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NBA Loud - by Evenard M. Panes

NBA Loud

Magic beat Cavs, sends Celtics to the top

January 30th 2009 19:06

Just when we thought that the Orlando Magic were exposed by the Boston Celtics as not close enough to be considered as title contenders a few days ago, the former simply silenced those who believed that notion in nearly a week later.

The Magic had just defeated the other Eastern Conference legit contender Cleveland Cavaliers 99-88, but in doing so, the Celtics were catapulted right back to the top of the NBA's overall standings.

Two Magic players registered double-double performances. All-Star Dwight Howard (22 points, 18 rebounds) and Hedo Turkoglu (19 points, 11 rebounds) led the assault against the Cavs who played terribly distracted mainly because of alleged non-calls by the officials and LeBron James' quite dismal 10 of 27 shooting.

Dwight Howard and the Orlando Magic are not going to fold just yet.

Orlando (35-10) played just how they're supposed to against Cleveland. Not like the game that they lost to the Celtics where they were held to their lowest scoring output of the season thus far in a 90-80 loss. The Magic also lost to their interstate rivals Miami Heat 103-97 two days later spurning the talks that they are losing grip of their league elite status.

“We didn’t play the way we needed to against Boston,” Howard said. “In order for us to win, we have to plan our game. We fall into playing the other team’s game, we tend to lose. We played our game tonight. We ran, played inside-out, shot the ball with confidence, and that’s what we have to do when we play against a good team.”

On the other end, the Cavs got so frustrated that they lost poise and eventually lost the game bitterly. Cleveland coach Mike Brown and point guard Mo Williams both got technical fouls in the 3rd quarter for complaining about what they believed as excessive non-calls. Brown was so livid that he had to be restrained.

“The NBA is going to make calls how they see it,” Brown said. “This was a physical game, and for a guy like that to go to the free throw line six times when he drove as much as he did, it’s sad to see.”

Brown was referring to James who had a bad shooting night and went to the free throw line just six times despite being aggressive as usual at attacking the rim. To rub salt to the wound, James made only half of those free throw attempts. He also didn't refrained from constantly complaining to the referees for most of the game.

“I’m just trying to be quiet and not say anything to the refs,” James said. “But it can get frustrating at times when you continue to just get beat up and you don’t get the attention of the refs. I just try to be quiet and hopefully they’ll call it the next time.

That was the night that proved even a king's will can be strictly denied in the NBA just like his crab dribble.

With all of the drama going down on Cleveland's rear end, Orlando went about their business. Howard dominated the shaded lane while fellow All-Stars Rashard Lewis (19 points) and Jameer Nelson (18 points) together with Turkoglu did their usual number on their disarrayed opponents.

The Magic outrebounded the Cavs (48-39), shot better overall and proved as the overwhelmingly more focused team that night.

When the dust cleared, Orlando improved to 35-10 moving half a game behind the Cavs and the Los Angeles Lakers (both 35-9).

The Lakers, as we know was dragged to a down-the-wire fiinish by the Charlotte Bobcats where they lost in double overtime 110-117. Kobe Bryant fouled out in the first overtime and it became the Laker albatross that led to a Bobcat upset win.

If the Lakers and the Cavs were pulled down, the Celtics were the ones that reaped the benefits of the recent ongoings among the other elite teams. At 38-9, Boston is done with their slump and back on top.

Kevin Garnett pulls down a rebound. Can the Celtics stay on top for good this time? It remains to be seen.

The Celtics were coming off a blowout win against the hapless Sacramento Kings a day before these recent developments and their next game against the unpredictable Detroit Pistons later on today will be of utmost importance. A win will keep them at number one regardless of how the other powerhouse teams do.

January is about to end and it's still a long season. Let's enjoy the drama in the battle for homecourt advantage throughout the playoffs.

Believe it. There will be more rivetting episodes coming up.

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Celtics are back in their element

January 29th 2009 01:57

It is official. The Boston Celtics have now fully left the ugly memory of their 2-7 slump by the wayside.

The Celtics are now currently on an 8-game winning streak. Of those wins include a 90-80 stoppage of the rampaging Orlando Magic on the road to affirm their return to their old championship form just in time to keep pace with the rest of the elite teams jockeying for position at the top of the NBA standings.

Boston is of course known for their stingy defensive game that has earned them an NBA championship last year. Judging from the looks of how they amassed their last 8 wins, their identity as a great defensive unit has certainly showed itself.

Kevin Garnett and the Celtics are back to their winning ways

Six of the eight wins saw the Celtics hold down the opposition below 90 points. Only the home games against the Toronto Raptors and the Dallas Mavericks had a Boston opponent hitting the century mark. The Raptors took the Celtics to an overtime duel while the Mavs had a 27-point Jason Terry explosion.

The Celtics never looked slipping on defense in those two high-scoring games though. Kevin Garnett imposed his defensive pressure on Chris Bosh as the latter became a non-factor in overtime while the usually prolific Dirk Nowitzki of Dallas was held to 18 points on only 4 of 17 from the field and 0 of 3 from beyond the arc.

The most impressive defensive performance of the Celtics as of late was their win against the Magic. Boston held Orlando to its worst offensive output this season with only 80 points. Considering that the Magic is the best 3-point shooting team, it was a defining moment for the Celtic defense to prove just how sharp they were in limiting any high-powered offense.

No doubt that the Celtics would be winning when their defense is clicking but what about their offensive performance?

The Celtic offense will always be identified with the Big Three: Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett. It has been a no brainer that these three All-Stars will be accountable for offensive production ever since they got together last season. After they won an NBA championship their new goal is to rewrite history by becoming the next Celtics team that wins back-to-back titles after nearly 4 decades.

In that mission this season, the Big Three has been responding in a somewhat balanced attack. Pierce has a team high 19.1 ppg while Allen and Garnett aren't far behind with 18.1 ppg and 16.3 ppg respectively. Somebody has somebody's back in this team as far as points are concerned so no one is monopolizing the scoring load. Sure is a good thing because pressure is much relieved on the stars of this team to produce heavily every game.

