4 OT’s in ONE NIGHT!!!

Dirk’s 37pts & Kidd’s Triple Double Overpower Hawks

This was definitely a game of runs, beginning with the Mavs ending the 1st quarter 29-19 after going on a 16-1 run.  The Hawks however came alive in the 2nd ending the half tied up at 50 a piece.  They kept it up in the 3rd outscoring the Mavs 26-15.  The 4th quarter is where the magic happened especially for veteran Jason Kidd.  Kidd had nine points, four rebounds, three assists and one steal in the final 4:53, adding to his monster triple double of 19 pts,16 reb, and 17 asts.  It was Kidd’s first triple double of the season but the 104th of his overall career.  Kidd was also set off by a brief encounter with Hawks’ coach Mike Woodson.  Woodson was on the court as Kidd was dribbling and coming down, Kidd bumped into him and gave him a little push off the court.  After a brief argument, Woodson was given a technical foul and Kidd was given the boost he needed.  Nowitzki shot the freethrow, and a 3 from Kidd gave the Mavs the lead, but a shot from Smith tied the game at 99 and sent them into overtime.  The Hawks missed their first 8 shots in overtime and it was pretty much all Mavs.  Nowitzki finished out with an amazing 37pts, 9rebs, and 4asts.  Joe Johnson hit 27pts, 10asts, and5rebs in the Hawks 111-103 loss to the Mavericks.

Rare Game Winner From Lee Gives Knicks Win

The depleted Washington Wizards team gave the struggling New York Knicks quite a game.  After a  blocked shot by Chandler the game went into overtime tied at 112.  As a Knick fan, this looked like it was going to be another heartbreaker.  After missing numerous missed freethrows, Harrington finally hit an important 2 giving the Knicks a 116-113 lead with 12 seconds left in overtime.  Then a staggering 3pointer from Nick Young tied the game at 116 with 6.4 seconds left.  In came David Lee; Lee was a last-minute all-star pick after the absence of Allen Iverson.  Lee hit a layup with 1.6seconds left on the clock giving the Knicks the 118-116 win over the Wizards, snapping an 8 game losing streak.  Lee finished with 25pts and 16rebs.  Adding to the Knick win early on was McGrady with 23pts.  The top performer for the night however was Al Harrington who has actually seen less playing time since the addition of McGrady.  Harrington ended the night with 37pts, 7rebs, and 4asts.  The new go to guy since the trades of Caron Butler, and Antawn Jamison is Andray Blatche, Blatche checked in with 26pts, 18rebs, and 6asts in the loss.

Williams and King James Back At It To Defeat Raptors

Despite the absence of star Chris Bosh (out with left ankle injury) the Raptors still gave the team with #1 record a run for their money; however it wasn’t enough to get a win over the unstoppable Mo Williams and Lebron James.  Mo who was out with a shoulder injury is finally back to himself after hitting 4 three-pointers in a game against the Celtics,  He also came alive last night hitting 2 back to back 3pointers in the beginning of OT, adding to his 6 total and 22pts of the night.  Also checking in for the Cavs is the newly acquired Jamison with 22pts, 11rebs; giving him his first 20+ game in the 5 games since he’s joined the team.  Of course top performer for the night was Lebron James with 36pts, 9asts, and 6rebs.  Hedo Turkoglu’s 3pointer and dunk gave the Raptors the lead, but 2 layups from James sent it into overtime.  Turkoglu was later fouled out and finished with 18pts.  Andrea Bargnani and Jarrett Jack eached each scored 24 points in the 126-118 loss to the Cavs.

Rose’s 33pts Give Bulls Win Over Blazers

In an amazing night of basketball the Bulls and Blazers gave us the 4th overtime game of the night.  The game was somewhat shakey for the Bulls, but they were able to pull it off behind Derrick Rose’s game high of 33points.  Surprisingly Rose was scoreless in overtime, but Kirk Hinrich, Luol Deng, and Joakim Noah were all able to come through.  Hinrich had 17pts, Deng clocked in with 23pts 7rebs, and Noah added 11rebs to the mix.  It still was a valiant effort by the Blazers with LeMarcus Aldridge scoring a season high 32pts and 7rebs.  Brandon Roy added 23pts and Marcus Camby added 9pts 11rebs after returning from injury.  The Bulls won 115-111 giving them their sixth win in seven games since the All-Star break

Iverson May Leave Sixers For Good

Allen Iverson has missed 5 games from Feb. 3-10 to be with his ill daughter.  He also missed the All Star game in which he was voted as an Eastern Conference starter.  Iverson returned and played in the last 3 games, but over the weekend he notified team officials that he would have to leave again, and would not be able to accompany the team on their 3 game West Coast trip.  According to sources, there is strong talk about Iverson leaving the team permanently.  Sources say Sixers coach Eddie Jordan addressed the players on Sunday, and told them there’s a chance Iverson may not return to the team.  Nothing is official yet, but it looks as though that’s the direction the team is heading towards.  Unlike the turmoil between Iverson and his former teams, he appears to be blending well with the Sixers, and hasn’t complained about playing time or shots; however his constant absences affects the team’s chemistry and rotation.  Iverson has a long amazing history with the Sixers and the decision made will be bittersweet.

