Tag: pistons

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NBA General

Around the Rim: Utah gets floored by the Rockets

1. Clutch City is back on track
Carlos Boozer tied a career-high with 41 points to go along with 12 rebounds and six assists but it was his critical turnover with 20 seconds left in the game that will be remembered. Boozer dribbled the ball off his foot and helped Houston secure a 98-90 victory, giving them a 2-0 lead in the series. The Jazz started the season by jumping out to a 12-1 record but ended the year by dropping seven of their last 11 games, and if you throw in their playoff woes, they have lost nine of their last 13 contests. If that’s not bad enough, the Jazz have never won a playoff series after falling behind 0-2. Houston is riding a momentum tidal wave of monumental proportions behind the efforts of their droopy-eyed superstar Tracy McGrady (31 points, 10 rebounds, five assists). If the Rockets can hold on to their lead over the Jazz they’ll be on their way to the second round for the first time since 1997, not to mention it would be T-Mac’s first trip past the opening round in his ten year career. Just keep your mouth shut Tracy; Houstonians don’t want a repeat of your big mouthed fiasco during the 2003 playoffs.

2. The 151st best player in the league

Some observers of the game have been saying that Phoenix has the best starting five in the league, but on Monday the Suns showed that they have a pretty good bench as well. In a landslide, Leandro Barbosa took home the Sixth Man Award (and a nice sized bonus check in the process) to join the likes of Mike Miller, Ben Gordon, Antawn Jamison and others. Barbosa finished with 578 points, including 101 first place votes, to blow away Manu Ginobili (269 points) and Jerry Stackhouse (210 points). This could be the first of many post season awards for Phoenix considering that Mike D’Antoni, Steve Nash, Amare Stoudemire and Shawn Marion are all candidates for various awards. The “Brazilian Blur” averaged 18.1 points off the bench to compliment the Suns’ starters; all that’s left for Barbosa to do now is work his way into the starting lineup. And come up with a more creative nickname.

3. The Magic’s disappearing act
The series score is 2-0, but it might as well be 4-0 after Detroit put another hurting on Orlando and held Dwight Howard to just eight points on three-of-nine shooting. Howard has as much potential as any young superstar in the league but his playoff immaturity is definitely shinning through as he has only scored 21 points in the first two games. As it is every night, the rebounding was there on Monday against the Pistons but the Magic won’t even sniff a post season victory until Howard can learn that he must carry the load offensively, as well as defensively. But Howard can’t be held completely accountable for the Magic’s current situation; after all, there aren’t a lot of teams that can compete with the Pistons’ efficiency. Detroit was led by Richard Hamilton’s 22 points but it was a complete effort from the starting five that earned the team a 98-90 victory. In fact, only 10 points came off the bench during the game.

Monday’s Player of the Day: Carlos Boozer @ Houston 42 min, 41 pts (FG: 17-30, FT: 7-9), 12 reb, 6 ast

Buzzer Beater: Since Orlando has been visiting Detroit over the past couple of games, it’s needless to say that Darko Milicic has been taking some crap from the fans of his old club. But he’s not letting it get him down; well, at least that’s what he says. “I don’t really care,” said Milicic. “Back home fans used to throw the baseball (bats) and stuff at me – everything. They tried to kill me back home. That’s why I don’t really give a (expletive) about it.” We can see why a little taunting wouldn’t phase you, considering your countrymen attempted to murder you. But we wanna know why the Pistons’ fans are harping on Darko so much in the first place? After all, it was Joe Dumars who blew the pick; all Milicic did was get drafted. Last time we checked it wasn’t Milicic who passed on Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade.

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NBA General

Around the Rim: Houston, we have lift off

1. Rockets booster
There were lots of questions about Tracy McGrady’s health during the season and there were even more questions about Yao Ming’s health after he broke his leg, but now all the questions have been answered and the results are not good for the rest of the West. The Suns certainly took notice after Houston pulled out an impressive 120-117 victory behind 39 points from McGrady and 34 from Yao. As if 39 points isn’t enough, McGrady chipped in 11 rebounds and nine assists as well. With the win, Houston gained home-court advantage in their first round series against Utah despite being the fifth seed in the playoffs, and considering that Houston is currently the hottest team in the West, the slumping Jazz are suddenly looking like the underdogs in this much anticipated series.

