Month: February 2006 (Page 5 of 14)

Tracy McGrady scored 36 points but LeBron James took home the All Star Game MVP after helping the East overcome a 21-point third quarter defecit en route to a 122-120 win Sunday night. LeBron dropped 29 on 12-21 shooting while Dwayne Wade and Shaq chipped in 20 and 17 respectively and four Detroit Pistons — Chauncey Billups, Ben Wallace, Rasheed Wallace and Rip Hamilton — contributed some much-needed defense.

Billups had 15 points and seven assists as one of four Pistons off the East’s bench. When they returned in tandem in the third quarter, they continued the comeback and flashed some of their trademark defense to hold the West to 50 second-half points….

The Pistons…continued the rally with some defense. Ben Wallace had consecutive blocks on Pau Gasol of Memphis and Richard Hamilton flipped in a shot to make it 96-94.

The quartet scored the East’s first 11 points of the fourth quarter before O’Neal threw in a hook for a 107-101 lead with 7:38 remaining.

At 21, LeBron is the youngest ASG MVP in league history.

Dirk Nowitzki outshot Ray Allen and Gilbert Arenas in the finals to win the 3-Point Shootout. The problem is – he shouldn’t have been there in the first place. His final shot in the first round, a 2-point “Money Ball,” gave him 14 points and put him in the finals. But the replay showed that he didn’t get the shot off in time, and his teammate Jason Terry should have advanced. Apparently, the contest rules don’t allow for use of replay during the contest. What?

In the Slam Dunk competition, 5’9″ Nate Robinson outlasted Andre Iguodala in the contest’s first ever dunk-off to win the title. Robinson’s best dunk was in the final round when he brought Spud Webb out of the audience. Also vertically challenged, Webb won the title in 1986. Webb donned one of his throwback jerseys and tossed the ball up for Robinson, who jumped over Webb to throw down the dunk. But it took 14 tries for Robinson to complete his last dunk in the final round, and that is what’s wrong with the dunk contest these days. The contest grinded to a halt as Robinson tried his dunk over and over. If a contestant can’t complete a dunk in three or four tries, then they should be penalized.

The most impressive dunk came from Iguodala, who enlisted help from teammate Allen Iverson. Iguodala started out behind the basket as Iverson tossed the ball off the back of the backboard. Iguodala caught the ball in mid-air, ducked his head, and completed a reverse two-handed dunk. It was a close contest, but Iguodala, who won the MVP of the Rookie Challenge on Friday, should have won the title.

Cavs owner Dan Gilbert knows the future of his franchise rests on the young shoulders of LeBron James. That’s why the franchise has taken on a three-pronged approach aimed at keeping the superstar in Cleveland after this season.

The Cavs have embarked on a “keep LeBron” program that has three broad strokes: (1) upgrade the talent around their young star; (2) invest in the comfort and enjoyment of the team as a whole; and (3) take care of the every need of LeBron and his powerful entourage. Not necessarily in that order.

In August, James will have the opportunity to sign a five-year contract extension worth around $75 million, keeping James in Cleveland until he’s 27. He’ll have until Oct. 31 to accept. If he chooses not to sign, he’d become a restricted free agent after the 2006-07 season. For his part, James is excited about the extension.

“I can’t wait to sign my extension,” James said recently. “I’m very happy here.”

It remains to be seen whether this is just talk to keep the fans happy for the remainder of the season or genuine excitement from the young superstar. James seems like a standup guy, so based on these quotes, I’d expect him to be in a Cavs uniform for at least six more years.