Tag: pistons

Categories
LA Lakers

Around the Rim: Kobe + Pau = Kapow!

1. Gasol watches as Bryant shows off
Just because the Lakers traded for Pau Gasol doesn’t mean they need him; at least, not against the Wizards. Kobe Bryant exploded upon tipoff, scoring 19 points in the first quarter and leading Los Angeles to a 30-15 lead after 12 minutes. By the end of the game, Bryant scored 30 points and the Lakers left D.C. with a 103-91 victory. Gasol was picked up on Friday, but Lakers coach Phil Jackson isn’t rushing the former All-Star into the lineup, choosing instead to let Gasol get some practice team with the team first while simultaneously healing a nagging injury. Antawn Jamison finished with 21 points and 11 rebounds while Caron Butler scored 15 in defeat.

2. Bad Boy beatdown

The Mavericks are trying to catch up with the Hornets in the Southwest Division, but Detroit didn’t do Dallas any favors on Sunday, whooping them by 23 points, 90-67. The Mavericks were pathetic on offense, scoring just 29 points in the entire second half. Perhaps the Pistons defense played a role in Dallas’ defeat. Detroit held the Mavs to 23-of-76 from the field (2-14 3FG) while stealing five balls and blocking eight shots. Rasheed Wallace recorded four blocks to go with 21 points and nine rebounds. Dirk Nowitzki shot three-of-18 from the field, including missing all five of his three-point attempts and he didn’t do much better on defense. In fact, Sheed let the entire Dallas bench know exactly what he thought of Dirk’s Irk’s defense, yelling “He can’t guard me!” after dropping a bucket on Nowitzki’s head.

3. Somebody’s gonna have one heck of a 4th of July this year
There were plenty of fireworks on the court for the Pistons on Sunday, but it didn’t matter how badly Detroit spanked Dallas, the team would still be looking for more.

Officials say a trailer has been stolen that was carrying pyrotechnics to be set off before the Detroit Pistons game against the Dallas Mavericks at The Palace of Auburn Hills.

The theft was discovered Sunday morning by employees of Windsor, Ontario-based Band-Ayd Systems International Inc. at a company facility in Warren.

Band-Ayd President Nino De Benedetti says the trailer contains about $75,000 worth of pyrotechnics and gear, and the trailer itself is worth $8,000. The trailer held liquid propane and noisemaking devices.

The company is offering a $5,000 reward for the return of the equipment, no questions asked.

Sunday’s Player of the Day: Rasheed Wallace vs. Dallas 34 min, 21 pts (FG: 9-18, 3FG: 3-4), 9 reb, 3 ast, 1 stl, 4 blk

Monday’s Game to Watch: New Orleans (32-14) @ Utah (30-18)
Utah was slipping down a slippery slope a month or so ago, but that was before they signed Kyle Korver. Since Korver and his deadeye from behind the arc joined the Jazz, they have won 14 of their last 16 games, including their current eight game winning streak. The Hornets know all about winning streaks, but recently they’ve been getting an education of losing spells. After winning 17-of-19 games and earning the best record in the Western Conference, the Hornets lost their last two games, allowing Phoenix to slide into the top spot. New Orleans has been stewing over their pair of defeats since Friday and should be ready to make a statement against the hottest team in the NBA.

Buzzer Beater: To Americans, when the Rockets and the Bucks get together it serves as a perfect opportunity to clear a few hours of American Idol off their DVRs. But to China, it is must see TV. An estimated 200 million people tuned in on Saturday evening to watch the Rockets escape Milwaukee with a 91-83 victory. The main attractions were rather mundane as Yao Ming finished with 12 points and 12 rebounds while Yi Jianlian went one-of-10 from the field for six points and seven rebounds.

Categories
NBA General

Around the Rim: Drum roll please!



The All-Star men in the middle

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 the son of an army drill sergeant and when we enlist, we go out full-term. So I got two years left on my term and then, after that, I’ll be looking to do other things,” O’Neal said on the show.

“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.

