Tag: tim duncan

Categories
Utah Jazz

Around the Rim: Home cooking rules the West


1. Jazz jump on Kobe’s back
Utah came roaring back on their home floor over the weekend, winning both games to tie their series against the Lakers after getting punked-out on the road. Despite having a bad back for most of the game, Kobe Bryant poured in 33 points and 10 assists, helping the Lakers force overtime where they fell to the Jazz 123-115. It’s difficult to say a team that gave up 115 points played good defense, but Utah did. Jerry Sloan’s boys forced 12 turnovers, blocked 10 shots and stole the ball seven times during the 53-minute grudge match. Deron Williams paced the Jazz with 29 points and 14 assists while Carlos Boozer (14 pts, 12 reb) and Mehmet Okur (18 pts, 11 reb) posted double-doubles. Game 5 should be a doozie back in L.A. on Wednesday. If the Jazz want to win this series, they are going to have to take a game on the road at some point.

2. Champs have new life

San Antonio came roaring back on their home floor over the weekend, winning both games to tie their series against the Hornets after getting punked-out on the road. (Hmmmm, this sounds familiar.) The Spurs finally looked like the defending champions against New Orleans on Sunday, pounding the Hornets 100-80 in a contest that was all but finished in the second quarter. San Antonio led by 2 points after one, 13 at the half and 24 by the end of the third quarter, tying the series at two games apiece. Tim Duncan was solid with 22 points, 15 boards and four swats while Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili chipped in a combined 36 points, 10 rebounds and 16 assists. San Antonio allowed Chris Paul (23 pts, 5 ast) to get his by design, choosing instead to limit his teammates. Bruce Bowen kept Peja Stojakovic out of synch, limiting the sharpshooter to just six points on 3-of-9 shooting. David West was well below average as well, missing 11 of his 15 attempts. Game 5 should be a doozie back in N.O. on Tuesday. If the Spurs want to win this series, they are going to have to take a game on the road at some point. (Hmmmm, this sounds familiar.)

3. Rick Carlisle heads to Texas
The Mavericks have a new head coach and his name is Rick Carlisle. The former Pacers and Pistons big cheese now heads to Big D where he hopes to change the fortunes of the franchise after a pair of brutal first round exits and one monumental Finals collapse. The news conference is set for Wednesday and the parties appear to be looking at a contract of four years worth a guaranteed $17.5 million. Carlisle has experienced similar disappointments in the postseason with a 30-32 combined record, but the guy was good when he had solid talent around him. With Dirk Nowitzki, Jason Kidd, Josh Howard and Jason Terry to play with, we expect Carlisle to lead the Mavs back to respectability after finishing seventh in the West this season. The mystery remains if he can get the soft Mavericks to show some guts in the postseason.

Sunday’s Player of the Day: Deron Williams vs. Los Angeles Lakers 44 min, 29 pts (FG: 9-13, 3FG: 3-4, FT: 8-8), 3 reb, 14 ast, 2 stl, 1 blk

Buzzer Beater:

“I’m not trying to be arrogant or cocky or anything like that,” said [Jameer] Nelson after the Magic fell to the Pistons 90-89 Saturday in Game 4. “But tonight, we let it slip out of our hands. Game 2 we let slip out of our hands.”

“We’re going to win this game in Detroit.”

Categories
San Antonio Spurs

Around the Rim: Double-double trouble


1. Spurs win in battle of big men
The Spurs appear to be completely over their mini slump. On Monday, they took care of the Magic in Orlando, winning by 10 points, 107-97, behind a game-high 28 points from Manu Ginobili off the bench. Michael Finley chipped in 24 while Tony Parker posted 11 points and nine assists as the Spurs connected on 54 percent of their shots. Of course, as usual, Tim Duncan was the one who made everything come together, finishing with 19 points, 15 rebounds and four blocks to lead SA to its fourth consecutive win, bringing his team to within one game of the West’s top record. Orlando dropped its second in a row despite a 24-point, 21-rebound performance from Dwight Howard. The 20/20 game was the eighth of the season for Howard, but it wasn’t enough to keep his club from becoming the only team to have never won a season series against the Spurs.