2. Reappearing act

When Caron Butler first got diagnosed with a broken hand two weeks ago, the outlook was bleak. But now things are starting to look a little more promising for the All-Star forward who says that he is still hopeful he will make a full recovery before the playoffs are over. The only question that remains is if the Wizards will still be playing when he does. Butler was originally supposed to be out of action for six weeks but on Monday he took part in practice with the team. This is great news for the Wizards as they need all the help they can get since Gilbert Arenas had to cut his season short with an injury. Butler’s return probably won’t be enough to get Washington past Toronto or Chicago but it definitely gives them a better chance than having Jarvis Hayes in the starting five.

3. One spot left; who wants it?
With only one day left in the regular season, oddly enough there is still one playoff spot up for grabs and it is for the very undesirable final seed in the West which yields a first round match-up against the Mavericks. The only teams that are in left in contention for the post season are the Warriors and the Clippers. Neither team has an easy opponent but luckily for them their games involve teams that have nothing to play for. The Clips are in the worst position possible as they need to not only defeat the Suns, but they also need the Warriors to lose to Dallas. On the other hand, Golden State has their destiny in their own hands as they simply need to win and they’re in.

Monday’s Player of the Day: Tracy McGrady vs. Phoenix 41 min, 39 pts (FG: 14-31, 3FG: 3-7, FT: 8-11), 11 reb, 9 ast, 2 stl

Tuesday’s Game to Watch: Toronto (47-33) @ Detroit (51-29) The Raptors will get an excellent opportunity to get a feel for the post season waters as they travel to Detroit for an early battle against the Eastern Conference’s best team. Both teams will probably take it kind of easy during the game in order to avoid any unnecessary injuries before the playoffs but it could still prove to be a great game of chess between the two coaches. This could be a preview of a second round series between these two in a couple of weeks but Chris Bosh and TJ Ford will have to survive a series in the unfamiliar post season before they can start hoping of knocking off the former champs.

Buzzer Beater: One day after the Spurs’ Tim Duncan got teched up, thrown out and supposedly called out, Gregg Popovich decided that he wasn’t going to take any chances with his stars’ futures before the post season. So, last night as the Spurs took on the Grizzlies, Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili all enjoyed the entire game from the comfort of the bench. Well, enjoyed might not be the most accurate term considering that Memphis grabbed a 10 point victory, 101-91. But what can realistically be expected when 55 points per game plus a bunch of rebounds, assists, steals and blocks are riding the pine? Hopefully James “Flight” White enjoyed what will most likely be his only chance to ever lead the Spurs in scoring after he tied Michael Finley with 17 points on Monday.

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NBA General

Around the Rim: The Mamba goes cold as the Clippers explode

1. Hollywood comeback story
The Clippers looked like a team that was ready to start the off season early as fell down to the Lakers by 17 points before ripping off a huge fourth quarter to give the Clips an unbelievable 118-110 victory that breathed life back into their season. Kobe Bryant put up another 50-point performance but he was ice cold in the final quarter to give the Lakers their third consecutive loss. Bryant has now put together nine separate 50-point games this year which matches Wilt Chamberlain’s nine 50’s in the 1964-65 season. But Corey Maggette’s career-high 39 proved to be more important in the contest, and with the win, the Clippers jumped over Golden State to grab the eighth and final spot in the West.

2. Mrs. Ham tried to bring home the bacon illegally

It’s not uncommon for an athlete to smile and wave into the lens of a camera when someone puts it in front of their face. And the two most common words that accompany such an opportunity of national exposure are most certainly “Hi Mom.” Well, former NBAer Darvin Ham might be reduced to buying courtside tickets and dropping the camera guy a 20 dollar bill in order to get a little face time if he wants to converse with his momma after she was charged with arson and insurance fraud. Apparently, instead of trading in her 1986 Mercedes-Benz to the dealership, she decided to torch the car and make a false insurance claim. If that’s not bad enough Darvin’s mom, Wilmer Jones Ham, is the former mayor of Saginaw, Michigan. Hopefully she has a couple of friends who are lenient judges.