Categories
Washington Wizards

Around the Rim: All that glitters is not gold


1. Double trouble
We’ve heard of unlucky No. 13, but unlucky No. 30 is something new to us. The Celtics (30-6), on the other hand, are learning all about the doomed three-zero. At 29-3, Boston was rolling right along, but then it took them a pair of contests before reaching their 30th victory and now Washington’s will gives the Cs their third loss in four games. After slapping down the Celtics on Saturday, the Wiz traveled to Boston for the back side of the home-and-home and escaped with an 88-83 win. Caron Butler led the way for Washington with 21 points, followed up by Antawn Jamison’s 20 and 10 rebounds. Like usual, the big three showed up for Boston (57 points), but that was about it as Beantown felt their second consecutive defeat for the first time this year.

2. Charlotte surprise

Carmelo Anthony (35 pts) and Allen Iverson (23 pts) combined for over 50 and Marcus Camby went bonkers with 20 points and 23 rebounds, but it still wasn’t enough to beat the Bobcats in Charlotte. Gerald Wallace scored 40 for the Cats who improved to 14-23 with the 119-116 victory. The road doesn’t get any easier for Charlotte who has contests against Orlando, New Orleans, San Antonio and Dallas on the horizon. The loss doesn’t spell disaster for Denver, but coupled with Portland’s beatdown of New Jersey, the Nuggets fell a half game behind the Blazers in the division standings.

3. Kobe is super against the Sonics
The Lakers got some bad news on Monday when they found out Andrew Bynum would be out of action for the next eight weeks with a left kneecap injury. Later on in the day, Kobe Bryant grieved the only way he knows how: by jacking up a ridiculous amount of shots. Bryant went 21-of-44 from the field for 48 points in the Lakers 123-121 overtime victory in Seattle. In addition to the offensive outburst from Bryant, L.A. cleaned the glass better than a homeless guy on the corner as Lamar Odom (14 reb), Luke Walton (10 reb) and Kwame Brown (10 reb) all finished with double-digit boards in Bynum’s absence. The Sonics were able to hang around thanks to seven double-figure scorers, led by Nick Collision’s 24 points to go with 18 rebounds. Kevin Durant couldn’t throw the ball into the ocean, hitting just six of his 26 shot attempts.

Monday’s Player of the Day: Deron Williams vs. Milwaukee 37 min, 33 pts (FG: 8-14, 3FG: 1-3, FT: 16-20), 5 reb, 10 ast, 4 stl

Tuesday’s Game to Watch: Toronto (20-17) @ Detroit (28-10)
The Raptors are beginning to prove they have all the pieces to become a great team in the NBA. They’re young, hungry, talented and they are building the core chemistry that takes teams deep into the playoffs. Nobody is currently considering them as a possible Eastern Conference representative in this year’s Finals, but they could defiantly take a step in the right direction with a road win against the Pistons. Problem is the Bad Boys are ready to unleash their fury on someone after dropping three of their previous five games, including a humiliating blowout loss to the Knicks on Sunday when they could only muster a measly 65 points.

Buzzer Beater: Even with four championship rings, two regular season MVPs and a trio of Finals MVP awards in your back pocket, it can be tough to get a little respect.

During a tight fourth quarter against the Philadelphia 76ers, Tim Duncan twice told San Antonio Spurs teammate Manu Ginobili to pass the ball.

One couldn’t blame Duncan for his advice as Ginobili had gone 0-of-6 from the field through the first three quarters of the game.

Ginobili didn’t listen to the Spurs’ star center.

The Spurs’ super sub hit four 3-pointers in the period, his only field goals of the entire game, to lead the Spurs to an 89-82 victory over the 76ers Monday night.

“I think I was talking in the middle of his shots … two of his shots, telling him to swing the ball,” Duncan said. “And he’s firing away anyway, and they go down for him. So he felt it. And he gets one to go down, he gets two to go down. All of a sudden he’s on a hot streak and you want him taking those shots.”

Ginobili scored 14 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter, highlighted by the two pairs of consecutive 3s.

