Until Shaquille O’Neal takes to the court for Phoenix and proves he’s got a little Kareem in him like everybody seems to think, there are going to be plenty of doubters who feel the Suns got raw-dogged in the deal. But, for better or worse, the deal is done. We just didn’t realize exactly how much drama went into getting Shawn Marion to South Beach and Shaq into the desert.
Did Marion just say “I’m a man“??
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?
“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
1. Chicago shocker
Chris Webber made his return to Golden State on Thursday evening, but the beleaguered Bulls somehow managed to ruin his second debut. It was Chris Duhon, not Webber, who stole the show, scoring a career-high 34 points, lifting the Bulls to 114-108 road victory. Duhon’s previous season-high was just 13 points. Joe Smith was smoking hot as well, finishing with 27 points on 7-of-11 field goals while making it to the charity stripe a whopping 14 times (13-14 FT). Webber started the game for the Warriors, but found himself on the bench for most of the contest. In 13 minutes of action, C-Webb was rustier than Madonna’s nether regions, totaling four points and two assists. Luckily, Golden State has plenty of offense. Stephen Jackson (19 pts), Al Harrington (20 pts), Baron Davis (22 pts, 8 ast) and Monta Ellis (25 pts) all scored at least 19 to keep the game close until the final minutes. Andris Biedrins was all over the glass for Golden State, collecting 18 rebounds to go with 12 points in the loss.
2. Rockets are immune to the Cavs
Tracy McGrady was sick all day long on Thursday, spending time in the hospital before showing up the Rockets/Cavaliers game just in time to change and hit the court. But it didn’t long for McGrady to transfer his nausea over to LeBron James. Houston took the game over in the third quarter, outscoring the Cavs 32-20, and never looked back as they cruised to an easy 92-77 win. McGrady was awful in the game, scoring eight points on 3-of-11 shooting, but Yao Ming had his back, finishing with 22 points and 12 boards. James had yet another MVPesque game with 32 points, seven rebounds and six assists, but it didn’t matter as the Cavs slipped in the standings. Toronto is now just half a game behind Cleveland in the East.
3. Steve Francis done for the year
In today’s “not a surprise to anyone” news, Steve Francis will undergo season-ending surgery to fix his bum knee. And, of course, he says he’ll be back next year. We say, why? The last time this guy was any good he was on the Orlando Magic’s roster. That’s a long time ago! Since rejoining the Rockets, Francis has played in only 10 games, the last being on Dec. 15. We’d like to see Francis get back to his glory days with the Rockets because he used to be something special, but the odds are he’ll never even be a glimmer of his old self ever again. Then again, we could have told you that two years ago, which is exactly our point.
Thursday’s Player of the Day: LeBron James @ Houston 41 min, 32 pts (FG: 12-23, 3FG: 2-5, FT: 6-11), 7 reb, 6 ast, 2 stl, 2 blk
Friday’s Game to Watch: Los Angeles Lakers (31-17) @ Orlando (32-19)
The Lakers are starting to scare some teams out west now that Pau Gasol is on the roster and Andrew Bynum is rounding out into legit starting center shape. Steve Kerr can say all he wants about the landscape of the conference, but we feel certain the Suns acquisition of Shaquille O’Neal was at least partially a tit-for-tat with the Lakers. But we all know Shaq isn’t the most dominant center in the league anymore and tonight Los Angeles will get an up close look with the man-child filling his shoes. Dwight Howard is averaging 21.8 points and 14.6 boards on the season, but his team is rather mundane in the Magic Kingdom (13-9). Luckily, Orlando has Hedo Turkoglu who is known for bailing them out in a bind.
Buzzer Beater: Shaq is one of the funniest guys in the league. Normally, he slays people with his humor and yesterday at his press conference was no exception. That is, until he laid out his clever idea for a marketing campaign. Apparently, it’s not just his play that is in decline.
