth triple-double of his career with 25 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists. Richard Jefferson scored 34 in the loss, Vince Carter finished with 29 and Josh Boone had a man-sized double-double of 21 points and 17 boards. But in the end it was the Nets seventh consecutive loss and their eighth in nine games.

Thursday’s Player of the Day: Baron Davis vs. New Jersey 46 min, 25 pts (FG: 10-22, 3FG: 3-8, FT: 2-2), 12 reb, 10 ast, 5 stl

Friday’s Game to Watch: Orlando (27-17) @ Detroit (30-13)
Boston clearly has the title of top team in the Eastern Conference locked up for the time being, but Detroit and Orlando are slugging it out for the right to be No. 2. The Magic can’t make up 3 ½ games with a single win over the Bad Boys tonight, but they can boost their confidence through the roof by beating Detroit two times in just one week. On Monday, the Magic ended a five-game regular season losing streak to the Pistons with a 102-100 win in the Magic Kingdom. Detroit ended its three-game slide on Wednesday, beating the 76ers, but still hasn’t broken out of the funk that cost the team six losses in the last 10 games.

Buzzer Beater: Sorry Miami Heat fans, but Shaquille O’Neal isn’t going to be doing you guys any favors for at least another couple of years. While most people think Shaq should probably be considering hanging up his size 23s, Wilt Chamberneezy insisted that he plans on riding out his contract with the Heat, even if it mean’s enduring a 220-game losing streak.

I’m the son of an army drill sergeant and when we enlist, we go out full-term. So I got two years left on my term and then, after that, I’ll be looking to do other things,” O’Neal said on the show.

“I’m not the type to say every game, ‘my leg is hurt, my leg is hurt.’ I just tried to do it the old-school way for so long, just play on … rather than try to get healthy,” he added. “I’m not even playing at 50 percent right now. I just got to focus on getting that leg back strong.”

When asked if he could get back into form this season, O’Neal said: “We’re going to be trying to do it. I just have to get through it.

Categories
Miami Heat

Around the Rim: How low can you go?


1. Miami Heatless
Dwyane Wade scored 42 points against the Cavs, but it just didn’t matter. For the 14th consecutive game, the Heat found themselves on the losing side of things as Cleveland turned a three-point halftime deficit into a seven-point road victory, 97-90. D-Wade put on a offensive clinic down the stretch, setting franchise records by scoring 32 in the second half, including the team’s final 18 points. Unfortunately, the rest of the fellas didn’t even bother to come out of the locker room for the final 24 minutes, combing for an embarrassing six points on three-of-21 shooting. LeBron James put in 28 points for the defending Eastern Conference champs and beat his draft classmate in Miami for the first time in his career (1-9).

2. Outwit, outplay, outlast, Outlaw

Before the season began, a Portland/Atlanta matchup on the schedule had about as much appeal as a Hanson reunion tour. With Greg Oden sidelined for the season and the Hawks being, well, the Hawks, nobody would have expected to see an overtime thriller on MLK day, but these aren’t your granddaddy’s conference doormats. It took a team-high 23 points from Travis Outlaw off the bench, including the last-second backbreaker in overtime to finally finish off a new look, face-paced Hotlanta squad, 111-109. Joe Johnson hoisted an unsuccessful 30-foot attempt to win at the buzzer and finished with 37 points and seven assists in a losing effort.

3. Road warriors
Even the T-Wolves got to sit back and chuckle at Miami’s miseries on Monday because they snatched their sixth victory of the season and snapped a 16-game road losing streak by beating the Warriors 109-108 in Oakland. Ryan Gomes scored a career-high 35 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in just the second road victory of the season for Minnesota. Marko Jaric also had a huge game for the Timberwolves, finishing two rebounds shy of a triple-double with 16 points, 10 assists and eight boards. After the game, Warriors coach Don Nelson summed up a disappointing and humiliating loss by saying “We’ve been playing very well but we laid an egg tonight. What can I tell you.”

