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NBA Loud - by Rick Gillispie

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NBA Loud - January 2007

The D-League.

January 31st 2007 07:45

This writer being an avid NBA fan (duh!) watched an episode of

All-Access today that did a feature on the Los Angeles franchise in the D-League. ‘What’s the D-League?’ many of you readers may be wondering. Well, basically the D-League is the NBA owned development league that is a minor league farm system, similar to the one in professional baseball in the States.

Watching NBA All-Access this writer was reminded how many thousands of basketball players around the world harbour NBA dreams, but haven’t realised these aspirations just yet. Also, the story on the Los Angeles D-Fenders allowed this writer to remember that there was a D-League, which hadn’t been covered yet on NBALOUD.

About the D-League

The league began life in the 2001-2002 season as the NBDL but became the D-League in the 2005-2006 season to appeal to more fans.

Smush Parker came from the D-League and is now in Hollywood. (Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images)

Currently there are 12 franchises in the D-League but two more will be added next season as the league continues to expand from the original eight in its inaugural year that saw teams come mainly from the southeast region of the U.S.

Each D-League franchise is affiliated with one to three professional teams with these NBA squads able to pick players up and sign them into their rosters if they so desire.

What is unique about the D-Fenders is that the franchise became the first team to be owned by an actual NBA squad rather than private owners. The Utah Jazz have followed suit in establishing their own D-League team in Orem that will come into existence for the 2006-2007 season.

D-League players aren’t signed up to the teams individually, but rather are contracted to the actual league itself. Rosters are filled up with 10 or less D-League players and two or more NBA players.

Players in D-League squads are chosen in a number of different ways either they have already been part of the squad, selected via the D-League draft, are players that have a geographic connection with a local team or an NBA assigned player.

The D-League will be part of this year’s All-Star game festivities so keep an eye out on the emerging players from the NBA minor league.

D-League Franchises and their NBA Affiliates

EASTERN DIVISION

Arkansas Rim Rockers: Atlanta, Memphis, Miami

Austin Toros: Boston, Houston, San Antonio
Dakota Wizards: Chicago, Washington

Fort Wayne Flyers: Charlotte, Dallas, Philadelphia

Sioux Falls Skyforce: Detroit, Minnesota

Tulsa 66ers: Milwaukee, New Orleans, New York

WESTERN DIVISION

Albuquerque Thunderbirds: Cleveland, Indiana, Phoenix

Anaheim Arsenal: LA Clippers, Portland, Orlando

Bakersfield Jam: Golden State, Sacramento

Colorado 14ers: Denver, New Jersey, Toronto

Idaho Stampede: Seattle, Utah

Los Angeles D-Fenders: LA Lakers

Current Players in the NBA from the D-League

Many players have made NBA rosters from the minor league and there are many recognisable names on this list that have made a useful impact in the ‘L’. Maybe one day a D-League player will win a MVP? That would be excellent.

Jason Hart, Anthony Johnson, Devin Brown, Mike Wilks, Bobby Simmons, Mikki Moore, Rafer Alston, Ronald Dupree, Ime Udoka, Matt Carroll, Smush Parker, James Lang, Andre Barrett, Chuck Hayes, John Lucas, Will Conroy, Jeremy Richardson, Andre Brown, Justin Williams, Kelenna Azubuike

(Source: NBA.com/dleague)

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Kevin Garnett Halts the Suns Win Streak.

January 30th 2007 12:32

It’s often said that there are only two certainties in life: death and

The Big Ticket had a big game. (AP Photo/Jim Mone)

taxes. You can include another – everything must come to an end. There is nothing everlasting in this vast expanse of a universe with everything withering away eventually.

This brings us to the Phoenix Suns who almost had us believing that their win streak would last for an eternity. But you can stop counting after 17.

Kevin Garnett almost single-handedly stopped Phoenix’s streak with a sublime performance of epic proportions. The Big Ticket scored 44 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in helping the T-Wolves beat the Suns, 121-112.

The Suns run ended in a never ending sequence of jump shooting perfection in which KG in the final period couldn’t be stopped, scoring 15. Garnett is often overlooked because he plays in a small market and Minnesota have been sucking for the past few years but today’s performance put everything into perspective at how good this guy really is.

“It's just about being a presence," Garnett said. "It's about making them have to deal with me. I will continue to take that approach.” (Krawczynski, AP, 2007) This writer has only one thing to say about this comment from The Big Ticket: True that!

Stevie Wonder had his usual superb game with 20 points and 18 assists but the Suns fell short of equalling the fourth longest win streak in NBA history.

All hail KG!

Iverson and Anthony have proven there are enough shots and points to go around but it hasn’t resulted in a winning combination just yet. The lowly Charlotte Bobcats came into Denver and crunched the Nuggets, 105-101.

Gerald Wallace for the Cats proved to be the difference maker with 25 points, 13 rebounds and one huge block in the final minute to snuff out Denver’s winning shot. To make matters worse both of Denver’s marquee names were banged up in this game with AI questionable for their next contest.

Both The Answer and Melo got theirs, whilst playing good basketball together. The problem

Vince Carter broke the hearts of the Jazz today. (Photo by Rocky Widner/NBAE via Getty Images)

lies with the rest of the squad who are still trying to adjust to their new roles and demands but Denver can take heart that these are just growing pains.

As an NBA fan this writer just wants to witness a few things to come into fruition and one of these wishes is to see a healthy Yao and McGrady tandem. Houston has been fine without their big man in the middle adding another victory today this time over the hopeless Sixers, 105-84.

Tracy McGrady had a very nice 25 points while streetball stud Rafer Alston dished off nine dimes. Oh, Houston moved the ball beautifully against the Sixers with a scorching 31 assist total for the team. Nice.

Vince Carter was a gun against Utah in hitting a last second 3-point heave that allowed the Nets to pip the Jazz at the post, 116-115. Vinsanity scored 33 points but it was the last three that sparked the Nets to go loco with their celebrations.

The Californian Kidd also had a nice game with 22 points and 10 assists but it was all VC in Utah.

But KG was king today.

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The Picks for the All-Star Dancers are Announced!

January 29th 2007 09:07

All-Star game starters have been voted in – who cares? What’s on television? How about the news that the dancers for the big weekend have been voted in? Well, knowing NBALOUD readers this news would fill them with glee for it has probably been far too long since pictures of these luscious dancers have graced this space.

Since a few of NBALOUD’s picks have been voted in, we’re going to cover the women that weren’t this writer’s choices but still worthy nonetheless.

Atlanta Hawks

Jennifer was the one that ended up making the cut and who is a compulsive list maker that loves nothing more than to sit with her dog while watching Oprah. Quality girl.

Boston Celtics

Courtney is the viewer’s choice from Boston and why wouldn’t she be? Her hobbies revolve around shopping and she nominates herself in the favourite actor category for when she is in trouble!

This Boston Celtic beauty can also speak Farsi which is very impressive.

Charlotte Bobcats

Visitors to the official NBA website were caught up in Stacey’s web and what a fine choice.

She is a pharmaceutical sales representative that loves her family. Awww.

Dallas Mavericks

Dallas fans have voted and Mallory is the dancer that is going to represent the ‘D’.

Mallory is currently a university student studying psychology and art history. Perhaps the most impressive thing about Mallory is the fact that she freely admits to the fact that the first concert she ever attended was New Kids on the Block. What a confession!

Denver Nuggets

Young Heather is the one heading to Vegas for Denver and how did we overlook her? Her biggest accomplishment so far in her young life is making the Nuggets dance squad, while listing the Make-A-Wish foundation as her favourite charity.

As an aside does anyone notice that nobody ever lists their favourite charity as ones that help homeless people or prisoners?

Detroit Pistons

Ah, Motown was the team that had all the blonde bombshells as their representatives. Unfortunately for NBALOUD we went with the wrong blonde and we’re humbly chastised.

Erin seems like a great girl with a degree in communications and her favourite movie being The Breakfast Club. This writer has got to give props for Erin because that was a great flick.

Los Angeles Lakers

Representing the team from Hollywood is the glamorous Jessica! We’ve recently covered the Laker Girls so we’ll move on.

Memphis Grizzlies

The very gorgeous Grizz lady is Erica and you have to love a woman whose nickname is ‘Egg’. How ever did you get such an unusual nickname Erica?

Erica lists Saved by the Bell as her most loved show ever so she may have googled ‘Dustin Diamond and porn tape’ recently.

Minnesota Timberwolves

The people’s choice from the T-Wolves is Courtney who states that she is an avid visitor of both the official Minnesota and NBA websites. She continues on with the company spiel by listing Kevin Garnett as her fave player. Dig the loyalty Courtney.

Philadelphia 76ers

Wow! Talk about a bare website when it comes to biography details. Yes, we probably mentioned that last time as well but a lot of teams have improved their dancer information since then. Not the Sixers though.

Still, this shouldn’t distract from the fact that Kimberly is heading to Vegas. You go girl!

Phoenix Suns

This Latin beauty gets to cheer on the best basketball team in the league and is going to the All-Star weekend! Gina, you’re one lucky lady.

Gina does get a lot of respect for listing Curb Your Enthusiasm as the show she loves the most though.

Portland Trailblazers

What! The lady from Guam wasn’t the choice! Well, this writer has got to say that he is disappointed but respects the people’s vote. Well, Melissa is also very beautiful and says that peanut butter is her guilty pleasure.

Toronto Raptors

Here is an example of a team that has upgraded the site for their dancers exponentially. Bravo, Toronto.

The oh, so lovely Minerva gets the nod for the Raptors.

Washington Wizards

Last, but certainly not least is Crystal who is a biology major who wants to one day combat serious diseases and illnesses that are plaguing America. What a lady!

Congratulations all you beautiful women on your All-Star spot because you thoroughly deserve it.

* All images from nba.com

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Mid-Season Awards.

January 28th 2007 13:48

The halfway point of the NBA season has arrived and every

Steve Nash is shooting for a third straight MVP award. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

pro-basketball writer has written about mid-season awards so NBALOUD has also decided to join in the shenanigans. Hey, this writer has no problem being another sheep, especially when NBALOUD has so many sheep-like qualities!

Thankfully, for the Miami Heat the season doesn’t end in January or Shaq would be as effective as a waterproof teabag.

Most Valuable Player

Of course we’re going to start with the biggest award. What did you think? This writer was going to begin his mid-season analysis with the Most Improved Player? Puh-lease.

This is a tough one because there are three or four candidates who have a very strong case to make in their MVP candidacy. How do we go about in assessing the MVP? Does it belong to the best player in the leading team? Or should the award go to the most talented basketball player? Conundrums like these make MVP discussions so enjoyable because everyone has their own opinions. And of course NBALOUD has its opinion. Do you want to know who our pick is? Well, you’re reading this entry so you must be curious.

Envelope, please: Steve Nash come on down.

Hard to believe but the formerly floppy-haired Canadian is having a season for the ages and who is going to deny him a third straight MVP? He is playing better basketball than his previous two seasons, while single-handedly keeping the Suns team purring.

Stevie Wonder is at the pinnacle of his powers, finding teammates at will or shooting the ball wonderfully if the need arises. Nash is carving up the league like no other and is arguably having one of the greatest seasons a point guard has ever had.

This writer did say arguably because Magic Johnson and Oscar Robertson would have compelling cases of their own.

If Nash does maintain the sort of momentum he has displayed so far and the Suns keep on winning he’ll surely walk away with a third straight MVP.

Rookie of the Year

As some anonymous person once commented on this space Roy for ROY and why not? Brandon Roy the guard for the Portland Trailblazers is the leading scorer for all rookies at 14.7 points, while averaging 4.3 rebounds and three assists for the season.

Leandro Barbosa is one of the many Suns making an impact. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)

Unfortunately this has to be one of the weakest rookie classes in recent times with no player making a real impact. However, don’t for one second think Brandon Roy is winning this award by default because he has shown maturity beyond his years and has been clutch late in games for Portland.

Coach of the Year

The Zen Master has done it again. He has transformed another outrageously talented individual into a team player and the consequences have been drastic. First, it was Michael Jordan and now it is Kobe Bryant.

Los Angeles had essentially the same squad as last season and was expected to be a mid-level contender that would challenge just because they have the most awesome player in basketball. We were all wrong because Kobe has become a great all-round player and as a consequence Luke Walton, Smush Parker, Andrew Bynum et. al. are having wonderful seasons.

Greatest Coach ever!

