Category: NBA (Page 345 of 595)

      Dirk Nowitzki’s roommate/girlfriend/fiance arrested

      May 8, 2009 /

      There’s a weird story coming out of Dallas and it involves the Mavs’ best player, Dirk Nowitzki.

      Dallas police officers went to Nowitzki’s house to arrest Cristal Taylor after confirming the existence of warrants for her arrest in Texas and Missouri, according to Dallas Police Department spokesman Lt. Andrew Harvey.

      Sources close to the situation confirmed to ESPN.com the warrants were discovered when Nowitzki’s team of legal advisers hired a private investigator to research Taylor’s background, amid growing concern among those closest to the player inside and outside the Mavericks’ organization. Two Dallas television stations (KXTA-TV and WFAA-TV) have reported Taylor to be Nowitzki’s fiancée.

      Taylor was still in Dallas County Jail on Thursday on $20,000 bond after being taken into custody on warrants accusing her of violating a probation sentence for two counts of forgery and one count of felony stealing in Missouri and a theft-of-service charge for failing to pay for an estimated $10,000 in dental work in Beaumont, Texas.

      She was booked into jail Wednesday as Cristal Taylor, but authorities in both states have linked numerous aliases to the 37-year-old, including Crystal Ann Taylor, Christian Julie Wellington, Christian B. Travino, Crystal Nobles, Christy Nobles, Kristi Briana Westerhauf, Cristal Taylor Westerhaus, Christa A. Westerhays, Deborah Jackson, Shana Mancini, Crista Santiago, Crystal Ann Santiago, Crystall Ann Taylor and Kristin L. Rogers.

      When pressed about the nature of his relationship with Taylor, after talking to reporters for some seven minutes, Nowitzki said three times that he would not comment further and asked if there were any more “basketball questions” before the interview was halted.

      This story has a mug shot of Ms. Taylor/Wellington/Travino/Nobles/Westerhauf/Westerhaus/Westerhays/
      Jackson/Mancini…ah, forget it. If you’re expecting her to be a knockout, be prepared for disappointment.

      The first thing that jumps to mind — can’t Dirk do better than a 37 year-old, average-looking felon? What’s he thinking here? How does he get into this situation?

      NBA, News, Rumors & Gossip, Women

      NBA reviewing actions of Kobe, Fisher, Artest and Alston

      May 7, 2009 /

      Update: The NBA suspended Fisher and Alston one game each. Kobe wasn’t suspended — shocker!

      Stu Jackson is a busy man today. He’s responsible for reviewing the tape and doling out the suspensions and fines, if necessary. Apparently, he’s looking at four different plays from last night’s action: Rafer Alston’s slap to the back of Eddie House’s head, Derek Fisher’s premeditated shoulder block on Luis Scola, Kobe Bryant’s flying elbow to the neck/chest of Ron Artest, and Artest’s subsequent confrontation with Kobe when he was (somehow) called for the foul.

      From the replay, it looked to me that Alston was responding to an elbow from House as House celebrated his made shot. House is a pretty annoying player — in fact, my buddy LaRusso pretty much despises him — and the little elbow to the gut was like salt in Alston’s wounds. Technically, he didn’t throw a punch, which is why there’s a question about whether or not he’ll be suspended, but you can’t go around slapping people in the head. If they do suspend him, I hope they fine House for instigating the event with the elbow. It was bush league.

      I wrote about the Rockets/Lakers “chippiness” last night, and my feelings haven’t changed much. I think Fisher should be suspended for a game due to the premeditated nature of the hit he laid on Scola. Jackson should also take a hard look at Kobe’s elbow because it looked intentional and up in the neck area. As for Artest, I don’t think he should have been ejected as he didn’t throw any elbows or punches, and the decision to eject him probably cost the Rockets any chance they had at winning the game. Between the foul call on Artest and his ejection, it wasn’t the best moment for that officiating crew.

      One thing is for sure — the Rockets and Lakers are already sick of each other, and we’re still very early in the series. If this thing goes six or seven games, expect a lot more of this kind of action.

      NBA, News, Rumors & Gossip

      What kind of point guard is he?

      May 7, 2009 /

      We hear it all the time. NBA analysts call one point guard “pass-first” and another “shoot-first.” Or they say one guy is “turnover-prone” while another “takes care of the ball.” But really, what makes a player a “pass-first” point guard? How carefree must he be with the ball to be considered “turnover-prone”?

      Taking an analytical approach to these questions, I decided to bust out an Excel spreadsheet and try to come up with some answers. Below you’ll see a graph that attempts to classify the top point guards in the league. But first, a little background…

      I chose to categorize each player based on two stats. First, to determine if he’s “shoot-first” or “pass-first,” I calculated the shot-to-assist ratio for each player. The bigger the number, the more of a “shoot-first” mentality the player has. Second, to determine whether or not a player is “turnover-prone,” I calculated each player’s assist-to-turnover ratio. I thought about using turnovers per 48 minutes, but I like the idea of including assists so that playmakers are rewarded for the positive as well as the negative. Next, I calculated each player’s Efficiency Per Minute (EPM) to see if there is any correlation between these other statistics and the overall efficiency of the player in question.

