This is from about a week ago … the NY Post reports

The unsigned Szczerbiak told The Post yesterday he underwent knee surgery three weeks ago at the Hospital for Special Surgery in Manhattan and is seriously considering retiring in the coming weeks.

The surgeons have told the Cold Spring Harbor product another knee injury could affect his ability to lead a normal life because he lacks enough cartilage in the knee after three surgeries.

A source said the decision’s been all but made to retire because he wants to be able to play with his kids. But Szczerbiak said yesterday an official decision hasn’t been reached.

“I’m not ready to sign my retirement papers yet,” he said. “The doctors have their opinions. I’m getting my body right and see where that takes me. Basketball’s been very generous to me financially. It’s not about the money.”

Szczerbiak will rehab in New York head in December to Cleveland, where he owns a place and will look into broadcasting opportunities.

That’s too bad. Wally was a decent rotation player last season. He could have helped someone this season if he was healthy enough to play.

Big game tonight between the Cavs and Magic. Good opportunity to see how the new look Cavs, Shaquille O’Neal in particular, defend Dwight Howard and company.

• Magic lineup — Shaq + Hickson + James + Parker + Williams
• Cavs lineup — Dwight + Bass + Barnes + Vince + Nelson

First Quarter

• Delonte West is inactive tonight. The team hasn’t released the reason why … only to say there needs to be accountability for all players.
• Nice help defense by Nelson coming over from the weakside to break up the pass by LeBron to Hickson under the rim.
• Mo Williams knocks down a jumper. Jameer Nelson replies with a pull up J of his own from 18 feet on the right elbow extended.
• James isolation on the right wing against Barnes, James settles for the jumper, hits a 22 footer. He can beat Barnes for speed all night long. Look to drive.
• Cavs post up Shaquille O’Neal, foul on Howard in the post. His first. Sideline ball, Cavs post up Shaq again, he turns middle, hesitates, gets himself in trouble, takes a one handed short shot in the middle of the paint, misses.
• Nice push by Mo Williams on the fastbreak to get himself a layup. Aggressive play from Mo, the Cavs need more of that.
• Dwight fouled, splits a pair at the line.
• Cavs post up Shaq again, backs down Howard, pushes him patiently, now gets him off balance, goes up through him, foul. Soft foul. 2nd against Howard. Gortat checks in for him. Shaq makes the first FT but back irons the second one.

Cavs lead 7-5 after two and a half minutes. Howard sits in foul trouble.

• Nice drive by Vince Carter to get himself a layup.
• Shaq posts up Gortat, very good defense, forces Shaq away from the rim and into a tough fallaway jumper, miss.
• Bass knocks down a jumper
• Mo Williams runs a pick and roll out on the right wing, pops off from three immediately, hits it!
• James short on a jumper in transition. That was never close to going in but the long rebound comes right back to him. Pick and roll with Mo, nice dump by Mo, James dunks.
• LeBron deflects the ball away from Carter, gets the rock, goes coast to coast, gets teh layup and the foul. Lousy call. James makes the FT.
• Vince Carter high pick and roll with Gortat, bounce pass, too low for Marcin, loose ball, turnover, Cavs steal it.
• JJ Hickson finishes well inside off the nice feed.

Cleveland leads 17-9 after five minutes

• Vince Carter drains a triple off a high pick and roll.
• Cavs post up Shaq again, Gortat does a wonderful job denying Shaq the middle of the paint again, but Shaq has too much time (4-5 seconds backing down on the dribble) and gets into a rhythm, hits the jump hook over Gortat. Very good defense.
• Brandon Bass knocks down a nother midrange jumper
• Cavs post up Shaq again, Gortat denies the middle again, Shaq has the baseline open if he spins, elects to pass out, nothing comes from it. Very good defense again from Gortat.
• Pietrus and Moon check into the game for Barnes and Parker respectively.
• Vince Carter toys with Moon on a post up along the baseline. Draws a foul and hits the FTs.
• Nice replay off Shaq’s behind the back pass out of the low post to a cutting LeBron James for a layup.

Cavs lead 21-17 as Shaq takes a seat with five minutes left in the first quarter.

• Mo Williams blows by Nelson, into the paint, defense collapses, Mo finds Varejao for the dunk.
• Jameer Nelson comes right back down and hits a jump shot.
• Orlando’s defense is scrambling right now. They left Hickson wide open along the baseline but he fails to punish them.
• James gets inside for another basket in the paint for Cleveland. They lead 18-2 in points in the paint.
• Steal, Nelson, breakaway layup, good!
• Mo Williams aggressive again, takes it again (jumper from 16 feet over Gortat off the pick and roll), hits it! Nice mano-o-mano battle at the point.
• Timeout
• Vince Carter catch and shoot from 22 feet on the right wing, misses.
• Clevland leads 27-22 with three minutes to play
• Offensive rebound pulled down by Ilgauskas, fouled by Bass as he tries to go back up, hits both FTs. Cavs up seven.
• Carter moves across the baseline, posts up 14 feet out, Pietrus gets him the ball, Moon on Vince, Vince backs him down and scores easily.
• LeBron James posting up Pietrus on the other end, turns middle, Vince comes over from behind and tries to block the shot, foul. James hits both.
• Final two minutes – Vince head fake, beats his man easily, drives to the rim, Gortat cleans up inside.
• LeBron has 13 points in the first frame
• Nice ball movement from the Cavs to find Gibson off the James double team, three pointer, good!
• Moon snares a defensive rebound. Nice two man game between LeBron and Varejao. James picks up his dribble top of the key, surveys the floor, doesn’t like what’s on, gives it to Varejao 22 feet out on the right wing, runs by for the hand off, Vince trails him, Gortat stunts down to deny the baseline drive, Varejao cuts hard to the rim, James hits him, foul on the layup attempt. Varejao makes his FTs. Nice one two play between James and Varejao.

Cavs lead 35-26 with under 40 seconds left

• Nelson high pick and roll, nothing on, runs it again, Nelson turns down the jumper, instead gets caught with Varejao draped all over him on a contested fadeaway J which he hits.
• James dribbles down the clock, works on Pietrus top of the key, Pietrus backs off and baits him into a long jumper, James misses from 22 feet. He settled there.

Second Quarter

Cleveland leads 35-28 after one. The Magic are doing alright considering Dwight’s foul trouble. The second quarter will be interesting.

• Magic go big with Dwight Howard and Marcin Gortat on the court together. SVG must be attempting to get his team focused on defense.
• Dwight immediately gets caught in the post by a strong double team, bad pass, turnover.
• Mo Williams hits a three pointer … and then bags another one. Cavs up 13.

Timeout SVG. Wow, 70 seconds it took before the first timeout of the second quarter. Cleveland start the quarter on a 6-0 run and now lead by 13.

• Orlando is getting no penetration in the halfcourt offense. Cleveland effectively keeping the ball in front of them and out above 17 feet. Ah, at the final moment Mo Williams is beat one-on-one by Jason Williams who then slithers into the paint for a layup. Breakdown at the final moment.
• Loose ball foul on Ilgauskas
• Cleveland lead 12-5 on the backboards
• JJ Redick gets free for a layup inside. Cavs sleeping defensively there.
• 3 second violation on Ilgauskas. Turnover. Four consecutive mental mistakes by Cleveland.
• Turnover Orlando, the game is getting sloppy now.
• Jesus! Mo Williams steps out of bounds as he tries to drive baseline. Turnover.
• Shaq checks into the game … Orlando immediately go to Howard who faces up and drives hard against Shaq, draws the foul, misses both.

Cleveland leads 41-32 after three minutes

• Mo Williams pick and pop with Ilgauskas on the left wing, drives baseline, hits Gibson in the opposite corner, three pointer, miss.
• Dwight Howard hits the offensive glass, gets the rebound, hits the putback, draws the foul, hits the FT. Six point game.
• Mo Williams pick and pop with Big Z on the left wing again, dances on Williams, nice crossover dribble going away from the pick to setup the three point attempt, Williams hits it!
• LeBron James checks back into the game.
• Mo Williams has 18 points tonight. James has another 13. That’s 31 of Cleveland’s 44 points.
• Dwight Howard scores inside again … cancelled out by Shaq’s short shot in the paint on the other end.
• Did Marcin Gortat just take and make a face up jumper from 15 feet? I think he did.
• Shaq catches the ball on the left post, turns, drives, draws a foul, makes one of two from the stripe.
• Jason Williams hogging the ball, doesn’t pass, takes a jumper off a pick, misses.
• Mo Williams pick and pop with Big Z, misses the 18 foot jumper.
• Howard left post, turns, drives middle, goes up through Shaq, Shaq’s arm was stretched out, goes up through the arm, foul. Howard makes one of two. He’s struggling from the line.