Sixth Man Award

Leandro Barbosa has this one because Ben Gordon is now starting for the Bulls. Plus, no player off the bench has the same impact this speedy Brazilian has for the Suns, whilst becoming an integral part in Phoenix’s rotation.

When Barbosa comes into the game the Suns kick it up another gear which is hard to believe. Plus, Leandro is averaging 16 points a game, shooting a very healthy 46 percent from the field and 39 percent beyond the arc.

Defensive Player of the Year

Marcus Camby has an argument for this category but we’ll go with Shawn Marion who has perhaps the toughest defensive assignments for the Suns. The Matrix usually has the job in locking down the most effective offensive player in the opposition and this runs the gauntlet

Deron Williams is Utah's super soph. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

of every position on the court.

The versatile Marion can find himself locking horns with Tim Duncan or Dirk Nowitzki one game, while the very next night he may find himself chasing LeBron James or Dwayne Wade on the perimeter.

Most Improved Player

Deron Williams has this award all sewn up because he is having an outstanding sophomore season. The Jazz point guard is averaging 17.7 points and dishing off a very impressive 8.8 dimes a game.

Utah’s star second year point guard doesn’t make too many mistakes and fulfils the needs of the Jazz more than adequately – scoring and passing, the wunderkind does it all.

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Jamal Crawford for New York and the Phoenix Suns have Fantastic Separate Games.

January 27th 2007 09:06

The lucky number for today kids: 16. Sixteen is the number of the

Jamal Crawford had a career night scoring 52 points. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)

current Phoenix win streak and was also how many baskets hit without a miss by New York Knick Jamal Crawford on his way to scoring a career high 52 points.

Beginning with the irrepressible Suns squad that are racking up wins like Warren Buffet obtains money with Milwaukee becoming the latest victims of Phoenix’s cross country beat down spree losing, 98-90.

Once again the team had a balanced attack with Raja Bell top scoring with 27 points leading all of the Suns starters who all hit double digits. Shawn Marion snatched 23 boards, while Stevie Wonder dished off 16 dimes.

You’d think notching up a second, long win streak would give some gratification to the Suns players but you’d be mistaken with Steve Nash stating; “There's no rings for streaks," he said. “We've had a tendency to really take people lightly and not be as focused as we need to be, and I think you saw that again from us tonight.” (Fly, AP, 2007)

Sheesh Steve, lighten up. However, it does illustrate the Suns intent for the season which might be a bad omen for their opposition throughout the league.

Moving onto New York and more specifically Jamal Crawford’s outstanding efforts against the Heat which saw the Knick player carve up the Heat like a hot knife through butter. Or, perhaps you readers would prefer another butter related analogy to describe Crawford’s efforts – Jamal must be butter because he was on a roll. Better?

This game wasn’t even close with the Madison Square Garden crowd clapping and cheering Crawford’s efforts like they were at Broadway watching Cats. New York ran away with the victory 116-96.

We officially have a new top dog in the East: the Washington Wizards, who came into

Look! Up in the sky. It's Shawn Marion. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)

Motown and waltzed away with a win, 99-96. Antawn Jamison was on fire for the Wizards lighting up the Detroit night sky with a season high 35 points, while Agent Zero chipped in with 25.

Washington now has the best record in the Eastern Conference.

Cleveland stopped their mini slide today by beating the Philadelphia 76ers, 105-97 and without LeBron James to boot. The Cavs got a balanced effort with five players notching up double-digit scoring nights that alleviated the blow of King James’ absence.

One of the biggest surprises of the NBA season has been the outstanding play of the Los Angeles Lakers and Kobe Bryant, both defying expectations to make the Lake Show a competitive unit. We can add another surprise in regards to the team from Hollywood who let a dire Charlotte Bobcats team come into their house and walk away with a 106-97 win in OT.

Matt Carroll starred for the Bobcats with 24 points while Emeka Okafor also had a great game with 20 points and 18 rebounds. For the Lakers, Kobe Bryant had 32 points becoming the youngest player ever in NBA history to reach the 18, 000 point milestone at 28 years and 156 days. Still, he’d probably prefer the win.

The Carmelo-Iverson tandem is still going gangbusters for the Nuggets with both superstars playing supa-fly basketball, but it counted for zero when their opponents from Utah came away with the victory, 116-111.

It was two Jazz rookies that inflicted the killer blows for Utah – Ronnie Brewer who scored six of his 12 points in the final quarter and Paul Millsap blocking two shots in rallying their team from an 11 point deficit.

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NBA All-Star Game Starters.

January 26th 2007 09:44

Gilbert Arenas has been money lately at the end of games with last

LeBron James the leading vote getter in the East. (Joe Murphy/NBAE/Getty Images)

second heroics and you can add the All-Star starting position as more evidence of Arenas’ clutch abilities. In the final days of the voting for the mid-season classic Agent Zero surged past the ever so popular Vince Carter to claim the second guard spot by just 3010 votes, which ended up being the fourth closest margin ever in All-Star history.

Agent Zero two weeks ago was still trailing VC by 200, 000 votes but overran the Nets star in the closing stretch topping off his MVP type season.

Being voted into the starting line-up must have eased a lot of the hurt Arenas felt last season when he made the squad as an injury reserve. Too put it succinctly the man is stoked: “It is an unbelievable feeling…Two years ago, I was voting myself in for the game. Now fans are voting me in, and I'm going to do what they are looking for. I've got something to give back to the fans during All-Star weekend.” (Mahoney, AP, 2007)

Gilbert the Great was helped with the defection of Allen Iverson to the West which would have seen AI stitch up the starting guard spot for the East.

LeBron James was the leading vote getter for the first time since the Yao dynasty began in the NBA with 2, 516, 049 votes. Yao came in a close second.

Besides Agent Zero, Bron-Bron was another player that was ecstatic being in the All-Star game and receiving the second highest vote tally ever just after Yao: “That's something I've never dreamed of…I've always wanted to be an All-Star, but being the leading vote-getter over guys like Vince Carter, Shaquille O'Neal, Dwyane Wade and Allen Iverson, you never think that's going to happen. Just getting the opportunity to be the leading vote-getter is kind of unbelievable.” (Mahoney, AP, 2007)

Congratulations to all of the starters who for the most part deserved their spots. When the reserve spots are in NBALOUD will have a more in-depth break down of the All-Star participants.

Eastern Conference Starters

Guards: Dwayne Wade, Gilbert Arenas
Forwards: LeBron James, Chris Bosh
Center: Shaquille O’Neal

Western Conference Starters

Guards: Kobe Bryant, Tracy McGrady
Forwards: Kevin Garnett, Tim Duncan
Center: Yao Ming

2007 NBA ALL-STAR FINAL BALLOTING
EASTERN CONFERENCE

Forwards: LeBron James (Clev) 2,516,049; Chris Bosh (Tor) 1,091,263; Jermaine O’Neal (Ind) 934,749; Grant Hill (Orl) 677,423; Paul Pierce (Bos) 615,911; Rasheed Wallace (Det) 549,693; Andre Iguodala (Phi) 459,139; Tayshaun Prince (Det) 408,936; Caron Butler (Was) 404,489; Emeka Okafor (Char) 388,170.

Guards: Dwyane Wade (Mia) 2,029,591; Gilbert Arenas (Wash) 1,454,166; Vince Carter (NJ) 1,451,156; Jason Kidd (NJ) 838,486; Chauncey Billups (Det) 499,670; Stephon Marbury (NY) 458,181; Michael Redd (Mil) 351,277; Ben Gordon (Chi) 316,428; Steve Francis (NY) 307,287; Richard Hamilton (Det) 306,547.

Centers: Shaquille O'Neal (Mia) 1,622,446; Dwight Howard (Orl) 1,464,613; Ben Wallace (Chi) 788,950; Alonzo Mourning (Mia) 338,904; Andrew Bogut (Mil) 256,579; Zaza Pachulia (Atl) 244,507; Nazr Mohammed (Det) 217,067; Eddy Curry (NY) 202,010; Zydrunas Ilgauskas (Clev) 196,000; Primoz Brezec (Char) 164,734.

2007 NBA ALL-STAR FINAL BALLOTING
WESTERN CONFERENCE

Yao Ming the leading vote getter in the West. (Bill Baptist/NBAE/Getty Images)

Forwards: Kevin Garnett (Minn) 1,616,575; Tim Duncan (SA) 1,436,584; Carmelo Anthony (Den) 1,309,945; Dirk Nowitzki (Dal) 1,276,304; Shane Battier (Hou) 1,025,643; Shawn Marion (Pho) 551,173; Lamar Odom (LAL) 438,824; Josh Howard (Dal) 412,102; Pau Gasol (Mem) 237,828; Carlos Boozer (Utah) 359,882.

Guards: Kobe Bryant (LAL) 2,138,777; Tracy McGrady (Hou) 1,942,796; Allen Iverson (Den) 1,813,638*; Steve Nash (Pho) 1,504,826; Manu Ginobili (SA) 541,341; Tony Parker (SA) 501,429; Chris Paul (NOK) 462,206; Ray Allen (Sea) 444,443; Jason Terry (Dal) 421,924; Baron Davis (GS) 354,412.

Centers: Yao Ming (Hou) 2,451,718; Amaré Stoudemire (Pho) 1,209,333; Erick Dampier (Dal) 385,179; Marcus Camby (Den) 373,382; Mehmet Okur (Utah) 339,247; Francisco Elson (SA) 252,622; Tyson Chandler (NOK) 202,531; Brad Miller (Sac) 186,230; Mark Blount (Minn) 175,322; Chris Kaman (LAC) 160,234.

* The Philadelphia – Denver trade involving Allen Iverson was completed after the media panel’s deadline for selecting the ballot and therefore Iverson is listed on the ballot as a member of his prior team. For tabulation purposes, Iverson’s votes will be counted towards the Western Conference totals.

2007 NBA ALL-STAR BALLOTING TOP 10
OVERALL LEADING VOTE-GETTERS

Player Votes

1.LeBron James, Cle 2,516,049
2.Yao Ming, Hou 2,451,718
3.Kobe Bryant, LAL 2,138,777
4.Dwyane Wade, Mia 2,029,591
5.Tracy McGrady, Hou 1,942,796
6.Allen Iverson, Den 1,813,638
7.Shaquille O’Neal, Mia 1,622,446
8.Kevin Garnett, Minn 1,616,575
9.Steve Nash, Pho 1,504,826
10.Dwight Howard, Orl 1,464,613

(Source: NBA.com)

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Shaq Returns for the Heat, while Pau Gasol Wants Out of Memphis.

January 25th 2007 09:30

In a week of returning superstars perhaps the biggest literal and metaphoric made his comeback – Shaquille O’Neal – cower in fear players of the east.

Shaq Daddy is back. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

Well, in all honesty and with the utmost respect to Shaq Daddy he was nowhere near his dominant self, finishing off with five points, five rebounds and one block in his role off the bench. There was a lot of rust in O’Neal’s play which is to be expected so you can expect that he’ll once again become a useful piece in the Miami machinery.

Dwayne Wade who has kept the Heat afloat single-handedly almost did so again, even with the return of the big fella scoring 32 points and dishing off eight dimes but it was to little avail as the Pacers spoiled Shaq’s return by winning 96-94 in overtime.

King James and the LeBrons are going through a minor rough patch losing their second game in a row at home when they went down to the visiting Sixers in a thrilling double-overtime game, 118-115.

Andre Iguodala the new AI scored a career high 34 points and Samuel Dalembert added 20 to not only break free from the shadow of the former AI but live up to the great promise that was expected of them.

Bron-Bron scored 39 points and had a couple of chances to win the game for Cleveland at the end of regulation and the second overtime but he wasn’t clutch today. It wasn’t all bad for King James because he had the nastiest dunk in the game today that would have made Dominique Wilkins proud when he double clutched in mid-air and jammed it home with authority.

Does anyone think that Houston misses Yao? Dikembe Mutombo is playing some of the best basketball at the sunset of his career, while Tracy McGrady has been irrepressible and keeping the Rockets in playoff contention.

The Rockets came into San Antonio and beat them in their home turf for the second straight time with a confidence boosting 90-85 win. T-Mac was the main man scoring 37 points to top

Flight 23 takes to the air. (Photo by David Liam Kyle/NBAE via Getty Images)

all scorers while torturing the Spurs defence.

Baron Davis and the Golden State Warriors pipped the New Jersey Nets in a highly entertaining contest that went down to the wire with Monta Ellis hitting a 17-foot jumper as the clock was winding down in beating the Nets, 110-109.

