Daily Basketball
NBA and NCAA blogging on an occasionally daily basis
Archive for March, 2007
March 17, 2007 at 9:59 pm · Filed under NBA, NCAA
Just when the Los Angeles Lakers appeared to have fallen apart as of late, Kobe Bryant took the game into his own hands and scored 65 points as his team defeated the Portland Trailblazers. It required about 50 combined shots and an overtime, but the effort was enough for his team to get the win. Kobe’s 65 points is more than 33+ NCAA teams have managed to score so far throughout NCAA March Madness.
Ohio State survived a scare from Xavier in their second round matchup. The #1 Buckeyes were losing to #9-seeded Xavier, but a three-pointer at the end of regulation put the game into overtime. Greg Oden fouled out with 30 seconds left in the second half, but Mike Conley was enough for the Buckeyes to get and lead and win the game.
The Cleveland Cavaliers finally got their chance to boo traitor Carlos Boozer. The Utah Jazz’s starting power forward had yet to play a game in Cleveland since leaving his former team. In a dismal, low-scoring game, the Cavaliers were able to hand the Jazz their fourth-straight defeat. Carlos Boozer shrugged off the crowd after scoring 19 points and getting 14 rebounds: “It wasn’t even that bad. They had a lot of signs. I saw a couple of them. Chants were OK. They could have been more creative with their chants. It was good though.”
Mark Cuban thinks he’s found the missing key for his NBA championship contenders. “We don’t have that one intimidating force,” he said. Shaquille O’Neal and Michael Jordan have earned a combined 10 championships in the last 15 years, and both are competitors who’ve shown their intensity on the floor — something Cuban knows the Dallas Mavericks don’t get from Dirk Nowitzki.
March 12, 2007 at 9:03 pm · Filed under NBA, NCAA
Now that the young nucleus of New York Knicks have put the team in the playoff race, Isiah Thomas will remain with the team. Originally, Thomas was on the brink of losing his job, but now Thomas is set to sign a multi-year contract offer.
The Orlando Magic have said that their head coach, Brian Hill, will coach for the duration of his contract. The team’s GM, Otis Smith, said, “My coach has done a good job to this point. Our guys have just not played very good basketball.” The Magic opened up this season as one of the top teams in the league, yet they aren’t currently headed to the playoffs.
North Carolina, Kansas, Ohio State, and Florida were all named #1 seeds for upcoming NCAA tournament. Click here to view the entire tournament bracket. The tournament officially begins March 13, when the play-in game takes place.
Ohio State finished #1 in the last AP Top 25 poll of the season. The Buckeyes were one first-place vote short of being unanimously the best team in college basketball.
During a summer during which Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban was artificially silenced, he claims he considered selling the team. Meanwhile, the team blew out the Los Angeles Lakers by the largest margin in Lakers home-game history, 108-72.
LeBron James and Manu Ginobili were the NBA’s Players of the Week.
March 10, 2007 at 3:01 pm · Filed under NBA, NCAA
With several upsets occurring over this weekend during the conference tourneys, the NCAA Selection Committee will be working hard for the next 24 hours to choose the 65 teams participating in March Madness. While some upsets only affect the seeding, many team have likely cut themselves out of the tournament with early losses. Several teams from the Top 15, including UCLA, Texas A&M, Nevada, and Washington State.
Chauncey Billups may end up playing for the Denver Nuggets next season if things don’t work out with the Detroit Pistons. While Billups doesn’t want to put things out of proportion, he says the Nuggets are an option. Though Billups is an exceptional point guard, the team already struggles to keep Allen Iverson and Carmelo Anthony happy with touches.
After Iverson departed from the Philadelphia Sixers, rumors arose that Larry Brown would promote himself to another tenure as coach of his former team. After a dismal season so far, current head coach Maurice Cheeks faced the possibility of losing his job. Now, though, team president Billy King says Cheeks will be back.
Scottie Pippen’s comeback seems to be falling short. Pippen’s former coach, Phil Jackson, said the Los Angeles Lakers won’t be bringing in Pippen, and no other teams have made mention of any plans.