3. Cleveland rocks Jersey
The Cleveland Cavaliers might have the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference, but thanks to a 94-76 victory over the Nets last night, the Cavs locked up home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs. Oh, yea, and they have a pretty good player on their squad in LeBron James which lifts Cleveland’s fan’s spirits even higher. LBJ put together a 35 point performance that included a 15 point outburst in the third quarter of the Cavs blowout. The Cavaliers might have been to the post season last year but that doesn’t mean they are familiar with the territory. This will only be the team’s second playoff appearance since 1998.

Thursday’s Player of the Day: Corey Maggette @ Los Angeles Lakers 43 min, 39 pts (FG: 10-15, 3FG: 2-3, FT: 17-24), 8 reb, 9 ast, 4 stl, 1 blk

Friday’s Game to Watch: Detroit (51-27) @ Toronto (45-33) It’s a battle between two of the top clubs in the Eastern Conference and a possible second round preview with a great power forward match-up thrown in as well. The Pistons have won three straight and captured the top seed in the East, giving them home-court advantage all the way through the East finals. Chris Bosh has led the Raptors on a four game winning streak but he will have to contend with the pesky defense of Rasheed Wallace before claiming a fifth straight victory. Toronto is hungry, like Detroit a few years back, but completely inexperienced in playoff situations. Hopefully they can use this big game, late season atmosphere to mentally prepare for what’s to come. Otherwise, this might be a serious make up call to the Raptors that they still have a lot more to prove than simply winning a division crown.

Buzzer Beater: It’s going to be a bittersweet goodbye for the New Orleans Hornets tonight as they host the Denver Nuggets in the final game to be played by the franchise in Oklahoma City. There’s still a slight chance that the Hornets could fill the arena in the postseason but the odds are not with them. So, in all reality, this will be the final game played in a city that took in a team that had no where else to turn. Nobody would have ever considered that Oklahoma could handle a professional sports franchise, but if any good has come out of the relocation of the team it is that it became crystal clear that Oklahoma City loves them some B-ball. And now they are getting mentioned with Las Vegas and St. Louis as possible future franchise destinations. Geez, who woulda thunk it?

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NBA General

Around the Rim: Memphis wins again?!


1. The Grizz are rollin’!
For the first time all season, the Grizzlies have finally won two games in a row after they knocked off the Lakers on Tuesday and then the Trailblazers last night. Pau Gasol has been playing some excellent ball lately but it took an entire team effort to overcome Zach Randolph and his 43 point, 17 rebound performance. What’s even better fot Memphis is that they actually have a shot at extending this win streak. Tonight they will to Seattle to play a banged up Sonics squad before receiving a pretty tough test Golden State on Sunday. The Warriors sit just one game out of the playoff picture, so they should ready to put away the Gizz if they truly want to make a post season appearance.

2. Total eclipse of the Suns

It’s not very often that the Suns are the team getting run up and down the court by their opponents, but that was exactly what happened last night as the Warriors gave Phoenix a taste of their own medicine. Golden State opened the game by scoring 45 points in the first quarter before finishing the first half with a whopping 77 points and a 14 point advantage. The Suns struggled to fill the hoop with as much frequency as their opponents until the fourth quarter when they managed to outscore the Warriors 18 points but that was only good enough to get them within five points at the final buzzer. The Suns have been slipping in the standings lately, thanks to a 6-4 record over their last 10 games, and now they are just two games ahead of the Spurs for second place in the West. Next Thursday the two teams will get together for what should be a barn burner in San Antonio.

