Monday, March 28, 2011
Raptors Willing to Trade Andrea Bargnani?
The NY Daily News speculates that Toronto would be willing to move Bargnani, and build around DeMar DeRozan and Ed Davis (huh?): “Despite Toronto losing Chris Bosh and making little progress this season, team president Bryan Colangelo is returning to run the team, according the several league sources. That could be good news for D’Antoni, whose offense has been a bad fit for [Carmelo] Anthony. D’Antoni, who worked under Colangelo in Phoenix, might be out of a job if Walsh leaves the Knicks at season’s end. For now, the Raptors plan to bring back coach Jay Triano, despite their awful season. But if D’Antoni becomes available, Triano could be jettisoned. Whether it’s D’Antoni or Triano, the Raptors want to build around rookie big-man Ed Davis and second-year guard DeMar DeRozan. They’re said to be open to moving Andrea Bargnani, who has been anything but an impact player since entering the league in 2007 as the No. 1 overall pick.”
Skeen’s call its, he was right from the start!
By Jason King,
Jamie Skeen’s decision to transfer from Wake Forest to Virginia Commonwealth three years ago wasn’t exactly well received within his inner circle.
“Friends, family, associates,” Skeen said. “Everyone kept telling me it was a terrible decision.”
Now those same people are asking Skeen for tickets to the Final Four, which is where Skeen and the Rams are headed following Sunday’s 71-61 upset of No. 1 seed Kansas at the Alamodome.
VCU's Jamie Skeen raised his game against Kansas and was voted the Most Outstanding Performer of the Southwest Regional.
(Tony Gutierrez/AP Photo)
(Tony Gutierrez/AP Photo)
“I’m not satisfied,” Skeen said. “We’ve still got two games left. People think that because we [beat Kansas], that we’re going to settle for just making it to the Final Four.
“I’m not settling at all. I’m not satisfied. I want to win two more games and win the whole thing. That’s when y’all will see me smiling and jumping all over the place.”
Whether he admits it or not, the 6-foot-9, 240-pound Skeen has to feel fortunate to even be in this position. The former North Carolina Mr. Basketball averaged a collective 6.6 points and 4.4 rebounds in two seasons at Wake Forest from 2006-08. But he was declared academically ineligible for the fall semester of his junior year.
Even though he likely would’ve played a prominent role, Skeen opted not to rejoin the Demon Deacons once his academics were in order. He announced in December 2008 that he was leaving the program to seek opportunities elsewhere.
Not long after that, he resurfaced at Virginia Commonwealth.
“People thought I was washed up,” Skeen said. “They thought my college career was going to be done before I even went to VCU. But I’d seen the future, and I knew VCU had a future for me.”
Skeen noted that Eric Maynor, a guard for the NBA’s Oklahoma City Thunder, played for VCU. So did Larry Sanders, who was selected in the first round of last summer’s draft by the Milwaukee Bucks.
“I figured, ‘Why not try to be that third person?’” Skeen said. “That’s been my dream my whole life, to make it to the NBA.”
Sunday’s performance may have helped Skeen take a major step toward achieving those aspirations. Gaudy as Skeen’s stat line may have been, it was even more impressive considering it came against Kansas twins Marcus and Markieff Morris – each of whom project as top 15 selections in this summer’s draft.
A Charlotte native, Skeen entered Sunday’s contest averaging 15.1 points and 7.3 rebounds. But he took his game to another level against the Morris brothers.
“It was his time,” VCU guard Ed Nixon said. “We felt like he’s just as good – if not better – than the Morris brothers. He had something to prove. He definitely did it.
“He wasn’t being more vocal. Skeen isn’t really one of our vocal leaders. But he was focused. You could see in his eyes that he was ready to go.”
Jamie Skeen (R) more than held his own against Kansas' Marcus Morris.
(Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
(Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
Skeen had made just 29 3-pointers before Sunday’s game. Against Kansas he went 4-of-7 from beyond the arc. Four of his 10 rebounds were on the offensive end, and he helped pester Markieff Morris into a season-high eight turnovers.
