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NBA Loud - by Evenard M. Panes

Yao Ming is a Straight Up P-I-M-P!

November 12th 2007 11:10
Two former Eastern Conference powers notched up their first wins
Manu Ginobili layup.
Manu Ginobili is a playah! (Photo by Joe Murphy/NBAE via Getty Images)
for the new season and we should stand up and applaud! Let’s give it up for the Washington Wizards and Miami Heat!


After an extremely poor start to the season by both squads, they finally got the monkey off their backs, and hopefully, this is the start of better things to come.

We’ll begin with the team from the nation’s capital who fought off the Atlanta Hawks with a 101-90 win. Caron Butler and Antawn Jamieson for the Wiz, organised a team meeting before the game and basically kicked some ass!

Better yet for Washington, both, Caron and Antawn led by example, taking the team on their shoulders with a shattering performance. Butler scored 24 points, while Jamieson had a further 23, and grabbed 15 rebounds for good measure. Talk about your hardcore performances.

Gilbert Arenas, who has been struggling with his body of late, also came to the party notching up a further 18 points. Let’s hope for the sake of Washington that they can build on this first up win.

The other notable struggling team for the East, the Miami Heat, found a way not to choke, pipping the New York Knicks, 75-72.

Heat guard, Jason Williams was the hero for the day when he made the go-ahead basket with 19 seconds left on the clock. It isn’t a stretch to say that the M-I-A really needed this one with Shaquille O’Neal, and coach, Pat Riley suggesting as much.


We here at NBALOUD have a nasty habit of not covering the best team in the NBA, which is the San Antonio Spurs. Hey, who on earth does give this team their due? They have been so consistently excellent that we expect nothing but sound basketball from the team from Texas.

Furthermore, their superstar players don’t demand trades, father illegitimate children, or have trysts with strippers in Las Vegas! As much as we in the public like to say we want clean cut teams. We all secretly want some scandal.

So, in a rare feat for us in this space, we’re going to write about a Spurs game. Funnily
Yao Ming blocks a shot.
No, one gets past the Great Wall of Houston. (Photo by Kent Smith/NBAE via Getty Images)
enough, the first game we choose to cover here was a smack down when they crunched the Milwaukee Bucks, 113-88.

The Spurs fans in attendance would have loved every second of this game as Manu Ginobili and Tim Duncan et. al. tore through their opponents. El Loco scored 21 points, and perhaps most impressive of all, he is actually the team leader in points coming off the bench with 19.7 points a game!

Performance of the Day.

Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady have been playing wonderful combination basketball so far this season. Both have been outstanding, but it was, Yao who was the catalyst in their win today.

The Houston Rockets defeated the Charlotte Bobcats, 85-82, with the big two of Yao and T-Mac causing most of the havoc. Yes, we could have taken the easy way out in giving the performance of the day title to both of the Houston studs, but we’ll go with Yao, and here is why.

Yao scored a righteous 34 points and the man hit a pair of clutch free throws with 20 seconds left in the contest to seal the deal. ‘Nuff said.

Today’s video is of the top 10 plays from, er, this day. Enjoy.




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Yao Ming, plus, Yi Jianlian, plus first game between the two, equals, a
Yao Ming and Yi Jianlian.
The master and the apprentice. (Photo by Bill Baptist/NBAE via Getty Images)
whole lot of fans in China! This year’s Superbowl garnered an estimated 193 million viewers worldwide, while today’s regular season game between the Houston Rockets and Milwaukee Bucks had 200 million viewers in China alone! Whoa, mama!

The game was shown on 19, say that again, 19, television channels in the Middle Kingdom, with an additional two live online broadcasts. Phew, talk about having your bases covered. One does wonder what are the differences of coverage between 19 stations? Maybe, one channel is a bit more risqué, for the kids of course, whilst the other might have clowns and ice-cream for the adults! Er, that sounds right doesn’t it?

Okay, now that the comedic component of this post has been done, and thankfully, dusted, onto the actual game!

There is no doubting that, Yi will one day become a bona fide star in the NBA, with today’s 19 point and nine rebound performance going a long way to illustrate the talent. Meanwhile, the more established Chinese basketball stud, Yao Ming had a great 28 point, 10 rebound and three assist output.

Although, the focus may have been on, Yi and Yao, it was Tracy McGrady who was the star of the show, dropping 21 points, snatching seven boards and dishing off eight dimes. What’s more, T-Mac had a first hand look at Yi, guarding the rookie for most of the night and he came away impressed: “He's pretty good…He has a tremendous upside in this league.” (Duncan, AP, 2007)

The final result was almost inconsequential with the Rockets routing the Bucks, 104-88.

