Can’t win ‘em all (Photo. Gary Land)The ‘72 Dolphins have to keep the champagne on ice for another week, but some team somewhere (maybe the ‘76 Indiana Hoosiers?) was poppin’ bottles last night after the Celtics lost in Orlando … Props to Dwight Howard for enduring the Hack-a-Beast tactics (10-for-20 at the stripe) to finish with 24 points, but some of Boston’s L has to fall on Doc Rivers. We know imagination is hard to come by when you’ve got NBA coaches drawing up final-shot plays — witness Pat Riley’s trusty “Dwyane” play or Isiah’s old reliable “Jamal” play at the end of every quarter — but Doc had too many tools at his disposal and too much time on the clock for the C’s to end up with Paul Pierce shooting a rushed three when they were only down by two … Before that, though, KG fouling out when he did in the fourth was obviously huge, and Boston’s 20 turnovers didn’t help either. Rajon Rondo shot the ball well (18 pts, 8-for-9 FGs), but on D he was letting Jameer Nelson (18 pts, 6 asts) blow past him too often. Part of that had to do with the way Doc had them defending Nelson and after one blow by uncontested layup, you could see Rondo yelling at the Celtics’ bench … Dwight got into a little altercation with Veal Scalabrine, the most visibly upset we’ve seen Dwight get on the court maybe ever. If you locked those two in a room, which one is walking out? Yeah, we thought so … Tony Allen isn’t helping this team. In his biggest moment yesterday he blew a wide-open layup when Boston was down by four with a minute and a half left. Tony barely hit rim and there was literally no one near him … On the Magic’s local broadcast, after the W they presented Hedo with a Thanksgiving turkey decorated with team-colored ribbons. Hedo looked embarrassed when the sideline reporter handed him a knife and asked him to carve the bird. “I’ve never done this before,” Hedo said before making a feeble attempt and high-tailing it to the locker room … What does this win mean for the Magic? You have to consider them among the top teams in the East now — an emerging story for a while that was punctuated with beating Boston … Some of the Dime crew was fortune enough to be on the VIP list for the pre-grand opening preview of the first-ever Nike/Foot Locker House of Hoops store in Harlem yesterday, right across the street from the Apollo. In the name of creating a distinct NYC vibe, the first things you see when you walk in the door are paintings of NY-connected ballplayers Ben Gordon, Lamar Odom, Nate Robinson, Jason Kidd and Kenny Anderson. (Chibbs himself was in the building, coming over the morning after his Atlanta Krunk CBA squad had a game.) The second thing you see is a “shoe wall” featuring the signature kicks of guys like LeBron, Kobe, Amare, D-Wade, ‘Melo, Kevin Durant, Shawn Marion and Rip Hamilton, among others. After that it’s just wall-to-wall sickness. The store is sectioned off (Jordan, ‘Melo, LeBron, Converse/Wade, college, Air Force 1s, etc.) so it’s easy to find what you’re looking for, and it’s stocked with plenty of kicks, performance gear and lifestyle apparel. There’s also a “shirt bar” where you can customize a tee for yourself … During the tour we also got a look at Kobe’s new sneakers that will drop later this season. We weren’t allowed to take pictures of those, but we will hit you with photos later today from our trip … Two wins in a row for the Warriors, as they beat the Raptors on the road. On one play Baron Davis came down in transition and went right at Carlos Delfino to break him down. BD hit him with the low crossover, but Delfino picked him clean and took it the other way for a dunk. We’ve never, ever seen someone do that to Baron, let alone a burger like Delfino … Is it really a good look for the Raptors when T.J. Ford is taking so many more shots (22) than Chris Bosh (12)? There are times when T.J. heats up and he’s one of the only guys other than Bosh who can create looks for himself, but sometimes he’s just jacking … So much for Chicago’s momentum. After playing well at Phoenix and waxing the Clippers, the Bulls didn’t come to play against the Lakers yesterday. At the House of Hoops event we ran into one of our boys who’s boys with Ben Gordon, and he said he’d talked to BG a few days ago. “Not taking it well,” is how he described Ben’s mood … Yes, the Kings beat the Pistons. And no, Chauncey Billups wasn’t out of the lineup with that injury he had last week. And yes, Beno Udrih dropped 23 points. And no, Kevin Martin didn’t have to go off for 40 — he scored less than Beno … Tennessee’s Lady Vols look like they can coast to another national championship. They crushed Texas yesterday, a Top-25 team, as Candace Parker scored the team’s first 11 points and made a girl fall with a behind-the-back dribble in the first half. Parker ended up with 21 points, 6 boards and 4 steals … Play-by-play guy (99 percent sure it was Mark Jones) on Shannon Bobbitt: “Your chances are always good when you’ve got a point guard from New York City.” That’s what Knicks and Wolves fans would like to think … We’re out like going undefeated …
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November 19th, 2007 at 3:10 am
interesting... says:
http://www.first.com……………...