Monday’s Player of the Day: Dwyane Wade vs. Cleveland 40 min, 42 pts (FG: 17-29, 3FG: 1-3, FT: 7-8), 6 reb, 7 ast, 3 stl, 1 blk

Tuesday’s Game to Watch: Phoenix (29-12) @ Milwaukee (16-25)
Look, we could try and sell you this game until we’re blue in the face, but we really don’t need to. After a full day of basketball on Monday there are just two games on the slate for Tuesday and your other option is New Jersey at Sacramento. So, `nuf said.

Buzzer Beater: Good, everyday people are known to turn into gore gawkers when coming across the scene of a car crash and we’re no different. That’s why we’re already looking ahead to what could be one of the biggest mangles of metal the NBA produces this year. Miami and Seattle are scheduled to meet on Feb. 29 and if both teams remain on their current losing skids until this epic contest then the Heat will take a 29-game losing streak into Seattle to play a Sonics team that would have a 27-game nosedive under their belts. Sound impossible? Well, consider the two teams only play a combined 12 games, six apiece, against teams under .500 before they meet and none of those are against Minnesota, the only team with a worse record than these two league whipping boys’.

Categories
Boston Celtics

Around the Rim: Blaze extinguished


1. Beantown bounces back
The Blazers were scorching hot coming into their contest against the Celtics in Beantown, but they weren’t hot enough to knock off the league’s top dogs. Ray Allen was on fire, hitting 12-of-20 shots for a game-high 35 points while Kevin Garnett scored 26, helping Boston grab a 100-90 win. After dropping three of their previous four games, this could be the beginning of another big run for the Leprechauns with Philadelphia, New York, Minnesota and Miami coming up on the schedule. Despite their winning ways of late, Portland has struggled away from home this season, losing 12 of their 18 road games. Against the Celtics, the Blaze committed 17 turnovers, including four apiece from Brandon Roy (22 pts) and LaMarcus Aldridge (16 pts).

2. Welcome back, here’s a trouncing

Sacramento and Miami were thrilled before tipoff of their respective games on Wednesday thanks to the return of Shaquille O’Neal and Mike Bibby to the active roster. But that was before the game; afterwards was a whole different story. The Diesel had a great game in his return, scoring 24 points and grabbing 10 rebounds against the Bulls, but as Charles Barkley would say “The operation was a success, but the patient died” because Miami lost by 30 points at home, 126-96. Up in Canada, it wasn’t much better for the Kings who had Mike Bibby (19 pts, 6 reb) in uniform for the first time this season but lost by 25, 116-91.

3. Heart attack Cats
Well, we’ll be darned if they ain’t done done it again. The Bobcats went into halftime against the Magic down by 15 points and fell down by 19 early in third quarter before making another furious rally to victory. Gerald Wallace netted 36 and grabbed 14 points while teammate Jason Richardson scored 26 points, including a bevy of clutch shots in the final moments, giving the Cats a 99-93 win. Charlotte (15-23) has now won four of their last six games against some pretty decent competition, knocking off the Nets, Celtics, Nuggets and, now, the Magic. Dwight Howard was ginormous in defeat, going for 24 points and 21 rebounds.

Wednesday’s Player of the Day: Dwight Howard @ Charlotte 42 min, 24 pts (FG: 8-15, FT: 8-13), 21 reb, 1 ast, 4 stl, 1 blk

Thursday’s Game to Watch: Phoenix (26-12) @ Los Angeles Lakers (26-11)
The race for the postseason in the West is tighter than it has been in years and when a team slips-up, they can go sliding all the way down the ladder. Phoenix just learned this lesson the hard way by losing to the Clippers and dropping like a stone from first to fifth in the conference standings. And thanks to the Hornets defeating the Sonics on Wednesday, Phoenix now has the sixth seed behind New Orleans. The lucky beneficiaries of the Suns setting was the Lakers who jumped all the way to the top of the West, a place they hadn’t been since the Diesel was rolling in L.A. This should be a brawl between a pair Pacific Division rivals that hate each other with a passion.

