Category: NBA (Page 472 of 595)

As I was watching Kobe Bryant go off for 49 points in the Lakers/Nuggets game last night, I found it odd to see him run around pulling his jersey forward, displaying the Laker logo. Wasn’t it just last summer that he was throwing Andrew Bynum and Mitch Kupchak under the bus? Wasn’t it just last November that he was sulking around the court, still trying to force a trade? Now that his team is winning, he’s completely happy with the Lakers, which is fine, but that wasn’t the reason he was so angry in the first place (or so he said). Last summer, he was all pissed off when an unnamed source in the front office blamed him for forcing Shaq out of town. Has anyone apologized for those comments? Not to our knowledge, but that’s nothing that a few wins can’t fix. Now that I think about it, he and the Lakers deserve each other – a front-running player playing in front of a bunch of front-running fans.

The first round of the Western Conference playoffs were promising, but thus far, they haven’t been all that exciting. Aside from the Suns/Spurs double-overtime thriller, the average margin of victory in the other seven games in the West has been 12.3 points, and none of those games were closer than six points. Moreover, all four series are at 2-0.

That said, there is plenty of potential going forward. The Suns, Nuggets and Mavericks are all heading home for must-win Game 3’s. The ESPN Friday night doubleheader (Hornets/Mavs, Suns/Spurs) could set up important Sunday games in those series.

Hornets 127, Mavs 103 (Hornets, 2-0)
Chris Paul’s average line through two playoff games: 33.5 points, 13.5 assists, 3.5 steals, 64% from the field. He and the Hornets are on fire and right now it just looks like Dallas is in the way…After dropping two games in New Orleans, I’m sure Dallas fans are seriously second-guessing the Jason Kidd trade. He is averaging just 9.0 points and 8.5 assists, while shooting 40% from the field in the playoffs. I bet Devin Harris is looking awfully good right now and he’ll look even better if the Mavs make a first-round exit…Even though he plays the same position as Dirk, Brandon Bass keeps earning more playing time. Last night, he went for 19/8 and his strong play off the bench has earned him minutes when Nowitzki moves to center…Josh Howard has been a no-show. He is shooting just 27% from the field, which is surprising because he’s being guarded (mostly) by Peja Stojakovic, a suspect defender.

Magic 104, Raptors 103 (Magic, 2-0)
Everyone is talking about Dwight Howard, but how can you not? He had his second straight 20+ point, 20+ rebound effort to help the Magic overcome a combined 11 for 36 shooting effort from Hedo Turkoglu and Rashard Lewis…Jameer Nelson came up big with 18 points and six assists. The knock on him when he came out of college was his height, but the recent rule changes that promote more dribble penetration really helped his game flourish. His points were down for the second straight season, but he said a career high in assists (5.6) and upped his shooting percentage to 47%.

Spurs 102, Suns, 96 (Spurs, 2-0)
The Suns were doing just fine until an 11-point third quarter did them in. They have to find a way to slow down Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili’s penetration. They lost speed and athleticism when they traded away Shawn Marion for Shaq, and it’s starting to show…Doug Collins was right when he said this is a defining series for the Suns organization. If they don’t go back to Phoenix and even it up, it’ll be clear that they shot themselves in the foot with the Shaq trade.

Jazz 90, Rockets 84
It doesn’t need to be said, but I’ll say it anyway: the Rockets are done. Kaput. They could steal a game in Utah, but it’s unlikely and it won’t matter. The Jazz are going to win this series…The 27 year-old Luis Scola made a late push for ROY, averaging 13.6 points and 8.4 rebounds after the All-Star break, and he went for 14/5 tonight, but the guy is pretty lost defensively. I counted at least three Utah baskets that were a direct result of Scola being woefully out of position. He also committed a bonehead foul that erased a game-tying three with less than a minute to play. I don’t know how good his English is, but it has to be tough to communicate complex basketball strategy to someone who doesn’t speak the language that well.

Cavs 116, Wizards 86
Brendan Haywood deserved to get tossed for his flagrant foul on LeBron. He simply threw a two-hand shove on an airborne player and didn’t make any attempt at the ball. The league has worked hard at cleaning up that garbage, and sometimes the refs go a little too far, but they got it right this time…The Wizards have to have THE UGLIEST uniforms in the league, possibly in all of sports. I don’t know who dreamt them up, but whoever it was should be fired.