Daily Basketball
NBA and NCAA blogging on an occasionally daily basis
Archive for December, 2006
December 25, 2006 at 4:39 pm · Filed under NBA
Before the game, Dwyane Wade tried to deny that the game would be a one-on-one challenge against Kobe Bryant, and after the 101-85 victory for the Miami Heat, there was no doubt who brought more presents to the fans at the American Airlines Arena.
Wade scored 40 points, but also had 11 assists, four blocks, and four steals. Wade shot 60% from the floor (as well as 15-16 from the charity stripe), which was a huge improvement compared to last year’s Lakers-Heat Classic.
Kobe Bryant never got his shot going, scoring just 16 points on some ugly shooting percentages (free throws aside), but somehow the rest of the Lakers’ team was able to keep the game from falling out of reach. Ronny Turiaf, Luke Walton, and Sasha Vujacic all played solid games, but the Lakers were outrebounded by the Heat 45-31, and allowed the defending champions to shoot 7-16 from behind the three-point line.
Both teams played without one of their stars, Lamar Odom and Shaquille O’Neal, though it’s difficult to say how effective the Big Aristotle will be when he returns. O’Neal has only played in four of the team’s 28 games this season, in which he put up obviously diminished numbers.
Happy holidays to all of the readers of Daily Basketball!
December 18, 2006 at 3:36 pm · Filed under NBA
The NBA announced the list of fines and suspensions for the organizations and players involved in the Saturday night brawl. Both the New York Knicks and Denver Nuggets were fined $500,000 were fined for the players’ actions. Led by Carmelo Anthony, the list of suspensions is as follows:
- Nuggets forward Carmelo Anthony (15 games)
- Nuggets guard J.R. Smith (10 games)
- Nuggets forward Nene (one game for leaving the bench)
- Knicks guard Nate Robinson (10 games)
- Knicks guard Mardy Collins (six games)
- Knicks forward Jared Jeffries (four games)
- Knicks center Jerome James (one game for leaving the bench)
A punishment could also be coming for Isiah Thomas, who seems doomed to lose his job with the team. The NBA is investigating Thomas’ involvement in the brawl, which includes a threat to Anthony which led to the fight.
One of the biggest beneficiaries of the suspensions? The Utah Jazz. The Jazz will have a chance to extend their lead on the division title before Anthony and Smith return. The Jazz also play the Knicks in the first game after the suspensions, meaning the Knicks will be down two players on the active roster.
Allen Iverson finished his career with the Philadelphia Sixers over ten days ago, but the team is still looking for a trade. By announcing that Iverson would no longer play for the team, the Sixers severely dropped his trade value.
The two teams most probably to acquire Iverson are the Nuggets and Minnesota Timberwolves. One player the Nuggets may try to trade is Earl Boykins, while the Timberwolves are deciding whether or not to trade rookie Randy Foye.
Kobe Bryant and Gilbert Arenas combined for 105 points, the highest total between two opposing players since the history 81-point night (when Mike James scored 26).
December 12, 2006 at 5:20 pm · Filed under NBA
Jerry Sloan may be only the fifth coach to win 1000 games, but he didn’t voice much excitement over the accomplishment. After the game, Sloan responded to reporters about fans chanting his name in the final minutes of the win over the Dallas Mavericks. “That’s better than hearing them boo me. I’ve had a few of those over the years,” according to Sloan. The victory for Sloan and the Utah Jazz can be put into a greater perspective when considering the Mavericks franchise has yet to win as many games as Sloan.
David Stern caved in from the pressure of players complaining about the new micro-composite NBA ball. On January 1, the NBA will move back to the old leather ball while the D-League continues to test the ball. While there may be complaint from rookies switching back and forth throughout the season, the players are happy — even if the change back comes two months late.
The Allen Iverson sweepstake contineues, with the leading team apparently the Golden State Warriors. While the Celtics and Timberwolves are the other top candidates. While many other teams have publicly denied any interest in Iverson, others like the Sacramento Kings and Charlotte Bobcats have been in the center of rumors before changing their minds.
Meanwhile, the Philadelphia Sixers are doing everything possible to rid the team of affiliation with Iverson. His locker has already been cleaned out and highlights have been removed from the pre-game video.
Tracy McGrady shows signs of having another season plagued by chronic back pain. The All-Star forward will sit out indefinitely. McGrady played only 47 games last season for the Houston Rockets.
December 8, 2006 at 10:30 pm · Filed under NBA
The Philadelphia Sixers sent superstar Allen Iverson home after the guard made a request to be traded from the team. The team says that Iverson will definitely be sitting out the next two games, but Sixers chairman Ed Snider said “We’ll trade him,” ending an 11-year career with the team. Teams that are likely to go after Iverson include the Denver Nuggets and Boston Celtics.
The New Jersey Nets and Phoenix Suns combined for an outrageous 318 points in a double-overtime battle. The Suns won the game by four points 161-157, but Steve Nash (who finished 42 points and 13 assists) thinks both teams deserved a win. “We were lucky to come out on top.”
Jay Williams continues his quest back to the NBA, after signing with the Austin Toros of the D-League. After severing a nerve, Williams has failed to stick with a team after trying out for several teams including a training camp with the Nets.
Jerry Sloan is only one victory short of his 1000th, but the Utah Jazz have delayed the gratification. While Sloan will eventually downplay the accomplishment, he will be only the fifth coach in NBA history to win 1000 — including over 900 with the Jazz.
Ray Allen, Steve Francis, Bobby Simmons, Jermaine O’Neal, and Jason Richardson lead the extensive list of players who have been injured this week, with the needed recovery time between two days and the rest of the season. Meanwhile, Pau Gasol can participate in full-contact drills once again.
Chris Bosh would like to keep goggles the last option for his infected eye. “That would be the last option,” according to Bosh. The Toronto Raptor has been wearing contact lenses since he was 16 years old, but he’ll need to make some sort of change while the eye heals.
December 4, 2006 at 4:00 pm · Filed under NBA
Ben Wallace thinks that the argument over him wearing a headband with the team has helped to build team chemistry. While this may just be an attempt to cover things up, he claims the problem has been resolved and it was just a way to up the team. “It forces you to focus a little bit more and play a little bit harder. We’re all on the same page now.”
Sports Illustrated has name Dwyane Wade of the Miami Heat the 2006 Sportsman of the Year. Wade led the the team to NBA championship by averaging almost 35 ppg in the Finals after his team was down 0-2 in the series.
The Dallas Mavericks have won twelve games in a row, which brings them just two games short of a franchise record. After opening the season 0-4, the team has games against the Wizards, Nets, and Pistons between them and their longest winning streak.
Kevin Garnett claims to be in no rush to demand a trade from the Minnesota Timberwolves. Even though the team is 7-9 and hasn’t been going in the right direction since Latrell Sprewell and E.T. (or was that Sam Cassell?), KG fairly accuses the media as setting up as a miserable.
Even though the national champions returned the majority of their starters, formerly #1 Florida (7-2) lost another game — this time to rivals Florida State. Though the teams victories have been large margins, the team has struggled to match the intensity they had hoped to play with.
Greg Oden, one of the outstanding freshman for Ohio State (7-1), made his collegiate debut after recovering from a wrist injury. Oden had 14 points (off 3-4 shooting and 8-15 from the free-throw line), ten rebounds, and five blocks. One thing that was missing from the stat line for Oden were any dunks, but Ohio State is looking forward to having Oden at least for the rest of this season.