Buzzer Beater: Oddball Joakim Noah and Ben Wallace had a bit of tiff during the Bulls loss to Orlando on Tuesday, just don’t tell Joakim that.

You know what makes me mad, that somebody actually said and told you guys that there was a situation,” Noah told WSCR radio station in Chicago. “That’s what makes me mad. That’s the only reason why I’m doing this right now. Otherwise I wouldn’t be doing it.

“For people to say we’ve had a clash … this is the kind of stuff that divides a team. You guys write these stories and hype things up. It’s crazy.

Categories
Houston Rockets

Around the Rim: Eyeing a comeback


1. Rockets taking off without McGrady
The Rockets are finally getting used to playing without Tracy McGrady. In fact, Houston won their third consecutive game by beating Washing 92-84 on Tuesday night. Unfortunately, T-Mac might be back in uniform for Friday’s game at home against the Timberwolves after being sidelined since Dec. 23. Hopefully for Houstonians, McGrady adds to the team’s current success instead of devolving the chemistry. Led by Luther Head’s 24 points, three Rockets reached double-figures against the Wiz, including Yao Ming who finished with 21 points, nine rebounds and four blocked shots. With the win, Houston (18-17) jumped above .500 for the first time since being 12-11 almost a month ago.

2. Are you Kidding?

Jason Kidd racking up a triple-double is nothing new, but do it three games in a row and, now, we’ve got something to talk about. On Tuesday, Kidd became the first player since Grant Hill to record a triple-dip in a trio of consecutive games by scoring 13 points, grabbing 11 boards and passing out 12 assists against the Bobcats. And if Kidd hadn’t come up two assists shy in a game against Orlando, he would be looking at four straight triple-doubles. The last person to do that was, you guessed it, Michael Jordan who had seven consecutive way, way back in 1989. Oh, and if you care about things like team play and scores then you might be interested to know that Charlotte defeated the Nets quite easily, 115-99.

3. Fancy meeting you here
LeBron James didn’t have to go pro. Kevin Durant didn’t need to go to college. But regardless of their individual paths, the two superstars (one established and one in the making) met on the hardwood for the first time Tuesday night. Durant played one of the best contests of his rookie campaign, scoring a game-high 24 points on 10-of-20 shooting and grabbed six rebounds before spraining his ankle late in the game. Despite the early exit, Durant won the one-on-one offensive battle against LBJ, but his team lost the war with the Cavs. James finished with 22 points and Cleveland cruised to a 95-79 home victory.

Tuesday’s Player of the Day: Dwight Howard @ Sacramento 38 min, 29 pts (FG: 11-13, FT: 7-8), 15 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl, 1 blk

Wednesday’s Game to Watch: Detroit (26-8) @ Dallas (23-11)
The Pistons have been off since Saturday and in that time, you know the Bad Boys have been stewing over their loss to East’s glitzy favorites, the Beantown Celtics. Unfortunately for the Mavericks, they’re next in line and the Pistons are dying to get back to their winning ways. Before the loss to Boston, Detroit won 11 consecutive games and 18 out of 20, but Dallas is finally catching fire as well. After bouncing back and forth between wins and losses, Dirk Nowitzki and the Mavs seem to have found some consistency, winning four straight and nine of their previous 11 contests. Since scoring a season-low seven points against New Orleans on Dec. 14, Nowitzki has topped 19 points in the last ten games, scoring 30 or more four times.

Buzzer Beater: Losing to the Minnesota Timberwolves is pretty much the lowest of low, even for the lowly Miami Heat. But that is exactly what happened on Tuesday when the T-Wolves picked up their fifth win of the season by spanking the Shaqless Heat 101-91. After the game, Dwyane Wade made the understatement of the year.

We’re not exactly 28-5 this year,” Wade said of his 8-27 Heat, who have the worst record in the Eastern Conference. “We’re one of the worst teams in the league as well.