Their recent winning run is a fine example of such offensive luxury for the Celtics.

In the home and away series with the Raptors, Allen and Pierce took turns in scoring 30-plus points in each game. There was also the Dallas game wherein Pierce finished with only 8 points but Allen, Garnett and bench player Eddie House all scored 23 points each in the high-scoring win.

The most notable Celtic outside of the Big Three has been 3rd year point guard Rajon Rondo who has been obviously much improved compared to his performance last season.

A lot of rave reviews about the rise of Rondo have cropped up, but honestly, the athletic point guard could only do much but not enough to actually be one of the team's leaders to carry the type of load that the Big Three can carry on their shoulders. He may have improved this season but he cannot be an All-Star just yet. The idea of Boston having something like the Fantasy Four will just stay for now as such, a fantasy.

Not to belittle Rondo's contributions though. He surely took advantage of the position that he is in right now playing for a championship team where he can build all the confidence in his young career and everything is great for him right now. He's now averaging in double-figures in scoring with 10.9 ppg, but most importantly, he's proving to be one of the better playmakers of the league with 8 apg and one of the top defensive guards being 2nd in the league in steals with a 2.2 average. Those numbers outside of scoring shows Rondo's true value to the Celtics.

Kendrick Perkins is also back from an injured right shoulder. His return simply brings inside help in rebounding and inside intimidation. Perk is currently 5th in the league in shot blocks with 1.78 swats per contest. Together with Garnett, they form a defensive-minded frontcourt that gives opposing big men a hard time operating down low.

Celtics 6th man Eddie House also deserved special mention. For a championship team with a lean bench, House surely is a welcome contributor his performances against his former team Miami where he had 25 points on 7 of 11 shooting from downtown and his 23-point output in the high-scoring Dallas game were welcome developments at this point in the season where it’s time to step it up a notch.

As a team, the Celtics are ranked as a top flight defensive team being the best in limiting opponents’ field goal accuracy at 42.2%. Boston is also 2nd in the league in points allowed giving up only 91.3 ppg but it should not surprise us if they finish at number one in this department at seasons end. Boston is also up there in the team rebounding department with 42.7 rpg

Offensively, the Celtics are pretty above average but not as menacing as other high-powered offenses in the league but they are averaging a decent 101.1 ppg good for 9th in the league. Another great attribute of the Celtics is their shooting accuracy from the field with 48.2% which is 2nd best in the league.

February 5th is the next big game day for the Celtics as they get a visit from bitter rival Los Angeles Lakers. But before that, Boston has four more games to go through. Tonight will be against the moribund Sacramento Kings at home and will be in Detroit for their last game of the month against the blow hot blow cold Pistons. Their first two games in February will be against two much improved teams right now. The Celtics will be at home to play rising star Al Jefferson and the rest of the Minnesota Timberwolves and then they will be in Philly to test if Elton Brand’s return to the Philadelphia 76ers will prove interesting.

Best case scenario of course is that Boston sweeps these four games and rack up a 12-game winning streak before facing the Lakers. But then again, the Pistons can pull off a surprise or the Wolves could make another upset win so the Celtics should still be wary as ever.

The Celtics are obviously contenders being the defending champions and all that but the important thing is that they never fall to a horrible slump that they had the last time. Boston is pretty much aware at this point that they cannot afford another meltdown now that the Cleveland Cavaliers are one up on them in the Eastern Conference.

This is no time to be slipping.

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Posted By: Evenard M. Panes - Category: Team News, Boston Celtics

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Lakers prove peerless in the West

January 27th 2009 03:58

The Los Angeles Lakers have turned the tough Western Conference into a territory all their own. The Lakers had just obliterated, their closest pursuers, the San Antonio Spurs to the tune of 99-85 to take a 6-game lead and overwhelmingly dominate the West.

The Lakers had just completed their second 4-game winning streak since January 7th. One of the highlights of those winning runs was their equally impressive 105-88 win against Eastern Conference leader Cleveland Cavaliers.

The only flaws in their last 10 games were back-to-back losses to the same Spurs at the SBC Center and at home to the latest member of the NBA's elite class, the Orlando Magic.

As of the moment, all four elite NBA teams are taking a day off the hardwood and the Lakers are the ones at the top with a 35-8 record, a half game ahead of the Cavs.

Lakers hall of famer head coach Phil Jackson has no apparent concern about his team as of the moment given that they are are full strength especially with Jordan Farmar back in the line-up and seemed never missed a beat contributing 14 points in his first game back.

Jackson simply has no doubt in his mind right now about the Lakers' chances to finish with the league's best record at seasons end now that everything seems to be falling into place here in the second half of the season and peaking at the right time come post-season.

The recent most exciting sign of great things to come for the Lakers is the overpowering show of force of 4th year pro center Andrew Bynum.

Soon enough Andre Bynum will evolve into a beast-like performer in the NBA hardwood

Bynum blasted his way into the interior against the Los Angeles Clippers and finished with a career-high 42 points and pulled down 15 boards taking advantage of the Clippers' depleted frontcourt.

The following night, Bynum exerted himself once again top scoring for the Lakers with 23 points and had a game-high 14 rebounds against the also problematic Washington Wizards.

And just recently, in the win against the Spurs, Bynum had another double-double performance with 15 points, 11 rebounds and 4 blocks giving All-Star Tim Duncan all that he could handle.

With the way Bynum is going, it definitely is an omen that the Lakers will be extremely immovable once the playoffs rolls around the corner. With him and Pau Gasol, the Lakers have an excellent combination of power and finesse at the frontline. Both players figure well in the field goal efficiency rankings and in the rebounding departments. Bynum is also ranked 6th in the league in shot blocks.

This recent positive development in the Laker frontline gives All-Star Kobe Bryant less burden in games knowing that Bynum and Gasol are the ideal options in case he decides to dump it down low for higher percentage shots.

