Tag: Cleveland Cavaliers

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Phoenix Suns

Around the Rim: That’s Amare!


1. The Suns can still run
There was some serious doubt about whether Shaquille O’Neal could physically keep up against the Warriors. Well, he couldn’t, but the Suns didn’t need him to. Shaq spent most of the evening in foul trouble, finishing with nine points and 14 rebounds, but Amare Stoudemire more than made up for the Big Cactus’ off night by scoring 36 points, grabbing 11 rebounds and blocking four shots in a 123-115 victory. The Suns were smoking hot shooting the ball, converting 45-of-82 for a blistering 55 percent field goal percentage. Steve Nash was key down the stretch, scoring eight consecutive points for the Suns at one point in the fourth quarter, finishing with 21 points and 13 assists. Baron Davis missed tying his career-high by two points, producing 38 in the loss as Golden State continues to hold onto the eighth spot in the West, sitting two games ahead of Denver.

2. Shining Wizards

After missing 16 games with a hip injury, Caron Butler returned to the Wizards roster on Thursday to score a team-high 19 points. Butler was on fire early, hitting six of his first eight shots, but it wasn’t the former All-Star’s quick start that sealed the 101-99 victory; rather, it was the Cavaliers horrible finish. Cleveland could only muster up 45 points in the entire second half after taking an eight-point lead into halftime. LeBron James posted 25 points, seven rebounds, seven assists, but it wasn’t all pretty as he committed seven turnovers. During the game, Gilbert Arenas said in a sideline interview that he was supposed to make his comeback against Cleveland, but the doctors nixed the idea prior to tipoff.

3. The Blaze get burned
Portland looked as they were destined to defy the odds a couple months, but after losing to the Kings last night, they simply look destined for the lottery. Sacramento lost two games in a row at home prior to knocking of the Blazers 96-85, but with the win the Kings are just four games behind Portland in the standings. Ron Artest led all scorers with 22 points to go with six steals while Brad Miller and Beno Udrih scored 14 apiece. Brandon Roy scored 21 for the Blazers who were a miserable 30-of-78 (.385) from the field while committing 27 fouls and giving up 19 turnovers.

Thursday’s Player of the Day: Baron Davis @ Phoenix 46 min, 38 pts (FG: 15-30, 3FG: 6-11, FT: 2-4), 9 reb, 8 ast, 3 stl, 1 blk

Friday’s Games to Watch: Tonight is such a big night in the Association, we just couldn’t limit ourselves to a single game. So, we’ve got four – yes, four – must-see contests lined up for your viewing pleasure.

Utah (43-23) @ Boston (51-12)
Carlos Boozer. Kevin Garnett. Deron Williams. Ray Allen. Paul Pierce. Andrei Kirilenko. Mehmet Okur. Rajon Rondo. Should we continue?

Los Angeles Lakers (45-19) @ New Orleans (43-20)
The Hornets just knocked off the Spurs by 25 points and now they’re welcoming the best of the West into their home hive. New Orleans is 23-10 on its own court, but the Lakers don’t care what court they’re playing on, posting a 20-10 record on the road.

San Antonio (44-20) @ Detroit (46-18)
It might not be the most edge-of-your-seat basketball matchup in the league, but it is a rematch of the 2005 Finals and a possible preview of the 2008 Finals. The Spurs must overcome their recent road woes on a court where the Pistons are 24-6 if they don’t want to slip further down the stacked West standings.

Charlotte (24-40) @ Houston (44-20)
A chunk of history will be on the line as the Rockets attempt to claim sole possession of the second longest winning streak in NBA history by knocking off their 21st consecutive opponent.

Buzzer Beater: Smush Parker was released by Miami earlier in the week and on Thursday he decided to return to Los Angeles. Unfortunately for Smush, he signed with the Clippers and not the Lakers. Talk about jumping out of the pan and into the fire. Sure, things might be slightly better in that other L.A. compared to Miami, but there certainly won’t be any celebrations in the streets any time soon. This is the sixth team for Parker in his short career.

