NBA

[bodiddley]

Josh Smith with 17 &10 + 5 blocks and 4 steals.
Wonder if this could be his all-star year.
Cause it's coming.

Glad to see Pietrus starting and coming through with 20 points.
He's going to be important for O'lando, since they have a real iffy bench.

I like Terry Porter, and Phoenix might indeed win 50.
Nice win v. Spurs.

[kidcarter8]

Josh Smith with 17 &10 + 5 blocks and 4 steals.
Wonder if this could be his all-star year.
Cause it's coming.

Glad to see Pietrus starting and coming through with 20 points.
He's going to be important for O'lando, since they have a real iffy bench.

I like Terry Porter, and Phoenix might indeed win 50.
Nice win v. Spurs.

Set that bar real high, did ya?

About 8 wins shy of what Mike D averaged.

[bodiddley]

I meant to type 50+.
But it's an old team, relying on Shaq and Hill to stay healthy.
Beat the Spurs who are also old and were minus two starters.

I think the Suns did themselves in by giving away draft picks the past few years.
I think Porter is a good coach, but not sure it's a great situation.
If Shaq and Stat stay healthy ...

[kidcarter8]

Barnes/Lopez/Dragic additions very nice

[kam]

The only sport where its ok to do this.

[bodiddley]

Barnes/Lopez/Dragic additions very nice

Yeah, but how much do they offer the next two years, because that's all that Shaq and Grant Hill have left.  And Nash is aging.

Here's a decent article on what Porter is trying to do, and the transition period they're going through.
 http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=ys-sunschanging103108

============================================================
Boston eviscerating the Bulls.
86-64 with 6 minutes left.
Ty Thomas 2 of 17.  Deng clanking jumpers.
Nocioni just fouled out in under 10 minutes.
Bulls at 27% FG.

Maybe better trade options come along when some teams get desperate for a post scorer.

[kam]

NBA Free Agents in 2009 and 2010

[kam]

Chris Paul sets the record with 106 straight games with at least one steal.

They've only been keeping the record for 35 years, and the game was not stopped to acknowledge the feat.

Should the game have been stopped? I dont know, but thats mighty impressive.

How does it rank against Dimaggio's 56 straight games with a hit?

Is either feat more or less impressive than the other?

[bodiddley]

Basketball steals might analogize better to steals in baseball.
A nice extra, and can have impact, but not the real meat and potatoes.
In this analogy, deflections are like taking a big lead off the base and distracting the pitcher (offense).

The Jarrett Jack Fan Club, like Harvey Milk, is here to recruit you:

Jack hit a 3-pointer to put Indiana up by six with 1:04 to play.
Belinelli answered with a 3-pointer, but Jack made two free throws with 22.6 seconds left to make it 123-118, Indiana.

It was Jack's first start since he was traded from Portland in the off-season.
O’Brien was pleased with Jack’s effort.


“I think he played with a great deal of heart,” he said.
“Jarrett gives you everything he has every night out. He’s a warrior.”

And a little more critical from Rosen:

Jarrett Jack: Strong, fearless, smart — but not very smooth with the ball — and has no shooting stroke. Played good defense against Allen Iverson and Rip Hamilton — was hurt most often when he tried to top screens.

The verdict: An excellent backup point, but one with obvious limitations.

[liquidsilver]

The NBA is about a quarter through its season. Who's been naughty and who's been nice?

Detroit's Rasheed Wallace leads in technical fouls, Miami's Dwyane Wade in 40-point games. At the quarter mark (statistics through Sunday)


http://www.usatoday.com/sports/basketball/nba/2008-12-22-stats-first-quarter_N.htm

[kam]

The NBA is about a quarter through its season. Who's been naughty and who's been nice?

Detroit's Rasheed Wallace leads in technical fouls, Miami's Dwyane Wade in 40-point games. At the quarter mark (statistics through Sunday)


http://www.usatoday.com/sports/basketball/nba/2008-12-22-stats-first-quarter_N.htm

I think I heard during the Celtics-Knicks broadcast on Sunday that Kendrick Perkins leads the league in technicals now.

[bodiddley]

Billups didn’t feel the Nuggets underestimated the Pacers, who are 19-11 at home and are playing well without injured All-Star Danny Granger.

“I don’t think there was a letdown,” he said. “We came in focused. Obviously, this team is difficult, especially in this building. They get to running and gunning, and they’ve got guys that can really make plays. Although they’re without some of their good players, they’ve got other guys that are playing well and making plays.”

Jack is one of those players. He scored a career-high 33 points against New York on Feb. 23, and is averaging 24 points in his past four games.

“He’s been huge, especially with all the injuries we’ve had,” Murphy said. “He’s a guy who’s able to step in and play multiple positions, he gets the ball to the basket, he makes big assists and plays tough defense. He’s been great for us all year, off the bench, starting. He does really whatever we need.”

Jack moved into the starting lineup when TJ was out, and played well enough to stick there after Ford came back (moving Marquis to the bench, until Granger went down).  Jack is still a bit turnover prone -- due to being aggressive in going to the basket and not having a real PG handle/court vision.
A bit undersized at the 2, but strong and tough.
His shooting has improved with increased ops.
Great role player.

[bodiddley]

Joe Smith set free by the ex-Sonics.
Likely to be scooped up by the LeBrons.
Which would help on D with Ben Wallace out.
Would be a nice extra Big for going up against the Celts and Lakes.
=============================================================
Drew Gooden also bought out, and rumored to go to the Spurs:

The Sacramento Kings agreed to a buyout with forward Drew Gooden, according to Yahoo! Sports on Sunday night.

Citing league executives, the web site said that Gooden and the team agreed just prior to Sunday’s midnight deadline. Terms, however, were not reported.

Yahoo! said that the San Antonio Spurs are the favorites to acquire Gooden, who was sent to the Kings from the Chicago Bulls on February 19, the league’s trade deadline.

[bosox18d]

Lakers down by 30 tonight so they cheap shot a Portland player and nearly cause serious harm.Phil and the Lakers are a real CLASS ACT.

[bodiddley]

My case against Kobe as MVP:

Bryant scored 32 points for the Lakers, but in the final minute alone he missed a key 3-pointer, had a crucial turnover and was off on another 3.

I've seen this a handful of times this year.
Kobe has had a good but not great year.
Probably not worth worrying about as LBJ will probably win in a landslide.

=============================================
Watched the end of a Utah loses to GS and as the Jazz continue to limp towards the playoffs.  Not sure why.  Now they'll run into the Lakes in the first round, when they looked like they'd get the easier Nugs or Rocks.
(Another embarrassing head-scratcher is how Detroit has dropped form their date with Orlando to a likely meeting with LeBron).

As for GS, both Crawford and Ellis were out, so CJ Watson went off for 38.
The last 8 were on intentional fouls in the last minute.  And I saw CJ miss a few tough shots in the fourth, but the highlights showed he had it going earlier.
Which makes the Crawford addition even stranger.  CJ is basically a young Crawford type.  Why not groom him, instead of adding a high-priced vet?

GS apparently tied a record with 7 players scoring 30 or more in a game in the season.  Jax, Craw, Ellis.  Azubuike, Maggette, CJ Watson.  And Anthony Morrow, I believe.  Ah, the genius of Don Nelson.

Well, it's a 73 degree Sunday, so I'm off to play hoops.  The outdoor courts are bound to be crowded.  Might check out the courts by the gym, since the 50 cent admission might thin the herd some.