“I heard him,” Ginobili said of Duncan’s counsel. “But I told him that I was feeling good and I was going to take them.”

“He never listens to me,” Duncan joked.

Categories
Toronto Raptors

Around the Rim: Bosh extinguishes the Blaze


1. He’s got our vote
Chris Bosh is determined to make it to New Orleans for this year’s All-Star Game. On Friday against the Knicks, Bosh scored 40 points inside Madison Square Garden to go with 11 rebounds and a road win for his Raps. On Sunday afternoon, Bosh was equally impressive, scoring 38 points and grabbing 14 rebounds as he lead Toronto past Portland in double-overtime, 116-109. The defeat was just the second in 19 games for the Blazers who began a seven-game road trip in Toronto and next head to New Jersey tonight. Brandon Roy was excellent in defeat (33 pts, 10 ast, 5 reb) and like Bosh, should be a coaches’ decision for his respective All-Start roster.

2. Pistons not firing on all cylinders

There is nothing worse than losing to the Knicks; unless it’s losing to the Knicks by 24 and only managing to score 65 points. Believe it or not, but that was the fate of the Detroit Pistons on Sunday. And it wasn’t just bad for the Bad Boys, it was downright horrific, like something from a Rob Zombie flick. The Pistons fell to New York 89-65, just barely avoiding setting the franchise record for futility which currently stands at 64 points, a two-point victory over Utah in 2005. Detroit shot 23-of-75 from the field against the Knicks while managing just 24 points in the second and third quarters combined.

3. Another win away from the Hive
Winning on the road has become New Orleans’ new calling card. Houston received the message loud and clear on Sunday when Chris Paul hit four crucial, late-game free throws to lock-up a Nawlins win in Houston, 87-82. The Hornets are now 15-5 away from home, already matching last year’s record. While Paul (19 pts, 11 ast) made the game-clinching shots, the Hornets were led offensively by David West’s 26 points. Yao Ming had another monstrous effort with 30 points, 16 rebounds and four blocks, but the Rockets still miss the scoring ability of Tracy McGrady who missed his 10th game with a knee injury. Luckily for Houston, T-Mac is expected to return to the lineup on Saturday when San Antonio comes to town.

Sunday’s Player of the Day: Chris Bosh vs. Portland 55 min, 38 pts (FG: 15-27, FT: 8-10), 14 reb, 2 ast, 3 blk

Monday’s Game to Watch: Washington (19-16) @ Boston (30-5)
Beating Boston nowadays is quite an accomplishment. Washington already knows how it feels to knock off the league’s best after winning in Washington 85-78 on Saturday and if the Wiz can do it again, they will become the only team to defeat Boston in consecutive games this year. Tonight the game will be played in the Celtics’ gym where they own a 16-2 record, best in the NBA. The Wizards haven’t won three consecutive games since mid December, but a win tonight could propel them on a nice streak as they next play a home-and-home with New York.

Buzzer Beater: Despite being a man on the court, LeBron James is still just a kid a heart and he proved his immaturity on his 23rd birthday. On Dec. 30, LBJ was ticketed by the Ohio State Highway Patrol for speeding. The King was just a little over the posted limit of 65 as he was clocked doing 101 mph on Interstate 71. His attorney entered a not guilty plea on Tuesday and a hearing is set for Feb. 11. Hey, it might be dumb, but at least he wasn’t carrying a loaded firearm in the car, like some other speeding ballers. You know who you are Sebastian Telfair.

Categories
Detroit Pistons

Around the Rim: Rasheed indeed


1. Pistons’ slide ends at two
The Pistons desperately needed a win after dropping their previous two games, so when they traveled to San Antonio on Thursday, they didn’t bother asking; they simply took it. One quarter into the game, Detroit had already doubled-up the Spurs, 30-15, and they hardly gave an inch from there, winning 90-80. Rasheed Wallace was huge for the Bad Boys, scoring 23 to go with 15 boards, three assists, three steals and a pair of blocks. While the Spurs’ All-Star trio was healthy for the contest, they certainly weren’t firing on all cylinders as Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili combined for 21 points and six assists in the defeat.