      Continue reading »

      NBA

      Does Dwyane Wade’s future depend on LeBron?

      May 7, 2009 /

      The short answer is…maybe.

      Have you noticed how all of this LeBron-to-the-Knicks talk has died down as the Cavs put up the best record in the NBA this season? That’s because Cleveland is a favorite to make the Finals, and with the way the Lakers are struggling against the Rockets out West, the Cavs are looking more and more like an NBA champion. If they do manage to win a title this year (or next), it will be very difficult for LeBron to jump ship without looking like a total a-hole. So he won’t. If he wins a ring, he’ll stay in Cleveland.

      So the Knicks will have to look elsewhere for their superstar — enter Dwyane Wade. As Dave Hyde of the Sun-Sentinel writes, the Big Apple would be an attractive destination for Wade.

      The Knicks have the money. They have the allure. They have coach Mike D’Antoni’s fun style. They can tell Wade he would revive Knicks basketball and get the kind of spotlight only New York offers such stars. Who wouldn’t be tempted by all that?

      So Hyde advocates that instead of waiting for 2010 and trying to add a star big man like Chris Bosh or Amare Stoudemire while at the same time re-signing Wade, the Heat should go ahead and trade Michael Beasley to Toronto for Bosh this summer.

      So there’s the Armageddon scenario for the Heat: It advances only slightly next year, misses on Bosh, has the Knicks singing a siren song to Wade … and loses him.

      If you’re Riley, do you risk that? All for Beasley, who, much as I like him, posed as many questions as answers this season? Even Wade, who measures his words, allowed as to how Beasley frustrated him at times with the immaturity.

      The best way to sign Wade this summer is to offer concrete evidence he can win big here. That means landing his friend, Bosh. They were Olympians together. They share the same agent. They respect each other greatly.

      That’s why the smartest move to make is trading the salary-matching pair of Beasley and Mark Blount to Toronto for Bosh.

      It’s an attractive scenario to wait until 2010 and add Bosh to a lineup that includes Wade and Beasley. But there’s a good chance that Bosh could sign with Cleveland or that the Knicks could come in and steal both Bosh and Wade away from the Heat. Why risk a future with Wade for the promise of Beasley? While it sounds a little crazy to trade a young player with a ton of upside for a guy you might be able to sign outright the next summer, it’s risk versus reward. A Wade/Bosh combo would guarantee the Heat would compete in the East for the next five years. Throw in the steady Udonis Haslem, a more mature Mario Chalmers and a small forward to be named later, and Heat would have a nice lineup. But the biggest reason the Heat should acquire Bosh is that it will almost guarantee that Wade re-ups as well.

      Now the question is — will the Raptors go for it?

      NBA, Rumors & Gossip

      Artest ejected, Lakers win

      May 7, 2009 /

      This game was a lot closer than the final score (111-98) would indicate.

      With about seven minutes to play in the fourth quarter and the Lakers up 10, Kobe and Artest were fighting for position under the basket and Kobe caught Artest in the throat with an elbow. (It looked intentional to me.) Amazingly, Artest was called for a foul, and when the ref wouldn’t listen to him, he went over and confronted Kobe about it. Artest protested too long for Joey Crawford, who tossed him. Not a smart play by Artest to keep pressing the point, but he deserved a technical, not an ejection. He needs to keep his composure in that situation, but really, does anyone actually expect him to?

      Late in the third quarter, Derek Fisher threw a shoulder into Luis Scola, who was approaching him to set a pick. While Doug Collins was marveling about Fisher’s “toughness,” I was thinking about how dumb of a play it was. It was clear that he was seeking Scola out and dead set on laying a hit on him. In the age of replay, when officials can make a judgment based on the video, it’s not worth getting that shot in, even if you’re trying to make a statement. The Lakers subs have struggled of late — what if his team needed him in the fourth quarter? Hell, he deserves to be suspended.

      The whole thing with Scola started earlier in the game, but I’m not sure when. Before Fisher’s shoulder block, Lamar Odom was jawing at Scola after he blocked the Argentine’s shot. On a later play, Scola fouled Odom on the way to the hoop and the two exchanged words. Then Luke Walton came over to talk to Scola. Then Sasha Vujacic came over. Fisher’s “flagrant 2” was on the ensuing play.

      The other thing I want to mention is the play of Kobe Bryant. He shot the ball well, hitting 16 of 27 shots en route to a 40-point game. But what bothers me is that all season we keep hearing about how important another title is to him, yet there he is jawing at Shane Battier after every bucket and saying, “he can’t guard me!” This is a team game, but once again, Kobe makes it about Kobe. Why can’t he let his brilliant play speak for itself? The important thing is that the Lakers tied the series, not that he can score at will on Battier.

      Looking ahead, the Lakers were effective in limiting Yao Ming (12 points) because they fronted him in the post. In that situation, the Rockets’ immediate read should be to turn the ball to the other side of the court. Yao seals his man (who is in front of him) and there should be an easy entry pass into the post. Tonight, Houston played into the Lakers’ hands by keeping the ball on the same side of the court and Yao didn’t have a chance to have a big impact on the game.

      NBA, NBA Finals

      « Older posts Newer posts »

      © 2026 The Scores Report – The National Sports Blog

      Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