Uglier than the Sabres uni?
1. Must Be the New Uni’s
Washington guard Gilbert Arenas has been extremely flammable this season and last night he decided to torch the Los Angeles Lakers by scoring a franchise record 60 points. The Wizards have now won eight out of their last ten games. Last night was the fifth time this season that Arenas has scored at least 40 points and it only took him a half to do it. He had 43 points after halftime, including the overtime. Arenas had been struggling to score on the road, but in his last three road games he has averaged 43.3 points. And Arenas wasn’t the only hot player on the court as Kobe Bryant went off for 45 points, including 7 of 11 from behind the arc.
2. Cheap Shot
Carmelo Anthony recently donated $1 million to a recreation center in downtown Baltimore. The facility’s goal is to help kids find a healthy alternative to the criminal element that plagues the area. While the center has a gym and offers sports and recreational activities, it is unknown if there is a ring set up where children can practice throwing sucker punches just like their hero. Maybe they offer classes in how to back peddle as the league’s leading scorer has been doing since his pathetic behavior in the Garden. After watching the video, it’s obvious why Anthony is in the NBA and not a pro boxer. He’s a flyer, not a fighter.
3. Back on Top
It took a while for somebody to catch the Jazz who started off the season so hot, but the league has a new best team. San Antonio has been consistently winning and now owns the NBA’s best record at 19-6. With the best road record in the league, the Spurs have been able to hold on to the Southwest Division’s top spot for the entire season despite impressive winning streaks from both Houston and Dallas. San Antonio has the best defense as they only give up 90.6 points per game and, unlike other seasons; the Spurs are averaging over 100 points a night. The Spurs have a solid core that has been together for several years and they have a ton of playoff experience together. Throw in the teams trademark defensive capabilities and they are a team that will be hard to beat in the postseason. Injuries could be the only things to slow this team down in 2006-07.
Sunday’s Player of the Day: Gilbert Arenas @ Los Angeles Lakers 49 min, 60 pts (FG: 17-32, 3FG: 5-12, FT: 21-27), 8 reb, 8 ast, 2 stl
Monday’s Game to Watch: Dallas (17-7) @ Sacramento (10-12) This match-up might not have the intensity that it use to, but it is still a great rivalry. The Kings have been sporadic this season and you can never be sure which team will show up, but when they play at their best they can hang with any team in the league. Dallas is building on new winning streak after struggling for a bit after they won 12 in a row. The Mavericks’ role players have been the ones to excel recently as Josh Howard and Jason Terry have picked up their scoring.
Buzzer Beater: Pau Gasol is finally back and while his numbers aren’t up to his old standards, he is showing why he is so important to his team. Gasol is one of the most complete seven-footers in the league. The only column this guy doesn’t fill up on a stat sheet is three-pointers. Gasol can single handedly make Memphis a playoff team again. Obviously, this season is out of the question but if he can be 100 percent for next year then Memphis will be back on the NBA map.
