Hail To The Champ (News Roundup)

The last news roundup of the NBA Finals — reaction to the Lakers victory

ESPN

• Hollinger: Lakers are early favourite for 2009-10 Title
• Adande: Kobe and Phil
• Video
  • Can Lakers Repeat? — some analysis on the Lakers chances of winning next season
  • 2009 Finals In The Books — a brief look at each game
  • Bryant’s Road To Fourth Title

Game Five: Orlando vs Los Angeles

Game Five

The Lakers can finish the Magic off tonight, and win the 2008-09 NBA Title.

The Magic are fighting for their lives.

First Quarter

• Good job by Rashard Lewis, fronting or 3/4ering Gasol in the post, and deflecting the pass … turnover. Courtney Lee drills a jump shot on the other end.
• Three or four shot attempts at the rim there for LA, Bynum missing, Gasol finishing inside. Great effort from Bynum to keep that alive.
• Rashard Lewis bangs in a long jump shot

NBA Finals News Roundup — Part Four

Fisher’s Game Tying Three Pointer

NBA Finals Game Four: Orlando vs Los Angeles

Game Four

Lakers lead the series 2-1.

I’d absolutely love to see the Magic win this game and tie up the series. It would set up some much needed tension over the remainder of this series. So, I’m pulling hard for the Magic tonight.

First Quarter

Lakers lead 2-0 after 90 seconds

NBA Finals News Roundup — Part Three

ESPN

• Daily Dimes
  • June 8th — Game Recap for Game Two — click here
  • June 9th — Pre Game Three News — click here
  • June 10th — Game Three Post Game Coverage — Rafer redeems himself — click here
  • June 11th — Warm up for Game Four — click here

Some highlights from those articles

The Fatigue Factor For Kobe

NBA Finals Game Three: Orlando vs Los Angeles

Game Three

Am I the only one who thinks there is a lack of buzz about this game?

I like the Magic to rebound and win the game tonight. They’re due for a good shooting night.

First Quarter

• Dwight Howard wins the tip … He posts up on the left block, draws a double, kicks it out, Hedo gets a great look from downtown on the left wing, miss

NBA Finals Game Two: Los Angeles vs Orlando

Game Two

I think this game is a must win for the Orlando Magic. I cannot seeing them win four out of five games against the Lakers, which is something they’d have to do should they fall back 0-2 tonight.

First Quarter

• Excellent defensive rotations from the Los Angeles Lakers to take away Orlando’s three point shooting opportunities despite having numbers on the weak side of the court, forced Alston to put the ball on the floor and to take a tough runner over Gasol, miss.

NBA Finals News Roundup – Part Two

More updates as Day continues

Dwight Howard says Game One was a one-off

Magic center Dwight Howard isn’t overly concerned about his team’s disappointing performance in Game 1 against the Lakers.”Tonight was just an off night,” Howard told the Associated Press after the loss. “We’ve never had a shooting night this bad. Even when we’re not making shots, we got to give a better effort. It just wasn’t there. We just weren’t fighting.”

The Magic were just 23-for-77 from the field, including 8-for-23 from three-point range.

NBA Finals: SVG Thought Nelson Played Well

Stan Van Gundy thought Jameer Nelson played well in Game One

“[Nelson] played well in the second quarter,” Orlando coach Stan Van Gundy said after the Lakers’ 100-75 victory. “I was happy. I thought he was getting in the paint on his pick and rolls. He had four assists. I thought he was making really good plays. And in the second half I didn’t think he was very good at all.”

Orlando starting point guard Rafer Alston had 6 points on 2-of-9 shooting and one assist in 25 minutes. Reserve point guard Anthony Johnson did not play.

NBA Finals Game One: Los Angeles vs Orlando

Game One

I’m giddy about these NBA Finals.  This should be a terrific matchup and a very exciting series.

First Quarter

Orlando lead 7-6 after the first two plus minutes.

• Gasol pulls down the defensive rebound after Rafer’s missed floater. Lakers come up court, quick post up for Kobe, he pressures Lee, turns middle, kickout, runs out the right wing, gets the ball back, drives hard down the baseline, draws a foul.

Jameer Nelson Update

Update Below — Nelson not playing tonight in Game One, unlikely to play in series.

Update: Nelson will dress tonight but is unlikely to play

Update — Nelson is playing in Game One! So much for the updates!

A couple of very good quotes in the Orlando Sentinel

Doctors told Nelson to expect a six-month recovery. So far it has been a little over three.

“I’m ahead of schedule, but that doesn’t mean that I want to play,” Nelson said Monday after a short film session with his teammates. “I’ll have to see how I feel tomorrow. I have to wake up every day and see how I feel.

“Every day I do my rehab and every day I feel a little better about myself and my strength and everything.

Finals Schedule

All times Eastern

• Game 1: Thursday, June 4; Orlando at Los Angeles; 9 p.m.; ABC
• Game 2: Sunday, June 7; Orlando at Los Angeles; 8 p.m.; ABC
• Game 3: Tuesday, June 9; Los Angeles at Orlando; 9 p.m.; ABC
• Game 4: Thursday, June 11; Los Angeles at Orlando; 9 p.m.; ABC
• Game 5 (if necessary): Sunday, June 14; Los Angeles at Orlando; 8 p.m.; ABC
• Game 6 (if necessary): Tuesday, June 16; Orlando at Los Angeles; 9 p.m.; ABC
• Game 7 (if necessary): Thursday, June 18; Orlando at Los Angeles; 9 p.m.; ABC

NBA Finals Latest News + Articles Roundup

Sports Illustrated

• Ian Thomsen thinks that Dwight Howard could learn a thing or two from Kobe Bryant.
• The Jameer Nelson dilemma — disrupting chemistry?

Some interesting quotes from this next SI.com — “Lakers look to take advantage of homecourt”

On Dwight Howard

The Lakers’ immediate problem is how to contain Dwight Howard.

NBA Finals Preview: Los Angeles vs Orlando

Los Angeles Lakers vs Orland Magic

Regular Season Standings

• Los Angeles Lakers — 65 wins and 17 losses
• Orlando Magic — 59 wins and 23 losses

Regular Season Matchups

• Orlando won the season series 2-0

Jameer Nelson’s Status

Interesting report over at Yahoo Sports

Orlando is evaluating All-Star point guard Jameer Nelson for a possible return to the Magic lineup for the NBA finals that begin Thursday night in Los Angeles. Magic spokesman Joel Glass said on Sunday that Nelson’s rehabilitation from a shoulder injury is ahead of schedule but that his status remains uncertain.

Nelson has been out since early February with what had been called a season-ending shoulder tear.

Magic president Bob Vander Weide told The Orlando Sentinel after Saturday’s win against Cleveland that he wanted Nelson to take another MRI and consult with doctors for a possible comeback.

Andrew Bynum’s Playoffs

The Lakers have played three series so far — against Utah, Houston and Denver — How has Drew done against those teams?

	Utah	Houston	Denver
MPG	15.4	15.6	19.8
PPG	5.0	6.0	7.8
RPG	3.0	4.3	3.3
BPG	1.0	0.7	1.33
FG%	39.1%	58.1%	47.5%
Turnovers	1.8	0.43	0.67
Fouls	3.2	2.7	3.5

Bynum was a combined 22-34 from the FT line for 65% shooting from the stripe.

Not an impressive group of numbers from Bynum

Dwight Howard: Philadelphia vs Cleveland

Some interesting individual stats

• Against Phily, Dwight Howard scored 24ppg on 68.3% shooting
• Against Cleveland, through five games (ESPN hasn’t updated Dwight’s profile yet), Dwight scored 23ppg on 64.5% shooting.

Now for the interesting differences, Orlando’s overall officiency

Against Phily

• Game One — 110.1
• Game Two — 107.9
• Game Three — 104.4
• Game Four — 98.8
• Game Five — 107.1

So, Orlando’s offensive efficiency was a rough average of 105.7 per 100 possessions (not computed properly, just a rough average) in their series against Philadelphia.

Game Six: Orlando vs Cleveland

Game Six

Closeout game. The Magic lead the series 3-2 and are looking to finish the Cavs off tonight.

I’m pulling for Cleveland. I’d absolutely love to see this series go seven games, I think the seventh game would be a beautiful display of the mental strength both teams possess. Talk about a pressure cooker game, game seven, for the Magic. I’d love to see that.

First Quarter

Orlando lead 3-2 after two minutes after Ben Wallace misses a pair of FTS. Varejao has already picked up two fouls.

• Hedo on the drive and kick, off the high pick and roll, to Rafer in the left corner, Rafer drains it!
• James dribbling on the perimeter, pulls up, knocks it down
• Drive and kick to Lewis, top of the key, pump fake, drive, drive and kick to Lee in the left corner, extra pass, three second violation on Howard who was trying to get position for the rebound.

Game Six: Denver vs Los Angeles

Game Six

The Lakers lead the series 3-2 heading into tonight’s game. The Nuggets are just trying to stay alive.

I like the Lakers to finish off the Nuggets tonight. This series has already gone on too long.