Durant & Thunder Spoil McGrady’s Stellar 26pt Debut

It was an exciting night in the Garden as Tracy McGrady made his New York Knicks debut.  I was proud to be in the building and witness it first-hand.  There was some previous controversy about T-Mac wearing the #3; partly because it was the legendary John Starks number, and some felt it was cursed because Stephon Marbury wore it, and well that turned into a horrible situation.  Well nevertheless McGrady was welcomed with a standing ovation during the announcements of the starting lineup.  In total McGrady played 32 minutes signaling to D’Antoni whenever he needed a sub.  While on the bench the arena erupted in a chant of “We Want T-Mac”.  It looked like the Knicks had it in the bag until a 3pointer from Kevin Durant with 6secs left on the clock; tied the game and sent it into overtime.  Not only did Durant hit that 3, he landed a jumper with 16secs left in overtime, giving the Thunder the 121-118 win over the Knicks.  Durant finished out with 36pts, making it his 27th game in a row with 25 or more points, tying Allen Iverson and on the road to Jordan’s record of 40 games.  The top performer for the Thunder however wasn’t Durant but was Russel Westbrook with 31pts 10asts and 9rebs giving the them their 8th straight win.  All Star David Lee was the top performer for the Knicks with 30pts 10rebs and 6asts.  McGrady finished with 26pts, but didn’t have enough steam for overtime, he spent most of it on the bench.  Sadly his debut was wrecked by Durant, but still an amazing performance, bypassing everyone’s expectations including his own.

Melo Snaps Lebron’s & the Cavs 13W Streak

I’m late don’t kill me, but I HADDDD to cover this game.  The battle of Melo vs. Lebron was a spectacular show.  The two went at it, shot for shot in an all out duel.  In the end Carmelo Anthony won the battle hitting the game winning jumper with 1.9 seconds left in overtime, over the defending Lebron James.  Anthony closed out with an amazing 40pts, 7asts, and 6rebs.  The loss not only hurt egos but snapped the Cavs 13-game winning streak.  It was far from an all out bad night for James who finished out with 43 points, 13 rebounds, 15 assists, 2 steals and 4 blocks.  James’ triple double was not only the first player to have at least 40 points, 15 assists and 13 rebounds in a game since Robertson had 42 points, 18 assists and 15, but was the first player to get those stats PERIOD.   The triple double was the 3rd of the season for Lebron and the 27th in his career.  His 15 assists were a career high for him, but the game belonged to Melo and the Nuggets who won 118-116 in overtime.   It was a wonderful sight for Nuggets’ coach George Karl who will soon go into treatment for throat cancer.  What a coincidence that James and Anthony were entered first and third in scoring, just like they entered the league in 2003 as the No. 1 and No. 3 overall picks.  All in all a GREAT game.

2010 Trade Deadline COMPLETE!!!

T-Mac to Knicks in Knicks/Kings/Rockets Deal

Knicks Get: Tracy McGrady, Sergio Rodriguez

Kings Get: Carl Landry,Joey Dorsey, Larry Hughes

Rockets Get: Kevin Martin, Hilton Armstong, Jordan Hill, Jarred Jeffries, the right to swap first-round picks with New York in 2011, and New York’s 2012 first-round pick

One way or another this deal works out for each team.  The KNICKS end up $30million below the salary cap and have the chance to acquire 2 major superstars next season (Lebron James, Dwayne Wade, Chris Bosh, Joe Johnson).  They were able to finally relieve themselves of Jarred Jeffries $8million contract.  Plus there’s still hope T-Mac can remain healthy and showcase his once GREAT passing and shooting ability.  McGrady has a lot to prove and given good health and playing time I know he will give it his all.  If he happens to fall short Knicks can release him after this season, or he can remain if he takes a pay cut from his $23million salary.  The KINGS seem to be dealt a huge blow by releasing Kevin Martin.  They however plan on building a team around rookie guard Tyreke Evans.  Evans a breakout superstar has a similar game to Martin and many felt they couldn’t play together.  The Kings however acquire Carl Landry who has great scoring ability.   The ROCKETS however seem to get the best end of the deal.  It’s no secret that they’ve been dying to get rid of Tracy McGrady for some time now, due to his injuries and turmoil with the team.  Not only is that task done, they also acquire super guard Kevin Martin, and key draft picks.

