Sports: NBA 2006-2007

[Noj]

That's true to a point, but players on a team have to bring something to the table on their own. For example, could Steve Nash be as great as he is if all those Suns couldn't shoot like they can? I mean, everybody on that team outside of Shawn Marion can really fill it up and even he'll hit a three every once in a while. The same goes for the Mavs, they've got tons of shooters. It's a symbiotic relationship.

In Gilbert's defense, he has hit a number of clutch buckets to win games this year. He's fearless, he'll pull up a game-winning three pointer from two steps behind the line and can it. Mr. Zero is averaging almost 30ppg...

[Patrick]

Agent Zero is not playing nearly as well as he was earlier in the season (when he should of at least been in the conversation for MVP). Since then he, and the Wiz, have been fairly inconsistent, and any talk of him as MVP has stopped.

Put Nash on the Pacers, Hawks, Celtics, Warriors, Clippers, etc., and he's just another solid point guard. MVP is not really an individual accolade.

Going to go see Dirk and crew at the Q this evening. Hopefully the home team will not get their brains beat in.

[Quincy]

Agent Zero is not playing nearly as well as he was earlier in the season (when he should of at least been in the conversation for MVP). Since then he, and the Wiz, have been fairly inconsistent, and any talk of him as MVP has stopped.

The inconsistency began when Antawn Jamison went down. He's back but now Butler is hurting. Those guys are both very very good, so it hurts the team when one is down, especailly considering how the team could use some upgrades at other positions.

As you alluded to in the sentence I snipped, it's a team game. When all 3 of the main guys are healthy and on the floor, the Wizards can be dangerous. Not unlike the Lakers. During the time they were struggling Walton and/or Odom were out. It should hardly be shocking, but 1 superstar can't win a game all by himself.

[Soulstation1]

FACT

Agent Zero makes another game winning shot.....

Anyone see LBJ hit his head on the floor vs the mavs?

[Patrick]

Congrats to Arenas for making another last second shot. Will the Wiz hold off the Heat?

I was there in the arena when LeBron banged his head, and the place fell completely silent. Moondog the mascot stopped banging his drum (thank you). LeBron got up, put ice on his jaw during the time out, and didn't miss any game time. End of drama.

Early on, Cavs lead by running their offense through Ilgauskus whom Dallas tried to single cover with Dampier. Z would either hit a soft hook, or pass out for an open jumpshot when the help came. But after the first quarter, Cavs didn't even try to do this, even after Dampier and Diop each had 4 or 5 fouls (in the third qtr). Mavs dominated the paint, and were perfect from the line (even Dampier hit several). Is there a bigger disappointment in the NBA right now than Larry Hughes? [To be Robin to LBJ's Batman, the candidates were Michael Redd, Ray Allen, and Larry Hughes. I hoped and hoped for Redd, but he took a little more $ to remain loyal to a non-contender. If only...] Cuban was in the house, and willing to take a little bit of grief from the locals.

Funny how ESPN and the national media were plugging this as Dirk vs LeBron, and that Dirk got the better of it. Totally not true. Dirk and LBJ each had about 8 pts in the first half. Is Dirk really any more of an MVP candidate than LeBron is, besides the fact that when he passes it is to Terry, Stackhouse, Howard, Harris, etc. who can hit outside shots instead of Sasha Pavlovic, Donyell Marshall, Anderson Varajao, etc. who don't? I'm not so sure. Quite frankly, Drew Gooden was outplaying Dirk for most of the game I witnessed. Dirk is more deserving of MVP, but only because of how well his teammates play. [And no, you cannot credit all of their improved play on having Dirk around.]

[Noj]

Kobe Bryant joins Michael Jordan, Elgin Baylor, and Wilt Chamberlain as the only players in NBA history to score 50+ in three straight games, dropping 60 on the Grizz in a win.

[Soulstation1]

i'd say wilt's 32 60 points games is untouchable

Kobe's got 4

i wish i had the chance to see wilt in 1960's

[Noj]

If only there were footage of Wilt in those days! Wilt must have been like an adult playing with a bunch of elementary school kids.

