Posted by Dan on December 29, 2008
Posted in Power Rankings | Tagged: Atlanta Hawks, Boston Celtics, Charlotte Bobcats, Chicago Bulls, Cleveland Cavaliers, Dallas Mavericks, Denver Nuggets, Detroit Lions, Golden State Warriors, Houston Rockets, Indiana Pacers, Los Angeles Clippers, Los Angeles Lakers, Memphis Grizzlies, Miami Dolphins, Milwaukee Bucks, Minnesota Timberwolves, NBA, NBA Power Rankings, New Jersey Nets, New Orleans Saints, New York Knicks, Oklahoma City Thunder, Orlando Magic, Philadelphia 76ers, Phoenix Suns, Portland TrailBlazers, Sacramento Kings, San Antonio Spurs, Toronto Raptors, Utah Jazz | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Dan on December 26, 2008
Let’s go coast to coast with the stories and views from around the league:
- Steve Dilbeck of the LA Daily News: “The Lakers came into their showdown with the Celtics an impressive 23-5, and very much needing to beat Boston down. Needing reason to truly believe they are as good they like to think they are, that they are that much better than the team Boston drummed in the NBAFinals last June. The Celtics came into Staples Center on a roll, having won a franchise- record 19straight games. Still looking focused and determined, and playing with a mature consistency that has eluded the Lakers. But the Lakers needed this one more, needed to brush aside the perception they were soft, too weak mentally, just too inferior to the mighty Celtics. Despite the great run the Celtics were on, despite the glare of a nationally-televised Christmas Day game, this game was more important to the Lakers, and ultimately they played like it. They may not have been dramatically better, but it was the Lakers who answered the challenge, who made plays down the stretch and came away with the 92-83 victory that reeked of playoff intensity.”
- Terry Pluto of the Cleveland Plain Dealer: “Which brings us to the Cavs, the surprise team of the NBA after Thursday’s 93-89 victory over Washington. The 25-4 Cavs are right behind the 27-3 Celtics in the race to be the best in the Eastern Conference. Was it reasonable to expect the Cavs to win 50 games this season? Of course, assuming LeBron James stays healthy. But a 25-4 start with only five players remaining from this time a year ago? It’s a product of chemistry…make that trust…much like Boston a year ago.”
- Mark Heisler of the LA Times: “Yet to be determined is whether the Lakers have undergone an actual attitude adjustment and will play hard all the time. On the other hand, when you think of their fans booing them off the court at halftime in their last game here, when they trailed the New York Knicks by 15, followed by losses in Miami and Orlando and a rally from five points behind in the last 3:30 to win in Memphis, Christmas marked some turnaround. The Lakers defended energetically, if not always well. They showed that their physical advantages over the Celtics in size and depth matter.”
- From the Detroit News: “Chris Paul of the Hornets saw his league-record string of 108 games with at least one steal end in the Hornets’ 88-68 loss to the Magic on Thursday. Paul, the NBA steals leader (3.7 average), and most of the starters came out early in the fourth quarter with the Magic up by at least 20. “Half the time when I got a steal I didn’t even know it,” said Paul, who was unaware his streak ended until after the game. “It was going to end at some point so why not Christmas?”“
- Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News: “The NBA went all out to make the late-night portion of its Christmas Day extravaganza a real yuletide experience. The uniforms were green for the Mavericks, red for Portland. Given the festive atmosphere, you half expected the teams to come out wearing Santa hats. But by the third quarter, good tidings were officially over. A flurry of technical fouls and some elbows-first kind of play turned the game into a nasty, rugged affair devoid of any Christmas cheer. That was just fine with the Mavericks, since they ended up grinding out a 102-94 victory over the Trail Blazers in probably their most commendable victory of the season.”