Cleveland leads 47-40 with a little under seven minutes remaining in the first half

• Mo Williams runs off a screen, James finds him curling to the left elbow, Williams hits the jumper.
• Vince Carter has been sitting for a long time. SVG trying to get him some rest after riding him in the first quarter.
• Cavs get another basket. They’re up 11. Mo Williams again. 22 points for Mo.
• Pietrus misses the pull up J from 23 feet out on the right wing
• Cavs post up Shaq on the left post, nice defense from Gortat, forces shaq off the spot on the drive, forces him wide, contested six footer going away from the rim, hits it.
• Timeout
• Vince Carter comes off shooting off the pick, hits the 19 footer from the top of the key.
• Mo Williams penetrates, dribbles along the baseline, finds a cutting James for the dunk.

Cavs lead 57-42 with under four minutes to play

• Mo Williams left corner, dribbles up top to a 1-3 pick and roll with LeBron, goes away from the pick, beats Nelson with the deception, three second call off the ball on the drive.
• Vince Carter wheeling and dealing, fadeaway J off the dirbble going away from the rim, hits the tough shot.
• James post up Pietrus, backs him down, knocks him down, 5 footer, miss. Offensive rebound Cavs, timeout. No sorry, that was a loose ball foul on Iglauskas and they’re in the penalty. Tough call, bad call.
• Howard splits a pair at the line.
• Cavs lead 12-5 in fastbreak points.

Cavs lead 57-45 with under three minutes to play

• Howard checks out. Good service from Howard while avoiding his third foul.
• Cavs post up Shaq, Gortat denying him the middle again, Shaq called for a travel on the post up. Turnover.
• Matt Barnes has Mo Williams on him, stunts to the low post, Pietrus finds him, four feet from the rim, turns and shoots over the top, hits the short shot. Nice matchup (switch) there for Barnes.
• Offensive foul on Shaquille O’Neal, moving screen, third foul on Shaq.
• Vince Carter drains the pull up J off the high pick and roll from 15 feet.

Timeout Cavs — Cavs lead 57-49 with 1:25 left to play in the first half

• Good 7-0 run here from the Magic to close out the half strong.
• LeBron drives hard to the rim, draws a foul, and makes his FTs. Cavs back up 10.
• LeBron posts up Pietrus on the left block, draws the foul, makes one of two. Cavs up 11. LeBron has 20 points.
• Pietrus picks up another foul, loose ball foul, Hickson back to the line for Cleveland and hits two. Cleveland got six free throws in twenty seconds there. Odd sequence of plays. They made five of six FTs.
• Vince Carter drive and kick to Barnes in the left corner, he misses the three.
• James on the fastbreak, pull up jumper from 17 feet top of the key, miss, foul on Matt Barnes as he tries to keep Hickson off the glass. Hickson takes two more, hits one of them.
• Cleveland back up 14 points with 43 seconds left in the half.
• Nelson high pick and roll, Nelson goes away from the pick, one dribble, pull up J from just inside the arc, hits it!
• LeBron James dribbles down the clock and hits a three pointer from the top of the key

Halftime

Cleveland leads 66-51

Mo Williams was red hot in the first half. He was 9-9 from the field, 4-4 from downtown, for 22 points. LeBron James added 23 points of his own. That’s 45 of Cleveland’s 66 points.

Third Quarter

Tuning in halfway through the third quarter. Cleveland is leading 79-64.

• Vince Carter catch and shoot baseline jumper, misses.
• James dribbles out, gets a clearout, works on Bass, drives by him, to the rim, Dwight meets him up high, blocks him, turnover, fastbreak, Orlando turn it over in the open court, LeBron gets it back. Pick and pop with Big Z, missed jumper. Nice steal by LeBron from behind on Vince to stop that fastbreak.
• Mo Williams slithers into the paint, takes the floater, hits it! 24 points for Mo.
• Lot of action off the ball trying to free Vince Carter up. Some tempers flare after some holding off the ball. Blah, nothing to it. Stop running your mouth.
• Pietrus forced into an off balance fadeaway J off the dribble going away from the rim jump shot against the shot clock, misses.
• Nelson high screen and roll with Bass, goes away frmo the screen, then loses control of the ball, turnover.

Cleveland leads 81-64 with three minutes to play

• Carter rips it away. Nice steal, dribbles upcourt, gets it to Bass who scores. 15 point game.
• Big Z gets fouled going to the rim. Nice pass to setup by Ilgauskas.
• Orlando post up Howard, double team, kickout to Vince, headfake, one dribble in, ugly runner from distance, misses.
• Bass picks off Parker’s pass, fastbreak, one-on-one with James, Bass to the rim, layup, missed. Did LeBron get a piece of that? Tough to see. Bass missed badly if he didn’t.

I’m going to call it a game here. Cleveland are leading 83-66. I don’t see the Magic making up a 17 point deficit in the final quarter. Anthony Parker just nails a three pointer out of the right corner to push the lead to 20.

Thoughts on the game

Magic

• Orlando missed Rashard Lewis and Ryan Anderson tonight. Without their shooting prowess the Magic failed to space the floor well enough.
• Early signs on the Bass + Howard combination aren’t great. They’re fine alongside one another but not as potent as Anderson/Lewis + Howard. Still, it’s too early to call it a day there. I want to see how those two do while playing alongside Vince, Nelson and Lewis on the perimeter. That’s the lineup that interests me the most.
• I haven’t been watching the Magic much here in the early season … but what I have seen … I’m not impressed with Jason Williams. He’s had one good game and three bad games. Similar to his inconsistency and regular poor performances from his final season in Miami. It does look like his jump shot is back in form though.
• Orlando shouldn’t start Vince Carter + Matt Barnes alongside one another. Both players are defensive liabilities. If Orlando wants to get Vince to play to his full capacity defensively then they have to protect him better on that side of the ball in the early goings … and then they’ll see gradual improvements on his effort + focus defensively as the season progresses. Coupling with a liability like Barnes threatens that.
• Orlando’s defense should improve once Rashard Lewis returns.
• Vince Carter had a lousy game against Cleveland. I like him to score freely against Moon and score well against Parker in the future … but if James switches onto him? Not sure how well Vince will sustain his effectiveness. Something to watch out for in future matchups.
• Marcin Gortat played excellent post defense against Shaq + Shaq doesn’t look anywhere near as comfortable changing directions in the post as he has in the past.

Cavs

• I wouldn’t read anything into their victory tonight. Anytime Cleveland gets a performance like that from Mo Williams they should be favourites to win the game (that performance combined with usual production from others is very difficult to beat).
• Shaq did defend Howard better than Big Z did last spring but Howard looks capable of beating Shaq. The quickness issue is still alive, and the pick and roll defense will become more important as Orlando gets back it’s shooters. Some improvement here but not convinced it’s of the game changing variety.
• I like JJ Hickson in that starting lineup. He’s more talented offensively than Varejao and it’s provided more flow to their offense. I also think it’ll help him develop faster (being counted on to deliver on a nightly basis).

The Sacramento Kings have signed free agent Ime Udoka

That was the rough logic behind the Kings’ signing of Ime Udoka on Wednesday.

The 6-foot-5, sixth-year swingman spent the last two seasons as a key reserve for San Antonio, averaging 18.0 and 15.4 minutes, respectively.

He was a strong defensive presence and an occasional three-point threat, although his 32.8 three-point percentage last season was the worst of his career (37.4 percent overall).

According to sources, Udoka has a nonguaranteed contract for the veteran’s minimum salary that will run through the end of the season and pay him a prorated amount of $1.03 million. It won’t be fully guaranteed until Jan. 10, 2010.

“I’m thinking of him in terms of the (shooting guard) and (small forward positions),” Westphal said. “He’s a versatile player, a good three-point shooter.

“He’s been part of winning programs, and I think he can help anybody in this league. … If you can add a guy like that to your team, it’s a good thing to do.”