1. Double overtime
The Suns didn’t appear to miss Shawn Marion in the least on Wednesday night as they ran up and down the court at breakneck speed, scoring 130 points against the Hornets in a pair of overtimes. And Marion certainly didn’t miss being on the Suns because New Orleans managed to score 131 points, winning on a buzzer-beating Peja Stojakovic jumper. Tyson Chandler missed a doozey, sidelined with the flu, but his teammates stepped up on the road. Stojakovic finished with 26 points while David West grabbed 13 rebounds to go with 21 points and even though Peja gets credit for the win, Chris Paul gets the game ball. Paul just missed setting a new career-high with 42 points to go along with nine assists and a career-high eight steals. Shaquille O’Neal wasn’t in uniform for Phoenix yet and it’s a good thing because he probably got winded just watching. Amare Stoudemire did his best `Showtime Shaq’ impression, scoring 26, grabbing 20 and blocking four shots. Former MVP Steve Nash finished with a triple-double the ugly way – 32 points, 12 assists and 10 turnovers
2. Overtime
The Kyle Korver trade continues to pay dividends for Utah. Korver scored 27 points against Denver, nailing four big-time free throws in the final 20 seconds of overtime to give Utah a 116-115 victory. Allen Iverson had a shot at winning the game and adding to his game-high 34 points, but his shot wasn’t true. The Jazz are 16-2 since acquiring Korver from Philly, but he can’t get all the credit. Deron Williams finished with 29 points, 11 assists and six rebounds while Mehmet Okur had a double-double with 15 and 10. The Denver starters scored 104 points with A.I. (34 pts, 10 ast) and Carmelo Anthony (29 pts, 8 reb) combining for 63. Marcus Camby (17 reb) and Kenyon Martin (10 reb) yielded a ton of boards, but they also committed some boneheaded fouls down the stretch of both regulation and overtime.
3. Losin’ it
Joe Johnson scored 28 points, leading the Hawks to a 98-95 win over the Lakers, but, in the end, Kobe Bryant gave the game to Atlanta. With eight seconds on the clock, Bryant lost his handle of the ball and got hit with an over-and-back violation, turning the ball and the game over to the Hawks. A pair of clutch Johnson free throws with three seconds left sealed the deal. Josh Smith played an All-Star caliber game with 17 points, nine rebounds, nine assists, five blocks and a pair of steals. Oh, but that wasn’t it for Hotlanta. Rookie Al Horford grabbed a career-high 20 rebounds to go with 15 points. Lamar Odom led the Lakers in defeat with 19 points and 11 rebounds while Bryant struggled with more than just his handle, missing 12-of-14 shots for 11 points.
Wednesday’s Player of the Day: Chris Paul @ Phoenix 50 min, 42 pts (FG: 18-33, 3FG: 4-9, FT: 2-3), 5 reb, 9 ast, 8 stl
Thursday’s Game to Watch: Cleveland (27-20) @ Houston (28-20)
Get ready for a showdown of international superstars when the Cavs and the Rockets hook it up. Nobody in the NBA is currently a hotter commodity than LeBron James. What’s not to like – he’s funny, he’s got sick skillz and he drives like a bat outta hell. On a global scale, Yao Ming’s da man; more importantly, he’s playing like da man. Over his last four games he is averaging 20.3 points, 12.0 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.3 blocks per game. Coincidentally, the Rockets are undefeated in that span. Then you got the King. Like Yao, James’ squad is a perfect 4-0 in his last four starts (DNP @ Sea), and like Yao, he’s straight ballin’! LBJ has been good for 34.8 points, 10.8 rebounds, 6.8 assists and 2.8 steals over his last four contests.
Buzzer Beater: Speaking of James; for a guy who’s normally good for a few soundbites a day, we were really disappointed that he didn’t give us more when informed of the blockbuster deal that sent Shaq Daddy to the desert.
We don’t think he was necessarily speechless because Shaq returned to the West, we’re figuring he was just realizing that he’ll be defended by Shawn Marion three or four times every year.
Shaq is totally confusing us. One minute he’s on the bench with the Heat, the next he’s heading to Phoenix for a physical. And sandwiched in-between the two, Shaq strangely spent some time as a horse jockey. (Poor horse.) Apparently, he didn’t stick with that career endeavor because there was some serious jealousy and hostility going on in the locker room. Turns out the horses aren’t the only ones hung like horses.