Bryant is third in the league in scoring with a 26.3 ppg output but he also has a modest team-best 5.2 apg showing that he mostly creates for the Laker offensive where their two big men are benefactors. Gasol is the second leading scorer for the Lakers with 17.5 ppg while Bynum is next at 13.7 ppg.

Farmar's return was also cited by coach Jackson as a key factor for the Lakers' further efficiency saying that Farmar's speed and quickness brings in a change of pace from Derek Fisher who specializes more on half-court sets. That fact maximizes the Lakers' versatility and flexibility with their high-powered offensive type line-up.

Currently, the Lakers are the best offensive team in the league with a 107.6 ppg average. They are also tied for 1st place in team rebounding with the Indiana Pacers with 43.9 boards an outing. The Lakers are also top 3 in field goal percentage at 47.7%. Those numbers prove how offense is the main weapon of the Lakers considering how coach Jackson utilizes the talent and versatility of his roster.

Defensively, the Lakers aren't that bad at all but they are certainly close to being an average defensive team. They are 14th in points allowed giving up 98.8 ppg. But the good thing is they are giving their opponents a hard time in getting to that output by forcing the opposition to 44.7% shooting from the field.

The Lakers are the clear-cut best in the Western Conference and are in the thick of things in the battle with the three other elite teams in the league from the Eastern Conference. Does this mean that the rest of the Western teams would be counted out for the Western Conference championshp and a stint in the 2009 Finals? Not quite but it is a really long shot to topple th Lakers from their lofty perch at the moment.

So far, the only teams from the West that had been able to inflict a loss on the Lakers are the Spurs and the New Orleans Hornets. And judging from the results, the Lakers can only be beat if the opposing team overpowers them offensively or just drag the Lakers to a close game and beat them in the closing seconds. The former is definitely easier said than done while the latter is the most possible way to beat the Lakers at this point.

The Hornets needed monster games from Chris Paul (32 points, 15 assists) and David West (40 points, 11 rebounds) to completely outplay the Lakers 116-105 while the Spurs needed to endure a Laker 4th quarter rally, Roger Mason's key 3-point play and Trevor Ariza's travelling violation to survive in their home floor with a 112-111 win.

As the season continues to its homestretch, it will be even more difficult to keep up with the Lakers. This is definitely bad news to the rest of the Western Conference and the rest of the league as well.

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Posted By: Evenard M. Panes - Category: Team News, Los Angeles Lakers

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NBA results: January 20th

January 21st 2009 17:33

Mike Bibby pulls through in the clutch to save outrebounded Hawks, Spurs crush Pacers, Nuggets prove better than Kings even without Carmelo Anthony, and Paul Millsap stars in win against the Wolves.

These events marked the four-game sked of the NBA last January 20th.

Atlanta Hawks 105
Chicago Bulls 102

The Atlanta Hawks should need more of Mike Bibby's crunch time exploits if they are to survive a stretch without Al Horford and Marvin Williams

Mike Bibby was the player of the game with his usual clutch heroics coming in to play with 9 points of his 31 in the last 5 minutes. He also had 6 assists and 5 steals. One of those thefts came with 40 seconds left as he intercepted a crosscourt pass for Ben Gordon and then hit a crucial jump shot.

Atlanta is missing leading rebounder Al Horford (bruised right knee) and frontline perimeter threat Marvin Williams (concussion). It really isn't unusual when they get outrebounded by the Bulls who themselves are missing one important frontcourt player in Drew Gooden. Good thing they were able to take care of the ball well enough to move themselves around such a disadvantage. Of course, Bibby's clutch performance helped a lot.

Josh Smith had 17 points and 14 rebounds, Flip Murray had 13 points off the bench, Zaza Pachulia had a season-high 18 points in a starting role in lieu of Horford, and Joe Johnson had 16 points on a sub-par 5 of 18 shooting but made up for it with a team-high 8 assists for the game.

The Bulls certainly took advantage of the frontline situation. Joakim Noah had 11 rebounds, 8 of them on the offensive boards. Luol Deng, who just came out of injury, had 10 boards himself and Andres Nocioni had 8 off the bench.

Usually, a win will be much easier to come by if a team lords it over the rebounding battle but not so in this game. Ben Gordon, who top scored for the Bulls cited one factor: “That’s pretty much the story of our season so far,” Gordon said. “We get close, just not very good at closing games out.”

Indiana Pacers 81
San Antonio Spurs 99

The defense looked great for the night but Spurs coach Greg Popovich will still be watching out if his team's perennially excellent defense will come back to its old and lethal form.

The same old culprits were there: Tim Duncan (27 points, 10 boards), Manu Ginobili (26 points, 8 boards) and Tony Parker (13 points, 7 assists) but the underlining factor that makes them a great team is their unflappable team defense.

There are factors to consider though. Bruce Bowen has been coming off the bench this season and it may seem that his time will soon be up as a pro. New players like Roger Mason and George Hill are just beginning to break in the system for their first year with the team. Matt Bonner has been getting the start at center lately as Fabricio Oberto has been off the bench. Veterans Kurt Thomas and Michael Finley are also on the twighlights of their careers. It also deserves mention that Robert Horry is also retired.

The Spurs had taken on a new look and in transition easing in younger players that would fit in well in the Pop system especially on the defensive end.

It will take time. Hopefully, the Spurs current core will peak in time and will be fully oriented once the playoffs begin.

Sacramento Kings 99
Denver Nuggets 118

Can't help but feel sorry for the Kings and can't help but admire the Nuggets.

Here we have the Kings injury free and all but can't stay in equal footing with a Carmelo Anthony-less Nuggets.

This game definitely shows the difference between a lottery team and a playoff caliber team. It's all about direction. The Kings have gone wayward and the Nuggets are on the right path with Chauncey Billups directing them of course.

Minnesota Timberwolves 107
Utah Jazz 112

Remember Karl Malone? The Mailman is synonymous with the Utah Jazz organization and is perhaps one of the more distinguished players in the history of the franchise. Eversince he made the move to Los Angeles in 2003 and eventually retired, it has been a wonder if there will ever be another player like him in Utah.

