Tag: NBA

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Boston Celtics

Top 10 Dumbest in-game Injuries: #3 Tony Allen

[Sportscolumn is running down the ten dumbest in-game injuries in sports.  Here’s #3.]

With three minutes remaining in the third quarter of a game versus Indiana, Boston’s Tony Allen decided to woo the crowd with a high-flying dunk after a foul had stopped play on the floor. After missing the wide open jam, Allen landed awkwardly on his left knee and crumpled on the famous parquet hardwood. Allen tore two ligaments in his knee which led to ACL reconstructive surgery, along with having cartilage repaired. The luck of the Irish was definitely not on Allen’s side during that game as the stupid slam will keep him out of the lineup for the rest of the season.

Back to #4 | Forward to #2

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NBA General

Around the Rim: Knocked Out


1. The Mamba Strikes
Kobe Bryant is in trouble again for something he claims was unintentional, but at least there is no police involvement in this case. Bryant said that he was “shocked” to be suspended for last night’s game because of an elbow to the face of Manu Ginobili during the Spurs-Lakers game on Sunday. David Stern turned down an appeal hearing that was requested by Bryant yesterday. Last year, Bryant was suspended for two games after a stiff forearm to the throat of Mike Miller. The Mamba says that he felt awful after he realized Ginobili had gone down, but he also felt awful in a tearful press conference after being accused of rape. That doesn’t mean he didn’t sleep with a gold-digger.

2. Hopeful Hornets
One of the best point guards in the league could be back on the court by Friday; that’s because Chris Paul says he’s feeling great and ready to get on the floor. The Hornets have been destroyed by injuries this year after having a solid start to the season, but New Orleans has still been able to hold their own of late and win seven of their last ten. Desmond Mason and Tyson Chandler have been impressive in Paul’s absence and their numbers could get better when their leader returns. Even though Paul leads the team in scoring, he is much more focused on distributing the rock.

3. The Big Benchwarmer
After missing almost the entire season so far, Shaq made his long awaited return last week. But after playing in only two games, he’s been placed back on a very sturdy shelf. The Diesel hurt his calf in practice on Monday and is considered day to day. It looks like this could be the beginning of a series of nagging injuries for the big fella. O’Neal use to claim that despite his regular season obstacles, he would always be ready to go when the playoffs rolled around. But his age is catching up with his body and the results have not been pretty. Considering Shaq’s current conditioning, he’ll need to be completely healthy for a full four to six weeks before the postseason begins to be at his best when it counts.

Tuesday’s Player of the Day: Gilbert Arenas vs. Detroit 44 min, 36 pts (FG: 10-20, 3FG: 5-12, FT: 11-12), 7 reb, 11 ast

Wednesday’s Game to Watch: San Antonio (32-14) @ Utah (29-17) This is a great match-up despite the team’s struggles of late. Tim Duncan is currently playing some his best ball of the year, as he usually does during the Spurs yearly rodeo road trip. Utah has only lost six games at home and owns a commanding lead in the Northwest Division behind the play of Carlos Boozer and Deron Williams. The Jazz have been considering moving Andrei Kirilenko and bringing in someone like Ray Allen or Vince Carter since AK-47 just can’t seem to play up to his standards. Tonight, Kirilenko will need to step up against Bruce Bowen to possibly save in job in Utah.

Buzzer Beater: In case you hadn’t noticed; the Bucks suck. This January, Milwaukee has gone a pathetic 2-12. But things could be changing for the Bucks soon because Michael Redd has said that he could return by next week. That would put Redd in the lineup against Orlando. Currently, the Bucks are four games behind eighth place in the East; which isn’t exactly a death sentence in a fairly pathetic conference. Redd has been rehabbing since going down with a strained patellar tendon in his left leg, leaving his team with a 27.7 point hole to crawl out of every night.

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NBA General

Around the Rim: Latrell Sprewell is in good form


1. Grocery Budget
Latrell Sprewell is back on the court; no wait, sorry. Latrell Sprewell is back in court as his babies’ momma is filing a $200 million lawsuit accusing Spree of breaking a long-term cohabitation deal and then roughing her up last month in their home. Allegedly, Sprewell slapped a phone out of Candace Cabbil’s hands as she attempted to dial 911 and then he dragged her down a flight of stairs by her feet. Spree has not played in the NBA since leaving Minnesota in 2004-05 after turning down a three-year extension because he was insulted by the paltry pay. Apparently, Latrell’s right; $21 million isn’t enough to feed his family. It’s more like $200 million.