3. Chicago showdown
With a two point victory over the Pistons last night, Chicago was able to clinch a post season spot. Ben Wallace had a big game against his old team and helped to reverse a trend that has been plaguing the Bulls since Michael Jordan retired. Since 1998, the Pistons have owned the Bulls inside of the house that Jordan built, also known as the United Center, to the tune of winning 15 of their last 18 in the building. Now, Big Ben knows what it is like to be on both winning sides of the rivalry, but he almost didn’t get the chance to enjoy it. With under three minutes remaining in the game, Ben Gordon went to the line and missed three consecutive free throws which left the door open for the Pistons to take over. But Gordon lucked out and these two could just be warming up for a seven game series in the playoffs.

Thursday’s Player of the Day: Zach Randolph vs. Memphis 40 min, 43 pts (FG: 16-26, FT: 11-16), 17 reb, 5 ast, 2 blk

Friday’s Game to Watch: Utah (47-24) @ San Antonio (51-20) The Spurs almost dropped an easy game against the Hornets on Wednesday, but they had a late rally and won their fifth game in a row to pull within 2 ½ games of Phoenix for the number two spot in the Western Conference playoff picture. But they are going to have to play for a full 48 minutes against the Jazz if they expect to pick up a victory. Utah has already wrapped up their division title and they have won four of their last five games thanks to Carlos Boozer who has been putting up some of his best games of the season of late. There are so many great individual match-ups when these two teams get together, hopefully we can see these two hook it up at some point in the post season.

Buzzer Beater: In October, the Cavaliers and the Magic will be meeting up for a pair of preseason contests on a neutral court in China. Talk about a road trip! Good thing there are a lot of youngsters on these squads who can recover from jetlag in a jiffy. Dwight Howard and his boys will be playing an additional game against the Chinese national team in between the other contests. But this should be becoming routine for the NBA starved nation, after all, David Stern did send their native son Yao Ming along with the Rockets to play against the Kings back in 2004. And next year the United States will send an outfit of the NBA’s best and brightest talent to Beijing for the Olympics. They did qualify for the Olympics, didn’t they?

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NBA General

Around the Rim: It’s all in the family


1. That’s my boy
Rumor has it that if Boise State senior Coby Karl isn’t drafted, he could still end up making a roster. And the team that is already showing interest in the mediocre just happens to be coached by his dad, George Karl. Can you say nepotism? Coby isn’t expected to be picked during the two rounds of the draft and ESPN doesn’t even have him ranked in their top 100 suspects but for some reason daddy seems to think his little boy would be exactly what the Nuggets need. “Right now, my feeling is he fits what we need,” George Karl said. “We need kind of a playmaking bigger player.” Um, have you ever seen your kid play coach? Coby is a decent player in the WAC but we wouldn’t exactly consider him a “playmaking bigger player.” Coby has said that it would be difficult to accept an invitation from his old man, but when it comes down to playing in the NBA versus getting a real “nine to five” the choice becomes pretty easy. Geez, it must be nice having daddy there to save your NBA aspirations.

2. King for a week

Gerald Wallace of the Charlotte Bobcats is the current player of the week. Wow, that’s a sentence I never expected to be writing, but that’s not to say that he doesn’t deserve the honor. The Bobcats were only 2-2 during the week but without Wallace they would have probably gone 0-4. He averaged 20.3 points, 7.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 2.33 blocks and 1.33 steals over the span and put up a tremendous all around effort in a 108-100 victory over one the Eastern Conference’s best teams in the Cavs. Wallace had four assists, five blocks and 11 rebounds to go along with 27 points. And for Wallace, his great performances couldn’t have come at a better time considering that he’s going to be a free agent when this summer rolls around. Cha-ching!

3. Do you believe in miracles!?
After serving a one game suspension, the Pistons were thrilled to have Rasheed Wallace back in the lineup against the Nuggets last night. Especially after he grabbed a loose ball and nailed a 60 footer to force overtime. During a time out, right before Denver was to inbound the ball with a 98-95 lead and 1.5 seconds remaining on the clock, Flip Saunders predicted that something like that could happen. “I told them that strange things happen,” he said. “We might as well try to get something crazy.” And after Tayshaun Prince tipped the inbounds pass, Wallace made “something crazy” become a reality. Wallace then went on to score several big buckets in OT and led the Pistons to a 113-109 victory. Watch out Chauncey, Sheed is gunning for your moniker of “Mr. Big Shot.” Here’s the video.