First Quarter

• The Lakers win the tip. They got Kobe on the midpost on the right wing 16 feet from the rim, double teamed, he passes out, nothing on for LA. Their spacing there wasn’t up too much.
• Kobe Bryant tries to steal the outlet, Billups loose ball foul as he tried to keep the ball from Bryant.
• Gasol posts up on the left post, turnaround, hits it. Lakers lead 2-0 after a minute.

Game Five: Cleveland vs Orlando

Game Five

The Magic lead the matchup 3-1 and are looking to close out the series tonight. The game is in Cleveland.

I expect the Cavs to win this one. It’s hard to see LeBron not finding a way to pull this one out, and extend the series in the process of doing so.

First Quarter

I missed the first few minutes of this one. Cleveland lead 17-6 after four minutes, a fast offensive start from Cleveland.

• Ilgauksas knocks down a 21 footer off the pass.
• Turkoglu steps over the line on an inbounds pass, turnover. That’s gotta hurt.
• Mo Williams knocks down a triple over Rafer Alston — he’s 4-4 from the field, 3-3 from downtown, for 11 points already.

Cleveland lead 24-8 after a pair of Cavs FTs. We’re only five minutes into this game.

Game Five: Los Angeles vs Denver

Game Five

I didn’t watch this game, watched it on tape this morning. No game log for this one, just some thoughts on the game.

The Game

The first half was a close affair, with neither team truly able to pull away from one another.

Denver started out better, a timeout by Jackson seven minutes in calmed the Lakers down and suddenly they went on a 8-0 burst to take the lead back. Denver rallied and tied the game at 25-25 by the end one, with two huge Chris Andersen blocks denying Odom dunks and sparking fastbreaks going the other way.

The second quarter was even closer, with both teams trading baskets until the final minutes of the quarter and with neither able to create any separation. Finally, the Nuggets created a five point gap, but a strong Lakers finish punctuated by a Vujacic three pointer closed the gap and left the game tied at 56-56 entering halftime.

Pau Gasol Wants The Ball

Nice article from Ramona Shelburne.

Pau Gasol wants the damn ball already!

He has tried being polite. Tried to hint, to make his point with his play, to let the Lakers’ coaching staff correct what is so obviously wrong in games like Monday night’s 120-101 loss to the Nuggets in Game 4 of the Western Conference finals.

But polite isn’t working. Actually, polite is hurting the team.

And so Pau Gasol finally dropped the nice act after Monday’s loss and said what has become clear as the crisp air in the Rocky Mountains.

Game Four: Orlando vs Cleveland

Game Four

Orlando leads the series 2-1.

This is a pivotal game for the Cavs tonight. They don’t want to be heading back to Cleveland down 3-1. If Orlando can pull out the win, it’s nigh on impossible to the see them losing this series.

I’m pulling for the Magic tonight. I’d love to see them make the Finals.

First Quarter

• Rafer Alston opens up the Magic’s account with a shot from downtown. great sign to see him hit an early jumper.
• Good screen and roll defense from Cleveland on the left wing, LeBron cut off the dribble penetration, sent him back to the perimeter, screen and roll, Z did a good job sending him back to the sideline, Rafer picked up his dribble, Z got back quickly, Varejao made it across to stop Dwight’s roll to the rim far away from the hoop.

Game Four: Denver vs Los Angeles

Game Four

Lakers lead the season series 2-1

Is tonight a must win for the Nuggets? I think so. I don’t see them coming back from a 3-1 deficit.

First Quarter

• Nuggets run upcourt off of Ariza’s two missed FTs, Melo jumps to the low post, inside to him on the right block, double comes, Kenyon trailing the play, nice pass to the cutter, two handed dunk. Great pass.
• Bynum scores inside after a nice lob pass to take advantage of the smaller Anthony who had switched onto Bynum
• Anthony dribble penetration, misses the runner, Nene takes the rebound and stuffs it home!

We’re not even four minutes into this game and the Nuggets are already a +5 on the backboards (7-2). If Denver can win the battle of the backboards, that’ll go a long way towards winning the game because they’ve been better than LA elsewhere for most of this series.

Game Three: Orlando vs Cleveland

Game Three

Orlando stole homecourt advantage by splitting the first two games in Cleveland. The series is tied 1-1.

First Quarter

• Dwight Howard gets the friendly bounce, three or four friendly bounces, on his first free throw attempt of the night. He misses the second. Orlando lead 1-0 after the first minute.
• Dwight Howard gets great position inside, middle of the paint, four feet from the rim, muscles up the short shot and hits it.

Cleveland have started in jittery fashion. They look nervous. LeBron might have to take over the scoring for a few minutes to let his teammates find their comfort zone.

Game Three: Los Angeles vs Denver

Game Three

The series switches to Denver with the matchup tied at one apiece.

Interesting article saying Bynum and Jackson aren’t speaking to one another right now — Bynum is unhappy at his lack of playing time, and Phil is unhappy at Bynum’s lack of rebounding + defense. Both have a point, but Phil is  a heck of a lot more correct than Bynum is.

First Quarter

Denver lead 7-4 after two and a half minutes.

• Kobe Bryant posts up on the left post, he backs down Jones easily, Jones tries to wrap him up before the shot attempt but to no avail. Kobe makes two at the line.
• Melo fouled on a jump shot, nice spin move to get away from Ariza, stupid contest from Ariza as he jumped wildly into Melo’s body. Second straight possession LA has fouled a jump shooter.

Game Two: Cleveland vs Orlando

Game Two

The Orlando Magic stole home court by winning game one. It’s important for Cleveland to find their footing tonight, and to get a win, otherwise I worry that things could steamroll badly for them.

First Quarter

• Cleveland win the tip but don’t get a bucket
• Lovely dribble penetration from Courtney Lee, who sliced inside into the paint from the left wing and then dumped it off to Dwight Howard for the easy dunk after Big Z came over to eliminate Lee’s layup attempt … But nobody told Delonte West, who scuppered down form the perimeter and swiped the ball away from Howard from behind as Howard went up to stuff it home.
• Great job by Lee to run 14 feet to contest a high lob pass from Ilgauskas, off an offensive rebound, out to Mo Williams 30 feet from the rim. Lee got a piece of it but the Magic couldn’t get control of the loose ball.

Game Two: Los Angeles vs Denver

Game Two

The Lakers won the first game of the series, hopefully they can win again tonight.

First Quarter

• No scores in the first minute after Fisher hoists a desperation three off the dribble over Kenyon Martin as the Lakers possession comes to a miserable end.
• Chauncey Billups dribbles upcourt and hits a 22 footer on the right wing
• Nice drive by Bryant along the baseline, threads the pass beautifully for Bynum for the dunk
• Ariza tries to create off the bounce, loses his dribble twice, the Lakers possession bottoms out again — Kobe goes one on one and forces a long jump shot to beat the shot clock, hits it.

Game One: Cleveland vs Orlando

Game One

Cleveland’s rust is a major factor to watch tonight. Hopefully they can give a good performance.

First Quarter

• Cleveland win the tip, Dwight roaming off of Varejao, Varejao cuts to the rim from the opposite side of the court, layup. Nice pass over the top by James.
• Lewis misses a quick three pointer from the left wing
• Beautiful pass once again to Varejao, he’s fouled on the reverse layup. Nice threaded pass along the baseline. Cleveland lead 4-0 after a minute.
• LeBron James is on Rafer Alston, and he’ll roam defensively, try to wreck some havoc defensively.

Playoff Previews: Cleveland vs Orlando

Regular Season Standings

• Cleveland Cavaliers — 66 wins and 16 losses
• Orlando Magic — 59 wins and 23 losses

Regular Season Matchups

• Orlando won the season series 2-1
  • The Magic won the first game comfortably. LeBron had a shocker (23 points on 27 shot attempts, and the Cavs were also without West and Ilgauskas.
  • Cleveland won the second game in impressive fashion, led by a superb LeBron James performance. The Magic got a very poor performance from Rashard Lewis, and a poor offensive performance from Dwight Howard on the night. Still, several of Orlando’s supporting cast stepped up and had big games, and in the end they only lost by four points.
  • The Magic routed the Cavs in early April, winning

Game One: Los Angeles vs Denver

Game One

I can’t even feign my interest in this series. Hopefully LA will win, and win quick.

First Quarter

I missed the first five minutes of the game, I got distracted by the lottery, by the way, Congratulations to the Clippers!

The Nuggets lead 16-6 after a Martin bucket

• Melo and Bryant trade jump shots. Anthony is 4-4 from the field for 9 points already.

Playoff Previews: Los Angeles vs Denver

Regular Season Standings

• Los Angeles Lakers — 65 wins and 17 wins
• Denver Nuggets — 54 wins and 28 losses

Regular Season Matchups

• The Lakers swept the season series 4-0 — none of the games were competitive. They were routs.
• The Lakers swept the Nuggets in the first round last season, but that was a hugely different Denver team so not much to draw from there.

Nuggets Outlook

Hollinger Made The Best Case

ESPN’s John Hollinger wrote the most convincing case for a strong Nuggets performance that I’ve seen so far

Game Seven: Boston vs Orlando

Game Seven

The series is obviously tied three apiece. The Celtics have homecourt tonight.