2. Who needs Dirk when you’re playing the Clips?

You’d think the Mavericks would miss having the league’s current MVP in their lineup, but, then again, they were playing the Clippers. Jason Kidd still hasn’t beaten a team with a winning record since joining Dallas, but with a 103-90 win over the Clips yesterday, the Mavericks improved to 10-0 against losing teams since the trade. The formula might be keeping Dallas in the playoff chase (just barely), but it certainly doesn’t bode well for its postseason chances. However, with Dirk Nowitzki nursing a lower leg injury for the next couple of weeks, it’s good to see other players are able to fill the void. Josh Howard had an awful shooting performance (8-22 FG), but managed to tally a game-high 32 points to compliment three other double-digit scorers for Dallas, including Erick Dampier who accounted for 19 points and 17 rebounds. But the Mavericks are now facing a seriously difficult stretch, going against five playoff-bound clubs in their next six games.

3. Hornets take their show on the road
New Orleans is currently sitting atop the Western Conference with a 48-21 record after heading into Indianapolis and beating the Pacers 114-106 last night. The game was the first of a six-game road trip for the Hornets that includes visits to Cleveland, Boston, Toronto, Orlando and Miami. If Nawlins is planning on holding onto the No. 1 seed then its needs to keep getting monstrous production from its superstars like David West and MVP candidate Chris Paul. Both starters posted double-doubles in Indy as West finished with 35 points and 16 rebounds and Paul recorded 31 points and 14 assists in the team’s fourth consecutive win. The loss dropped Indiana 1 ½ games behind Atlanta for the final spot in the Eastern Conference playoff picture.

Tuesday’s Player of the Day: David West @ Indiana 42 min, 35 pts (FG: 14-24, FT: 7-7), 16 reb, 1 ast, 3 stl, 2 blk

Wednesday’s Game to Watch: Phoenix (47-23) @ Boston (55-15)
There will be plenty of star power on the court tonight when the Suns and the Celtics hook it up in Beantown, but the matchup that stands out is between a pair of guys straight from high school. Kevin Garnett and Amare Stoudemire are two of the best big men in the game today and they will each be instrumental to their team’s success in a game that could be a preview of the NBA Finals. Of course, almost anytime a team from the West plays either Detroit or Boston you could say that. Both teams are currently on losing skids with Phoenix coming off a loss in Detroit and Boston dropping a pair to New Orleans and Philadelphia. The good news for Celtics fans is Boston owns a 23-5 record against the West.

Buzzer Beater: Chris Webber is set to retire at the ripe age of 35 due to knee problems that he just can’t seem to shake. While Webber will be most remembered for calling the timeout heard round the world and dunking on Charles Barkley as a rookie, his career can be defined by more than just that. Over his 15 seasons, Webber averaged 20.7 points, 9.8 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game, putting him on an elite list with Kevin Garnett, Larry Bird, Billy Cunningham, Wilt Chamberlain and Elgin Baylor as the only players to pull off 20 points, nine rebounds and four assists over their career.

Categories
San Antonio Spurs

Around the Rim: Better late than never


1. Spurs sharpening
The Spurs slipped a bit to start 2008, losing eight of their first 15 games following the calendar change. However, with an 81-70 defeat of New Jersey on Tuesday night, San Antonio won its tenth consecutive game, reclaimed the top spot in the Western Conference race and reminded a whole lotta contenders who the real team to beat is. The Spurs are currently on a 14-1 streak with quality wins over Phoenix, Cleveland, New Orleans and Dallas while compiling the best scoring defense in the conference (90.4 ppg). The Nets never had a chance after the opening quarter as the Spurs “Holy Trinity” of Tim Duncan (29 pts, 12 reb), Manu Ginobili (12 pts) and Tony Parker (11 pts) controlled the contest. With the recent additions of Kurt Thomas and Damon Stoudamire, this is possibly the most talented team the Spurs have ever suited up…and that is saying a lot. If Brent Barry decides to return to S.A. then back-to-back championships could be within the Spurs grasp.

2. Crunch time is Kobe time

Kobe Bryant shines brightest in down-the-stretch situations. Tuesday was no different. Bryant ripped off a 17-point fourth quarter performance in Sacramento last night, leading the Lakers to a 117-105 victory. In all, Bryant finished with 34 points as Los Angeles won its 12th game in 13 tries to keep pace with San Antonio in the West standings. The former solo flyer who has recently become the ultimate team captain reached a personal milestone in the win as well, becoming the second youngest player (29 years, 194 days) in league history to reach the 21,000-point plateau. Wilt Chamberlain remains the gold standard for the accomplishment, knocking out the feat in 10 fewer days than Bryant. While Pau Gasol is waaaay behind on the all-time scoring list, he certainly kept pace with Bryant on Tuesday, scoring 31 points to go with 10 rebounds.