Monday’s Player of the Day: Carlos Boozer vs. Washington 36 min, 41 pts (FG: 15-21, FT: 11-14), 16 reb, 2 ast

Tuesday’s Game to Watch: Memphis (17-54) @ Los Angeles Lakers (38-32) Sure, Memphis sucks but Kobe Bryant is definitely worth the price of admission. Bryant has redefined “showtime” of late after he ripped off 268 points in five games. Oh yea, he also dropped 60 points on the Grizz last Thursday and that was in Memphis; tonight’s contest will be held in the friendly confines of the Staples Center. Historically, Bryant has used Memphis as his own personal punching bag. But, then again, who doesn’t post career numbers against the Grizzlies. While the game will probably not be much of a contest, at least you can watch Pau Gasol as he continues return to his former All-Star form. In March, Gasol has averaged over 20 points, 10 rebounds, three assists and two blocks while Memphis has gone a pathetic 2-10.

Buzzer Beater: With 5:43 remaining in the first half of last night’s game between the Heat and the Hawks, Shaquille O’Neal hit a free throw of all things to surpass the retired Reggie Miller and become the 12th most dominant scorer in NBA history. The free throw gave Shaq 25,280 points for his career after entering the game with a 26 point per game average over 15 seasons in the league. Just imagine how many points the Diesel could be sitting on if he could hit his freebies with any consistency. But after the game, Shaq seemed to be more excited about the opportunity to use one of his self-given nicknames than he was about the record. “I’m known as The Big Baryshnikov,” O’Neal said in reference to a particularly hard foul that sent O’Neal tumbling to the ground where he performed an impressive 350 pound backward summersault before bouncing back to his feet.

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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.

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NBA General

Around the Rim: The Human Torch


1. He did it again!
Only three players in the history of the NBA have scored 50 points or more in three consecutive games; make that four players. Last night Kobe Bryant joined Michael Jordan, Elgin Baylor and Wilt Chamberlain in annals of the league after he scored 60 points against Memphis last night to give him a three game total of 175 points (65 versus Portland; 50 versus Minnesota). Nobody has scored more points in a trio of games in the last 40 years and that was his second 60 point game in his last three outings, giving him four for his career which ties Michael Jordan for the second most ever. Only Wilt the Stilt has more with 32 games of at least 60. Bryant was on fire as he drained 20-of-37 from the field and 17-of-18 from the line as he scored 24 points by the half and 43 after three quarters. It’s a disgrace that Bryant probably won’t sniff the MVP because he’s not on the best team in the league.

2. One day closer to the slammer

Some predictable news was handed down to Ron Artest on Thursday as a Placer County Superior Court judge ordered Artest to stay at least 100 yards away from his wife and children until further notice is given. That should be more than enough space to keep his old lady out of slapping range. One of the only things that Artest said during yesterday’s official proceedings was “no” to the question of if he owns any firearms. You do know what being “under oath” means, right Ron? And talk about a bad day, after getting out of court Artest had planned to meet up with his team in Phoenix for a game against the Suns but his plane was diverted because of thunderstorms. Then after some more delays, Artest was told to just go home by Kings GM Geoff Petrie. The team found out shortly before tip off that they would be without Artest and then promptly got blown out by 18 points.

3. Looking for a top pick or just crappy?
Milwaukee needs some victories; they just don’t want to get any until next year. In a late season lottery push, the Bucks have sidelined two of their most important pieces for the remainder of the season. Andrew Bogut has been told his season is over because of a sprained left foot while Charlie Villanueva will have to have surgery on a nagging right shoulder injury. There’s not a lot you can do about needing surgery, but automatically benching a player for the remainder of the season based on a sprain is a bit odd. Currently only Boston and Memphis are more pathetic than Milwaukee, but not by much. In fact, the loss of two starters could be just the thing the Bucks need to slide all the way to the bottom of the list.