I think the Boston Celtics should be considered the favourites because of homecourt, their game seven experience, and superior mental qualities (toughness/poise/focus). The Orlando Magic are more than capable of winning this game though … so we should have a great game on our hands

I think the Magic could give the Cavs a better run for their money in the next round. I think we’d see a better Conference Finals if they won.

First Round

Orlando win the tip. Boston’s defense is aggressive on the first possession, they do a very good job making the entry pass into the post difficult, Howard finally gets it, misses a jump hook. On the other end, Orlando’s defense is softer

Game Seven: Los Angeles vs Houston

Game Seven

Obviously, the series is tied three apiece. The Lakers are at home tonight, and I expect them to win in a 20+ point blowout. I have to say though, I’m pulling for the Rockets to win, I’d love to see the Lakers complacency punished. The only way I see Houston winning is if they have one of those nights where they can’t miss a shot.

I had the start time wrong, so I missed the opening part of this game.

First Quarter

I missed the whole first quarter — Lakers lead 22-12

SVG Showed Dwight His Limitations On Tape

Bob Ryan reports

For those of you just returning from that vacation in the Seychelles, the young man caused quite a national flap following the losing Magic effort in Game 5, when he criticized coach Van Gundy for a.) not getting him more shots as the team was blowing a lead, and b.) making what Howard regarded as momentum-changing substitutions. The latter charge was far more incendiary than the former, but people became fixated on the touch thing when it was revealed he only had his hands on the rock three times in the final quarter.

Once Howard understood his limitations, he began focusing on his strengths and one of his great strengths is his strength, if you know what I mean.

So everyone wanted to see what would transpire last night.

Van Gundy had a big heart-to-heart with his franchise player

Game Six: Houston vs Los Angeles

Game Six

The Lakers lead the series 3-2 and I expect them to end the series tonight.

First Quarter

Houston jump out to an 8-1 lead after two shots, by Scola and Brooks, hit over the out-stretched hand of Bynum. Steal by Ron Artest, breakaway layup. The Rockets lead 10-1 after three and a half minutes.

• Battier blocks Bryant’s pull up J from 18 feet on the top of the key, turnover, but Brooks turns it over on the fastbreak.
• Bynum offensive rebound, misses the short 5 foot shot, rebound Gasol, miss. LA is 0-6 from the field.
• Aaron Brooks nails a step back 3

Game Five: Denver vs Dallas

Game Five

Denver lead the series 3-1 and I expect them to end the series here.

I watched this sporadically because it wasn’t up to much as a contest, and because the series was already decided. Ergo, only a few box score thoughts to follow.

The Game

The game wasn’t much of a contest. The Nuggets jumped out early and built a 32-21 lead late in the first quarter. They then held that double digit lead for most of the action until the four minute mark in the third period. From there, Denver made a nice 8-0 run to seemingly end the contest with a massive 93-76 lead.

The Mavericks, however, would mount a mini-comeback, led by Brandon Bass as Bass scored eight quick points between the end of the third and the first two minutes of the fourth.

Game Six: Orlando vs Boston

Game Six

The Celtics lead the series 3-2 and can finish the series tonight. I, however, like the Magic to prolong the matchup.

I expect the Magic to come out with passion and ferocity tonight. I’m looking for them to make a big run early in the first quarter, or perhaps in the second quarter, and build a nice advantage for themselves.

First Quarter

I missed the first 3 minutes, tied 6-6.

• JJ Redick remains in Orlando’s starting lineup — that’s disappointing. I would have liked to have seen Courtney Lee starting.
• Inbounds by Boston, 1 second on the shot clock, to Perkins, 16 foot jumper, he hits it!

Howard Criticizes Coach

ESPN reports

And as it turns out, the unsightly and uncomfortable fourth-quarter faltering paled in comparison to Magic star center Dwight Howard’s meltdown after the game.

Howard, Orlando’s franchise player, openly questioned head coach Stan Van Gundy’s refusal to get him more shots and wondered about some curious substitution patterns in Orlando’s crippling 92-88 loss to the Celtics Tuesday night.

“Offensively I have to get the ball,” Howard said candidly. “I don’t think you are going to win a lot of games when your post player only gets 10 shots. It’s tough to get yourself going and get a lot of touches without a lot of shots. We have to do a better job with that.”

Dwight Howard continues his moaning

“I’m not going to get up here and bash or say anything about what should happen, but I will say it’s tough to win when all season long you play inside-out and you trust one of the people who got you off to a good season,” Howard said. “I think I’m capable of scoring in the post, but I don’t think 10 shots is enough.

“You’ve got a dominant player, let him be dominant.”

Game Five: Los Angeles vs Houston

Game Five

This series is tied 2-2.

Lamar Odom was a doubt before the game. He will play but shall come off the bench. Bynum will start in his place, hopefully this will help him get off quickly, and allow Pau Gasol to start against Scola which may help him.

I like the Lakers to win tonight, and then win the next game to end this in six.

First Quarter

Hayes defends Pau Gasol on the first possession, so no change there. Scola is on Bynum, and Artest is now defending Ariza.

• Nice lob pass to Bynum, alley oop dunk!
• Nice baseline drive by Artest, evades Bynum with a nice shoulder fake, misses the layup, rebound and putback for Hayes

Game Five: Boston vs Orlando

Game Five

The series is tied 2-2.

I have to say, I’m hoping the Celtics win this game. I think their success and valour without Kevin Garnett is a great story, and I hope it gets a chance to continue. That said, I think the Orlando Magic are a favourite by a solid margin.

First Quarter

Redick continues in the starting lineup despite some reports that Courtney Lee may re-take his starting spot.

Brian Scalabrine missed shoot-around with flu like symptoms, but he’ll play tonight.

• Glen Davis knocks down a baseline 17 footer off the baseline inbounds pass — knocked loose after a Pierce drive, good to see Paul drive the ball on the first possession of the game.
• Dwight Howard tries to attack Perkins with his quickness, Perk pushes him wide, and Dwight misses the runner.

Monday’s Games

Game Four

I didn’t bother watching either game, because frankly, both series are already over.

• Atlanta Hawks vs Cleveland Cavaliers
• Dallas Mavericks vs Denver Nuggets

Prior to the games, I thought the Hawks chances of winning were somewhere south of two percent, and that the Mavs-Nuggets game was a 50-50 proposition … but was hoping for Denver to end the series because it’s gotten dull.

Some box score thoughts are ahead

Game Four: Houston vs Los Angeles

Game Four

I missed the first half of this one, but tuned in for the first 18 minutes of the second half as LA failed to make a run and in doing so failed to make this one a contest.

The Rockets went up double digits after five minutes and never looked back. They were up 18 points by halftime, and grew that lead to 27 points halfway through the third quarter behind a barrage of three pointers from Brooks and Battier. The rest of the game was garbage time.

What follows is mostly just thoughts on the box score:

Houston

• Aaron Brooks is a far more effective player when he’s allowed to dominate the ball. He likes to play, likes his coach to allow him to play, like a Chris Paul — a point guard who’s allowed pound the ball into the floor and make every decision for his team. We’ve known this about Brooks for a long time, and it’s part of what makes him a so-so fit as role player on a team contending for a title …. but it’s also what makes him terrifying as a team’s first option when those stars go down.

Yao Injured: Out For Season

ESPN reports

HOUSTON — Yao Ming will miss the rest of the playoffs because of a broken left foot.

The Houston center limped off the court late in the Los Angeles Lakers’ 108-94 victory over the Rockets on Friday night. Yao missed Saturday’s practice to get treatment and the team said the 7-foot-6 All-Star would be re-evaluated on Sunday.

But the Rockets announced later Saturday night that further examination of Yao’s injury revealed a hairline fracture. The Rockets say Yao will need 8-12 weeks to recover, though no surgery is required.

Saturday’s Games

I didn’t watch either game today:

• Dallas vs Denver — Game Three
• Atlanta vs Cleveland — Game Three

Prior to the games, I expected both Denver and Cleveland to run out to easy wins and take a 3-0 series lead in their matchups.

Box score punditry to follow

Hawks-Cavs

The Cavs won this game 97-82 behind a strong second half effort, with the game never really being in doubt.

Tayshaun Prince Last Three Elimination Series

This is an update to a previous post

So where do we stand now?

• 2008/09 — First Round against Cleveland — Tayshaun Prince averaged 3.3 points per game in 32.7 minutes a night against the Cavs, in a series were the Pistons were swept aside easily. Those 3.3 points came on almost 8 shots a game as Tayshaun shot a mere 25.9% from the field. Prince did not attempt a free throw in the series, and only averaged 3.5 rebounds a game, and had as many turnovers as assists.

Johnson + Howard Injuries

Josh Howard

The Star Telegram reports

Josh Howard’s left ankle, which will need surgery in the off-season, now qualifies as his good ankle.

The Mavericks’ small forward sat out of Thursday’s practice. He rode the stationary bike and received treatment on his right ankle, which he sprained in Game 1 against Denver.

“We’re hoping that he’ll be able to go Saturday,” coach Rick Carlisle said, “but I can’t give you a definite at this point.”

Game Two: Cleveland vs Atlanta

Game Two

Cleveland leads the series 1-0 and is looking to take care of homecourt tonight.

