Categories
NBA General

Which NBA superstars could make great knockout artists?

We were as shocked as the next guy to see Kendall Gill provide a little guest commentary during ESPN Friday Night Fights In Your Corner, but there he was. But, hey, the former NBA journeyman does own a 3-0 record as a cruiserweight, making him a shoe-in for best pro baller turned brawler. Gill’s appearance got The Caveman Network to thinking about what other NBA stars could make it in the fight game. Here’s their top five:

5. Richard Hamilton : Yeah, he’s skinny, but so is Paul Williams. Hamilton’s fluidity and conditioning are something to behold, and he’s stronger than he looks. Just like he punishes would-be defenders by running them through screens, Hamilton would torture opponents in the ring with his great conditioning and work rate, just like Williams, aka “The Punisher”.

4. Kobe Bryant : His competitive ability means he will technically master whatever combat sport he dedicates himself to. He will also carry the killer instinct from the court to the ring or cage. Just like he plays basketball like a game of chess, he will be a chessboxer in the ring.

3. Ron Artest : He was the main villain in the Malice in the Palace. He boxes. He broke Michael Jordan’s ribs. He’s a little crazy. He’s jacked (6-7, 240 lbs). Imagine Rampage Jackson with a loose screw in his head.

2. Allen Iverson : If one of them were his main sport, he could be great in either boxing or MMA. He’s a born athlete with great ability and instincts. He’s wiry strong, lightning quick and super-coordinated. He tops it all with long arms and unbelievable creativity.

1. Latrell Sprewell : He’s not in the NBA anymore, but nevertheless, Spree has and lean and mean body to dominate almost any sport he puts his mind to. He’s got a compact torso, long limbs, and not a wasted bone or muscle for peak athletic performance. He’s explosive, both in terms of quickness and temperament. He’s the type of guy you just don’t mess with. Whenever he enters the ring or cage, he will be looking for the kill, and his body will help him get it.

Of course, we can’t forget about Stephon Marbury. He already acts punch-drunk and with his new tat, he’s working on his Iron Mike mentality. But if we’re talking about a kung-fu street fight, it’s Bruce Bowen all the way.

Links:

[The Caveman Network]: Cool Out!: Top 5 NBA Players Likely to Make Great Fighters

Categories
New Orleans Hornets

Around the Rim: Hornets swarm the Spurs


1. Pressure? What pressure?
Just when it looked like the pressures of inexperience were finally catching up with the playoff green New Orleans Hornets, they stepped up again against the veteran defending champs. The Spurs owned a three-point advantage at halftime, just like in Games 1 and 2, but promptly had their socks blown off in the third period, just like in Games 1 and 2, when David West helped led his team on a 28-11 run in the quarter. By the time the final buzzer sounded, New Orleans had a 101-79 victory and a 3-2 lead in the series. The Spurs had no answer for West who recorded playoff career-highs with 38 points, 14 rebounds and five blocks on the same night San Antonio reserve Robert Horry played in his 238th postseason game, the most in league history. The Spurs philosophy of shutting down Peja Stojakovic (3-8 FG, 9 pts) offensively with Bruce Bowen worked once again, but, once again, they had no such luck against West or Chris Paul who finished with a 22-point, 14-assist double-double. Tim Duncan could not find his range, missing 13 of his 18 shots, but still posted 23 rebounds while Manu Ginobili erred his way to a team-high 20 points on 5-of-15 shooting. Game 6 is on Thursday in San Antonio where it will be do-or-die time for the home team.

2. It’s over!

In the final seconds of the game, Hedo Turkoglu went for a dunk that would have brought Orlando within a point of the Pistons. But Tayshaun Prince swooped in to make a game-changing block, forcing the Magic to foul and Detroit strolled into the Eastern Conference Finals with a 91-86 win. The Pistons are playing in their sixth consecutive conference finals, tying them with three other teams for the third most in NBA history after defeating Orlando in five games. Despite playing without Chauncey Billups for the final two contests, the Pistons were still the superior team, led by the starters who combined for all but four of the team’s points in the series closer. Richard Hamilton was perfect from the free-throw line, hitting all 16 of his attempts en route to a game-high 31 points and Antonio McDyess was outstanding with 17 points and 11 rebounds. Hamilton also became the franchise’s all-time leader in postseason points with 2,282 in 110 career games. For the Magic, it’s another disappointing to finish to an impressive season. They continue to take baby steps or in Dwight Howard’s case, man-child steps forward, but until Howard truly becomes the unstoppable offensive threat he is capable of being then these early exits will continue to occur.