Thursday’s Player of the Day: Amare Stoudemire vs. Sacramento 37 min, 33 pts (FG: 12-17, FT: 9-16), 21 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl, 3 blk

Friday’s Game to Watch: Detroit (43-24) @ San Antonio (47-20) This is the third time that the Pistons will be playing a Texas team in their last four games with losses to both Dallas and Houston. But Detroit is still playing some great ball and they have won six of their last eight games as they enter into the rematch of the 2005 Finals. But the Bad Boys are going to have their hands full against the Spurs who are 23-9 at home this year. After winning a season-high 13 straight games, SA has been on a bit of a slide losing two of three since. But Tim Duncan is in playoff form as he is back to his old ways with great post play and defense.

Buzzer Beater: If Phil Jackson is turning down the services of his old superstar as the team enters the end of the season, then it’s probably time for Scottie Pippen to give up his dream of ever playing professionally again. Seems like Jackson would know better than anybody whether Pip was in game shape, after all he did win six rings with guy. Somebody out there still might give Pippen a shot, but the decision by Jackson will probably be a big factor to look at for all the other interested franchises.

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NBA General

Around the Rim: Welcome to the neighborhood


1. San Antonio just got bucked
Last night was one of the greatest games that Coach K has ever been a part of. No, not the Coach K that choked away Duke’s first round game of the big dance for the first time since 1996. We’re talking about coach Larry Krystkowiak who snapped San Antonio’s 13 game winning streak in his first game as head coach of the Milwaukee Bucks after Terry Stotts was fired on Wednesday. Well, a little credit has to go to Michael Redd who chipped in 29 points, five rebounds and five assists in the upset. Stotts was even able to make Andrew Bogut keep his fingers to himself. The win is nice but when a team has only won nine of their last 36 games, there’s really nowhere to go but up.

2. Miami’s heat check

Dallas’ 17 game winning streak is long gone and has since been replaced with a two game losing streak, and San Antonio had their 13 game win streak snapped by the Bucks last night which leaves Miami as the possessor of the league’s longest consecutive string of victories. The Heat were supposed to struggle without their superstar point guard in the lineup. But instead of flaming out (insert your own John Amaechi reference here), Miami has been torching opponents and have slowly worked their way up the playoff ladder in the East. With a win over Sacramento tomorrow, the Heat can grab the lead in their division via a 2-1 head-to-head tiebreaker with Washington and vault all the way from their current seed (sixth) to either third or fourth in the Eastern Conference.

3. Say cheese!
Scot Pollard took a brief moment during a 20 second timeout in the midst of Cleveland’s decimation of Indiana on Sunday to let the world in on his personal message to the future of America. As a camera passed, Pollard moved into frame and said, “Hey kids, do drugs.” There’s been no confirmation on if Pollard was actually inebriated at the time of the remarks but we’re guessing he probably had a nice buzz going. The white Dennis Rodman minus the skills has since apologized and said the comment was a “bad joke.” But we really know that the guy with the dyed locks, funny hairdos and ridiculous facial hair is the most comical punch line.

In other camera related news, the last time Mark Cuban was seen he was shoving a camera after storming across the court following the Mavs double overtime heartbreaker to the Suns. So far, the league has not come down on Cubes for the incident but you know that David Stern is frantically thumbing through all the latest manuals on rules, regulations, policies and procedures just scanning for a fine or suspension to slap on the league’s most annoying owner.

Thursday’s Player of the Day: Kobe Bryant @ Denver 38 min, 25 pts (FG: 9-19, 3FG: 0-5, FT: 7-8), 5 reb, 9 ast

Friday’s Game to Watch: Detroit (41-22) @ Phoenix (50-14) This could be a preview of the championship series later this year. The Suns are hotter than they have been all year after pulling out the biggest game of the season against Dallas earlier in the week and the euphoria from such an epic contest could be the momentum that sends Phoenix off on another long win streak. But the Pistons will be no pushover as they hold an impressive 22-10 record away from Detroit. The Pistons have so many people who can step up when it counts and now Chris Webber has become a valuable offensive contributor to the cohesive unit. But it will take a trademark Detroit defensive effort to shut down the trio of Steve Nash, Amare Stoudemire and Shawn Marion.

