This week in the NBA

[alfdogg 0]

Sun, Mar. 18

Toronto @ New York, 12:00

Dallas @ Detroit, 3:30 ABC

LA Clippers @ New Jersey, 6:00

Orlando @ Miami, 6:00

Houston @ Philadelphia, 6:00

Minnesota @ LA Lakers, 8:00 ESPN

Seattle @ Portland, 9:00

 

Mon, Mar. 19

Sacramento @ Atlanta, 7:00

Boston @ NO/OK, 8:00

 

Tue, Mar. 20

Denver @ New Jersey, 7:00 TNT

Cleveland @ Charlotte, 7:00

Dallas @ New York, 7:30

Philadelphia @ Detroit, 7:30

NO/OK @ Memphis, 8:00

LA Clippers @ Chicago, 8:30

Golden State @ Utah, 9:00

Indiana @ Houston, 9:30 TNT

Minnesota @ Phoenix, 10:00

Washington @ Portland, 10:00

 

Wed, Mar. 21

Orlando @ Toronto, 7:00

Miami @ Atlanta, 7:00

Charlotte @ Boston, 7:30

Dallas @ Cleveland, 8:00 ESPN

LA Clippers @ Milwaukee, 8:00

Indiana @ San Antonio, 8:00

Minnesota @ Sacramento, 10:00

Washington @ Seattle, 10:00

 

Thu, Mar. 22

Portland @ New York, 7:30

LA Lakers @ Memphis, 8:00

Denver @ Chicago, 8:30

Detroit @ Houston, 8:30

Sacramento @ Phoenix, 10:00

 

Fri, Mar. 23

Denver @ Toronto, 7:00

Charlotte @ Philadelphia, 7:00

New Jersey @ Orlando, 7:00

Miami @ Indiana, 7:00

Dallas @ Boston, 7:30

Portland @ Atlanta, 7:30

New York @ Cleveland, 7:30

LA Lakers @ NO/OK, 8:00

Detroit @ San Antonio, 8:00

Utah @ LA Clippers, 10:30

Washington @ Golden State, 10:30

Minnesota @ Seattle, 10:30

 

Sat, Mar. 24

New Jersey @ Charlotte, 7:00

Philadelphia @ Miami, 7:30

Memphis @ Utah, 9:00

Washington @ LA Clippers, 10:30

[alfdogg 0]

 

Jerry West.

[alfdogg 0]

Ainge fined for contact with Durant's mother

 

BOSTON, March 18, 2007 (AP) -- The Boston Celtics confirmed Sunday that the team had been fined $30,000 by the NBA for excessive contact with the family of Texas star freshman and likely lottery draft pick Kevin Durant.

 

General manager Danny Ainge sat next to Durant's mother during the Big 12 tournament. The league said Ainge violated rules demanding that contact be kept to a minimum between team executives and potential NBA draft picks, until college players officially declare for the draft.

 

Sports Illustrated first reported the story on its Web site.

 

Celtics spokesman Jeff Twiss said Ainge is on the road scouting players and he did not offer specifics of the fine.

 

The Celtics won in San Antonio for the first time in 17 years Saturday, topping the Spurs 91-85. At 20-46 on the year, the team has the league's second-worst record behind the Memphis Grizzlies.

[Guest]

Heh, kinda thought something would come of that.

[Guest]

Just to mention, Kobe has 38. He is forcing the team to win, even through their suck. It's Kobe ball again. Still want to know how Bynum has only 8 minutes.

[Ripper 0]

So I was at the Atlanta curb stomping of Sacramento last night and I got to tell ya, they need to come up with a team policy that says Ron Artest isn't allowed to touch the ball on offense. You can literally see the offense come to a screeching halt as soon as the ball makes contact with his hads. He was determined to shoot over Josh Smith which led to blocks, steals and just badly missed shots and Atlanta just kept running. Whenever he sat down, the Kings would make a run. Then Musselman left him in the entire 3rd quarter and they scored 8 points...the entire quarter.

 

This is no exaggeration. I think that the Kings would have won this game had Artest not played....and they were losing by 30 most of it. That is a huge turn around. I will take it though.

[alfdogg 0]

I kinda knew Dunleavy was due for an off night, but Jesus.

[Just John 0]

That was a good win, but not a good game, for the Rockets tonight. Both teams played poorly for the first three quarters, only showing flashes of competence. Lots of stupid turnovers, fouls, poor rebounding, you name it. Thankfully the Rockets were able to turn on the afterburners and play a pretty decent 4th quarter to pull away. Even though they weren't sharp most of the game, I always feel good about their chances in an ugly, defensive struggle. Their good team defense and the big-shot capability of T-Mac usually gives them the edge in a game like this, as demonstrated tonight.