2. Suns Set
It took a monumental effort from Kevin Garnett to overcome the monumental effort from Steve Nash, but the Phoenix Suns have finally fallen. After 17 consecutive wins that spanned a period of one lossless month, the Timberwolves were able to capitalize on a rare poor shooting fourth quarter by the Suns; 44 points, including 15 in the final period, from The Big Ticket didn’t hurt either. With a win, Phoenix could have tied the 1969 Knicks, 1982 Celtics and the 1996 Bulls with the fourth longest win streak in league history. Instead, the Suns will begin from scratch as they attempt to build up a third streak of 15+ consecutive wins.

3. Time to Move On
Despite having one of the best seasons of his career, it appears that New Jersey is determined to shop Vince Carter before the trade deadline passes. Carter’s name has been floated around all over the league but it seems that the main contenders in the Vinsanity sweepstakes are Memphis, Utah and Seattle. Pau Gasol, Andrei Kirilenko and Ray Allen are the main possibilities to replace Carter in Jersey. The Nets just can’t seem to move ahead in the depleted Atlantic Division; it would be irresponsible of the front office to be content with a sub .500 record and it’s become painfully obvious their talent pool is not going to gel. Gasol could become an excellent compliment to Jason Kidd if he can remain healthy.

4. Skills Showdown
The NBA might have a hard time getting the big name superstars to compete in the slam dunk competition, but the league’s elite appear to be lining up to get a crack at the skills challenge. Dwyane Wade, the winner of last year’s event, will return to defend his crown against some of the best ball handlers in the game. Kobe Bryant, Steve Nash and LeBron James will be dribbling, passing and shooting it out with Wade on All-Star Saturday. Nash is the only other player with experience in the event, after he won the challenge in 2005. In addition to being the only participant without a ring or MVP award, King James will be the only non-guard competing in the event.

Monday’s Player of the Day: Kevin Garnett vs. Phoenix 39 min, 44 pts (FG: 18-29, 3FG: 0-1, FT: 8-10), 11 reb, 2 ast, 3 stl, 1 blk

Tuesday’s Game to Watch: Detroit (25-17) @ Washington (26-17) Washington has only lost four games at home this year behind Gilbert Arenas’ MVP level of play. The Wizards currently have the best record in the Eastern Conference and before being blown out by Phoenix last week, the last time the Wizards had dropped a home game was back on December 9. Detroit, on the other hand, has done a majority of their damage on the road. The Pistons are only half a game behind Washington as they continue to work Chris Webber into the game plan. This will already be the fourth time these two teams have hooked up with Detroit winning two of the previous games, including one win in Washington.

Buzzer Beater: When looking at the NBA spectrum, you have two polar opposites serving as the bookends for the league. On the winning side of things, there’s Phoenix who has won 17 of their last 18. And then you have the Celtics, losers of 11 in a row and 18 of their last 20. Clearly, Boston is one of the more pathetic franchises in recent history and with Paul Pierce out for at least another week; it’s not going to get any prettier for Bean Town. At this point, the only thing that can save the Celtics’ season would be a number one pick in the upcoming draft.

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NBA General

Knicks are still the most valuable franchise in the NBA


Even Isiah Thomas couldn’t ruin the Knicks, at least on the asset sheet. Despite having the league’s highest payroll at $125M and only 23 wins last year, the Knicks are the most valuable franchise in the NBA according to a list released by Forbes. The reason? They luxury suites at MSG run upwards of $400k each. Still, the Knicks lost $39 in operating profit last year. (As everyone knows, paying Larry Brown to go away costs money.)

In case you don’t want to sit through the Forbes slideshow, here are the 2006 NBA Franchise valuations.