The year is 2009 and here we are at Salt Lake City witnessing Paul Millsap. Strangely enough, this player was drafted 47th overall in 2006 by Utah and came from the same program Malone came from at Louisiana Tech and plays at the same position at power forward. This is his 3rd year in the league and is now averaging 15.3 points per game and 9.5 rebounds per game. If Jerry Sloan planned to recreate Malone all over again, he certainly found the best player to succeed the Mailman.

Millsap led the Jazz with 28 points and 15 rebounds in this win against the Wolves, and he might still be raw, but it will only be a matter of time before he becomes the new Karl Malone.

Carlos Boozer can take a hike, stay in the injured list, get traded and try to coax money from some desperate club. Even if Boozer does go, it will only open a new door for the new Mailman in Salt Lake City... Paul Millsap.

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Mark Cuban and Kevin Pritchard are no class acts

January 19th 2009 05:19

On the left we have a team owner who behaved like a hoodlum like the player he accused of being one and, at the right, we have a general manager who tried to screw a basketball player's career buy e-mailing the rest of the league how desperate they are to save their own hides from a salary cap problem.

Mark Cuban, team owner of the Dallas Mavericks and Portland Trail Blazers GM Kevin Pritchard have two disturbing stories of how people behind the scenes of NBA teams turn out to become eye sore's for fans and pundits alike.

Cuban, as we all know, is perhaps the most distinguished team owner in the league. He dresses up like an ordinary fan on courtside and is almost always attending his team's games even on the road. He gets so animated that anyone would mistake him for a mere rowdy spectator.

Mark Cuban... nuff said

This guy just loves the wrong kind of attention everytime since venturing in the NBA as team owner of the Dallas franchise. Cuban had just been fined for the 14th time for $25,000 recently for "improper interaction" with Denver Nuggets resident brat J.R. Smith in the game won by the Nuggets 99-97. Cuban was also fuming at the call that set up Chauncey Billups for the game winning charities and he had to be escorted off the court after the game.

What tumult! That is what Cuban is all about. he loves getting worked up in the game or outside of it. He also had a case filed against him early this season for illegal transactions. Never really followed how that issue went but it sure proved that Cuban is the type of guy who constantly finds himself in trouble inside or outside of the league.

So how do we assess Cuban's recent actions in the Dallas-Denver game? Two words: SORE LOSER! He has been criticizing NBA officials and referees since way back and he will never view the game in a different perspective ever. His compulsive ways are not just seen on the court but also on his team management decisions, the most glaring of which is the trading of Devin Harris to New Jersey and the firing of Avery Johnson. Now he finds his team struggling at ninth spot in the Western Confereence and are in danger of becoming a lottery team again after a long time being playoff contenders. The emergence of the Nuggets and the Blazers in the West have made the Mavs' task much harder and they have to hurdle the Utah Jazz for eight spot in the conference.

Cuban's Mavericks are still a good team but the Western Conference is just stacked in terms of competition. An old yet talented line-up may not be enough to truly win themselves a championship ever. Now Cuban gets worked up because he can't accept the fact that he screwed his own team big time and they cannot stay in even keel with the NBA's elite anymore.

The Portland Trail Blazers has a very good and young team. Led by former Rookie of the Year Brandon Roy and LaMarcus Aldridge, the Blazers are at 24-16 and are at the thick of things in the Western Conference.

But in dismay, their GM isn't much of a role model nowadays.

Kevin Pritchard was well aware that their past demons came back to haunt them as Darius Miles was signed by the Memphis Grizzlies. Should Miles play 10 games back, $18 million comes back to the Blazers salary cap clogging all cap space available.

Kevin Pritchard had better live with the consequences of his actions: No cap space for you!

So what did good ol' Kev do to fend off the Miles ghost? He e-mailed all of the other 29 teams in the league threatening to sue anybody if they sign Miles. What!? Sue a team that wants to sign an able player? What kind of stupid thing is that? The NBA is supposed to be an association why is Pritchard making a nuisance of it by making such a threat?

It turned out as just a bluff something that the Grizzlies didn't buy. Miles was signed and played quite well. At 27, Miles is definitely not yet done with his career. He could even be signed for a better contract just in case Memphis can't give him much more than a 10-day contract.

There are actually more stories about how Portland eased out of the $40 million plus Miles contract sending the player into retirement because of injury just for the purpose of making room for cap space.

Pritchard should have accepted the consequences of his decisions and shouldn't have acted like a non-professional with dumb-ass arrogance. Saying that they're gonna sue someone... such an unacceptable act. Hopefully their GM's stupid ways will not affect the Blazers team in entirety.

But anyways, we cannot avoid people like Cuban and Pritchard who doesn't care as long as they have authority within their organization at their own disposal.

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Can't ignore the Magic anymore

January 18th 2009 09:37

When talking about the race between the elite teams in the NBA, the likes of the Cleveland Cavaliers, Los Angeles Lakers, and the Boston Celtics constantly crop up at such a topic early in the season.

Welcome the new member of the league's Top of the Line Club: The Orlando Magic.

Orlando has never looked this good in years. Thanks to their improving chemistry and maturity, they aren't the type of team that is looking for answers anymore.

Dwight Howard and the Orlando Magic are looking to dominate. Can the Celtics and the Cavs stop them soon?

The Magic is certainly are proving something this season and they just might turn out as the team that can pull the rug from under the rest of the league's title favorites. Currently, Orlando is now at second place overall in the standings and are dangerously close to the Cavaliers behind only by .016 in win percentage as of this writing. They have overtaken the Celtics and the Lakers showing consistency as the season goes on.

Actually, Orlando started the season on the wrong foot losing their first two games of the season but bounced back with four straight wins and worked their way to their current 32-8 record, which is, their best 40-game start in franchise history.

As of now, the Magic has been impressive with their performance the highlight of which is beating the Lakers twice this season at home and on the road. That certainly is a very good credential to put in their resume for the next postseason battle.