3. Pain in the back
Going into Game 5 of the Lakers/Jazz series on Wednesday night, there’s really only one question that matters: How’s Kobe’s back? The MVP was in obvious pain during Game 4, but he still managed to almost record a triple-double in the loss, scoring 33 points to go with eight rebounds and 10 assists. So, in order to make sure their star was as close to 100 percent as possible, the Lakers rested Bryant during practice on Tuesday. Bryant said he would be “fine” for the momentum swinging game tonight which will give the winner a 3-2 advantage. We’re expecting a big game out of Bryant tonight; after all, if he can play with the weight of a sexual-assault trial on his back then a little tweak should be no problem at all.

Tuesday’s Player of the Day: David West vs. San Antonio 44 min, 38 pts (FG: 16-25, FT: 6-7), 14 reb, 5 ast, 2 stl, 5 blk

Buzzer Beater: After carrying bags and bringing in the doughnuts for an entire season, it’s time to give the NBA’s rookies a little love. The league’s All-Rookie teams were announced yesterday and the Hawks Al Horford was the only unanimous selection on the first squad. Surprisingly, the NBA Rookie of the Year Kevin Durant received only 57 of a possible 58 votes. Joining the hands-down best rooks in the game was Luis Scola from Houston, Al Thornton with the Clippers and Durant’s teammate Jeff Green. Second teamers included Jamario Moon (Tor), Juan Carlos Navarro (Mem), Thaddeus Young (Phi), Rodney Stuckey (Det) and Carl Landry (Hou).

Categories
Boston Celtics

Around the Rim: The streak snappers


1. It’s over!
Despite reeling off a 22-game win streak, questions regarding the Rocket’s legitimacy amongst the league’s elite are still floating around. There are no such questions surrounding Boston. The Celtics put an end to Houston’s record-chasing run in remarkable fashion on Tuesday night, pounding the Rockets in their own gym by 20 points, 94-74. Kevin Garnett finished with a 22-point, 11-rebound double-double while Paul Pierce tallied 20 points as Boston ripped the heart out of its second Texas team in two days. There’s no doubt the Rockets are a lot better off now than they were two months ago, but all it takes now is a little slipup and their two-month tear becomes meaningless as eighth place Golden States sits a mere four games behind. This is indeed the wild, wild West.

2. Detroit outfoxes the fox

We knew the Nuggets were capable of scoring 120 points, but we had no clue Detroit could post 136 in a regulation game! We would say the Pistons had a horrible defensive outing by giving up so many points at home, but, frankly, we can’t get over the fact they blew past the century mark, recording 73 points in the opening half. Richard Hamilton was responsible for 24 while Rasheed Wallace added 21. In all, seven players reached double-digits in the highest four quarter outburst since 1990 when Detroit spanked Orlando 140-109. Of course, Flip Saunders wasn’t surprised by his club’s strange change of pace. He knows first hand how good the Pistons really are.

That’s the thing — we don’t have to play one style,” said Saunders. “We went out and played San Antonio in a grind-it-out game, and this was a little different. We’re not afraid to get out and run. We had 42 assists tonight. That’s a lot of assists.

You’re flipping right it is, Flip! In fact, Denver recorded just two more assists in its 168-116 pounding of Seattle just one game ago.

3. Lakers hold on by their fingernails
The Lakers almost let a 25-point third quarter lead disappear into a puff of smoke, but they held on for a 102-100 victory in Big D. Kobe Bryant finished with 29 points, but only posted nine in the entire second half, allowing the Mavericks to make their dramatic comeback. Dirk Nowitzki recorded 35 points,11 rebounds and five blocks and was crucial down the stretch while Jason Kidd laid an egg with one point on 0-of-3 shooting and seven assists. Los Angeles tied Houston for the conference’s best record by snapping Dallas five-game win streak. Next up for the Mavs is a contest against the Celtics on Thursday night.