1. New York Knicks: $592M
2. LA Lakers: $568M
3. Dallas Mavericks: $463M
4. Chicago Bulls: $461M
5. Houston Rockets: $439M
6. Detroit Pistons: $429M
7. Phoenix Suns: $410M
8. Miami Heat: $409M
9. San Antonio Spurs: $390M
10. Cleveland Cavaliers: $380M
11. Sacramento Kings: $379M
12. Philadelphia 76ers: $375M
13. Boston Celtics: $367M
14. Indiana Pacers: $340M
15. Washington Wizards: $334M
16. New Jersey nets: $325M
17. Toronto Raptors: $315M
18. Memphis Grizzlies: $313M
19. Denver Nuggets: $309M
20. Minnesota Timberwolves: $308M
21. Utah Jazz: $297M
22. LA Clippers: $285M
23. Orlando Magic: $283M
24. Charlotte Bobcats: $277M
25. Atlanta Hawks: $275M
26. Seattle Supersonics: $268M
27. Golden State Warriors: $267M
28. Milwaukee Bucks: $260M
29. New Orleans Hornets: $248M
30. Portland Trailblazers: $230M

Links:
[Forbes.com]: The Business of Basketball

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NBA General

Around the Rim: The Top Ten


1. Same Ol’ Faces
The fans have spoken and what they said really wasn’t all that surprising. After all, the typical NBA consumer bases their vote on popularity instead of looking at legitimate value over the first half of the season. In the East it’s going to be Shaq, LeBron James, Chris Bosh, Dwyane Wade and Gilbert Arenas. The West will be made up of Yao Ming, Kevin Garnett, Tim Duncan, Kobe Bryant and Tracy McGrady. The lineups could be tweaked, but that will happen about seven minutes into the game. At least the fans didn’t overlook Bosh as he remains isolated in the Bizarro World. But in the end, it really doesn’t matter who gets the starting nod. The coaches are going to give everyone some minutes and then play their hottest five during the fourth quarter.

2. Late Rally
Leave it to Gilbert Arenas to provide some last minute dramatics and be on the winning side of one of the closest voting margins to ever determine a starting spot on an All-Star team. Two weeks ago, Arenas was 214,460 votes behind New Jersey’s Vince Carter for one of the Eastern Conference’s guard spots. But in a matter of 14 days, Agent 0 closed the gap and just barely surpassed Carter by only 3,010 votes. This isn’t the first time that Vinsanity has lost his starting spot to a Wizard. In 2003, Carter gave up his role as a starter to fellow North Carolina alumni, Michael Jordan. The fact that Arenas has been talking smack about dropping “84 or 85” on Duke has to make the demotion a little easier to take for Carter.

3. 3rd Times Not a Charm
Three games, three points, three losses. The Nets have got to be getting sick of these last second defeats after dropping their third consecutive loss by a single point. New Jersey is in the middle of a five game, west coast road trip that has started with losses to the Kings, Warriors and Clippers. The first dagger was put in the Nets by Mike Bibby, followed by one of the best plays of the year when Baron Davis grabbed a board, pushed it up the floor and dished it to Monta Ellis who nailed the game winning 17 footer. Then, after making a big comeback, the Nets had their hearts ripped out once again on a Cuttino Mobley 3-pointer with under a second remaining. Jersey still has Denver and Utah left on the trip and they’ve lost Richard Jefferson to right ankle injury.

Thursday’s Player of the Day: Ben Gordon vs. Dallas 44 min, 30 pts (FG: 12-23, 3FG: 0-1, FT: 6-6), 6 reb, 5 ast, 2 stl

Friday’s Game to Watch: Denver (22-17) @ Utah (28-15) Denver has been rolling lately, especially since Carmelo Anthony made his return. The Nuggets have won five games in a row and Utah will now get their chance to defend the newly formed superstar combo of Melo and A.I. The Jazz had won four in a row before losing to the Grizzlies in overtime on Wednesday, but Utah had some impressive individual performances in the loss. All of the Jazz frontcourt players ended with double-doubles, paced by Carlos Boozer who finished with 39 points and 15 rebounds. Not to be outdone by the big men, point guard Deron Williams dished out a career-high 21 assists.