2. Injuries were music to the Jazz’s ears

The Suns are good, but they’re not that good. With Shawn Marion, Steve Nash and Grant Hill all out of the lineup against Utah on Thursday, Amare Stoudemire was expected to pick up the slack. He did what he could, scoring 21 and grabbing 14 rebounds, but the Jazz finally showed a little pride and took the undermanned Suns behind the woodshed for an old fashioned beat down, 108-86. The knockout punch came in the third quarter when Phoenix could only produce five field goals and 12 points. Five players finished in double-digits for the Jazz, including Carlos Boozer (22 pts, 17 reb) and Deron Williams (17 pts, 11 ast) who both grabbed double-doubles in the contest.

3. Kings of the court, at least against the Grizz
Memphis and Sacramento played a nail-bitter in California and points were plentiful for almost everyone who stepped foot on the floor. Nine players scored ten or more points in the game, led by Rudy Gay’s 31. In the end, the Kings eked out a 116-113 victory with four starters hitting for at least 22 points. The Grizzlies have now lost 18 consecutive games in Sactown, going back to when they called Vancouver home.

Thursday’s Player of the Day: Rasheed Wallace @ San Antonio 40 min, 23 pts (FG: 9-15, 3FG: 1-4, FT: 4-4), 15 reb, 3 ast, 3 stl, 2 blk

Friday’s Game to Watch: Orlando (23-14) @ Denver (21-13)
The Magic already have 22 road games in the book this season and, surprisingly, they are dominating. With a 16-6 record outside of Orlando, Dwight Howard & Co. are far better on the road then they are at home (7-8). Denver is basically the opposite, owning a 14-5 record at home with a subpar 7-8 showing on the road. If O-Town wants to win, they’ll have to pay special attention to Allen Iverson tonight. A.I. scored his career-high 60 points against the Magic when he was still in Philly and in his last three games against Orlando he has topped 30. And if that’s not bad enough for the Magic, Iverson has scored a combined 103 points in his last three contests.

Buzzer Beater: Utah is desperate to get their players into the All-Star game. How desperate? Apparently, they’re desperate enough to bribe fans for votes.

First there was Chris Bosh, with his home-made “vote-for-me” video on YouTube. Now the Utah Jazz are weighing in as the season for NBA all-star voting nears conclusion, offering free hot dogs to fans in exchange for home-team votes.

The Deseret News reports that the Jazz offered fans free hot dogs in exchange for 10 ballots filled out at their home game last night against the Phoenix Suns – stuff your face, stuff the box.

Categories
Charlotte Bobcats

Around the Rim: Bobcats bounce Boston


1. J-Rich cashes in
The Boston Celtics are making a run at history and the Charlotte Bobcats with a 1-11 road record were supposed to be another notch on the belt of the Leprechauns. Well, what was supposed to be an easy win for Boston turned into a 12-point loss, 95-83, at the hands of one of the conference’s worst teams. Guess that is why they actually play the game. Jason Richardson blew up for 34 points and nine rebounds, sticking the dagger in the Cs hearts and twisting it several times during Boston’s attempts to make a comeback. “The Boston Three Party” was a man short on Wednesday as Ray Allen rode the pine with a pinched nerve in his neck, leaving Kevin Garnett (24 pts) and Paul Pierce (13 pts) with all the heavy lifting. So far, Charlotte practically has the Celtics number in their back pocket, winning in Boston and coming one last-second shot away from winning at home. Game three comes in late February in Beantown.

2. Portland’s prosperity

Brandon Roy fell to the court in the second quarter with an apparent knee injury, followed by Steve Blake’s calf clutching on the hardwood in the second half. But the good times kept on rolling as both players’ injuries turned out to be minor and the Trail Blazers picked up their 17th win in 18 games, downing Golden State 109-91. However, the biggest reason to celebrate in Portland wasn’t the victory or the victories or even the successful injury scare. Nope, the real reason for the Blazers smiles is because for the first time since 2001, Portland is atop their division. The Blaze currently owns a ½ game lead over Denver in the Northwest Division, but holding the position won’t be easy with a seven-game, East coast road trip on tap.