During a season which started out with many technicals for Rasheed Wallace as part of the “Anti-Sheed” rule, the power forward should be happy he made it this far. But now, Wallace gets a one-game suspension for every other technical foul he receives.
March 8, 2007 at 4:38 pm · Filed under NBA, NCAA
For the second time this season, the NBA suspended Kobe Bryant after he hit another player while flailing his arms after a missed shot. Bryant obviously doesn’t wave his arms around after a made shot, so he’s trying to draw a fail or make contact look more serious than it really is. Dirty player? Not necessarily. Dirty play? Yes. Maybe the only thing Kobe has in common with Raja Bell and Bruce Bowen.
Lindsey Hunter received a ten-game suspension after testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs. That explains how the sizzling veteran has scorched opposing teams for 5 ppg this season.
The Dallas Mavericks have guaranteed themselves another chance at the NBA championship. While extending yet another long winning streak, the Mavericks clinched a playoff spot with their 51st win. Some people think the Mavericks could challenge the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls‘ record-holding 72-10 season. Though the Mavericks have played at a level higher than any other team this season, they’d have to extend their winning streak to 38 games to set the record.
D.J. Augustin of Texas knows he’ll return for his sophomore season, and he also suggests Kevin Durant may do the same. “But Kevin’s a humble guy, so he’s probably going to say he’s coming back whenever he’s asked that question,” Augustin said. So there goes that opinion being taken with more value than a grain of sand…
March 5, 2007 at 8:18 pm · Filed under NBA, NCAA
Though he sat out of practice, Kevin Durant says after some minor rehab he’ll be ready to play in the Big 12 conference tournament. Durant scored 25 points in an amazing first half, but scored only seven in the second in the Texas Longhorns‘ loss to Kansas. Also. the Big 12 named Durant the conference Player of the Year.
The Duke-North Carolina rivalry got bloody in the closing seconds of their game. Sophomore Tyler Hansbrough broke his nose, and will need to wear a mask while competing in the ACC conference tournament.
Dwyane Wade plans to delay surgery on his temporarily dislocated shoulder, in hopes of returning to the Miami Heat for the playoffs. Though Shaquille O’Neal has begun to reflect his earlier playing days, the team’s playing .500 ball without their young star and won’t have homecourt advantage.
Two third-year players, Al Jefferson and Kevin Martin, were named Players of the Week. Jefferson helped the Boston Celtics win four straight games, while Martin helped help the Sacramento Kings to a 3-1 record last week.
Yao Ming received medical permission to return to the court. Though he returned to the court tonight and played well, he’s only played 27 28 games this season.
Six days until the NCAA tournament Selection Sunday.
March 2, 2007 at 7:25 pm · Filed under NBA, NCAA, Other
Vladimir Radmanovic now has 500,000 reminders to tell the truth next time he injures himself. The Los Angeles Lakers fined Radmanovic $500,000 after he lied to the team about a separated right should that occured while snowboarding in Utah over the All-Star break. Radmanovic told the team the injury happened after slipping on ice, which wasn’t exactly the full picture. The $500,000 fine is one of the largest fines ever imposed on a player.
Greg Oden plans to wait until after the season ends before announcing his much-awaited decision whether or not to enter the draft. Oden seems fairly optimistic about returning, but the fact that he takes the minimum classes needed at Ohio State University, and would be a top-2 pick makes that unlikely.
Though the timing is unknown, Ray Allen will need surgery on his left ankle within a couple months. Some reports say he could end his season early, but he may play out the rest of the season.
The Portland Trailblazers‘ GM and team president, Steve Patterson, unexpectedly resigned from his position with the team.
Henry Abbott of True Hoop (and ESPN!) brought attention to the NBA’s legal highlight video maker. The NBA has required that YouTube remove all NBA content from the site, which becomes a royal pain for bloggers. Though they have created an official NBA page, it’s ridiculous to think the content will be the same.
From the genius(es) behind Lowpost.net: a new, multi-sport site call Ballhype. The site is currently a beta available only to testers, but you can easily obtain an invite. Ballhype is thoroughly customizable, with support for six sports, including scores, news and blog posts.