Good Signing

Nice signing by the Sacramento Kings. Here’s a quick look at the Kings’ wing situation:

• Franchise player and starting two guard — Kevin Martin
• Sixth and Seventh men — Andres Nocioni + Francisco Garcia
• Good role player — Ime Udoka
• Rookie — Omar Casspi
• Non-rotation caliber wing — Desmond Mason

I haven’t gotten a look at Casspi yet but I hear that he’s been playing very well for the Kings. Good defense + sharp shooting offense. If that’s the case then Casspi makes sense as the Kings starter at small forward and final rotation player on the wing.

If that is not the case, and Casspi isn’t capable of being a good rotation player, then Ime Udoka can fill the hole. He’d be a good option as the starting small forward due to his above average defense + above average rebounding. Two massive needs on the Kings perimeter. His shooting ability should also help space the floor.

As for Desmond Mason, he’s a candidate for the waiver wire once Kevin Martin returns. I see no point in the Kings hanging onto him since they have five wings (plus Tyreke Evans and Donte Greene who are capable of playing minutes on the wing and are thus solid insurance options should injuries strike again later in the season) who are ahead of Mason in the rotation.

Anyway, Udoka is a guy who can help that team. Hence, he’s a good signing.

ESPN reports

Sacramento Kings leading scorer Kevin Martin underwent surgery on his injured left wrist.

The team says Martin had the procedure to repair a hairline fracture in his left wrist on Monday at the UC Davis Medical Center. Martin will be released from the hospital later in the day.

Martin is expected to miss at least eight weeks with the injury. He is averaging 30.6 points a game for the Kings.

Sacramento has won both games since Martin was sidelined. Rookie Tyreke Evans is averaging 27.5 points per game in those contests.

Kevin Martin is one of the best scorers in the NBA. He’s a prolific, versatile and efficient scorer who doesn’t need a lot of time on the ball. He’s a dream scorer (sidekick wise).

Unfortunately, though, Martin doesn’t contribute enough in any other area of the game. His defense is very poor, his rebounding is below par, and his passing is poor-to-very poor for a player who has the ball in his hands as much as he does. These negatives detract most of Martin’s impact as a scorer. Thus Martin’s value to Kings is a lot lower than meets the eye.

In other words, the Kings should be okay in Martin’s absence. They were already one of the worst teams in the league.

On another note, it’s very disappointing to see the continued lack of defensive improvement from Kevin Martin. He’s in his sixth season this year and will turn 27 years of age later in February. He’s getting to stage of his career where his bad habits will begin to settle in for the rest of his playing days. Hopefully, Martin will find a new home and begin to expand his game (which I think he’d do if put in a better situation, defensively speaking more than anything else). It would be a shame to waste those skills of his.

Nice article in the Houston Chronicle on Chuck Hayes

Chuck Hayes is the most remarkable player on the NBA’s most remarkable team. How’s that for an opening sentence? Good one, huh?

Don’t believe me? Let’s check in at Toyota Center and run it past some people who should know.

“Luis Scola and I were talking in the weight room this morning,” Shane Battier said, “and we both agreed Chuck Hayes is our favorite player in the NBA.”

How so?

“It’s pretty amazing what he does,” Battier said. “He’s a huge reason we’ve been one of the best defensive teams in the league the last few years.”

How about you, Carl Landry? Do you love Hayes as much as the rest of us?

“He’s the perfect player,” Landry said. “He rebounds, plays defense, takes charges, gets steals. He does the dirty work.”

Is that right, Scola?

“It’s a pleasure to play with him,” Scola said. “He plays hard. He does everything a basketball player should do. He’s a great teammate.”

The article continues — Coach, what do you think of Chuck?

Surely someone disagrees. Coach Rick Adelman, are you ready to get rid of the Chuck Wagon?

“He’s incredible,” Adelman said. “You watch him play that game (against the Lakers on Wednesday) against a 7-1 guy (Andrew Bynum). That guy is a really good young player. He gets 17 points and 17 rebounds. Chuck ends up with 14 and 14.

“When he’s on the court, we’re so different. Right now, he’s confident and making some plays for himself. He’s playing with a lot of freedom. I marvel at what he gets done against certain people in this league.”

“He’s a competitor,” Rockets assistant coach Elston Turner said. “It’s the way he competes every night. It’s the way he’s coachable and knowledgeable. Those are things we love. When you can compete, sometimes it doesn’t matter if you’re undersized. Sometimes winning and losing is just a matter of who plays the hardest.”

On his physical attributes

He’s an NBA center. He’s also 6-6, 238 pounds.

“And that’s being generous,” Battier said.

Almost every night, he’s assigned to guard a guy at least 6 inches taller and 30 to 40 pounds heavier. He does it because of his heart, drive and smarts. He’s maybe the NBA’s strongest player, with strong hands and a strong base, and when he positions himself in the low block, no one moves him.

Chuck Hayes

Hayes’ stats in the early part of this season

• 27.1 minutes per game
• 6.6 points per game
• 6.9 rebounds per game (9.1 boards per 36)
• 2.4 steals per game + 0.6 blocks per game
• 59% field goal percentage

Chuck’s rebounding is lower than previous seasons on a per minute basis so we may see an increase there as the season goes on. However, his steals numbers are way above what his past work.

Chuck Hayes best asset is his defensive impact. He’s a remarkable defender who’s one of the few players in the NBA capable of defending all five positions at an above average level. His ability to defend all types of opposing players allows him to switch onto position with ease. Hayes’ team defense is excellent. He reads the game tremendously well and makes timely rotations. He also defends the pick and roll very well. Perhaps Hayes’ best asset is his post defense. Nobody can move him off the low block which generally leads opposing post scorers taking off balance shots which miss a good clip.

A very good role player. The Houston Rockets are lucky to have him.

Note: I think Hayes’ contract is up at the end of the season too. It’ll be interesting to see how his price tag is affected by the increased playing time.

Utah Jazz at home against the Spurs tonight.

First Quarter

San Antonio leads 3-2 after one minute as Deron Williams hits a layup in transition.

• Tony Parker pick and pop with Tim Duncan, nice help defense by Brewer to dissuade Duncan from taking that jump shot immediately, Okur recovers, Duncan facing him up on the left wing, takes it, misses it.
• Okur gets good position in the middle of the paint, eight from the rim, against Bonner, turns around and hits the short shot.
• Ronnie Brewer knocks down a 17 footer off the left elbow. Nice catch and shoot.
• Tony Parker pick and pop with Matt Bonner on the right wing, three pointer Bonner, miss.
• Boozer is getting booed loudly as he misses a 16 footer on the right wing. Not good to boo your own players – only makes your team worse.

Quick tempo to this game. Utah leads 10-8 after four minutes.

• Duncan right elbow, Parker runs by for the hand off, Duncan dosen’t make the pass, turns, faces up, hits the 16-17 foot jumper
• Good defense by San Antonio … forced Okur into a contested off balance fallaway against the shot clock, miss. Nice job by Bonner against Okur there.
• Manu Ginobili enters the game for Finley. Tony Parker heads to the line and makes one of two at the stripe.
• Nice cut by Boozer to get himself a layup. Give and go from the top of the key to the right wing, Boozer cuts down, screen by a guard to free him up, layup.
• Aggressive drive by Kirilenko. Draws a foul on RJ.
• Antonio McDyess enters the game. This figures to be the Spurs best lineup.
• Tony Parker slithers intside off the pick and roll, takes a floater in the lane, misses … rebound Utah, outlet, Kirilenko layup on the fastbreak.
• Carlos Boozer blocks Tim Duncan up top. We don’t see that very often. Jump ball as the ball was never released or knocked loose by either player. Timeout.
• Good job by Manu Ginobili to break up that pass into Boozer in the post. Great anticipation.
• Deron Williams hits a jumper off the baseline inbounds against the shot clock.
• Kirilenko drives on Ginobili, beats him, Duncan helps, passes out to Boozer at the foul line, Booz drills the jumper. Utah is on a 6-0 run here.

Timeout San Antonio. Utah leads 18-14 with four plus minutes left in the first quarter.