Buzzer Beater: For a player and team to be so disgruntled with one another, the Clippers sure are turning down a lot of offers for Corey Maggette. The latest team to be snubbed by L.A. was the Heat as they attempted to piece together a three team deal that would land Maggette in Miami. But as it was with the Spurs, Warriors and Kings, the deal fell through. After all the drama that has occurred in the past few weeks, the latest rumor has the Clippers forgoing any trade opportunities and holding on to Maggette. That wouldn’t be bad for Los Angeles as Maggette is a valuable swing man but if he can’t get along with coach Mike Dunleavy then the Clips need to just pull the trigger before it’s too late.

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NBA General

Around the Rim: Agent Zero calls his shot


1. He Said It
Like Babe Ruth, Muhammad Ali and Joe Namath did before him; Gilbert Arenas has called his shot. While it might not have the same dramatics as a Super Bowl guarantee, Agent 0 did prophetically predict he’d drop fity’ on the Trailblazers when they hook up on February 11. “Well, it’s not the most important, but that’s the game I’m going to say is my next 50-pointer,” wrote Arenas on his NBA.com blog. “Tune in. I think ESPN or TNT needs to pick that game up.” Arenas already has three 50 point games this season and that number could grow in the next three weeks. So far, Arenas has been able to back up any talking he might want to do as he has the Wizards on top of the Eastern Conference for the first time in a long time.

2. The Answer is Carmelo
Who said that Melo and A.I. couldn’t share the rock? Well, maybe it’s a bit early to call this experiment a success but Carmelo Anthony and Allen Iverson did manage to handle their scoring roles quite nicely in Melo’s return to action against Memphis. By halftime, both had reached double figures in scoring. Granted it’s only the Grizzlies, but Denver looked sharp with their new lineup. Anthony led the way, scoring a game-high 28 points, as Iverson played second fiddle with 23. But regardless of who gets the majority of the points, it’s going to be tough for any team to match up with a backcourt that can put up 51.

3. Hot Heat Streak
Miami was down 3-2 early against New York last night, but that would be the last time they trailed in the game. That’s because it was at that point that the Heat ripped off a franchise record 27-0 run, giving themselves a 26 point cushion at 29-3. That’s a pretty impressive feat in itself but then you realize that the Heat were missing both team superheroes as Superman and Flash nursed injuries on the bench. The Knicks missed ten consecutive shots over the miserable span; even the Miami faithful cheered when New York finally hit a field goal.

Monday’s Player of the Day: Deron Williams vs. Minnesota 38 min, 21 pts (FG: 9-16, 3FG: 1-3, FT: 2-2), 3 reb, 15 ast, 2 stl, 1 blk

Tuesday’s Game to Watch: Phoenix (32-8) @ Washington (24-16) They did it once, now let’s see if they can pull off another stunner. It was way back on December 22 when the Wizards went into Phoenix and promptly ended the Suns 15 game winning streak behind 54 points from Gilbert Arenas. Since then, the Suns have lost one game and are riding a 13 game winning streak into Washington, where the Wizards are 17-3. Both teams are sitting at the top of their conference and they currently rank one and two in points per game (Phoenix: 111.5 ppg; Washington: 107.5 ppg). If this game even closely resembles their first meeting, then it’s definitely must see T.V.

Buzzer Beater: George Karl appears to think that Carmelo Anthony’s punishment was a bit severe after Kevin Garnett’s actions got the former M.V.P. a mere one game suspension. Karl references how similar the two incidents were, except for the fact that Melo’s punch landed. Sure, Karl has to stick up for his players but, Hello!, one situation ended with a some pushing and trash talk while the other ended with superstar sucker punches and players spilling into the crowd. Image is everything in today’s NBA. If you make the league look bad, David Stern will make you pay.

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NBA General

Around the Rim: Divorce Court



It’s over?

1. Gold Digger Alert
By this point, everyone is familiar with the unusual circumstances surrounding the divorce proceedings between Jason Kidd and his wife Joumana. But did you know that Kidd isn’t the only Net who is going through a split. In a far less entertaining manner, Vince Carter and his wife, Ellen Rucker, have initiated the paperwork to dissolve their relationship as well. So far, “Half-Man, Half-A Commitment” has not publicly admitted to quitting on the marriage, but the breakup could be the leading factor in a move from New Jersey. Rucker will most likely move to Orlando or her hometown of Charlotte and take the couple’s daughter with her. Carter will become a free agent at the end of the year, making these very tempting destinations as they might be able to offer Vince, the dad, an incentive that no other team could. By the way, the Nets have finally moved into first place in their division thanks to a 15-19 record that management would like to annul.