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Houston Rockets

Around the Rim: Houston’s Super Sweet 19


1. Movin’ on up
The Rockets took another jab at their critics on Monday night by extending their win streak to 19 games with a 91-73 thumping of New Jersey. Tracy McGrady scored 19 points as he continues to pilot his team toward the playoffs despite flying without a co-captain on the floor. Houston is now just one victory away from tying the 1970-71 Bucks for the second-longest all-time win streak and they tied an NBA record with their 10th consecutive win by at least 10 points. You have to figure that at some point the loss of Yao Ming is going to kick in and send Houston tumbling down the West standings, but as of now, they are just a mere game behind Los Angeles and San Antonio for best conference record. And frankly, after winning 28-of-31 games, they deserve to momentarily sit atop the fiercest postseason-positioning battle we’ve ever seen.

2. Fity

They’ve been beating teams to the punch all year long and Monday night was no different for Boston. With a 100-86 victory over the streaking 76ers, the Celtics became the first team in the league to reach 50 wins for the season. Philadelphia immediately fell into 15-point deficit, going scoreless for almost the entire first five minutes of the game. After that, it was an uphill battle for the Sixers who were on a four-game winning streak overall with an eight-game home winning streak. The nagging abdominal injury responsible for keeping Kevin Garnett sidelined during All-Star weekend appears to be fully recovered. The Big Ticket scored a game-high 26 points to go with 12 rebounds while Ray Allen added 21 points. Sam Cassell made his debut in the contest, but all did not go according plan for the new backup point guard who picked up four fouls in five minutes of work.

3. Torching the Blaze
The Cavaliers got off to a bumpy start against Portland on Monday, but by the time the final buzzer sounded, LeBron James had his 17th career triple-double and his team was 10 games over .500 for the first time this year. The Blazers were up 25-14 after the first quarter before James rallied his team to an 88-80 victory by scoring 24 points, grabbing 10 boards and dishing out 11 assists. The triple-dip is the seventh on the season for James who recorded his 100th double-double in the win while also extending his streak of 20-plus point outings to 41 consecutive games. It was a big win for Cleveland (37-27) as they try to chase down Orlando for the third seed in the East; however, for Portland the defeat was crushing. The team that showed so much promise earlier in the year is now seven games outside the playoff picture with only 19 opponents left on the schedule.

Monday’s Player of the Day: Hedo Turkoglu vs. Atlanta 38 min, 23 pts (FG: 9-17, 3FG: 3-6, FT: 2-2), 10 reb, 13 ast

Tuesday’s Game to Watch: Toronto (34-28) @ Los Angeles Lakers (44-19)
It’s Kobe Bryant versus the Raptors and we really shouldn’t have to say much more than that. Over his career, Bryant lights-up Toronto to the tune of 28.0 points per game, including his 81-point explosion back in 2006. Earlier this season, the Lakers MVP candidate converted 19 of his 28 attempts, clocking in 46 points during the 20-point pounding. Making things worse for Toronto is that All-Star Chris Bosh’s status is still uncertain as he tends to an injured knee.

Buzzer Beater: Hedo Turkoglu wasn’t the only player lighting it up for the Magic as they reeled off 74 points in the first half en route to a 123-112 win over Atlanta. Dwight Howard finished with 26 points and 16 rebounds, giving him 20 25-point, 15-rebound games in three years. Nobody else in the league can claim to match that stat. Next in line is Kevin Garnett with 17 followed by the injured Yao Ming (15) and Utah forward Carlos Boozer (14).

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Cleveland Cavaliers

Around the Rim: LeBron lights up the Garden


1. Battling it out
Kobe Bryant and LeBron James are running neck-and-neck down the final stretch as they both try to grab their first regular season MVP trophy. Currently, James has a slight advantage, but that is only because he was the last one to play. The King almost racked up a wicked triple-double against the Knicks on Wednesday by scoring 50 points, dishing out 10 assists and grabbing eight rebounds in a 119-105 victory in the Garden. It was James’ second 50-point outburst this season as he shot a blistering 16-of-30 from the field, including 7-of-13 from behind the 3-point arc. In fact, LBJ was so hot that the New York natives were chanting “MVP! MVP!” for him during the final moments. And why not? After all, James became just the third player ever to get 50 points and 10 assists in the historic building. The other two: Stephon Marbury and Michael Jordan. While Bryant takes a couple of days off before taking on the Clippers on Friday, James will be busy putting in more groundwork for his award ceremony by playing the Bulls tonight.