[paul secor]

I was around back then. Wilt got the points, but didn't get rings until he cut down on his shots and let his teammates into the game. Of course, the other side of that is, like Kobe today, he didn't have a great supporting cast in his early years. And another side is that Wilt had a huge ego that tended to get in the way of the game. His counterpart, Bill Russell had an ego too, but never let it take over what he needed to do for his team to win.

[Noj]

...and the Celtics were like the Globetrotters.

[paul secor]

...and the Celtics were like the Globetrotters.

Yup. Seemed like they were beating my Lakers year after year, even though the Lakes had Elgin and Jerry.

[Noj]

Kobe only player since Wilt in '62 with four straight 50+ point games, all Laker victories.

Edited March 24, 2007 by Noj

[Guy Berger]

It looks like the media is getting a little carried away with all the Kobe accolades. He's been playing fantastic, but all the wins his team has produced during this period have been against mediocre/crappy teams. It's not going to amount to much in a 7 game series against the Suns or Spurs.

Guy

[Guy Berger]

I found this box score on yahoo tonight, but I bet it will be changed by tomorrow.

B. Bowen 33 4-8 1-3 5-5 0 4 1 2 0 0 0 14

T. Duncan 26 7-13 0-0 6-7 0 8 5 3 1 1 1 20

F. Elson 18 1-2 0-0 0-0 2 9 0 1 1 1 3 2

B. Barry 18 3-4 2-3 2-3 1 2 4 2 1 0 4 10

T. Parker 28 6-10 0-1 8-10 0 2 9 3 3 0 1 20

M. Bonner 14 2-2 2-2 0-0 0 3 1 1 0 0 3 6

M. Ginobili 22 5-7 3-4 4-5 0 6 2 1 1 1 1 17

M. Finley 20 9-12 2-3 0-0 0 3 2 0 0 0 1 20

J. Vaughn 19 1-2 0-0 2-2 0 3 4 1 1 0 2 4

J. White 14 3-4 0-1 3-3 0 3 0 0 0 0 3 9

F. Oberto 13 2-4 0-0 0-0 0 2 3 4 0 0 2 4

B. Udrih 10 0-4 0-0 0-0 0 1 2 0 1 0 1 0

M. Ely DNP - Coach's Decision

J. Butler DNP - Coach's Decision

R. Horry DNP - Old Age!

Edited March 27, 2007 by Guy

[Bright Moments]

we lead the east!!!!!

Miami 106, Atlanta 89

By TIM REYNOLDS, AP Sports Writer

March 26, 2007

MIAMI (AP) -- After one particularly hard foul sent Shaquille O'Neal tumbling, the 7-foot-1 center rolled into a backward somersault before bouncing to his feet.

"I'm known as The Big Baryshnikov," O'Neal said afterward, proud of his newest self-dubbed moniker.

Suffice to say, no ballet ever called for Mikhail Baryshnikov to take this kind of punishment.

O'Neal shook off double- and triple-teams -- and incessant hacking nearly every time he got position down low -- to score 22 points, passing Reggie Miller for 12th on the NBA's career list and leading the Miami Heat to a four-game season sweep of the Atlanta Hawks with an 106-89 win on Monday night.

The win, combined with Washington's loss at Utah, put the Heat -- who were 7 1/2 games behind the Wizards on Jan. 30 -- alone in first place in the Southeast Division by a half-game, and vaulted the defending NBA champions from sixth to third in the Eastern Conference standings.

O'Neal entered the night 10 points behind Miller's 25,279, and passed the former Indiana star with a free throw midway through the first half. That was fitting, since the Hawks sent him to the foul line a season-high 20 times. O'Neal made 12, another season-best, and finished with 11 rebounds.

"It just shows how the other opponent quits," O'Neal said of the foul-often strategy. "Can't stop him. Foul him."

James Posey scored 19 points, shot 6-for-9 and finished with his second-best scoring night of the season for the Heat. Jason Williams had 14 points and Eddie Jones scored 13 for the Heat, who beat the Hawks for the 18th time in the last 21 meetings between the teams.

Salim Stoudamire had 22 points off the bench for Atlanta, while Josh Smith had 20 and Marvin Williams added 14 for the Hawks, who've lost four straight.

"They exposed us inside with Shaq," Hawks coach Mike Woodson said. "Everything went through Shaq. We got in foul trouble and he made his free throws."

