Daily Basketball
NBA and NCAA blogging on an occasionally daily basis
Archive for May, 2007
May 22, 2007 at 8:41 pm · Filed under NBA
David Stern decided to punish the Grizzlies and Celtics for tanking the end of the season.
The NBA lottery brought resulted in three teams beating their odds, with the Portland Trailblazers winning the #1 draft pick. NBA GMs and front office now look to purchase “clothespin-and-paper-towel butterflies,” much like the one owned by True Hoop writer and avid Trailblazers fan Henry Abbott..
1. Portland Trailblazers
2. Seattle Supersonics
3. Atlanta Hawks
4. Memphis Grizzlies
5. Boston Celtics
6. Milwaukee Bucks
7. Minnesota Timberwolves
8. Charlotte Bobcats
9. New York Knicks
10. Sacramento Kings
11. Indiana (To Atlanta)
12. Philadelphia Sixers
13. New Orleans Hornets
14. LA Clippers
David Stern defended “the bench rule,” and also noted that a change in the lottery could take place so lottery teams wouldn’t play to lose.
“On the end of the season and what teams do competitively, I think we should look at the lottery system and see whether it can be improved.”
Strangely, the top two teams managed to get the worst picks available, but Stern may look for an official strategy in place of freezing and damaging envelopes.
May 11, 2007 at 6:36 pm · Filed under NBA
All five members of the All-NBA First Team play for the Western Conference. Four of the five Second Team players play in the Eastern Conference, but you can see why the Phoenix Suns-San Antonio Spurs series is the NBA Finals, since three players in the series were named First Team selections.
First Team:
Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant
Phoenix Suns guard Steve Nash
Phoenix Suns center Amare Stoudemire
San Antonio Spurs forward Tim Duncan
Dallas Mavericks forward (and NBA MVP) Dirk Nowitzki
Second Team:
Washington Wizards guard Gilbert Arenas
Houston Rockets guard Tracy McGrady
Houston Rockets center Yao Ming
Toronto Raptors forward Chris Bosh
Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James
Third Team:
Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade
Detroit Pistons guard Chauncey Billups
Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard
Minnesota Timberwolves forward Kevin Garnett
Denver Nuggets forward Carmelo Anthony
The dispute should end any speculation that McGrady-Yao rival the Nash-Stoudemire duo.
Utah Jazz guard Dee Brown escaped with only a strained neck after padding a Mehmet Okur fall during Game 2 of the Jazz-Golden State Warriors series. The injury wasn’t as seriously as first thought, but Brown will sit out of Game 3 for any minutes the rookie would have played.
As difficult as it is to pick my team to lose, the Warriors currently have the most impressive home court, where they are undefeated in the playoffs. The Warriors have played the Jazz down to the final minutes in Utah, and the Warriors will further push the tempo to get their crowd into the game.
Jazz-Warriors Game 3 prediction: Warriors 127, Jazz 116.
May 9, 2007 at 6:53 pm · Filed under NBA
Although the fans of the Golden State Warriors seem unfazed after losing Game 1 to the Utah Jazz, the team hopes to win Game 2 and take home-court advantage back the the Golden State. The Warriors played well in Game 1, and seem to have the support from the blogosphere because the underdogs play a fast-break style of ball.
Stephen Jackson had his court trial postponed, meaning that the starting ‘power’ forward won’t have to appear on trial between Game 2 and 3.
Point guard Monta Ellis looks to turn around his fortunes in Game 2. Ellis played an important role in the team’s success late this season, but hasn’t scored in double-figures since the third game of the Dallas series.
Baron Davis seems to have pulled a Jason Kidd-injury, or at least played exceptional at well less than 100% health. With a pulled hamstring, Davis shot just less than 50% from the field and scored 24 points, although he got burned often by sophomore Utah Jazz point guard Deron Williams.
Derek Fisher didn’t play in Game 1, but may make it back to Utah in time for Game 2. Although Fisher finished out the series against Houston, a member of his family had a medical emergency. Fisher played two seasons with the Warriors before a trade this past summer.
GAME TWO prediction: Jazz 128, Warriors 123 (OT)
