Categories
NBA General

Around the Rim: Heeee’s Baaaack

1. Waiting on Wade no more
Dwyane Wade is back on the Miami Heat’s active roster and the playoff bound Eastern Conference teams have got to be sweating bullets. Flash took the court yesterday for the first time in a month and a half and scored 12 points in 27 minutes, but the Heat were unable to welcome their superstar back in proper fashion as they fell to the Bobcats by eight points, 111-103. Wade struggled from the field (3-9 FG) but still managed to dish out eight assists in the loss. But the Heat are still in good shape as they prepare for the post season. They are currently sitting in the fourth spot in the East and appear to have the Southeast Division wrapped up after Washington’s injury problems have basically taken them out of contention. However, the loss pretty much took away any chance Miami had to gain home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs.

2. Suns burn LA

Kobe Bryant scored 34 points and handed out seven assists but it wasn’t enough to knock of the Suns. In what could be a first round playoff preview, Phoenix beat the Lakers 115-107 in the star studded Staples Center in Los Angeles. Steve Nash continued his trek for a third consecutive MVP award as he led the Suns in scoring (25) and assists (11). Phoenix has now beaten LA in nine of the last 11 regular season contests between the two clubs and what’s worse for the Lakers is that the loss moves them into the seventh seed in the West, just three games ahead of the teams who are on the outside of the playoff picture. The Lakers must now win all of their five remaining games if they are going to prevent Phil Jackson from setting a new personal low for wins in a season.

3. Double triple-doubles
On Saturday, Vince Carter racked up big, fat triple-double with 46 points, 16 rebounds and ten assists. But he wasn’t the only Net to scoop up a triple dip. Mr. Triple-Double, Jason Kidd, amassed the 86 triple-double of his career and his 11th of the season as he went off for 10 points, 16 rebounds and 18 assists. The Nets superstars became the first teammates to accomplish the lofty feat since another well known duo pulled it off in 1989. That was when Michael Jordan (41 points, 10 rebounds, 11 assists) and Scottie Pippen (15 points, 10 rebounds, 12 assists) blasted the Clippers for a pair of TD’s. Now Kidd and Carter just need to win six championships and they’ll really be like Mike and Pip.

Sunday’s Player of the Day: Tracy McGrady @ Sacramento 40 min, 40 pts (FG: 14-28, 3FG: 3-6, FT: 9-12), 8 reb, 10 ast, 2 stl, 1 blk

Monday’s Game to Watch: Utah (48-28) @ Golden State (37-40) The Warriors are coming off a tough loss to the Spurs on Saturday but they have still won four of their last five games as they continue to keep their playoff hopes alive. But if Golden State wants to close the one game gap between them and the Clippers, Baron Davis is going to have to lead his team past a playoff quality team in the Jazz. Utah has already wrapped up their division crown but they are still in a must win situation because they are currently in a battle with Houston for home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs. Even though the Jazz have locked up the fourth seed in the West, the Rockets can steal the right to hold the majority of the series in Clutch City if they finish the season with a better record.

Buzzer Beater: Normally a rally from 17 points down to grab a five point victory would be considered a pretty sweet comeback. But Philly fans have got to be cringing as they watched their Sixers fight all the way back to beat the Hawks by five, 109-104, in overtime. The win gets them one step closer to nowhere and one step away from the possibility of grabbing Kevin Durant or Greg Oden in the draft this summer. Thanks to a late hot streak in which the 76ers have won 13 of 20, Philadelphia now joins four other teams in a tie for the fifth fewest wins in the league. Can you say Joakim Noah?

Categories
NBA General

Around the Rim: The Suns Run


1. On the Verge of History
The Suns are 4-0 since Steve Nash returned to the lineup and nobody is happier about it than Amare Stoudemire. Last night, Nash had 14 points and 13 assists with a bunch of those passes going toward helping Stoudemire score a season-high 43. Phoenix pulled out a 115-106 victory over the Hawks in Atlanta to improve to 13-0 against the Eastern Conference on the road. The Suns are now only two wins away from sweeping the East in their gyms with back to back games at Indiana and Philadelphia on Tuesday and Wednesday. While Phoenix has already obtained some lofty accomplishments this season, should they win their next pair of games they would become the first team to sweep its interconference road schedule.