3. Suns squeeze past Portland
The Suns were sitting on a two-game losing streak when they traveled to Portland and after letting a 23-point lead slip away, it appeared they were headed for consecutive loss number three. That didn’t happen. Phoenix survived the rally to take a 97-92 victory over the Blaze who got 25 points out of Brandon Roy. Unfortunately, Portland needed even more out of its All-Star because the rest of the team’s starters produced a mere 26 points. On the other side of the court, Phoenix basically played a seven man rotation led by Amare Stoudemire’s 22-point performance and Shaquille O’Neal’s 13 rebounds. Shaq still struggled on offense, going 1-of-5 from the field and 4-for-9 from the line for six points, but the big fella had three blocks on the defensive end. Things are about to get interesting for the Suns as they head to Denver tonight before hosting Utah and San Antonio in their following pair of games.

Tuesday’s Player of the Day: Pau Gasol @ Sacramento 42 min, 31 pts (FG: 10-15, FT: 11-13), 10 reb, 4 ast, 2 stl, 3 blk

Wednesday’s Game to Watch: Detroit (44-16) @ Boston (46-12)
After the Celtics rushed out to a 29-3 record, nobody expected they could be run down before season’s end. Wrong. Detroit can cut Boston’s Eastern Conference lead to just two games with a win tonight. But they will have to do it in an arena where the Celtics have lost only four games all year and they’ll have to do it against a healthy Kevin Garnett who is averaging 15.2 points, 9.8 rebounds and 1.6 steals per game over his last five contests. Someone the Pistons won’t have to worry about is Sam Cassell; at least, not yet. Cassell won’t be in the lineup tonight as he attends a family funeral, instead he will be making his debut on Friday against the Bulls.

Buzzer Beater: Everything appeared to be pointing toward an Atlanta victory. Of course, appearances can be deceiving. The Hawks hosted Golden State last night and they played a terrific game in front of the home town crowd. Atlanta shot over 50 percent from the field, connected on 44 percent of its 3-pointers (7-16 3FG) and got 40 free chances from the charity stripe. Too bad they still lost by 17 points as the Warriors ran them out of their own gym, 135-118, hitting 55-of-101 shots, including 17-of-32 for three. Oh, and G.S. only took 10 free throws the entire game!

Getting outshot 40-10 from the free-throw line and winning by 18, that’s an amazing stat, really,” Golden State coach Don Nelson said. “We tried to play a very aggressive game, Not having any big guys we had to play a small lineup and it worked out pretty well.

Categories
Washington Wizards

Around the Rim: DeShawn Stevenson stings the Hornets in their hive


1. One and done
The curse of being No. 1 came to life again on Monday. After sitting atop the Western Conference at the All-Star break, the Hornets are riding a three-game losing streak, sliding all the way to fifth in the playoff chase. The latest team to get their shots in on the Bugs was the Wizards. The score was tied at 92-92 when the buzzer sounded and DeShawn Stevenson’s 3-point fadeaway J ripped the twine, giving Washington a 95-92 victory in Nawlins. The trey gave Stevenson 33 on the night to offset a 22-point, 8-assists performance from Chris Paul. New Orleans led nearly the whole game until a Stevenson free throw with less than 15 seconds remaining put the Wiz up 92-91 and the rest is history. Stevenson was responsible for seven of Washington’s final nine points in the comeback.

2. Gimme five!

It certainly wasn’t pretty for the Spurs early on as they scored just five points in the first quarter against the Hawks, but the champs rallied back from their franchise-low to win by 15 points, 89-74. San Antonio shot a pathetic 1-for-17 from the field in the opening period, but finished with a respectable 42 percent shooting effort. Tim Duncan put up 23 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks while Tony Parker had 15 and nine assists. Kurt Thomas grabbed nine rebounds in his Spurs debut. The Hawks didn’t capitalize on the Spurs early woes, scoring just 16 points in the first before going flat once again after halftime when they were outscored by 16 points, 27-11 in the third.

