The Truth in Miami posted by Joe Franciosa, Jr.

The Miami Heat had a foul to give, and Paul Pierce still intimidated his defender enough to dribble within the arc and take a shot that was so clutch in this series it gave me the chance to shout, "Miami can't  handle The Truth!".

In reality, Miami would probably have lost if the game had gone to over-time. With Dwayne Wade on the Heat bench after landing awkwardly on Ray Allen's foot after taking an ill-advised 3, it was apparent that the Heat would eventually lose this game. That's despite the Heat's bench outscoring the C's bench 31 to 10. Of course, aside from Kendrick Perkins having a cold night, the other four Celtic's starters looked like they wanted to just get this Heat series over with.

 So now the C's are up 3-0 in the series, and they're actually one game away from not just sweeping the Heat in 4, but sweeping them in 7 if the regular season games are taken into account. That means that this aging team will have a few extra days off before the probable Cavalier's match up in the second round. The Cav's were foolish to let the Bulls win a game. After the grueling 7 game series the C's had against the Bulls last year, we're all too aware of how tenacious that Bulls team can be. They're young, but they don't quit, and I'm willing to bet they take the Cav's to at least game 6 now.

 So Garnett has already rested a game because of his suspension (that ended up being a blessing in disguise, as Garnett really played with his old intensity last night. The fall-away baseline jumper? Vintage Garnett, and its because his legs were fresh.) So, if Wade's injury is more serious than just a muscle cramp, and he is out for game 4, this series is over and done with. That will give the rest of the Celtics time to rest up, and come at the Cav's with the full fury of a Boston team that's sniffing another banner.

Wade can't Wait posted by Jobani Contreras

Im sure you have all seen Miami's struggles this year.  Although Wade claims its a team effort, it's obvious to him and to us that he needs not more talent, but quality players. His fustrations reflect on the court, on the zigzag scoring droughts and barrages that the Miami Heat produce. If we can't wait for the trades to juice up the NBA roster next year, you think Wade can? Yes, millions of dollars are at stake but that's not what's important. Wade wants to Win Period. 

That Guy Scored 50?? posted by Scott Shepherd

A few days ago I posted a blog listing the best scorers in the NBA today that have yet to have a 50-point scoring game.

While researching that post, I had an even more interesting idea for a post.

It’s a list of guys who, unbelievably, had a 50-point game in their career.

Since I was using www.basketball-reference.com to research the list, we’re only going back to the 1986-87 season. It’s far enough back in time to make some of the guys on the list obscure, but not far enough back to where you won’t remember them.

In no order, here are some of the more random players to score 50 points in an NBA game over the past 24 seasons.

Vernon Maxwell

Before Ron Artest and the “Malice at the Palace”, there was Vernon Maxwell running into the stands and punching a fan. While “Mad Max” will be remembered most for that, he also finds himself in elite company as one of only 60 players to score 50 or more points in a game since the start of the 1986-87 season.

Maxwell may be most remembered for his volatility, but at one point he was very dangerous on the court as well. He dropped for 30 points in the fourth quarter on January 26th, 1991 against the Cavs en route to a career-high 51 points.

Charles Smith

The former number three overall pick had a solid first few seasons with the Clippers, but a series of knee injuries cut his career short after a few other stops. For his career, he averaged 14.4 points per game.

Though he never developed into a big time NBA player, Smith dropped 52 on the Nuggets in December of 1990. It was the only time in his nine year career the Smith scored more than 40 points in a game.
Continue reading "That Guy Scored 50??"

Fun With Box Scores posted by Scott Shepherd

Every Monday, with the assistance of the good people over at www.basketball-reference.com, I like to take a look deep into the statistics of teams and players from around the league in a little post I like to call “Fun with Box Scores”.

Some of the gems I came across this week:

-Quinten Richardson has gone 9 games, 275 minutes played, without taking a single free throw this season.

-Even more remarkably, Jason Kidd has taken just 2 free throws in 347 minutes this season.

-73% of Daniel Gibson’s shots this season have been from beyond the three point line, by far the highest percentage of any player in the league with at least 50 shots taken.

-Since 1986, the record for most 40+ point games before December 1st is 14. Brandon Jennings’ 55 point outburst on Saturday was the 14th time that someone has scored at least 40 this season, tying the record, and we’ve still got 15 days left in the month.

-Speaking of Jennings, since 1986, no player has had a better three point field goal percentage during a 50-point game than he did on Saturday (minimum 3 attempts).

-In that same time span, Jennings is the youngest player ever to shoot at least 34 shots in a game.

-Nazr Mohammed led the Bobcats in scoring on Wednesday with a whopping 13 points. In nine games this season, the Cat’s have failed to have a player reach 20 points in five of them, by far the most in the league.