Golden State must be extremely relieved escaping with this win because they were undergoing a massive slide that threatened to kill off any hope for the Warriors this season.

The Warriors can at least take comfort they aren’t the Memphis Grizzlies because the franchise is going through an extremely rocky time in their young history. Memphis can’t seem to buy a win, while their one and only superstar Pau Gasol requested a trade to a contender.

Full credit to the Memphis organisation for trying to accommodate Gasol’s request but they aren’t going to give away their franchise player for peanuts. Pau can see the writing on the wall and everyone wants to jump off the sinking ship known as the Memphis Grizzlies.

Watch this space for more news on this development.

Here is a clip of today's top 10 plays in the 'L'.

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Meet the Legendary Laker Girls.

January 24th 2007 13:23

NBALOUD has obviously been transfixed lately about voting in dancers for the All-Star weekend and since voting has closed there has been somewhat of a void. The basketball has been exciting, especially watching the Phoenix Suns today, but well, the feminine charms of the fairer sex always has us males hypnotised.

Although, every team in the league has their dance troupe there has been one gold standard in the NBA. This clique has been part of basketball fan’s fantasies since at least the 80’s when basketball came into wider consciousness. We are of course talking about the legendary Laker Girls.

Paula Abdul was a former Laker Girl and who could forget the movie Bowfinger where Eddie Murphy’s character had a penchant for flashing his tackle in front of those luscious ladies.

Regular readers of this space would be familiar with our recurring Top Five lists so here is NBALOUD’s list of the top five Laker Girls. Yes, how can anyone possibly pick five girls but this writer is fearless. However, this time NBALOUD is doing a bit of a cop out because unlike our usual lists which are ranked, this one is in no particular order.

Yes, the Laker Girls who are almost as famous as their basketball playing brethren and why shouldn’t they be? They’re talented and gorgeous!

As mentioned in an earlier posting the webmasters should show these ladies a lot more respect because they put asses on seats! The Lakers organisation may not show these girls the love they deserve but NBALOUD certainly will.

Annika

The first lady of the bat is the adorable Annika who is a university student at UCLA majoring in Communications. She also has listed as one of her hobbies as crossword puzzles. Better her than me, but got to respect a girl that is cerebral!

Candace

Hmm, not much to say here except that she likes shopping, dancing and waterskiing and is a Laker Girl. NBALOUD is sure that there is much more depth to Candace but the webmasters isn’t letting us gain anymore insight!

Lisa

Well, Lisa is a Cosmetology graduate, which is extremely useful for the other dancers. Lisa also likes drawing and snowboarding. Oh, and if you haven’t already realised she is also a Laker Girl as well.

Ally

This gorgeous Laker lady attends Loyola Marymount University as a dance major with a minor in theatre. Well, we sense there is a trend here because virtually all of these girls have dance and theatre experience which is probably a given due to the city that they reside in as well as their position within the Laker organisation.

Leslie

Have to give these ladies credit because they’re all go-getters with a love for vigorous activities and Leslie is no exception. She loves snowboarding and waterskiing and as well as attending university as an exercise science and adult fitness student. Kudos to you Leslie in trying to curb America’s obesity epidemic.

* All images from Lakers.com

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Carmelo Anthony Makes His Long Awaited Return to Denver.

January 23rd 2007 12:15

Carmelo Anthony and Allen Iverson. (Photo by Garrett W. Ellwood/NBAE via Getty Images)

The only game that mattered today in the NBA was the contest between the Denver Nuggets and Memphis Grizzlies. The anticipation was palpable from the fans, media and players because the world would finally witness an Allen Iverson-Carmelo Anthony tandem.

This game was to be savoured and this duo didn’t disappoint. Denver beat Memphis 115-98 and the mouth watering combination of ‘Melo and AI left fans wanting more because they were electric together.

Since Iverson’s arrival the only question surrounding the Nuggets was can the two superstars co-exist? The answer to that question my friend is blowing in the wind and it would be ‘yes’.

Of course there would have to be one highlight reel play involving The Answer and ‘Melo and it came in the fourth quarter with Iverson racing down court at full stride seeking Anthony with a lob pass – ‘Melo caught it in mid-air with one hand and made an emphatic jam all in a single motion, making it your Kodak moment.

Iverson’s connection to Anthony was the ultimate highlight reel play with AI conceding that it was a poor pass but ‘Melo displayed his mad skills for all the world to see, “I wanted to throw it up high so he could make SportsCenter… No, it was a bad pass, honestly. He just showed what type of athlete he is, he went up there and got it.” (Stapleton, AP, 2007)

FYI: The Answer and ‘Melo did make SportsCenter with that jaw dropping play.

Carmelo and Anthony just wanted to prove all the doubters wrong with ‘Melo articulating the feelings of both men: “We just wanted to show the whole world we could play together…We know there's a lot of doubt about that.” (Stapleton, AP, 2007)

In his return Anthony scored 28 points while Iverson scored 23 and dished off seven dimes.

It’s fair to say that the NBA loving public are salivating at viewing more games with Denver and this writer is no exception. We say, bring it on!

Finally, on the eve of ‘Melo’s return to the NBA he released an open letter to the public and here it is in full:

Dear Nuggets Fans, Teammates, Stan Kroenke & the Nuggets Organization,

The day is finally here. It has been a very long wait for my first game back. Before the game tomorrow, I wanted to take the time to thank all of you for your support of our team and your support of me. I greatly appreciate the e-mails and letters from those of you who wrote to me expressing your support. I also wanted to let you know how excited I am to get back on the court and play with my new and old teammates. I have been going crazy for 36 days waiting to return. All my life playing basketball has come easy to me, but not being able to play has been the most difficult thing I have ever experienced as a player.

I've spent this time off working on my game and reflecting on who I am. And who I want to be. I want all of you to know that I plan to be better, stronger and smarter on the court than I've ever been before. I've never been more dedicated to becoming the best player and teammate that I can be. It has been very tough watching the team play without me, knowing that my mistake has made it very difficult for my teammates, the franchise and the fans. I've spent the time working extremely hard, and I plan to come back better than ever.

I've also spent time thinking about the huge responsibilities I have as the captain of the Denver Nuggets, the captain of Team USA, a face of the NBA, and a role model to young people. I'm aware that a great deal is expected of me, and not just as a player. I'm expected to make the right decisions, lead by example and to be a professional.

Once again THANK YOU for your support. I hope to express my appreciation by continuing to develop as a player and as a person. I can't wait to get out there and show everyone what the Denver Nuggets are capable of. I'll see you at the Pepsi Center on Monday night. I'll be the first one there.
Sincerely,

MELO

(Source: Yahoo! Sports)

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The Phoenix Suns Can't Stop the Winning Feeling.

January 22nd 2007 12:51

The focus for most Americans today would have mainly been on the NFC and AFC playoffs. As a former avid NFL watcher and Patriots hater (sorry to all of my

It will be a massive injustice if Shawn Marion isn't in the All-Star game. (Photo by Barry Gossage/NBAE via Getty Images)

cousins in Boston) this writer and this space celebrates the Colts victory! Go Marvin Harrison!

Ah, now that the endorsement of another sport has come and gone lets get down to the serious business of NBA basketball.

First game off the bat is the rematch of last season’s Finals combatants, Miami who hosted the Dallas Mavericks. The Mavs came and conquered winning this contest 99-93 with Dirk Diggler and Josh Howard leading proceedings for Dallas as per usual. However, it was the veteran Jerry Stackhouse who stole the show scoring 16 of his 23 points in the final quarter to slice and dice the Heat.

D-Wade was his usual funkafied self scoring 31 points, grabbing six boards and dishing off six dimes but it counted for nought because the Mavs won!

San Antonio dominated the Sixers early and there was little doubt of the result of this contest when the Spurs ran away with the game, 99-85. Tim Duncan aka The Big Fundamental was his solid self scoring 17 and grabbing 15 rebounds, while Brent Barry led all scorers with 23.

The Spurs were too good and deep for the Sixers who will be dreaming of sweet lottery picks during the offseason.

Does it really matter if we don’t report the results of Suns games anymore? They just keep on winning and doing it in such an attractive manner that this writer has butterflies in his stomach while wanting to run around snow capped mountains singing songs from The Sound of Music. Yes, Virginia, Phoenix is really that good.

Well, for the record Phoenix won their 13th straight game by beating the Minnesota Timberwolves, 131-102. Hmm, ‘beating’ is putting it mildly. The T-Wolves were more like gimps

Brandon Roy is crashing his way into ROY contention. (Photo by Sam Forencich/NBAE via Getty Images)

to the Suns dominatrix.

Minnesota’s job was made that much harder when they were missing Kevin Garnett and Ricky Davis who were both suspended for this game. The Big Ticket was given a one game pass for throwing a punch, whilst Tricky Ricky was done for piking out early in the same game against the Pistons.

Underrated and underappreciated Suns superfreak Shawn Marion showed his versatility today by dropping 17 points and snatching 20 rebounds. Now, the Matrix definitely deserves an All-Star spot because he is arguably the most integral component in the Suns engine and yes, that does include Steve Nash in that assessment as well.

Oh, one last thing – Shawn did all of his work in three quarters!

Brandon Roy is looking to be a lock for the Rookie of the Year because he has just been sublime for the Trailblazers – today being no exception when the fabulous frosh scored 28 in leading Portland to a 99-95 win over the Bucks. All hail Roy!

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Overtime Thrillers Galore in the NBA and Ron Artest's Return to Detroit.

January 21st 2007 12:45

Ron Artest had to return to Detroit eventually and today was the day. One of the most infamous scenes in sports history occurred when Ron-Ron was last at the

Ron Artest to the Detroit fans: 'I pity the fools'. (AP Photo/Duane Burleson)

Palace, changing so many lives along the way.

No, the drama that transpired on that November night a few seasons ago doesn’t even compare with the tragedies that are befalling large parts of humanity but it still has had its fair share of consequences for all involved.

Ron-Ron came back to Detroit wearing different colours and sporting a new hairdo that channelled Mr. T. Artest was introduced and the Palace crowd responded as you would expect raining boos and jeers at Ron-Ron.

Thankfully, there was no drama on the night, which includes the actual game because the Pistons ran away with the win, 91-74. Rip Hamilton scored 19 and Tayshaun Prince added 17 to snuff out Sac-Town’s efforts.

Security around the Kings was tight with extra guards posted near the visitors as well as the presence of the fuzz to keep potential trouble makers at bay.

For posterity purposes Ron-Ron finished the night with 14 points, six boards and six dimes.

The Daily Sonnet must be stoked because the Knicks escaped Indiana with a very tight victory when Danny Granger’s last second prayer wasn’t answered allowing New York to win, 108-106.

New York have had nasty last second luck of late when their previous two opponents beat the Knicks at the buzzer prompting more collective heart attacks for the squad when Granger’s shot was going up. If the basket dropped you may as well have had a defibrillator

Everyone should stand up and applaud Allen Iverson's efforts. (AP Photo/Pat Sullivan)

on standby to jump start the hearts of the Knick players and coaching staff.

There must have been something in the air today in the US because a bunch of games went into extra-time with Washington, Cleveland and Denver needing OT to overcome their feisty opposition.

Washington almost snatched defeat via the jaws of victory when they saw a comfortable 21 point lead evaporate into a desperate contest against Boston who suck, but still managed to give one of the good teams in the East a run for their money. The Wizards eventually won, 115-110.

Cleveland’s Western Conference road trip continued with an exciting 106-104 win over G-State that as mentioned before went to OT. New Warriors recruit Stephen Jackson had a chance to win the game for the team when his 3-point attempt almost went in but rattled out. The new blood for G-State was extremely productive for the team from the Bay City and it should herald an exciting dawn for the Warriors.

Carmelo Anthony is on the cusp of returning to the Denver Nuggets line-up and his teammates couldn’t be happier, although they have been doing fine without the top scorer in the NBA.

Allen Iverson was the hero for the Nuggets banking in a running 3-pointer in OT while scorching the Rockets for 36 points to rally his team to a 121-113 victory. The cherry on top for AI’s night was that he also dished off 10 dimes. What a man!

For anyone who isn't familiar with what I'm talking about in regards to Ron Artest and the Detroit Pistons should view this clip. Or if you're simply a fan of a good ol' brawl should also be mildly entertained as well.