Buzzer Beater: You have to believe in yourself in order to achieve your goals and nobody personifies this idea better than Shawn Marion. After the double overtime instant classic against Dallas on Wednesday, Marion was more than happy to share his opinion about his performance. “I think I should be the defensive player of the year,” he said. “I’m going to do my own publicity.” At least he’ll be endorsing a quality candidate. Marion guards everyone from Kobe Bryant to Kevin Garnett and averages two blocks and two steals to go along with 10 rebounds. But just so there’s no confusion, Marion is more than willing to clarify his stance on the matter. “Defensive player of the year, hands down,” Marion said of himself.

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NBA General

Around the Rim: Playoff Picture Begins To Come Into Focus


1. One Down, 15 to Go
With a 13 point victory over the Nets, the Mavericks not only extended their current winning streak to 16 (23 straight at home), but they tied 1982-83 76ers and the 1971-72 Lakers with the fourth best record after 60 games (51-9). And while it was only a matter of time, the Mavs also became the first team in the league to clinch a playoff spot. And sitting in the front row during the game was a trophy hungry Scottie Pippen who seems more than willing to provide his services to the Mavericks during their postseason run. But how much more talent does Mark Cuban need on one roster? In last night’s game, all five starters finished with double digits in points while two more players came off the bench to score at least ten.

2. Melo Mopes as the Nuggets Nosedive
Allen Iverson seems to be happy in his new Rocky Mountain surroundings but his fellow All-Star is probably not as cheery about his current situation. Denver coach George Karl has been critical of Carmelo Anthony’s selfishness and says that he fails to play smart, team basketball. In fact, Karl is so tired of Melo’s self-centered antics that benching the league’s top scorer is the coach’s next step. As expected, Anthony has been the team’s top scorer for almost every game since returning from his 15 game suspension, but the Nuggets have only won nine of their last 21 games and are in serious jeopardy of falling out of the playoff picture. All the pieces are there but Anthony just hasn’t developed the ability to lead his team, which is exactly what Karl is desperately trying to draw out of his superstar. It would be a ballsy move by Karl, but maybe riding the pine will pain Melo to the point of maturity.

3. Yes, We’re Talking About Practice
So, what do you do when as one of the worst teams in the NBA you suddenly rip off a four game winning streak? Well, if you’re a member of the Philadelphia 76ers then you take in a game of paintball at the local field. Much like a group of ten year olds at a birthday party, the Sixers were running, jumping, diving and hiding from each other on Tuesday as they currently sit six games out of the final playoff spot. Not to be a buzzkill, but shouldn’t these guys be practicing? After all, a four game win streak doesn’t exactly cancel out the team’s 18-38 start to the season.

Tuesday’s Player of the Day: Kobe Bryant @ Minnesota 53 min, 40 pts (FG: 13-30, 3FG: 3-10, FT: 11-13), 13 reb, 8 ast, 2 stl, 3 blk

Wednesday’s Game to Watch: Cleveland (35-25) @ Detroit (37-21) It’s a division battle, a budding rivalry and a showdown between the East’s two best teams all wrapped into one. The Pistons are three games ahead of the Cavs for the conference crown but it’s Cleveland who has won three of their last four games. Nobody has been hotter than LeBron James over the past few weeks but the Pistons notorious defense could put an end to James’ streak. Detroit seems to finally be cooling down (1-2 in their last three games) after going on a run of 15 wins in the team’s first 19 games with Chris Webber. The modern day Bad Boys need to make the remainder of this season count because Chauncey Billups has said that he will consider joining the Grizzlies when he becomes a free agent in the offseason.