• Manu Ginobili scores on a twisting drive … Brewer responds with a bucket in the paint on the other end.
• Ginobili pick and roll, defender goes under the screen, Ginobili laces up a three, misses.
• Wes Matthews on the left wing, some action happening on the other side of the court, defense turns off, Matthews has the baseline open, takes it, beats RJ with the first step, drives baseline, finishes. Nice take.
• Millsap hits one of two free throws. Utah leads 23-16. Offensive rebound off the missed free throw, ball brought back out, Okur posts up McDyess, scores over him.
• Nice pass by RJ to a cutting George Hill for the layup.
• Okur drives the ball on Dice, beats him, loses the dribble, regains it, turns in the paint and hits the layup.
• Great job by Ronnie Brewer to steal that short pass, breakaway, slam dunk!

Utah leads 29-18 with a minute plus remaining in the first quarter.

• That was San Antonio’s third turnover (6 points off turnovers). Utah has zero.
• Good contest by Okur on McDyess’ face up jumper from 17 feet on the right wing, miss, offensive rebound, Blair scores an easy one inside.
• Wes Matthews beats his man off the bounce, RJ again, gets to the paint, takes the runner, fouled carelessly. Nice play from the rookie. Utah leads 32-20.
• Brewer picks off another pass. Utah slows it down. Deron Willaims goes around the pick and roll, between his legs and switches the other way, takes the jumper, misses.
• Roger Mason Jr misses a jumper out on the left wing, Ginobili tips it in with one hand! Utah inbounds the ball, Blair almost steals it but the clock expires before he can retrieve the loose ball.

Second Quarter

Utah leads 32-22

• Utah has scored 22 points in the paint — Popovich is pissed during that quarter interview. Utah is more physical and beating up San Antonio. His team isn’t trying hard enough.
• Ginobili takes a step back jumper frmo the top of the key, misses.
• Oh, nice pass by Kirilenko to Boozer, Boozer stripped on his way up … shouldn’t have brought that ball down. Nice job by McDyess, I think, to slap that ball loose.
• Wow — San Antonio has held Utah to under 100 points in 39 of their last 40 meetings. They have a 32 wins and 8 loss record over that period.
• Finley knocks down a triple
• Ronnie Price curling around a pair of screens, Boozer finds him, drives to the rim, runner, misses it. Millsap fouled after getting the ball back, hits two FTs.
• Matthews with another aggressive drive, this tim beating Mason Jr, into the paint, hits a floater moving from side of the paint to the other, tough shot, hits it.
• Good backdoor cut by Price, great pass by Kirileno, Blair comes over and tries to erase but doesn’t get to it in time, Price hits it anyway.
• Lovely pass by Price, drive and dump to Boozer (other side of the rim) for a layup.

Timeout San Antonio — Jazz lead 40-27 after two minutes.

• George Hill snakes his way into the paint off the pick and roll, misses the layup. Over-stretched himself on the shot attempt.
• Ronnie Price called for a moving screen. Utah’s first turnover.
• Price turns it over again, carrying call. He was forced to create one-on-one against the shot clock after Utah’s offense broke down, and after San Antonio defended the pick and roll well.
• Good job by Utah out-running the Spurs, Matthews misses the layup, Boozer grabs the offensive rebound and scores the putback.
• 12 second chance points for Utah. 12 of their 30 points in the paint. I think the Spurs only have 12 points in the paint total.
• Boozer has his inside shot rejected by Blair, Boozer faces him up off a post up after Utah gets the ball back, Booz has a quickness advantage here but the paint is too congested, passes out, missed shot … rebound, outlet, Parker in the fastbreak, to the rim, fouled as he hits the layup.
• Tim Duncan checks back in.

Utah leads 42-32 with seven and a half minutes to play in the first half.

• Nice pass by Millsap to Brewer inside who beat his man to the ball side of the rim, but Brewer takes too long to shoot (why the power dribble?), loses his lightly contested dunk and instead takes a heavily contested one which turns into a foul against San An. Brewer makes the first FT, misses the second. Blair yanks down the rebound (excellent hands, one of the strongest in the league).
• Tony Parker gets another three point play by scoring in the paint and hitting the and one again.
• Tony Parker gambles for a steal, almost but not quite good enough, Williams has an open three, DUncan moves out to contest it, Boozer cuts hard to the rim, Deron finds him, Boozer scores inside and draws the foul. Boozer has 11 (13?) points and 4 rebounds.
• Tim Duncan with the tap in following Blair’s missed 14 foot jumper.
• Deron Williams tries a fast ball to his cutter, too fast, turnover.
• Tony Parker dribble penetration from the wing, leaner, misses it, Blair tips it in.
• Utah’s defense is falling apart and they’re not hitting the defensive glass. Timeout on the next possession. Good timeout, the Jazz need it.
• Millsap scored in the paint before that timeout.

Utah leads 48-39 with five and a half minutes remaining in the second quarter.

• Ginobili splits a pair of free throws.
• Kirilenko scores inside. Utah leads 34-20 points in the paint. Nice weakside cut by Kirilenko there.
• Ginobili with a lovely crossover on Brewer but he misses the 22 foot jumper. His jump shots haven’t looked good tonight, you expect them to miss.
• Tony Parker gets into the paint again, Deron Williams switched off (tried to take away the pass and stopped defending the ball, Parker crossed him over and went right down the middle of the floor to the rim), Parker draws a foul on Millsap. Parker gets another two points.
• Illegal screen – out of bounds screen – turnover Utah. Fourth Jazz turnover in the second quarter, versus one for the Spurs. A reversal of the first quarter.
• Drive and kick from Parker off the pick and roll, to RJ on the right wing, three pointer, good.
• Deron Williams hits a 21 footer in the left corner. Nine point game.
• Parker uses the pick well again, drives baseline, draws a foul on Millsap (second most fouls in the NBA last season, Jason Thompson led the league). Parker hits another two at the line. He is 9-9 from the foul line tonight, and 19-20 for the season.
• Spurs — 19 games decided by 3 points or less. 43 games decided by 7 points or less — Doug Collins is saying that those tough minutes down the stretch over-worked Duncan and Parker last year.
• Boozer knocks the ball away from Duncan on the clearout, turnover. Utah is getting back into this.
• Okur drives on McDyess, baseline, lay in. Very poor defense by Dice.
• Boozer rebound, outlet to Williams, Williams showing off some sweet ball-handling, then loses control of the ball, clearout right wing, drives middle, fouled. Deron hits two.

Utah leads 59-47 with two plus minutes to play in the first half

• Tim Duncan drives from the left wing, draws a foul. Hits two FTs. Ten point game.
• Deron Williams checks out. Opportunity here for the Spurs.
• Kirilenko takes a contested 23 footer early in the shot clock, misses, rebound Boozer, turnover … San Antonio running the other way, bad foul, RJ hits one of his two FTs.
• 1:38 – Utah’s offense looks a little lost. Lots of movement but little direction.
• 1:06 – Duncan posts up, kicks it out to Manu, three pointer, misses, Dice rebounds, out to Ginobili, another three, misses, Boozer rebounds. Booz has 13 and 8 already! Dice didn’t react after that rebound, bad transition defense.
• Ronnie Brewer picks Ginobili’s pocket, Manu fouls him, Brewer splits a pair.
• 25 seconds – Bonner in for Duncan. Hill plays down the clock, looks for the final shot, to Manu, pick and pop with Bonner, Bonner three pointer, blocked by Boozer, fastbreak Utah, Brewere loses his handle and turns it over.

Halftime

• Tony Parker’s ability to get into the paint brought the Spurs back into this game in the second quarter. Parker has been the one bright spot for the Spurs.
• Carlos Boozer has been very good with 13 points, 8 rebounds and 2 blocks.
• The Spurs big men are giving Tim Duncan no help in the paint. Utah’s trio — Boozer, Okur, Millsap — have caused huge problems for the Spurs. Duncan can only defend one of them at a time. He needs more help.
• Antonio McDyess continues to be disappointing. I’m becoming increasingly concerned about his play.
• The Jazz did a brilliant job of pushing the ball in transition, moving without the ball, of not settling for jumpers and heading inside instead, and hitting the offensive glass. As a result, their offense has lit up the Spurs.
• Utah scored 37 points in the first half. Last season, the Spurs allowed 37 points in the paint for an entire game.

Third Quarter

• Jefferson with a nice baseline drive and reverse layup out of the left corner. Bad help defense by Okur.
• Okur beats Bonner off the dribble, to the rim, fouled. Okur makes both. Ten point lead.