3. Detroit is b-b-b-ballin!
The Pistons continue to roll on their west coast road trip and their latest win came at the expensive of one of the league’s top home teams. All five Detroit starters finished with double-digit points, led by the trio of Tayshaun Prince, Richard Hamilton and Chauncey Billups scoring 20 apiece, as they slipped past the Nuggets 98-93 in Denver. It was just the seventh home loss for Denver who played without head coach George Karl who was ill. However, the lack of normal leadership didn’t seem to affect Allen Iverson (28 pts) or Carmelo Anthony (23 pts, 11 reb). The Nuggets had a chance to tie the game with 6.5 seconds left, but J.R. Smith could only make one of three free throws following a foul beyond the arc by Billups.

Monday’s Player of the Day: Dirk Nowitzki vs. Chicago 38 min, 29 pts (FG: 10-19, 3FG: 3-3, FT: 6-6), 10 reb, 4 ast, 1 stl, 1 blk

Tuesday’s Game to Watch: Portland (29-27) @ Los Angeles Lakers (39-17)
Sure, Brandon Roy will most likely miss the game with a bum ankle, but this is still a must-see game. After all, we’re talking about a pissed off Kobe Bryant leading a Lakers squad riding an eight-game winning streak while holding the top record in the West. Bryant got tossed from a blow-out in Seattle and there is no doubt he’ll be taking his frustrations out on the Blazers – with or without Roy. Don’t forget, Kobe dropped 65 points on the Blaze last season.

Buzzer Beater: Jason Kidd returned to Dallas on Monday night, playing in front of his new/old home crowd for the first time since 1996. It was like he never left…except the Mavericks won. Kidd almost put together a patented triple-double in his debut, finishing with 11 points, nine rebounds and eight assists in a 102-94 victory over the Bulls. So, J-Kidd, how’d it feel to be back?

I was happy to be back home. This is where it all started for me,” Kidd said. “I didn’t get an opportunity with that franchise [the Mavericks of the mid-1990s] like this one. This is different and I’m going to take advantage of that.

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
Toronto Raptors

Around the Rim: Fire away Jose!


1. Runnin’ down a dream
Toronto still has a long way to go before taking control of the Atlantic Division, but they took a giant leap forward on Wednesday night. Jose Calderon led the Raptors past the Celtics with 13 assists and 24 points, including an old fashioned three-point play that ended the night’s scoring and gave Toronto a 114-112 victory in Boston. The Raptors played one of their best games of the season, hitting 40-of-69 shots, including 15-of-21 from behind the arc and a perfect night from the charity stripe (19-19). While the Raptors are peaking, winning six of their previous eight, the Cs seem to have hit the wall, losing four of eight since starting the season with a 29-3 record. But with an 11-game cushion still separating them from second-place Toronto for division honors, they can afford a mini slump.

2. Lighting strikes twice in Minnesota

Eclipses used to be rare occurrences, but nowadays anytime Minnesota takes the hardwood against Phoenix the Suns get overshadowed. For the second time in three tries, the T-Wolves have knocked off the Suns, this time with a convincing 117-107 victory in which the Minnesota lead grew to 21 points in the second half thanks to a career-high 39 points from Al Jefferson. The results of this loss are felt conference wide because thanks to a 96-91 victory over Portland, the New Orleans Hornets now own the best record in the west at 29-12 (.707). Nope, not a misprint; those New Orleans Hornets. Coincidentally, Nawlins also owns the league’s longest current win streak with six consecutive. But getting back to the Minnesota/Phoenix shocker, something about the Suns turns Jefferson into an absolute beast. In the pair of upsets, Jefferson has averaged 35.5 points and 17.5 rebounds.

3. Tale of two halves
After being bullied in their own gym for the first 24 minutes of play, the San Antonio Spurs came out of the locker room and took back their court. With a 31-12 explosion in the third quarter, San Antonio turned a nine-point halftime deficit into a 10-point lead going into the final frame before going on for a 103-91 victory. Tim Duncan went to school on the Lakers front court, finishing the night with 28 points, 17 rebounds, four assists and three blocks while Ime Udoka scored 18 off the bench, including three-of-four shooting from behind the arc. But Udoka still didn’t steal Manu Ginobili’s substitution thunder as he filled the box score with 12 points, six boards, four assists and a whopping eight steals. Kobe Bryant finished with 29 points and 12 rebounds.