“I love to play against NBA talent,” Skeen said. “I want to be in the NBA one day myself, so I want to see how good I can be going against NBA talent. Today we were able to see. I matched up pretty well with them.”
One of the biggest plays of the game came when Skeen was fouled while shooting a 3-pointer with his team leading by two points with about 13 minutes remaining. Skeen hit two of his three free-throw attempts to stretch the cushion to four, and Kansas never posed much of a threat from that point forward.
By the time Skeen returned to the locker room following the win, his cell phone already had already been flooded with messages from friends, family and well-wishers.
“Now they’ve had a change of heart,” said Skeen, laughing. “Everyone who said it was a stupid decision for me to come to VCU is jumping on the bandwagon. I don’t get mad. We’re accepting passengers.
“There’s still room.”
Jay-Z visits the Kentucky locker room after Sunday’s victory
As if securing their program's first Final Four berth since 1998 weren't excitement enough for Kentucky players, the Wildcats had a surprise guest waiting for them outside their locker room after Sunday's victory over North Carolina.
Rap mogul Jay-Z surprised the players by shaking hands, snapping photos and congratulating Kentucky on its accomplishment."That in itself was a pretty nice experience to add on to (the Final Four)," guard Darius Miller told the Louisville Courier Journal. "Going to the Final Four (is bigger) by far. But still, Jay-Z. It's crazy. This whole day has been crazy. I'm still taking it all in."
The visit from Jay-Z was reminiscent of last year's NCAA tournament when rapper Drake would regularly show up in the Kentucky locker room after victories. He later invited the Wildcats on stage during an offseason show in Lexington, also leading a C-A-T-S cheer and performing the John Wall dance on stage.
The association with celebrities like Ashley Judd, Drake and LeBron James is another perk Calipari can emphasize to give Kentucky an advantage on the recruiting trail. Just like the Showtime Lakers attracted players and fans because of their ties to Hollywood, Kentucky is quickly becoming college basketball's answer to that.
The presence of Jay-Z was certainly enough to excite freshman forward Terrence Jones on Sunday.
"I said, 'Oh that's Jay-Z!'" Jones told the Courier-Journal. "We all gave him a handshake and he came in the locker room, and we just kept screaming 'Jay-Z in the locker room!' He congratulated us, just said he was proud of us."
VCU Shocks the Basketball World
Shaka Smart and VCU shocked the world by topping Kansas, but they didn't shock themselves.
Lakers losing TV money if Kings move?
The site reports that the Lakers signed a 20-year television deal with Time Warner Cable last month that would "distribute Lakers games and original programming across two regional sports networks in HD that will include the nation's first Spanish-language regional sports network."
The site notes that "some reports ... pegged the value of the pact at $3 billion," though both the Lakers and Time Warner have denied that figure. Whatever the amount, sources tell ESPN Los Angeles that the "deal will decrease by about just under 10 percent" if another NBA team moves into the region.
Let the rumors come to you. Follow Deq'ster on Twitter
Heats Big 3 scored 30 EACH! against the Rockets
MIAMI (AP)—With the playoffs looming, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh are finding a new gear.
And they accomplished something Sunday that hadn’t been done in more than 50 years.
Each of them had 30-10 nights—James with 33 points and 10 rebounds, Bosh had 31 points and 12 rebounds, and Wade shook off a bruised tailbone to finish with 30 points and 11 boards—as the Miami Heat beat the Houston Rockets 125-119 for their eighth win in nine games.
It was the first time since February 1961 that three teammates finished with at least 30 points and 10 rebounds in a non-overtime game.
“Unbelievable,” James said.
“That’s why we get paid the big bucks,” Wade said.
The last time a team had three players score 30 in the same game was Feb. 26, 2010, when Houston had Martin, Aaron Brooks and Scola combine for 94 against San Antonio. Before that, you’d have to go back all the way to Nov. 14, 1997, when Portland’s Isaiah Rider, Brian Grant and Arvydas Sabonis all had 30-plus points and 10 or more rebounds in a quadruple-overtime win over Phoenix.