November 19th, 2007 at 4:22 am
KBY says:
Isn’t Jason Kidd from Oakland?
November 19th, 2007 at 5:52 am
Captain America says:
The soft underbelly of the Celtics has been exposed. They are the 3rd best team right now in the East, 6th best overall.
November 19th, 2007 at 6:34 am
Rodnets says:
Maybe Delfino is a Burger, but he is totally underrated, just remember Delfino, Manu, Nocioni, Oberto, Herrmann and Scola with the so called “Dream Team”
Those guys, along with the spanish crew, will provide the L some quality material. Just stop thinking those thins as unreal, and put them where they deserve.
November 19th, 2007 at 7:08 am
DOC says:
Celtics lost a game I wouldn’t say they’re exposed. Its the NBA it happens. But I see Paul still wanna dribble the air out the ball and take the last shot when he can drive and kick it out to Jesus. He did the same thing in Toronto when he was having a bad night and Ray Ray was heated. Then they made him inbound the ball in OT and Ray drilled it. I hope he aint on some Alpha dog shit. And out that so called dream team Manu nice, Nocioni okay, Scola gotta prove hiself, Oberto riding Duncan coatails, Delfino gets a highlight every 4 months, and Herrman aint shit.
November 19th, 2007 at 7:19 am
bigdre says:
celts-magic was the first magic game i saw this season, and i gotta say, what’s up with hedo? i know he’s been fillin up the boxscores but seeing him play during the game, he’s a different guy altogether. the man was getting clutch buckets and roughing it up for boards.
November 19th, 2007 at 8:04 am
hollowhustla says:
“Isn’t Jason Kidd from Oakland?”
Yeah, but he plays for the Nets. The piece said “NYC connected” players.
November 19th, 2007 at 8:11 am
hollowhustla says:
Manu is all that. Nocioni is a wild hack but he’s alright. Ditto for Scola. Delfino couldn’t even get off the Pistons bench. Puh-leeze with the under-rated madness. Herrman? Did you just say Herrman? Your killing me! Ditto for Oberto.
November 19th, 2007 at 8:18 am
PJ says:
And there is no mention of the Lakers mopping the floor against the Bulls?
November 19th, 2007 at 8:40 am
Dame says:
kendrick perkins is the weak link he just sucks. I cant believe he was talking all that ‘we already have a big man ‘ stuff when they were losing games to get Oden last year.
November 19th, 2007 at 8:45 am
jay says:
yeah i got an invite to the store.i can not wait..i am sure everything is through the roof but i do have some spare coin so we shall see! i can not wait to see this…all the good kobe stuff was asia as far as the kobe II. the purple/black and the usa ult…we shall see what house of hoops has in store! i can not wait! a fat kid in a candy store!!!
November 19th, 2007 at 9:13 am
EG says:
I have come to Dime of quasi objective reporting, but today it did not happen. A couple of things…
1. Tony Allen did help the Celtics yesterday. He was a major contributor on the unit that helped narrow Orlando’s lead in the second half. Yeah, he missed the layup, but without his energy and defense I’m not sure the C’s would have been in that position.
2. Doc Rivers actually coached a very good second half yesterday. You mentioned the Paul Pierce off-balanced 3 point attempt, but you forget to mention that Doc drew up the play the left Tony Allen wide open for a layup. And back to Pierce’s three point shot, who says that Rivers did not call a different play, but decided to go for the win. And even if he did call the play it should not be criticized. When you have a “future HOF” (i have no idea how you guys came to that conclusion)player sometimes the best play is to give him the ball and see what happens!