2. Boston mails in its R.S.V.P.

The Celtics are in. It seems like an eternity has passed since the last time Boston was involved in postseason play, but on Wednesday they became the first team to secure a spot in the playoffs by defeating the Pistons 90-78 in Beantown. Kevin Garnett set a season-high by scoring 31 points, helping to mask the horrible shooting performance by teammate Ray Allen who was just 1-of-9 from the floor for three points. Rasheed Wallace and Chauncey Billups finished with 23 points apiece, but Detroit could only must 11 points in the fourth quarter which proved to be its downfall. While the win put Boston into the second season, perhaps more importantly it gave them a 2-1 advantage in the series, meaning should the two reunite in the playoffs, the home-court advantage goes to the Celtics.

3. Shaq’s Suns slip and slide down the standings
The Shaquille O’Neal experiment continues to go sour in Phoenix. Down the stretch, the move could prove invaluable, but, as of now, the Suns are just 3-5 with O’Neal in the lineup and they are losing ground quickly in the Western Conference race. Last night, Denver ran over the normally fast-paced Suns 126-113 behind Allen Iverson’s 31 points and Carmelo Anthony’s 30-point, 13-rebound performance. As a result, Phoenix woke up this morning sitting in sixth place in the standings. Sure, with just a couple of wins, they could hop right back up to the top of the list, but with a couple more losses, they could easily slide to eighth place or possibly find themselves in a dog fight if they drop out of the top eight altogether. It would seem that eventually the Suns will mesh all of their talent into a cohesive unit, but it might not be anytime soon as they have games against Utah and San Antonio looming on the upcoming schedule.

Wednesday’s Player of the Day: LeBron James @ New York 44 min, 50 pts (FG: 16-30, 3FG: 7-13, FT: 11-16), 8 reb, 10 ast, 4 stl

Thursday’s Game to Watch: Houston (40-20) @ Dallas (39-22)
The Rockets are rolling right along, not even missing a beat without their starting center. Thanks to Tracy McGrady and the rest of the supporting cast, Houston currently has a franchise-record 16-game winning streak under its belt with four of the victories coming after Yao Ming’s season-ending injury. In fact, their current tear is tied for the 12th longest streak in NBA history. The odds of reaching 17 straight improved dramatically with the news that the Mavericks MVP Dirk Nowitzki is suspended for the contest following his WWEesque clothesline on Utah’s Andrei Kirilenko. Still, Dallas is 25-3 at home and they are currently fighting for their playoff lives, sitting just 2 ½ games ahead of ninth place Denver. A streak snapping victory without their main man could be exactly what the Mavs need to get rolling toward the postseason.

Buzzer Beater: Pat Riley is pissed off…again.

After watching the Heat lose for the 29th time in 32 games, Riley said he should personally write refund checks to season-ticket holders, plus — once again — questioned Miami’s effort, saying it was “so unprofessional, it’s ridiculous.”

He’s seen enough. Problem is, there’s 24 games left.

“I’ve got to ferret out the guys who really don’t care,” Riley said. “I’ve got to ferret them out of here and just put them on the bench and bring in a bunch of young guys. … The season’s over for them. That’s how they’re playing, some of them, anyhow.

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LA Lakers

Around the Rim: Running over the competition


1. MVP?
Remember back when Andrew Bynum got injured and everyone said the Lakers were doomed to fall apart without their man in the middle? Well, that was 24 games ago and since then all Los Angeles has done is surge to the top of the West by winning 14 of their last 16 games, including Sunday’s 108-104 overtime victory against the Mavericks. Kobe Bryant tallied his 22nd game with at least 50 points by scoring 52 on the anniversary of Wilt Chamberlain’s 100-point outing. Bryant was unstoppable down the stretch, racking up 30 points in the fourth quarter and overtime. Los Angeles could have avoided the extra period altogether had it not been for Dirk Nowitzki’s game-tying 3-pointer with two seconds left in the game. Nowitzki finished with 30 points, including nine in OT, while Jason Kidd put up 15 points, 11 assists and six rebounds in his seventh game as a Maverick. The Lakers are now just percentage points behind San Antonio for the best record in the conference.