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The Next 'Michael Jordan(s)'

January 20th 2007 10:25

‘The next Michael Jordan’ is a label that is constantly bestowed on any talented guard or wingman with skill and athletic ability: Harold Miner, Kobe Bryant, Dwayne Wade, LeBron and so on have been marked as the heir to His Airness and you know what? They don’t even come close to being called the ‘next Jordan’ because there are two basketball players that have the most legitimate claims to this title.

Both of these players are athletic, have great handles and display that raw athleticism that was omnipresent in MJ’s game. NBALOUD would guess that readers out there are dying to know who these basketball playing prodigies are.

Well, their names are Jeff and Marcus Jordan and yes, they are the teenaged progeny of His Airness.

Jeff Jordan is the 6’1” senior starting point guard for Loyola Academy, while Marcus is the 6’3” sophomore sixth man for the same school. Of course there is little surprise that Loyola is

Jeff Jordan in action. (AP Photo/AJ Mast)

the number one ranked high school basketball squad in Illinois when both the Jordan boys are on this team.

The older Jordan boy has the leadership qualities that were so evident in his dad as well as the basketball IQ – he scored 23 points in his varsity debut while being the on-court General for Loyola.

Marcus and Jeff obviously have a special sibling on-court bond that translates to an almost uncanny ability to find each other with their specialty apparently being a Marcus to Jeff alley-oop play that gets a regular run on the high school highlight reels. (Deveney, SportingNews, 2007)

They look like MJ, rock the Air Jordans and er, shoot left handed so that’s where the physical comparisons end. Marcus even wears sports glasses on court, but there is no mistaking Jeff and Marcus are of the Jordan lineage. The best part for Chicago star spotters is that Jordan OG is a regular at his son’s games and it’s nice to know that he is just like any loving parent out there – just interested in seeing his boys performing at their best.

Michael Jordan’s hyper-competitiveness was legendary and there is perhaps no athlete in the history of sports that had the thirst for winning that His Airness had, which would make him a prime candidate for an award as a pushy parent. Wrong. Jordan let’s his sons enjoy their teenage years and doesn’t interfere whatsoever in their basketball education.

The only time that MJ had an influence on Loyola’s varsity squad was when the team were leaning towards a different shoe brand for the players – this apparently killed Jordan so he got the Air Jordan kicks in the team colours and all was fine with the world once again.

The Jordan boys are superbly built for basketball and of course are extremely good at the game.

So do MJ and his son’s play one-on-one? Well, not quite, the boys do play together against him and Jeff says the games with his pops is competitive because MJ doesn’t let up but they generally beat him because “We can kind of take advantage of him because he's kind of slower, but, I mean, he can still shoot. So it's still a hard time [to win].” (Wojciechowski, Espn.com, 2007)

Having the Jordan name of course isn’t without its difficulties especially when the boys are trying to follow in their dad’s footsteps but the boys take it in their stride while dealing with trash from opposing players and fans. Jeff, of course has a number of interest from Division 1 college teams, while Marcus is considered the better long term prospect.

Whatever transpires don’t be surprised when you see the next Heir Jordan’s lighting up the basketball skyline in the future.

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Jason Kidd's Already Messy Divorce Can Tear the Nets Apart.

January 19th 2007 10:33

At 33 years of age and going through a very messy and public divorce one would think that Jason Kidd’s professional world would be shattered as well. Um, try again, because the man is playing career best basketball and single-handedly keeping his Nets team afloat, but for how long?

So, far in the press Kidd’s side has been seemingly the only voice heard because his estranged wife Joumana Kidd has kept silent with her attorney speaking on her behalf. What’s at stake besides Jason’s sanity? Try the chemistry of the whole Net’s team because Joumana Kidd has been an integral part of the organisation since the Kidd’s arrival in the Meadowlands.

Tales abound of a manipulative, jealous and egotistical woman who would demand and receive the ears of management within the Nets organisation who reportedly was prone to

Joumana Kidd is the only one that can halt Jason's stellar play. (Image from cnn.com)

hysterical outbursts while making outrageous demands. Kidd’s Nets teammates allegedly referred to her as ‘five-o’ for her clandestine abilities to monitor her estranged husband and his teammates in the locker and in clubs. (O’Conner, NorthJersey.com, 2007)

One tale that is being reported widely in the presses is that Joumana got the Kidd’s young son to go through his belongings in the Nets locker room to see who Jason was calling and making contact with. (Wojnarowski, Yahoo!, 2007)

The truth usually lies somewhere in the middle and in all fairness we haven’t heard Joumana’s side yet which has the potential to be explosive and embarrassing to both Jason and the Nets organisation.

Savvy Nets President Rod Thorn has apparently been shopping Kidd around as trade bait because he senses the detrimental effect that these divorce proceedings may have on team unity if it gets really ugly as anticipated. Already, there has been misbehaviour alleged on Kidd’s part of both infidelity and domestic abuse. It doesn’t help Kidd’s case that he has already been guilty once of assaulting his soon to be ex-wife. Joumana Kidd has also gone to the New York tabloids reporting that she has actual evidence that Jason has been unfaithful to her. (Boston Herald, 2007)

Jason isn’t the only one rumoured to be trade bait, with a listless Vince Carter who is also going through his own personal problems is another player the Nets are keen to offload. (Berger, Newsday, 2007)

Kidd’s personal demons should be allowed to be settled privately but it is a bit disconcerting that both parties have decided to use the public sphere to air their grievances. Whatever transpires watch for a lot of fireworks, while observe closely at Kidd’s on-court performances when the proverbial human waste really hits the fan.

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The Indiana Pacers and Golden State Warriors Involved in Eight Player Trade.

January 18th 2007 09:35

As Deorre pointed out in the comments section on the last posting a big eight player trade took place between the Golden State Warriors and Indiana Pacers. Both sides have had lacklustre

Vince Carter proves he can count to three. (Photo by Kent Smith/NBAE via Getty Images)

seasons thus far so a change was inevitable with both teams benefiting in various ways.

The Warriors managed to get rid of two underachieving players that were costing them major dollars in Troy Murphy and Mike Dunleavy, with Murphy owed around $45 million and Dunleavy $38 million over the next four years. Imagine coughing up that cash for these two! Ike Diogu and Keith McLeod were also sent to Indiana as well.

In return G-State got Al Harrington, Stephen Jackson, Josh Powell and Sarunas Jasikevicus who have much more manageable contracts for the Warriors to handle.

Sarunas is an intriguing prospect because he is a sweet shooting, solid player that will be of great benefit to the Warriors and makes a lot of sense for G-State.

However, it is Indiana that is most relieved to finally see the walking headache in Stephen Jackson bid adieu to the Pacers who are desperately still trying to shake off their demons from the brawl in the Palace.

We won’t know definitively till next season to see who came out best in this trade but on an initial reading of the situation both teams came out winners.

Want to know how much intestinal and mental fortitude some athletes possess? Just watch how Jason Kidd has been operating since his ugly divorce became public and witness a player playing some of his best basketball ever. New Jersey played Charlotte coming up trumps, 92-85.

Kidd scored 17 while Vinsanity was the clutch man hitting key baskets late in the fourth to see the Nets secure the victory over the Bobcats.

Staying with the Atlantic Division we see the Toronto Raptors having a fair run of late with Morris Peterson and Chris Bosh having great performances to lead their team to victory over the woeful Sacramento Kings, 101-85.

Chris Webber’s debut for his new team didn’t go quite to plan when the Pistons were beaten by the Jazz 100-99. Deron Williams had a wonderful game for Utah scoring career high 31 points, while dishing off 10 assists for good measure.

The Pistons had a chance to snatch the win in the dying seconds when Chauncey Billups didn’t live up to his name of Mr. Big Shot by missing the potential game winning basket.

C-Webb’s final numbers for the ‘D’ were a very ordinary two points, five rebound and three assist performance in 16 minutes of play.

Joe Johnson continues his strong form for Hot-lanta since returning from injury when he scored 29 points and dished off eight dimes to see his Hawks overcome the Minnesota Timberwolves, 105-88.

In perhaps the most least anticipated game this season when two of the worst teams in the NBA battled it out to settle once and for all the question of who is the most horrendous team in

Get Joe Johnson an All-Star spot now! (Photo by Scott Cunningham/NBAE via Getty Images)

the league. This title seems to have been “won” by the Sixers who were beaten by the Grizzlies, 118-102.

The Los Angeles Lakers further consolidate their championship calibre credentials by going into San Antonio and outlasting the Spurs, 100-96.

Kobe Bryant was the main man as usual after a very slow start scoring 34 points and settling his team down in the final moments of this game. The Spurs on the other hand continue to struggle going 5-and-5 in their last 10 games.

Finally, Portland stunned the visiting Cleveland Cavaliers by not only beating them, but running all over the visitors to the tune of 94-76. No, this isn’t a typo – the best team in the East lost to one of the worst teams in the NBA.

Zach Randolph was the star for the Trailblazers scoring 26 points, while super rookie Brandon Roy was an able sidekick dropping 19 points, grabbing 10 boards and nabbing six steals. Not bad young fella.

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Comely Central Division Dancers.

January 17th 2007 05:42

Not many games played in the NBA today so obviously NBALOUD is going to vote for more dancers for the All-Star weekend! This writer can sense many readers rubbing their hands with glee at this news.

Before we move to the dancers from the Central Division teams we have to comment about the games. It’s a must. Sorry, but this page is primarily dedicated to basketball.

Today saw a great match-up between the Dallas Mavericks and Houston Rockets which looked fantastic on paper because we’ve got two top teams battling it out for Texan supremacy. Unfortunately, for all involved only the Mavs played their ‘A’ game with the Rockets getting crunched, 109-96.

The Mavs managed to overcome Tracy McGrady’s 45 point outburst with Dirk Nowitzki scoring 30 points, grabbing 10 rebounds and dishing off six dimes. Dirk Diggler was helped out by his equally talented sidekick Josh Howard who dropped 28.

T-Mac came out with a superhuman effort of scoring 21 in the first quarter and 29 by the half. The problem was that it was all McGrady with none of his fellow Rockets even getting a whiff of a basket, which cost them in the long run.

Australian NBA fans got to watch the New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets and Orlando Magic shoot bricks for four quarters and overtime with the Hornets coming up trumps, 84-78. Yep, this game actually went to OT and that was the final score.

There were enough bricks in this game to build a new stadium.

The one shining beacon of light in this game was the play of Dwight Howard for the Magic who has so much upside that once he fulfils it the whole league will be turned on its head. Howard ended up with 17 points and 15 boards for Orlando.

Now, the formalities are over with onto the girls!

Chicago Bulls

Absolutely, positively, no competition here because it is Shanon all the way! She has a Bachelor’s degree and two, count them two, Masters Degrees! Furthermore, she wants to pursue a PHD and is extremely altruistic.

Shanon is a dancer par excellence.

Cleveland Cavaliers

Hmmm, not much in the way of information here on the Cavs dancers so we’re going to have to go with Kristen whose dream job is to work a sportscaster for ESPN. A beautiful woman who loves sports is enough for most men.

Detroit Pistons

Well, these girls certainly look similar and if you’re into blondes you’ll be in goldilocks heaven! Interestingly enough Motown isn’t primarily known for its blondes but these girls are an impressive bunch.

NBALOUD’s pick is Jennifer and we’ll leave it at that.

Indiana Pacers

This writer is a big fan of how the Pacers have set up the bio pages of their dancers. The layout is pretty cool but it’s all about the substance. Well, the questions aren’t very in-depth as to be expected so it’s Amanda who is such a daredevil that she once jumped off a 33 foot cliff.

Milwaukee Bucks

Lindsey because she’s a fan of Conan O’Brien! That would always garner the vote of NBALOUD right there.

* All images from nba.com

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Gilbert Arenas Hits Another Stunning Game Winner, while Chris Webber Goes Home.

January 16th 2007 11:33

Can you hear it? The noise is reaching a big crescendo. The cries are getting harder to ignore.

Agent Zero for MVP!

Gilbert Arenas capped off a huge 51 point performance by once again hitting the game

Never fear, Kirk Hinrich is here. (Photo by Gary Dineen/NBAE via Getty Images)

winning 3-pointer to lead the Wizards to victory over the Jazz, 114-111. In usual Gilbert fashion as soon as the ball left his hands he didn’t even need to watch the ball drop because it was going down the basket.