Other impressive victories that are at their disposal are the wins against Southeast Division rival Atlanta Hawks on a back-to-back occasion just to prove that the division title is theirs to keep. The Magic also registered a season sweep of the San Antonio Spurs and a smashing victory over the New Orleans Hornets.

The season is still far from over as Orlando will still be engaging in tougher games ahead. Upcoming games against the Celtics and the Cavaliers before the month of January passes will serve as acid tests for this promising Magic team. They have yet to win against the Celtics this season after absorbing a 107-88 loss to the defending champions on the road and they will face Cleveland for the first time this season.

Orlando had just came off a win against the Northwest Division leading Denver Nuggets and they can surely use the momentum against a Celtic team that is still smarting from a recent slump and the good thing is that they are playing at home with 4 days of rest prior to that game.

The Magic is a team that has a dominant low-post presence in Dwight Howard considered to be the top big man this season. Tim Duncan and Shaquille O'Neal may still be around but Howard has proven that he's an almost automatic double-double performer and is a constant threat to pull up a 20-20 game in every outing.

Surrounding Howard is a whole slew of dangerous perimeter players from the spots 1-4.

Jameer Nelson is at point guard and is considered now as the resident playmaker of the team with his recent impressive performances in Orlando's winning runs.

Rashard Lewis and Hedo Turkoglu are the starting forwards. Both players actually loom as small forwards because they don't have much bulk up front but makes up for it with their reliable shooting hands from the perimeter. In the Magic set-up, Howard is the one true inside scoring option with both Lewis and Turkoglu helping to declog the lane with their outside games, Howard can have more room and opportunity to produce his impressive numbers.

Free agent acquisition Mickael Pietrus has also made his presence felt at shooting guard for the Magic as he has been averaging in double figures in scoring amply filling the gap at the 2-position making Orlando as formidable as any NBA powerhouse out there.

Orlando's bench is not as deep though but players like rookie Coutney Lee, Keith Bogans, J.J. Redick, and even back-up center Tony Battie can become factors on a good day.

Head coach Stan Van Gundy has been on guard for his team eversince the season began and he has been demanding great effort from his boys all the time just to make sure that they don't get into horrible slumps during the season. May it be about their team defense or riding Howard about free throw shooting, Van Gundy is always on top of the situation.

Howard has been adamant about his team winning a championship this year saying that they have a shot as good as anybody's. If they keep up the winning trend they just might surprise the entire league. Boston and Cleveland will be there as hurdles in Orlando's coming games. Howard's right to claim their total validity in competing for a championship this year has yet to be seen and it will definitely be exciting for the Orlando faithful.

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Posted By: Evenard M. Panes - Category: Team News, Orlando Magic

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Timberwolves makes good winning run

January 14th 2009 17:46

Just recently, the Minnesota Timberwolves' 5-game winning streak was snapped with a loss to the Miami Heat at home thus suffering their first loss of the new year.

Randy Foye and the T-Wolves seized the opportunity to rack up 5 straight wins

Regardless of that streak being halted, the Wolves still managed to put together a remarkable stretch by taking full advantage of a schedule that pit them with teams below .500 in five straight games. The potential of Minnesota's rebuilding squad was in full display in those 5 games and there are also glaring weaknesses that coach Kevin McHale will have to fine tune as the team grows and progresses.

Minnesota was pretty much the picture of one, if not the most, hardluck teams this season. They may have won their season opener but it was down hill from there with 8 straight losses. They snapped that losing streak by winning 3 of their next 5 games. After that, the Wolves had a franchise third worst 13-game losing streak.

At 4-23, it was safe to say that the rebuilding Wolves will still be a lottery team at season's end. Minnesota had poor performances and heart-breaking losses littered all over their early campaign this season.

Randy Wittman got fired and Kevin McHale took over as head coach and was relieved of his General Manager duties. 8 more losses followed after the coaching change and it seemed that Minnesota boss Glen Taylor, once again made an unreasonable move because nothing changed. The Wolves remained also-rans.

Minnesota Timberwolves head coach Kevin McHale

The Taylor-McHale duo in Minnesota has got to be one of the most criticized NBA front office heads of this generation. A lot has been written about how they cheated the salary cap and made bad draft day decisions and some actually labeled them as examples of league market destroyers.

Quite harsh remarks for those two but it doesn't seem to matter to them because they're here to stay and they will be sticking to what they have. After all, they're the bosses. Taylor runs the show while McHale is a Minnesota legend that will probably remain a fixture with his 13 years on the job as proof notwithstanding detractors.

They traded Kevin Garnett to Boston 17 months ago and they have a bunch of young players that weren't regarded highly enough to merit to be saviors of a team that is going on a different direction opposite Garnett. They changed uniform and hardwood designs for the Target Center hoping to rid themselves of the harsh reality of Garnett's departure but they remain in a gritty dust bowl trying to find ways to return to respectability.

Minnesota finally snapped the 13-game losing streak after Christmas Day by winning at Madison Square Garden with a 120-107 count it also was their first win with McHale as coach this season. The Wolves looked totally different in that game considering that they shot awfully well (51.4% from the field). They also beat the Knicks at their own game by going 13 of 24 from deep for 54.2%. That was pretty astonishing given that the Wolves are 28th in the league in 3-point percentage and were making only 4.6 per game!

The Wolves went on to split their remaining 4 games in 2008 which included their win against the Knicks. They fell to the Orlando Magic at home but rebounded well against the Memphis Grizzlies also at home. But the most ditinguishing game was their last game of the year where they squandered a 29-point lead and lost to the Dallas Mavericks. It was the biggest blown lead in franchise history for Minnesota. Coming out of a game like that is pretty depressing knowing that a win was actually at hand against an aspiring playoff team such as the Mavericks.

Despite that debacle, the Wolves were given a nice schedule to take advantage of. Starting the the new year they were scheduled to play their first five games of the year against teams below the .500 mark. Fortunately, fate smiled on this hard luck ballclub for the first time this season sweeping it all up thus their 5-game winning run that somehow gave the Minnesota faithful something to remember this season.