Jazz lead 62-52 a minute into the third

• RJ in the left corner again, beats Kirilenk to his right this time, no help defense again, fouled.
• Turnover, Williams to Brewer, layup, rejected … baseline inbounds, jump shot by Williams, hits it. Same as previous baseline inbounds play.
• Carlos Boozer drops a fadeaway over Bonner in the low post … Tim Duncan needs some defensive help.
• Nice backdoor cut by Parker on the right baseline after Deron overplays the passing lane. Layup.
• Deron Williams to the rim, hits the layup. Bad weakside defense.
• Tim Duncan faces up on the left wing, drives middle, layup, misses … fastbreak Utah, foul, Brewer hits two.
• Doug Collins — “Duncan gets no lift off the left leg. The one with the brace” — that has happened a couple of times tonight.

Utah leads 70-57 with 8 minutes to play.

• Carlos Boozer drops another fallaway J. He leads Utah with 17 points. Parker is the game high scorer with 19.
• Nice lob pass by Parker from the left post (after dribbling beneath the baseline) over Okur’s head to the other side of the rim where Duncan was defended by Deron, Duncan reaches over and grabs the ball, lay in.
• Great job by Kirilenko stripping RJ on the drive … Deron Williams orchestrating the fastbreak, he goes one on one with Parker, to the rim, scores it.
• Timeout Popovich — Ginobili + Dice + Mason check in for Bonner, Finley and RJ — Spurs small on perimeter again
• Roger Mason Jr hits a three pointer
• Kirilenko posts up Ginobili, gets great position six feet from the rim, backs him down easily. Foul. That matchup is a problem for San Antonio.

The Spurs have only one small forward in their perimeter rotation (Richard Jefferson) and five guards. They also have no combo forward.

• Boozer yanks down another rebound. Good defense by the Jazz to deny Parker’s dribble penetration to help force the miss.
• Offensive rebound Boozer after Deron’s missed three, out to Okur, hand off to Williams, baseline drive, drive and kick, Mason picks off the pass.
• Nice ball fake by Duncan to help beat Boozer 17 feet from the rim, drives left, to the rim, fouled. Duncan makes two.

Utah leads 76-64 with less than five minutes to go in the third quarter

• Boozer offensive rebound and putback. Jazz lead 22-8 in second chance points. They’re pummeling the Spurs on the glass (33-22 overall edge to Utah). Duncan had to come over and help after Okur beat Dice off the bounce, left Boozer open for the rebound.
• Nice UCLA cut by Deron Williams, Brewer finds him cutting down the middle, layup. Normally see Kirilenko throwing that pass.
• Duncan splits a pair of free throws after Boozer fouls him (hit him on the elbow) on a turnaround J.
• Boozer stripped in the paint again. Loses an easy layup. Baseline inbounds, Williams moves off a screen, cuts to the rim this time, pass, layup. Nice.
• The Spurs get a three pointer. Mason? I didn’t see who hit it. The Spurs have made 6 more three pointers than the Jazz.
• McDyess hits an 18 footer. Good shot.
• Boozer post up against Dice, faces up, jab step, goes left, shoots over Dice. Basket. Boozer took whatever he wanted from McDyess there.
• McDyess repsonds with a 17 foot jumper. From the left wing this time.
• McDyess pump fakes the jumper, Boozer bites, one dribble, shoots from 16 feet, misses, offensive rebound Blair, putback good.

Jazz lead 86-76 with a minute twenty to play

• Deron Williams draws a shooting foul on George Hill off a jump shot. Bad foul. Williams hits two.
• Man Ginobili working the pick and roll, forced wide, then turns and faces the rim, turns on the jets, flies into the paint, draws a foul. Ginobili makes two FTs. He has 9 points on 3-8 shooting in 21 minutes. Bad offensive game from Ginobili so far.
• Deron Williams dribbles upcourt, winds down the clock, looks for a two for one, pick and roll coming, Boozer hangs back (slips the pick), Dice jump out, bounce pass inside to Boozer who hits the short shot.
• Spurs turn it over.
• Deron Williams dribbles down the clock again, a large enough difference between the game clock and shot clock so San An will get another shto, same play, touch pass by Boozer to Matthews in the left corner, he hits it! First three pointer of the night for Utah.
• Ginobili dribbles upcourt in a hurry, drives hard, draws a foul. He goes to the line and hits one.
• 3.7 seconds — Williams races up the right wing, takes a running three pointer, misses.

Utah have held serve here in the third quarter. A lot of work for the Spurs to do in the fourth and they’ve shown no signs of being able to do that.

Fourth Quarter

Utah leads 93-80

The Jazz are coming off two consecutive terrible quarters against Dallas (Dirk’s outburst) and the Rockets. They’ll excorcise their ghosts tonight.

• Spurs are still very small — Hill + Mason + Manu + RJ + Blair
• Jazz lineup — Price + Matthews + Kirilekno + Millsap + Okur
• Beautiful cut by Millsap, layup.
• The Spurs don’t have enough defense on the floor to make this lead back.
• Ginobili climbing over Kirilenko to deflect the pass (post entry pass to AK).
• Utah starting to settle for long shots. Bad judgement.
• Another turnover by Utah — turnovers + long shots — stupid play. Bring Deron Williams back in to get some control of this game.
• Tony Parker checks in for Ginobili. The Spurs are even smaller now. Huge rebounding advantage here for Utah, huge size advantage inside for Utah. A frail Spurs defensive lineup. Utah needs to take advantage of this.
• Millsap fadeaway against the shot clock, misses, Okur on the offensive glass (boxed out by Hill), tip, no good, knocked out of bounds.

Timeout — Utah lead 95-84 with 9 minutes left to play

• Deron Williams comes off a Millsap screen, top of the key, jump shot. Hits it. 25 points for Williams to lead the game.
• Tony Parker still stuck on 19 points.
• Kirilenko goes over the back while attacking the offensive glass. Foul. Nice drive and runner by Matthews on the miss there (prior to AK fouling).
• RJ left wing, over to Mason, baseline drive against Kirilenko, Okur does just enough to contest Mason’s shot, miss.
• Turnover Utah. Their fourth turnover in four and a half minutes.
• Tony Parker sizzles his way into the paint, spin move, off balance, miss, Blair rebounds and scores the putback.
• Tim Duncan rebound, putback, good. Duncan claims a defensive rebound on the other end, his 12th board.
• Did Tony Parker not travel there? Anyway, he finds Jefferson on a baseline cut but RJ misses the layup.
• Beautiful pass by Williams to Millsap, bullet bounce pass from the top of the key to the right post to Millsap who had a bunch of Spurs big men near him but none were paying close attention, layup Millsap.

Timeout — Utah leads 101-88 at the midway point in the third quarter

• Pick and roll with Boozer, Deron to Booz, 14 foot jump shot, Booz hits it.
• Utah leads 56-38 points in the paint.
• Tim Duncan drives from the top of the key, Millsap sets up to take a charge, Duncan falls hard … turnover, fastbreak, Matthews layup. Matthews is shouting and hollering all the way up the floor. He has a lot of energy.

This game is over. Good win for Utah.

Thoughts On The Game

San Antonio Spurs

• Tim Duncan received little to no help from his fellow Spurs big men. Once again, the Spurs were outplayed by an opponent with multiple talented big men. This is a major problem for the Spurs going forward.
• San Antonio has only one small forward in their rotation and that’s Richard Jefferson. The rest of their perimeter players are all guards (Parker, Mason, Hill, Finley and Manu). This is a defensive issue for the Spurs whenever Jefferson checks out of the game.
• Jefferson isn’t rebounding the ball at even a mediocre level so the Spurs are getting no rebounding help from the three spot.
• Tim Duncan didn’t look good physically tonight. No explosiveness.
• The Spurs haven’t found a way to include Richard Jefferson into their offense. His only baskets are stand still jump shots or cuts off the ball. They have to find a way to mix it up and get RJ some different looks at the rim.
• Antonio McDyess looks old out there. I’m getting more and more worried about him each time I see him play. If he can’t play at a somewhat comparable level as he did last season … the Spurs simply won’t be a legitimate contender. McDyess is that important to their team.

Utah Jazz

• Wes Matthews looks like a decent player. He plays some defense and is aggressive + efficient offensively. He doesn’t try to do more than he can, limits his mistakes.
• Outside of that … same old, same old for Utah. They’re a very good team but not a contender. They’re still one move away.