2. Nets Bets Payoff
For a majority of the season, rumors surrounded the possible trades of Vince Carter and Jason Kidd from New Jersey. Well, the Nets are probably breathing a sigh of relief that they didn’t pull the trigger on any deals leading up to last Thursday’s trade deadline. New Jersey is 2-0 since the deadline passed thanks to big games from their resident superstars. Against Sacramento on Friday the duo combined for 48 points, 24 rebounds and 15 assists. Last night against the Knicks, they went off for 51 points, 13 boards and 22 assists. The good news for the Nets is that with the win they moved two games ahead of New York in the Atlantic Division. The bad news is that they are still five games behind division leader Toronto.

3. Go Go Kapono
There was no continuation of the friendly rivalry between LeBron James and Dwyane Wade in yesterday’s game between the Cavs and Heat but Miami didn’t need the services of Wade as they outplayed Cleveland in the fourth quarter of yesterday’s game. The hideous orange uniforms probably didn’t help the Cavaliers any either. The future is up in the air for Miami while Wade is seeking a second opinion before having surgery on his injured shoulder. But Shaq is beginning to round back into form for Miami after going off for 19 points and 11 rebounds in the club’s latest victory. Sounds good, but it’s gotta be a brutal blow to the Daddy’s ego that the team’s best perimeter shooter, Jason Kapono, is matching his stats by scoring 17 points and grabbing 11 boards of his own. .

Sunday’s Player of the Day: Amare Stoudemire @ Atlanta 45 min, 43 pts (FG: 14-25, FT: 15-17), 16 reb, 6 ast, 3 blk

Monday’s Game to Watch: Los Angeles Lakers (32-25) @ Utah (37-18) The rotating door in Salt Lake City continues to revolve as Carlos Boozer finally returns to the lineup but the Jazz immediately lose Andrei Kirilenko and Mehmet Okur to injuries. Both players are questionable for the game against LA, but even if they don’t make it into the game Utah will still have a decided home court advantage (22-6). The Lakers have no chance to catch Phoenix over the final stretch of the regular season as they are already sitting 11 ½ games behind their division’s leader. But the Lakers can improve on their current sixth seed position. Kobe Bryant’s All-Star MVP performance has spilled over into his current run as he has now lead his team in scoring for 12 straight games. Unfortunately for Los Angeles, they are 5-7 over that span that included the worst losing streak of Phil Jackson’s career (6 games). Still, it’s hard to feel bad for a guy that has nine rings on his fingers.

Buzzer Beater: Even though the trade deadline has passed, the rumors are still running wild. Kevin Garnett can opt out of his contract after next season and there is already speculation that he will join the Lakers after doing so. If KG can remain patient for another season then his dreams of a NBA championship could be finally fulfilled. Sure, there’s lots of time and anything can happen but if Garnett and Kobe Bryant are able to join forces and have quality role-players surrounding them, it could become a pretty dominant team. But, at this point, the talk is nothing more than guesswork and guesswork isn’t going to get The Big Ticket past the first round of the playoffs.

Categories
NBA General

Around the Rim: All-Star Saturday Night Fights


1. Forgive and Forget? Uh, No.
J.R. Smith is hoping he can earn back some of the cash he lost during his suspension by participating in either the three-point or slam dunk contest at the All-Star Game in Las Vegas. Apparently Smith hasn’t heard about the vendetta David Stern has against the leagues trouble makers. The aftermath from the brawl in Detroit is still being felt in the league today; it’s safe to bet he hasn’t forgotten about Smith’s bad behavior in New York just yet. Smith returned from his ten game suspension on Wednesday and proceeded to shoot and miss all four of his three point attempts; not a good endorsement for his long range skills. But Smith can certainly dunk in impressive fashion and it’s a shame that the fans won’t be able to enjoy his talents because of a flagrant foul gone wild.