First Quarter

I missed the first six minutes of the game. The game is tied 12-12 midway through the quarter.

• Varejao on the offensive glass, and gets the putback. He has three baskets and a couple of offensive rebounds.
• LeBron James hits two FTs after drawing a foul on a driving layup in transition
• Great job by Varejao tracking on the pick and roll, Joe Johnson pulls out to 30 feet, still doesn’t have much of a pass on, and after the pass Zaza is forced to create and he makes a mess of it

Fisher + Rafer Suspended

The NBA has handed down their final verdicts on Kobe Bryant, Rafer Alston and Derek Fisher

Rafer Alston of the Orlando Magic and Derek Fisher of the Los Angeles Lakers have each been suspended one game without pay for their roles in separate incidents last night, NBA Executive Vice President, Basketball Operations Stu Jackson announced on Thursday.

Alston has been suspended for swinging and making contact with the head of Eddie House of the Boston Celtics with 48.6 seconds remaining in the third period of the Magic’s 112-94 loss to the Celtics in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals last night at TD Banknorth Garden.

Fisher has been suspended for striking Houston’s Luis Scola with his shoulder and head with 13.2 seconds remaining in the third period of the Lakers’ 111-98 win last night over the visiting Houston Rockets in Game 2 of the Western Conference Semifinals at STAPLES Center. Fisher received a Flagrant Foul Penalty Two and was ejected from the game at the time of the play.

Game Two: Los Angeles vs Houston

Game Two

The Rockets won game one and lead the series 1-0.

First Quarter

The Rockets are 5-0 when leading after the first quarter, and 0-2 when trailing after the first quarter.

• The Lakers win the tip, good player movement to start of the game, hand off from Gasol to Fisher on perimeter, he drives right, pull up J from 18 feet at the top of the key, hits it
• Gasol drops a fadeaway over Yao off the left block, good D by Yao on the possession. Lakers lead 6-2 after 90 seconds.

Game Two: Boston vs Orlando

Game Two

Orlando won the first game of the series and lead 1-0.

First Quarter

Rondo flies to the rim and hits his second layup of the quarter (other was a layup off a backdoor cut). Pierce also knocked down a three, Rondo with the assist, to give Boston a 7-4 lead. Boston post up Perkins on the left block, he backs down Howard, right hand jump hook, hits it.

Pierce sits down with two fouls, only three and a half minutes into the game, and Stephon comes in to replace him. It’ll be very interesting to see how Boston defend Hedo, and how they manage their offense.

Bynum Admits He’s Not 100%

The Los Angeles Daily News reports

So Tuesday, after he made it onto the court for just more than 15 minutes in the Game 1 loss to Houston, Bynum acknowledged what has been obvious to anyone able to compare the before and after: his knee isn’t 100 percent yet.

“It’s just not ready,” he said. “I’m probably about 85-90 percent.”

Bynum said his knee doesn’t hurt or swell up, but he doesn’t feel the same explosion and strength as he did before the injury.And the way to address that?

“I just think it’s a timing thing; I just need more time to get it stronger,” he said.

Clifford Ray On Perk + Dwight

Good article in the Boston Globe with a few quotes from the teacher on his students, who are battling head-to-head in the Second Round of the Playoffs

The article starts off with some background on Howard and Perkins, how Dwight was #1 overall pick and how Perkins was on the bubble for the first round, yet how they share many similarities as brute force centers who arrived to the league directly out of high school.

Howard, of course, developed into the Defensive Player of the Year and a player the Magic could practically pencil in for a double-double. Perkins became an NBA champion and progressed into one of the league’s best interior defenders.

When asked about the potential he saw in the two, Ray said, “I saw what I’m seeing right now.”

None of this surprised Ray.

Courtney Lee Back For Game 3

There’s a good chance that Courtney Lee will be able to return in time for Game Three, according to Magic GM Otis Smith

Magic guard Courtney Lee, who had surgery last week to repair a fractured sinus, likely will be available for Friday’s Game 3 when the conference semifinals against the Celtics return to Orlando, according to a report in The Boston Globe.

Magic general manager Otis Smith made the assertion Monday as he discussed Lee’s development in his first year in the league. Lee will have to wear a protective mask when he returns.

Game Two: Denver vs Dallas

Game Two

Denver won the first game by 14 points.

First Quarter

• Nene misses a spectacular dunk to start of the game, it bounces high, about 25 feet in the air and out of bounds on the sideline. Nice pick and roll, and lovely bounce pass from Billups to Nene to set it up.
• Antoine Wright opens up the scoring with a three pointer
• Dirk Nowitzki posts up Kenyon Martin low on the right block, fakes middle, Kenyon moves that, spins baseline, lay in.

Game One: Cleveland vs Atlanta

Game One

First Quarter

What a start! James at the top of the key, passes it to Delonte on the left high post, Delonte hand off to James, who circles down the left wing and drives hard to the rim for the two handed dunk

• Good job by Josh Smith running the floor, he was about 15-20 feet ahead of Varejao by the time he hit the low post, good help D from Big Z makes him hesitate while Varejao gets back in position. Josh Smith goes up with it, rejected by Varejao, Smith gets it back, spins to the paint, up again and finishes this time.

Marvin Is Ready To Go

Yahoo Sports reports

Marvin Williams won’t start for the Atlanta Hawks in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals against Cleveland, but the fourth-year forward may get plenty of minutes.

Williams, who started two of the three games he played in Atlanta’s first-round series win over Miami, is likely to serve in a reserve role against the Cavaliers on Tuesday night.

Woodson plans to keep Maurice Evans in the lineup, but said he prefers giving as many minutes as possible to Williams if the No. 2 overall draft pick of 2005 proves he won’t tire too easily.

“We struggled to score some (against Miami), and there was 14 points sitting on the sidelines,” Woodson said Monday. “He told me today after practice that he’s ready to go. We need him.”

Good news for the Atlanta Hawks — they need Marvin Williams to have a big series defensively against LeBron, to stand any hope of making a successful stand against the Cavs.

Playoff Previews: Cleveland vs Atlanta

Regular Season Standings

• Cleveland Cavaliers — 66 wins and 16 losses
• Atlanta Hawks — 47 wins and 35 losses

Regular Season Matchups

• Cleveland won the season series 3-1
• The Cavs won the first game in a blowout. Then lost a close game in the second contest, while playing without Ilgauskas. The third game went down to the wire with LeBron making some plays to pull out a one point win. The fourth game was a close contest that the Cavs won in the fourth quarter.

Hawks Outlook

Injuries

Marvin Williams — The Hawks desperately need a healthy Marvin Williams in this series. He needs to be able to give Atlanta 35 good minutes a night and take the task of defending LeBron James. He’s their best defender against James, and his loss would be a massive one.

Game One: Los Angeles vs Houston

Game One

First Quarter

• Kobe Bryant drops a 20 footer on the left wing over Battier to open the scoring for LA.
• Yao Ming with a nice jump hook to put Houston up 4-4. Andrew Bynum returns the favour on the other end, left post, spins middle, right hand jump hook and hits it.
• Yao Ming crosses the paint, posts up on the right block, face up jumper, misses. Andrew Bynum shows to the FT line, catch and shoot, misses.
• Artest drives baseline on Ariza, Pau Gasol helps down, Artest throws a nice pass back to Scola who’s just inside the FT line, he hits the short shot. Nice pass from Artest.
• Luis Scola posts up on the right block, turns baseline, jump hook off the glass, misses.

Game One: Boston vs Orlando

Game One

Courtney Lee is still out

First Quarter

• Dwight Howard wins the tip, nice screen and roll action near the top of the key with Hedo and Dwight, Shard joins the action, gets wide open, Hedo gives it to him and Lewis drains a triple
• Nice defensive rotation by Glen Davis to draw the charge on Howard
• Kendrick Perkins backs down Howard, turns middle, goes back to the baseline for a fadeaway, rejected by Howard. Perkins gets it back, continues to force it in the post, tries to back down Howard, loses his dribble and turns it over.
• Nice fake spin move by Perkins in the lane, turns back the other way and gets a good look on a jump hook, misses. Nice move though
• Howard tries to take a jump hook over Perk out of the right post, rejected by Perkins

Playoff Previews: Los Angeles vs Houston

Regular Season Standings

• Los Angeles Lakers — 65 wins and 17 losses
• Houston Rockets — 53 wins and 29 losses

Regular Season Matchups

• The Lakers won the season series four zip.
• The Lakers had one blowout, one comfortable win, and won two close games against the Rockets.

Rockets Outlook

In a word, bleak.

Playoff Previews: Boston vs Orlando

Regular Season Standings

• Boston Celtics — 62 wins and 20 losses
• Orlando Magic — 59 wins and 23 losses

Regular Season Matchups

• They split the season series 2-2
• The season series is fairly irrelevant because of the injury to KG. He played in the first two and Boston won them. He missed the final two, and Orlando won two very close contests — but Boston were also without other players in those games too, like Glen Davis, Scalabrine and I think Rondo missed one of those two games.
• Orlando won the season series 2-1 last year — although, they are irrelevant because of KG’s presence. They had a very impressive home win, where they built a large lead then faltered but recovered and won comfortably, and a win in Boston Garden on a Hedo Turkoglu buzzer beater. Their lone loss came in Boston, in a game where the C’s utterly demolished Orlando.

