Whether they are equipped to play this kind of game remains to be seen, but they had better learn quickly that this series will be decided by the coach who can get his team to lock in longer defensively. In this particular instance, that team was Chicago, and for 48 minutes it was a masterpiece of the art.
That was the lesson from Game 1, a 103-82 Chicago blowout, and it was a sight to behold. The Bulls were more precise, more intense, more dedicated to making certain that every last stop was brought to its conclusion, with their four main bigs snatching more rebounds than the entire Miami team.
If you took one look at the Celtics sideline late on Wednesday night, you would have seen Rajon Rondo and Jermaine O’Neal lying on their aching backs, straining their necks to see the action on the floor. You would have seen Kevin Garnett expending the same amount of energy to do half the things he used to do. Shaquille O’Neal, the future Hall of Famer the Celtics signed to combat the Lakers in The Finals, spent what may be his final NBA game as the largest Big & Tall model in history. And as good as Paul Pierce and Ray Allen are, LeBron James and Dwyane Wade are younger and have more talent.
The Celtics wanted to play, but their bodies betrayed them. Their time has ended. The Lakers too. Three days prior to LeBron and the Heat ending the Celtics’ successful four-year run in the East, the “new old” Mavs — an oxymoron — swept Phil Jackson and the two-time defending champion Lakers, playing like schoolyard chumps, into next season.
Kevin Durant shuffled his sneakered feet slowly down a dimly lit hallway, head bowed, every ounce of energy drained from his 6-foot-9, 230-pound frame.
It was Durant’s shot, a feathery 19-footer, his 20th attempt of the night, his team’s 95th of the game, that sealed Oklahoma City’s 133-123 triple overtime victory Monday, ending a 3-hour, 52-minute marathon and squaring the Thunder’s suddenly gripping second-round series with Memphis at two games apiece.
The defending champs were swept out of the playoffs in the second round in thoroughly embarrassing fashion, culminated in a 122-86 demolition job by the Mavs. It was painful and embarrassing for the Lakers, but appropriate credit to the aggressors; while the Lakers disgraced themselves with their abysmal effort and lack of composure in Game 4, it was the Mavs’ execution in every game of this series that exposed the Lakers. L.A. was forced to respond constantly to Dallas’ ball movement and timely defensive rotations, and clearly wasn’t up to the challenge — a point made clear with each ridiculously open three that the Mavs took in Game 4, and the offensive possessions that grinded to a halt against Dallas’ defensive pressure.
Pau Gasol, who has seemed somewhat melancholy lately on and off the court, reportedly was dumped by his girlfriend, Sylvia Lopez Castro two weeks ago and the Spaniard blames Kobe Bryant’s wife. MediaTakeOut.com claims an unnamed Lakers wife might have talked Lopez Castro out of the relationship, resulting in the two players engaging in a heated argument over their women.
Danny Granger scored 20 points for the Pacers while Roy Hibbert added 16 points as Indiana was finally able to close out a game for the first time in this series. The Pacers’ defense was on point most of the day, limiting Derrick Rose and company throughout. Rose was just 5-for-20 from the field for 15 points. As a team, the Bulls looked tired and that showed in the form of their shooting percentage — just 37 percent. Rose simply couldn’t save the Bulls this time around and there will surely be fans who wonder if the sprained ankle he suffered at the end of the first quarter had something to do with his performance.
The Chicago Bulls lead the Indiana Pacers 2-0 in their first-round series. Although the Bulls are the No. 1 seed in the East, they have been played extremely tough by the Pacers. Indiana led for the entire Game 1 until Kyle Korver hit a go ahead three-pointer with under a minute to play. The Pacers then were very competitive in Game 2.
There have been a couple factors for why the Bulls have struggled in the first two games. Part of it has to do with them and part has to do with the Pacers.
The fallout was swift. And entirely predictable. The N.B.A. issued a fine and a harsh statement.
“Kobe Bryant’s comment during last night’s game was offensive and inexcusable,” Stern said. “While I’m fully aware that basketball is an emotional game, such a distasteful term should never be tolerated. Kobe and everyone associated with the N.B.A. know that insensitive or derogatory comments are not acceptable and have no place in our game or society.”
But the penalty wasn’t harsh enough. For a star player earning $27 million this season, a $100,000 fine — about 0.4 percent of his salary — is far less imposing than cutting into his playing time.