Chinese basketball it seems is in good hands.

Four-hundred million eyeballs may have been tuned in to the, Yao versus Yi game, while the Los Angeles Clippers and Detroit Pistons match-up it would be fair to say didn’t generate nearly as much interest. Which is a shame, really, because these two teams are playing great ball. The Pistons and the Clips are having wonderful starts to the new season, but it was Detroit that was triumphant, 103-79.

Chauncey Billups paced the ‘D’ with 23 points, which included a hot second half display of five 3-pointers made. Mr. Big Shot’s backcourt sidekick, Rip Hamilton, also had a study performance with 10 points and 10 assists.

Kevin Durant may have been the anointed as a future superstar for the Seattle Supersonics, but he is quickly learning how hard it is in the pros. Even for one as talented as himself.

The Sonics are off to a winless start to the season and the Utah Jazz didn’t ease the pain when they came blowing into the Pacific-Northwest and stole a 103-101 win.

To make things worse for the Sonics rookie, he was shadowed by Andrei Kirilenko who is a nightmare to shake off for most veterans. So, Durant didn’t have a chance, being held to
Steve Nash layup.
Stevie Wonder is again today's top performer. (Photo by Victor Baldizon/NBAE via Getty Images)
7-for-21 shooting. AK47’s defensive prowess was on full display when he blocked, Durant’s game tying attempt at the end of the contest.

Game over. Jazz win.

Boston made history when they beat the Atlanta Hawks today, 106-83. In recent years when the Celtics have made history, it was usually the bad kind. However, with Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce playing for the Celtics, the boys in green are playing spectacular basketball.

So, what was so momentous about today’s win? Their 4-0 start is the best for the franchise in 20 years! Good on, them.

Performance of the Day.

It was tempting to give the nod to, Yao, but again it is Steve Nash who was today’s top performer. The Phoenix Suns battled it out against the Miami Heat and it was actually a close contest, with Stevie Wonder and his boys winning, 106-101. Plus, Nash gets this award because this was the game witnessed by NBALOUD, so we know first hand how good he was.

Shaquille O’Neal and the Heat were really putting a scare into the Suns, so Stevie Wonder went on a personal 11 point run, by himself late in the fourth to steal the win for Phoenix. Nash’s final numbers illustrate the impact of the little fella – 30 points, eight assists, plus 6-for-7 from beyond the arc. Magnificent.

The clip for this post is the top 10 from today’s games. Watch it because there are some real ripping plays here.




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Classic Magic Johnson Video.

March 21st 2007 10:42
Carmelo Anthony dunk.
They call him 'Melo Yellow... (Photo by Garrett W. Ellwood/NBAE via Getty Images)


After suffering from two massive defeats in succession the Phoenix Suns returned to normal broadcasting by hammering the Minnesota Timberwolves, 108-90. The win also saw the Suns clinch their third straight Pacific Division title. Good one guys.

Stevie Nash was Stevie Wonder as you would expect scoring 18 points and dishing out 11 assists. Raja Bell had 16 of his 22 points in a hot shooting third quarter to also lay some hurt onto the T-Wolves.

The man that played with some resistance to the Suns onslaught was of course Kevin Garnett who had his all too familiar standout game while the team loses. KG had 30 points and mammoth 16 rebounds which proved fruitless when you consider that Minnesota notched their 11th consecutive loss on the road.

In another blowout game the Dallas Mavericks did away with the New York Knicks, 92-77. Dallas has 55 wins and Dirk and the boys were just too much for a shorthanded Knick squad to handle. Mr. Diggler and Josh Howard aka J. Ho each had 24 points.

New York’s bad night got worse when Stephon Marbury left the game early on what
Adam Morrison
Adam Morrison for the win! Yes! (Photo by Gary Dineen/NBAE via Getty Images)
appeared to be an injury to his left arm.

Moving to the other side of the Hudson River, New Jersey hosted Denver with the Nuggets proving to be ungracious visitors when they decided to pip the Nets at the post, 94-90.

Carmelo Anthony led the way for the Nuggets with 30 points, while his little partner in ‘crime’ Allen Iverson scored 20 as well. The big two also got help from the team collectively when they clamped down on the Nets in the final minutes of a close contest.