Game One: Denver vs Dallas

Game One

First half report only

First Quarter

Dirk Nowitzki scores the first two field goals of the game to put Dallas up 4-0 after two minutes. Dirk bags another bucket a minute later, as he drives off the right wing, into the middle of the paint and hit a fallaway from there.

Dampier falls over after collecting a defensive rebound — he’s not moving well at all, holding his hip too. Jogging gingerly. The Mavs gotta get him off the floor.

• Nene scores two layups — one on the break and one in the halfcourt

Timeout Dallas — they’re looking at Dampier now. Ryan Hollins checks in, big loss for the Mavs.

Game Seven: Atlanta vs Miami

Game Seven

Al Horford will play tonight, so Atlanta have a chance of winning this game, if he couldn’t go this series would be over before this game ever began.

Jermaine O’Neal will not play tonight. He isn’t much of a loss, although he has played two excellent games in this series and one solid game. Edit: Jermaine will play, he just didn’t start.

First Quarter

Atlanta lead 14-10 halfway through the first quarter

Udonis Haslem has 5 rebounds already, as he pulls down Horford’s missed turnaround J out of the low post. Haslem runs down a long offensive rebound on the other end of the floor, that’s 6.

Playoff Previews: Denver vs Dallas

Regular Season Standings

• Denver Nuggets -–  54 wins and 28 losses
• Dallas Mavericks — 50 wins and 32 losses

Regular Season Matchups

• The Nuggets swept the season series 4-0
  • First Game — Denver win 108-105. They get hammered on the glass in the first half. Both teams struggled with their shooting.
  • Second Game — Denver wins 98-88. They open up a huge lead in the first quarter and maintain it until halftime. After the half Dallas roars back but doesn’t have enough in the tank to see through their comeback attempt, and Denver slowly regain control and win comfortably enough.

Some Sixers News

Skipping Team Meetings

Sports Illustrated reports

Andre Miller and Theo Ratliff have skipped the final Philadelphia 76ers’ team meeting a day after they were eliminated from the playoffs.

Miller and Ratliff were both absent from Friday’s meeting. Neither player offered team president Ed Stefanski an excuse. Stefanski says he has not been in touch with either player. Miller and Ratliff are both unrestricted free agents.

Game Seven: Boston vs Chicago

Game Seven

Winner takes all tonight — series tied 3-3 — anything can happen in Game Seven!

Before the game, I listed a couple of numbers which show just how close this series has been. You can check that out here.

Boston should be considered the favourite. They have more high end talent.

First Quarter

Tuning in after four minutes — Chicago lead 13-11 after two Ray-Ray FTs

• Ben Gordon has gotten off to a hot start — 7 points — a long two just inside the three point line, a three and two FTs … make that 10 points as he hits more FTs
• Derrick Rose has the other 6 points — a runner, a 18 footer, and a short shot

How Tight The Bulls-Celtics Series Is

Excluding the blowout loss in Game Three, here are some stats from the series

• Lead Changes: 106
• Tied Scores: 65
• Total Points: Bulls 573, Celtics 572
• Total Rebounds: Bulls 234, Celtics 235
• Total Assists: Bulls 108, Celtics 114
• Total Steals: Bulls 32, Celtics 38
• Total Blocks: Bulls 40, Celtics 38
• Total Turnovers: Bulls 72, Celtics 66

That’s incredible!

Those five games have been decided by a total of 11 points — none by more than 3 points, two by 3 points, two by 2 points, and one by 1 points.

Game Six: Miami vs Atlanta

Game Six

Horford will not play tonight. [edit: Second Quarter, Horford is actually on the bench and has dressed for the game, but is not expected to play.]

Marvin Williams is dressed for the game, but I read that he’s not playing again tonight. Maybe he’ll play if Atlanta become desperate? Odd that he dressed despite reports saying he wouldn’t play. Mo Evans continues to start at small forward.

Miami should be considered the favourite because of Atlanta’s two large losses.

• Hang on, Jermaine O’Neal is not playing either, he has a problem with his left elbow and Joel Anthony will start in his place.
• Miami should still be considered the favourite, O’Neal isn’t as large of a loss as Al Horford is.

First Quarter

A fast scoring start — Atlanta ahead 8-7 after three minutes.

Rondo Not Suspended

ESPN reports

NEW YORK — The NBA has decided not to take any additional action against Rajon Rondo for his skirmish with Kirk Hinrich in Game 6.

The league said Friday the first-quarter play would stand as a flagrant foul against Rondo. It could have upgraded the foul or even suspended the Celtics’ point guard for Game 7 of the series Saturday.

Chicago was leading 34-25 Thursday when Derrick Rose rebounded a missed 3-pointer by Boston’s Stephon Marbury with 30 seconds left. That’s when Rondo shoved Hinrich into the scorer’s table. Hinrich pushed him back and Rondo then threw an elbow that missed.

Wow …. I am absolutely shocked that the league didn’t suspend Rondo.

Game Six: Philadelphia vs Orlando

Game Six

Orlando will be without the suspended Dwight Howard, and the injured Courtney Lee, tonight. In their place, Marcin Gortat and JJ Redick will start. I would have preferred to have seen Mickael Pietrus start.

The Magic lead the series 3-2 and close out the series tonight. I like Phily to hold firm and send this series back to Orlando — mainly due to Hedo Turkoglu’s struggles, if Hedo can have a good game in Howard’s absence then the Magic stand a good chance of winning.

I didn’t watch this game so the following is just a box score summary

Box Score Thoughts

Orlando won the game in a blowout, winning 114-89, a 25 point win.

Game Six: Houston vs Portland

Game Six

Houston lead the series 3-2 and are looking to end the series tonight — which they should do

Von Wafer reportedly was not going to play, but it looks like he’ll be suiting up.

Tuning into the Rockets-Blazers game late because of the triple overtime Bulls-Celtics game. We are four minutes into the third quarter, with Houston leading 58-43.

Third Quarter

Brandon Roy and LaMarcus Aldridge have 32 of Portland’s 44 points. Make that 34 of their 46 points as Roy makes two FTs at the line.

Ron Artest has 21 points for Houston. A balanced scoring effort by his lead.
Artest drives baseline, gets a step on his man easily, to the rim, layup.

Game Six: Chicago vs Boston

Game Six

Boston leads the series 3-2 and I like their chances to end the series tonight.

First Quarter

A John Salmons three pointer from the left wing puts Chicago ahead 3-2. Lovely block by Ty Thomas on Pierce’s layup attempt off some good dribble penetration from Paul, the Bulls miss a short shot by Noah on the other end.

Ah no, Perkins picks up a stupid foul off the ball 80 feet from the rim, while walking back down court. The Celtics can’t win this game without Perkins on the floor for big minutes, and playing well. Perk can’t afford to pick up stupid fouls like that.

Game Five: Denver vs New Orleans

Game Five

The Nuggets lead the series 3-1 and are trying to close out the series tonight. I think the Nuggets will win this one.

Tyson Chandler will not play tonight. Hilton Armstrong starts in his place.

First Quarter

Tuning in after the first seven minutes of the quarter. Denver is leading 12-11, make that 14-11 after Nene drops two FTs out of the timeout.

Rasual Butler is bringing the ball upcourt against Billups, it takes him 14 seconds to get rid of the ball and that was a sideways pass to Paul 25 feet from the rim. Good pressure defense from Billups there. Butler runs down to the baseline, curls off screen, catch and shoot, good plus a foul on Chauncey. The possession worked out well for the Hornets but that looks like a problem waiting to happen.

Game Five: Atlanta vs Miami

Game Five

The series is tied 2-2. I like Atlanta’s chances at taking the lead in the series tonight.

Marvin Williams will not play.

First Quarter

Miami are leading 8-6 after a few minutes. We’ve seen a powerful dunk from Josh Smith and some nice play from Jermaine O’Neal.

Odd stat — Wade has 32 three pointers versus 23 free throw attempts in the series.

Good defense by James Jones, great contest on JJ’s fadeaway J from 22 feet in the right corner. Jones’ length is going to bother that shot, JJ has to put the ball on the floor and take Jones off the bounce.

Dwight Howard Suspended For Game Six

ESPN reports

Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard has been suspended for one game without pay for Tuesday’s first-quarter elbow to the head of Philadelphia 76ers center Samuel Dalembert.

The NBA announced the suspension Wednesday afternoon.

The league announcement stated that Howard will serve his suspension Thursday night in Game 6 at Philadelphia. The Magic lead the series three games to two after their 91-78 win.

Video replays clearly showed Howard swiping at Dalembert’s head.

Marvin Williams Uncertain For Game Five

The Atlanta Constitution reports

If the Hawks are going to dig their way out of their first-round playoff series against Miami by Wednesday’s Game 5, they might have to do it without any help from Marvin Williams.

The starting small forward missed his second straight game with a sprained right wrist Monday night when he sat out Game 4 at American Airlines Arena.

Bynum May Rejoin Starting Lineup

The LA Times reports

Lakers coach Phil Jackson still isn’t happy with the play of Andrew Bynum, but hinted that the young center could return to the starting lineup in the second round.