Despite being 23 years old, Brook Lopez is very much a kid. A 7-foot, 265-pound kid. A gentle giant, if you will.
Off the court, that’s all well and good. It just doesn’t translate well on the hardwood.
Only two centers average more points than Lopez’s 20.4 per game. But 17 are averaging more than his six rebounds per game. And heading into the offseason, that’s where he needs to improve.
Johnson has called him out on it several times during the season.
In early January, when asked if he dreamed about the prospect of acquiring superstar Carmelo Anthony, Johnson responded, “No, I dream about our center grabbing 10 rebounds.”
According to the report, the likelihood of the Heat signing Curry is “better than 50-50.” But to add Curry, the Heat would have to waive a player, since the team is already at the league limit with 15. Dexter Pittman, a rookie who once played in the NBA Development League and saw his first action with the Heat Friday night against Minnesota, is rumored to be the player who could be cut to make room for Curry, who, according to the report is still hovering around 350 pounds.
During an optional team practice Saturday at The Sports Academy in Millburn, N.J., Pittman didn’t sound like a man who was worried by the rumors.
“It’s a business and by being in a business, you’ve got to make business decisions,” he said. “There’s always rumors. Some are true.”
James was delayed in getting into the arena for the Miami Heat’s shootaround Tuesday morning when he arrived with a driver and a second car at the entrance of the Cleveland Cavaliers’ underground parking garage.
Cavs officials said James eventually was cleared to enter the building, but several people with him were not. The two cars then left, and James alone returned a short time later and was allowed in, officials said.
While LeBron James later made himself feel at home with his fourth triple-double of the year, the Cavaliers got the last laugh, knocking off the Heat 102-90.
Cleveland owner Dan Gilbert took to Twitter following the game saying, “Not in our garage!!”
Stephon Marbury has become a mega star in China, where he recently won the MVP award in the CBA All Star game.
Stephon Marbury was named the MVP of the recent Chinese Basketball Association All Star game, though the rule permitting foreigners to use nunchucks while on the court likely aided him.
NBA bad-boy Stephon Marbury is happy to be in a country where people clamor for his autograph. His new Chinese team, the Foshan Dragon Lions, doesn’t win much – it’s now fourth from the bottom of the league – yet local fans and media still applaud the biggest American name in Chinese basketball.
“China is a positive place, what can I say,” said Marbury, who during his time with the Knicks, from 2004 to 2009, became so unpopular that the New York Daily News called him “the most reviled athlete in New York.” The Chinese, unlike Americans – and particularly New Yorkers – “don’t fill their souls with negativity,” said the 34-year-old point guard, who is known here in China as Ma-bu-li.
As it turns out, trading for ‘Melo, a scorer known to concede with some regularity on defense, didn’t fix the defense. Who could ever have guessed that? As it also turns out, ‘Melo isn’t quite as valuable a scorer as he has widely been considered to be. Anthony isn’t terribly efficient; when Kevin Durant, LeBron James or even Kevin Martin drop 25, they typically do so on fewer shots than someone like ‘Melo would need. That matters! Some discount Anthony’s shot creation value too much, and those who claim he’s not even a legit All-Star level player are being disingenuous; the Knicks’ offense, after all, has performed statistically better since the trade, hellfire and all.
But ‘Melo isn’t one of the top five or 10 players in the league. It appears the hype of his months-long courtship by the Nets and Knicks (and a few other teams) blinded enough people to that fact, given the shock and dismay his sub-MVP performance in New York has drawn. If fans expected Alexander the Great and instead got Mithridates, well of course they’ll be disappointed, even if he turns out to be pretty good.
It’s the same resolve that fueled him to go on to win Finals MVP for the second consecutive postseason last year despite playing on a right knee that was worse than anyone could really understand. He didn’t just have the knee drained once in the first round against Oklahoma City as was widely reported, but twice more — between the second round against Utah and the conference finals against Phoenix and again between Games 4 and 5 of the Finals — according to a team source.
The Sacramento Kings have taken yet another step toward a potential move to Southern California.
With the Kings exploring relocation to Anaheim, a Sacramento attorney representing the team’s owners filed for at least four federal trademark registrations this month.
Among the names filed for according to the United States Patent and Trademark Office’s website were: Anaheim Royals, Anaheim Royals of Southern California, Orange County Royals and Los Angeles Royals. The filing was made March 3 by attorney Scott Hervey on behalf of the Crickets Corp., a Nevada-based company.