But doing it in regulation, the last time that happened was a half-century ago, when Oscar Robertson, Jack Twyman and Wayne Embry—Hall of Famers all— did it for the Cincinnati Royals in a loss to the Philadelphia Warriors.
“One of the things we talked about when we came together was making history,” Bosh said.Mike Bibby added 14 points for the Heat, who beat Houston by the same score on Dec. 29.
Kevin Martin scored 29 points, Luis Scola added 28 and Kyle Lowry—who tweaked an ankle late—had 25 points, nine assists and seven rebounds for the Rockets. Chase Budinger scored 16 for Houston, which had a five-game winning streak snapped.
“We started man-to-man and Wade and James just ran by us,” Rockets coach Rick Adelman said. “Then we went to a zone and we knew that was going to be a problem. Even then, we didn’t put a body on people. We were trying to keep them from getting the easy opportunities and we didn’t do it.”
Wade sealed it with 33 seconds left, taking a handoff from James and making a left-handed layup while getting knocked into a row of courtside photographers for a 120-115 lead. The Heat never trailed in the fourth quarter, taking the lead for good when James Jones made three free throws with 9:22 remaining.
The Rockets are 0-3 when trying to win six straight games this season, and haven’t had a run of that many wins since February 2009.
“We gave everything we had,” Martin said. “We just didn’t execute well enough.”
The Heat noticed late in the game that Bosh had 28 points, and after Miami’s star trio combined for 91 points Friday in a win over Philadelphia, they talked about what it would be like for each of them to score 30.
That chance came exactly one game later. And Bosh needed two trips to the foul line, but he got it done—only to learn afterward of the historical ramifications.
“That’s what makes great players special,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “They can be great during the year and still find another gear and another level to go to. I think that’s what you’re seeing with those three guys.”
It wasn’t anywhere near as easy as their stat lines would indicate.
Scola played off James at the top of the key with 3:35 left, the two-time reigning MVP made a stepback jumper, and the Heat lead was 116-106. Lowry tipped in his own missed layup with 51 seconds remaining to get Houston within 118-115, but Wade came through on the next Miami possession, and the Heat survived.
“Too many points,” Scola said. “When you play a team with Bosh, James and Wade, that’s very dangerous.”
Much like the 125-119 Heat win at Houston earlier this season, this was another track meet. Miami’s 38 first-quarter points were its second-highest total of the season—and Houston’s 37 points after 12 minutes were the third-most the Heat had given up this season.
It was 71-68 at the half, Miami’s highest-scoring opening two quarters in more than five years.
Still, it didn’t provide much of a cushion.
The bigger concern was Wade, who bruised his tailbone after appearing to trip over teammate Juwan Howard’s feet while trying to grab an offensive rebound midway through the second. He finished the half, but missed the first 7 1/2 minutes of the third quarter while being tended to in the Miami locker room.
And the Rockets took advantage.
Martin had 11 points in the third quarter, nine coming in an 89-second span. He made a 3-pointer with 5:20 left in the period, slapping his hands in frustration and yelling that he got fouled. So he drew shooting fouls on each of Houston’s next two possessions, including one while shooting a 3 with 4:30 left. He made all three foul shots and the Rockets were up 87-81.
That’s when Wade returned, and Miami got a spark.
The Heat closed the quarter on a 12-4 run over the final 3:17, capped by James blowing past Patrick Patterson for a dunk that knotted the game at 93 entering the fourth.
Red Hot lakers, look out Spurs
The Spurs should look over their shoulders. Kobe Bryant and the Lakers are 15-1 since the All-Star break.
Friday, March 25, 2011
Bron Bron Feels the pain The New Yorkers have in their belly
The New York Knicks have lost nine of 16 games in the month since they traded four players and several draft picks for Denver's Carmelo Anthony and Chauncey Billups. The team has slowed down offensively, the group's defense has taken a major hit and New York's fourth-quarter defense has dropped to shockingly poor levels.