2. Sixers buyout Chris Webber
Speaking of divorces, the Sixers are getting rid of all their big contracts this year. The latest is a buyout of Chris Webber’s contract. Scheduled to make $45M combined this year and next, Webber is expected to only give back less than $5M and becomes a free agent. This is a win-win because Webber potentially gets to make more money or goes to a contending team for less than his usual asking price while the Sixers get salary cap and luxury tax relief — not to mention no-defense-playing relief.

3. We’re Going Streaking!
Believe it or not, but teams other than Dallas can string together consecutive wins. And since the Mavs latest streak is currently only at one, there’s an opportunity to recognize them as well. Phoenix is no stranger to great spurts of play, and owns the longest active win streak at seven. This comes after the Suns ripped off 15 in a row earlier in the year. The Cavs can take credit as the hottest team in the East after winning their last five games. On the other side of the coin, New Orleans and Seattle get to share the humiliation of being the leagues reigning bottom feeders since both teams have dropped their previous five contests.

4. Five Times the Pain
Nobody has every questioned Bobby Jackson’s work ethic in the past, and now we know why. Jackson was injured during a game in late November against Toronto and it was determined that he had a cracked rib. The painful injury kept him sidelined until January 4th when he returned to play for ten minutes against Detroit. On Tuesday, a CT scan showed that Jackson had played with not one, but five cracked ribs. And the former sixth man of the year is only listed as day to day! Talk about a pain threshold. Luckily, no additional damage was sustained in his brief return to the court, but Jackson might want to reconsider his choice of medical practitioners before his next annual checkup.

Tuesday’s Player of the Day: Nick Collison @ Phoenix 44 min, 29 pts (FG: 12-18, FT: 5-9), 21 reb, 4 ast, 3 stl, 1 blk

Wednesday’s Game to Watch: Chicago (20-15) @ Washington (19-14) Chicago has struggled recently by losing three of their last four games, but they remain one of the strongest teams in the Eastern Conference behind a solid starting five and one of the best sixth men the league has ever witnessed. Ben Gordon leads the Bulls in scoring despite being fourth on the team in minutes. But when it comes to scoring, it’s Washington that has the obvious advantage with MVP candidate Gilbert Arenas. Arenas is second in the league scoring and has been collecting 40 point games like stamps all year long. The Bulls will have to step up their pathetic play on the road against a Wiz team that is 13-3 in D.C. if they plan to escape the Verizon Center with a win.

Buzzer Beater: T.J. Ford had one of the worst games of his career last night against the Nets. In 18 minutes, Ford missed all of his shots (0-8) and finished with zero points and one assist. After being wheeled off the court on a stretcher, this is no big deal for Ford, but Toronto has got to be worried about the recent play from their point guard. An ankle injury has benched Ford in three of the last five games after he averaged 17 points and nine assists with five double-doubles in December.

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NBA General

Around the Rim: Overlooked


1. Forgotten Nugget
With Yao Ming on the sideline with an injured knee, it’s unsure if he can make a return in time to suit up for the All-Star game in mid-February. Maybe the NBA should consider inserting Denver center Marcus Camby as a replacement. Camby is currently averaging 12 points, 12 rebounds and three blocks and he is coming off an impressive game against Milwaukee that saw him score 19 points, grab 15 rebounds and swat seven shots. And that was with a broken finger. Unfortunately for Camby, if he’s going to receive a ticket to the game it will have to come via a coach’s decision because despite his solid season, he’s still sitting in the fifth spot for Western Conference centers behind Yao, Amare Stoudemire, Erick Dampier and Mehmet Okur. As always, the fans don’t have the tightest grip on reality, but hopefully the coaches’ vote will more accurately portray reality and not popularity.