Hervey has worked for Kings owners Joe and Gavin Maloof in previous sports business dealings, including the Maloof Money Cup skateboarding competition in Orange County. A message left at Hervey’s office seeking comment was not immediately returned Wednesday.
Joe Maloof declined to comment about the trademark filing, and a message left with an NBA spokesman also was not immediately returned.
The Orlando Magic rode a monstrous 26-point, 15-rebound, 5-block game from Dwight Howard in easily dispatching the Phoenix Suns, 111-88, Sunday afternoon in a game in which they never trailed. Howard led seven Magic players in double-figure scoring as Orlando put on an offensive clinic, scoring with ease against a Suns defense that simply couldn’t take anything away.
The box score says 15,000+ were at Target Center. They weren’t, but for a Wednesday night against Indiana, there was a pretty good crowd – and they were all on their feet for Kevin Love. Big cheers went up whenever he grabbed a rebound, or touched the ball on offense, and when he went to the free throw line in the second quarter with nine points and 10 boards already, the crowd rose to its feet. Love hit the first, waved to the roaring crowd, then bricked the second. He ended up missing seven free throws and he limped everywhere he went, but he gave the crowd what they came to see.
At that moment it was clear that James is the new Alex Rodriguez, or at least the pre-2009 postseason A-Rod. He wants so badly to be right that he’s all wrong. He missed a free throw he could have made in his sleep because he simply wanted it too bad.
That’s the problem for the entire Heat team and why it can’t close out good teams down the stretch, why every last-second shot or buzzer beater goes awry.
James is the Miami Vice that is squeezing the life out of the Heat. His desire to win a title is so great, his need to prove his worth so profound that it is actually having the opposite effect on both his own fortune and his team’s. That’s why Miami has a disappointing 14-18 against teams with winning records.
Playing short-handed in their first game without Anthony on Feb. 22, the Nuggets stormed to a 120-107 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies, a contender for the playoffs themselves. Denver won four of its next five games heading into Saturday night’s game against the Los Angeles Clippers.
Among the most noteworthy aspects of those six games is the Nuggets’ teamwork. Denver has had five different leading scorers (including the newcomer Danilo Gallinari, who scored 30 points in a 107-106 overtime loss to Portland); three different leading rebounders; and two different leaders in assists (including Raymond Felton, who has averaged 6.2 assists a game so far).
Baron’s already struggled to stay motivated and in shape with the Clippers; what happens when he’s playing for the worst team in the league, a coach (Byron Scott) that he absolutely hated in New Orleans? I’m imagining a more spiteful version of Eddy Curry. Not just gaining weight and losing interest, but doing all of it to prove a point.
Baron’s revolution in Cleveland will not be televised, but here’s to hoping it will involve hot dogs on the bench, dozens of donut boxes decorating his locker, and lots and lots of on-court yawning.
Of course, he could just skip out on Cleveland altogether.
Ric Bucher said as much on ESPN:
“the big question for me right now is, will we see Baron Davis actually in a Cavaliers’ uniform? Because that ‘knee injury’ [air quotes] that caused him to sit out last night’s game, I could see that become a real serious issue
Every team needs a 1, 1A punch,” Stoudemire said. “And so with the ways that we both can score …. we’re very versatile, so it’s hard to guard us.
“Stoudemire said he had “no doubt” the All-Star forwards and longtime friends could play together, and said Anthony would handle the move to New York as well as he has.
“It’s what he wants. It’s what I wanted, to come to New York and play on the big stage,” Stoudemire said. “He has the same type of swag. This is what he wants and he can handle it. We’re going to do it together.”
The Knicks haven’t made the playoffs since 2004, but are in sixth place in their first season since acquiring Stoudemire from Phoenix last summer. He thinks the blockbuster deal could make them better equipped to face teams such as Boston or Miami, which already have multiple All-Stars, in the postseason.
Clippers rookie power forward Blake Griffin won the Slam Dunk contest by leaping over a compact car while catching a pass from teammate Baron Davis through the sunroof and then slamming the ball through the rim with two hands Saturday night at Staples Center.