Cavs Acquire Antawn Jamison In Cavs/Wizards/Clippers Deal

Cavs Get: Antawn Jamison, Sebastian Telfair

Wizards Get: Zydrunas Illguaskas, Al Thornton, rights to Emir Preldzic,
2010 first-round draft pick from Cavs

Clippers Get: Drew Gooden

Clearly a big acquisition for the CAVS, who are in quest of a playoff championship.  Jamison is averaging 20.5pts this season and will be a great addition to the Cavs who were in need of another scorer to assist Lebron James.  With this deal the Cavs were also able to retain J.J Hickson, who has been helpfully in the past few wins for them.  The WIZARDS have been continuing to start anew in the rebuilding of their team, and well… releasing everybody.  It’s assumed that they will eventually buyout big Z, who may return to the Cavs.  The CLIPPERS acquire Drew Gooden who was just traded to the Wizards a couple days ago.  With Gooden they get a good defensive big man.

Celtics Get Robinson in Exchange for House in Knicks Deal

Celtics Get: Nate Robinson, Marcus Landry

Knicks Get: Eddie House, J.R Giddens, & Bill Walker

Big blow to the KNICKS with the loss of a fan favorite and 3 time Slam Dunk Champion Nate Robinson.  Robinson averaged just about 13.2ppg in the 30 games he was ALLOWED to play in.  We all know about the turmoil between he and coach Mike D’Antoni after 14 DNP’s Robinson was finally allowed back in the game where he scored an explosive 40pt comeback.  Still tensions weren’t relieved and now we must say good bye to Nate.  With the loss of Nate we acquire veteran Eddie House from the CELTICS.  House averages 7.2ppg in 50games this season.  House’s perimeter shooting isn’t what it once was, but he still has the ability to come off the bench and get some points in.  He’s also excited about reuniting with coach D’Antoni.  Gidden’s and Walker are bench players who were seldom used and seem to just have been thrown into the deal.

Bucks Acquire Salmons in Bulls/Bucks Deal

Bucks Get: John Salmons, Bulls’ 2011 & 2012 second round picks and option to switch 2010 first round picks (provided Chicago is between No. 11 & No. 30)

Bulls Get: Hakim Warrick and Joe Alexander

Each team comes away with something.  The BULLS like the Knicks have cleared up much-needed cap space.  They were able to drop Salmons contract and acquire Warrick and Alexander who each have expiring contracts.  The Bulls have 6 players under contract and have a chance to get a prime free agent such as Chris Bosh or Carlos Boozer.  With players like Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah it should be easy to lure someone in.  The BUCKS get a great shooter in Salmons WHEN  he’s on.  The Bucks also have a chance to land a spot in the playoffs; they’re currently 2 games out of the eighth seed.

Bobcats Get Tyrus Thomas in Bulls/Bobcats Deal

Bobcats Get: Tyrus Thomas

Bulls Get: Ronald “Flip” Murray, Acie Law, and a future 1st round pick from Charlotte

After some friction between Tyrus Thomas and the BULLS he has been traded.  The Bulls gain an important 1st round pick from the Bobcats as well as 2 more expiring contracts with Murray and Law.  As stated before the Bulls are trying to clear up as much cap space for upcoming free agents.  The BOBCATS acquire athleticism and great shot blocking ability in Thomas although he is at times inconsistent.  Thomas will be a restricted free agent at the end of this season.

Cardinal For Milicic in Timberwolves/Knicks Deal

Timberwolves Get: Darko Milicic, cash

Knicks Get: Brian Cardinal

The two players are rarely used and it’s unlikely that either will see an increase in playing time.  The TIMBERWOLVES used the deal to get cash back from the New York Knicks.  The KNICKS released Milicic to free up additional cap space and are expected to waive Cardinal to make room for the newly acquired players from the Celtics. 

 Blazers Acquire Camby in Trail Blazers/Clippers Deal

Trail Blazers Get: Marcus Camby

Clippers Get: Travis Outlaw, Steve Blake, cash

The injury plagued and seemingly cursed BLAZERS get some frontcourt help from the acquisition of Marcus Camby.  Camby who was unhappy with his role in LA, can help the  Blazers in their playoff quests with his defensive and rebounding ability.  The CLIPPERS get a solid backup for Baron Davis in Blake and help at small forward with Outlaw.

