Category: NBA (Page 350 of 595)

      James Jones scores eight points in 11 seconds

      April 28, 2009 /

      This has to be a record of some sort. James Jones had back-to-back four-point plays in the Heat’s loss last night to the Hawks. The two plays were part of a 14-0 (and 19-2) run that got Miami back into the game late in the second quarter (after falling behind by 21 points).

      Due to the nature of the NBA game (i.e. sooooooo many timeouts, the level of play), it’s not often that you see a 14-0 run in a game. And you NEVER see back to back four-point plays. (Granted, it didn’t really look like Mike Bibby fouled him on that second make, but still.)

      NBA, NBA Finals, Video

      Glen “Big Baby” Davis is a flopper

      April 27, 2009 /

      Not quite sure about the choice of music, but check out this video of Glen Davis flopping after delivering a hard foul on Brad Miller. The best shot of it comes at around the 0:30 mark.

      The bottom line is that no one likes getting hit in the face. Miller is known for his rough and tumble play so it’s funny to see him get bent out of shape after a hard foul.

      The league needs to start fining guys that flop like this.

      Humor, NBA, Video

      2009 NBA Playoff Power Rankings v2.0

      April 27, 2009 /

      At least three games have been played in each playoff series, so it’s a good time to update the power rankings (where I list each team and their relative chances of advancing to the next round and/or the Finals.)

      Click here for the first edition of these rankings.

      R.I.P.

      16. Pistons
      Detroit was unceremoniously swept by the surging Cavs, who won by an average of 15.5 points. This series was never in doubt, and went just like everyone (but the Detroit faithful/demented) thought it would after the Allen Iverson trade blew up in Joe Dumars’ face. Assuming they let AI and Rasheed Wallace walk, the Pistons will have a ton of cap space to work with this summer (or next, if they choose to wait). The core looks to be Tayshaun Prince, Rodney Stuckey and Rip Hamilton. Jason Maxiell and Amir Johnson appear to be ready to play heavier minutes, but the Pistons still need to add a free agent big man over the next two summers. Carlos Boozer will be this year’s free agent prize, at least as far as bigs go, while Anderson Varejao, Brandon Bass and Drew Gooden are cheaper options. It’s going to be interesting to see how Dumars reshapes this roster — he gave up any chance at a deep playoff run by trading Chauncey Billups away.

      DEAD MAN WALKING

      15. Jazz
      Down 3-1 with two games remaining in L.A., the Jazz are in serious trouble. They desperately needed Game 4 to have a chance and without it, they…um…don’t have (much of) a chance. Utah faces a tumultuous offseason, though they can rest easy that they have one of the few franchise players in the league in Deron Williams. Carlos Boozer plans to test free agency, so the team will need to decide if he’s worth a long-term commitment or if they should turn the reins over to Paul Millsap, who was actually more productive on a per-minute basis. (For the record, if Boozer wants more than $12 million a year, and he probably will, I’d let him walk.)

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      NBA, NBA Finals

      Wild day of NBA action

      April 26, 2009 /

      – The Bulls beat the Celtics in a double-overtime thriller. Chicago almost squandered the win by allowing Ray Allen to get a wide open three at the end of regulation. The Bulls were down by five with two minutes to play in the first overtime, but fought back with some good defense and some clutch jumpers by John Salmons and Kirk Hinrich. Chicago jumped out to a lead in the second OT and held on for the win.

      – The Bulls spread the scoring around with seven players in double figures. Rajon Rondo had his second triple-double of the series (25 points, 11 rebounds, 11 assists), while Derrick Rose was one dime short of his own triple-double. The series is proving to be a great showcase of two of the best young point guards in the league.

      – Looking at the box score, something strange jumped out. It says that the Celtics were -17 in the five minutes that Stephon Marbury was on the court. That’s mind-boggling.

      – In the only snoozer of the day, LeBron James had 36 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists in the Cavs’ 21-point victory over the (hapless) Pistons. Detroit got just eight points combined from Rip Hamilton, Tayshaun Prince and Rasheed Wallace, and were led by the unlikely duo of Antonio McDyess (26 points) and Will Bynum (22 points). I expect this will be Wallace’s last game in a Pistons uni.

      – Hedo Turkoglu hit a huge three in the waning seconds of Game 4 of the Orlando/Philly series to give the Magic the win. Orlando seizes back control of the series and now it’s a best-of-three with two games in O-Town.

      – The Rockets trailed by six heading into the fourth quarter, but locked the Blazers down defensively, allowing just 18 points in the final period. Shane Battier hit back-to-back threes, and Carl Landry followed up with a 20-footer to give the Rockets a four-point lead with 2:30 to play. Houston made enough free throws down the stretch to seal the win. The Rockets got a combined 38 points and 20 rebounds from Yao Ming and Luis Scola, and now have the Blazers on the ropes.

      – Greg Oden continues his fouling ways. He had five fouls in 11 minutes tonight. In the series, he now has 19 fouls in 66 minutes. Wowsers.

      NBA, NBA Finals

      Pistons swept and looking to clean house

      April 26, 2009 /

      http://mikedorazio.files.wordpress.com/2008/04/rasheed-wallace-rip-hamilton-480.jpg

      First off, pardon the crap pun in the title. With the Detroit Pistons now officially swept by Cleveland, Pistons fans are looking toward next season, as are the columnists. Chris Broussard of ESPN.com writes:

      By letting Iverson and his $22 million walk along with Rasheed and his $13.7 million, Detroit will have roughly $17 million in cap space this summer.

      With only a few other teams significantly under the cap and most teams trying to cut payroll rather than add it, the Pistons are in terrific position to improve their club. Impact players who are likely to be available as free agents are Carlos Boozer, Paul Millsap, Ben Gordon, Marvin Williams, Hedo Turkoglu, Charlie Villanueva and Anderson Varejao.

      On top of that, several teams may be looking to trade good players merely to gain financial relief, as New Orleans attempted to do at the trade deadline with Tyson Chandler. Detroit is in position to take advantage of whatever fire sales may take place around the league.

      Detroit will have a very different face in the next season. Since their championship run in 2004, it’s been quite a steady rate of decline for Rasheed Wallace and company. Their victory over the highly favored Lakers was, while admittedly not the most exciting brand of basketball, nonetheless a wonderful series to watch. Despite the obviously overpowering talent of the final year that Shaq and Kobe were together on the court, the Pistons managed to generally outplay and outshine them in all 5 games. Their victory was a great upset and a wonderful example of a team beating individual talent.

      Will that same mentality exist in Detroit at the start of next season? I can only hope so. In this time when a superstar seems a necessary component to winning, the Cavaliers for example, it was quite refreshing to see fundamental and basic basketball strategies win the day over the flashier favorites.

      This year’s playoffs don’t have much of a hope for something like 5 years ago happening again. The Lakers look like pretty heavy favorites (in fact the only team with a semi-shot at beating them is Lebron James and the four other guys he plays with), but with Joe Dumars still a proponent of the solid-D, pass-heavy team play of past Detroit teams, it may be a great year next time around for Pistons fans, but something of a snoozer for everybody else.

      Bullz-Eye Sports Channel, Fantasy Basketball, NBA, Rumors & Gossip

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