Normally I don’t complain too much, but it is Monday and I wish I was still at home sleep!
November 19th, 2007 at 9:21 am
maddskizzle says:
Delfino is pretty dirty, seen him play a couple times and his D is rock-solid
Plus he’s got this cocky swagger to him.. he can throw down too, just ask ‘meka
November 19th, 2007 at 9:21 am
Kobeef says:
The Lakers-Bulls game had to be the most irony filled game of the year. I agree with Skiles on the Kobe to Chicago situation - especially after last night - it’s done. No way Kobe has any interest in leaving the lakers to lose in the east with that bunch.
Yes - the celtics were exposed - they cannot stop a strong frontcourt. It’s sad to see but KG needs help…again.
November 19th, 2007 at 9:24 am
d1n says:
The C’s chose a three at the end because they had no chance going into OT without KG. Simple as that.
November 19th, 2007 at 9:42 am
djKianoosh says:
of the argentina boys you mention, the pecking order is as follows…
- Manu (by far)
- Scola (wait and you will see)
- Nocioni (scrappy and tough, but still a role player)
- Oberto (very smart role player, there’s a reason the Spurs had him on the floor in the late stages of all their late playoff games last year, especially against Cleveland. riding TD’s coattails sure, but he does it better than anyone, and that gets you wins)
- Delfino (i understand why people say he’s underrated, but I think people around the L know how good he can be, still young though, needs more experience)
- Herrmann (all heart, just a role player, but hey, he’s in the NBA, so that means he’s very good at something or at least a decent at a lot of things)
November 19th, 2007 at 10:45 am
MiCkeY MoNDaY says:
Now can the Magic get some respect around here???? they beat the almighty Celtics and are now 9-2….
November 19th, 2007 at 11:27 am
2 Easy says:
Ok I watched that game, first lemme just say I cant stand watchin a home team’s channel broadcast their games, its hard to swallow listenin to them suck off their own team. The Celts got exposed? Try again. They were down 20 at the half and came back to almost win this (which they woulda done had Tony Allen not destroyed his left leg and now have no lift off it) P2 knew that KG is their interior and without him they had no shot in OT so he went for it all and at 8-0 u can do that. I dont like how he went for it but thats another story, there was more than enough time for a better shot than that and wit Jesus on ur team, he should get 1st priority for 3s even if hes havin an off night which he was. Bulls = WTF? I dont kno wats wrong wit this team. Centaurs a beast, he bullied everyone from KG to Perkins to that scrub Scallibrene who tried so hard to pull him. It was sad to see them all struggle but that doesnt mean thier suddendly soft. Their way better than I expected personally and who knew Rondo could stroke it like that?
November 19th, 2007 at 11:44 am
Bron42 says:
argentina beat the dream team? when was this? did i miss that? cuz i remember them beating a team that had marbury at the point, larry brown at the coach, and lebron,melo, wade and amare were too young to get minutes. not really the dream team so lets not over gas the ONE win. manu is decent, although he wouldnt hold his own jock on a team where he was #1 option in the L. The rest of the guys barely deserve mention. Delfino is a total burger, so is herrmann. Delfino has been in the league for alil while and has NEVER stood out. just complains alot and gets a dunk during garbage time. scola isn’t even andrew bogut level, let alone anything more than a body/4th option.
I’d love to get excited about the magic, but they had a hot start last year too until jameer had too much popcorn and was droppin the ball like it was prison soap. Although, people don’t seem to be hatin on rashards contract that much. You kno he was tryin to prove a point to ray allen last night. Can someone explain to me how Scalabrinie yokes howards jersey on a dunk (which can lead to inury, i kno from experience) but nothing happens, howard pushes scals off him but gets a T? And of course it makes sense, the one day rondo suddenly can shoot, his defense suddenly sucks.
November 19th, 2007 at 12:17 pm
Gee says:
I missed all the games this weekend.
Sadly I have no comment to make.
……walks away from the computer in shame.
November 19th, 2007 at 12:25 pm
Str8baller says:
Twenty…….. FIRST!!!!!!!!!