What must that power feel like? Arenas is firmly establishing his MVP credentials and make no mistake the cries of ‘Hibachi’ will ring loud and clear by seasons end.

We haven’t had any Andrew Bogut news for awhile and this is the writers bad because Bogie is having a solid run of late. Milwaukee’s newest acquisition ‘My Name is Earl’ Boykins and Andrew have formed a very fair tandem, leading their Bucks to a 99-91 win over Charlotte.

Earl Boykins top scored with 30 points while Australia’s own Andrew Bogut dropped 27 and grabbed 11 boards for good measure. The smallest man in the league has some big cojones.

No, Chris Duhon or Ben Wallace for the Bulls – no problems because Captain Kirk Hinrich is still steering the Chicago ship in helping them overcome a very good San Antonio outfit, 99-87.

The Hinrich manoeuvre had 27 points and 10 rebounds, while fellow Baby Bull Ben Gordon added 20 for good measure.

Mike Dunleavy got the better of his dad’s team and scored some rare praise from Coach Don Nelson who labelled junior as a ‘disaster’ on opening night for the Warriors. However, Dunleavy’s performance today could not be ignored when he scored 18 points and nabbed 13 rebounds, while helping G-State beat the LA Clippers, 108-93.

Up and coming uber-player Monta Ellis top scored with 24 points and Baron Davis had 19 points and 13 dimes to represent the team from the Bay Area.

Miami came into Hollywood today sans Shaq which turned out to be a problem when the

Andrew Bogut has been good for the Bucks. (Photo by Kent Smith/NBAE via Getty Images)

Lakers beat the Heat 124-118 in overtime.

Brian Cook was on fire for the Lake Show scoring 25 points and hitting the go-ahead 3-pointer in OT to help LA hold off Miami. Kobe also had 25 and eight assists as well to round of a good night for Los Angeles.

Finally, we end today’s post with news that Chris Webber will indeed be signing with the Detroit Pistons for a bargain basement price. Webber will return to his hometown where he is viewed in a mixed manner due to his unfortunate time with the University of Michigan where he illegally received money from boosters.

Detroit’s acquisition of the former All-Star is a low risk venture that may result in a valuable return if Webber is still a 20 point, 10 rebound kind of player. This trade makes sense also because C-Webb will move to the centre position with Rasheed Wallace returning to his preferred power forward spot.

Detroit has also struggled to fill the gap left by Ben Wallace somewhat so the 6’ 10” Webber maybe just what the doctor ordered.

Other Results

New York def. Sacramento 102-97
Atlanta def. Boston 100-96
Toronto def. Philadelphia 104-86
New Jersey def. Indiana 105-95
Minnesota def. Detroit 94-90 OT
Phoenix def. Memphis 137-122

We end today’s post with a clip of Agent Zero showing off his MVP game.

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Delicious Dancers from the Northeast Division.

January 15th 2007 10:00

Girls, girls, girls! Yes, more NBALOUD picks for All-Star weekend dancers but before we move to the main event of this post let’s focus on the important stuff shall we? The dancers! Oh, wait…basketball. Sorry, got carried away there.

Thankfully for all involved this writer chose a good day to pick the dancers from the naughty Northeast Division because there were only two games today.

Dallas came into Toronto and squeaked by the Raptors by one point, 97-96 and was very fortunate to come away with the win.

Josh Howard made the game winning layup with 0.9 seconds left on the clock to save the day. Dirk Diggler had another standout performance with 38 points.

Need anymore information from this game? No, let’s move on shall we.

The second game today involved Allen Iverson and the Nuggets up against Portland, with Denver schooling the hapless Trailblazers, 109-93.

There was no answer for The Answer who dropped 32 points and dished off nine dimes, snapping a two game losing streak for Denver. Only a week left till ‘Melo returns and Denver must be counting down the days.

Now, without further ado: the delicious dancers from the Northeast.

Denver Nuggets

Kimberly is our pick because she states that her biggest accomplishment in life so far is becoming a university graduate, while embarking on further study right now as a nursing student. Good on you, Kim!

As an aside all the girls from the Nuggets look like clones of each other. Spooky.

Minnesota Timberwolves

The most interesting thing about the Q&A session with the T-Wolves dancers is asking them who their fave player is in the NBA, rather than just Minnesota. How daring of the questioner!

Our pick is Cori, who for the record lists Kevin Garnett as her favourite player in the ‘L’. Good to see her tow the company line.

Portland Trailblazers

NBALOUD could not go past Ione because her name is so unique and she’s from Guam! Other than that the profile of the Portland dancers is pretty bare but we do know that Ione is also a legal secretary. Right on!

Seattle Supersonics

Denee all the way! Her musical tastes might be dire but her artistic nature really shines through. Plus, her movie choices aren’t too bad compared to the others so she gets NBALOUD’s vote.

Utah Jazz

Has anyone seen Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle? Deeann, who is our choice by the way, looks like that character Freakshow’s wife! So, naturally she wins hands down!

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Memphis gets Embarassed, while LeBron and T-Mac Kick Ass.

January 14th 2007 12:46

You know a team is playing badly when their head coach equates

Ben Gordan is a scoring machine. (Photo by Gary Dineen/NBAE/Getty Images)

watching their performances to visiting the dentist everyday and getting a root canal, which is exactly how Flip Saunders described his Detroit Pistons. The team representing Motown ended a two game skid by beating the hapless Boston Celtics, 81-73. Hey, a win’s a win.

Detroit is having a small taste of what life is like without their leader in Chauncey Billups who has been out with an injury the past few games and the results aren’t pretty. Joe Dumars better get ready to open up that chequebook when Mr. Big Shot’s contract is up at the end of this season.

Rip Hamilton for the ‘D’ was the man with the plan, scoring a nifty 22 points to lead the way for the Pistons.

Memphis’ horrible season continued when the Chicago Bulls gave the team a pasting to the tune of 111-66. This wasn’t a basketball contest but a ritual sacrifice.

The Bulls had their easiest win for the season despite missing two starters in Ben Wallace and Andres Nocioni – it didn’t matter though – the Grizz copped a caning.

Ben Gordon scored 24 points, Captain Kirk Hinrich had 20 and Luol Deng added 18 in their stomping of Memphis. Elvis must have seen this game somewhere in a 7-11 and shook his head in wonder at how his home basketball team got baked so badly.

Orlando became the latest victims of the Phoenix juggernaut that shows no sign of letting up with a 107-101 win.

Boris Diaw the cheese eating surrender monkey for Phoenix was very impressive scoring 19 points, dishing off 11 dimes and grabbing nine boards – one short of a triple-double. Did Boris care? Nope, it’s all about the ‘W’ and that just illustrates why this Suns team is so good.

‘Houston, we don’t have a problem’ because Tracy McGrady rediscovered his lost mojo and

Tracy McGrady has been a superfreak since Yao got injured. (AFP/Getty Images/File/Bill Baptist)

went medieval on the Sacramento Kings to the tune of 37 points and nine assists. Most importantly the Rockets snared the win by beating Sac-Town, 115-111 in OT.

Ron-Ron almost got the Kings out of jail when he scored 11 points in the fourth quarter and hitting the game tying 3-pointer at the end of regulation. Artest ended up with 34 points, but it was all the Rockets in OT.

After the little bump on their Western Conference road trip when they went to Phoenix and got spanked, Cleveland got back on track when they outlasted the LA Clippers, 104-92.

LeBron James was his usual righteous self scoring 28 points, while his right hand man, Zydrunas Ilgauskas had 20 to lead their team to victory. The Cleveland Cavs continue to be the beasts of the east.

Here's a clip of the top 10 plays in the league for the past week. Enjoy.

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Dirk Nowitzki, Dwayne Wade and Kobe Bryant have Dominant Performances.

January 13th 2007 11:36

Player of the day: Dirk Diggler who scored 43 points in leading his Dallas team in overcoming a determined Indiana outfit, who gave the Mavs as good as they

Dirk Nowitzki was an unstoppable force today. (Photo by Melissa Majchrzak/NBAE via Getty Images)

got going down in overtime, 115-113.

Dallas should receive plaudits for their efforts today because they came back from a double digit first half hiding, than had to come back again from six points down late in the fourth – what a team!

Jason Terry and Josh Howard also made valuable contributions but it was the Big Sauerkraut who was the deadliest Mav.

The Hot-lanta Hawks also scored a victory today outlasting the Detroit Pistons, 99-93. Joe Johnson may have been the leading player for the Hawks but it was Josh Smith who was the hero, hitting a critical 3-pointer with 10 seconds left in the game.

Not too shabby being the hero upon your return from an injury. Take a bow, Josh Smith.

The Big Ticket had his usual big game scoring 28 points, snatching 11 boards and just generally being a menace to the society of the Memphis Grizzlies who continue to limp on in their nightmare season.

Minnesota won, 116-110 with the aforementioned Kevin Garnett having his usual stellar performance with Tricky Ricky Davis also dropping in for a cameo performance, scoring 27 points and dishing off seven dimes.

Antoine Walker and James Posey returned to the Miami fold after getting too fat and being suspended by the team till they trimmed down to the weight that would make them most effective. Believe it or not that is true.

Anyway, Miami have a nice little win streak going on when they scored a win over the

Dwayne Wade did it all for Miami. (Photo by Rocky Widner/NBAE via Getty Images)

G-State Warriors, 118-96.

D-Wade was d-elightful for the Heat scoring 22 points, nabbing 10 boards and dishing out nine assists. Jason Kapono also had a good game for the M-I-A scoring 20 points in complimenting Wade.

Kobe Bryant was quiet for three quarters than unleashed the beast in the fourth, scoring 16 of his 28 points in the final 6:44 in leading the Showtime Lakers 2K7 in their beat down of the Orlando Magic, 109-106.

The much maligned Bryant did what he has done all of this season: involved his teammates and spreading the floor making for a winning unit. Meanwhile, the opposing big man for the Magic in a figurative and literal sense, Dwight Howard had another monster game by scoring 25 points and grabbing a nasty 10 boards.

Denver and Houston faced-off in the highlight game for today in what proved to be an exciting contest, with the Rockets having too much fuel in the end for the Nuggets winning 90-86.

Tracy McGrady received all the defensive attention so it was Shane Battier who picked up the slack – hitting the open shots on his way to scoring a team-high 25 points. T-Mac involved himself by getting his teammates into the game by dishing off 11 dimes.

Wait till Yao comes back because the Rockets will be a force to be feared.

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Super Vixens from the Southeast Division.

January 12th 2007 10:42

How can a player score four points and still be the most influential presence on the basketball court? You had to watch Steve Nash operate in today’s game against the Cavs to know the answer to that question, because the formerly floppy haired Canadian was on fire!

The Eastern Conference leading Cavs came into the Valley of the Sun and got annihilated, 109-90. Not only did this score line illustrate the yawning chasm of talent between the east and west but the 90 scored by Cleveland actually flattered them.

Steve Nash dished off 21 assists in three-and-a-bit quarters of basketball that was pure magic. Stevie Wonder had that basketball on a string and the Phoenix Suns played the most wonderfully attractive basketball imaginable. It really did take your breath away and this writer was honoured to have witnessed such a basketball spectacle.

Jason Kidd may be going through personal hell right now but his professional world is going swimmingly, on route to recording his 82nd career triple-double, while leading the Nets to an 86-83 win over the Chicago Bulls.

Kidd was amazing, leading his team back from a 17 point deficit all the while recording his seventh triple-double for this season. Want some perspective on how good Jason is? He just had his seventh triple-double while players league wide have only recorded six for the season all together!

In the final bit of basketball news before we move onto the pretty ladies from the Southeast Division Earl Boykins the 5’ 5” wonder baller has been traded from Denver to Milwaukee. To put it succinctly the motivation for this trade was there won’t be enough shots on the team to make everyone happy in Denver so My Name is Earl had to go.

‘Nuts to that’ coach George Karl must have been thinking in regards to losing Earl.

Now, the dancers…

Atlanta Hawks

The A-Town dancers from Hot-lanta definitely live up to this moniker because they’re all smokin’! NBALOUD’s pick from this bunch of beauties is Desiree who attends the party school known as the University of Florida and is also recognised as one of the best bartenders in the US.

Now, there’s a badge of honour.

Charlotte Bobcats

Whoa! There are some bodacious babes from the Lady Cats dance troupe here and what seemingly great ladies to boot. The bio questions like all of the others are full of sugar and spice with no real brain teasers.

So, the pick of the litter would have to be JB who is also an endodontic assistant. Now, with her helping out, a visit to the dentists may be a little less painful.

