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.

Shaq's legacy will be decided by season with Cleveland. posted by Robert Karpeles

When Shaquille O’Neal received his first and only Most Valuable Player Award in the 2000 NBA season, he quoted the great Aristotle; “Greatness is not a singular act but a habit, you are what you repeatedly do,” O’Neal had quoted.

Now-a-days it is tough to judge O’Neal’s consistency. While he has helped lead three separate teams to the NBA finals, he took the Phoenix Suns the last two seasons to the bottom cellar, locked the door and threw away the key. Regardless of his numbers with the Suns ( 17.8PPG and 8.4 RPG) this last year, his incapability to run up and down the floor coupled with the Suns inability to play a half court offense ultimately caused the Suns their present demise.  

To say whether or not O’Neal will go down as the greatest center of all time will hinge on his future season, with his new, new, new, new team, the Cleveland Cavaliers. When judging the term the “greatest” we like to think of centers such as Wilt, Kareem and Hakeem, guys that have stayed with their current teams for most or all of their careers, and were always great enough to keep them competitive.

Possibly, though, O’Neal could be doing something even more impressive; Taking an astounding four teams from either obscurity or mediocrity to the promise land.  

 Alarmingly, however, for O’Neal, this season may in fact hinge on a big chunk of his legacy. If he can take the Cav’s to the finals and even win the whole enchilada, he may go down as the center that could take any mediocre team with a hungry superstar, and turn them into a champion. If the Cav’s fail than O’Neal may be remembered as a once great center who ended up burying two teams on his way out of the league.

Bobcats rally, snap Heat's win streak (AP)

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From Yahoo! Sports

Alston's time with Heat may be over (AP)

Suspended point guard Rafer Alston did not practice again with the Miami Heat, and his second stint with the team appears over. His lone communication with the team in several days has been through text messaging. "It's unfortunate because we're going through a major playoff push right now," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said Monday. [read full article]

From Yahoo! Sports

Heat suspend PG Alston indefinitely (AP)

Rafer Alston's future with the Miami Heat is in serious doubt. The 11th-year point guard has been suspended by the team, which made the announcement about two hours after beating Atlanta on Saturday night. Alston was not at the arena for the game, with the Heat saying he was inactive for personal reasons and coach Erik Spoelstra only saying more details would likely be released Sunday. [read full article]

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Wade's 38 and 10 lift Heat over Hawks (AP)

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From Yahoo! Sports

Heat win in OT despite 39 from Bryant (AP)

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From Yahoo! Sports