-Golden State has given up at least 100 points in every game this season. They are the only team in the league to do so this season.

Great TNT Double-Header Tonight posted by Scott Shepherd

The NBA league pass is awesome, but nothing beats a good TNT double-header.

Tonight, we get a great TNT double-header.

The night starts off with Cleveland at Miami. I’ve written this before, but LeBron vs. Wade is the best head-to-head matchup to watch in the NBA right now. These guys always bring out the best in each other.

In 19 career games against each other, LeBron is averaging 28.6 points per game, 5.6 rebounds, 7.7 assists and 1.2 steals. Wade is averaging 27.2 points per game, 5.4 rebounds, 6.8 assists, and 2.4 steals.

In seven of the last nine meetings, at least one of the two has dropped for at least 30. Twice in that span has each player scored 40 in the same game.

With Miami having only one loss so far this season, and Cleveland coming off a big win against the Magic, I would expect nothing less than a shootout tonight. I expect both superstars put their respective teams of their back and play out what, hopefully, is a very entertaining game to watch.

In the late game, the Suns make their way to the Staples Center to play the Lakers. It’s a battle for first place, and hopefully it reignites what was not too long ago a pretty intense little rivalry.

I couldn’t be happier that the Suns are 8-1 and have the best record in the league. Make no mistake, I hate the Suns. With a capitol “H”.

I hate Steve Nash; I hate the :07 seconds or less offense; I hate their owner; I hate their uniforms: I hate their mascot.

But I love the fact that after this hot start I keep reading things like, “The Suns are back!!”

LeBron Makes His Only Trip to "The Garden" Tonight posted by Scott Shepherd

LeBron James makes his only trip to Madison Square Garden tonight.

For the past two seasons there has been plenty of talk about LeBron bolting his hometown of Cleveland for the bright lights of New York City.

In his career, LeBron has been fantastic at the Garden. He’s averaged 30.1 points, 6.6 assists, 5.6 rebounds and 2.3 steals in ten trips to The Garden. In his last two trips to the Mecca of Basketball, he’s had a 52-10-9 game and a 50-10-8 game.

Needless to say, all eyes will be on LeBron tonight to see if he can put on another show on Broadway.

Also on tap for tonight, the undefeated Nuggets make their only trip to Miami to take on Dwyane Wade and the Heat; the Pistons look to continue their dominance over the Magic in Orlando; and the Suns try to outrun the Celtics in Boston.

I’m gonna wear out my Directv remote trying to keep up with all the games tonight. Should be a great night of basketball.

Stay tuned…

Miami Heat preseason posted by john howard

The Heat are a long way from the title level that they were at a few years ago.  However, the team is reloading and rebuilding in the right direction.  The main pieces are there and need to develop---Dwayne Wade and Michael Beasley can potentially be one of the best 1-2 combos in the league.  Mario Chalmers and Udonis Haslem Are solid night in and night out guys.  Those 4 are the foundation of the Heat. 

The Heat are poised for the playoffs.  With Jermaine ONeal and Quentin Richardson, they have firepower when Wade isn't on the floor.  There are some bench players with some experience, but the key will be Carlos Arroyo and Dorrell Wright.  How well they play when the second group gets on the floor could make or break the game. 

This team really needs a big time 3 point shooter.  They could also use a solid defender.

Most likely----playoffs.

Failure--not making playoffs.

Above expectations---2nd round

With D Wade, he alone is capable of carrying this team to the Eastern finals.  But with LeBron and Shaq and the Celtics, that isn't likely

What is Shaq thinking doing this Shaq vs. tv show??????????????????? posted by Devin

I understand that Shaquille O'neal is a man that transcends just the NBA, but watching him attempt to play against other athletes in their own sport is extremely difficult to swallow.  Watching Shaq attempt to swing a bat was like watching a baby giraffe trying to walk.  It was hard to watch yet I could not take my eyes off of it, like a car accident.  The 7'1" O'neill attempted to out-slug Albert Pujols, out-spike beach volleyball stars Misty May and Kerri Walsh, and out-throw Ben Roethlisberger, needless to say he could not out-do anybody at anything.  The show is a half hour too long and the hosts are extremely annoying.  The most important part of the show, the actual competition, takes place in the last fifteen minutles of the show making the first 45 minutes irrelevant.  Here are some short examples of the show from Youtube:

As you can see Shaq should stick to basketball and leave his reality tv career wherever he left his acting career and rapping career.

Michael Beasley's situation sheds light on NBA one and done rule. posted by Robert Karpeles

Last week Heat Forward Michael Beasley checked into a rehabilitation center in Houston Texas. While it was unclear why the Heat second year man decided to check himself into a rehab center, it was reported that Beasley was going through tremendous stress, possibly some cases of depression. On Wednesday ESPN announced that Beasley broke the NBA’s substance abuse problem.  