Miami Heat

Talk about some hot, hot, heat! The dancers from the M-I-A have got it going on and talk about exhaustive fluff questions. We’ll go with Katherine who attended the University of Florida and also has her little sister in the dance squad as well – nothing like a little family bonding.

Orlando Magic

The Heat’s Florida rivals have some saucy vixens in their dance group as well. Disappointingly though the bios of these luscious lasses aren’t up yet! Weak.

So, naturally enough NBALOUD’s pick would have to be…drum roll, please? Megan.

Washington Wizards

Agent Zero might be getting all of the love from the Washington public, but it is these dancers that are receiving all of the lust. Why wouldn’t they? They’re both beautiful and talented – a deadly combo.

The team shot of the dancers look like these girls can be ass kickers because they’re that impressive looking.

Dancer bios are sub-par to say the least so we’ll just have to go with Myra.

*All images from nba.com

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Chris Webber Leaves Philly, while Dikembe Mutombo Makes History. Also, Jason Kidd's divorce gets Nasty.

January 11th 2007 14:08

Does anyone actually recall that Chris Webber was actually once good? Not just good, but awesome as f@#%. It’s hard to believe looking at him now that he

Dikembe Mutombo doing what he does best. (Photo by Bill Baptist/NBAE via Getty Images)

was once close to unstoppable back in the day and was a franchise player that could lead his team to the playoffs single-handedly. Needless to say those days are long gone with the Sixers buying out the remaining one and a half seasons of his massive contract.

The 33 year old was expected to earn $21 million this season and $22 million the next. Not too bad for a guy with bad knees, feet and a creaking body that is close to giving up. The buyout caps a disappointing two seasons in Philadelphia where he was expected to help out Iverson in trying to make the Sixers competitive.

What actually transpired was a disgruntled Webber complaining about his role and lack of shots in the offense. Furthermore, we had an aging former All-Star who was once an intimidating inside presence becomes a shell of his former self. The athleticism that was once on display in abundance was gone, while C-Webb couldn’t jump, rebound or play ‘D’ anymore.

Webber understands that he is coming to the end of his career and wants to leave the stage as a winner, expressing interest in going to the Lakers, Miami, San Antonio and Dallas if possible. Teams are now free to sign Chris up but the question remains is who would want to sign an aging All-Star with bad wheels?

It’s actually kind of sad in a way that this writer has to pen these words because back in the day Webber was admired by NBALOUD, especially after reading Fab Five by Mitch Albom about his days with the Michigan Wolverines.

In other news today Dikembe Mutombo took over the legendary Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for second place in the all-time blocks list with 3,191.

Mutombo had five swats in all against the Lakers and his wagging finger was working overtime. The oldest player in the league can still intimidate shooters down the hole.

Admittedly, second place on the all-time blocks list may have been out of reach for Dikembe if they kept blocks as a statistic during Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain’s time in the league.

Jason and Joumana Kidd in happier times. (Image from cnnsi.com)

Kareem would have been ahead too because for the first five seasons of his career they didn’t keep block numbers either!

Congratulations, though Dikembe and keep that finger wagging.

Jason Kidd’s divorce proceedings has naturally taken a turn for the worst when it was leaked to the press that Kidd filed for divorce from his wife citing spousal abuse as the cause.

In court papers Kidd said that he endured physical and mental abuse, while his wife also threatened to make false domestic violence accusations against him to police and interfering in his relationship with his children.

Joumana Kidd’s lawyers have shot back stating that it was her that suffered the mental and physical abuse and that a woman of such a small stature wouldn’t have a chance of abusing a 6’ 5” athlete.

The truth as always lies in some grey area, but the outlook isn’t too great for an amicable separation.

Finally, here's a clip reminding the world that C-Webb was once a total badass.

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LeBron James Crowns the Kings and Other NBA Results.

January 10th 2007 12:03

NBALOUD may as well concede that there’ll be a few readers that’ll drop off after this post because there are no pictures of NBA dancers today. Yes, despite

Jason Kidd goes 'Mad': 'Me Worry?' (AP Photo/Bill Kostroun)

recent evidence to the contrary this space is primarily concerned with all things basketball. Love for the ladies is reserved for the rest of the outside world, or in another day.

We’ll begin today’s breakdown of games with the Detroit/Philadelphia contest that didn’t turn out to be much of a contest at all – Detroit all the way, 98-89. Tayshaun Prince starred for the ‘D’ scoring a career high 33 points and Rip Hamilton made a more than adequate contribution of 22 points.

However, it must be noted that it’s not all bad for the Sixers because they’re playing basketball with a renewed spirit and vigour.

Both team and ball movement is infinitely better since Allen Iverson was traded away. Furthermore, Andre Iguodala has been freed from his shackles and beginning to live up to the promise that he has displayed since his rookie season.

Jason Kidd’s personal life might be in a flux at the moment, but his professionalism cannot be denied. Hours after filing for divorce from his wife of 10 years, Kidd came out with a typical basketball display from the star one man for Jersey with 10 points, 14 assists and eight rebounds in helping New Jersey overcome the Toronto Raptors, 101-86.

The mental fortitude of athletes has to be admired sometimes, especially when the majority of the population of Earth would struggle to be professionally productive after suffering such personal heartache. Not, Kidd though who stated; “There is really no distraction," Kidd said. "This is my job. This is my livelihood. Anything personal, stays personal. I have a job to do and try every night to go out there and do it.” (Canavan, AP, 2007)

New Jersey’s star trio were firing on all cylinders with Vinsanity scoring 32, while RJ dropped 21.

Dallas may have had their streak snapped, but it’s never too late for a new one when they beat the Jazz 108-105. Dirk Diggler was the big man on campus scoring 38 points, while the Booze had 29 for the Jazz. There was no sweet music being played by the men from Utah because it was the Big Sauerkraut that was making all the noise.

LeBron James is a superfreak. (AP Photo/Thearon Henderson)

Meanwhile the team from the Valley of the Sun continue their run-and-gun ways. You mean Phoenix won? Get out! The Suns beat the Sonics 113-102 with the Matrix aka Shawn Marion scoring 29 points, grabbing 15 boards, whilst Stevie Wonder added 27 points and 11 dimes.

Phoenix: hot weather, hot basketball team and hot dancers. Sounds like a nice place to be.

News of the death of the Eastern Conference may be a tad bit premature with teams such as Washington and Cleveland making a decent run. Coincidentally enough the Cavs won again to cement their position as an Eastern Conference powerhouse when they saw off the Sac-Town Kings, 108-98.

King James scored a nifty 34 points with a jaw dropping 24 point outburst in the second half. The crowning moment for His Highness was when he torched the other Kings with three rapid fire 3-pointers that saw a 17 point Cleveland deficit wiped out in 13 sublime minutes of Cavs ball when they went on a 42-12 run. Of course it was Bron-Bron who was the maestro in this virtuoso performance.

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Puuurrrfect Dancers from the Pacific Division

January 9th 2007 12:04

Were there any NBA games today? Does NBALOUD even cover basketball anymore with all the eye candy surrounding the voting for All-Star dancers? This writer would like to apologise to all of the hardcore fans of basketball out there who are dying for some NBA news.

But come on, give this writer a break. Before the voting for the dancers for All-Star weekend this page has been all about hoops. So, allow this writer to indulge in things that are still related to the NBA in a peripheral way.

This post deals with the Pacific Division and you know what that means? The legendary Laker dancers! Whoa Nelly!

Upon further reflection let’s get today’s basketball results out of the way quickly.

Luckily for all you readers there were only three games in play and not very interesting ones. Well, not interesting when we’re talking about lush ladies.

Today’s Results

Los Angeles Clippers def. New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets 100-90
Houston def. Chicago 84-77
Denver def. Milwaukee 104-92

Some additional news from the Denver/Milwaukee game – Iverson is listed as a day to day prospect due to a sprained big toe, while Michael Redd the star Buck will miss four to six weeks after injuring his left knee. Poor Reddman, he went up for what appeared to be an easy dunk but came down with a severe injury instead.

Now, onto the girls.

Golden State Warriors

Sheesh, what is wrong with some of these NBA teams? No profiles! Puh-lease, this writer is getting rather distressed here with the lack of information. How hard is it really to throw a few fluff questions? Hell, NBALOUD will do it if they want!

Although, there may be a lack of profiles for the dancers from the Bay Area they do have additional photos of these lovely ladies. NBALOUD picks GeriLyn because she looks rather exotic.

Los Angeles Clippers

Now we’re talking! The second team from Hollywood may lack some affection from the wider NBA public but they treat their dancers with the utmost of respect. Great individual profiles and photos to boot!

How ‘bout the girls? Great! All university educated and loving life. Why wouldn’t they? They’re part of the Spirit dancing group for the Clippers.

NBALOUD was going to go with Brittany since she studied in Sydney for awhile doing creative arts, but its Lindsay who is pursuing a degree in deaf studies. Can’t go past an altruistic lady.

Los Angeles Lakers

Ah, the legendary Laker girls, part of NBA fanboy fantasies since they were introduced. How have the number one team from La La Land treated their dancers? Pretty shabbily, with very cursive biographies.

The Lakers should take a page out of the Clippers book!

Since the space for the Laker girls is pretty lame we’ll go for a default pick of Lindsey. Plus, the two girls from the LA teams with similar names can battle it out for supremacy!

Phoenix Suns

Does the most exciting team in the NBA have the most exciting dancers as well? Going by on first impressions the answer would be a resounding ‘yes’! These girls are stunners. Well to be fair all of the girls are beautiful on every team.

Quite predictably the Suns organisation treats their dancers with style and class. Q&A is in-depth and interesting, while there looks to be some effort made. Niiiiccceeee.

We’ll go with Brandi because the reality program that she feels that would fit her best is the Iron Chef. Word!

Sacramento Kings

The Kings – the team from the Californian capital have been horrible this season, but their dancers surely must brighten up the mood of the best fans in the league. But who is going to brighten up the mood of visitors who want to look past the superficialities and get to know the girl better? Huh? Can NBALOUD get an answer from any of the Maloof brothers?

Reluctantly this writer has to go with looks again and it’s Heidi who gets the vote from NBALOUD.

*All images from this post are from nba.com

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Sexy Senoritas from the Southwest Division.

January 8th 2007 11:49

MATURE CONTENT

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The Latest NBA All-Star Game Voting and MVP Candidates.

January 7th 2007 11:51

Ben Wallace in Detroit made sense – a working class player in a blue collar town. We thought this relationship would last forever. Than Flip Saunders came into

Ben Wallace and Chicago were too good for Detroit. (Photo by Gary Dineen/NBAE/Getty Images)

town and changed everything. Larry Brown may be a lot of things but a fool isn’t one of them. One of the genius things that Brown did with Wallace was run some offensive plays now and again as a sign of good faith for all the dirty work that Big Ben did, thus, keeping the big fella happy.

Flip didn’t extend Ben the same courtesy, therefore poisoning his relationship with the new coach.

Ben had to go.

So, we arrive at today’s game in which Ben Wallace who was the embodiment of the team from Motown found himself in the opposition colours of the Chicago Bulls. The Bulls won and Ben had his revenge, 106-89.

Luol Deng for the Baby Bulls continued with his purple patch by scoring 30 points, while Big Ben had 12 points, 14 rebounds and six blocks. Ben was a beast.

There was understandably a little more effort from Wallace today which must have warmed the hearts of the Chicago establishment to no end because this was the player they envisioned when signing him during the summer – energetic, willing to do the dirty work and a rock on the defensive end.

Detroit must have been cringing.

Let’s give Joe Dumars the head honcho for Detroit some props because he understood what Ben brought to his team and was heartbroken to see Wallace go. This one would have stung.

Although, Wallace’s relationship had soured with his former coach this could not be further from the truth in regards to his former teammates – they love him and he loves them, as evidenced when all of the Detroit players came into the game sporting headbands. Rasheed Wallace even jokingly tossed one to Ben too.

The most important thing was the win and Ben Wallace would be smiling somewhere in Chicago tonight.

Speaking of Larry Brown wouldn’t you know it? The man is back in the NBA loop when he was rehired by the Philadelphia 76ers as their new executive vice president. Oh, the irony: Larry returns to the Sixers when Allen Iverson is no longer wearing the team colours.

MVP Candidate List Redux

Last month NBALOUD drew up a list of the top five MVP candidates at that stage of the season. We’ve revised this list and this will become a monthly fixture now.