3. Suns win a track meet against Pacers
Indiana and Phoenix played five extra minutes and scored a whopping 251 combined points. Unfortunately for the Pacers, Phoenix ended with a majority of the points scored – 129 to be exact. Without Grant Hill who will miss some time (2-3 weeks) after undergoing an appendectomy, the Suns received a lift from Raja Bell (27 pts, 9 reb) and Leandro Barbosa. The Brazilian Blur finished with 27 points off the bench to compliment the double-doubles from starters Shawn Marion (23 pts, 12 reb) and Amare Stoudemire (25 pts, 11 reb). Led by Danny Granger and Shawne Williams who each scored 22 points, six players reached double-digits offensively for Indiana, but it just wasn’t enough against the short-handed Suns. In addition to Hill’s absence, Steve Nash departed from the game early due to a stomach flu, playing just 24 minutes.

Wednesday’s Player of the Day: Yao Ming @ New York 42 min, 36 pts (FG: 14-21, FT: 8-9), 11 reb, 3 ast, 2 blk

Thursday’s Game to Watch: Detroit (26-9) @ San Antonio (23-10)
It wasn’t that long ago when these two teams were hooking up to see who would be the NBA champions. Now, both clubs are just playing to get off the schnide. The Pistons own the East’s second best record, but are losers of their previous two games against Boston and Dallas. In order to avoid their first three-game slide of the season, the Bad Boys must win in San Antonio against a Spurs team bitter about another road loss. The Spurs are a league-best 17-2 at home and know they have to take care of business in San Antonio considering their sorry 6-8 road record.

Buzzer Beater: Good news in Clipper land. Looks like Shaun Livingston could be returning to the other L.A. team’s lineup at some point this year.

The medical team feels he’s going to make a full recovery,” team president Andy Roeser said at halftime of Wednesday night’s game against the Orlando Magic. “There’s a pretty good chance he’ll be on the court before the end of the season.

“The most significant thing is whether he makes a full recovery. It’s significant that we think he can make a full recovery.

Pretty amazing stuff considering it looked like Livingston was going to be made into glue after turning stomachs in late February of 2007.

Categories
Houston Rockets

Around the Rim: Eyeing a comeback


1. Rockets taking off without McGrady
The Rockets are finally getting used to playing without Tracy McGrady. In fact, Houston won their third consecutive game by beating Washing 92-84 on Tuesday night. Unfortunately, T-Mac might be back in uniform for Friday’s game at home against the Timberwolves after being sidelined since Dec. 23. Hopefully for Houstonians, McGrady adds to the team’s current success instead of devolving the chemistry. Led by Luther Head’s 24 points, three Rockets reached double-figures against the Wiz, including Yao Ming who finished with 21 points, nine rebounds and four blocked shots. With the win, Houston (18-17) jumped above .500 for the first time since being 12-11 almost a month ago.

2. Are you Kidding?

Jason Kidd racking up a triple-double is nothing new, but do it three games in a row and, now, we’ve got something to talk about. On Tuesday, Kidd became the first player since Grant Hill to record a triple-dip in a trio of consecutive games by scoring 13 points, grabbing 11 boards and passing out 12 assists against the Bobcats. And if Kidd hadn’t come up two assists shy in a game against Orlando, he would be looking at four straight triple-doubles. The last person to do that was, you guessed it, Michael Jordan who had seven consecutive way, way back in 1989. Oh, and if you care about things like team play and scores then you might be interested to know that Charlotte defeated the Nets quite easily, 115-99.

3. Fancy meeting you here
LeBron James didn’t have to go pro. Kevin Durant didn’t need to go to college. But regardless of their individual paths, the two superstars (one established and one in the making) met on the hardwood for the first time Tuesday night. Durant played one of the best contests of his rookie campaign, scoring a game-high 24 points on 10-of-20 shooting and grabbed six rebounds before spraining his ankle late in the game. Despite the early exit, Durant won the one-on-one offensive battle against LBJ, but his team lost the war with the Cavs. James finished with 22 points and Cleveland cruised to a 95-79 home victory.