Minnesota successfully racked up wins against the Golden State Warriors, Chicago Bulls, Memphis Grizzlies, Oklahoma City Thunder and the Milwaukee Bucks to somehow build momentum and confidence for the long road ahead.

In their last loss against the Heat, the Wolves actually fared well up to the last minute. Too bad the breaks of the game didn't went their way but showed signs that these Wolves now know how to fight tooth and nail. They just got to keep their heads up and musn't be discouraged in defeat against playoff caliber teams.

Among the key players that really turned heads for the Wolves in their recent run were Al Jefferson and Randy Foye.

Jefferson has been even more devastating this season averaging 22.2 ppg, 10.4 rpg, 1.7bpg and 1.6 apg. He surely made a run for the Most Improved Player award last season by serving as the Wolves go-to-guy at the post and is turning out All-Star performances in his recent games where he has been topping the 30-point mark with much regularity and dominating off the boards.

Foye, meanwhile, has been on the rise proving to be the team's resident clutch player as of late. We keep seeing the ball in his hands in tight game situations for Minnesota and he has been pulling through in his best way in their best stretch of the season.

Everybody knows that Minnesota doesn't have much on the forward spots but their starters there has been putting on the work lately. Ryan Gomes has been steady and has shown his touch from the perimeter while Craig Smith has been doing his darnest best to stay toe to toe with other players at power forward. Gomes and Smith can sometimes be interchangeable depending on game situations.

The starting point guard is actually Kevin Ollie, but since he has been bugged by injuries as of late, Sebastian Telfair has been quite productive especially in distributing the ball may it be as a starter or a contributor off the bench.

Talk about the Wolves' bench, they won't make rave reviews but they deserve to be commended for a good job in their winning run. Rookie Kevin Love has been marked with inconsistency and disappointments thus far here in his first season in the league but he still has a long way to go and has a great room for improvement. Coming off the bench for now will not hurt this UCLA standout. His 8.2 ppg and 8.3 rpg averages are just fine giving good frontline help. Rashad McCants also found himself top scoring for the Wolves in some of their wins and stepped up greatly when Mike Miller was in the injured list. Rodney Carney has also found his range lately contributing well with quality minutes on the floor.

As a team, their main strength that carried them in their wins was their shooting performance especially from beyond the arc. Where did that came from? The Wolves aren't supposed to be shooting like 50 or 60 percent from deep in games yet they have been doing it with more frequency this time and now has the ability to outshoot their opponents in any game. That explains the Wolves' ability to jump to big leads right out of the gates. In the loss to Dallas, Minnesota actually converted 9 of 14 from deep for a staggering 64.3% success rate. And in their last win against Milwaukee, they went 13 of 22 for 59.1%! There will surely be more to come if they don't let up. That type of shooting will keep them in the hunt in any game they will play.

Another strong point for the Wolves is their rebounding. They have been pretty consistent by not being terribly out-rebounded and they can dominate opponents when they outwill them on the boards especially in the offensive glass. Their rebounding strength was on display like in the wins against Chicago and Oklahoma City wherein they had 51 and 57 rebounds respectively including 17 and 18 offensive boards in the same respect.

Weaknesses can also be traced in spite of winning as far as Minnesota is concerned. The Wolves are still prone to cold shooting spells which is the reason why they lose the big leads that they build and they are dragged to close games, most of which, they hadn't been sucessful.

They're also not great shakes as far as their defensive game goes that's why they will have trouble against the better teams in the league. The Minnesota staff had better fine tune this aspect of their game in order to fare much better in the foreseeable future. Giving up too many points won't get any team that far.

Of course this article can be perceived with a grain of salt considering that Minnesota's last 7 wins all came against sub-.500 teams only but it serves as a good notice of what a young rebuilding team like the Wolves are capable of doing against any team in the future if not the present season.

Photos by AP

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Posted By: Evenard M. Panes - Category: Team News, Minnesota Timberwolves

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Lakers, Cavs take over as Celtics slide

January 11th 2009 05:39

The Los Angeles Lakers and the Cleveland Cavaliers both have identical 29-6 records leading their respective conferences and are in the way of each other for the top spot in the NBA standings.

With the Boston Celtics experiencing difficulty in recovering from their unbelievable slump, the Lakers and Cavs have successfully seized the opportunity and took over.

Kobe Bryant pulls up against Clippers' defenders

After their 116-105 loss to the New Orleans Hornets at, the Lakers bounced back with two straight wins against the Golden State Warriors (114-106) and the Indiana Pacers (121-119) to keep their sizable separation over the rest of the field in the Western Conference.

Lebron James and the Cavaliers just left the Celtics biting their dust

Meanwhile, the Cavaliers have just came out of a 98-83 win over the troubled Celtics taking advantage of their homecourt and the current stagnation of their opponent therefore securing their hold of the top spot in the Eastern Conference standings.

_____________________________ ___________

In other developments in the Eastern Conference, Southeast Division leader Orlando Magic also managed to overtake the slipping Celtics for 2nd place in the Eastern Conference with a half-game lead by defeating division rival Atlanta Hawks in back-to-back meetings at home and away. They won at the Phillips Arena 106-102 and manhandled the Hawks at the AmWay Arena 121-87.

The Magic did the Hawks in and moved past the Celtics

The Magic (29-8) has probably cemented their claim to be their division's best by beating their closest pursuer in the division in the Hawks (22-13) in two games in a row. It would still remain to be seen though if they can take their game to the next level and prominently compete with the Cavs and Celtics for the top spot in the East. As of this moment, they are right in the thick of it.

_____________________________ ____________

When talking about the Western Conference, the first team that comes to mind are the mighty Lakers. It's not that really hard to overlook those other teams that are fighting it out right behind them.

The most notable of the other West teams as of now are the San Antonio Spurs who are at 24-11 and they are 5 games away from the Lakers. The Spurs have won their last 4 games and has only lost once in their last 10.

Everyone had better notice because Tim Duncan and the Spurs are making their move

Talk about teams that are easy to overlook, the Spurs epitomize such a team. Even when they were winning championships every other year, they were labeled by some fans as boring, plain and bland in their style of play yet effective and very successful.