Sixers Send Ivey to Bucks

Sixers Get: Jodie Meeks, Francisco Elson

Bucks Get: Royal Ivey, Primoz Brezec, and a second-round pick in the 2010 draft

This deal would return Ivey back to the BUCKS where he spent his 07′-08′ season.  Neither the SIXERS nor the Bucks would gain much from the deal since all the players get very little playing time and average few points.

Jazz Send Brewer To The Grizzlies

Grizzlies Get:  Ronnie Brewer

Jazz Get:  A protected 2011 first-round pick

The Deal gives the GRIZZLIES an athletic swingman.  The JAZZ not only get an important first round pick in an extensive rookie class, but they also get to save money.  Brewer is making $2.7 million this season and will be a restricted free agent at the end of this season.  The trade doesn’t put the Jazz under the luxury tax  penalty but it does put them on the road to it.

Wizards-Mavs Trade Deal Complete

The Washington Wizards have completed a 7 player trade deal with the Dallas Mavericks.  Wizards trade Caron Butler, Brendan Haywood and DeShawn Stevenson to the Mavericks for Drew Gooden, Josh Howard, Quinton Ross and James Singleton.  The acquisitions of Butler and Haywood are a big boost for the rising Mavericks.  All-Star Caron Butler has a great scoring ability averaging 16.9 points and 6.7 rebounds in 47 games this season, he will take the spot of Howard.  Haywood a rim-protecting defensive force, comes just in time to fill the void of the injured Mavs center Eric Dampier.  The Mavs acquire athleticism, defense, and scoring factors.  The Wizards on the other end gain payroll and luxury-tax relief.  The Wizards are looking to rebuilding their franchise.  Though Howard has gone through turmoil with the Mavs amidst injury and drugs, there were good times during his 431 games.  Howard was an All-Star in 2007, when he averaged 18.9 points in 70 games. He had his best season in 2007-08, when he averaged 19.9 points.  There is hope for a new beginning for him with the Wizards.  The trade seems all around smart to me and I wish both teams good luck.

All Star Saturday 2010 Rundown

H.O.R.S.E: 

Well we all know how the game of H.O.R.S.E goes, participants perform tricks while shooting the ball and the other participants have to copy them, and if they fail they get a letter, when you spell H.O.R.S.E you’re out, last person standing wins.  Anyways this years participants were Rajon Rondo of the Boston Celtics, Omri Casspi of the Sacramento Kings, and returning champ Kevin Durant of the Oklahoma City Thunder.  This game was long and somewhat boring and due to time constraints it ended up being a 3pt shootout between Rondo and Durant.  Durant won for the second year in a row, congrats to him and the upgrade from plastic to glass trophy lol.

Shooting Stars:

Shooting Stars is a competition of 4 teams each composed of a NBA player, a WNBA player, and an on-air talent NBA legend.  This years 4 teams were: Team Dallas: Dirk Nowitzki of the Dallas Mavericks, Becky Hammond of the San Antonio Silver Spurs, and TNT analyst Kenny Smith of the Houston Rockets. Team Atlanta: Joe Johnson of the Atlanta Hawks, Angel McCoughtry of the Atlanta Dream, and NBA TV analyst Steve Smith of the Atlanta Hawks. Team Los Angeles: Pau Gasol of the LA Lakers, Marie Ferdinand-Harris of the Los Angeles Sparks, and NBA TV analyst Brent Barry of the LA Clippers. Team Sacramento: Tyreke Evans of the Sacramento Kings, Nicole Powell formely of the Sacramento Monarchs, NBA TV analyst Chris Webber of the Sacramento Kings.  This year the home team Texas took the title after battling team Los Angeles in round 2 and completing it in under 40secs.

Skills Challenge:

The Skills Challenge is a contest of the top guards working against the clock to complete a series of passes, free throws, lay-ups and agility drills.  This years contestants were: Vet Steve Nash of the Phoenix Suns, rookie Brandon Jennings of the Milwaukee Bucks, 08′ champ Deron Williams of the Utah Jazz, and Russell Westbrook of the Oklahoma City Thunder who replaced the 09′ champ Derrick Rose (out with injury).  The former Skills Challenge winner Nash was able to beat out all 3 of the guards who are 10+ years younger than him.  After beating out Westbrook and Jennings in round 1, he and Williams went head to head in which Nash finished in 29.9 seconds, 8 seconds faster than Williams.  Williams by the way carried the ball in both rounds and it was somehow overlooked, so I’m happy Nash took the victory. Congrats =]

3pt Shootout:

The Three-Point Shootout includes six of the best long-range shooters competing against each other and the clock in a test of accuracy.  This years contestants were Chauncey Billups of the Denver Nuggets, rookie Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors, Paul Pierce of the Boston Celtics, Channing Frye of the Phoenix Suns, Danilo Gallinari of the New York Knicks, and defending champ Daequan Cook of the Miami Heat.  Most expected the rookie Curry to take it because of his amazing 3pt shooting ability and well his ancestry mainly his father Dell Curry.  Well in a surprising turn of events Paul Pierce took it home with a score of 20 in the second round.