Here’s the link … and some of Oakley’s thoughts:

On Butch Carter, former Raptors coach

“Butch is probably one of the best coaches, as far as Xs and Os, that I’ve been around. I’d put him up there with Pat Riley. He knows the game. Unfortunately, some things happened. But I think he can come back in this league and be a great coach. People learn from their mistakes. That’s what the NBA needs … they need coaches like Butch Carter. He had game plans. He’d be great for Cleveland. LeBron, if he’s a 10 now, his game would go up two or three levels. Look what Butch did for Vince Carter.”

On Vince Carter’s early success in Toronto

“It was all Butch. Butch got in his ear and told him, `Do you know what you have with you? You’ve got some guys who care for you and are going to look out for you.’ Me, Antonio (Davis), Kevin (Willis), we said, `Hey, Vince, we got your back.’ Vince would have never excelled the way he did if it wasn’t for Butch and some of the guys on the team, because we kept pushing him. We said, `You’re better … shoot as much as you want. We rebound. We set the picks. We keep guys off of you. They hit you, we’re gonna hit one of them. It’s like baseball. That was my attitude – if you’re my teammate, you’ve got nothing to worry about.”

On today’s Raptors

“You ain’t going nowhere with 7-footers shooting three-pointers. You can’t put four or five scorers on the floor at one time. You can, but you ain’t going nowhere. You got four or five scorers on the floor, ain’t enough shots in a game, in a quarter, for everybody to be consistent. You need your two scorers, outside threat and a post-up threat. You need your sixth man who can score. You need another guy that can just be an all-around energy guy, and you need another guy who can just, you know, play basketball.”

Jeff Van Gundy on Oakley

“The type of guy Charles was – with the basketball IQ that was off the charts, and the toughness, and the physical play – it made him very rare in his day and totally extinct in today’s game,” said Jeff Van Gundy, the ESPN analyst who coached and coached against Oakley. “You just have so many guys now who care as much about being liked as being successful. Oakley just wasn’t that type of guy.”

Excellent stuff from Feschuk.

Edit: Another article with some choice Oakley quotes.

Oakley still arrived more than 15 minutes late for the media session, but it was worth the wait as he quickly warmed to a favourite topic – the audacity of today’s young NBA players.

“These days with these guys I don’t know if you can say too much to them without them breaking down and crying, like a girl,” Oakley said. “It is what it is.”

As for those talented Toronto teams he played on, which included such players as Carter, Antonio Davis and Tracy McGrady, Oakley said each of those players understood their specific roles, the reason the team was able to enjoy some moderate success.

“We said, Vince, you’re our lead singer,” Oakley said, warming to the memory. “Tracy, you’re our back singer. Everybody else is in the band. I’m playing drums, Tone [Antonio Davis] playing guitar. Somebody else is playing the flute.”

Update: Feschuk writes another Oakley article … saying that Oakley would like to venture into coaching.

In addition, there’s an excellent article from Eric Koreen in the National Post with several more quotes from Oakley. This article and original Feschuk article are the best of the bunch.

Good article on Mlive.com

The immediate reaction to Pistons losses against Oklahoma City and Milwaukee was the fact that the Pistons relied primarily on one-on-one basketball.

The stats showed it, as they had 20 assists in the win over Memphis and just 29 combined in the next two games, which also just so happened to be without Rip Hamilton.

The article continues

But is one player enough to make the assist total go down that much? According to last season, yes.

Hamilton missed 15 games a season ago. When he was on the court, the Pistons averaged 21.3 assists per game. When he was out, the averaged 17.4 per game.

And

His scoring is obviously missed, but his constant motion is missed even more.

With the constant assumption that the Pistons will look to deal Hamilton out there, perhaps it should not be underestimated how important he is to the offense. It’s much more fluid when he’s on the court, and the past two games, it’s been obvious that there’s no one on the roster currently who can replace exactly what Rip can do.

Fun matchup here. Two undefeated teams battling one another.

• Dwyane Wade put on a show against the Suns last season putting up 43 and 6 in Phoenix + 35 and 16 at home leading the Heat to two wins out of two versus the Suns.
• No Barbosa tonight. He’s out injured.

This should be a good game.
First Quarter

Miami lead 4-2 after 75 seconds following two Beasley free throws.

• Nice pass by Steve Nash from the left elbow out to the right wing to an open Richardson for a three pointer, miss.
• Beautiful bounce pass by Nash from the top of the key to Richardson who cut down the baseline and got himself a wide open dunk for his troubles.
• Channing Frye looks like a small forward out there. The way he moves, the positions he takes up.
• Q-Rich knocks down a triple out of the let corner. Good pass by Jermaine O’Neal to set that one up.
• A lithe Grant Hill. Wow, I don’t think he’s been that slim since his rookie season. He still looks as quick as ever.
• Lovely give and go between Jermaine and Richardson on the left wing. Entry pass into the post, left block, cut hard baseline, hand off, dunk.
• Amare rips a rebound away from a Heat player. It’d be nice if we could see him do that more often.
• Good take by Jason Richardson. He had Jermaine on him on a switch over on the right sideline, drove hard to the middle, beat Jermaine, forced the defense to collapse, was about to take a pull up J from 14 feet but spotted a cutting Hill and found him for a layup. Fouled before Hill could make the shot.

Some very nice passing here in the early going. Miami leads 11-7 after four minutes.

• Excellent patience (to avoid the shot blockers) from Jermaine after rolling to the rim off the pick and roll with Wade. Nice pass by Dwyane too.
• Grant Hill races down the left wing on the break, dribbles in to 17 feet, pull up jumper, knocks it down.
• Beaseley with a nice drive baseline, takes the lefty one hand floater, miss. Good contest by Channing Frye to alter that shot.
• Amare Stoudemire on the right elbow, no ball pressure from Jermaine, Amare dribbles his way down to the right box, six feet from the rim, right hand jump hook over Jermaine on the baseline, hits it. Bad defense.
• Fastbreak Phoenix, Steve Nash hits a streaking Channing Frye for the powerful one handed dunk.

Suns lead 15-13 at the midway point in the first half after an 8-0 run.

• Some replays — nice pass by Hill to Nash who was cutting to the rim and got himself a layup. Also a fantastic offensive rebound and putback dunk in one motion from Frye (no box out from Beasley).
• Wade makes the drive and kick to Haslem on the right wing, 18 footer, misses it. Good look.
• Great effort by Wade defensively, he was running behind Nash, slapped the ball loose, it was heading out of bounds in the corner, Wade races it down, saves it to a teammate. Great hustle.
• Bad pass by Wade, good idea but the pass was a little off the mark, too far ahead of Jermaine O’Neal. Lost an easy dunking opportunity.
• Mario Chalmers picks Nash’s pocket out near the halfway line, breakaway dunk.
• Nice ball fake from Frye on Haslem who was chasing out hard to the three point line, one dribble right, 20 footer from the top of the key, misses it. A little off balance on the shot but a nice move in the making.
• Steve Nash loses the ball again (fouled? Yup) … poked away by Richardson, fastbreak, Wade to the rim, fouled hard by Frye. Wade makes both FTs to put the Heat back on top.

Miami leads 17-15 with four minutes to play in the first quarter

• Wade gets a clearout against Dudley, backs it beyond the three point line, drives hard right, crosses over left, blows by Dudley, layup.
• Oh beautiful touch pass from Richardson on the right block (high-low pass from Haslem to Richardson after ball reversed from right wing) to Jermaine on the opposite side of the rim for the dunk. Beautiful.
• Timeout Phoenix — neither team looks capable of defending the other here. Miami looks very good.
• Excellent interception by Grant Hill on a cross court 30 foot pass from Wade to Q on the fastbreak, Hill races forward, to the rim, looks to stuff it on Haslem, fouled. Hill makes two at the line.

Miami up four with two and a half to play

• Wade misses a jump shot from the top of the key.
• Grant Hill and Stoudemire on the pick and roll on the right wing, nice defensive rotation by Joel Anthony to meet Amare as he rolled to the rim. Got to him before Amare could get a good look at the rim. Good awareness.
• Phoenix have missed six straight shots as Nash misses a pull up three (defender was slacking).
• Arroyo and Dragic check into the game together.
• Haslem fronts Amare Stoudemire 15 feet from the rim, nice pass over the top from Hill, Amare catches it, turns and dunks on Joel’s head. Wow! And one.
• Grant Hill heading to the locker room after checking out. I hope he’s alright.