Most never noticed it but San Antonio has slowly but surely resurfaced among the teams in the winning column after starting sluggishly dealing with injuries to key players like Manu Ginobili, Tony Parker and even Fabricio Oberto.

But knowing the type of system implemented by coach Greg Popovich and the wealth of experience of its veteran leader in Tim Duncan, they were able to weather the storm winning enough games to keep their heads above water despite the absences of Ginobili and Parker. Off-season acquisition Roger Mason and rookie George Hill were also key players in that stretch stepping up their games admirably filling in the roles of their two injured stars.

The Spurs are quietly building winning streaks with only a loss or two in between taking advantage of the light schedule and is currently catching the league off guard in having a pretty good leverage to compete well in the Western Conference despite the Lakers are running away with the top spot.

With their line-up back in full health and with their level of play rising with considerable consistency, the Spurs just might sneak up on the Lakers very soon for a very interesting challenge.

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Posted By: Evenard M. Panes - Category: Games

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Celtics going through rough stretch

January 10th 2009 04:48

Everybody is wondering how a championship caliber team like the Boston Celtics could actually fall in the slump that it's in right now. Wasn't this team the one who just set a franchise record 19 straight wins? Aren't they the owners of the best 29-game start in NBA history at 27-2 making league observers concede to its eventual successful defense of the title?

Doc Rivers and the Celtics are being tested.

For some reason vulnerability has come to the invincible Celtics on Christmas Day when they got beat by the Los Angeles Lakers. Of course we all know that it was a marquee match-up that the Celtics lost but it is also natural to expect Boston to bounce back and start another lengthy streak of wins yet again.

But instead of a rousing start, the Celtics were beat by a non-playoff prospect like the Golden State Warriors! Losing to the Lakers was understandable what with being on the raod and all. But to the Warriors!? That was really something unexpected and uncalled for as far as Celtics fans are concerned, and in ways, unacceptable to the team itself.

The situation was that they were still on the road and are coming off that loss to the Lakers but it still isn't enough reason or excuse for the defending champions to lose to Golden State. Heck! They were even up at the half by 12 points and were shooting well too. Was it that the Celtics were drained of their ability to dominate opponents just because they lost to the Lakers on Christmas Day? Had Boston rested on their laurels that they will just breeze through everybody once they're game with the Lakers are done? If we answer yes, then the Celtics have no business being called a championship team.

Whatever hostility was raised in that loss to the Warriors was quelled after the Celtics obliterated the Sacramento Kings with a 45-point win. After that, a win against the Portland Trail Blazers to finish their 4-game Western Conference road trip at 2-2 was a possibility with Brandon Roy in the sidelines because of injury. But alas, It was a 5-point loss at the end of the day. The Celtics finished the 4-game road trip at 1-3. Now that was a weird thing to happen as far as the Celtics are concerned. They were outplayed down the stretch and were oushot by the Blazers who has their star player sidelined!

The Celtics ended the year losing 3 of its last 4 games (all road games) and it was a must to start the new year in a positive note as they returned home to face the Eastern Conference's worst team Washington Wizards. As expected, the Celtics thrashed the Wizards with a 25-point beating and Boston was happy. But as it turned out, it was just the calm before the storm.

Two days later, the Celtics were in somebody else's homecourt again, this time, at Madison Square Garden to take on the inconsistent New York Knicks. Knowing that in another two days that they will be visiting another weak team in their Conference such as the Charlotte Bobcats, Boston looks good to go in making a good 3-game winning streak before coming back home to play the Houston Rockets.

Unfortunately, it didn't become a 3-game winning streak. Instead, it was the second back-to-back losing effort in almost two weeks! How the hell did that happen!? They lost to the Knicks and the Bobcats!? Losing to the Warriors could have been a fluke. But to lose to two moribund teams on consecutive games? There's got to be a problem. There has gotta be.

And just recently, the Celtics had just dropped a home game to the Houston Rockets making it a 3-game losing streak (their first in this season) which is also the 6th loss in eight games. These details are usually found in non-playoff or rebuilding teams' ledger reports. To find the Celtics in this predicament is just unbelievable. What's worse is that they have their next game against their Eastern Conference adversary LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers on the road. Just imagine, with the way Boston is stumbling against any team at this point of the season, there is a high percentage of them getting whipped at the Quicken Loans Arena. That has yet to be seen though as of this writing.

In our own research we tried to figure out the cause of the Celtic slump.

Shooting performance

In the two wins that the Celtics had (which were both routs), they shot awfully better than their opponents. The prime example was their win against the Wizards wherein they shot 55.4% from the field and an astonishing 12 of 20 from the 3-point territory for 60%!

This team has guys like Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, and Eddie House who could all flat out shoot. Kevin Garnett is perhaps their only reliable go-to-guy at the post so it's important for their perimeter offense to exist night in and night out. If that's the case, winning comes easier for them.

In this slump though we can see that there are signs of let-ups when it comes to their shooting. In the loss against the Knicks, Allen missed all of his 9 3-point tries! He also had a game wherein he was limited to just 7 points in just 6 attempts all game probably because of the foul trouble he encountered. Eddie House and Paul Pierce continues to lift their shots from the perimeter but they have been getting cold lately compared to their counterparts.

As a team, they suffered in a lot of bad shooting nights. 5 of 22 (3pt%) vs Lakers, their cold 2nd half spell against the Warriors which caused their 56% shooting to drop to 47.1%, 40.7% vs Blazers which includes 3 of 14 from deep, and 40.5% vs Knicks with 24% from three. The Bobcats and Rockets also oushot them in both the field and the 3-point line.

Eroding defensive play

The Celtics became champions because of their defense. Yes they do have the Big Three and Rajon Rondo's improving playmaking skills but their true strength comes out when their defense dominates their opponent.

In their 6 losses we see that they have slipped giving a little more number of points to the opposition but this certainly isn't the case. There is one detail that merits attention. That is why the teams that defeated them instantly had an edge to beat them in those nights.