2. Rockets boosters

Remember back when Yao Ming got injured and everyone said the Rockets were doomed to fall apart without their man in the middle? Well, that was three games ago and since then all Houston has done is win three consecutive games, including a 103-89 win over the Nuggets, bringing their winning streak up to 15 straight, the longest successful stretch by anyone in the NBA this season. Tracy McGrady scored 22 points to go with six assists and six rebounds as his club rushed out to an early lead and never relinquished any ground, leading by 19 points at one time. While McGrady is responsible for carrying Houston to the postseason, nobody is more currently more important to the team than Dikembe Mutombo who finished with just two points, five rebounds and three blocks, but remains the Rockets’ only true defensive threat down low. Denver’s dynamic duo was rather dull in the showdown. Carmelo Anthony scored 19 points on 7-of-17 shooting while Allen Iverson put up 17 on 7-of-22 from the field.

3. Familiar faces
Not even a midseason trade can get the helpless Bulls rolling. After combining to swap 11 payers back on February 21, Chicago and Cleveland got together with their new look lineups for the first time on Sunday and the Cavaliers walked away with bragging rights; after all, they didn’t trade away LeBron James. The league’s top-scorer finished with 37 points, six assists and six rebounds while newbie Ben Wallace grabbed eight rebounds and Wally Szczerbiak scored 17 off the bench to give Cleveland a 95-86 home win over the Bulls. Drew Gooden put together a double-double (11 pts, 10 reb) for his new club while Larry Hughes scored a team-high 23 points in defeat. The Cavaliers were able to survive a horrible night at the charity stripe where they missed 10 freebies (16-26). Of course, they’ll need to get used to such performances with Big Ben’s struggles from the line; on Sunday Wallace shot 3-of-8 from the free throw line.

Sunday’s Player of the Day: Kobe Bryant vs. Dallas 51 min, 52 pts (FG: 15-27, 3FG: 2-3, FT: 20-27), 11 reb, 4 ast, 1 stl, 2 blk

Monday’s Game to Watch: Dallas (39-21) @ Utah (38-22)
Despite obtaining one of the league’s best point guards before the trade deadline, Dallas has yet to prove it was the right move. Sure, the Mavs have won more than they’ve lost (4-3) since acquiring Jason Kidd from New Jersey, but they can’t seem to beat the best in the West. Big D has road losses to New Orleans, San Antonio and the Lakers since making the move and their wins are against sub-subpar competition (Mem, Min, Chi and Sac). The task doesn’t get any easier tonight in Salt Lake City where the Jazz are 25-3, including their current 15-game home winning streak.

Buzzer Beater: As we’ve mentioned, Kobe Bryant torched the Mavericks on Sunday to the tune of 52 points. Dallas coach Avery Johnson had this to say about Bryant’s latest scoring outburst.

We gave him a single look, then we double-teamed him, then we gave him a triple-team and he split the triple-team and scored,” Johnson said. “We tried to zone him, we tried to funnel him in the trap for a zone and he went the other way. He didn’t cooperate on any of our defenses.

“Obviously he milked the free throw line on us and he just had it all going.

Categories
Cleveland Cavaliers

Around the Rim: Scoring royalty


1. The King hits 10,000
You might as well etch LeBron James’ name in stone right now. James scored 26 points against the Celtics on Wednesday to become the youngest player (23 years, 59 days) in league history to accumulate 10,000 points. It’s a record that should last forever considering kids don’t have the luxury of jumping from high school straight to the pros anymore. Unfortunately, the darn game ruined LBJ’s night. First he tweaked his ankle in the second quarter, but luckily the X-rays came back negative, allowing James to return and set the new gold standard. Second and more importantly, Boston basically owned the game from start to finish, winning 92-87 behind Ray Allen’s 22 points and Kevin Garnett’s 18 and 11 boards.

2. Bibby soars like a eagle Hawk in home debut

Mike Bibby finally played his first game as a Hawk in front of the home crowd and he didn’t disappoint. Bibby finished with 24 points and 12 assists, helping Atlanta knock off his old Sacramento squad 123-117. Joe Johnson scored 26 to compliment his new point guard’s production and Josh Childress’ 25 points. Additionally, Al Horford (16 pts, 14 reb) and Josh Smith (14 pts, 10 reb) recorded double-doubles in the victory. Bibby’s replacement in Sactown, Beno Udrih, scored 25 points to go with eight assists, tying Brad Miller (13 reb) for team-high scoring honors.

