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Suns 123, Nuggets 101

Wednesday, April 14th, 2010


Playoff basketball is coming to Phoenix

Tip-off

The Suns and the Nuggets both have everything to play for tonight. A win for either team will guarantee a top four seed in the Western Conference and home court advantage in the first round. Both teams can also skip ahead of Utah to the three seed if the results go their way. For the Suns though, two wins will take them into third place and a likely first round matchup with the Portland Trailblazers. Playing from three will also mean avoiding the Lakers until the conference finals.

The keys for the Suns tonight are keeping the Nuggets out of the paint, hitting the three and pushing the fast break. All this frees up Amare Stoudemire to wreak havoc inside and gives full control of the game to Steve Nash. The Suns’ bench will have to make an important defensive as well as offensive contribution.

I am very excited to see a Phoenix victory tonight!

End of 1st Quarter: Suns 38, Nuggets 26

The Suns started strong out of the gate, Denver fought back. The result? A twelve point lead to the Suns despite Steve Nash’s full court three being waved off at the horn. Foul trouble is the concern for both teams. Collins and Hill for the Suns, Anderson and Nene for the Nuggets.

Carmelo Anthony will continue to ring up fouls on the Suns and is the key to the game for Denver. If he can get the Suns’ defense to soften and some easy baskets for his teammates, advantage Denver. The Suns’ bench must produce at the start of the second quarter. How will Dragic go in the pressure game?

Halftime: Suns 70, Nuggets 49

Phoenix take a 21 point lead into the second half, but as Suns fan, I feel that it’s a nervous 21 point lead. Yes, Stoudemire has rolled with 17 points. Yes, Phoenix has shot 8/12 from downtown. Yes, Nash is rested and playing well. Yes, this is the most points allowed in the first half by the Nuggets all season. But in basketball, these things always even out.

The Suns must keep up the pressure and the tempo at the beginning of the third quarter. Amundson’s three quick fouls at the beginning of the second threatened to take the wind out of Phoenix’ sails. But Denver didn’t capitalise and ended up creating a storm of their own with two technicals nearing the half. Which team will take control in the third?

End of the 3rd Quarter: Suns 97, Nuggets 70

The Suns did start slowly in the third, letting Denver post a 10-2 run. But the Suns hit back through Stoudemire with a spectacular dunk after Petro was denied at the rim by Frye at the other end. Nash played the entire third quarter and I would expect him to sit the entire fourth unless Denver claw within ten.

Phoenix is in command with a 27 point lead and the crowd behind them. With Denver unlikely to score as many as 45 points in the fourth, the Suns’ magic number is 115. Make it to 115 and the win is certain.

Final: Suns 123, Nuggets 101

A victory to savour… the Suns blowout the Nuggets in a high stakes game 123-101. With Utah posting a comfortable win at Golden State, but losing Carlos Boozer in the process, everything is to play for at Utah tomorrow night.

Lou Amundson finished with more dunks than fouls, including an amazing reverse alley-oop from Dragic behind the half court. The Suns blooded the bench in the fourth, including their latest signing Dwayne Jones. Phoenix shot 14/24 from behind the arc, Stoudemire went 26 and 8, and Steve Nash finished with 18 points, 10 assists and two turnovers in just 29 minutes. The Nuggets big men managed 15 points, 10 rebounds and 9 fouls in a poor night at both ends of the floor.

Who will Phoenix play in the first round? Follow all the action with the NBA Scoreboard addon for Firefox.

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Bobcats 109, Hawks 100

Friday, April 9th, 2010

The Charlotte Bobcats moved closer to their first playoff appearance with a 109-100 victory over the injury-depleted Atlanta Hawks. Gerald Wallace scored 28 points and the Bobcats made 28 free throws to send the lead out to 23 points in the third quarter before closing the game out in the fourth.

This was my first look at the Charlotte Bobcats. All the news about the Cats lately has been the ascendancy of Michael Jordan as the team owner. Nevermind their playing roster, which took me by surprise as I watched. A group of players from widely different situations who could gel together with a playoff run to become a fixture in the East in the coming years. Let’s take a quick look at the 09-10 Bobcats.

Player Past
Gerald Wallace The best player selected by the Cats in the 2004 expansion draft and only original member of the team. He’s become the franchise player with the franchise contract, and is putting up some franchise numbers.
Boris Diaw His best season was with the Phoenix Suns in 05-06. With Amare Stoudemire sidelined after microfracture knee surgery, Diaw emerged as a phenomenal point-forward in the Suns’ offense that made the Joe Johnson trade throw-in the steal of the season.
Stephen Jackson Starting two-guard for the 2003 NBA Champion Spurs who went into the stands with Ron Artest in Detroit in 2004. Key player in the Warriors’ upset first round victory over Dallas in 2007 but was bounced to Bobcats this season. Will Jack find a home in Charlotte?
Raymond Felton Ran UNC to the National Championship in 2005 and was drafted 5th behind franchise point guards Deron Williams and Chris Paul. He seems to have both benefited and suffered from being the third wheel, being both overrated and underrated as a result.
Theo Ratliff In his 14th season in the NBA, Ratliff has had somewhat of a renaissance this season. Labeled by Bill Simmons as Theo Ratliff’s Expiring Contract after being the centre-piece of the Wolves-Celtics trade for Kevin Garnett, Theo has become a cheap centre on this patchwork team.
Tyson Chandler /
Tyrus Thomas		 Both players were high draft picks of the Chicago Bulls but were ultimately dispensed. Now they form a dynamic front court punch off the bench in Charlotte where expectations are more reasonable and their roles more defined.
Larry Hughes He had a career year in Washington in 2004-05 and signed $70 million contract to play with Lebron James in Cleveland. Hughes never worked out and, like Ratliff, has spent most of the past five seasons being passed around because of his cap numbers rather than his court numbers.
D.J. Augustin So far the only draft pick that seems to have worked out for the Cats, DJ was taken 9th overall in the 2008 draft. He’ll get some valuable playing time and experience in the Bobcats’ playoff run.

An usually constructed roster – a group of rejects, projects and recreations – but a roster that will give one of the Eastern Conference’s Big 4 a stern test in the first round of the 2010 NBA Playoffs. Who’s your favourite Charlotte Bobcat?

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Mavs 82, Magic 97

Sunday, April 4th, 2010

Dwight Howard rains down on Jason Kidd with a nasty putback dunk. Howard finished the game with 17 points and 20 rebounds.

Playoff Race

The playoff race in the West is heating up, with the standings two through five at April 4 as follows:

Western W L PCT GB CONF DIV HOME ROAD L 10 STREAK
Dallas 50 27 0.649 5.5 28-19 8-6 26-13 24-14 5-5 L 2
Denver 50 27 0.649 5.5 31-16 11-4 32-6 18-21 5-5 W 2
Utah 50 27 0.649 5.5 28-19 7-8 31-8 19-19 7-3 L 1
Phoenix 50 27 0.649 5.5 31-16 12-4 29-9 21-18 9-1 L 1

The Phoenix Suns had their ten game streak snapped at Milwaukee, but the importance of the game was that Phoenix carried the ten-game streak in. The Suns beat the teams that they had to, and now have five tough games to round out the schedule. Ideally, the Suns will jump to either the 2nd or 3rd seed to avoid the Lakers in the Conference Semi-Finals. Then…

With One HD broadcasting the Western Conference Finals this year, I would get my dream matchup of Suns v Lakers. But as Doug Collins says, “The playoffs is all about matchups.” And we won’t know until the last day of the season how this race will finish.

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Knicks 109, Nuggets 104

Thursday, March 25th, 2010

Tracy McGrady challenges Chris Anderson at the rim.

This was the first game that I have watched at Madison Square Garden since the Knicks’ playoff run to the Finals in the lockout shortened 98-99 season. No doubt, 2010 free agency will be the big determiner as to how many Knicks’ games make the national television schedule next season.

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Heat 102, Magic 108

Sunday, March 21st, 2010

The Orlando Magic defeated the Miami Heat 108-102 in overtime despite a poor game for franchise center Dwight Howard. Howard was plagued by foul trouble for most of the game and picked up his 15th technical foul for the season. His next technical foul will result in a one game suspension.

Dwyane Wade carried Miami through a dismal third quarter and looked to have made the go ahead play when Matt Barnes committed a touch foul on a Wade drive. However, Wade missed the free throw and the Magic wrestled the game away in overtime. It was the second consecutive overtime game for the Heat on TNT, having beaten the Lakers two weeks ago.

Most of the Heat players are auditioning for their spot on the 2010-11 Miami roster and Mario Chalmers and Dorrell Wright showed their worth with big fourth quarter plays. But both ultimately know that their tenure with the Heat will be decided as a matter of second priority when Miami go shopping for marquee free agents in the off season.

Get ready for the playoffs by using the NBA Scoreboard 2010 addon for Firefox.

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Suns 108, Jazz 116

Saturday, March 6th, 2010

The Utah Jazz rallied on the road to storm past the Phoenix Suns in the 4th quarter for a 116-108 win. The Suns, playing their fourth game in five nights, could not shut down Utah from beyond the arch who went 12-24. Mehmet Okur landed the final 3-pt blow as the shot clock expired and with the Jazz leading by one, putting them ahead for good.

The Suns’ 10 point lead unraveled spectacularly. Williams hit back to back threes after sitting most of the 2nd quarter with foul trouble. Phoenix tried to match Utah but ill-advised shots from Frye and Richardson gifted the Jazz with the stretch momentum. Then suddenly the game was over and Phoenix had lost.

Phoenix plays the next six games at home and must win five of them to keep themselves away from the dreaded 8th seed and a first round matchup against the Lakers. Hopefully Dragic will return to ease the load on Hill and Nash – the two veterans cannot run this team in tandem.

Follow all the NBA action with the NBA Scoreboard 2010 addon for Firefox.

Heat 114, Lakers 111

The Miami Heat held off the LA Lakers in a thrilling overtime game in Miami. With over thirty lead changes – the most in the NBA so far this season – it was Dwyane Wade who had the final say after Kobe Bryant dominated the end of regulation and the start of the extra period.

The question that I asked watching this one was, “What is Jermaine O’Neal’s future in the NBA?” His contribution was far from steady as he:

  • Stepped out to set a screen on a critical possession but instead drew an offensive foul.
  • Caught a lob from Wade near the bucket on a critical possession and finished softly for two.
  • Goal-tended a fast-break layup on a critical possession.
  • Drew a charge on Kobe on a critical possession that ended up grounding the Lakers for good.

O’Neal is off contract with the Heat and has a number of factors to consider. He can still compete at a high level, but not on every possession. Can a team afford this inconsistency from its starting center? Will Miami sign some big name free agents and force O’Neal to look for a job elsewhere? And if so, with lots of teams with cap room, will he end up with a bigger contract than necessary because someone can spend?

What future do you see for Jermaine O’Neal?

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Thunder 102, Suns 104

Thursday, February 25th, 2010

The Phoenix Suns, playing without the injured Steve Nash, stormed back in the closing minutes to win an important matchup with the Oklahoma City Thunder 104-102. Jason Richardson hit a floater in the lane with 0.7 seconds remaining, setting up one last shot for the Thunder. Jeff Green’s three pointer, while falling out of bounds, rimmed out.

I’ve been waiting all month for this game, and it didn’t disappoint. A close first half, a classic 3rd quarter Suns’ run out to a 15 point lead, and a emotional comeback by Oklahoma City to lead right down the stretch. Some thoughts:

  • Hill. It is time to stop with all the “what might have been without the injuries” talk and simply enjoy the way Grant is playing now. 21-9-3 and the most important player on the court for the Suns. His play in his 15th season is amazing when you realise that the (effective 4th Q) OKC lineup of Durant-Westbrook-Ibaka-Harden-Maynor has a combined season total half that of Hill’s.
  • Dragic. I saw some of Dragic last season when the Suns put their garbage time lineup on the floor. In his third career start, with Nash and Barbosa in street clothes, his play dazzled. His finishing at the rim was beautiful and his shot, both midrange and from three, was on. Can he be the point guard of a Championship team?
  • Stoudemire. He got his numbers – 30 pts, 9 rbds – but his lack of pop was evident. While he finished inside with dunks on a number of occasions, he was manhandled on others. Amare ’04-05 was absolutely devastating within six feet of the rim. Can he adjust his game to play to his strengths in ’09-10?

The Thunder are immensely enjoyable to watch. Young, exciting, winning (nearly) and starting to gain the “team no-one wants to play” mantle heading into the playoffs. The Suns meanwhile are 9-2 in their last eleven games and quietly building momentum of their own. Together, these teams make for great NBA basketball.

Trade Deadline

A quick word about the Suns’ (lack of) activity at the trade deadline. I’m glad they passed on deals with Cleveland, Miami and Philly, even if it wasn’t their call. None of those teams were offering value for Amare, and the Suns wait until the summer to see what the ramifications are.

I still believe that the only Stoudemire trade that has made sense in the past three years was the three way deal with Minnesota and Atlanta that would have landed Kevin Garnett in the desert. Sarver balked at the money and Garnett ultimately took the Championship to Boston. No doubt that a Nash-Garnett-Marion core would have been competing for two or three rings.

As it is, we wait to see whether the Suns rebuild during the end of the Nash era, or make some amazing deals that put them into contention. As it stands, Phoenix will ultimately be first round fodder for the Lakers, Nuggets or Jazz.

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Pistons 108, Wolves 85

Saturday, February 20th, 2010

The Detroit Pistons used an 18-4 run to open the third quarter and blow out the Minnesota Timberwolves 108-95 at the Palace of Auburn Hills. The Pistons dished out 37 assists and recorded over a dozen dunks in a fast paced display of team basketball.

Some game notes:

  • Jonas Jerebko ran around the slower Minnesota forwards on his way to 21 points on 9/13 shooting. Only foul trouble could slow him down. A great example of a player who has worked hard for many years to finally have pay day in the NBA.
  • Sasha Pavlovic appeared for the Timberwolves in garbage time. How quickly fortunes can change in the NBA. One season, you’re playing for the Cavs and winning games alongside Lebron James. In the off season, you’re part of a trade where you’re nothing more than a contract on a piece of paper, immediately bought out by the Suns in the wake of the Shaq trade. Then you sign as a free agent for one of the worse teams in the NBA to be their key player in garbage time. Congratulations Sasha.
  • Kwame Brown made the most of his garbage time minutes by clumsily walking on his first post up move. A tough career for Kwame and never the player that he could have been.

Only a few days now until the Suns take on the Thunder… why not download NBA Scoreboard for Firefox in the meantime?

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Blazers 77, Thunder 89

Saturday, February 13th, 2010

The Oklahoma City Thunder steamed into the All-Star break with a hard-fought 89-77 win over the Portland Trailblazers. Behind a strong fourth quarter at both ends of the floor, the Thunder improved on their impressive road record and earned Kevin Durant his first win at the Rose Garden.

Durant was cold shooting after scoring the Thunder’s first handful of points in a fast 6-0 start. But riding on the back of stifling team defense in the fourth, he lit up the Blazers and took the game away down the stretch. Durant will make his first All-Star appearance on Sunday for the Western Conference and is leading the league in scoring with Cleveland’s Lebron James.

The beaten-down Trailblazers, whose only scoring option in the fourth was veteran Andre Miller, picked themselves up on the following night to beat the Suns in Phoenix, snapping the Suns’ five game winning streak. These games further muddy the playoff picture in the West.

Heading into the All-Star break, the Spurs, Thunder, Suns and Blazers are separated by only one game in the standings. Yet it is the Thunder, with a six game winning streak, who take the most momentum into the second half of the season. And let’s not forget, Oklahoma City might just be a quiet player at the trade deadline on Thursday, with cap space, draft picks and expiring contracts.

My expectation continues to build for the Suns-Thunder game after the break.

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Thunder 106, Hawks 99

Saturday, February 6th, 2010

The Oklahoma City Thunder delivered a season sweep to the Atlanta Hawks on their first appearance on One HD this season, closing out an entertaining game 106-99. Durant, Westbrook and Green all starred for the Thunder, whose young roster continues to rise in the Western Conference.

This was my first chance to see Kevin Durant play, and he is just as reported. Tall, long, mobile with a sweet shot, athletic around the rim, smart with and without the ball and a deserving All-Star selection. I was also watching the game with a view towards the crucial matchup with the Suns later in February, and I made some scouting notes.

  • Grant Hill managed to slow down Nowitzki in the Suns-Mavs game last week, and he’ll probably get first crack at Durant. Dudley and Amundson will probably share the duties off the bench. With Durant sharing the scoring title with Carmelo Anthony at this point, there’s no chance to shut him down. However, good defense can limit his opportunities to make his team-mates better.
  • There is no-one on the Suns’ roster who can stay with Westbrook. Watching Russell push the ball, attack the boards and run the team was great, but is bad news for Nash and Dragic.
  • Offensive rebounding was a big part of the Thunder’s win over the Hawks, and the Suns will have to limit second chance points.

There is more Thunder on the way for NBA fans. Follow all the NBA games with the NBA Scoreboard addon for Firefox.

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