Tag: mike bibby

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.

Categories
Cleveland Cavaliers

Around the Rim: It’s a James thang


1. Another All-Star spectacular
As usual, the All-Star game was a can-you-top-this contest for most of three quarters before the players’ pride kicked in and they delivered a heck of a finish. The East led by six points after one, nine after two and 13 following the three quarters, but then the West put together a 15-4 run to open the final period, taking its first lead of the game at 112-110 on a Dirk Nowitzki layup with 6:52 remaining. The remainder of the game was back and forth until the East finally edged out a 134-128 victory in the waning moments. LeBron James slammed, jammed, rebounder and dished his way to the second All-Star MVP award of his career, barely missing a triple-double in the process [see below].

The game was missing some serious glitz as names like Kevin Garnett, Caron Butler, Tracy McGrady and Shaquille O’Neal were absent from the lineups, in addition to Kobe Bryant’s three minute performance, but there were still some straight ballers lighting it up in Nawlins. For the victorious East, Ray Allen came off the bench to score a game-high 28 points on 5-of-9 from behind the arc. Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade scored 14 apiece as Jason Kidd kicked out 10 dimes and Dwight Howard was perfect from the field (7-7) for 16 points and nine rebounds.

For the West, it was the bench that did most of the damage, combining for 94 points. Carmelo Anthony was the only starter to reach double-figure scoring, netting 18 points to match Brandon Roy and Amare Stoudemire for team-high scoring honors. Chris Paul went nuts in his home arena, scoring 16 points to go with 14 assists and four steals while Carlos Boozer produced a double-double of his own with 14 points and 10 rebounds.

2. Dwight’s all right

If you missed the Sprite Slam Dunk contest then shame on you. It was as plain as the chiseled shoulders on his frame that Dwight Howard was going to make the judges pay for robbing him last year and he did. Howard put together the sickest routine of dunks since Vince Carter hung on the rim by his elbow. The man-child put in a dunk off the back of the backboard before donning a Super Man cape and literally flying to the title. But the cherry on top of the sundae came when he decided to play volleyball off the glass en route to a wicked powerful throw down. All in all, we hope your DVR was rolling because it was a slam jam performance for the ages. While Howard ran away with the trophy, Gerald Green took home the ingenuity award by blowing out a candle on a cupcake set atop the rim before throwing down a two-hander.

3. Second trophy is three times as nice
Jason Kapono shot the lights out in the Foot Locker Three-Point Shootout, successfully defending his title by scoring 25 points to tie Mark Price (1986) for the all-time record. It was a dazzling display by the champ as he left Daniel Gibson (17 pts) and Dirk Nowitzki (14 pts) in his dust during the final round. Peja Stojakovic was the last player to earn back-to-back honors when he took the title in 2002 and then again in 2003. The Raptors are really hoping Kapono’s hot hand stays afire as they head down the final leg of the regular season.

2008 All-Star MVP: LeBron James vs. Western Conference All-Stars 30 min, 27 pts (FG: 12-22, 3FG: 2-7, FT: 1-1), 8 reb, 9 ast, 2 stl, 2 blk

Buzzer Beater: Believe it or not, but there was actually some business going on during the pleasures of the All-Star break. Sacramento sent Mike Bibby to Atlanta for Anthony Johnson, Shelden Williams, Tyronn Lue, Lorenzen Wright and a 2008 second-rounder. The Hawks gave up a lot, but they’re hoping the move provides the spark and veteran leadership that will take them deep into the playoffs. There’s no doubt that the trio of Bibby, Joe Johnson and Josh Smith will be a formidable one that could turn into a serious contender once they have time to gel.

Categories
Cleveland Cavaliers

Around the Rim: It’s gotta be the shoes


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.

Dominated by the team’s traditional blue-and-white color scheme, the Air Zoom LeBron V shoe features New York’s famed pinstripes as well as James’ No. 23. Under the tongue are the words: “Le-Bron Ja-Mes. Clap. Clap. Clap Clap Clap,” a nod to the cheer New York fans reserve for the Yankees; and on the strap is the phrase: “Fresh for ’08. Suckers!