Tuesday’s Player of the Day: Dwight Howard @ Sacramento 38 min, 29 pts (FG: 11-13, FT: 7-8), 15 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl, 1 blk

Wednesday’s Game to Watch: Detroit (26-8) @ Dallas (23-11)
The Pistons have been off since Saturday and in that time, you know the Bad Boys have been stewing over their loss to East’s glitzy favorites, the Beantown Celtics. Unfortunately for the Mavericks, they’re next in line and the Pistons are dying to get back to their winning ways. Before the loss to Boston, Detroit won 11 consecutive games and 18 out of 20, but Dallas is finally catching fire as well. After bouncing back and forth between wins and losses, Dirk Nowitzki and the Mavs seem to have found some consistency, winning four straight and nine of their previous 11 contests. Since scoring a season-low seven points against New Orleans on Dec. 14, Nowitzki has topped 19 points in the last ten games, scoring 30 or more four times.

Buzzer Beater: Losing to the Minnesota Timberwolves is pretty much the lowest of low, even for the lowly Miami Heat. But that is exactly what happened on Tuesday when the T-Wolves picked up their fifth win of the season by spanking the Shaqless Heat 101-91. After the game, Dwyane Wade made the understatement of the year.

We’re not exactly 28-5 this year,” Wade said of his 8-27 Heat, who have the worst record in the Eastern Conference. “We’re one of the worst teams in the league as well.

Categories
Portland Trailblazers

Around the Rim: Portland pride shines


1. Still going
The Portland Trail Blazers hit a little bump in the road after winning 13 consecutive games when the Utah Jazz snapped the streak with a 111-101 victory in Salt Lake City on New Year’s Eve. But the Blazers took the loss in stride and bounced back with two victories in two days, the most recent being a double-overtime affair against Chicago. The Bulls owned a seven-point advantage at the half, but Portland got big plays from Brandon Roy (25 pts, 11 ast), Jarrett Jack (17 pts) and Travis Outlaw (21 pts) down the stretch, winning by six, 115-109, after ten extra minutes of play. Ben Gordon put up 32 points off the bench for Chicago and Joe Smith put up a season-high 31 points, but it wasn’t enough for the hapless Bulls. Next up for the Blazers are those pesky Jazz. Saturday night’s contest will be the fourth and final game between the Northwest Division rivals with each of the previous three being decided by 10 points or less.

2. Best in the West

Amare Stoudemire had another gigantic game for Phoenix, scoring 34 points and grabbing 11 rebounds in the Suns 104-96 victory over Seattle. The byproduct of Stoudemire’s All-Star caliber performances is Phoenix now owns the top record in the Western Conference (23-9). Surprisingly, the game against one of the West’s worst wasn’t an easy one for the conference’s new kings of the court; at least, not at first. Phoenix fell down by 20 points to start the game, trailing 33-13 after the first quarter, but rallied to outscore the Sonics 91-63 over the final 36 minutes for the victory. In addition to Stoudemire’s nasty numbers, Shawn Marion had 11 points and 14 rebounds while Steve Nash finished with 17 points and 10 assists. On the bright side for Seattle, rookie Kevin Durant took the reigns offensively, finishing with a team-high 28 points on 11-of-24 shooting to go with seven rebounds, after missing most of the previous two games with an injured finger.

3. K-Mart’s Blue Light Special: blocks
The Nuggets are a completely different team when Kenyon Martin is healthy and it showed on Thursday when Denver defeated San Antonio 80-77. K-Mart finished with just four points and seven rebounds, but took over the game defensively by swatting a career-high seven shots in the contest. Marcus Camby had four blocks to go with 18 rebounds as the Nuggets won the battles on the glass (48-35) and in blocks (14-3). Allen Iverson led the way offensively, scoring 29 points while Carmelo Anthony finished with 17 and nine rebounds. San Antonio got solid numbers from Tim Duncan (20 pts, 14 reb), Tony Parker (20 pts, 9 ast) and Michael Finley (18 pts, 8 reb), but lost their fourth consecutive road game since winning at Minnesota on November 30.