2. New Life in New Jersey
For a guy who’s supposed to be going through one of the more traumatic experiences in life, Jason Kidd sure isn’t showing any ill effects on the court. His team is currently winning the Atlantic Division and Kidd picked up the 82 triple-double of his career with 23 points, 14 rebounds and 11 assists in a win over the Bulls last night. Since filing for a divorce from an allegedly violent Joumana on Tuesday, J-Kidd has led his team to a perfect 2-0 record and the Nets have won five of their last six games. So, something about the bachelor life must be treating Kidd right. It could be the cold pizza in the morning. It could be Jason simply finds sanctuary from his problems on the court. But it’s probably the lack of physical abuse.

3. The Antique Road Show
The Kings use to be one of the best home teams in the NBA; now, not so much. But one thing remains the same from the early part of the decade, and that is that the Kings are not good hosts. As of now, visitors have a 50/50 chance to take home a win when traveling to Sac Town but that’s still not enough motivation for some players to want to take the trip to Arco Arena. Even coaches hate the accommodations. Phil Jackson recently compared the locker room to a dungeon. It’s situated in a confined area with a small rack for clothes and there’s no television for players to watch while they are kicking back in folding chairs during their stay. Oddly enough, one of the most hated men in Sacramento loves the amenities offered by the Kings. “I’m a traditionalist,” said Kobe Bryant. “Look at that chalk board, the stains all over it. This is Arco. I love coming here. I don’t want them to change a thing.”

Thursday’ Player of the Day: Jason Kidd @ Chicago 43 min, 23 pts (FG: 8-17, 3FG: 3-5, FT: 4-6), 14 reb, 11 ast, 2 stl

Friday’s Game to Watch: Orlando (22-14) @ Los Angeles Lakers (23-13) Orlando has worked their way back to the top of the Southeast Division after a stretch where they lost ten of 14. Behind the play of Dwight Howard, the Magic are riding a five game winning streak into Los Angeles where the Lakers are 16-4. L.A. has amassed a remarkable list of victims who have all fallen within the walls of the Staples Center, including Phoenix, Utah, San Antonio, Houston, and the recent, streak ending victory over Dallas. But the Lakers have lost their last two games; a defeat to the lowly Grizzlies and a 25 point beat-down by the Rockets.

Buzzer Beater: Could any one play better sum up the season of the Boston Celtics than the attempted dunk during the final moments of the game against Indiana on Wednesday? The answer is no. Late in the fourth quarter, guard Tony Allen went for an unnecessary, uncontested dunk after the whistle had blown and in the process of landing tore two ligaments in his left knee which will cause him to miss the remainder of the season. Poetically, Boston lost the game, 97-84. In addition to Allen, the Celtics are without Paul Pierce, Theo Ratliff and Wally Szczerbiak.

Categories
New Jersey Nets

Kidd Abuse

(Come on… someone had to use that headline.)



There’ll be no more of this

While it might seem great to be the son of an NBA superstar, sometimes it’s not all it’s cracked up to be. First, you have tons of people making fun of your huge head cause your mom brings you to Nets games. Then you become a part of NY Post tabloid fodder when your dad files a complaint against you mom for “domestic violence” which everyone is whispering is about child abuse. (Oh and your dad once punched your mom in the mouth over a french fry — but she totally was flirting with the Hamburgler so you know…)

This little tidbit from the Post article left us wondering why Jason Kidd is still even talking to his wife:


One of the final straws for Jason Kidd likely came after his wife showed up at a Net game at the Meadowlands taunting him from the sidelines while flailing about with a cellphone in her hands, several sources said.

Come on, your wife heckles you from the stands? That’s something not even T.O. deserves.

By the way, we don’t mean to make fun of child abuse (or punching people in the mouth over a french fry… actually re the french fry — yes we do) but we seriously doubt the kids are all messed up or anything. When we were young, dad used to make us cut down the switch he’d hit us with. And we’re just fine thank you. We’ve got an unhealthy fear of trees… but whatever.

Links:
[NJ.com]:
J-Kidd soap opera takes odd turn