All sorts of excuses abound, but the team can't argue losses away. And, quite a ways south, another member of a much-anticipated team is feeling New York's pain. LeBron James digs what those Knicks are going through, even if one of New York's seven wins came against Miami.He explained as much to ESPN on Thursday:
"I know exactly what he's going through right now," James said, of Anthony's more-difficult-than-expected indoctrination with the Knicks. "I understand exactly what he's been saying. Do the people, the fans and the media in New York want to hear that? I don't think so. But I know exactly what it means. And it's going to take time. Everybody knows we were 9-8. We had to figure things out. And we're still figuring things out. Once they figure it out, it'll be fine. It's not going to be a bed of roses."In some ways, the Knicks have had it tougher. The team didn't have a summer for the coaching staff to prepare to work with this roster. It didn't have a full training camp to work with or a preseason. One day they had a pretty full, above average roster, and the next day it was missing a huge chunk, despite the newly added presence of Carmelo Anthony and Chauncey Billups.
Then again, Anthony and Amar'e Stoudemire aren't great all-around players like James and Dwyane Wade. And the Heat started 9-8 even with the benefit of that training camp and preseason, even if Wade missed most of it. And the Heat are still struggling as we enter spring. See, now I'm getting angry at the Heat and the Knicks.
Let's go back to James:
"People think that just because you put great talent together that it's automatically going to work from the start," James told ESPN.com, about the similarities between the Heat and Knicks. "But it doesn't work like that. It takes time for chemistry. It takes time for cohesiveness. It takes time for people to understand where you like the ball, where you want the ball. And it starts with building those relationships off the court."By most accounts James, Wade and Chris Bosh aren't exactly shopping for belts together; but, whatever. Get chummy off the court, Carmelo and Amar'e.
Sure, we've probably expected too much from these respective teams right out of the gate. Perhaps we were spoiled by a Boston Celtics team from 2007-08 that was completely re-made, adding two stars to one that was already there, shooting from nearly the league-worst record in 2007 to a championship in 2008. Or the current Bulls team, which added about 42 new players and a new coaching staff before shooting to the top of the East.
But by all means, New York and Miami, keep your heads up. You'll always have those awesome player introduction/news conferences to look back upon.
Alonzo Mourning stops busy Miami traffic to assist a pedestrian
During his NBA playing career, Alonzo Mourning was known for his long frame, exquisite timing and defensive footwork. It allowed the 6-foot-10 center to rank as one of the more destructive defense forces of his generation, with a Hall of Fame career only partially curtailed by a kidney disease that eventually required a transplant.
He was also a very good screener, getting in the way of opposing point men in order to allow teammate Tim Hardaway (who struggled with bad knees after several operations) a clear look at the rim.Right around noon on Friday, in downtown Miami, shocked drivers on the city's busy US 1 road got to see both elements in action.
Apparently, Mourning dashed out of his truck and into traffic to act as a crossing guard for a pedestrian who needed the assistance. Mauricio Maldonado of the Sun Sentinel has the report:
Mourning's vehicle had been sitting in traffic on the right lane, when he spotted a disabled person sitting in a motorized wheelchair along the curb. Mourning jumped out of his SUV, stood in the road and stopped traffic by raising his long arms, while the wheelchair-bound pedestrian made it to the median. Then, the seven-time NBA All-Star immediately went to the southbound lanes and raised his arms to command stunned drivers to stop. All traffic movement instantly stopped, and the wheelchair safely made it to the other side.That's easily the coolest thing we've read all day, and knowing Mourning? It seems kind of typical. His gait, his determination, his quick thinking, and those long arms all add up to a story like this.
After making sure the citizen was safe on the other side of the road, Mourning lowered his arms and headed to his SUV to the sound of cheering fans, who recognized the 6-foot-10 temporary crossing guard.