Miami lead by one (21-20) heading into the final minute of the first quarter

• Wade attacks Richardson off the pick and roll, draws the contact and the foul.
• Phoenix go to Amare on the left block. Defensive three seconds off the ball (Beasley). Amare takes the tech and hits it.
• 43 seconds — Phoenix go back to Amare on the left post, he drives right, surrounded by Miami players, dumps it off to Louis Amundson for the dunk. Very good pass.
• Richardson dives low off the right corner in case he needs to provide help on the pick and roll, Arroyo sees it, gets the ball to Wright in the right corner, Wright drains it.
• Goran Dragic drives hard to the rim, tries the runner, nope.

Second Quarter

Miami lead 26-23

• Some full court pressure from Phoenix, Miami pass their way out of it easily enough.
• Beasley isolation off the right post (14 feet out), Beasley slowly turns middle, fallaway, rejected by Amundson.
• Another defensive three seconds call against Miami. J-Rich misses the FT.
• Phoenix’s turnovers are hurting them. Six already (a minute into the second).
• James Jones drains a jump shot from downtown.
• Channing Frye with a shake and fadeaway out of the low post, miss. Suns keep the rebound alive and gain possession as Miami knocks it out of bounds.
• Beasley loses touch with his man off the ball. Got caught ball watching there. Cost his team a layup.
• Beasley with a nice drive and finish in the paint.
• Goran Dragic drains the triple. Phoenix’s first triple in five attempts.
• Dudley hits another triple. Back to back three pointers.

Tie game 33-33

• Beasley faces up on the right wing, 16 feet out, moves right, jump shot, misses.
• Channing Frye knocks down another triple. Three in three possessions. 9-0 run by Phoenix.
• Timeout Miami — Spoelstra unhappy with his players defending the three point line.
• Jermaine O’Neal able to muscle Frye in the post, turnaround J as he spins off of Frye and Jermaine hits the 12 footer. Stops the bleeding.
• Beasley runs out off the jump ball (between Richardson + Haslem, J-Rich wins it, but Miami gains possession), long pass ahead, slam dunk.
• Fastbreak … Beasley slam dunk again. He has 12 points to lead the Heat. That sparks the Heat.

Amare, Nash and Hill check back into the game after those two miscues from the second unit. Frye and Richardson are the two other Suns players in the lineup.

• Jermaine O’Neal posting up Frye 15 feet out, turns middle, pushed off by Frye. Foul. Jermaine looks like he can take Frye whenever he wants.
• Miami post up Jermaine on the right post again, the passer (Wright) cuts middle, Jermaine tries to thread the pass through traffic, Amare comes from the weakside and breaks it up. Turnover.
• Carlos Arroyo knocks down the leaner.

Miami lead 41-36 after an 8-0 run from the Heat. We’ve just passed the midway point in the second quarter.

• Grant Hill drives hard to his right from the top of the key, pull up J from 14 feet, hit on the wrist, foul. Beasley can’t cover Grant Hill, Hill is far too quick + intelligent for Beasley. That’s a great matchup for Phoenix.
• Pick and roll between Wade and Jermaine, passes it to Jermaine in the middle of the paint, surrounded by Phoenix defenders, tries the short shot. Rolls out. Miss.
• Haslem hits a pair of FTs after a reach in foul by Amare.
• Hill has a shot go in and out. Second time that’s happened to him tonight. He’s 1-5 from the field.
• Lovely pass by Wade to a teammate for the lay in.
• Excellent job by Jermaine O’Neal contesting those two shots. He intimidated Amare away from taking the short shot. Ball moved out, over to Frye, to the rim, Frye uses the off arm to shield the ball. Offensive foul. Great defense by Jermaine.
• Haha, wow, Channing Frye catches it on the right post, Jermaine is not close enough to his man, Frye turns easily, blows by Jermaine like he’s an old man baseline, fouled to avoid the easy dunk. Great quickness from Frye.

Miami lead 48-37 with three minutes to play

• Nash, pick and roll with Amare, dribbles right, Nash gets a good look at the rim from 17 feet on the right wing, misses … rebound Miami, outlet, Wade leaked out, slam dunk.
• Wow … that’s the third or fourth breakaway dunk on the fastbreak for Miami in the second quarter. Phoenix’s transition defense is all over the place.
• Timeout Phoenix.

Since going down 36-33 the Heat have gone on a 17-4 run over the last four plus minutes.

• Stoudemire bulldozes his way to the basket and gets the short shot to go.
• Amare pick and roll with Nash on the right wing, bounce pass, Amare gets it, knocked loose, Amare retrieves it, then fouled, not called. Ball out of bounds of Miami.
• Amundson called for a charge. Nice defense by Richardson beating Amundson to the spot.
• Dudley playing some very good defense off the ball denying Wade the ball.
• Amare grabs his seventh rebound of the first half. He’s done a good job on the glass.
• Steve Nash lets a three pointer fly from the right wing as Chalmers goes under the screen, hits it.
• Wade misses a fadeaway J from the top of the key (left elbow extended).
• Nice pass to Amare for the 16 footer and Amare hits it. 7-0 run by Phoenix to cut the lead to 6.
• Great job by Amare to come down from the top of the key to block Jermaine’s shot. Jermaine had posted up Amundson, turned middle, short jumper in the lane over Louis, blocked.
• Miami scores off the inbounds … Phoenix come back upcourt, Dudley to the rim, misses the layup, offensive rebound Amare but he doesn’t get the follow shot up in time.

Halftime

• The Heat have done a very good job defensively against the Suns. They’ve limited them effectively, particularly on the perimeter. Phoenix’s three perimeter starters are only 4-15 from the field. Amare hasn’t found his place offensively yet, not as involved as he was in yester-years.
• Miami’s big men have played well. Jermaine O’Neal has looked good offensively. Haslem has been a beast on the boards and very good defensively. Beasley was mixed, more bad than good, but some good.
• Quentin Richardson played well on both ends.
• Beasley hasn’t been great despite leading the Heat with 12 points — outside of those two breakaway dunks he’s only 2-6 from the field. Only three rebounds in 14 minutes plus the defensive has been below par. Still, he’s giving the team a go-to option offensively which is helping the team. Not all Wade all the time.
• Wow, Channing Frye has only one rebound in 16 minutes. That is single handedly wiping out Amare’s good work on the boards. Phoenix being out-rebounded by one at the half.
• Miami was able to pack the paint defensively. Their close outs were very good for the most part, plus Phoenix’ shooters haven’t shot the ball well enough.

Phoenix need to go to Amare more in the second half.

Third Quarter

Miami leads 52-44 as we begin the second half. Make that, 57-53 Heat lead two minutes into the third.

• Beasley doubles off of Nash after the post entry pass into Amare, quick pass back out, three pointer, good. Awful defense from Beasley, terrible recognition of who he was guarding and what he was meant to be doing.
• Spoelstra immediately calls a timeout after that basket. One point game.
• Eh, don’t like that pick and roll defense by Frye on Wade, Wade turns the corner before Richardson can catch up, drives to the paint, slam dunk.
• Good tap out by Jermaine O’Neal to get Miami an offensive rebound.
• Wade has been extremely aggressive over the last few possessions. Taking it hard to the rim each time.
• Amare plays terrible transition defense, lets Jermaine stay just in front of him, doesn’t push to the side of the paint, lets him go down the middle, easy pass by Wade (no pressure on passer or recipient) to Jermaine for the layup. Terrible defense.
• Haslem snares another rebound.
• Wade drives to the left, off balance fadeaway J from 18 feet on the baseline, miss … scrap for the ball, Wade out-fights Wade and Richardson for that loose ball, missed shot, offensive rebound, tap, no good, tap again (Richardson), good. Timeout Phoenix.

Phoenix seem to fall apart whenever they begin to string a few good plays together. They can’t sustain their play.