- Mike Monroe of the San Antonio Express-News: “Irate, Duncan grabbed Stoudemire so that referee Jason Phillips was forced to call a foul, and that gave Duncan time to give the whistle blower his opinion. Fifty-nine seconds later, Duncan rued the momentary loss of his stoic demeanor. Whistled for bumping O’Neal as the Suns center looked for a cutting teammate, Duncan knew he was one foul shy of disqualification. Somehow, he managed to avoid a sixth personal while stopping three drives to the basket by Stoudemire in the final 1:53, each time rebounding the miss. It was a clutch performance Popovich called “absolutely spectacular.” Duncan’s defense kept things just close enough for the dramatic ending. Spurs guard Roger Mason Jr. launched a 3-point shot from the left corner that beat the buzzer as it left his hand and beat the Suns when it went in the basket.”
- Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic: “Being plucked from a bad franchise and put into a successful one two weeks ago was like a Christmas present for Jason Richardson. The new Sun wants so badly to help. Too badly. His decision to help on defense Thursday against San Antonio’s Tony Parker made the NBA’s third-ranked 3-point shooter, Roger Mason, look as alone in the corner as a Christmas tree once the presents are gone. Mason, subbed in for that play, made good on the 3-point shot to beat the buzzer and the Suns, 91-90, at US Airways Center.”
Posted in Coast to Coast, General NBA | Tagged: Basketball, Boston Celtics, Chris Paul, Cleveland Cavaliers, Coast to Coast, Dallas Mavericks, Jason Richardson, LeBron James, Los Angeles Lakers, NBA, Phoenix Suns, Portland TrailBlazers, Roger Mason Jr., San Antonio Spurs, Tim Duncan | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Dan on September 25, 2008
Let’s push the ball up the court as we go from coast to coast with the stories from around the league.
- KTAR.com is reporting Goran Dragic of the Suns had his first practice with the Suns and he is comparing his game to Tony Parker’s. “I like to penetrate, play pass basketball,” he said. “I’m a good defender, I like to play defense and make some [opportunities] for other teammates.” Remember the backup to Steve Nash is a very important position. You don’t want to have to go into a funk offensively when Nash is on the bench.
- The Seattle Post Intelligencer is reporting that the Spurs have signed George Hill, the team’s first round draft pick. Hill and free agent addition Salim Stoudamire need to help rejuvenate the Spurs bench. Their bench was old and ineffective last year and was their ultimate undoing.]
- The Rocky Mountain News is reporting that the Nuggets are bringing Nick Fazekas to training camp on a nonguaranteed contract. I can see him as a good fit in Denver because of his scoring ability and his indifference towards playing defense.
- Frank Isola of the Daily News is wondering the same thing as all of us: how is what Jay Z doing not tampering with LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers. Says Isola, “Did you happen to see the photo of Jay-Z and LeBron James in last Friday’s Daily News? The Nets minority owner and the NBA’s second best player were together attending a fundraiser in Manhattan (and no, it wasn’t to help finance the Barclays Center in downtown Brooklyn.) These two guys are spotted together so often that Beyonce is starting to ask questions. At what point will the Cleveland Cavaliers start accusing the Nets of tampering?” Yes Frank, it is enough to make you sick. Maybe the Nets should consider getting some NBA level talent before expecting LeBron to come to a terrible team.
- The Orlando Sentinel is reporting that Hedo Turkoglu will likely opt out of his contract at the end of the season. This is somewhat of a problem for Orlando. Sure he is old but he is still arguably the best scorer on their roster and someone they look to in the clutch.
- The Orange County Register had an interesting Q & A with Andrew Bynum. The most interesting quote was this: “Yet perhaps the most revealing and key bit of information Bynum shared with a near-capacity room of Lakers fans during the Register-sponsored Q&A was that his surgically repaired knee is in “super” condition.” Look out Western Conference.
Posted in Coast to Coast, General NBA | Tagged: Andrew Bynum, Cleveland Cavaliers, Denver Nuggets, George Hill, Goran Dragic, Hedo Turkoglu, LeBron James, Los Angeles Lakers, NBA, Nick Fazekas, Orlando Magic, Phoenix Suns, Salim Stoudamire, San Antonio Spurs, Steve Nash | Leave a Comment »