The Miami Heat have been kind of lacking on the interior this season. Perhaps Zo has a few more reps left in him?
The Atlanta Hawks are falling apart
Though Atlanta is still eight games above .500, the group has lost 14 of 21 games as we come down the stretch, including three massive home blowout losses at the hands of the New Orleans Hornets, Philadelphia 76ers and Chicago Bulls. This, according to the AP, is some unprecedented stuff:
As a result, Atlanta has been blown out at home more often than any team with a winning record in NBA history. The Hawks have suffered five home losses by 20 or more points, including three by more than 30 points. Each ranks as the top total in NBA history for teams with winning records, according to STATS, LLC.The team is in a freefall mostly because it isn't shooting as well as it used to. Joe Johnson still has his moments but he isn't the sort of offensive force to build around, and while newly added Kirk Hinrick is making nearly half of his 3-pointers as a Hawk, everyone else seems to be falling short.
Worse? Everyone else seems to be falling into a bit of a funk. On record.
Joe Johnson?
The Hawks have no "sense of pride, a sense of urgency. … We should play for one another, but yet still we don't." And that "countless" players-only meetings meant to stir the echoes have "meant nothing."
Al Horford?
"We just have to be mentally stronger."
Coach Larry Drew?
His team is "a little fragile right now," and the Hawks "have got to heal, more so mentally than physically."
Josh Smith?
"When you don't help each other, it gets contagious. We just didn't show any kind of resistance."
Blair Rasmussan?
"Nobody on this team even asked after I put up that flyer offering free kittens. One of them is a calico, too. So cute."
Ken Norman?
"I'm still blaming Lenny Wilkens."
Eldridge Recasner?
"I'm pretty sure Zaza Pachulia is stealing from my locker. At the very least, he's gaslighting me. I'm really creeped out."
Zaza Pachulia?
"I'm totally stealing from Eldridge Recasner."
OK, the last few were more or less made up (figure those out yourself), but you get the picture. The Hawks are a rudderless ship that doesn't know how to react when NBA teams go on their inevitable 12-2 runs. It's been the case for years, as the Hawks have often led the NBA in good-team blowouts, and it's not likely to stop anytime soon.
Derrick Rose, Pau Gasol to donate $1K for each point scored on Friday
It is a strange way to donate to charity, but you can't argue with the sentiment. Chicago's Derrick Rose and Los Angeles' Pau Gasol will be donating one thousand dollars to Japanese earthquake relief efforts for every point they score on Friday. Considering that Rose averages about 25 points per game, and Gasol about 19 a game, there could be some rather large checks being written later Friday night.
Rose and Gasol aren't alone. Atlanta Hawks All-Star , Memphis Grizzlies center , Washington's Javale McGee, high-scoring Portland big man LaMarcus Aldridge, and Oklahoma City All-Star Russell Westbrook will also be contributing at that rate.And if there is one thing to quibble over, it would have to be the point situation. Sorry for being the guy that brings this up, but we were all thinking about it.
Does this make Marc Gasol a jerk if he blocks one of Rose's shots on Friday night, when the Grizzlies play the Bulls? Should Westbrook be breaking plays to add up the funds? Both Rose and Pau are noted for their all-around play, Pau might be the best passing big man in the NBA, but should they be gunning? Couldn't these guys have just gone with a stock number? And what happens if they're in a blowout? Kind of a tough position to put a coach in, should they decide to rest legs and ward off potential injuries by taking these stars out during garbage time.
Players like Brian Scalabrine, DJ Augustin(, Jarron Collins, Jason Collins, Mike Dunleavy Jr., Tyreke Evans, Danilo Gallinari, Xavier Henry, Antawn Jamison(, Jason Kapono(, Quincy Pondexter, Etan Thomas and Ben Wallace have avoided this conflict by donating a set amount.
Chuck a few pieces of crumpled-up paper into the recycling bin, add to your point total, and make a donation of your own at Direct Relief.
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