Wednesday’s Player of the Day: Al Jefferson vs. Phoenix 35 min, 39 pts (FG: 15-29, FT: 9-14), 15 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl

Thursday’s Games to Watch: It’s a very special “Pick Your Poison Thursday.” Due to the fact the NBA is virtually devoid of serious competition tonight, we’re giving you free reign to watch any crummy contest you desire.

San Antonio (27-13) @ Miami (8-32)
Unless it’s the Heat playing the Sonics then Miami has about a snowball’s chance in South Beach of grabbing a W. Even against Seattle we’re kind of leaning toward the new kid on the block.

Indiana (19-24) @ Milwaukee (16-26)
These teams are still battling it out to see if either can grab one of the bottom end playoff berths in the East, but so are the Nets, Hawks, Bulls, Bobcats, Sixers and even the Knicks. In other words, YAAAaaaawwwwnnn.

New Jersey (18-23) @ Golden State (25-18)
Normally we’d have no problem making this our “Game to Watch”, but considering the Nets are on a six game slide and the Warriors just dropped a home game to the Timberwolves, we just couldn’t do it.

Buzzer Beater: Orlando obliterated the Grizzlies in Memphis last night, winning by 27 points, 112-85, hitting a team-record 18 3-pointers. Only four Magic players failed to hit a trifecta in the contest – Dwight Howard, Adonal Foyle, James Augustine and Pat Garrity (Augustine and Garrity played just three minutes apiece). Led by Hedo Turkoglu (6-8 3FG), the Magic connected on 18-of-33 long bombers. In fact, things were going so well from downtown for Orlando that fouling didn’t even stop the rain as Rashard Lewis converted a four-point play after superbust Darko Milicic made contact at the top of the arc.

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
Cleveland Cavaliers

Around the Rim: Flying high in the fourth


1. “It’s your fault.”
Scoring 39 points for LeBron James isn’t really that big of a deal. Nowadays, we pretty much expect the King to get at least 30 on a nightly basis. But 39 points takes on a whole new meaning when LBJ scores 24 of `em in the fourth quarter. James scored two-thirds of the Cavs points in the final period, helping Cleveland break even on the season (17-17) with a 93-90 win in Toronto. James also finished with 11 rebounds and eight assists, citing some front-row hecklers for his late outburst. The Raptors got 23 points out of Chris Bosh and 16 points and 11 assists out of Jose Calderon, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the opposition’s one-man heroics as Toronto lost their second consecutive game, falling to third in the Atlantic Division.

2. San Antonio’s revolving door

The Spurs rollercoaster ride of a season went for another `up and down’ on Sunday when Manu Ginobili returned to the defending champs’ lineup following a five-game absence, putting in 23 points in 29 minutes off the bench. But in the final minutes of the Spurs 88-82 road victory, the stomachs of San Antonio fans quickly relocated to their throats as Tim Duncan and Corey Maggette banged knees, sending Duncan to floor where he clutched his leg. Luckily for Gregg Popovich’s crew, Duncan seems to have escaped without a major or even minor injury and isn’t expected to miss any time after finishing with 17 points and 17 rebounds against the Clippers. Then again, Pop is known to be conservative in these types of situations, so it wouldn’t be surprising to see Tim sit a game or two.

3. Remember me?
The 76ers took a cross country trip to see their old running mate, but Allen Iverson didn’t exactly play the role of gracious host. A.I. lit up his former squad for 38 points and eight assists, giving Denver its third consecutive win and control of the Northwest Division. This was just Iverson’s second game against the Sixers since being traded in 2006 with both contests being played in Denver. On March 19, the Answer will make his first trip back to Philly and even Iverson doesn’t know what to expect.

You don’t know what the environment’s going to be like,” Iverson said. “I know it’s going to be strange because I played there so many years and I fell in love with the fans there. I was a part of them, they were a part of me. It’s obviously going to be different.