Tuesday’s Player of the Day: Dirk Nowitzki vs. Los Angeles Lakers 43 min, 35 pts (FG: 11-23, 3FG: 3-6, FT: 10-12), 11 reb, 1 ast, 5 blk

Wednesday’s Game to Watch: Denver (40-27) @ Philadelphia (33-34)
Normally we reserve this space for the day’s best matchup, but not today. Today we’re talking about practice, uh, we mean Allen Iverson’s return to the city where he became a superstar. For the first time since being traded back in December of 2006, the Answer is heading into Philadelphia wearing a different jersey. Simply seeing Iverson in a Nuggets jersey is still rather shocking, even after all this time, but to see him wear it on the court where he used to electrify the world is going to be odd to say the least. Hopefully you have your earplugs ready because A.I.’s ovation should shake the rafters.

Buzzer Beater: You’d think after all his loyal years of service in Detroit the franchise could at least remember how to spell Rip Hamilton’s name correctly.

Hamilton started the game wearing a jersey that had his last name spelled “Hamiltion,” but changed it during the first quarter.

Categories
Cleveland Cavaliers

Around the Rim: Special delivery driver


1. James nets 51
On Tuesday, there were no high speeds recorded or tickets issued to the NBA’s young King, but LeBron James definitely had the throttle down against Memphis. James scored a season-high 51 points in a 132-124 road win over the Grizzlies. In addition to his scoring, James grabbed eight rebounds and dished out nine assists. The last person to go for 50 points, eight boards and eight dimes was Gilbert Arenas (60-8-8) against the Lakers in 2006. With the victory, Cleveland is two games over .500 (20-18) for the first time since going on a horrendous skid in which they lost 10 of 13 games beginning in late November.

2. Suns slide

When Sam Cassell is on top of his game, even the Clippers become tough to beat; just ask Phoenix. Cassell finished with a game-high 32 points to go with seven assists and the Clippers beat Phoenix 97-90. Los Angeles took over in the third quarter, outscoring the Suns 25-17, and managed to hold on over the final 12 minutes. Amare Stoudemire had 29 points, Steve Nash got 13 assists and Shawn Marion finished with a big double-double (14 pts, 17 reb) in a losing effort. The loss knocked Phoenix all the way down from first in the Western Conference to fifth behind Portland, Dallas, San Antonio and the new top dogs out west, the Los Angeles Lakers.

3. 76ers finally show a little heart
The sun shines on a dog’s butt every now and again and on Tuesday, those warm, golden beams landed directly on the 76ers derriere. Philadelphia trailed by 16 points to the Rockets in the second half, but somehow found a way to rip off a 37-22 beatdown in the fourth quarter and snapped their seven-game losing streak with a 111-107 victory in Houston. Their last win was also on the road, against the lowly Sonics on New Years Eve. Andre Miller scored 26 points and Samuel Dalembert finished with 19 while Louis Williams (18 pts) and Andre Iguodala (17 pts) had solid games as well. Yao Ming & Co. hope they just played their final game with Tracy McGrady who has missed the previous 10 contests with an injured knee. T-Mac is expected to be back in the lineup on Saturday against the Spurs.

Tuesday’s Player of the Day: LeBron James @ Memphis 47 min, 51 pts (FG: 18-28, 3FG: 6-12, FT: 9-16), 8 reb, 9 ast, 3 stl, 1 blk

Wednesday’s Game to Watch: Portland (23-14) @ Boston (30-6)
If there is such a thing as a “good” time to play the Boston Celtics then this would be it. Boston is currently riding a two-game losing streak, their first of the year, and has lost three of their previous four games. Before their current slide, the Cs were 29-3. Portland on the other hand is probably dying for an opportunity at the league’s best in order to prove their current 18-2 streak isn’t a fluke. Unlike Boston, the Trail Blazers started the season in a funk, going 5-12 before embarking on their current tear.