• Chalmers does an excellent job pressuring Nash, Jermaine steps out on the pick and roll, traps Nash, Jermaine slaps the pass, loose ball, Chalmers and Nash jump on it. Jump ball. Chalmers wins it.
• Chalmers deserves a lot of credit for his defensive work against Nash tonight.
• Wade slices and dices his way into the paint and finishes comfortably at the rim.
• Steal Wade, fastbreak, Wade into the open court, Richardson fouls him to avoid the easy dunk.
• Chalmers gets an open look … Amare decided not to defend him on the perimeter off the pick and roll (bad call) … but Mario misses the shot.
• Quentin Richardson air balls a contested three pointer.
• Fastbreak Phoenix, Hill to the rim, misses it. Tapped in by Richardson.
• Lovely bounce pass by Chalmers to O’Neal for the uncontested dunk.
• Crunching screen floors Chalmers, Nash wide open for the jumper on the right wing, Nash hits it.
• Udonis Haslem responds with a jumper of his own on the right wing.
• Nash swiveling his way around Miami’s defense, takes a fallaway jumper, hits it.
• Richardson left open from three, miss. Haslem defensive rebound. His 10th rebound.
• Wade misses a three pointer
• Defensive three seconds against the Heat again. Nash hits the tech.

Miami leads 75-65 with 3:30 left to play in the third

• Hill misses a wide open 17 footer. Rebound Wade (7th board), he dribbles up, settles for a three, misses.
• Nash hits one of those off balance runners of his off the dribble. Eight point game.
• Richardson back irons a jump shot (Q-Rich).
• Louis Amundson gets a short shot. Six point lead.
• Miami’s energy has dropped off. Happened when Jermaine checked out of the game. Their offense looks impotent outside of Wade with Jermaine + Beasley on the bench which has cost the team their momentum.
• Phoenix gets another basket. Four point game. Timeout Miami.

1:40 to play in the third quarter. Miami lead 75-71

• Dorrell Wright gest an open look from the left corner and he hits the triple. Wow, two threes from Wright. If he’s added that shot to his repetoire that’ll go a long way to establishing his NBA career.
• Steve Nash bags another jump shot.
• Nash dribbles down the clock, final shot of the quarter, splits the pick and roll defense, drives into the paint, finds Amundson, layup.
• Carlos Arroyo runs up and hits a three pointer at the buzzer. Big shot. Tough shot.

Fourth Quarter

Miami leads 81-75

• Wade isn’t on the floor. Big period here for Miami.
• Dudley steals the ball, fastbreak, Dragic to the rim, pushes off but no call, opposite call. Terrible call. That was blatant. Dragic misses both FTs. Haslem rebound, #12, off that miss.
• Amare + Collins + Dudley + Richardson + Dragic vs Anthony + Haslem + Wright +  Jones + Arroyo
• Oh, awful defense on the baseline inbounds, the inbounder passed it in then cut right to the rim and got himself a layup which he missed. His defense switched off.
• Miami has no shot creation on the court outside of Arroyo. Some stand still shooters, and a pick and pop threat in Haslem. But Arroyo is the only one who can do the heavy lifting.
• Great job by Wright, ran baseline on the offensive glass, tapped it out, Phoenix got to the ball before his PG could.
• Wait, why is Collins on the floor? That makes no sense to me. Where’s Amundson or Clark?

Miami lead 81-77 after two minutes

• Arroyo splits the double, pull up J, fouled, misses. No call.
• Fastbreak Phoenix, Jason Richarson hits the jumper on the break. Two point game.
• Timeout Miami — Beasley checks back into the game. Good decision. That’ll help open up their offense again.
• Wade checks in a few moments later. Miami have talent on the floor again.
• Miami led by 13 after a 17-1 run late in the third quarter. Phoenix is currently on a 15-6 tear to get themselves back in the game.
• Amare Stoudemire out of control on a drive in the paint, turns it over.
• Wade knocks down a baseline jumper from 18 feet on the right side of the floor.
• Beautiful finish in the paint by Dragic, twisting his body through the trees and finishing with his outstretched hand.
• Defensive three seconds from Phoenix (Collins), Wade to the FT line, hits it. Miami up three points.
• Great job by Amare to win that contested defensive rebound, outlet, fastbreak, drive and kick, J-Rich in the corner, hits it.

Tie game 84-84 with eight minutes to play

• Jermaine O’Neal checks back in. It all fell apart for Miami when he went off the floor. Haslem leaves.
• Offensive foul on Wade, charge, Collins drew it, turnover.
• Blocking foul on Jermaine O’neal. It looked like he got there in time but shuffled his feet just before the contact. Dudley to the rim, layup, plus the foul, hits the FT. Phoenix up 3. Dudley has played well tonight.
• Phoenix leads 12-3 in fourth quarter scoring.
• Wade picks up his fourth foul, and sends the team into the penalty, with a loose ball frustration foul contesting a rebound pulled down by Amare.
• Nash back to Frye for a three from the top of the key, misses it … Wade dribbles upcourt, snakes into the paint and hits an up an under layup in midair. Wow.
• Channing Frye bags a three pointer from the right wing.

Phoenix lead 89-86 with six minutes left in the fourth quarter

• Steve Nash hits a cold blooded three pointer from the top of the key after moving away from the screen to get wide open.
• Q-Rich shot fake right wing, one dribble in, 20 footer, gets the friendly bounce (twice).
• Amare kicks it out off the pick and roll to J-Rich for a three pointer. Hits it. Richardson has 8 points in the fourth after scoring only 4 points in the first three quarters.
• Phoenix pulling away … Miami have no rhythm
• Oh man, what a pass, Nash drives into the paint, across the paint, J-Rich cuts baseline, Nash flicks the ball to Richardson on the baseline, layup.
• Timeout Miami.

Phoenix leads 97-88 with four minutes left in the fourth quarter.

• Wade off balance jumper to beat the shot clock, nope, offensive rebound, Chalmers triple, nope, offensive rebound, Richarson misses the short shot, miss, offensive rebound, ball back out, swung to the left wing where Richardson has popped out, he hits the three pointer.
• Oh my, what a pass again by Nash, bounce pass by Nash in the paint through 3-4 bodies to Amare for the dunk.
• Miami miss a three pointer.
• SUns up eight with three minutes to play.
• Richardson pops a triple over Wright, miss, Q-Rich rebounds (ninth rebound). Dwyane Wade flies into the open court, to the rim, fouled. Wade hits both.
• Steve Nash pick and roll, turns the corner on Haslem, to the rim, layup plus the foul. Nash has 28 points and 8 dimes after hitting the FT.

Phoenix leads 102-93 with two minutes to play

• Richardson short on the three, offensive rebound, Chalmers three, miss. rebound Frye.
• Nash brings it upcourt, winds down the clock, high pick and roll with Amare, to Frye who’s open on the right wing, passes on the shot, one dribble right, passes on the pull up J, out to Nash who passes on the three and Phoenix gets a shot clock violation. Too unselfish there.
• Haslem hits a baseline jumper. Seven point game with 1:20 left to play.

This game is over. Good win for Phoenix.

Thoughts after the game

• Wade and Chalmers are one of the best backcourts in the NBA defensively. They do an excellent job.

Good article by Jason Quick in the Oregonian

I like the analogy made by Coach Nate McMillan near the start of the article, so let’s start there:

Less than 12 hours after the Blazers’ defense had been sliced and diced for 111 points in Houston, leading some players to question the effort of the team, coach Nate McMillan talked to the Blazers about a simple concept: family.

“Would you allow your brother to continue to do something he shouldn’t be doing? Or would you say something to him?” McMillan remembers telling his team. “And that’s what it is all about. They are brothers out there, this is a family, and if we are not playing defense or you are not covering your man, say something to him. It’s not personal. It’s holding each other accountable.”

The article goes on to talk about Greg Oden’s vocal presence defensively against the Thunder

As a matter of fact, there was nothing gentle about Oden on Sunday. With a voice that was as loud, forceful and stern as ever before, and with animated body language that has rarely, if ever, been seen from him in a Blazers uniform, Oden on Sunday barked, ordered and inspired his teammates.

“There was once in Toronto last year … but it was not like this,” Brandon Roy emphatically said. “Tonight, he was more vocal than ever. It was great. It was step one. But we can keep building on that.”

Nobody is ready to declare Oden a leader yet. Not after one game. But what transpired here Sunday could be the start of the season’s most important development.

It could be when Greg Oden came out of his shell. When he became a little nasty. Very much intimidating. And an immensely powerful force on this team.

Hopefully a sign of things to come from Mr. Oden as the season progresses.