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?

Categories
Boston Celtics

Around the Rim: Blaze extinguished


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.

You know what makes me mad, that somebody actually said and told you guys that there was a situation,” Noah told WSCR radio station in Chicago. “That’s what makes me mad. That’s the only reason why I’m doing this right now. Otherwise I wouldn’t be doing it.

“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.

Categories
NBA General

Around the Rim: Time for an intervention?

Hi, my name is Gilbert and I’m
addicted to gambling.

1.  Stick to the video poker
The NBA doesn’t like for their players to gamble.  In fact, they don’t even like them mentioning gambling, and that’s not good news for Gilbert Arenas.  Turns out that Arenas made two separate $10 bets with fans in attendance as the Wizards traveled to play Portland last Wednesday.  Agent 0 bet that he would drain the winning shot in the game but he blew his last second chance to pick up an Andrew Jackson.  Arenas, who admittedly plays video poker during halftime of his games, later wrote about the incident in his blog but the NBA removed the references and gave Arenas a stern talking to about his action on the side.  But losing the bets wasn’t the most humiliating part of the game for Arenas.  The big mouthed superstar guaranteed he would drop fity’ on the Blazers but came up just 31 shy.  Oh, so close.  

2.  Phoenix falters as Bibby bombs
It appears that Phoenix might have put it on cruise control against Sacramento yesterday since they have already wrapped up the Pacific Division and Mike Bibby made them pay for it.  Bibby was an assassin from behind the arc as he made it rain in Pacman-esque fashion, hitting 9-of-12 3-pointers en route to 37 points.  With the loss Phoenix is now just three games ahead of San Antonio for the third spot in the West and the Spurs are getting hot as the regular season draws to a close.  SA got 64 points off their bench in a 120-79 routing of the Sonics last night as the starters got to take a majority of the night off.  In fact, the only highlight of this game came when former NFL quarterback Warren Moon threw a couple autographed footballs into the stands during a timeout.  

3.  That’s all you got?
Hey, four consecutive games with at least 50 points is pretty darn impressive, but unfortunately Kobe Bryant’s scoring streak came to an end last night against the Golden State Warriors.  But nobody can complain about a 43 point offensive outing that resulted in a 115-113 victory.   However, this was the first game since the hot span began that the Mamba struggled to strike.  15-of-33 isn’t horrible but most coaches would be content with forcing Kobe to jack up 33 shots for his 43 points.  Still, no matter how you look at it, 268 points in five games is a mind boggling number to wrap your mind around.  But have no fear, when one streak ends for Kobe it is merely a matter of time before another one begins.  

Sunday’s Player of the Day:  Jermaine O’Neal vs. Chicago 40 min, 39 pts (FG: 15-24, FT: 9-12), 14 reb, 2 stl

Monday’s Game to Watch:  Denver (35-33) @ Detroit (44-25)  The Pistons are the best defensive team in the Eastern Conference but they are going to have their hands full as they take on the high scoring duo of Carmelo Anthony and Allen Iverson.  Luckily, Detroit will have Rasheed Wallace back in their starting lineup after he had to sit out against Milwaukee on Sunday following his 18th technical foul of the season.  Denver is holding on to the 7th spot in the West after Melo racked up 27 points and AI had 18 points and 12 assists in a victory over Cleveland on Sunday.  

Buzzer Beater: In one of the strangest situations in the history of the NBA, Randolph Morris could play a game in the NCAA tournament and a game in the NBA all in the same week.  Morris originally declared for the 2005 draft but was not selected, so he returned to Kentucky and played two more seasons as a free agent who was ineligible to be drafted.  But after Tubby Smith split for Minnesota Morris decided to sign with the New York Knicks and could even see action against Orlando on Monday.  NY is currently only 1 ½ games out of the playoff picture and the sudden addition of Morris could be a big addition for Isiah Thomas and his boys.  Or Morris could be hitting the wall after going through a full college season.  But either way, its gotta be a thrill for Morris.