3. Phoenix’s ups and downs continue
The yo-yoing continues for the Suns and last night they took a big dip, falling to the Hornets by 17 points, 120-103, in New Orleans. Of course, the storyline these days has little to do with the outcome and everything to do with Shaquille O’Neal. Shaq missed out on his second consecutive double-double by scoring 15 and grabbing seven rebounds as Phoenix lost its third game in five tries. The Big Cactus’ understudy looked like Shaq in his prime, minus a whole lotta pounds. Amare Stoudemire scored 32 points while grabbing 14 rebounds and blocking four shots; he even hit a trey in the process. And then we have the winners. Nawlins was led by Chris Paul’s 25-point, 15-assist effort while his fellow teammate/All-Star, David West, tallied a team-high 27 points.

Wednesday’s Player of the Day: Amare Stoudemire @ New Orleans 36 min, 32 pts (FG: 11-19, 3FG: 1-1, FT: 9-10), 14 reb, 4 ast, 1 stl, 4 blk

Thursday’s Game to Watch: Dallas (38-19) @ San Antonio (38-17)
This has easily been the best rivalry in the NBA over the past five years or so and this upcoming round should be another knock-down, drag-out brawl as the teams prepare for an almost inevitable postseason collision. Of course, this time around, the Mavericks have a new secret weapon in Jason Kidd. The Spurs could have acquired Kidd a few years back, but decided that Tony Parker was too valuable to get rid of. So far, it’s been the right decision as the Spurs keep adding jewelry to their fingers and Parker has a Finals MVP trophy with his name on it. However, now that the pair of PGs reside in the same division, it’s time for a true personal rivalry to be born. And if it’s anything like the teams’ competitions with each other then it could blow the roof off the AT&T Center.

Buzzer Beater: Sucks to be Seattle about now. The Sonics scored 96 points on Wednesday night against the Nuggets and lost…by 42 points!!! It was an ugly, ugly showing in Key Arena as the home town zeros shot a paltry 37-of-102 (.363) from the field while Denver hit 59-of-88 (.670). The loss was the fourth biggest in franchise history, falling five points shy of matching the record from back in 1968. Kevin Durant had another horrible night shooting which is becoming an all too common occurrence for the rookie. Durant was 4-of-17 from the floor, earning 16 points in the contest, eight of which came from the charity stripe.

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Houston Rockets

Around the Rim: Houston: we have a serious problem…or maybe not


1. Rockets win game, but lose in the long run
Yao Ming was diagnosed with a stress fracture in his foot yesterday, rendering him useless for the rest of the regular season and the playoffs. This is just about the worst news possible for Tracy McGrady as he will most likely go another season without tasting the second round. The Rockets were the hottest team in the league before Yao went down, winning 12 consecutive games. Guess what; they are still the hottest team in the league. Houston crushed the Wizards on Tuesday, winning by 25 points, 94-69, against the Wizards. Washington scored a pathetic 23 points during the opening half with old man Dikembe Mutombo patrolling the paint. Mutombo finished with just four point and six rebounds, but he had four finger-wagging blocks in the contest. A bummed out McGrady shot just 4-of-15 from the field, missed half his free throws and finished with a mere 11 points. Luckily, Luis Scola was on fire, connecting on all seven of his attempts for 14 points.

2. Phoenix finally plays like Phoenix again

Shaquille O’Neal finally got himself a double-double in a Phoenix uniform, going for 13 points and 11 rebounds in a 127-113 win in Memphis. The big fella got plenty of help from his friends in this game as Steve Nash (13 ast) and Amare Stoudemire put up 25 points apiece while Grant Hill tallied 23. In all, six of the seven Suns players to get significant minutes got double-digits in scoring. Memphis had a pretty impressive outing in the loss with all five starters going for 15 points or more, led by Rudy Gay’s game-high 36. The Suns 127 points were a welcome sight after putting up 85 and 86 in their previous two contests.

3. Lakers roll, still best in the West
Kobe Bryant is playing out of his mind right now. The Lakers superstar scored 30 points, grabbed nine rebounds, dished out seven assists and poked free two steals to led the his club past an undermanned Portland crew. Bryant got 11 of his 30 points in the final period, lifting Los Angeles to a 96-83 win while maintaining the buffer zone between first place L.A. and the rest of the surging Western Conference. Pau Gasol added 15 points and 10 rebounds and Jordan Farmar came off the bench to put in 21 points, helping the Lakers grab their ninth consecutive victory. Without Brandon Roy in the lineup, it was an uphill battle for the Blazers, but sophomore LaMarcus Aldridge filled in nicely, producing 24 points. Portland can look for revenge this Friday when the Lakers head to the Rose Garden for a rematch.