Here are the top MVP level ballers at this stage of the season in order of ranking.

5. LeBron James (26.4 points per game, 6.8 rebounds per game, 6.1 assists per game)

Is there anything this man can’t do? As his statistics will attest, he is the all-rounder that has his hands in all of the cookie jars. Not only that, he has helped put the Cavs on top of the Central Division with a 21-12 record that is besting teams such as Detroit and Chicago. Two teams that arguably have more talent than Cleveland, but neither team has Bron-Bron.

4. Kobe Bryant (28.4 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 5.5 apg)

His scoring and field goal attempts are way down on last season, yet his team is winning more with essentially the same unit from their previous campaign. Kobe trusting his teammates more! You read correctly.

Bryant’s assists average is also up this season and the result is a happier bunch of teammates because they’re actually getting more shots, while winning. Perhaps the most important thing is the Lakers are only behind Phoenix for the best record in the Pacific Division, while playing very good basketball.

3. Dirk Nowitzki (23.7 ppg, 9.4 rpg, 3.1 apg)

Dallas have the best record in the league with Dirk Diggler being the driving force behind the Mavs tilt at the NBA title. Coach Avery Johnson has his players operating at maximum capacity, but let’s not take anything away from the Big Sauerkraut. He has been a monster for the ‘D’.

Mr. Diggler is not primarily a jump shooter anymore – he now can back down, play defence and has a nasty streak to compliment his new found attributes.

2. Gilbert Arenas (30.5 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 6.6 apg)

Agent Zero is breaking out in a big way. NBALOUD has always known about Gil, but the public are starting to catch on. The Washington fans regularly break out in chants of M-V-P and why wouldn’t they? Gilbert the Great has been on fire of late.

Hitting game winning shots, scoring points at will and keeping Washington on top of the Southeast Division is sure to garner some MVP love.

1. Steve Nash (20.1 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 11.1 apg)

Playing better than his last two MVP seasons. ‘Nuff said.

LeBron James is a leading MVP candidate. (Photo by David Liam Kyle/NBAE via Getty Images)

Latest All-Star Game Voting.

Balloting third returns are in for the big showcase in Vegas with no real change from the second returns. Here are the latest numbers courtesy of NBA.com.

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Forwards: LeBron James (Cleveland) 1,587,738; Chris Bosh (Toronto) 589,829; Jermaine O’Neal (Indiana) 531,531; Paul Pierce (Boston) 382,287; Grant Hill (Orlando) 331,931; Rasheed Wallace (Detroit) 299,296; Andre Iguodala (Philadelphia) 260,993; Tayshaun Prince (Detroit) 200,065; Emeka Okafor (Charlotte) 186,445; Chris Webber (Philadelphia) 173,572.

Guards: Dwyane Wade (Miami) 1,191,403; Vince Carter (New Jersey) 867,437; Gilbert Arenas (Washington) 647,281; Jason Kidd (New Jersey) 490,622; Stephon Marbury (New York) 347,994; Chauncey Billups (Detroit) 244,236; Michael Redd (Milwaukee) 192,280; Joe Johnson (Atlanta) 160,280; Steve Francis (New York) 155,676; Richard Hamilton (Detroit) 136,946.

Centers: Shaquille O'Neal (Miami) 1,013,747; Dwight Howard (Orlando) 789,950; Ben Wallace (Chicago) 451,575; Alonzo Mourning (Miami) 155,605; Zaza Pachulia (Atlanta) 103,301; Andrew Bogut (Milwaukee) 103,321; Zydrunas Ilgauskas (Cleveland) 88,979; Nazr Mohammed (Detroit) 73,139; Eddy Curry (New York) 68,445; Nenad Krstic (New Jersey) 62,550.

WESTERN CONFERENCE

Forwards: Kevin Garnett (Minnesota) 947,040; Tim Duncan (San Antonio) 852,827; Dirk Nowitzki (Dallas) 794,581; Carmelo Anthony (Denver) 769,491; Shane Battier (Houston) 539,714; Shawn Marion (Phoenix) 283,766; Lamar Odom (L.A. Lakers) 275,327; Josh Howard (Dallas) 256,409; Carlos Boozer (Utah) 217,872; Pau Gasol (Memphis) 198,075.

Guards: Kobe Bryant (L.A. Lakers) 1,386,477; Tracy McGrady (Houston) 1,205,510; Allen Iverson (Denver) 1,157,031*; Steve Nash (Phoenix) 869,645; Chris Paul (New Orleans/Oklahoma City) 276,477; Jason Terry (Dallas) 267,698; Manu Ginobili (San Antonio) 256,362; Tony Parker (San Antonio) 242,929; Ray Allen (Seattle) 221,003; Jerry Stackhouse (Dallas) 220,385.

Centers: Yao Ming (Houston) 1,629,832; Amaré Stoudemire (Phoenix) 610,444; Erick Dampier (Dallas) 246,918; Mehmet Okur (Utah) 189,778; Marcus Camby (Denver) 154,712; Brad Miller (Sacramento) 81,424; Francisco Elson (San Antonio) 71,114; Tyson Chandler (New Orleans/Oklahoma City) 69,851; Chris Mihm (L.A. Lakers) 69,840; Chris Kaman (L.A. Clippers) 67,430.

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Gilbert Arenas has a Happy Birthday.

January 6th 2007 07:27

The Dallas Mavericks and San Antonio Spurs faced-off today to settle for now who would rule Texas with the team from the ‘D’ beating the Spurs 90-85 in what

Happy Birthday Gilbert Arenas. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/NBAE via Getty Images)

was a thrilling contest.

Dirk Nowitzki came into San Antonio and promptly scored a season high 36 points to lead his team to their 13th straight win, while in contrast the Spurs lost their third game in a row.

Let’s give some kudos to the Mavs who didn’t play especially well but completed the job anyway. Well, most of the team didn’t play up to their usual high standards but luckily for Dallas Dirk Diggler was having a stellar game, hitting big shots and taking it right to Tim Duncan.

Duncan, on the other hand was unstoppable in the first half but then his team suddenly stopped seeking his services, much to their eventual detriment.

Miami’s nightmare run of late continued at the hands of the Phoenix Suns who destroyed them to the tune of 108-80. Poor Miami, they’re suffering from the worst case of Murphy’s law.

Steve Nash and Amare Stoudemire starred for Phoenix with 22 and 20 points respectively, while four of their teammates also scored in double figures. The Suns have such a balanced and unselfish attack that when they’re firing on all cylinders you can kiss the competition goodbye.

The one bright spot for Miami was the play of Alonzo Mourning who was as menacing as he ever was, even at the age of 37.

Kobe Bryant and his Lakers were pitted against Allen Iverson and the Nuggets in a game that was full of glittering star power. Too bad Kobe and The Answer had disastrous games with Bryant failing to even score in double figures – he finished with eight. AI wasn’t much better with 16.

It wasn’t even a contest anyway with the Lakers cruising to victory 123-104. Everyone must

Dirk was unstoppable against the Spurs today. (AFP/NBAE via Getty Images/Layne Murdoch)

be looking forward to the day that Smith and Anthony make their long awaited returns to the Nuggets line-up.

How about everyone breaking out in a cyber rendition of ‘Happy Birthday’ for Gilbert Arenas! Agent Zero will be hosting a celebrity studded birthday bash with Puff Daddy playing MC. Oh, the birthday boy got the best present of all when his team beat the Los Angeles Clippers, 116-105.

Arenas got even more presents on the basketball court when he continued his hot offensive performances with 35 points in this game – 29 in the first half.

There was a nice touch from the DC crowd when they chanted M-V-P during the game for Agent Zero.

Yao who? Tracy McGrady has seamlessly slotted into the main man role for the Houston Rockets by continuing his recent excellent form for the Houston Rockets. T-Mac scored 44 points and led his team to a one sided stomping of the Utah Jazz, 100-86.

How good is Houston going to be when the big fella returns? Scary.

Other Results

Toronto def. Atlanta 105-92
Orlando def. Charlotte 106-74
New Jersey def. Chicago 91-86
Minnesota def. Philadelphia 104-102 OT (KG hit the game winner)
Boston def. Memphis 128-119
Cleveland def. Milwaukee 95-86 (LeBron scored only eight points)
New York def. Seattle 111-93

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Beautiful Dancers from Atlantic Division NBA Teams.

January 5th 2007 10:50

Trust me readers, there were games happening in the NBA today. Hey, this writer even witnessed an exciting one between the Kings and Lakers that went to overtime. But, as soon as the balloting opened for the All-Star weekend dancers this became the sole focus for NBALOUD.

Each NBA team nominates three dancers to represent their squad during the All-Star weekend festivities. We just know that these girls will represent their dance squads in a passionate manner and full of gusto.

Gimme a Y-A-Y. What does it spell? YAY!

Not so much of an in-depth post today but rather a gratuitous excuse to post some eye candy on this page.

We’ll begin the first round of All-Star dancers from the much maligned Atlantic Division, because it got a caning from this page a few days ago. Their teams may be tanking, but it isn’t due to the lack of effort from these girls.

In picking a dancer we’re looking for the total package – looks and brains. Also, something that makes this particular dancer stand out from the other two because voting for an All-Star dancer is serious business.

So, without taking up anymore valuable perving space and time we’ll cast NBALOUD’s votes for the dancers to represent the Atlantic Division teams for All-Star weekend.

Boston Celtics

Hmm, this decision was a tough one for the Celtics dancers. Not because they were all beautiful, which they were, but because the Q&A was just so fluffy. NBALOUD couldn’t get a full picture of who the girl behind the dancer was. Whitney was chosen by default – she loves Australia and she has a university degree from UCLA.

Not too shabby.

New Jersey Nets

Um, not a very auspicious start here because this was also a default pick due to the fact that the other choices were blonde. Plus, Adar was the best looking one.

New York Knicks

No, contest here – Latrice all the way! She was the only one out of the three Knicks City Dancers to go to university and her favourite quote of all time is one from Gandhi! Respect.

Philadelphia 76ers

Similar problem to the Celtic ladies with a lack of an in-depth biography to really try and get a deeper understanding of the dancer. NBALOUD is in no way implying that any of these girls are dunderheads. The producers of the Sixers dancers are the ones that should hang their heads in shame.

NBALOUD has decided to go with Adrienne because one of her fave films of all time is Goodfellas, which is also a much-loved film for this writer.

Toronto Raptors

Geez, the Toronto Raptors don’t take their dancers seriously because there are no biographies for any of the ladies here. For shame!

NBALOUD’s pick from the DancePak is going to have to be on a strictly superficial basis: Katherine because she is beautiful and looks like the nicest one out of the group of three.

* All images from this post are from nba.com

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Gilbert Arenas: The People's Champion.

January 4th 2007 11:13

Gilbert Arenas drains the game winning 3-point basket. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/NBAE via Getty Images)

He is the kid that was cut from his high school basketball team. He is that kid that was always told he wasn’t good enough to ball. He is that weird kid that always got bullied at school because he was different. He is that kid who could never get that girl that he likes to go out on a date with him. He is that kid that works his ass off to get what he wants. He is that kid that you should never count out because one day he’ll come good.

He is Gilbert Arenas.

Love him because he is the truth. Love him because he tells it like it is. Love him because he admits to the world his insecurities. Love him because he isn’t above revealing that he gets a whole bunch of All-Star game ballots out and votes for himself.

Love him because he is good.

MVP good.

In a league that is inhabited by a lot of preening and posturing prima donnas, Gilbert is the outsider looking in.

Arenas is the everyman. The square peg in a round hole.

In today’s game, Gil’s team, the Washington Wizards faced off against the Milwaukee Bucks and the game went down to the wire – 108-105 to the Wiz.

Does NBALOUD even need to reveal who made the winning shot? Isn’t it obvious?

“Hibachi” as Arenas calls himself with 6 seconds left on the clock dribbled the ball down court and calmly sank the game ending 3-point basket. Don’t even try to trip for one moment that this basket was going anywhere else besides the bottom of the net.

“Once I let it go, I'm like, 'That's in,"' Arenas said. "I don't even need to look at this one.” (White, AP, 2007)

Love him because he is good.

Love him because Kobe doesn’t.

If Gilbert Arenas is the invisible superstar in the NBA, LeBron James is without a shadow of a doubt the ‘chosen one’. Arenas is just plain sick, while Bron-Bron gets all the love and why shouldn’t he? The man is good too. Just not Gilbert good at this moment in time.