Firstly, Denver forced Vinsanity into a walking turnover with the Nuggets leading by three, they got a further break when VC failed to hit an open 3-point basket that would have tied the contest. Game over!

Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady are both finally healthy and playing great basketball together – look out the rest of the NBA! Yao had a giant night with 32 points and 14 rebounds while T-Mac added 20 points and 10 assists. Go Team!

Houston obviously won their game against Indiana, 86-76.

Although, the Rockets had a poor team shooting night at 39 percent they more than made up for it with a 53-41 rebounding advantage over the Pacers.

Leading two players having big nights. Check. Hitting the boards hard. Check. Pacers lose. Checkmate.

The final game of NBALOUD’s coverage of matches for today saw Cleveland suffer a shock overtime loss to the Charlotte Bobcats, 108-100.

Cleveland was stunned after dropping their 10 point fourth quarter lead to one of the worst NBA teams and getting bounced in OT too which made things infinitely worse.

LeBron James had a fantastic second half scoring 30 of his 37 points after the major break but missed a runner in the lane with 10 seconds to play and a 3-pointer at the buzzer at the end of regulation to give Charlotte a sniff at victory. They took it.

Gerald Wallace was great for the Cats with 27 points and 11 rebounds and Adam Morrison hit the go ahead 3-point basket in OT to leave the Cavs reeling.

Today's video is a clip from 1980 with a very young Magic Johnson selling us some soft drink. Enjoy.


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A.I. is dead! Long live A.I.! The last time Kobe Bryant visited his home city of Philadelphia he had to chase the little guy in cornrows all over the court. This time
Shaq-Fu to full effect. (Photo by Eliot J. Schechter/Getty Images)
around he didn’t need to stop Iverson, but Andre Iguodala on the other hand was more than a handful.

A.I. MK 2 was in super form, scoring 31 points as the Sixers cruised to their sixth straight victory, 108-92. Kyle Korver, or as he is better known on these pages, Ashton Kutcher also contributed nicely with 18 points.

Returning from his one game suspension for thugging it out on Marko Jaric’s face, Kobe Bryant had a scorching first half dropping 21 points but cooled down considerably in the second half, ending the night with 30 points and an ‘L’ to the Lakers ledger.

Reports of Shaq’s demise have proven to be a tad bit premature if his performances of late are any gauge. Since Dwayne Wade went out injured the Daddy has come into his own once again and today was no exception. The Diesel scored a season high 32 points leading his team to a 105-91 stomping over the T-Wolves. Doubt the Diesel at your own peril – NBALOUD included.

Although this isn’t really breaking news because Yao has been back in a Houston uniform for a few days now, it is for NBALOUD because we’ve been covering other NBA related stuff of late and have been neglecting game news. However, this is the first game the big man had in front of his adoring Houston fans and what a nice way to say a big ‘word up’ to your people in scoring 24 points and snatching 13 rebounds.

Better yet for the big red machine his Rockets beat the Nets, 112-91. Yao’s work was also done despite having some of his fingers taped due to dislocating his middle finger of his dominant hand in his last outing. When it rains it pours.

The big fella is back! (Photo by David Liam Kyle/NBAE via Getty Images)
In all this Yao related goodness we have neglected to mention that Tracy McGrady also had a starring role with 34 points while doing his MVP hopes little damage on the way. T-Mac complimented his virtuoso performance with five assists and four rebounds.

Detroit snapped their two game losing streak in style by marching into Denver on a mission and out of the stadium with a win, 95-82. The notorious Pistons balanced attack was inflicted on a hapless Nuggets team with Chris Webber scoring 20, Rasheed Wallace with 17 and 10 rebounds. Let’s not forget Mr. Big Shot, Chauncey Billups who added 16, Rip scoring a further 14 and Antonio McDyess snatching 10 boards as well. Phew, whoever can match the ‘D’ when they’re in that type of mood?

In a night when games weren’t close Phoenix surprised everyone except basketball fans when they pipped the Hornets at the post, 104-103. NBA watchers shouldn’t be shocked at the performance of New Orleans because this team has been coming along very nicely.

The Hornets made a mad dash to the finish outscoring the Suns 10-1 in the dying moments but David West’s shot/pass fell short and Phoenix improved to 9-1 since the All-Star break.

Check out this new basketball commercial featuring some of the most elite players in the NBA for a brand that doesn't need anymore publicity, but we'll give it some more since this is a rocking clip.



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Moderated by Evenard M. Panes
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