Tuesday’s Player of the Day: Steve Nash @ Memphis 40 min, 25 pts (FG: 8-11, 3FG: 3-5, FT: 6-6), 2 reb, 13 ast

Wednesday’s Game to Watch: Cleveland (32-25) @ Boston (43-12)
The new-look Cavaliers are going to get the biggest challenge since acquiring Ben Wallace tonight when they head to Beantown for a game against the league’s top dogs. Cleveland is just 15-15 on the road this season, but with LeBron James in the lineup, a win in Boston isn’t all that farfetched. James is unstoppable at the moment, averaging 30.0 points, 10.6 rebounds and 9.6 assists per game over his last five contests with two triple-doubles in the same span. Of course, he hasn’t been lining up across from the best triple-threat in the game either. With a healthy Kevin Garnett back, Boston is back to being the scary squad from earlier in the season, even if their record doesn’t indicate it. The Cs are 2-3 since KG’s return.

Buzzer Beater: Pat Riley has been a cantankerous old fart all season long. Frankly, we can’t blame him. But on Tuesday, he finally had reason to smile as the Heat snapped an 11-game losing streak by spanking the Kings 107-86. Heck, Riley even joked around after the game:

I feel like a mosquito in a nudist colony,” Riley added. “I know what to do. I just don’t know where to start.

Categories
Cleveland Cavaliers

Around the Rim: Cleveland rocks the trade deadline


1. Wheeling and dealing
LeBron James has been begging for some help for quite a while now and on Thursday, he finally got it; just not on offense. The Cavs were part of a three-team, 11-player trade right before the deadline, acquiring Ben Wallace, Joe Smith and a 2nd-round draft pick from the Bulls, along with Wally Szczerbiak and Delonte West from the Sonics. The move definitely helps Cleveland in the front court where Zydrunas Illgauskas and Wallace now roam on defense. Szczerbiak isn’t exactly the point guard LBJ was wanting, but his perimeter shooting will come in handy in the playoffs. Of course, the Cavs had to give up some players as well, sending Drew Gooden, Larry Hughes, Cedric Simmons and Shannon Brown to the Bulls and dealing Ira Newble and Donyell Marshall to the Sonics. Seattle also received Adrian Griffin from the Chicago. The bad news for Cleveland fans is they won’t get to see their complete new-look team anytime soon because Daniel Gibson is out for four to six weeks with an ankle injury.

2. Manu Ginobili pours in the points

San Antonio and Minnesota put on a show last night, going down to the wire before Manu Ginobili stole the show. Ginobili finished with 44 points, including the game winner to knock off the ever-improving T-Wolves 100-99. Manu was on fire in the contest, connecting on 13-of-18 shots, including 7-of-9 from behind the arc. But that wasn’t the best news of the night for the defending champs because Tony Parker finally returned to the lineup after missing a nice chunk of time with a foot/heel injury. Mr. Longoria had a decent showing in 18 minutes off the bench, scoring eight points while Tim Duncan was a stat sheet stuffer, recording 24 points, 14 boards, seven assists, three steals and four blocks. Al Jefferson continues to impress, even in defeat, scoring 28 points in his matchup versus one of the league’s best defenders.

3. Red hot Rockets
Shawn Marion is still looking for his first win in a Miami uniform after Houston denied the Matrix for the fourth time since the trade. However, the Heat had a shot late, but couldn’t pull it out, losing 112-110 in Houston. Yao Ming (21 pts) and Tracy McGrady (23 pts) lifted the Rockets to their 10th consecutive victory while dropping the Heat to their 10th consecutive loss. Looking at the bigger picture, Houston has won 14 of their last 15 games which is good enough for seventh in a loaded Western Conference. But the two-point victory wasn’t the only noise Houston made on Thursday. The Rockets were involved in a trade that sent Mike James and Bonzi Wells to New Orleans for Bobby Jackson and Adam Haluska while simultaneously receiving Gerald Green from Minnesota for Kirk Snyder.