Thursday’s Player of the Day: Brandon Roy @ Chicago 49 min, 25 pts (FG: 7-15, 3FG: 1-2, FT: 10-11), 6 reb, 11 ast, 2 stl, 1 blk

Friday’s Game to Watch: Detroit (25-7) @ Toronto (17-15)
Say what you will about the Celtics or the Trail Blazers, but our vote for hottest team in the league goes to the Pistons who have won 10 in a row and 17 of their last 19 games. In that span, 15 victories were by at least 10 points. The Raptors are playing their first game of the new year after wrapping up 2007 with a seven-game road trip, producing just three victories. The good news for Toronto is that Chris Bosh and Jose Calderon are playing outta their minds right now. Over the previous five contests, Bosh is averaging 25.2 points and 10.8 rebounds while Calderon is filling in for the injured T.J. Ford quite nicely with 14.4 points, 4.8 boards and 9.4 assists per game.

Buzzer Beater: The third installment of returns for the NBA All-Star voting was released on Thursday and Chris Bosh is not going to be a happy camper. Luckily for “W.”, voting continues through Jan. 13 for paper balloting and up until Jan. 20 for ballots cast on NBA.com.

2008 NBA ALL-STAR BALLOTING EASTERN CONFERENCE

Forwards: Kevin Garnett (Bos) 1,527,963; LeBron James (Clev) 1,294,019; Chris Bosh (Tor) 411,313; Paul Pierce (Bos) 352,243; Yi Jianlian (Mil) 291,447; Caron Butler (Was) 187,396; Hedo Turkoglu (Orl) 172,720; Tayshaun Prince (Det) 155,502; Josh Smith (Atl) 143,518; Rashard Lewis (Orl) 143,118.

Guards: Dwyane Wade (Mia) 1,019,582; Jason Kidd (NJ) 743,683; Ray Allen (Bos) 617,123; Vince Carter (NJ) 612,543; Gilbert Arenas (Was) 511,763; Chauncey Billups (Det) 331,872; Michael Redd (Mil) 221,777; Richard Hamilton (Det) 163,250; Joe Johnson (Atl) 149,367; Andre Iguodala (Phi) 140, 292.

Centers: Dwight Howard (Orl) 1,260,987; Shaquille O’Neal (Mia) 609,597; Rasheed Wallace (Det) 162,792; Ben Wallace (Chi) 146,332; Andrew Bogut (Mil) 132,469; Jermaine O’Neal (Ind) 120,690; Zydrunas Ilgauskas (Clev) 77,350; Emeka Okafor (Cha) 74,269; Zaza Pachulia (Atl) 58,430; Eddy Curry (NY) 53,084.

2008 NBA ALL-STAR BALLOTING WESTERN CONFERENCE

Forwards: Tim Duncan (SA) 1,049,641; Carmelo Anthony (Den) 1,029,335; Dirk Nowitzki (Dal) 830,970; Carlos Boozer (Utah) 347,899; Shane Battier (Hou) 297,672; Shawn Marion (Pho) 296,917; Josh Howard (Dal) 285,580; Luis Scola (Hou) 279,970; Kevin Durant (Sea) 242,953; Grant Hill (Pho) 209,057.

Guards: Kobe Bryant (LAL) 1,234,111; Tracy McGrady (Hou) 809,395; Allen Iverson (Den) 694,611; Steve Nash (Pho) 684,813; Manu Ginobili (SA) 360,408; Tony Parker (SA) 316,541; Chris Paul (NO) 261,169; Baron Davis (GS) 247,187; Jason Terry (Dal) 218,052; Jerry Stackhouse (Dal) 192,017.

Centers: Yao Ming (Hou) 1,077,244; Amaré Stoudemire (Pho) 583,249; Marcus Camby (Den) 221,527; Erick Dampier (Dal) 184,689; Pau Gasol (Mem) 139,254; Mehmet Okur (Utah) 112,434; Tyson Chandler (NO) 98,424; LaMarcus Aldridge (Por) 93,043; Chris Kaman (LAC) 83,516; Andris Biedrins (GS) 81,611.