J.A. Adande, an ESPN.com senior writer, suggested in his most recent column that Beasley’s unfortunate situation indicated that the NBA age requirement, which forces high school phonemes to attend at least one year of college and be at least nineteen-years-old before entering the draft, serves little purpose.

While the NBA argues that they are only protecting young players from the tear and grind of the NBA life, Adande quarrels that ultimately it is up to the player himself as to whether or not he will be able to endure life in the league.

Beasley served one year in college, was the # 2 pick in the NBA draft and averaged 13.9 points and 5.4 rebounds a game last season but seemingly neither of those accomplishments made him feel mentally stable to overcome whatever is going on his life.

While the NBA age limit has been debated excessively, Adande uses Beasley as an example of why going to a year of college does not guarantee a players maturity. But the alternative, allowing high school seniors to jump straight to the pro’s would not necessarily increase or decrease the possibility of unseasoned ball players going through mental issues, regardless if they are performing well on the floor or not, as is the case with Beasley. The answer, however, is for some athletes to consider staying a second year in school in order to avoid the fate of Beasley.

My first blog on ESPN.com 2/22/2009 posted by Sabrina

I just found my first blog that I wrote and figured I'd post it up here since it's semi-relevant to the upcoming season and what has been going on with the many changes.

27-27

As an avid Detriot Pistons fan, I’m just about ready to jump off a cliff because I just can’t stand watching them play like this anymore. If you’re a Wizards fan, you understand my pain considering we’re both 27-27 right now. Actually, I’m not punching myself in the face every time the Pistons lose because I think they can pull it together. With a new coach, new roster, and a few rookies, it’s understandable that this team isn’t quite the team it used to be. There is great potential on this team and I don’t think their record is doing them any justice considering their roster of very skilled players.

I want to start off by talking about Rodney Stuckey. As a second year rookie, he is getting a lot more playing time than he did last season. Also, last season he had to share the spotlight and Point Guard position with Chauncey Billups, who is now playing on the Denver Nuggets. Michael Curry, the current head coach, recently said that Stuckey is "the key to our team.” Stuckey is a great player, but keep in mind that this is his first year being on the court with so many minutes. He is new to the team and NBA itself and still needs the experience to be a star player. These are obvious reasons Stuckey shouldn’t be the “key” to the team. I think that with a few years, he’ll learn how to be a better player and definitely can lead the Pistons back into championship status.

NBA suspends Rush, Evans and Hasbrouck (AP)

Brandon Rush of the Indiana Pacers was suspended for five games by the NBA on Friday for violating the league's drug agreement, while Tyreke Evans of the Sacramento Kings and Kenny Hasbrouck of the Miami Heat drew suspensions for driving offenses. Rush was suspended without pay for five games for violating the terms of the NBA/NBPA Anti-Drug Program. [read full article]

From Yahoo! Sports

James, Heat scrimmage with Hurricanes (AP)

LeBron James went back to school Thursday, working out against the Miami Hurricanes. The NBA's two-time reigning MVP and some of his new Miami Heat teammates made a surprise stop at the university's basketball facility for some informal scrimmaging against the Hurricanes. James, Udonis Haslem, Mike Miller, Patrick Beverley and New Orleans guard Chris Paul -- a close friend of James --... [read full article]

From Yahoo! Sports

Buss: Lakers' moves not to counter Heat (AP)

Relishing the afterglow of being inducted into the Hall of Fame last week, Los Angeles Lakers owner Jerry Buss was candid, funny and reflective when sharing his thoughts on his life, his team and the Miami Heat. Buss, a poker aficionado who plays an average of six times a month, discussed the topics before hosting the Mariani/Buss Charity Open poker tournament at the Bicycle Casino on Tuesday. [read full article]

From Yahoo! Sports

Lakers owner still enjoying Hall of Fame induction (AP)

Relishing the afterglow of being inducted into the Hall of Fame last week, Los Angeles Lakers owner Jerry Buss was candid, funny and reflective when sharing his thoughts on his life, his team and the Miami Heat. Buss, a poker aficionado who plays an average of six times a month, discussed the topics before hosting the Mariani/Buss Charity Open poker tournament at the Bicycle Casino on Tuesday. [read full article]

From Yahoo! Sports

James doubts Gilbert cared about him (AP)

Adding a new layer to the rift between LeBron James and Dan Gilbert, the NBA's two-time reigning MVP and new Miami Heat forward has told GQ magazine that he isn't sure the Cleveland Cavaliers owner "ever cared" about him during their time together. In an article released Tuesday, James spoke of how widespread criticism of his decision -- and how he chose to make it a television... [read full article]

From Yahoo! Sports