Thursday’s Player of the Day: Manu Ginobili @ Minnesota 38 min, 44 pts (FG: 13-18, 3FG: 7-9, FT: 11-12), 3 reb, 4 ast, 1 stl

Friday’s Game to Watch: Boston (41-11) @ Phoenix (37-17)
Nobody could have predicted at this time last year that Kevin Garnett would be sporting Celtic green or that Shaquille O’Neal would be calling himself the “Big Cactus.” But here we are and both are a reality. Better yet, this could be a preview of the NBA Finals. Boston has been rolling all year long, especially against the West where they just received their first two losses against the conference this year in back-to-back games. Three in a row is a defiantly possibility as the new look Suns try to get Shaq his first win in the desert. Of course, the real matchup we want to see is Garnett versus Amare Stoudemire. It wouldn’t be a surprise at all to see each of them score 30 and grab 15 boards. Star power is not an issue at all in this game as it will look last weekend in New Orleans when they tip tonight. The only difference is Shaq and Garnett will be on the court.

Buzzer Beater: Greg Oden must be getting really, really bored sitting on the sidelines this season. In fact, he’s resorted to self mutilation to kill the free time. Last night when Seattle and Portland hooked up in the Rose Garden, Oden was spotted on the bench sporting a brand new Mohawk haircut

Categories
New Jersey Nets

Around the Rim: Jason’s still a Net, no Kidding!


1. Devean George is not a Jersey kinda guy
The Dallas Mavericks were just about to give away half their roster for Jason Kidd, but then Devean George decided to go `Kobe’ on the league and nix the trade. As it turns out, George has a loop hole in his contract giving him ultimate approval of any trade. This doesn’t mean the deal that would send Devin Harris, Jerry Stackhouse, DeSagana Diop, Maurice Ager and George (plus $3 million and two future first-round picks) going to New Jersey for Kidd and Malik Allen is completely done, but it will need to be tweaked. According to reports, the Mavs might replace George with Eddie Jones and Nick Fazekas or Jones and Juwan Howard. The Nets were so sure this deal was done they sat Kidd against Toronto on Wednesday. And as fate would have, they lost big.

2. Never doubt Dwight Howard

Stan Van Gundy called out his star player for wanting to score more than play defense. Against the Nuggets, Dwight Howard proved he can do both. Howard exploded for 23 points, 24 rebounds and a pair of blocks in a 109-98 Magic victory in the Magic Kingdom. Rashard Lewis threw in 25 for Orlando while Hedo Turkoglu and Brian Cook added 18 points apiece. The Nuggets were in the game for about a half; unfortunately, it was the first half. Carmelo Anthony scored 32 points before fouling out in the fourth and Allen Iverson put in 21 points on a horrible 5-of-16 shooting performance.

3. GINOBILI!!!!
About a month ago the Cavaliers got a measure of revenge against the Spurs, winning a close one in San Antonio after being swept out of last year’s Finals. On Wednesday, the Spurs returned the favor, beating Cleveland 112-105 on their home floor. And they didn’t even miss Tony Parker thanks to an outta-his-mind performance by Manu Ginobili. The Argentinean drilled a career-high eight 3-pointers en route to a season-high 46 points with eight assists, five rebounds and three steals. Ginobili was money in the final period, connecting on all four 3-point attempts for 18 points in the period. For the game, San Antonio shot 12-for-20 from behind the arc. Oh, and according to the box score, there were a couple of All-Stars on the court as well. Tim Duncan did his usual double-double thing, scoring 23 and grabbing 13 while LeBron James had himself a humdinger of a contest with 39 points, six rebounds and nine assists.

Wednesday’s Player of the Day: Manu Ginobili @ Cleveland 40 min, 46 pts (FG: 15-20, 3FG: 8-11, FT: 8-9), 5 reb, 8 ast, 3 stl, 1 blk

Thursday’s Game to Watch: Dallas (35-17) @ Phoenix (36-16)
We know Jason Kidd won’t be in the lineup for the Mavericks and it’s doubtful that Shaquille O’Neal makes his Suns debut against Dallas, but there are still plenty of reasons to watch. It’s always a track meet when these two hook up and it usually goes down to the wire. Dirk Nowitzki should love not having to deal with the pesky Shawn Marion in this rivalry anymore, but Steve Nash is still around and so is some young stud named Amare Stoudemire. It should be interesting to see how the Mavs react with a roster full of players they tried to cut ties with less than a day before.

Buzzer Beater: Gilbert Arenas is thinking about changing his last name to East after realizing the fashionable perks it would bring.

That’s going to be the coolest jersey ever though … that David West jersey for being a Western Conference All-Star … West on the front, West on the back. That’s going to be the bomb jersey.

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
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).