[Mr. S£im Citrus 0]

So I was at the Atlanta curb stomping of Sacramento last night and I got to tell ya, they need to come up with a team policy that says Ron Artest isn't allowed to touch the ball on offense. You can literally see the offense come to a screeching halt as soon as the ball makes contact with his hads. He was determined to shoot over Josh Smith which led to blocks, steals and just badly missed shots and Atlanta just kept running. Whenever he sat down, the Kings would make a run. Then Musselman left him in the entire 3rd quarter and they scored 8 points...the entire quarter.

 

This is no exaggeration. I think that the Kings would have won this game had Artest not played....and they were losing by 30 most of it. That is a huge turn around. I will take it though.

You greatly overestimate Sacramento.

 

I missed my prediction of a six-game losing streak by one...

[Cheech Tremendous 0]

So I was at the Atlanta curb stomping of Sacramento last night and I got to tell ya, they need to come up with a team policy that says Ron Artest isn't allowed to touch the ball on offense. You can literally see the offense come to a screeching halt as soon as the ball makes contact with his hads. He was determined to shoot over Josh Smith which led to blocks, steals and just badly missed shots and Atlanta just kept running. Whenever he sat down, the Kings would make a run. Then Musselman left him in the entire 3rd quarter and they scored 8 points...the entire quarter.

 

This is no exaggeration. I think that the Kings would have won this game had Artest not played....and they were losing by 30 most of it. That is a huge turn around. I will take it though.

You greatly overestimate Sacramento.

 

I missed my prediction of a six-game losing streak by one...

I still think the Kings are going to find a way to get that last playoff spot. They're not good, but they are better than Golden State, LAC or New Orleans.

[Guest]

They've got 3 teams to climb over and a hellish schedule. I don't think so.

[Mr. S£im Citrus 0]

So I was at the Atlanta curb stomping of Sacramento last night and I got to tell ya, they need to come up with a team policy that says Ron Artest isn't allowed to touch the ball on offense. You can literally see the offense come to a screeching halt as soon as the ball makes contact with his hads. He was determined to shoot over Josh Smith which led to blocks, steals and just badly missed shots and Atlanta just kept running. Whenever he sat down, the Kings would make a run. Then Musselman left him in the entire 3rd quarter and they scored 8 points...the entire quarter.

 

This is no exaggeration. I think that the Kings would have won this game had Artest not played....and they were losing by 30 most of it. That is a huge turn around. I will take it though.

You greatly overestimate Sacramento.

 

I missed my prediction of a six-game losing streak by one...

I still think the Kings are going to find a way to get that last playoff spot. They're not good, but they are better than Golden State, LAC or New Orleans.

No they're not. I've watched every Kings game this season, most of the Hornets and Clippers games, and a good deal of Warriors games. The Kings are easily the worst of the bunch.

[Guest]

Kobe with 60. Only Wilt has more 60 point games, and Jordan is the only other player with 4.

 

Kobe's shot over 50% over this 65, 50 and 60 point game stretch.

 

Figured it was worth a mention.

[iggymcfly 0]

Kobe's sick. It's kind of amazing that he's got that whole other gear when he really wants to take over the offense. I still think Dirk's the MVP this year when you add in rebounding and getting teammates involved, but as a pure scorer, Kobe's easily the best since Jordan in his prime.

[Ripper 0]

It is fun to watch him carry the Lakers into the playoffs. But when they get their spot solidified, I think he needs to pull back and go back to that team based winning they were doing early in the year, because I just don't think they could win a series with him doing it all like this. They can win a series against pretty much anyone playing how they did at the start of last year and in that Phoenix series the year before.

 

Him going apeshit like this allows Walton and Odem to work themselves back in which is good. I wouldn't want to play them in the first round.

[Guest Queen Leelee]

Hey, Kobe once again is racking up the shot attempts vs. the dregs of the league. MVP! MVP!

[Coffin Surfer 0]

Kobe's scoring streak is no doubt impressive but yeah, it would be nice if it was against contenders in more important games.

[USC Wuz Robbed! 0]

Yeah Jordan hit 63 against Celtics in the playoffs. I'd still put his performances over Kobe's for now.

[Guest]

I think our team's so shitty that he's going to have to do this in the playoffs. He said some shit about now that Odom and Luke are back, he doesn't have to try to create shots for other people, and that Lamar and Luke's passing ability will allow him and others to get better shots.