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.
Patrick Ewing once infamously said “We might make a lot of money, but we also spend a lot of money.” Perhaps nobody exemplifies this better than Mr. Money Bags, Shaquille O’Neal.
The big fella is currently going through a divorce from his wife, Shaunie, and had to turn over a statement of his finances to the courts and the Palm Beach Post managed to get their hands on it. After taking a look at the article, it’s pretty clear everything Ewing said was true. Shaq indeed makes a lot of money ($1.8 million per month), but he spends a lot of money too ($875,015 per month). Here’s how Shaq attacks the bills.
* $110,505 for vacations
* $26,500 a month for child care
* $24,300 for gas
* $17,220 for clothing
* $12,775 for food
* $10,065 for electricity
* $10,000 for temporary child support
* $10,000 for alimony
* $6,730 for dry cleaning
* $5,000 for car payments
* $3,345 for phone bills
* $2,305 for pets
* $1,610 for lawn and pool maintenance
* $1,495 for cable TV
Talk about depressing! He’s dropping almost seven grand a month on dry cleaning and we can’t even scrounge up enough change to get our water turned back on. Yea, do *not* go in there! Pheeww!
Links:
[PalmBeachPost.com]: Shaq as big a spender as he is a man
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 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.
1. Tongue in cheek
LeBron James loves the Yankees. In fact, he loves them so much that his latest shoe, James’ Air Zoom V, are dedicated to the pinstripes.
2. Pass happy Nash gets offensive
Steve Nash is known for his passing prowess, but on Tuesday night it was his scoring that took center stage. The two-time MVP went off for a season-high 37 points on 13-of-23 shooting to go along with his traditional double-digit assist total (10). Nash scored 15 of his points in the fourth quarter, almost single-handedly matching the 22 points scored by the entire Bucks team during the final period of their 114-105 loss. The win improved Phoenix’s record to 30-5 against Milwaukee since the 1990-91 season, the best record by any team against another in that time frame.
3. Sactown rebound
For the first time this year, Sacramento had all their stars in the starting lineup and, boy, did it show. The Kings whooped up on the Nets 128-94 thanks to the on-court reunion between Ron Artest, Kevin Martin and Mike Bibby. All three were in the starting five for Sactown, combining for 61 points in the win. Artest led the way, scoring 27 while Martin put in 19 points and Bibby finished with 15 and seven assists. The Kings still have a long, long way to go before they start making noise in an unbelievable competitive Western Conference, but this game could be the start of an interesting second half of the season for Sacramento.
Tuesday’s Player of the Day: Steve Nash @ Milwaukee 37 min, 37 pts (FG: 13-23, 3FG: 5-9, FT: 6-7), 4 reb, 10 ast, 2 stl
Wednesday’s Game to Watch: Los Angeles Lakers (27-12) @ San Antonio (26-13)
This isn’t the rivalry it used to be, but it is defiantly on the rebound. With the Spurs suffering through a minor slump and the Lakers playing their best ball since the Diesel drove cross country to Miami, this is once again a statement game for both clubs. Kobe Bryant continues to shock and awe fans by seemingly growing into a leader before our very eyes, making pedestrian players a vital part of the game plan. Of course, the loss of Andrew Bynum will play a major part in this contest as Los Angeles will be severely undermanned against Tim Duncan in the paint. San Antonio is currently sitting at sixth in the West, dangerously close to sliding out of the playoff picture after losing five of their previous 10 games.
Buzzer Beater: Talk about going from bad to worse. The Heat found out on Tuesday that Shaquille O’Neal will miss at least the next two weeks with acute inflammation in his hip and his quadriceps muscle. Just a former shell of himself, Shaq’s presence wasn’t exactly doing the Heat any favors, but his absence still hurts. With Alonzo Mourning done and Shaq riding the injury list, Mark Blount will most likely take over the starting center spot. Can you say 15-game losing streak?
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.
“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.