Sunday’s Player of the Day: LeBron James @ Toronto 46 min, 39 pts (FG: 14-29, 3FG: 4-8, FT: 7-12), 11 reb, 8 ast

Monday’s Game to Watch: Denver (21-12) @ Phoenix (23-10)
It’s not too often that one can say the second best team in the Western Conference is in desperate need of a win, but the Suns are in desperate need of a win. Phoenix is just 6-4 in their previous 10 games with the loses coming to quality teams and the wins coming against a bunch of scrubs, minus a win in San Antonio and one against the Raptors. The result is that the Lakers are now knocking on the division door [1 ½ games separate the two], ready to cross the threshold into first place. Winning a home shootout against the Nuggets would be a big confidence booster for the Suns, but the highest-scoring duo in the league will have something to say about that. Allen Iverson (26.9 ppg) and Carmelo Anthony (25.3 ppg) look to take Denver to their fourth consecutive win, but yet another injury to Kenyon Martin could prove costly on defense as Amare Stoudemire is torching opponents with regularity this season.

Buzzer Beater: Don’t pencil in Stoudemire’s 22 points and nine rebounds per game just yet because there is a small chance the All-Star center/forward could miss tonight’s game against the Nuggets. Turns out Stoudemire missed the Suns’ Sunday practice for “personal reasons.” General manager Steve Kerr will discuss the issue with Stoudemire sometime today and depending on the outcome of the meeting, there could be possible disciplinary actions handed out in the form of a fine or suspension.

Categories
LA Lakers

Around the Rim: Just like the good ol’ days


1. Boston beat the pants off L.A.
The Lakers completely humiliated themselves on the court last night. Forget all about the 19-point plunking they received from the Celtics, we’re talking about their numbskull decisions to wear the old school short shorts. Talk about motivation, there was no way in hell that Kevin Garnett and the “Boston Three Party” were going to get beaten by a group of guys wearing purple and gold nut-huggers. The Showtime wannabes came to their sense at halftime, donning the contemporary parachute shorts, but it didn’t make a lick of difference as Boston won easily in L.A. 110-91. Paul Pierce had 33 points, Garnett finished with 22 points and 12 rebounds and Ray Allen added 19 for the Leprechauns. The Lakers four-game winning streak went down the tubes as Kobe Bryant shot six-of-25 for 22 points and Lamar Odom went six-for-17, scoring just 14 points.

2. No Answer

On Friday night, Allen Iverson scored 39 points and Carmelo Anthony chipped in 30 as the Nuggets escaped Oakland with a 124-120 victory, but in the home-and-home rematch it was the Warriors dynamic duo that stole the show. Baron Davis (28 pts) and Stephen Jackson (23 pts) combined for 51 points and Golden State snapped a seven-game losing skid in Denver despite being outrebounded 56-42. Anthony finished with 26 points and 10 rebounds, but Iverson couldn’t find his rhythm, missing 10 of his 12 shots for just 13 points. After starting the season winless through six games, the Warriors are 18-7 and now own the eighth best record in the West.

3. That’s a wrap
The NBA season is only about two months old, but the Spurs and Grizzlies are already done with each other. San Antonio took the season series 3-1 with a 111-87 victory deep in the heart of Texas on Sunday night. Tim Duncan had 17 rebounds to go along with a game-high tying 24 points, matched by teammate Tony Parker who also dished out nine assists. Michael Finley chipped in 22 as he continues to pick up the slack for an injured Manu Ginobili. The Spurs trio of wins were by a combined 40 points while the only loss to their division rival came by way of a Rudy Gay buzzer-beating 3-pointer. Needless to say, Memphis is sick of seeing silver and black.

Sunday’s Player of the Day: Tim Duncan vs. Memphis 33 min, 24 pts (FG: 10-20, FT: 4-7), 17 reb, 7 ast, 1 stl, 3 blk

Monday’s Game to Watch: Portland (18-12) @ Utah (16-16)
The last team Utah wants to bump into right now is the Trail Blazers, so, as fate would have it, the Jazz are scheduled to face the white-hot Blazers twice in the upcoming week. Portland is riding a 13-game winning streak into Salt Lake City with two of the franchise’s second longest string of victories coming against Utah. The Jazz are currently three games behind the Northwest Division leading Blazers and desperately need a quality win to help snap them out of their current 3-11 slide. Knocking off the league’s hottest team would be a perfect cure to what ails them.

Buzzer Beater: Scottie Pippen doesn’t like Scott Skiles, but don’t take our word for it.

I didn’t like him,” Pippen said.

