The baby T-Wolves look to even the score against the Pistons' second unit. The mighty, mighty Bobcats travel north to face the intimidating Nets. The Magic meet the playoff-bound Hawks with absolutely nothing on the line!
How many days left in the regular season again?
Two?
Good.
Yes, as lame as tonight's NBA schedule looks, at least there's some playoff seeding to still be decided out West.
In Los Angeles, the Lakers can wrap up home-court advantage throughout the Western Conference playoffs with a win against the Kings.
Considering how kind the STAPLES Center celebrities and lighting has been to Lakers this season (29-11 at home), you can be sure Phil Jackson will look to play Kobe and the starters enough minutes to go after that slight advantage for the upcoming hellish playoffs.
Game time is a late one — 10:30 pm EST — so in the meantime make sure you swing by Forum Blue & Gold to read Kurt's excellent game preview. No one sets up a LAL game better than him.
Enjoy the action.
Sacramento Kings: 38-43, 93.2 possessions per game (8th in the NBA), 109.0 points scored per 100 possessions (13th in the NBA), 111.5 points allowed per 100 possessions (25th in the NBA).
Los Angeles Lakers: 56-25, 94.0 possessions per game (6th), 114.7 points scored per 100 possessions (3rd), 107.1 points allowed per 100 possessions (7th).
Create-a-caption: Nugget Man to the rescue!
"Faster than an Allen Iverson crossover, more powerful than a Kenyon Martin slam, and able to leap tall Marcus Cambys in a single bound ... it's ... it's ... Nugget Man!" But who or what is he coming to save? What powers does he possess? What's his kryptonite? So many questions, folks. Best answers win his tinfoil cape.
After the jump, Young Hov and Hakeem spit a few bars.
Winner, Mash:
[Jay-Z]
I'm wit my girl B and my boy Hakeem / We be watchin' these Nets, yeah, I own the team
We be conquerin the globe, from the Bay to Brussels, / Between these Nets and I, only one Carter hussles (not you Vince!)
Devin, he be aight, the rest are like a cursed itch / Yo Hakeem, unretire, and please replace Krstic
With some solid moves, like LeBron, we should win / So long as the second move, is these Nets to Brooklyn!
Runner-up, TC:
[Hakeem]
People call me Hakeem, and I got so much game / I had to add another letter to the front of my name
Why am I smilin'? Me and my boy Jay Z / After the game are going to go to Coldstone Creamery
[Jay-Z]
Its ya boy, with Beyonce sitting next to me / And some dude I never met who calls himself The Dream
He's been bugging me all game, and just to keep him quiet / I said we'd go to Coldstone, he doesnt know that I'm lying.
Engrave it: Who is the NBA's Defensive Player of the Year?
We continue engraving names into the NBA's end of the season hardware. Up next: the Defensive Player of the Year. Cast your vote below, but first a quick look at the top defensive stalwarts.
Shane Battier, Rockets. Key stats: 5.1 rpg, 1.2 bpg, 1.0 spg. Battier often matches up against one of the opposition's top scorers (Kobe, Melo, Speed Racer) and has built a strong reputation as an elite perimeter defender. He's got The Dream Shake's vote.
Bruce Bowen, Spurs. Key stats: 2.9 rpg, 0.7 spg, 0.3 bpg. At 36, Bowen is still one of best perimeter defenders in the NBA, with seven consecutive nominations for the NBA All-Defensive First and Second Teams.
Marcus Camby, Nuggets. Key stats: 13.2 rpg, 3.6 bpg, 1.2 spg. The Camby Man once again leads the league in blocks, is second in defensive rebounds, and still swipes over a steal a game from the center position. Overall his numbers are better than last season's DPOY campaign.
Kevin Garnett, Celtics. Key stats: 9.3 rpg, 1.6 spg, 1.4 bpg. Boston leads the league in fewest points allowed, defensive efficiency, opposing field-goal percentage and creating turnovers. People want to give credit to Rondo and assistant coach Tom Thibodeau, but forget it: KG's the real reason for the C's 180. Look at this man!
Josh Smith, Hawks. Key stats: 8.3 rpg, 2.9 bpg, 1.5 spg. "The Human (Defensive) Highlight Film."