James scored 32 points in leading the Cavs past the Celtics, 107-104. Boston has been miserable and Cleveland for the past seven encounters has tormented them, with LeBron being especially vicious to the Celts. Just like another player once did who also wore the number 23.

Boston may have not been able to break their hoodoo against Cleveland but the Minnesota

LeBron James having his way with Al Jefferson and the Celtics. (Photo by Steve Babineau/NBAE via Getty Images)

Timberwolves sure did against the San Antonio Spurs. This game was a war of attrition with the T-Wolves coming up trumps, 103-101 OT.

Kevin Garnett had a massive game scoring 27 points and snatching 17 rebounds, with fellow teammate Mark Blount chipping in with 28 points. Minnesota wasn’t going to let this one go after losing six straight games to the Spurs.

This one is for the Daily Sonnet whose Knicks scored a road win against a Western Conference team no less. New York came rolling into Portland with hope and came out with a victory, 99-81.

Eddy Curry for the Knickerbockers got dunkalicious, scoring 27 points and about a million jams against the Trailblazers. The big fella for the team from N-Y-C also grabbed 10 boards to compliment his rocking the rim. Jamal Crawford added 25.

The bookend for today’s post is some negative news: Pat Riley has decided to leave the Miami sideline indefinitely due to injuries in his knees and hips.

Coach should have called it quits after his champagne shower last June because it has all come crumbling down since then. His team are playing listless basketball, while the biggest and baddest baller on the planet has been getting about as much court time as Jack Haley used to back in the day. To make matters worse there is a mutual hate-fest occurring on the Miami bench.

Perhaps this is the last time we’ll see the hall of fame coach strut around the sidelines. Who knows?

Here is a clip of the top 10 plays last week in the NBA.

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Allen Iverson Faces Off Against his Old Team in a Drama Filled Game.

January 3rd 2007 13:43

The game that loomed largest on the NBA-sphere today was the match-up between the Iverson’s and Philly. Oops, NBALOUD meant the Nuggets and 76ers.

This contest had added spice when Allen Iverson decided to pop off at his former team by

Iverson trudges off after being tossed in today's game. (REUTERS/Mark Leffingwell)

denouncing the culture of the organisation, while feeling that he was being disrespected by the Sixers. Iverson argued that a player of his stature and pedigree should have been taken seriously when criticising the way the team was playing and is still bitter towards 76ers President Billy King and Coach Maurice Cheeks.

Remember readers all this drama happened before the actual game with Iverson raging like a bull at a red cape when the ‘festivities’ began. AI had a very impressive night by scoring 30 points and dishing off nine assists, but it was for little return because his old team beat the new one, 108-97.

To rub salt into the already large wounds, Iverson was tossed from the game with 1:44 remaining for jawing to official Steve Javie and receiving a second technical foul. Iverson’s mouth was in a very giving mood. The giving of insults that is. His post game diatribe was directed at the official who ejected him.

“I thought I got fouled on that play, and I said I thought that he was calling the game personal, and he threw me out," Iverson said. "His fuse is real short anyway, and I should have known that I couldn't say anything anyway. It's been something personal with me and him since I got in the league. This was just the perfect game for him to try and make me look bad.” (Stapleton, AP, 2007)

Think the Sixers weren’t pumped up for this game? This is the same team that had lost 14 of 16 road games and 19 of their last 23 overall, while scoring 100 points for the first time in 16 games. Oh, one last stat, they’re now 4-4 since the trade.

Critics of Iverson would be rubbing their hands with glee at these numbers, especially in

Leandro Barbosa's game winning 3-point shot. (Photo by Gary Dineen/NBAE/Getty Images)

regards to Iverson’s performance for the Nuggets which resembled the ‘good ol’ days’ with AI having a statistically great game, but from a terrible 10-of-24 shooting in a losing effort.

Let’s just hope for some normality in NBA reporting now because the two hot button issues thus far are Iverson and the ball.

Dallas are arguably the best team in the league stretching their win streak to 11, which compliments their other victorious run earlier this season when they won 12 on the trot.

No one is trying to dissect what is wrong with this team anymore.

Seattle came to the ‘D’ and got D-feated to the tune of 112-88, with Dirk Nowitzki doing most of the damage, scoring 31 points and grabbing 15 rebounds. Josh Howard kicked in with a contribution of 21 points and nine assists to make things worse for the Sonics.

It was an all round good day for Dirk Diggler after missing the last game with a sinus infection and his parents from Germany have dropped in too! Nothing like a mother’s tender love and care to make you feel better.

Perennial NBALOUD favourite Baron Davis had a hot night with the Golden State Warriors scoring 29 points and dishing off seven dimes to lead his team to a 97-89 victory over the New Orleans Hornets.

B. Dizzle’s job would have been made infinitely easier with the absence of Chris Paul.

Phoenix continued their charmed run by defeating the Chicago Bulls 97-96, with Leandro

Ron Artest is the latest player to have a big game against the Knicks. (Photo by Rocky Widner/NBAE via Getty Images)

Barbosa being the hero scoring the game winning 3-point basket with 1.5 seconds left on the clock.

Perhaps the most impressive aspect of this win outside of Barbosa’s basket was the fact that this play was designed for the Brazilian Bullet and that the play was drawn to go for a win. Talk about big cojones from the Suns.

Finally, the mercurial Ron Artest proved once again that anything is possible for the man from Sacramento. The Kings would have been thankful that ‘good’ Ron showed up today, scoring 39 points in leading the way in his team’s defeat of the Knicks, 112-100.

Artest shot a very economical 15-of-19 from the field that included a 13 point outburst in the final quarter to make sure the already downtrodden Knicks were given a bigger beat down. Word!

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Is the Current Atlantic Division the Worst in NBA History?

January 2nd 2007 07:08

The biggest news in the NBA today is of course the return of the good ol’ leather ball. Huzzah! NBALOUD and various other sources have harped on enough

Chris Bosh probably is about to go postal in Toronto. (Photo by Bill Baptist/NBAE via Getty Images)

about the old microfiber ball so we won’t give this topic a run on today’s post.

Instead we’re going to focus on the Eastern Conference, or as many wags have dubbed it, the ‘Leastern”. With the new year having come and gone now would be a useful time to get into an in-depth analysis of how bad the East really is starting and finishing with the Atlantic.

It may be a stretch to label the whole conference as the most horrible half of all time but one can make a sound argument that the Atlantic is probably the most woeful division that has ever existed. No, it hasn’t always been like this with storied franchises such as the Celtics, 76ers, Knicks and Nets featuring in this division. Hell, some of the most beloved teams in the history of the game are from the Atlantic, but something has gone amiss this season.

It’s now 2007 and the Toronto Raptors have the “best” record in the division at 13-18. They are five games under .500! Want to know what the worst bit is? If this trend continues, Toronto, or any other team that tops the Atlantic will garner a playoff spot on the virtue of finishing on top! That is just pure insanity.

Perhaps the most sobering numbers of all is the combined record of the whole division: 57-97.

Can we find a silver lining amongst all this horrendous ineptitude? Let’s analyse the situation for each team on an individual basis shall we.

Toronto Raptors

There’s Chris Bosh and er, nothing else. Bosh is probably the sorriest looking superstar in the NBA this season putting up a huge effort for the Raptors, while his teammates are terrible.

Vince Carter has that sinking feeling with the Nets. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

Toronto has poor perimeter shooters which doesn’t cut it when you’re trying to play Phoenix Suns style basketball. The best they can hope for is for some decent draft picks in the upcoming lottery which is going to be one full of talent.

Actually, that could be the prognosis for every team in the Atlantic: Hope to hell for Greg Oden.

New Jersey Nets

NBALOUD actually hopes that the Nets will be the one team from this division that will end up with a winning record. Because how bad is it going to look when the “best” team from this division clinches a playoff spot with a sub .500 record, while numerous other teams miss out with superior records. Just a thought.

The bigger question is what is wrong with this Nets team? They had a good last season, brought back all their players and are playing in a conference that has gotten worse. It should be raining ice-cream for Jersey!

Vince looks disinterested, while Jason Kidd is up there with Chris Bosh, busting his hump off and getting no love in return.

New York Knicks

What hasn’t been said about this Knicks team? Isiah Thomas is reaping what he sowed with this joke of a team. The most overpriced and underachieving team that has ever existed, while their home crowd jeers at them on a regular basis.

Outlook: No salary cap space or valuable trade assets that will ever turn this team into a winner in the foreseeable future.

Let's hope that Sebastian Telfair doesn't emulate his cousin's NBA career. (Photo by Sam Forencich/NBAE via Getty Images)

Still, they’re only one game off from clinching a playoff spot!

Boston Celtics

Paul Pierce is out hurt and the Celts are getting screwed by the changing of the ball. At least the Celtics can take solace in the fact that they might actually have some decent young talent in Sebastian Telfair and Gerald Green to name two, but they’re still sucking.

Oh, and at least they aren’t the Knicks either.

Philadelphia 76ers

For the past 50 years or so Allen Iverson has been the Sixers best player and now that he is gone who takes that mantle? The candidates are the other AI and Ashton Kutcher!

Let’s just cut to the chase and give out this prognosis for Philly: draft picks, please. Pretty please, with sugar on top.

How about one last interesting fact concerning the whole Eastern Conference: Detroit is the only team with a winning road record, while no other team comes close – the West? Five, with a sixth on a .500 road record.

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Kobe Bryant, Steve Nash and Tracy McGrady have Monster Performances.

January 1st 2007 06:18

Welcome readers to a brand spanking New Year – NBALOUD trusts that all our kickass visitors out there had a good one, or are, having a good one still. Drink and eat to your hearts content and party on dudes!

Amare with a massive rejection on Flip Murray. (Photo by Lippitt/Einstein/NBAE via Getty Images)

Just because a new calendar year has ticked over doesn’t mean that the NBA has stopped moving and grooving, with the last night of 2006 playing host to a number of big games. While also being the final night for the microfiber ball.

RIP microfiber ball, you won’t be missed.

Now, onto the games, beginning with the New York Knicks coming into the home of the Los Angeles Clippers and promptly losing, 90-80.

Elton Brand was the difference maker scoring at will with 32 points, while making life difficult in general for the Knickerbockers. How did Elton manage to make basketball miserable for the Knicks? Eight blocked shots, which was a career high for Brand.

Mardy Collins the rookie guard for the Knicks whose original foul caused the mayhem against Denver made his return in this game and didn’t resort to any thuggery.

“Anytime you sit out for a number of games, you always want to get back out there and play," Collins said. "The NBA decided that six games was enough, so I just had to deal with it. We're still short-handed at guard, so it's time for me to get some playing time, show people that I'm not that type of player, and I can actually play basketball the right way.” (Yahoo! Sports, 2006)

Thanks, Mardy we thought you were channelling the spirit of Bill Laimbeer for awhile there.

Moving away from the ugly proponents of basketball to the skilful artisans of the beautiful game which are the Phoenix Suns, who played a compelling game against the Detroit Pistons winning, 108-101.

Amare Stoudemire continues to prove that he is back to his best scoring a season high 31-points, grabbing 13 boards and blocking three shots. Steve Nash who is arguably the

Kobe showing his skills in traffic. (Photo by Jeffrey Bottari/NBAE via Getty Images)

preeminent basketball player in the league right now dominated with 35 points and 12 assists.

Speaking of superstar players making positive returns from injury, Tracy McGrady has more than adequately filled the yawning hole that was left when Houston’s superdooper star player was felled by injury. T-Mac scored a very nice 38 points and grabbed nine boards to help the Rockets defeat Memphis 111-109.

“I'm playing with a great deal of confidence now," said McGrady, who sat out seven games in December with the back injury. "Not having the big fellow out there, a lot rides on my shoulders to carry this team. I'm just accepting the challenge.” (Duncan, AP, 2006)

Perhaps the hottest team in the NBA this moment is the Dallas Mavericks who notched their 10th straight win by beating the Denver Nuggets, 89-85.

This win was all the more impressive when you consider they were missing Dirk Nowitzki who was out due to a sinus infection. Josh Howard was able to step up for the Mavs by leading the way with 28 points and 17 rebounds.

Finally, the Los Angeles Lakers ended 2006 with a good win over the horrendous Philadelphia 76ers, 104-94. Kobe Bryant was his usual dominant self: 35 points, eight boards and six dimes.

Bring on 2007!

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