See. Well, now that Skiles got a pink slip from the Bulls, Pippen wants to his shot at dropping the “Baby” from the Bulls. And, according to Pippen, no experience is no problem.

What’s the key to this good ol’ boy system they have?” he asked. “You’ve got to go to Europe and coach two years? Sit next to someone for a year? And then looking at someone like me and trying to figure out how your team did it, how you got there every time? Guys like Skiles have never been there. Can he give a motivation speech like someone who’s been in those games? I’ve played for championships.

“What experience do you need? You have assistants who have been there. If I made a mistake, I wouldn’t be the first coach to make a mistake. I’d love the opportunity to be part of the organization now that Skiles is gone. I’ve won championships with this organization and been in the competition when everything was on the line. I was a coach on the floor. Why isn’t that experience?

Categories
Phoenix Suns

Around the Rim: Suns-Spurs showdown


1. Suns shine
The Suns received a measure of revenge against their nemesis on Monday by handing the Spurs their first home loss of the season, 100-95. While the win doesn’t erase the painful memories of being eliminated by San Antonio in last year’s playoffs, it was a huge confidence booster for a slumping Suns team. Phoenix lost three of four games before knocking off the champs, including embarrassing losses to Minnesota and Miami. Despite winning, the Suns had absolutely no answer for Tim Duncan who posted season-highs of 36 points and 17 rebounds as the Spurs played without Tony Parker for the third consecutive game. Steve Nash came up a pair of rebounds short of a triple double, scoring 10, dishing 10 and boarding eight. With the win, Phoenix is now just half a game behind San Antonio for the current title of “Best in the West.”

2. Disappearing act

Dwight Howard was unstoppable in the first quarter against Dallas, scoring 16 points in the opening period. Unfortunately, the game still had three more quarters left and Howard basically got shut out during the final 36 minutes while Dirk Nowitzki blew up when it mattered. After the quick start, Howard scored just six more points, finishing with 22 points and 13 rebounds while Nowitzki put up 11 of his game-high 31 points in the fourth, leading the Mavericks to a 111-108 victory in Dallas. Orlando started the season on fire, but has dramatically cooled of late, losing five of their last six games. However, the Magic can’t focus on the past with games against Houston, Utah and Boston staring them in the face.

3. Upset city
It had been five years since the Hawks beat the Jazz, but streaks are meant to be broken and last night it happened. Joe Johnson led the way offensively for Atlanta, scoring 26, and the Hawks ended their futility against Utah with a 116-111 victory. Carlos Boozer had 39 points and 12 rebounds in defeat as the Jazz dropped their seventh game in eight tries with the only win coming against Seattle. Atlanta, on the other hand, is making an early playoff push. There’s still a whole lotta season left for the Hawks to choke away a city’s hopes and dreams, but considering their history, any playoff push is a good playoff push. Currently, the Hawks are 12-12, good enough for the conference’s seventh best record.

Monday’s Player of the Day: Tim Duncan vs. Phoenix 36 min, 36 pts (FG: 15-25, FT: 6-8), 17 reb, 3 ast, 1 blk

Tuesday’s Game to Watch: Los Angeles Lakers (14-9) @ Chicago (8-13)
The Bulls are probably wishing they pulled the trigger on the trade for Kobe Bryant because their offense is one of the most anemic in the league. Averaging just 92.0 points per game, only Charlotte and New Jersey have a harder time putting the ball in the hoop. Meanwhile, Bryant is the league’s second best scorer, averaging 27.2 per game. If the Bulls aren’t careful, this game could get away from them pretty easily and become the Bryant show in the house that Michael built. Ben Wallace has to step up defensively for the Bulls and Luol Deng and Ben Gordon have to show their coach that he made the right decision in not packaging them for Kobe. And for a little extra motivation, Los Angeles whopped the Bulls by 28 points a month ago in Hollywood.

Buzzer Beater: We know it’s a tough thing to admit, but acceptance is the first step in recovery. And on Monday night, Isiah Thomas finally came to grip with the fact that his Knicks are gutless.

Tonight was very discouraging to me because we didn’t collectively play with heart,” Thomas said after the Knicks were clobbered by the Pacers, 119-92. “I think we have the talent, but just because you have the talent and skill doesn’t necessarily mean you have the heart. … For whatever reason, we just stopped competing; we just stopped playing with pride.

In other words, they are a bunch of “sunts“.