2. New Face in S.A.?
San Antonio broke out of a three game losing slump on Sunday when they easily defeated the Grizzlies without guard Tony Parker, who missed the game with a strained hip. When asked about the team’s improvement in the absence of the soon to be Mr. Longoria, Tim Duncan responded, “We need to trade (Parker) or get rid of him or something.” Obviously Duncan was being sarcastic with his comment, but the Spurs are serious about making a trade, but not for Tony. S.A. would love to add the athleticism of Corey Maggette to their lineup and an aging Brent Barry along with Beno Udrih is a small price to pay for the ability to run with the West’s progressively up-tempo style. But at this point, what team isn’t on Maggette’s radar as a possible new destination. Toronto’s Morris Peterson is also drawing some attention from Gregg Popovich as a possible compliment to the team’s guard/forward rotations.

3. Redd Alert
It’s going to be tough for any team to replace 27.7 points per game, but for the Milwaukee Bucks it’s going to be impossible. The injury to Michael Redd will keep him sidelined for anywhere from four to six weeks and by the time he returns, the Bucks ship might be sunk. Milwaukee is currently clinging to the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference and they can directly attribute that to the offensive outbursts by Redd. Look at how the Sixers have handled losing their star scorer; and Philly actually got something in return when they lost 30 points from the lineup! Their upcoming schedule is not exactly terrifying, but nobody on the calendar can be taken lightly when your only 16-18. And with the mediocrity that saturates the East, there are far too many teams with losing records who are dying to back into the playoffs for Milwaukee to think they can survive without their shooting star.

Monday’s Player of the Day: Ruben Patterson @ Denver 38 min, 29 pts (FG: 13-21, FT: 3-6), 12 reb, 7 ast, 4 stl

Tuesday’s Game to Watch: Dallas (27-8) @ Utah (24-10) The Jazz have been sporadic of late but they remain strong at home where they are 14-2. Carlos Boozer and Deron Williams continue to provide a modern day version of Utah Hall of Famers Karl Malone and John Stockton. But the Stockton/Malone pick-n-roll might not be enough to slow down the white hot Mavs. Even though Dallas lost to the Lakers and had their impressive streak ended, nobody has been better than the Mavericks this season. Dirk Nowitzki and Josh Howard can already make their reservations for Las Vegas in February. However, Dallas’ weakness has been in their blue uniforms as they’ve dropped five games away from home.

Buzzer Beater: You’ve got to love a guy like Melvin Ely who can ask for a trade with a smile on his face. The Bobcats’ forward realizes that he is going to be stuck on the bench behind youngsters like Emeka Okafor and Sean May but instead of making waves, Ely has demanded for a trade in a professional manner that can only improve his appeal to other teams. Too often trades involve negative feelings between players and management, but its guys like Ely who understand they make an extremely profitable livelihood by playing a child’s game, and despite the unfavorable circumstance, there is no losing situation.

Categories
NBA General

Around the Rim: Step Aside Showgirls


1. Vegas Rules
Forget about Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Kevin Garnett and Gilbert Arenas. The real all-stars are performing during the timeouts. So, for the first time, NBA.com is compiling votes in order to assemble The 2007 Las Vegas NBA All-Star Dance team which will be composed of one girl from each NBA team. Now, you can go online and, ahem, entertain yourself with pictures and bios from every babe, I mean dancer, on every team. Finally, the talent and inner beauty of women like Courtney from Boston, Katherine from Miami and Julie from Houston can get the proper recognition they deserve. So, show these ladies how much you truly appreciate them; vote early, vote often and send a thank you to NBA.com for creating a one stop shop for dancing divas from around the league.

2. Way Downtown
The Cavs LeBron James proved on Wednesday that he is capable of hitting the long range bombs in real life, as well as in commercials. When he nailed an 83 footer at the end of the third quarter against Boston, not only did he add three points to his scoring total but he also added his name to the record books. According to a statistician, James’ shot was the third longest in NBA history. Only an 84 footer by Chicago’s Norm Van Lier in 1977 and an 89 footer by Baron Davis (then with Charlotte) had more air time than James’. Kinda makes you wonder if he really was hitting jumpers from the opposite baseline in those ads. Nah, he couldn’t do that. Could he?

3. The Hornet with No Sting
Tyson Chandler isn’t far from becoming a big time player in this league. Chandler cleans the glass with the elite in the league, he’s currently sixth in boards, and he’s been blocking shots with ferocity of late. But despite all of the talent that he possesses, Chandler appears to have absolutely no desire to score. In fact, his season high is only 14 points and he hasn’t taken ten shots in any game this year. The Hornets have got to find a way to get more offense out of his 7-1, 245 pound frame and Chandler must learn to be aggressive if he’s ever going to live up to his second pick potential.

Thursday’s Player of the Day: Kobe Bryant @ Sacramento 48 min, 42 pts (FG: 11-21, 3FG: 3-5, FT: 17-20), 10 reb, 9 ast

Friday’s Game to Watch: Dallas (26-7) @ San Antonio (23-10) It’s probably the biggest rivalry in the NBA and tonight’s game should be another great game between these two division foes. The Mavericks have a 10-4 record away from Dallas this season, as well as a three game lead over the Spurs in the Southwest Division that has been steadily growing during the Mavs current 12 game win streak. San Antonio, on the other hand, has struggled recently; losing two in a row and four of their last seven. This will be the third game between these two with each team winning in the others gym.

Buzzer Beater: The referees in last night’s game between the Lakers and Kings became a bit whistle happy in the second quarter as they sent players to line an astounding 47 times. Talk about a snore fest! By half-time of the game there had been 38 total fouls called and six players had already picked up three fouls each. After regulation and overtime ended, a total of 80 fouls had been called and 102 free throws had been shot. I hope that the NBA front office takes note and remembers this performance when it comes time to assign referees to the All-Star Game. Please Mr. Stern, just say no to Dick Bavetta, Jess Kersey and Robby Robinson.

Categories
NBA General

Around The Rim: The Telestrator is Calling


1. The Czar
When you’re the worst team in the NBA and can only amass six wins in 30 games, something has to change. So, Memphis management decided that coach Mike Fratello was the logical choice to be replaced. Bad decision. The Grizzlies have been without their best player for a majority of the season which could be devastating for any team. Management should have given Fratello more time with Pau Gasol before delivering the final blow to the coach. This season was lost when Gasol went down during the summer, so why not allow Fratello to ride out the year? After all, he did win at least 40 games in both of his previous years and took Memphis to the playoffs both seasons as well. Not too bad in a stacked Western Conference.

2. Bizarro World
Before the season began, who would have guessed that Toronto and Washington would be winning their divisions at this point in the season? Probably nobody, except for Raptors and Wizards fans, but that is exactly what has happened. Both teams are on pace to have home court advantage in the first round of the playoffs. That’s something that doesn’t happen often in these cities, especially for the league’s lone Canadian team. But don’t get too arrogant if you live in these cities. Despite their status among division mates, neither of these teams will even come close to sniffing a championship. Overall, Washington is the 11th best team in the league and Toronto is the 19th best team. So, enjoy your reign at the top while you can.

3. X-Factor
While nobody knows how things will shake out once Carmelo Anthony returns from his 15 game suspension, it seems that Denver is pretty happy with their latest acquisition. Allen Iverson has been nothing less than impressive since joining the Nuggets where he has been given new life along with championship hopes. Iverson has put up a double-double in all three of his games as a Nugget and he has won two games in a row for the first time since Philadelphia won their first three to begin the season. Iverson is not only dominating games but he is now making his teammates better. With all eyes on A.I., other players like Earl Boykins, Reggie Evans and Eduardo Najera are inspired to play larger roles for the team. Just imagine how players like Anthony, Marcus Camby and J.R. Smith will benefit from the presence of Iverson.

Thursday’s Player of the Day: Allen Iverson vs. Seattle 43 min, 44 pts (FG: 17-29, 3FG: 1-2, FT: 9-12), 3 reb, 10 ast, 2 stl

Friday’s Game to Watch: New York (13-18) @ Phoenix (19-8) It’s not too often that New York is considered to be a must watch team, but it’s also not too often that New York wins four out of five. The Knicks will be taking a 5-8 road record, along with a new sense of worth, to Phoenix where the Suns are 11-3 on the year. But Phoenix has also been on quite a tear of late, winning 18 of their last 21 games. The Suns will be hoping to end this game in regulation as New York is a perfect 4-0 in overtime games.

Buzzer Beater: What happened to the Magic? Since starting the year off 14-5, Orlando has performed a disappearing act as they have only won three games since. The team is now struggling to simply reclaim first place in their division. The Magic are 17-13 but with a win tonight over Washington, Orlando can climb back to the top of the Southeast Division.