Jackson took Bynum out of the starting lineup in favor of Lamar Odom midway through the team’s first-round series against the Jazz.

“I just didn’t think he got comfortable playing tonight,” Jackson said, reflecting on Bynum’s play Monday night. “He can certainly give us minutes against [Houston or Portland]. I would put him right back in the start of the game.”

Moon To Have Surgery

RealGM has the press release

The Miami Heat announced Tuesday that forward Jamario Moon will undergo surgery to repair a sports hernia on Thursday, April 30.

The procedure will be performed by Dr. David Edelman at Baptist Doctors Hospital in Miami. Moon will rest for a period of two weeks and then be re-evaluated.

That’s terrible news for Miami.

Tuesday’s Games

There were four games:

• Boston vs Chicago – click here
• Orlando vs Philadelphia
• San Antonio vs Dallas
• Portland vs Houston – click here

I wrote a game time post for two of those games, albeit only the fourth quarter for the Blazers game, and have posted a link to those posts above. The other two games will get some box score punditry here.

Game Five: Portland vs Houston

Game Five

Houston leads the series 3-1 and can end the battle tonight. Portland are playing for their playoff lives.

I only tuned in for the final quarter.

Fourth Quarter

64-62 Portland lead

Nice steal from Houston, well done Lowry. Portland foul on the break. Inbounds, ball swung to Von Wafer, he drives to the rim and finishes with the layup. Tie game. Two possessions later, Yao draws the fourth foul on Oden. After the inbounds, Yao delivers a face up jumper over Oden from 15 feet right wing. Chuck Hayes checks in for Yao, to give him a break.

Aldridge has been the best scorer for Portland. He is 11-18 from the field for 25 points. He has only 2 rebounds, and 2 assists, though.

Game Five: Boston vs Chicago

Game Five

The series is tied at 2-2 and the team that wins tonight will gain a firm grasp on the series. I expect the Celtics to be that team.

Despite some speculation to the contrary, Ben Gordon will play tonight.

First Quarter

Paul Pierce knocks down his second shot of the night, a nice little step back shot off the drive from the FT line over Salmons. Pierce looks in good form tonight, which is great news for Boston.

Ben Gordon drills a three pointer from the top of the key over Glen Davis, a switch off the pick and roll, to beat the shot clock. On the next possession, Rose does a lovely job to find Noah inside for the lay in. The score is 9-8 Boston after five minutes.

Ben Gordon Uncertain Tonight

The Boston Globe reports

Although Bulls guard Ben Gordon is listed as day-to-day after an MRI confirmed he has a strained left hamstring, Celtics coach Doc Rivers said at this morning’s shootaround that he is preparing as if the former Connecticut star is playing tonight in Game 5.

Gordon, however, did not sound so certain. The Bulls’ sharpshooter took a pain-killing shot on Sunday, had swelling on Monday and said today that he is not moving well. He didn’t participate in the Bulls’ shootaround at Emerson College this morning.

McDyess To Leave Detroit?

The Detroit free press reports

If it was his last game as a Piston, Antonio McDyess went out with guns blazing.

With his team falling further and further behind, he kept hitting shots and grabbing rebounds.

The Cleveland Cavaliers finished their first-round sweep of the Pistons, 99-78, Sunday at the Palace, but McDyess left it all on the court as he tied a career playoff high with 26 points.

He added 10 rebounds, another part of the highlight tape teams around the league will watch when they decide whether to make a pitch for the unrestricted free agent.

Game Five: Los Angeles vs Utah

Game Five

The Lakers can close out the series tonight. It would be an impressive achievement to beat this Utah team in just five games.

First Quarter

It’s tied 4-4 after two minutes.

Okur with a nice drive and dish to Boozer for the lay in. Tied at six.

Both teams going through the motions right now, neither side is trying to grab hold of this game. It’s 8-6 LA after five minutes in a low energy, low urgency start.

Game Four: New Orleans vs Denver

Game Four

The Nuggets will look to take control of the series tonight, and they’re a good bet to do so.

I watched the Hawks-Heat game instead, so this will just be a box score report … and it’ll be even shorter than that, because of how this game turned out.

Thoughts On Game

The Nuggets repeated (Game Three) their superb opening performance to the game by opening up a 36-15 lead after the first quarter. Their lead was never threatened, and the game was effectively over at this point.

The Nuggets and Hornets played each other even in the second quarter, but the Nuggets destroyed the Hornets once again in the third quarter.  They won that quarter 27-11 and built their lead to 38 points entering the final quarter.

From there, the Hornets completely folded.

Game Four: Miami vs Atlanta

Game Four

Jamario Moon is questionable tonight and Marvin Williams will continue to sit out injured.

Update — Jamario Moon is out — big loss for Miami, only wing in the rotation outside of Wade who rebounds the ball well.

First Quarter

Monstrous dunk from Al Horford over Jermaine O’Neal — Atlanta ahead 6-1 to start of the game.

Al Horford is really going after that Jermaine O’Neal turnaround. I’m not sure it’s worth the risk of picking up a foul there. Jermaine shoots what? 30-40% on that shot? That’s a shot you’re happy that Miami takes as long as it’s contested. I don’t think Horford has to go all out for the block and give up a ticky tack foul like he just did.

The whole Hawks bench gets up and cheers after Josh Smith puts it on the floor and drives to the rim. That sentence says so many things about Josh Smith ….

Sunday’s Games

I didn’t get to watch much basketball yesterday, and caught glimpses of a couple of games, so I pretty much missed the following games

• Boston Celtics vs Chicago Bulls — Game Four
• Cleveland Cavaliers vs Detroit Pistons — Game Four
• Orlando Magic vs Philadelphia 76ers — Game Four
• Houston Rockets vs Portland Trailblazers — Game Four

Okay, so I’ll supply some short box score notes on each of the games

Cleveland Cavaliers vs Detroit Pistons

This game was over before it began, after the way Cleveland demolished Detroit in the first two games and embarrassed Detroit in game three, you just knew the Pistons stood no chance in hell of winning this one.

Drew Bynum To The Bench

LA Times reports

The Lakers could move Andrew Bynum to the bench because of recent struggles, a change that would shift Pau Gasol to center and put Lamar Odom in the starting lineup.

“We’d like him to play [better],” Los Angeles coach Phil Jackson said of Bynum. “We’ll see what will happen.”

Game Three: New Orleans vs Denver

Game Three

Unfortunately, I had the start time of this one wrong and missed the first half.

This has been a slaughter so far, with Denver leading 2-0.

Can Chauncey Billups keep up his sterling play? Can New Orleans get enough out West + Chandler to come back in the series?

First Half

Some box score notes — the Hornets lead 50-47

Game Three: Houston vs Portland

Game Three

The series is tied at one apiece — I didn’t watch the first half, but tuned in for the second half.

First Quarter

Some stats with 1:30 to go in the first quarter:

• Houston leads 15-8 on the scoreboard
• The Rockets are ahead 12-7 on the backboards
• The Blazers are 4-16 from the field. Nobody has more than one field goal.

Game Three: Philadelphia vs Orlando

Game Three

The series is tied one apiece.

I watched the first quarter, but didn’t write down any notes, and turned off until late in the third quarter — so the game time report will start there.

First Half

The Philadelphia 76ers gradually build an 11 point lead, winning the first quarter by 6 points and the second quarter by 5 points.

Third Quarter

Game Three: Detroit vs Cleveland

Game Three

Cleveland should build an unassailable lead tonight by going ahead 3-0 in the series.

First Quarter

The Detroit Pistons start off in better fashion, opening up with an 8-0 run keyed by two long Tayshaun Prince jump shots on the left wing. He has 5 of the 8 points.

• Big Z at the top of the key, a little off to the left, behind the three point line, Bron is on the right wing and cuts hard to the rim, nice bounce pass from Z to Bron, slam dunk. That ends the Pistons run.
• Next possession, Cleveland run a 1-3 screen and roll and force the switch, Stuckey is on James, LeBron takes him down into the low post, left block, and makes the catch, backs him down, turns and muscles up a short shot over the youngster.
• Oh beautiful move from Stuckey … Stuckey dribbling up the floor high out on the right wing, he drives hard to his left, his the free throw line, lovely spin move to the lose the defender and he hits the pretty layup. Brilliant spin move.

Game Time: Wednesday’s Games

I didn’t have the time to watch any of these three games, but I’ll offer some box score punditry on them:

• Game Two — Atlanta vs Miami
• Game Two — Orlando vs Philadelphia
• Game Two — Denver vs New Orleans

Atlanta vs Miami

The first strory for Miami happened on the backboards

• They won the overall battle 40-33
• Who was mainly responsibly?
  • Jamario Moon had an excellent performance on the boards, pulling down 8 rebounds in just 28 minutes
  • Michael Beasley yanked down 7 boards in 21 minutes
  • Udonis Haslem had 7 boards in 26 minutes

Game Three: Dallas vs San Antonio

Game Three

I watched the Bulls-Celtics and Jazz-Lakers game, so I only caught a small part of this game (during halftime of Chicago’s game). I’ll offer my thoughts on that, and some box score punditry on the rest.