 

I'm gonna pull a wait and see on this one. Our defense is such bullshit that he was making all those baskets and it didn't mean a thing. No way that Bynum's going to be kept this offseason. Not a chance. These games kinda are important, because I sure as fuck do not want to play Dallas and Phoenix. I still maintain that the Lakers would have a shot against the Spurs (because for some reason, our defense works well against them. I never really got that one) and the Jazz. Kinda wondering if he'll put up 50 tonight against the Hornets.

 

The league should hand out POTY awards too...

 

And on another note, the Kings are now 3.5 back. That's pretty much dust.

[Mr. S£im Citrus 0]

I don't know why anybody thought anything different; I knew this team wasn't going to make the playoffs when they HIRED Musselman, and I'm still pissed that they didn't bother to trade Thomas, Bibby, Artest and/or Miller before the deadline.

[MFer 0]

No way that Bynum's going to be kept this offseason. Not a chance.

Well then why didn't they make that deal for Kidd before?

[Guest]

That was before Bynum threw a crying shit fit at Phil and Kobe during the Minnesota game. He's been in the doghouse ever since.

 

Bynum doesn't have the fire that it takes to make it in the league. I like the guy a lot, but he's softer than a pillow.

 

The Kings really aren't a shitty team on paper. They just aren't deep enough and/or don't have the right system in place.

[Just John 0]

No way that Bynum's going to be kept this offseason. Not a chance. These games kinda are important, because I sure as fuck do not want to play Dallas and Phoenix. I still maintain that the Lakers would have a shot against the Spurs (because for some reason, our defense works well against them. I never really got that one) and the Jazz.

 

I thought Bynum was the future of the Laker franchise? I know he makes a lot of mistakes, but that can be attributed to him being young and inexperienced at the NBA level. Why do you want to give up on him so quickly? Look how it took Yao Ming 4 years to develop into a dominant center in the NBA.

 

As for their playoff chances, they won't be playing Utah unless Utah decides to move up because the Lakers sure as hell aren't going to make up 7.5 games on Houston with 13/14 to play. It looks like they'll play the Spurs, who I don't think they can beat, but they can have a decent series against. The reason is they have a team that is built to match up well with the Spurs. Same reason the Rockets can beat 'em with only one star on the floor. If you play good defense and have just one guy you can give the ball to for big shots, you can compete with San Antonio because they keep game so slow.

[Brett Favre 0]

Bynum is like what, 18? And you're already throwing him under the bus?

[Guest]

Man, when someone can't take a little criticism and starts crying, they deserve to be thrown under the bus. It doesn't matter what I think about him (because I love him thanks to that Shaq incident last year), but if Phil has his way, he'll get dealt.

 

Bynum fucked up an offensive play, got pulled and when Phil was starting to tell him what he did wrong, he blew up at everyone besides Kwame and Sasha and had a little crying fit. Fuck that.

 

I think Bynum's going to be a good 20 and 10 player, but if he had the competitive fire of a Dwight Howard or KG, he'd turn out to be a dominant player. That's honestly how I feel.

[Cheech Tremendous 0]

I don't even see why they are bothering with Bynum in the first place and I never have. What's the best case scenario for his development? He's just not ready to make an impact yet. It took Eddy Curry 5 or 6 years before he learned how to play basketball. I know Bynum's young and shows tons of potential, but it just seems like a waste to keep a roster spot open for a guy who's going to take so much time and energy to develop. Kobe needs teammates who can help him win now, not five years down the road. That roster is constructed so poorly for his strengths.

[Guest]

Exactly. Kobe will catch a case of Allen Iverson syndrome if this goes on for too much longer.

[Just John 0]

I'm kind of surprised Kobe didn't change teams a couple years back when the Lakers were clearly headed for re-building. If he jumped to Clippers as was rumored at one point, he could have had another championship by now.

 

He knew what he was getting into staying on the Lakers. If he wants to win a ring by himself, let him try.

[Mr. S£im Citrus 0]

The Kings really aren't a shitty team on paper. They just aren't deep enough and/or don't have the right system in place.

The Kings are a shitty team on paper, on the court, and everywhere else... the whole is actually LESS than the sum of their parts. They have a couple of guys that put up decent numbers, but anybody can look at that team and see how horribly mismatched their talent is.

[Guest]

I have a hard time saying that a team with Kevin Martin, Mike Bibby, Ron Artest and Brad Miller looks like shit on paper. But outside of those guys, they really do look like shit.

 

I just noticed that Brad Miller's averaging less than 10 points a game, and that really says a lot about why the team is in the position that it is. WOW.