Slam Dunk Contest:

The Slam Dunk contest displays some of the most athletic, high-flying, creative dunkers in the league.  This years participants were 2 time defending champion Nate Robinson of the New York Knicks, Gerald Wallace of the Charlotte Bobcats, Shannon Brown of the Los Angeles Lakers, and Demar DeRozan of the Toronto Raptors, who won the Dunk In between he and Eric Gordon.  More talked about the actual participants, was the absence of Lebron James; who said he would take part but later withdrew and didn’t even show up.  Well anyways back to the contestants after the big buzz including LetShannonBrownDunk.com, the anticipation of the heat Wallace might be hiding, the high hopes of rookie DeRozan, and the await of amazement from the little guy Robinson; the Dunk Contest turned out to be an utter FAILURE.  It was one of the worse dunk contest of all time.  Sadly the great news of Robinson’s record came along with such a title.  After moving on to the second round, Robinson went up against DeRozan and defeated him with 51% of the vote.  Robinson became the first person to ever win 3 consecutive Slam Dunk contests.

Rookies End Curse and Defeat Sophomores

After losing 7 straight games in the Rookie Challenge, the Rookies finally got a victory over the Sophomores.  Most felt it would be an all out massacre due to the size, strength, agility, and experience of the sophomore squad.  I however had faith in the rookies, the 09 Rookie class was no doubt a year of scorers.  MVP of the game and #1 in the rookie rankings, guard Tyreke Evans set the tone early in the game.  Evans inside game and agility is unbelievable as he finished out with 26pts, 6rebs, and 5asts.  Although Evans was voted MVP he felt the need to share the spot with Dejuan Blair; which is completely understandable after the athleticism displayed by Blair later in the game.  Blair set a record with 22pts, 23rebs, with the first 20-20 game in the Rookie Challenge.  Russell Westbrook of the Oklahoma City Thunder scored a staggering 40pts and almost broke the record held by his teammate Kevin Durant(this years Rookie Asst. Coach), who scored 46pts in last years Rookie Challenge.  Also on the Sophomore squad Michael Beasley scored 26pts, Anthony Morrow had 15pts, Kevin Love had 12pts 6rebs, and O.J Mayo had 8pts, 10asts.  Contributing to the Rookies along with Evans and Blair was Brandon Jennings with 22pts 8asts, James Harden with 22pts, Omri Casspi with 13pts 5rebs, and Stephen Curry with 14pts for a 140-128 victory over the sophomores

Shake Ups In the All Star Roster Kobe, Iverson OUT

Injuries has caused quite a stir up in the 2010 All Star roster. Due to knee injury Chris Paul(NO) will be replaced by Chauncey Billups(Den), and Brandon Roy(Por) who’s out with a hamstring injury will be replaced by Chris Kaman(LAC).  Bigger news tho is the loss of Allen Iverson(Phi) and Kobe Bryant(LAL).  Although Iverson was voted in by the fans with over a million votes, us REAL NBA fans knew he didn’t really belong.  Iverson who can’t take part due to an ill child, will be replaced by David Lee(NYK).  Kobe Bryant who suffered an ankle injury, has missed the last 3 Laker games and has officially withdrawn from the All Star game.  Bryant will be replaced by Jason Kidd(Dal).  Monta Ellis(GS) was definitely a contender to replace Bryant but suffered a knee strain.  The loss of Bryant is definitely a big blow to the game but I got my wish of seeing Chris Kaman and David Lee in, they clearly deserved it.  All injury replacements are chosen by NBA Commissioner David Stern, but the starters to replace the injured are chosen by West coach George Karl and East coach Stan Van Gundy.  Karl has decided to start Nowitzki in place of Bryant and he will be defending Lebron James, hmmm interesting, since Dirk isn’t a guard… Nowitzki will join Steve Nash, Tim Duncan, Amare Stoudemire, and Carmelo Anthony in the West’s starting five.  It’s anticipated that either Rajon Rondo or Joe Johnson will replace Allen Iverson in the East starting five; which consists of Lebron James, Dwayne Wade, Kevin Garnett, and Dwight Howard.