Second Quarter

Dallas are leading the game 34-25 five minutes into the second quarter.

A couple of superb defensive plays sparks a 10-0 Dallas run

• Tony Parker was out on the right wing, drove hard at Jason Kidd, Kidd anticipated the angle, beat Parker to the spot, and forced Parker into losing his footing, and earned a traveling violation against the Spurs guard.
• Brandon Bass with a picture perfect steal out on the right wing, a lazy pass from Kurt Thomas, breakaway dunk for Bass!
• Kurt Thomas squirms around in the paint and his shot rejected back out, fastbreak again.

Game Three: Chicago vs Boston

Game Three

First Quarter

The Celtics have jumped out of the gates and built up a 17-10 lead after just five minutes of action. Their early dominance has quieted the Bulls’ home crowd. That draws a timeout of Chicago.

Out of the timeout, Paul Pierce decides it’s time to exert his dominance. He hits back to back jumpers, including one lovely 17 footer on the left wing where he used a beautiful headfake to lose John Salmons, to put Boston ahead 21-12. Pierce is 5-5 from the floor. On the next possession, Pierce gets the ball out on the wing, dribble drive to the FT line, draws the defense, he takes the 16 foot fallaway J, hits it.

Boston is now ahead 23-14 and 16 of their 23 points have come in the paint.

Game Two: Los Angeles vs Utah

Game Two

I was watching the Blazers-Rockets game so I missed the first three and a bit quarters of this one.

Fourth Quarter

Lakers lead 99-86

• Kirilenko taps home Boozer’s miss. Only the fourth offensive rebound for Utah tonight. The Lakers focus must be good tonight. They had 20 offensive rebounds in game one.
• Bynum gets great position deep in the paint on a fastbreak, but Millsap rips the ball away from him. Fastbreak Utah, Deron Williams nestles in a long J on the other end.

Bynum misses two FTs on the next possession. He hasn’t scored since the first quarter, he has 10 points.

Game Two: Portland vs Houston

Game Two

First Round

• Artest goes down onto the block, right post, posts up the rookie Batum, turns and shoots, rejected by Batum. Nice defense.
• Yao posts up on the left block, kickout, Artest hits the long two
• Steve Blake calls for a screen up near the top of the key, he drives hard to the right, into the paint, layup
• LaMarcus Aldridge misses a 20 footer from the top of the key
• Brooks comes off a screen and roll on the right wing, dribbles towards the middle, 18 footer, bagged over Blake’s contest
• Drive and kick to set up Batum’s triple which he makes

Great double team from Aldridge on Artest in the post — Artest was posting up down on the left post, Aldridge came across, made himself big, Artest couldn’t pass, shot clock winding down, forced Artest to go baseline, four dribbles, kickout, shot clock expire

Game Two: Cleveland vs Detroit

Game Two — Cavs Lead Series 1-0

First Quarter

Ugly turnover from Rip Hamilton early in the game. He posts up West down on the left block, double comes, he scampers back out, throws a pass out to the right wing about 7 foot away from Stuckey at the top of the key and another Piston in the right corner. Out of bounds. Ugly turnover.

• Mo Williams runs a screen and roll with Big Z on the left wing, Williams dribbles towards the middle, bounce pass back to Z who popped out, jumper on the way, good.
• Another turnover for Detroit, fastbreak Cleveland, LeBron sprints right to the rim and stops two feet from the rim,  gets the pass, muscles it up over Prince easily.

Game One: Denver vs New Orleans

Game One

First Quarter

Interesting start matchups wise. Neither Billups or Paul, are defending one another. Billups is defending Rasual Butler, while Paul is defending Dahntay Jones.

• Kenyon Martin kicks the game off with a thunderous dunk
• Carmelo Anthony drives to the rim, gets caught in the air, kicks it out, picked off by Chris Paul, Paul runs the break slowly, allows his wings to catch up with him, sees Peja Stojakovic and decides to use the opportunity to get him a bucket, layup.
• Chris Paul probes off the dribble, he dribbles all around the world, down the left wing, down the baseline, out on the right side, and he bangs in the 16 footer.
• Dahntay Jones posts up Paul on the left midpost, David West traps the ball and deflects the pass, turnover. Great D by West.

Leon Powe Injury

Second update below, terrible news

The Boston Globe offers us an update on the situation

Leon Powe sprained his left knee during the first half of Monday night’s win over the Chicago Bulls and did not return. Powe received an MRI on his knee during the game and is questionable for the rest of the series.

Terrible news for Boston

This series may have just evened up talent wise. No seriously, Leon Powe is that important to Boston. They’re already without Kevin Garnett, and now they lose Powe, and they’re still without Brian Scalabrine.

• That leaves only two useful big men in Perkins and Davis, and Davis is a poor rebounder. These guys will have to give 40 minutes and when they do that, the results have been inconsistent, they’re still not used to logging that type of time.

Game Two: San Antonio vs Dallas

Game Two — Dallas Leads Series 1-0

First Quarter

The Spurs have jumped out to an 8-1 lead as Tim Duncan completes the three point play. Parker and Duncan have combined for all of San Antonio’s points.

• Dirk Nowitzki nesltes in the baseline jumper. Next defensive possession, nice steal from Dirk out of the corner, he dribbles the ball up court, across to Howard, Howard decides to go one-on-one, he’s on the right hand side of the lane, he takes the pull up J as the defensive collapses, he changes his mind at the final moment and finds a cutting Dampire for the easy dunk. Great pass.
• Duncan posts up inside, loses it, Josh Howard on the steal, he flies up court, great transition defense from San Antonio, they close off the paint, Howard settles for the pull up J in transition, miss.

Game Two: Boston vs Chicago

Game Two — Chicago Lead Series 1-0 Over Boston

First Quarter

Tuning in late here. The first seven minutes have passed by and Boston are leading 24-17.

• Boston go to their favoured 3-1 screen and roll, they force Hinrich to switch onto Pierce, Paul knocks the jumper down.
• Ben Gordon runs off a screen, catch and shoot from 17 feet top of the key, good.
• Leon Powe posts up on the left block against Brad Miller, strong move to his right towards the middle of the paint, blows by Miller, finishes strongly. Good move.
• The Bulls knock down their fifth straight shot behind a Hinrich jumper. They’re heating up after a dodgy start (according to announcers).

Game One: Atlanta vs Miami

Game One

I missed the first quarter, so we’re tuning in at the start of the second quarter here.

Atlanta is leading the game 24-21

• The Hawks have gotten balanced scoring with three players getting between 6-7 points, and two others giving 3-4 points.
• The Heat have been led by Wade who has 11 of the team’s 21 points. Two other Heat players have 9 of the other 10 (Jones/Chalmers).
• Beasley has ripped down five boards already. Well done.
• A couple of nice dunks from Wade on that highlights tape

Second Quarter

• Zaza Pachulia has the ball at the top of the key, passes to his left, to Mo Evans, sets a screen for Mo, Mo dribbles in and takes the 18 footer. Nice bucket.

Chandler 70-75% Healthy

The Denver Post reports

New Orleans center Tyson Chandler is going to play in this series, but he says he’ll be only “70-75″ percent of himself throughout the series due to a persistent ankle injury.

“It’s getting a little better day-by-day,” Chandler said after Saturday’s practice at the Pepsi Center.

Game One: Orlando vs Philadelphia

Game One

First Quarter

Rafer Alston opens the scoring with a three pointer out of the right corner. The Orlando Magic are starting strong, out to a 7-2 lead after two minutes, after Dwight Howard’s bucket.

• Howard went down into the left post against Dalembert, muscled him out of the way, went middle and hit a nice little jump hook.

Philadelphia come roaring back into the game. They’re starting to get their running game going after those quick 6 points from Thaddeus Young (two and ones). The second one came after a hard push from Andre Iguodala, who entered the middle of the paint, then found Young to his left for the layup and the foul. Phily also hit a pair of jumpers during their run. The Sixers are now ahead 14-11.

• Halfway mark in the quarter — Phily lead 16-11

Tayshaun Prince = Vanishing Act?

Tayshaun Prince is coming off a fairly awful performance last night against the Cavs:

• Prince finished with only four points. He shot 2-7 from the field.
• Tayshaun provided no help on the backboards, only one rebound. He also had low assist numbers with just two.
• Then add in his difficulty to slow down LeBron, who obliterated Prince whenever the two where matched up.

What was my first reaction? Well it seemed all too familiar, and highly concerning.

Game One: Los Angeles vs Utah

Game One

First Quarter

I missed the first five minutes of the game here. There is no Okur tonight folks, so Utah are in major trouble here.

The Lakers have jumped out to a 17-10 lead. Derek Fisher picked up two early fouls and was replaced by Shannon Brown, who did a wonderful job.

• Kobe Bryant posts up down on the right block, the help defense comes down, Kobe turns for the fadeaway but changes his mind in mid-air and flings it out to Shannon Brown who is spotting up for a three pointer on the left wing. Brown knocks it down.
• Shannon Brown orchestrating the fastbreak, lovely pass to Pau Gasol for a dunk. That brings a timeout from Utah’s Jerry Sloan and puts the Lakers up 17-10.

