Category: NBA (Page 348 of 595)

Artest says Brandon Roy is better than Kobe and LeBron

May 1, 2009 / John Paulsen

Craig Sager conducted an interesting interview with Ron Artest on Wednesday. In it, Artest says that Brandon Roy is the “best player” he’s played against, including Kobe and LeBron.

Artest: “They are doing a good job, they are well coached. (Brandon) Roy is probably the best player I’ve played against, to me he is the best shooting guard. Not on defense now, defense is kind of suspect. He’s the best player I’ve played against.”
Sager: “He’s a better player than Kobe Bryant, better than LeBron James?”
Artest: “He’s the best player I’ve played against.”
Sager: “Are you saying that just because he’s your opponent in this series?”
Artest: “No, he is. He’s the best player I’ve played against, outside from a guy from my hood in Queensbridge, a guy named Mike Chafley. He went to jail a couple of years when he was 15 or 16 years old, but he was the best player I played against and now it’s Roy.”

You’ve got to love Artest’s flair. His team is primed for a matchup with the Lakers and he gives Kobe bulletin board material. (Like he needs the extra motivation.) And I love the reference to Mike Chafley in Queensbridge…did Artest play him before or after he went to jail? If it was before, then he’s saying that some 14 or 15 year-old is the best player he’s ever played against. If it was after Chafley got out of jail, why isn’t this cat in the NBA?

Humor, NBA, NBA Finals

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Ainge on Garnett: “I’m not planning on him the rest of the season.”

May 1, 2009 / John Paulsen

Celtics GM Danny Ainge (seemingly) confirmed what the rest of us have been thinking all along: KG is done for the year.

Fans have been holding out hope that if the Celtics can get by the Bulls in the first round, then Garnett would have enough time to recover and return for the remainder of the playoffs. But they’re fighting for their lives against the Bulls and still, Garnett remains sidelined. It really doesn’t seem like he’s close to returning.

I guess all we can get out of Garnett in these playoffs is a lot of chest pounding, several weird faces and repeatedly saying “yeah, motherf****r” on the bench after the Celtics make a good play.

NBA, NBA Finals, News, Rumors & Gossip

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Bulls need three OTs to force Game 7

April 30, 2009 / John Paulsen

I’m exhausted.

So far, this Celtics/Bulls series has run six games; four went to overtime for a total of seven extra periods. It was the only playoff series ever to have three overtime games, and now that it’s gone to four, I’m starting to wonder if this is the best first round series in the history of the league. It’s certainly the best one that I can remember.

As a longtime Bucks fans, I found it hard at first to root for the Bulls, but I’m really starting to like this team. Joakim Noah plays with exceptional energy and passion, Kirk Hinrich does all the little things in the Chicago backcourt, John Salmons is an up-and-coming swingman, and Derrick Rose is one of the most dynamic players in the entire league.

There were so many great performances tonight. Salmons had 35 points, and broke down Paul Pierce every chance he had. Rose had 28 points, eight rebounds, seven assists and a huge block on Rajon Rondo’s go-ahead attempt in the waning seconds of the final overtime. Brad Miller bounced back from missing game-tying free throws (and nearly having his head removed from his body) in Game 5 to post 23 points, including two huge buckets — a three and a driving layup — at the end of regulation to bring the Bulls back from the dead. Noah had nine points and 15 rebounds, and had a monster steal that he turned into a three-point play (fouling Pierce out in the process) with less than a minute to go in the third overtime.

Ray Allen carried the Celtics for much of the game, finishing with 51 points on 18 for 32 shooting. Pierce and Rondo combined to shoot just 9 of 30 from the field, but Pierce made 11 free throws and Rondo dropped 19 dimes. The C’s wouldn’t have stayed in it without Glen Davis, who chipped in 23 points.

The series moves back to Boston for Game 7 on Saturday.

NBA

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Where do the Hornets go from here?

April 30, 2009 / John Paulsen

It was a disappointing season for Chris Paul and Co. as they were unceremoniously eliminated from the playoffs last night in Denver. After last season’s near-miss against the Spurs in the Western Conference semis, along with the addition of do-it-all forward James Posey, many pundits (including myself) thought that they might be the team best positioned to threaten the Lakers’ chances of a return trip to the Finals. But it was not to be.

According to John Hollinger’s PER, Chris Paul had an even better statistical season than last year, when he was in serious contention to become the league’s MVP. David West played his usual 21/9 ball as well.

So what happened?

1. Tyson Chandler wasn’t himself. He battled injuries all year and was even traded to Oklahoma City (and subsequently untraded due to the Thunder’s concerns about his foot). Here are his stats for the last three seasons:

’06-’07: 9.5 ppg, 12.4 rpg, 1.8 bpg, 62% FG%
’07-’08: 11.8 ppg, 11.8 rpg, 1.1 bpg, 62% FG%
’08-’09: 8.8 ppg, 8.7 rpg, 1.2 bpg, 57% FG%

That may not seem like much of a fall off, but three points, three rebounds and a 5% decrease in field goal shooting certainly has an effect. It’s not Chandler’s fault that he had some nagging injuries, but that was part of the reason for the Hornets’ decline.

NBA

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