Buzzer Beater: The Pistons bounced back from an ugly defeat at the hands of New York and soundly routed the Raptors 103-89. Richard Hamilton scored a season-high 39 points in the game, including a career-high five 3-pointers. After the game, he let everyone know that anything in the corners and behind the arc is his and you gotta pay rent if you wind up there.

That’s my real estate in the corner,” he said. “It’s like Monopoly. I’ve got four houses and a hotel on there. It’s what I do.

Categories
NBA General

Around the Rim: Seattle’s Bust



Still choking after all these years.

1. Missed it by that much
The rooks came out to play last night and gave the Bad Boys all they could handle, outscoring them by eight points over the final 24 minutes, but it wasn’t enough to get the SuperSonics their first win of the season. Kevin Durant struggled again from the field (7-20) but managed to finish with a team-high 19 points while Georgetown’s Jeff Green racked up 17 points and eight rebounds off the bench. But unless you have a guy named Michael on your team, a 15-point deficit at the end of the first quarter is usually pretty tough to overcome. Paced by Rip Hamilton’s 32 points and Antonio McDyess’ 1996esque 15 and 15 double-double, the Pistons held on for a 107-103 victory. And if a 0-7 start, the worst in franchise history, isn’t bad enough, the Sonics can look forward to an upcoming road trip that includes five games in seven days.

2. Badda-Boom! Badda-Ming!

Life is good for Yao Ming. In 2008, the big fella is set to earn close to $14 million in salary alone, on Friday he got the better of end of the deal in the Yao-Yi showdown and on Sunday against the Bobcats he put up a season-high in points. Yao had 34 points, eight rebounds, four assists and three blocks as the Rockets squeaked by Charlotte 85-82 in the Bobcats den. Houston is now 6-1 on the year behind Yao’s double-double average (22.3 pts, 10.8 reb) and his 2.7 blocks per game. Memphis and the Lakers are the only two tune-ups left on the Rockets schedule before they head to San Antonio for a big-time, early-season face-off against the champs.

3. Wizards break losing spell
The Wizards finally got off the losers’ bench as all five starters finished in double figures as Washington rolled over Atlanta 101-90. It took a while for Washington to grab that first victory of the season after losing their first five games, but Atlanta has a way of making every team look like winners (unless you happen to be the Suns or Mavs). Gilbert Arenas was 5-of-15 from the floor for 18 points, but Caron Butler (24 pts, 8 ast) and Antawn Jamison (23 pts, 15 reb) more than made up for his off shooting performance. Unfortunately for Washington, Miami also grabbed their first victory, so the Wiz still own a share of the title “Worst Team in the East.”

Sunday’s Player of the Day: Richard Hamilton @ Seattle 41 min, 32 pts (FG: 11-21, 3FG: 3-6, FT: 7-9), 4 reb, 5 ast, 4 stl

Monday’s Game to Watch: Cleveland (4-3) @ Denver (4-3)
2003 was a pretty good year to be drafting superstars. Well, at least the bookends of the top three selections panned out successfully and on Monday we get to see the old friends renew their rivalry once again. The Nuggets are riding a two-game win streak after dropping three consecutive games. The duo of Carmelo Anthony and Allen Iverson have led the team in points and assists in every game thus far while Marcus Camby ranks in the top five in rebounds (14.3) and blocks (3.14) per game. LeBron James is coming off the wrong end of a Finals sweep and his team has been a bit funky so far, but other than that, he’s already in postseason form. Last night in a win over the Clips, LBJ had 22 points, five rebounds, eight assists and six steals while Big Z went 18 and 17 upside their heads in a 103-95 win.

Buzzer Beater: Last week, Gilbert Arenas was begging for your vote. No, Agent 0 wasn’t trying to do early All-Star campaigning. He was trying to become the ” Best Celebrity Blogger” at this year’s Weblog Awards and he needed your help to do so. Well, enough NBA fans responded to the Hibachi’s pleas and he just beat out Wil Wheaton of Star Trek: The Next Generation fame by .9 percent of the vote. We’re happy for Arenas’ big victory, but what makes us even more excited is seeing that Mark Cuban only rang up a measly 630 votes (2.4%). Listen Cubes, quit trying to be the best celebrity dancer or the best blogger and just get your boys to stop being the best postseason floppers in the Association.