Playoff Previews: Denver vs New Orleans

Post is still a work in progress, but I wanted the conclusion section up before the first game of the series was played.

Regular Season Standings

• Denver Nuggets — 54 wins and 28 losses
• New Orleans Hornets — 49 wins and 33 losses.

Regular Season Matchups

• They split the season series 2-2
• The two teams played two close games with one side winning by four points, and the other by five points.
• The two other games where decided by 13 points apiece.

Playoff Previews: Atlanta vs Miami

Regular Season Standings

• Atlanta Hawks — 47 wins and 35 losses
• Miami Heat — 43 wins and 39 losses

Regular Season Matchups

• The Hawks won the season series 2-1. The two teams swapped blowout wins, and the Hawks won the third game by eight points.
• The two teams played a fourth game but Miami sat out it’s main players, and the Hawks limited the minutes of their main players, so it’s not worth spending too much time on.

Playoff Previews: Los Angeles vs Utah

Regular Season Standings

• Los Angeles Lakers — 65 wins and 17 losses
• Utah Jazz — 48 wins and 34 losses

Regular Season Matchups

• The Lakers won the season series 2-1. The Lakers lost the first game by 13, won the second game by four, and won the final game by 13.
• The Lakers won the season series 3-1 against the Jazz a year ago.
• The Jazz and Lakers faced off in the Conference Semi-Finals a year ago, with the Lakers winning comfortably 4-2. The Jazz put up a good fight, but LA always had an extra gear.

Introduction

I like this series to be reminiscent of the series from a year ago. With Utah’s offensive brilliance fighting against their own defensive frailities, and continually losing that battle to a side who are overall a superior outfit.

Game One: Portland vs Houston

Game One

First Quarter

Tuning after the first three and a half minutes. The Houston Rockets are off to a bright start and have an 11-2 lead. Portland’s Nate McMillan just called a timeout.

It’s time for Brandon Roy to get a hold of the game for his team.

• Brandon Roy uses a high screen and roll with Yao, he drives hard, down the left hand side of the lane, layup. Houston turn it over, Brandon Roy gets the ball, uses another pick and roll with Yao, and gets another bucket.
• Artest misses a three pointer off the lift wing, long rebound, Aldridge shows little hustle, Scola on the other hand goes out and taps it away, runs it down but Steve Blake is there to meet him and it goes out of bounds of Luis Scola.

Game One: San Antonio vs Dallas

Game One

First Quarter

First blood — Dirk Nowitzki gets a down screen from Wright, he pops out for a 14 footer, shoots it, fouled by Roger Mason Jr. Three point play. Nice start for Dallas and nice screen to get Dirk open.

Antoine Wright will defend Tony Parker. Dallas are hoping his quickness, size, and length will be more impactful versus Parker than their slow or small point guards.

• Tony Parker gets a screen from Tim Duncan, slices into the paint, layup attempt, fouled, not called.
• Duncan stripped in the post by Dirk. Nice play by Nowitzki.
• Parker gets a great look but misses the floater from 5 feet. San Antonio control the offensive rebound, out to Michael Finley, Finley blows by Josh Howard and gets the layup. Great play from Finley and worrying lack of defensive effort from Howard.

Game One: Cleveland vs Detroit

Game One

I missed most of this game so I don’t have a huge amount to say about — short post only.

I tuned in after the Bulls win over Boston, it was about halfway through the second quarter at the time. The Pistons where down 43-39, and subsequently bottomed out and finished the half down 12 points after a miraculous heave by LeBron James — he ran down the left sideline, threw up a Hail Mary from midcourt and nailed it.

I missed the start of the third quarter, but the rest of the game basically followed the same tired protocol — Detroit stay down double digits, never seriously threaten the Cavs, despite being within shooting distance until midway in the fourth, and the Cavs get a very comfortable win.

Some Stats

The biggest problem for the Pistons tonight? Firepower!

• Rodney Stuckey was their best scorer on the night. He dropped 20 points but it took him 21 shots and 6 free throws.

Game One: Boston vs Chicago

Game One

I’m making some changes to my “Game Time” posts. I usually do a game log and give a brief description of what is happening throughout the game, but I have decided to abandon that method.

For the time being I’m going to be writing a brief recap of the game, but I’m not sure if that’s the long term successor or not. It’s a work in progress.

First Quarter

Quick injury report — John Salmons is still suffering from a groin injury. He can and will play through the injury.

• First Basket Of The Series — The game started with a bang from the Bulls. On the first possession of the game Boston turned over the ball, outlet to Derrick Rose, he flies up the court and finds a streaking Joakim Noah for a flush.
• Kendrick Perkins got an early post up opportunity down in the left block. He easily got low position against the much smaller Joakim Noah, then easily backed him down, and easily hit a jump hook over Noah. Perk can get that shot whenever he wants all series long.

Playoff Previews: Portland vs Houston

Regular Season Standings

• Portland Trailblazers — 54 wins and 28 losses
• Houston Rockets –  53 wins and 29 losses

Regular Season Matchups

• The Rockets won the season series 2-1.
• The Blazers lone victory came off a Hail Mary heave from way behind the three point line by Brandon Roy at the buzzer.
• The Rockets won the season series 4-0 last season.
• Two of the games where closely contested and came down to the final moments. The other game was a blowout in Houston’s favour, and a reminder of the Rockets dominance in the paint last season.

Playoff Previews: Boston vs Chicago

Regular Season Standings

• Boston Celtics — 62 wins and 20 losses
• Chicago Bulls — 41 wins and 41 losses

Regular Season Matchups

• The Celtics trashed the Bulls twice before Christmas. Those games where with Kevin Garnett though.
• The C’s and Bulls only faced off one more time during the season, resulting in a 127-121 heartbreaking loss for the Celtics. Then again, Boston where not only without Kevin Garnett, but also without Leon Powe (left early — four minutes in), Glen Davis and Brian Scalabrine. They had only one good big man, and one other big man, for the entire game and resorted to playing Pierce some time at the four spot. Neither team played much defense that night either.

Playoff Previews: Cleveland vs Detroit

Regular Season Standings

• Cleveland Cavaliers — 66 wins and 16 losses
• Detroit Pistons — 39 wins and 43 losses

Regular Season Matchups

• Cleveland won the season series 3-1. Their lone loss came in the first month of the season.
• Three of the games were closely contested and came down to the final minutes of the fourth quarter. The one other game was a blowout in the Cavs favour.

Detroit’s Outlook

The Pistons Experience + Two Detroits

Detroit have been there, done that and bought the T-shirt. They’re battle tested, and have shown both great character and great intelligence over the past few seasons. Unfortunately, we haven’t seen these qualities on display for most of the season.

The Field Is Set

Eastern Conference

#1 Cleveland Cavaliers vs #8 Detroit Pistons

#2 Boston Celtics vs #7 Chicago Bulls

#3 Orlando Magic vs #6 Philadelphia 76ers

#4 Atlanta Hawks vs #5 Miami Heat

Western Conference

#1 Los Angeles Lakers vs #8 Utah Jazz

#2 Denver Nuggets vs #7 New Orleans Hornets

#3 San Antonio Spurs vs #6 Dallas Mavericks

#4 Portland Trailblazers vs #5 Houston Rockets

KG May Be Out For Playoffs

Marc Spears is reporting the following

In an interview this morning on Boston sports radio station WEEI, Celtics coach Doc Rivers said it was likely that Kevin Garnett would not be ready to play at all in the playoffs. “After today there’s no way he can play,” said Rivers, who left open the possibility his star could return at some point in the postseason but was not optimistic.

More on this breaking story in a bit …

Wow ….

KG Update

The Boston Herald reports

Kevin Garnett’s availability for the playoff opener will very much be up to the player, according to Celtics Danny Ainge. executive director of basketball operations

“When Kevin plays is his decision,” Ainge said yesterday. “But I think Kevin (right knee) plays once the playoffs start. Ultimately, it’s just his decision. Could Kevin play right now?. Absolutely. But the question is whether it is in his best interests. I don’t think there’s anyone out there who feels he can’t play. It’s just a hot topic right now – like the Tom Brady knee issue (for the Patriots).”

George Hill Out Of Rotation?

The San Antonio Express reports

Spurs coach Gregg Popovich has spent the past few weeks fine-tuning his rotation as the playoffs approach.

As things stand today, rookie guard George Hill won’t be in it. If that wasn’t made obvious by Hill’s flagging playing time lately, Popovich all but made it official before Monday’s game at Golden State.

“This playoff probably isn’t for him,” Popovich said.

Eastern Conference Taking Shape

Let’s have a look at our playoff hopefuls

Top Three Seeds

A few days ago, I had a look at the top three seeds and how they were likely to play out. It’s a near certainty that Cleveland holds onto the top seed, while Boston and Orlando battle it out for the second seed with Boston favoured to win it outright.

#1 Cleveland Cavaliers

#2 Boston Celtics

#3 Orlando Magic

The Fourth Seed

The Atlanta Hawks have locked up the fourth seed after a terrific home-stand which saw them sweep all seven home games. They Hawks currently have 42 wins against only 29 losses and are on track for a 48-49 win season.