Lakers suffer another bad break with Ariza injury

Lakers suffer another bad break with Ariza injury
With Andrew Bynum and Chris Mihm already out for the Lakers, L.A.'s front court took another hit. Forward Trevor Ariza, acquired from Orlando on Nov. 20, fractured a bone in his right foot during practice Sunday.

Suns spread ball, win 14th in row at home vs. Nets
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Report: Pacers' O'Neal says he may sit rest of '08
Center Jermaine O'Neal, who has been sidelined with a bruised left knee, told The Indianapolis Star for Monday's editions that he is willing to sit out the rest of the season to make sure his injury heals properly.

The List: Top Storylines of the Week
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Trevor Ariza breaks, basketball cries, Kwame burns and burns

Trevor Ariza breaks, basketball cries, Kwame burns and burns

It's hard, as a pro hoops fan, not to be a little ticked about Trevor Ariza's potential broken foot.

The 6-9 jumping jack was a fun watch during New York's disastrous 2004-05 run and the organization's desultory 2005-06 campaign. Traded to Orlando in February of 2006, the sound defender and high-riser floundered a bit due to inconsistent minutes before finding new life as Los Angeles's do-it-all wing after being traded to the Lakers last month.

Apparently, on Sunday and in the midst of a typical practice, Ariza came down on teammate Derek Fisher's foot. A broken right foot is the diagnosis, at least it isn't his left (jumping) foot, and we've yet to hear how long Trevor is out for. Either way, with Andrew Bynum already out until late March, this isn't welcome news for a Laker team that traded two rotation players to (smartly) acquire Ariza's services over a month ago.

And yet, that doesn't mean we're above having a little fun at Phil Jackson's expense.

Phil's a blinkin' basketball genius, and his outlook on the non-basketball aspects of life are one of the reasons we do what we do, for however long people are going to let "us" do it.

That said, his combination of hyperbole and stark candidness never fails to entertain. Here he is talking about Los Angeles' matchup with Denver's Marcus Camby, who is averaging a league-leading 3.95 blocked shots while "falling" second with a 21.9 rebound rate and a 14.3 rebounds per game average:

"It's not about his one-on-one defense. It's his team defense that Camby's renowned for," Jackson said. "We're definitely going to go in to Kwame against Camby. His size and his power against him is obviously a strength that we have."

Yikes. It makes sense, you'd like to have a center that someone like Marcus Camby would have to guard one on one, but those things don't really exist much these days, and it's a bit odd to hear Phil borderline-trumpeting Los Angeles' hope that their center's "power against [Camby]" will be enough to mitigate Marcus' other advantages over the Lake Show.

Ah, crap. I forgot that Kwame Brown is the "Kwame" in that quote, which is my bad, even though I've never met or heard of another "Kwame" in my 27 years.� Kwame Brown is the only real big that Jackson is left with in this instance, his legion of 6-8 backup power forwards really don't count, and I still feel like acting so adult now.

For a spell, at least. You know what? Forget it:

If you've ever met a "Kwame" in your life that doesn't hate/love cake as much as a certain "Kwame Brown," then let us know.

Here it is: let me know at kdonhoops (at) yahoo dot com

If you've ever heard of another man named "Kwame," and Google searches don't count (there needs to be some anecdotal evidence here), then we'll include Kwame's last name in any post we put together from here on out.

Until then, he's "Kwame." He might as well be a pretentious blankety-blank that plays bass for the Police. Let's change that.

The List: Top Storylines of the Week

The List: Top Storylines of the Week
Check out The List for the top 10 storylines of the week.

Team Reports: Ugly win for Rockets

Team Reports: Ugly win for Rockets
T-Mac returned, but Houston's offense went MIA. Sports XChange looks at the ugly end to Saturday's win over the Spurs.

It's time to tear down the Nets
While everyone was focused on the train wreck known as the Knicks, the Nets got mediocre. Peter Vecsey says it's time for a change.

Rockets ride Yao past Spurs; McGrady back

Rockets ride Yao past Spurs; McGrady back
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Iverson, Nuggets hand Wolves 20th road loss
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Mavericks hand sliding Sonics 10th straight loss
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Lead slips away as Heat drop 13th straight
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Bulls remain perfect against Pistons
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Barnes can't play due to inactive list snafu

Barnes can't play due to inactive list snafu
Golden State forward Matt Barnes was ruled ineligible Saturday night against Milwaukee because of an error made when the Warriors turned in their active and inactive lists. Barnes was not placed on either list when the team turned them in before the game. Instead, guard Mickael Pietrus was named on both lists, and was eligible to play. Barnes has played in 36 games, starting 12, and is averaging 7.7 points. He was not on the bench during the game.

Team reports: From bad to worse for the Heat
A 13-game skid is plenty of cause for concern. But Sports XChange says the Heat can't even win when their stars play well.

Magic overcome Blazers


Knicks extend Heat's losing streak to 13


Rockets star McGrady returns to floor
Rockets star Tracy McGrady returned against San Antonio on Saturday night after missing 11 games because of injuries to his left knee. The Rockets' leading scorer with 22.8 points per game, McGrady has been out since Dec. 28 due to a bone bruise, a strained tendon and tendinitis. The Rockets went 7-4 in his absence. McGrady did not start Saturday's game, but coach Rick Adelman said McGrady would play. "We have to continue to play like we've been trying to play," Adelman said.

West's 28 send Hornets to fourth straight win

West's 28 send Hornets to fourth straight win
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Warriors' Davis ties career-high 40 vs. Bulls
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Nash assists woeful Wolves to latest defeat
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Blazers rally to cool Heat despite Wade's 37
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Pierce, Allen carry Celts by struggling 76ers
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Artest delivers off bench as Kings nip Pistons
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Bosh paces surging Raptors' rally past Hawks
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