Categories
Denver Nuggets

Around the Rim: Denver’s unlikely hero


1. Anthony hits the game winner, Carter not Carmelo
The Rockets and Nuggets played late into the night on Thursday, but the double-overtime thriller ended when Anthony Carter hit the last of his three buckets to give Denver a 112-111 home victory. Carter only scored six points in the contest, but he dished out eight assists, helping Allen Iverson get his 36 points and Carmelo Anthony to a game-high 37. The Rockets were playing without Tracy McGrady, but still looked good in the loss as Yao Ming finished with 26 points and 19 rebounds. But the NBA isn’t about looking good, it’s about wins and losses and, right now, the Rockets have lost three in a row and five of their last six, falling two games under .500. Denver, on the other hand is sitting atop the Northwest Division with Portland and Utah nipping at their heels.

2. Dwyane Wade still believes in Santa too

Dwyane Wade has been on fire for the Heat lately, but it just doesn’t matter in Miami. Wade followed up his 37-point effort on Wednesday with a 41-point explosion on Thursday against the Nets, but the outcomes were identical – a pair of overtime losses. Vince Carter poured in 31 points for Jersey while teammate Richard Jefferson scored 29 in the 107-103 extra innings win. With the loss, Miami falls to 7-19 on the year, the worst record in the East and second worst in the entire Association. But have no fear; D-Wade isn’t giving up all hope for the Heat just yet.

You’ve got to keep believing,” Wade said. “You’ve got to keep playing until you can’t play any more. I hope everyone continues to believe. I know I do.

We’ll cut you some slack because of the holidays, but once the new year rolls around you might as well throw that Christmas miracle mentality right out the window because you guys are cooked.

3. LeBron vs. Kobe
In the battle of the league’s top point producers, LeBron James used his homecourt advantage to squeak out a 94-90 win over Kobe Bryant and his Lakers. James finished the game 33 points, 10 rebounds and five assists while Bryant had 21 points on an eight-of-22 shooting performance. The Cavaliers trailed by five points entering the final period, but opened the quarter with a 13-4 run en route to holding the Lakers to just 12 points in 12 minutes. Cleveland is 3-3 since James returned from an injury that kept him sidelined for five games, all losses, but the King seems to be 110 percent again, scoring 30 points in three consecutive games.

Thursday’s Player of the Day: Carmelo Anthony vs. Houston 51 min, 37 pts (FG: 13-32, FT: 11-17), 16 reb, 2 ast, 3 stl, 2 blk

Friday’s Game to Watch: Denver (15-10) @ Portland (14-12)
No team is hotter than the Portland Trailblazers and no player is hotter than Brandon Roy. The Western Conference player of the week for the second consecutive week has his team on a nine-game winning streak, bringing the Blazers to within 1 ½ games of the Northwest Division’s leader Denver. In addition to Roy’s spectacular play of late, LaMarcus Aldridge returned to the Blazers lineup against Toronto after missing five games with a foot injury. Denver will look to avenge a 116-105 home loss to Portland on the 16th by returning the favor in the Rose Garden where the Blazers are 11-4 on the year. The Iverson/Anthony duo is coming off one of their best games together, combining for 73 points against the Rockets.

Buzzer Beater: Jerry Sloan took it upon himself to eject Gordan Giricek from a game on Wednesday night after the two got into a spat on the sidelines. So was that the last we’ll see of Giricek in a Jazz uniform?

No. I don’t know,” Giricek said after being asked if he wants out of Utah — and before he was informed he would not be permitted to travel with the team to play the Orlando Magic on Friday.

“My agent (Marc Fleisher),” Giricek added, “is going to talk to Kevin (O’Connor, the Jazz’s general manager). … It’s actually gonna be taken care of, right? Everything can be fixed, right? So, we’ll see.

Probably should have asked coach Sloan that question.