Categories
Detroit Pistons

Around the Rim: Now who’s the best in the East?


1. Pistons pack pop for trip to Boston
The Celtics took their first real test of the season on Wednesday, falling a few points shy of a passing grade and a win. The Pistons escaped Boston with a two-point victory, 87-85, thanks to a pair of last-second Chauncey Billups free throws. Mr. Big Shot finished with game-highs of 28 points and eight assists as Detroit’s starting five scored all but 14 of the team’s points. Still, that’s nine more points than Boston got from their bench that shot two-for-nine in a combined 52 minutes of work. Kevin Garnett (26 pts, 12 reb) and Ray Allen (24 pts) took care of business, but the third piece of the triforce, Paul Pierce, shot a pathetic five-of-16 for 11 points. Boston proved they aren’t where they need to be yet and despite their 20-3 overall record, the Bad Boys are still the elite out East.

2. Too little, too late

Things didn’t look good for the Suns after the first quarter of their game against Dallas. With 12 minutes in the books, Phoenix was staring up from a 17-point hole. By the middle of the fourth quarter it wasn’t much better as the Mavericks held a 14-point advantage, but that’s when the Suns turned on the burners, using a 23-12 run over the final 6:56 to get within one Steve Nash 3-point air-ball from forcing overtime. Dirk Nowitzki led all scorers with 31 in the 108-105 shootout, giving the Mavericks their fourth consecutive win. The Suns still hold a half-game advantage over Dallas in the standings and Nash further padded his assists per game lead by handing out 18 dimes to go with his 21 points.

3. End of an era
Miami lost again on Wednesday, this time to Atlanta, but that’s nothing new. The real story of the game was the torn patellar tendon in Alonzo Mourning’s right knee; an injury that will most likely end the career of the 15-year vet. Mourning is a seven-time All-Star, a two-time defensive player of the year and ranks 10th all-time in career blocks. You never want to see a career end on an injury and you really never want to see a career end on a stretcher, which was the original means of transportation to get the big fella and his bum wheel off the court following the injury. But like the rest of his life, Zo was going to do things his way.

That’s not the way I envisioned myself walking off the court for the last time in my career,” he said. “I’ve been through so much in my life. If I had to crawl off the court I would have. Nobody was going to push me off on a stretcher off the court. That wasn’t going to happen.

Wednesday’s Player of the Day: Steve Nash @ Dallas 37 min, 21 pts (FG: 9-15, 3FG: 2-3, FT: 1-2), 3 reb, 18 ast, 1 stl

Thursday’s Game to Watch: Los Angeles Lakers (15-9) @ Cleveland (11-15)
We could sit here and cram records down your throats or talk about bench depth, but we all know why this game gets top billing for the night, it’s LeBron James and Kobe Bryant. The two are sitting at No. 1 and No. 2 in the league in scoring with LBJ scoring 29.6 a night and the Mamba dumping in 26.8 per contest. And for a little more parody, both are also leading their crews in assists and steals. We know that these teams have a ton of work to do if they want to sniff the NBA Finals this year, but, in late December, we don’t really care about teamwork. Until summer rolls around, we’ll take a showdown between a pair of one-man-bands any day of the week.

Buzzer Beater: Even a little blurry, this is one of the sickest moves you’ll ever see by someone not named Skip To My Lou.

Categories
Detroit Pistons

Don’t turn your back on Sheed, not even for an interview

Rasheed Wallace is a crazy guy, but we don’t need to tell you that. However, with all temper tantrums, technicals, taunting and trash talk, you might not know that he’s is actually a pretty funny fella. Just ask Jason Maxiell what a funny guy Sheed is.

Nothing like a little bout of pregame dodge ball to loosen up the nerves.

Links:

[Awful Announcing]: It’s Dangerous Being A Sideline Reporter Around Rasheed Wallace