Buzzer Beater: Dammit! Kobe did it again, and I’m not referring to his 40 point effort. In last night’s game against the Timberwolves, Bryant delivered a blatant forearm to the head of Marko Jaric on the follow-through of a jumper with under a minute remaining in the fourth quarter. The scene was eerily similar to the one in LA about five weeks ago when Manu Ginobili took an “unintentional” elbow from the Mamba. Both the players spent significant time crumpled on the hardwood after being hit by the supposedly legitimate release. Bryant might think his cheap shot tactic is smooth, but his intent is obvious and malicious and the scenario is becoming far too frequent. Go get him Stern!

Categories
NBA General

Around the Rim: Livingston’s Road to Recovery


1. In Kneed of Therapy
Shaun Livingston will miss the remainder of the season after ripping his knee to shreds in a game versus the Bobcats. If you just heard the diagnosis, you’d probably think we were talking about Daunte Culpepper or Carson Palmer. The MRI on Livingston’s left knee showed tears in the anterior cruciate ligament, posterior cruciate ligament, medial collateral ligament and lateral meniscus. If you saw the injury, you’d probably think you were reliving the Joe Theisman twig snapping. In addition to his ligament damage, Livingston also dislocated his patella. But the Clippers weren’t the only ones receiving bad news on Tuesday. New York also found out that they will lose their starting shooting guard. Jamal Crawford has a stress fracture in his right ankle that will require season-ending surgery. Oh well, those are the breaks.

2. Colossal Collapse
The Suns were down by 18 points at one point in the third quarter last night against the Pacers, but Phoenix came roaring back in the fourth quarter and ended up taking their 14 straight victory on the road against the Eastern Conference this year. With only one interconference road game remaining on the Suns schedule, they are one win away from becoming the first team in NBA history to go undefeated in the category. Indiana was rolling right along until 4:24 remained in the third quarter when they were leading Phoenix 77-59. Over the remainder of the game, the Suns scorched Indiana with a 45-15 run as Conseco Fieldhouse witnessed one of the most pathetic Pacers collapses of all time.

3. No Alumni Love in Detroit
Bill Laimbeer is upset that he didn’t receive any consideration for the available assistant coaching positions in Detroit before the season began. The Pistons didn’t even interview Laimbeer before hiring Terry Porter and Dave Cowens. One thing Laimbeer hasn’t done since retiring is mellow out, which could have something to do with why the Pistons don’t want to touch the original Bad Boy. Hell, Laimbeer was yelling at the referees during the worthless Shooting Stars competition over All-Star weekend. You would have thought he was back in the Finals again the way he was going off on the refs. Maybe if he could settle down a bit in his old age more NBA teams would give him consideration.

Tuesday’s Player of the Day: Jermaine O’Neal vs. Phoenix 40 min, 28 pts (FG: 13-24, FT: 2-2), 13 reb, 7 ast, 2 stl, 6 blk

Wednesday’s Game to Watch: Toronto (31-26) @ Houston (35-21) Tracy McGrady is making some noise for the MVP award as he has the Rockets in fifth place in a tough Western Conference. Since Yao Ming went down with an injury, T-Mac has stepped up big in his absence and Houston has won 10 of their last 15 games because of it. The Rockets are 20-8 at home this year, which is where they will host the Atlantic Division leading Toronto Raptors tonight. Chris Bosh has been making a run at MVP for the entire season as he averages 23 points and 11 rebounds per game. Despite losing to San Antonio on Monday, the Raptors have been playing excellent ball lately and could end up making some noise in the Eastern Conference’s postseason.

Buzzer Beater: One of the concerns brought up about the NBA’s All-Star game being held in New Orleans next year had to do with the lack of police protection. Now, does this speak poorly of the city or of the league? How many police officers does it take to handle David Stern’s fans? This is New Orleans isn’t it? They put on a little booze infested party every year called Mardi Gras that doesn’t exactly draw the most civilized of crowds. But after large crowds and additional crime swept through the streets of Las Vegas a few weeks ago, the league and city are worried about whether the recovering city is capable of hosting such a large event. I guess New Orleans can handle boobs and booze, just not ballers and bling.