Honorable mentions: Ron Artest, Kings; Kobe Bryant, Lakers; Tim Duncan, Spurs; Dwight Howard, Magic; Chris Paul, Hornets; Tayshaun Prince, Pistons; Rasheed Wallace, Pistons.
[Note: There is a poll within this post, RSS readers. Please visit BDL to cast your vote.]
The Internets are alive: Sonics soap opera
The 'Save Our Sonics' dream will not die. Former Sonics owner Howard Schultz, who sold the team to Clay Bennett and his Oklahoma City investors, has hired a lawyer and is preparing to file a lawsuit against Bennett to rescind the July '06 sale. Here's what they're saying out in the ether about this latest legal development ...SonicsCentral: "What I think we are really starting to get a sense of is something I have been saying for a while. People ask how I can be involved in such a David VS Goliath type battle but they never realize that OUR TEAM IS GOLIATH! The combined business power, consumer base and government influence of this region should not be intimidated. We’re coming at the league from all angles now and it feels very good. [...] In this case I think we'll also be able to see that his efforts will be compared and contrasted to other ownership efforts to get an arena. When this starts to vet publicly Clay's efforts are going to look pathetic. I think there is a strong possibility that this results in a deferral of the vote. It is getting somewhat out of control and that is a good thing."
Peter Nussbaum, Supersonicsoul: "I wish the rest of the country would have some inclination as to how unlikely it is that the Sonics will leave. I think the prevailing opinion is that the Sonics are as good as gone, when in reality they are quite unlikely to leave, for a variety of reasons. It's wonderful to see people such as Stern and Bennett have to lose in public, since it doesn't happen nearly enough to blowhards such as them."
Prof. Joel Ngugi, Enjoy The Enjoyment: "... it seems important that Howard used very specific legal language namely 'best efforts.' If this language was actually included in the contract, it imposes a very high burden on Bennett & Co. It not only obligates them to act diligently and cooperatively to accomplish the purpose of the contract, but an express 'best efforts' clause would impose a higher burden that rises to near fiduciary level of obligation. This would make it easier to prove a breach of 'good faith' efforts clause."
Jerry Brewer, Seattle Times: "Schultz's dire attempt to right his wrong is the longest of all shots. And though he probably won't admit it, he's motivated in part by a desire to suppress fan anger. If Seattle becomes an NBA ghost town, he doesn't want to walk around fearing for his coffee beans. Since selling the team in July 2006, Schultz has been able to avoid his great mistake without penalty. He could've continued to skirt the issue and lived on, guilty but wealthy. So his decision to litigate the Raiders — and consequently, put his basketball failures back in the limelight — shows both contrition and an honest admission that he was bamboozled."
Shoals, The Sporting Blog: "Howard is reviled in this city, and has largely avoided the entire fray up until now. When, out of nowhere, he emerges as maybe the best shot this city has at salvation. Really, this just means more court hi-jinx, but this new wrinkle has soap operatic potential. I'm actually almost back to thinking "damn, we really missed out by not seeing Ray Allen, Rashard Lewis, and Kevin Durant together," which hasn't occurred to me in months. Thanks, Howie."
Memphis' Rose to leave early, enter NBA draft
Memphis freshman Derrick Rose announced on Tuesday that he would forgo his last three years of eligibility and enter the NBA draft.
Cavs clinch No. 4 spot in controversial fashion
The 'Year of the NBA Clock' continued in Philadelphia last night. With the Sixers back in the locker room playing Madden and eating oranges slices — convinced they had just beat Cleveland 90-89 — the NBA officials convened at the monitors to take a second look at the game's final play. After much deliberation, they decided Samuel Dalembert had fouled Devin Brown with 0.2 seconds left, thus awarding him two free throws. Here's the drama, via Odenized:
Adding insult to injury, the loss means that the Sixers will be the seventh seed in the playoffs and face the Conference Finals machine Pistons in the first round. The boys over at Passion and Pride are not impressed.
But hey, props to Brown for calmly sinking both of his free throws after the extended break in action. He should consider becoming an NFL placekicker.
Gonzaga's Pargo to enter draft, won't hire agent
Gonzaga junior Jeremy Pargo will declare for the NBA draft but not retain an agent, the school announced Tuesday night.
ESPN.com has launched many new basketball widgets that offer scores, stats, and news
No comments:
Post a Comment