The final round by scored by fans nationwide. Griffin defeated Wizards center JaVale McGee, who did a one-handed catch and dunk in his final attempt. But Griffin’s final dunk triggered wild applause as he jumped over the car perfectly and scored his dunk in his first attempt.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Under its current deal with Fox Sports West, the Lakers were getting about $30 million a year in rights fees, people familiar with the situation said. Some industry observers pegged the 20-year pact at a value of $3 billion, a figure dismissed by Time Warner Cable.
In a statement, Fox Sports said it had made the Lakers an offer that “would have paid them one of the highest local TV rights fees in professional sports. We did not believe that going higher was in the best interest of our business or pay TV customers in Los Angeles, who will bear the cost of this deal for years to come.
The Detroit Pistons plan to retire Dennis Rodman’s No. 10 during a halftime ceremony in April.
The eccentric rebounding specialist helped the Pistons win NBA titles in 1989 and 1990. He’ll be honored April 1 when the Pistons host the Chicago Bulls, a team Rodman won three championships with from 1996-98.
Detroit rookie Greg Monroe(notes) currently wears No. 10 and will be allowed to keep it.
Sloan, the NBA’s longest-tenured coach, and his longtime assistant, Phil Johnson, resigned together on Thursday. The Jazz planned a 5 p.m. ET news conference to officially make the announcement.
Sloan’s relationship with Williams had grown progressively worse over the course of the season, league sources said, and the coach had tired of dealing with the team’s best player. The frustration escalated on Wednesday night when Sloan and Williams clashed in the locker room at halftime.
“He decided right there in halftime that he was done,” a league source told Yahoo! Sports. “He felt like ownership was listening more to Williams than they were to him anymore. He was done.”
But perched on the trade block in Denver, Carmelo’s transformed into a Favre-like headline machine—even when the big news is no news at all. He is the new all-consuming sports TV distraction, whose potential whereabouts are chronicled in the same breathless way Mr. Favre’s various afflictions were once updated in real-time.
Carmelo’s coming to New York. No, it’s New Jersey. Maybe Houston? Wait, New York again. New Jersey? New York. L.A.? Round and round it goes. Rinse and repeat.
The team that’s been trotting out onto the floor in those wine and gold uniforms for most of this streak doesn’t much resemble an NBA team at all, let alone the one that won more regular-season games than anybody else in the past two seasons. Those guys are mostly gone, replaced for now by a patchwork group of young players that’s not only overmatched but hasn’t been able to build any type of continuity due to constant injuries, change and beatings. The physical kind, the kind that shows on the scoreboard, the kind that wears on the psyche of even the most polished player.
The last win — Dec. 18 in overtime against the New York Knicks — was a long, long time ago.
The Knicks beat LeBron James and the Miami Heat 93–88 last night, their first win over a LeBron team since December 2007, and Fields was the primary reason why. He had his prettiest night of stat feeling in a couple of months, scoring nineteen points, grabbing thirteen rebounds and dishing out six assists, but stats never quite capture Fields.
He was everywhere this game, ending up wherever the ball was, pestering both Dwyane Wade and LeBron James on defense and, of course, draining a clutch three in the final minute that sent the Garden into apoplexy. “Landry Fields was probably the player of the game,” Miami coach Erik Spoelstra said. “That’s a guy who survives on just making effort plays. And he’s relentless with his effort, does all the little things.” It was a Landry Fields night; the Heat machine was taken down by a second-round draft pick from Stanford.
Last week, The Times posted a poll question: Is Blake Griffin the greatest player in L.A. Clippers history? Only the Los Angeles era qualified, no reaching back into the San Diego archives or dusting off the Buffalo Braves’ records.
To date, Griffin has 295, or 43.45%, of the votes, more than twice the votes as the second-place finisher Danny Manning (121 votes, or 17.8%). Brand has 105 votes, or 15.4%. Granted, the sample was a small slice of fan representation — 680 votes in all to date — and certainly favors the here-and-now and the rapidly increasing buzz of all-things Griffin.
The Lakers humiliated the Cavs while sending them to their 11th consecutive loss, rolling to a 112-57 victory on Tuesday night in their best defensive performance of the shot-clock era.
It was the Lakers’ third-largest margin of victory since moving to Los Angeles, with the two biggest coming in 1972 and 1966.
“You don’t ever imagine something like that,” Kobe Bryant (FSY) said. “You just go out there and do your job and we did it for 48 minutes.”
Places not as good as Katchop that you still might go to anyway:
