alfdogg 0 Report post Posted December 27, 2004 National games Thu, TNT Miami @ Detroit, 8 PM ET (Pistons lead 1-0) San Antonio @ Portland, 10:30 PM ET Fri, ESPN2 Philadelphia @ Denver, 8 PM ET (76ers lead 1-0) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kurt Angle Mark 0 Report post Posted December 27, 2004 NBA Trade announced today Rockets get David Wesley from New Orleans for Jim Jackson and Nachbar Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MrRant 0 Report post Posted December 27, 2004 ESPN.com NBA Power Rankings 1 (1) Suns 24-3 Suns' last loss? Try Dec. 3. It therefore shouldn't be a surprise that this is the first team to maintain its hold on the top spot in the rankings since the regular season started. 2 (3) SuperSonics 19-5 It's not as good as Sandler and his SuperSonic-ahs, but it's my second-favorite Seattle line: Ray Ray calling the offense 'organized confusion.' One of the lines of the season so far. 3 (2) Spurs 22-6 Committee feels safe in saying that Spurs will win most nights if they keep scoring 96 a game. Another surprise: San Antonio is 7-2 on the second night of back-to-backs somehow. 4 (4) Heat 22-7 Heat should be feeling good about themselves. Miami's up to 6-5 vs. the West and, on top of Wade and Shaq, has two undrafted starters (D-Jones and Haslem) chipping in nicely. 5 (10) Magic 15-10 This is out-of-control high for the Magic, honestly, but the committee is having real issues these days after No. 4 with only four teams in the whole league on any kind of run. 6 (5) Timberwolves 16-10 Could this team be too deep? At just 8-5 in December, and with four straight road defeats, Flip has to be wondering. 7 (7) Pistons 13-12 It's only scant consolation, but at least it's something: Pistons are the only team in the East, and one of only three in the whole league, holding opponents under 90 ppg. 8 (6) Kings 17-9 This could be a problem. Kings have handled regular-season injuries better than anyone in the new millennium, but Sac's lack of depth faces a three-month test with B-Jax shelved. 9 (9) Cavaliers 16-11 So much for the pre-season supposition that McInnis and Snow couldn't co-exist in Cavsland. It's Silas and Snow; Shaq ain't the only one who hasn't buried the hatchet. 10 (8) Mavericks 18-10 From afar, Mavs just watched Nash total at least 10 assists in each game of Suns' 11-game win streak. The same Mavs who have (yikes) one double-digit assist game all season. 11 (11) Wizards 14-11 With Crawford down in NY, Arenas-Hughes is suddenly running as the league's undisputed No. 1 backcourt in terms of point production. It's a tad misleading, but Wiz'll take it. 12 (15) Celtics 12-14 As Celts continue to chase that elusive .500 record, indications are that Ainge isn't willing to deal Payton right now. But that could change as February approaches. 13 (16) Trail Blazers 13-12 Van Exel is making retirement noises again, and don't forget last season's vow from NVE. The one about retiring unless a Texas team tries to sign him as a free agent this summer. 14 (13) Nuggets 13-14 Nuggets could use some more steadiness in the New Year. They started off 1-4, then went 11-3 and are presently trying to extricate themselves from a 1-7 slide. 15 (12) Lakers 14-12 It's hard to believe, but Lakers insist it's true. They say the media turnout for Shaq-Kobe I was only comparable to a second-round playoff game. 16 (20) Pacers 12-13 Pacers have slipped below .500 for the first time all season. But, again, only Miami has pulled away in the East -- and Indy will keep rising, naturally, if O'Neal stays unsuspended. 17 (13) Knicks 14-13 Amid Isiah one-year anniversary celebrations, Knicks fall behind by 39 (AT THE HALF!) at home to Dallas, then blow one in Boston. An Isiah response must be forthcoming. 18 (17) Rockets 13-14 Even in the unlikely event that Atlanta's Barry does make a big different at the point, Rockets still have PF issues. Yao and T-Mac better start combining for 74 points more often. 19 (23) Nets 9-16 The sense here remains that Kidd gets traded . . . provided someone out there is willing to take on his contract. Denver, for example, is more inclined to use Nene as Redd bait. 20 (22) Bulls 9-16 A case can be made that we've been too tough on those Baby Bulls. With only two teams over .500 among the next eight games, they have a real chance to make it a stronger case. 21 (19) Clippers 12-13 You're not alone if you're starting to think that maybe, just maybe, Clips do owe their early success to that cushy home sked in November. They're a mere 3-7 this month. 22 (18) Grizzlies 12-17 If you're looking for a neato factoid to drop at your next holiday party: Fratello (Hubie) and P.J. Carlesimo (Adelman) are the only coaches ever to replace the same guy with two different teams. 23 (21) 76ers 11-14 Sixers have to be relieved that Iverson, at 29 and with that four-year extension kicking in next season, looks as deadly as ever. Because it's the only thing going right for them. 24 (25) Bobcats 7-16 The team that wasn't supposed to win 10 games all season had seven wins at Christmas. Which is probably the biggest reason why Okafor leads most ROY ballots. 25 (26) Raptors 10-19 Raps could really use hockey's return about now to distract the locals from this nagging question: T-Mac and now Vince are gone, and what has this franchise gotten in return? 26 (24) Jazz 11-16 Time for Kirilenko to renegotiate. Clearly AK-47 is deserving of a new contract . . . he might be worth more than the max to Jazz, who've stunned us by falling this far. 27 (27) Warriors 9-18 Warriors can't revel in Dampier's Dallas struggles because the center they did re-sign (Foyle) is struggling worse. Hence Uncle Cliffy's emergence as the new C in GS. 28 (29) Hawks 5-20 He's not going to fill up Philips Arena, since no one can do that, but the rookie Smith is worth watching. Anyone who can block five Nowitzki shots in one game gets me curious. 29 (28) Bucks 7-16 The more Bucks lose, the more you expect a Redd trade. Because even if the lefty ace wants to stay, is the Senator going to pay him max dollars to keep this team together? 30 (30) Hornets 2-24 There was a fear on Bourbon Street that Baron might sit out for months, with the season already gone. It's a bit too late to be a savior Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MrRant 0 Report post Posted December 27, 2004 Monday, December 27 New Orleans at Indiana 7:00 PM NY Knicks at Orlando 7:00 PM Charlotte at Washington 7:00 PM New Jersey at Detroit NBA TV 7:30 PM Atlanta at Miami 7:30 PM LA Clippers at Memphis 8:00 PM Seattle at Utah 9:00 PM Philadelphia at Portland 10:00 PM Denver at Golden State 10:30 PM Tuesday, December 28 Cleveland at Atlanta 7:30 PM Houston at Milwaukee NBA TV 8:00 PM New Jersey at Chicago 8:30 PM Boston at Dallas 8:30 PM Phoenix at San Antonio 8:30 PM Philadelphia at Seattle NBA TV 10:00 PM Toronto at LA Lakers 10:30 PM Wednesday, December 29 Houston at Cleveland 7:00 PM Milwaukee at Orlando 7:00 PM Detroit at Washington 7:00 PM Indiana at Charlotte 7:00 PM Minnesota at NY Knicks NBA TV 7:30 PM Phoenix at New Orleans 8:00 PM Boston at Memphis 8:00 PM Toronto at Golden State 10:30 PM Utah at LA Clippers 10:30 PM Thursday, December 30 Seattle at Atlanta 2:00 PM Indiana at New Jersey 7:30 PM Miami at Detroit TNT 8:00 PM San Antonio at Portland TNT 10:30 PM Friday, December 31 Washington at Boston 3:00 PM Seattle at Charlotte 7:00 PM Philadelphia at Denver ESPN2 8:00 PM Sacramento at Utah 8:00 PM San Antonio at LA Clippers 9:30 PM Milwaukee at Houston 10:00 PM Saturday, January 1 Charlotte at Miami 7:30 PM New Jersey at NY Knicks 7:30 PM Memphis at Minnesota 8:00 PM Orlando at Chicago NBA TV 8:30 PM Golden State at Portland 10:00 PM All times are Eastern. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MrRant 0 Report post Posted December 28, 2004 New Jersey is up 10 on Detroit at the half 48-38. Game is on NBA TV for those who have it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
The Electrifyer 0 Report post Posted December 28, 2004 Oh look at that: Carter ends the game hurting himself again. Colour me shocked! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Mindless_Aggression Report post Posted December 28, 2004 What an awful trade on Houston's part. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Precious Roy 0 Report post Posted December 28, 2004 What an awful trade on Houston's part. I disagree slightly, it's not great, but it's not awful either. I really like Jim Jackson, he's matured into a great role player, and Nachjbar has shown potential, but Houston wasn't performing, Jackson didn't mesh with McGrady the way he did with Francis/Mobley, they needed a change, and Wesley seems like a good fit for that team, at least for the rest of this season. He can play the 1 or 2 and is a solid defender, and at the end of the day he's a much better option at the 1 than anyone they had. A Wesley-Sura backcourt has promise, moreso than a Sura-Jackson backcourt where neither guy was able to really initiate the offense. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Mindless_Aggression Report post Posted December 28, 2004 The thing is, Wesley is a guy who needs shots. Granted, so is Jim Jackson, but Jackson is at the point where you know he'll give you good numbers every night if he's getting looks. He very rarely has games where he gives you nothing, is a better rebounder and a respectable defender and even his assists are comparable with Wesley's. His shooting percentages across the board are superior and he averages just as many points on a lot less shots. I dunno, just not liking that trade at all. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Precious Roy 0 Report post Posted December 28, 2004 I agree with what you said, but the key to this trade and how IMO Houston looked at it is that their team offense has struggled and Wesley is a guy who has proven he can run an offense and distribute the ball, even though he's a downgrade in certain areas. Jackson is a 2/3 and can't handle the ball well at all, Sura can handle the ball but needs help and struggle against pressure, and T-Mac can handle the ball but they don't want him having to run the offense as it takes away from his strengths. Wesley takes pressure off of Sura, matches Jackson's shooting in general, and allows for them to not have to rely on Lue and Ward at the point, neither of whom is capable of being a consistent PG. Wesley alone is not the answer at point, but a Wesley-Sura backcourt will be more effective than a Sura-Jackson one given that the goal is to setup Yao and McGrady, and IMO Wesley compliments McGrady/Yao more than Jackson, though not taking that into account I think Jackson is the better overall player and should improve New Orleans' team, especially if Baron Davis manages to stay healthy now. I think this trade improves Houston in the short-term, though they obviously still need upgrades in the backcourt over the next few years. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
The Czech Republic 0 Report post Posted December 28, 2004 It feels like Bulls games are more spread out than other teams'. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ripper 0 Report post Posted December 29, 2004 I still think that the Wesley/Jackson trade was unbelievably bad for Houston. Okay, you take wesley, a decent shooter, not that good of a point guard, undersized, bad defender and give up your, and this is a point made my alot of the Rockets players after the trade, most consistant player on the team. He is probably the top perimeter defender, the most consistant shooter and scorer, can rebound, pass and handles the ball very well. So basically, he gives you all of wesleys pluses, without the minuses. Take into account that the Rockets JUST traded for Jon Barry, who is basically the exact same player as Wesley, and the trade makes even less sense. So in Sura, Wesley, and Barry, they have 3 guy s that they will probably be using at the point, all of which are 2 guards. Sura is the best one of the group defensively, rebounding and ball handling wise, but compared to Jackson, it just doesn't add up. I am just not sure at all what is up with this trade. On the NBA frount, I am happy that Phoenix lost that game to San Antonio, because they were (outside of Steve Nash and the coach) developing this attitude that they were invincible. They hadn't suffered a REAL lost yet (the biggest lost was 5 points in overtime and the other two were by 4 points combined) They needed this one and against a great team like the spurs makes it even better. I am interested to see how they bounce back against the Hornets tonight. Greg Popovich gave a clinic in coaching last night, running steve Nash around the court on offence and over a million screens to wear him out and slow down the phoenix fast break game. Amare Stodimire florished in the half court game(37 points) due to the Spurs not doubling and staying at homeon the shooters thus negating that spurtabliliy that the suns have. I wish Barosa would have seen more minutes against parker, as I think Barosa is probably one of the quickest guys in the league and a great, long armed defender that could have at least made Parker work. overall, great coached game and played game for the spurs and a big slice of humble pie for the Suns, although I am not going to be one of the naysayers that are coming out of the woodworks today screaming about "See, the suns aren't really that good!!!" I mean they had to lose eventually. Still....24-4....oh yes... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
alfdogg 0 Report post Posted December 29, 2004 I am interested to see how they bounce back against the Hornets tonight. I'm sure the loss wasn't that devestating. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ripper 0 Report post Posted December 29, 2004 I am interested to see how they bounce back against the Hornets tonight. I'm sure the loss wasn't that devestating. This is the perfect game to completely overlook the competition though and.... ... Yeah...who am I kidding. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Precious Roy 0 Report post Posted December 30, 2004 Baron Davis is back, and don't forget that they have the almighty Jim Jackson Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest news_gimmick Report post Posted December 30, 2004 Apparantly Jackson is thrilled with the trade so far. http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=1955290 I don't blame him one bit, to be honest. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kurt Angle Mark 0 Report post Posted December 30, 2004 and don't forget that they have the almighty Jim Jackson Actually they don't. Hornets suspended him indefinately for not reporting to the team Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
EVIL~! alkeiper 0 Report post Posted December 30, 2004 And here I thought the trade couldn't possibly make the Hornets worse. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Precious Roy 0 Report post Posted December 30, 2004 Hahahahahha, real classy Jim Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cuban Linx 0 Report post Posted December 30, 2004 After Charlotte got a promising new expansion team New Orleans fans (all 12 of them) must be hoping someone shitcans the Hornets and starts over, the Hornets will be lucky to get even 10 wins the way they're going. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
EVIL~! alkeiper 0 Report post Posted December 30, 2004 I glanced at Baron Davis' game log. He hasn't been able to help, as the Hornets are still 0-8 when he plays. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
alfdogg 0 Report post Posted December 30, 2004 This is my favorite part of the article "Nobody wants to go from having a chance to be in the playoffs to the worst team in the league, Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
EVIL~! alkeiper 0 Report post Posted December 30, 2004 Looking over Jackson's career record, he's been on some truly awful teams. The mid-90s Mavericks, the 97-97 Golden State Warriors, the 1999-2001 Atlanta Hawks, and the 2001-02 Miami Heat, to name a few. He finally makes a good club for a few years, and he gets traded to a 2-25 team. I'm sure I'd be thrilled as well. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bobobrazil1984 0 Report post Posted December 30, 2004 Wash/Detroit was a fun game, but it was pretty much the prototypical Pistons 04-05 game. Play sluggishly, get down by anywhere from 12-20 points, spend the 2nd half sparking a comeback. I'd say a good 80% of their games have follwed this pattern. This time it was 16 or 19 (i forget which) but they cranked it up in the 2nd half, playing the kind of basketball that won last year, and scraped a win. still having a hard time putting it together for a whole game though. They've still got it but its definetly not consistent. Home game against Miamo tomorrow, nationwide on TNT. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Vitamin X Report post Posted December 30, 2004 Hey metro, that's exactly how every almost every single one of the Lakers' losses has been as well. And I know that once their opponent hits 100 points, I know we're fucked (0-12 or something similar in games where the opponent doesn't hit 100), but oh well. Thr Heat loss was probably the one I'm most proud of though because in all certainty they should have won as they were leading or tied with the momentum until the very end, which sucked but oh well. And they kept that 100 points or below streak going againt Toronto, who LA beat 117-99. Heh. One more point and the Raptors could have sparked a comeback. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kurt Angle Mark 0 Report post Posted December 30, 2004 Nice win by the Clippers tonight against the struggling Jazz 101-90. This is only the 3rd time the Clips have beaten the Jazz in the last 24 games between them. Now the Spurs come to town on Friday, and hopefully the Clips can somehow find a way to win to finish the Calendar year at .500 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Damaramu 0 Report post Posted December 30, 2004 Lebron James took a nasty elbow to the eye tonight and had to leave the game. That sucks for him. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
The Czech Republic 0 Report post Posted December 30, 2004 Hornets have gotta go. George Shinn and New Orleans are both bad for the NBA. Look at the empty seats! It's insane. If they're not out of town by 2006 something is messed up. With attendance so bad maybe they'll bail now if they move briskly. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
EVIL~! alkeiper 0 Report post Posted December 30, 2004 16,905 was the paid attendance for last night's game. I would guess that many of those are season ticket holders, who are counted towards attendance even if they don't show up. They're ok for this year, but come the offseason we'll see what happens. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mike546 0 Report post Posted December 30, 2004 Knicks are still teasing me with an awesome victory over the Wolves last night. Marbury just fucking took over in the 4th quarter, with K. Thomas, Sweetney, and JYD basically shutting down Garnett. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