Categories
LA Lakers

Around the Rim: Kobe takes over, downs the champs


1. L.A. K.O.’s S.A.
San Antonio didn’t have Tim Duncan or Tony Parker in the lineup on Thursday and Kobe Bryant didn’t care. Bean racked up 30 points and seven rebounds in the Lakers 102-97 win over the injury ravaged Spurs. Bruce Bowen, yes the offensively challenged Bruce Bowen, finished with a team-high 22 for the Spurs after scoring a season-high 23 against L.A. in a victory last month. The Lakers have now won four consecutive games, giving them a whole new outlook on the Pacific Division standings as they sit just three games behind the first-place Phoenix Suns. Los Angeles must quickly turn around for a track meet against the Warriors tonight, a team they defeated by 10 points last Sunday. Golden State has slipped in the standings a bit after putting together a nice run following their 0-6 start and should be desperate for a win over their division rivals. Being victorious would give the Lakers only a half game lead for second place in the Pacific.

2. Three wasn’t to be

Just when it was starting to look like Miami was on the rebound, the Gilbert Arenasless Wizards come to South Beach and win by 13, 104-91, snapping the Heat’s only win streak of the year at two games. DeShawn Stevenson led the way for Washington, scoring 26 points while Caron Butler, Antawn Jamison and Brendan Haywood all finished with double-doubles in points and rebounds. The Heat’s starters were stone cold once again as the bench scored over half (46) of the teams points. Shaquille O’Neal’s begging for the ball was completely ineffective as the Diesel put up just six shots in the game for seven points to go with six boards. After the game, Pat Riley sounded like a broken record, publicly blasting his guys for their weak efforts.

There’s no excuses,” Riley said. “There are none. I have none. The players should have none. … Tonight, we didn’t hardly even try

3. Iguodala-dala bill, ya’ll!
Since Gilbert Arenas isn’t on the court at the moment, he’s decided to put on his GM hat and started blabbering about player’s contracts and who’s worth what on his blog. Now, Arenas has a lot to say on the matter, a lot; however, what really jumped out at us was Agent 0’s opinion concerning Philadelphia’s Andre Iguodala.

I know after A.I. left, you were supposed to be that No. 1 guy, but, the way he plays the game, he doesn’t have that. He’s not that type of player. He’s a second guy. An assistant coach told me a great story about him. When he was in Arizona, he said he was like 9-for-11 from the field and he apologized to the team for shooting 11 shots. From that day on, I just called him Scottie Pippen. He’s a Scottie Pippen type of player. A great, overall player. He’s your glue player. You need a superstar and then you need him. So $12 million is good for you. Nothing more and nothing less. Be happy with the $12 million.

Thursday’s Player of the Day: Kobe Bryant vs. San Antonio 38 min, 30 pts (FG: 10-24, 3FG: 1-4, FT: 9-10), 7 reb, 3 ast, 4 stl

Friday’s Game to Watch: New Orleans (14-8) @ Dallas (14-9)
New Orleans is one of the biggest surprises in the West, rushing out to a 14-8 record behind the play of Chris Paul who is averaging 21.5 points, 10.0 assists, 2.8 steals and 4.0 rebounds per game. As of now, only half a game separates these two in the Southwest Division with the NOLA sitting in second place followed the Mavs in third. Big D has gone flat after winning nine of their first 11 games, losing seven games in the last three weeks, including a 112-108 overtime contest with `Nawlins. CP3 was just shy of a triple-double with 33 points, 12 assists and nine boards. While Dallas still has one of the better records in the league, a big time win over their sudden division rival would be huge for the Mavericks’ collective psyche. Of course, the same thing can be said for the Hornets who appear to be legit for the first time since Zo and Grandmama were patrolling the paint.

Buzzer Beater: By now we’re sure that you’ve seen the new NBA self promotion commercials. You know, `NBA: Where amazing happens‘. Well, in case you were getting bored of the original commercials, here’s the league’s latest go-round with the concept.

Of course, the NBA is also `Where some really bad dancing happens‘.