In seven games since they last met the Lakers, the Celtics have been giving 21 fouls or more every night thus sending the opposing team to the free throw line at a high and alarming rate. Boston opponents had 25 free throw attempts or more. The most glaring was in the loss against the Bobcats that had 34 attempts from the line and 31 of them went in.

Judging from these numbers we see that the Celtics are not playing defense honest enough lately and the other teams are taking advantage of it by getting to the free throw line as often as possible in order to overcome Boston's offense which is actually not as deep as the Lakers. If only the Celtics could limit their fouls and prevent the other teams from taking so much free throws then that will help them to recover and win consecutive games again.

The Rajon Rondo factor

During Boston's 19-game winning run Rondo has been mentioned countless of times. League observers are seeing the great improvement of this young man as a point guard that can efficiently distribute the ball, attack the rim, and play good defense. Heck! He was even mentioned as a possible All-Star! There were even items that coined him as the 4th member of the "Fantasy Four" (Big Three Rondo).

Different opinions are welcome about that topic but the thing that must not be forgotten is Rondo's very important role in his team.

We have said time and again even before last season that the success of the Celtics does not just rely on the Big Three because they can only do much against the deeper teams in the league offensive wise. Rondo would have to contribute in the best way possible because he was the available starting point guard back then. Seeing that he still had a lot of growing up to do, the Celtics signed veteran Sam Cassell just in case Rondo's green side of his game rears out in a hostile playoff environment.

This season Rondo has been churning out impressive numbers and is exhibiting much agressiveness on the offensive end compared to last season which is a good thing. It's very interesting seeing his career grow inside a winning team.

In this current spate of losses for the Celtics, Rondo's numbers aren't really lacking much in terms of offense because even if he isn't scoring he can be seen making that nice pass to an open teammate. Though there is a game that he was flat on his face against Houston wherein he was only good for 5 points and 5 assists. Overall, Rondo's performance isn't that suspect.

Conclusion

The Boston Celtics are the reigning defending NBA champions. So much more is expected of them than this 2-6 stretch. These things don't usually happen to great teams of the past. At least not in our recent memory.

When a team is losing doubts crop up and the great ones usually pull through and stays firm in winning. This type of slump happening to a team that is once at 27-2 and is now overtaken for the top spot on the East by the Cavaliers is not a laughing matter or just an ordinary bad time in the season.

Whatever happens in the Cleveland game, the Celtics had better win it or else the tables will be turned on them. If they cannot get a tight grip at the top spot in the East it will be harder for them to defend the championship without homecourt advantage throughout the playoffs.

The key to recovery for the Celtics would have to be a defensive game with more honesty yet aggressive without giving out too many fouls. Afterwards, try to get into good offensive rhythm all game and that is when the Celtics could probably make winning streaks.

Photos by AP

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Posted By: Evenard M. Panes - Category: Team News, Boston Celtics

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Last Sunday in the NBA

January 6th 2009 16:31

There were six games last Sunday. Four upsets, one near-upset, and one clear win by the Los Angeles Lakers who were the big winners in that day.

January 4th will perhaps be one of the most important dates in this current NBA season because of its turning point factor that affected the shift of leadership and the revelation of possibilities within the current elite teams of the league.

The defending champion Boston Celtics rattled off 19 straight wins before being halted by the Lakers on Christmas Day at the Staples Center. Knowing how good the Celtics are, their loss to the Golden State Warriors in their next game was never expected. Boston had just suffered their first back-to-back losses of the season.

Naturally a strong rebound by the Celtics was bound to happen and they responded by crushing the Sacramento Kings with a 45-point win. All of a sudden another loss came Boston's way against the Portland Trail Blazers who were without Brandon Roy.

Soon enough, the Celtics were definitely on the ropes. The New York Knicks defeated them at Madison Square Garden after almost 4 years. This is Boston's 4th loss in 5 road games and 6th overall. This only proved that even the defending champions can also end up in such a slump.

The Central Division leading Cleveland Cavaliers are also considered as one of the elite teams this season winning mostly by blowouts and proving to be unbeatable at home this season. Seeing the way that they can dominate any opposition and with LeBron James not really being burdened as much as any other season he had with the Cavs, Cleveland was listed as perhaps the only team in the Eastern Conference that can match-up well with the Celtics and has the legitimate chance to tightly contest Boston for the top spot in the East.

Unfortunately, with Boston's recent downturn, the Cavs weren't also spared from being surprisingly defeated by an unlikely team that is yet rivalling them in such a way, the Washington Wizards.

The Wizards are the worst team in the East at 7-25 yet they had the resolve to beat the Cavs with an 80-77 verdict. Antawn Jamison nailed a baseline jumper with 10.5 seconds left to break a 77-all tie. LeBron James was called for travelling in the ensuing play before Caron Butler made a free throw for the final count. James missed a desperation 3 at the buzzer thus making the upset official.

A word for LeBron: You may be a superstar in the league but you can never be the law on the basketball court! Crab Dribble!? What in the hell is that? If the refs called it as a violation then stop doing it. Great players respect the rules of the game and the ones implementing it. Don't even try to invent something that is a violation into something that basketball will nod at. In the end of the day you are still one of them players. You should be the one adjusting to the rules not the other way around. For a player dreaming of cementing his greatness, not respecting officiating is not the way to go Mr. James. (end of rant)

Since Boston and Cleveland slipped, the Los Angeles Lakers seized the opportunity to make their move and return to the top of the standings. After beating the Blazers to the tune of 100-86, Lakers fans chanted taunts to the Celtics in their own cruel way. Well, that's what a rivalry is for. It's all about making everything almost personal so the tension builds up.

Going back to the Lakers, they have already experienced their own downs though it came in a lot earlier for them and they have already recovered. Those same struggles are happening to the Celtics right now. Let's see how fast can they recover.

As for the Cavaliers, they should never be caught up with losing with the Celtics at the same time. If Boston continues in their drought, the Cavs had better overtake them.

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Posted By: Evenard M. Panes - Category: Games

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