The Hawks sent Miami to the line a season-high-tying 45 times, largely because of their penchant for surrounding -- then clobbering -- O'Neal.

Lorenzen Wright started at center against O'Neal, and picked up four fouls in his seven minutes. Shelden Williams came off the bench, drawing four fouls in 15 minutes. Esteban Batista was called for five fouls in 13 minutes spent primarily guarding Miami's biggest man, and hit O'Neal so often in the third quarter that Jason Williams turned to the scorer's table and asked how many infractions he was allowed.

In the fourth, the Hawks asked Solomon Jones to take a turn -- and he promptly fouled O'Neal four times in five minutes.

"We tried to make him earn it from the line and he definitely earned it tonight," said Jones, who got a small cut on his lower lip as a souvenir of his battles with the man who outweighs him by 100 pounds. "It's definitely a learning experience. You can't get frustrated."

Miami opened the game with a 15-4 run, capped by O'Neal's three-point play. Atlanta chipped away and had a chance to take the lead on what could've been the final possession of the half, but Posey stole Anthony Johnson's pass with 3.9 seconds left and got fouled.

Posey made both free throws, then stole Marvin Williams' inbounds pass, got fouled and again hit a pair from the line to send Miami into the break with a 57-52 lead. Posey then hit a 3-pointer to open the third quarter, and the Heat steadily pulled away for just their second win in their last five games.

Miami opens a three-game road swing in Toronto on Wednesday.

"We needed this one to get our feet back under us a little bit," Posey said. "It's a boost, because we're about to go on the road and need to take it to another level."

O'Neal got position behind Batista midway through the fourth quarter, took a lob from Antoine Walker and threw down a dunk for a 97-77 lead, and the Heat bench was emptied not long afterward.

"We stayed exactly with the game plan," Heat coach Pat Riley said. "We kept pounding the ball into the post until something different was coming. We had whatever matchup we wanted in there."

Notes

Posey's season-high in scoring is 26 points, at New Jersey in December. ... Hawks C Zaza Pachulia, who at 280 pounds probably had the best chance of being able to endure banging with O'Neal, did not play because of illness. ... Walker played 11 first-half minutes without picking up a single stat, other than two fouls. ... NBA finals MVP Dwyane Wade now has a new injury to deal with, albeit a minor one -- and one that won't impact his rehab from a dislocated left shoulder, either. He had a bandage on his face because of a mild skin irritation.

[Jim Alfredson]

we lead the east!!!!!

Heat: 38-32

Pistons: 45-25

I was about to switch the channel on the Pistons / Nuggets game because the Pistons were down 3 points with 1.6 seconds to go and the Nuggets were inbounding the ball. Incredibly, the Pistons stole the inbounds pass and 'Sheed launch a 3 from WAY beyond halfcourt that actually went in, to force OT. Incredible! Pistons went on to win the game.

[Bright Moments]

we lead the east!!!!!

Heat: 38-32

Pistons: 45-25

I was about to switch the channel on the Pistons / Nuggets game because the Pistons were down 3 points with 1.6 seconds to go and the Nuggets were inbounding the ball. Incredibly, the Pistons stole the inbounds pass and 'Sheed launch a 3 from WAY beyond halfcourt that actually went in, to force OT. Incredible! Pistons went on to win the game.

o.k. so we lead our division in the east. its been a hard climb!

still the heat gets very little respect.

anyway, great playoffs coming up!

[md655321]

SHEEEEEEEEEEEED!

That was just plain insane. Make sure to check out sportscenter or or online to watch that shot. Just plain ridiculous.

[Jim Alfredson]

My wife and I couldn't believe it. It was a once in a lifetime shot.

[Big Al]

SHEEEEEEEEEEEED!

That was just plain insane. Make sure to check out sportscenter or or online to watch that shot. Just plain ridiculous.

That was just SICK!!!! Like Jim said, the shot of a lifetime there!

[Soulstation1]

who cares about the pistons??

'sheed will be suspended again for tech fouls

they can only beat the heat when they are injured and banged up.....

[Jim Alfredson]

[Guy Berger]

Wow, I guess the Pistons got ridiculously lucky on that one.

Guy

[Guy Berger]

Uh oh, Dirk's injured.

Guy

[Bright Moments]

wow that was amazing