November 19th, 2007 at 12:42 pm
skurv says:
manu wouldnt hold is own if he was the #1 option? foolish. youve obviously never watched a full game of manu heroics. he has skills like no other in the league. the way he destroyed phx by himself in the 05 western conf finals, or perhaps busting off 24 straight points by himself last season, was downright tear jerking. and penis jerking. the man is a god among mortals….in the same way that scott baio is.
November 19th, 2007 at 1:02 pm
Celts Fan says:
Doc Rivers will screw up our season. Perk is fine. He’s doing everything he needs to do (rebound, block shots, defend, make dunks, and stay out of the way of everyone else on offense.) The problem w/ our team is that Big Baby and Leon Powe have both shown that they are legit NBA players (Baby could be a starter at some point and Leon’s at least a much better version of Reggie Evans) yet they insist on playing Veal 20 mpg. The guy can (occasionally) knock down 3s, but come on man, he’s a joke and so is Doc for playing him so much. Anyone that’s so big and can shoot has a place on an NBA roster, but the first big off the bench? Are you kidding me? He didn’t look good when he was playing w/ JKidd, so how does he become the 6th man for a contendor? Hopefully, whoever’s coaching us next year after Doc blows the season in the playoffs will recognize this. It’s almost like Veal has pics of Doc w/ a group of naked 8 year old boys and is blackmailing him for PT. That’s more rational than saying Veal deserves the PT or has shown anything to earn it…
November 19th, 2007 at 1:04 pm
Celts Fan says:
btw, anyone still questioning Rondo’s jumper? Kid is legit and will be a top 5 pg very soon…
November 19th, 2007 at 1:15 pm
Bron42 says:
skurv: you serious? manu’s heroics? do you write for marvel? hes a glorified slasher, and he ONLY can do what he does cuz duncan is number #1, parker is #2. so he has free reign. on a team where he’s the star, teams would just double and triple team him like they would a kobe or tmac. and he doesn’t have their offensive arsenal.
November 19th, 2007 at 1:34 pm
betterbasketball says:
Manu is all acting and flopping. Noose at least has a legit game. Noose can do anything that Manu can do, and doesn’t need to try to trick the refs into making false calls.
Manu always creates very weak contact, then falls to the ground like he was hit by a sniper and twitches on the ground like a dying fish until he gets the call. The guy is sickening to watch most of the time, he might have some skills but you never get to see him because he’s too busy having a seizure.
Fuck Manu and every one of those idiot punk asses who have tried to follow into his flopping footsteps. The guy is a pussy, and the nba is a pussier place because of him playing.
November 19th, 2007 at 1:42 pm
Bron42 says:
wow, that was kinda vicious even by my standards lol
November 19th, 2007 at 2:23 pm
Myrie in NY says:
betterbasketball is spitting FIRE!!
November 19th, 2007 at 2:39 pm
doc says:
damn did Manu say no and yall had to go with JJ Redick on NBA TV Better B-ball
November 19th, 2007 at 2:45 pm
jonny says:
yeah, manu flops, but can you blame him? it helps his team win games, and it’s on the refs to stop it. aren’t they supposed to start calling T’s for flopping? i haven’t seen this called at all yet.
i think devin harris takes the flopping crown over manu though.
November 19th, 2007 at 2:52 pm
Bron42 says:
lol no one takes the floppin title from manu…devin could do it every play for a year and not take it. manu’s only comp is varejo but hes not playin…even yao flopped against duncan the other night..now thats sad…
November 19th, 2007 at 3:24 pm
Jay says:
Pretty sure Dwight got into it with Pollard, not Scalabrine…
November 19th, 2007 at 3:31 pm
2 Easy says:
Nope jay it was Scalabrine the dirtmonger. I watched the game and he knew he was on a poster so he grabbed his jersey
November 19th, 2007 at 4:12 pm
djKianoosh says:
here we go with the same arguments against manu.. you guys seriously don’t watch the spurs play do you? go to nba.com and check the lenovo plus-minus stats on the spurs and you’ll see that ginobili is #1 on that team in every combination of 5-man, 4-man, 3-man, etc. that means when he’s on the floor, the Spurs go up, regardless of whether TP or TD are in there. really. it’s true.
and there are lots of times where Popovich leaves him out there alone and he does carry the Spurs. and he’s doing this with the bench guys!! his 2005 playoffs were amazing yet you let the flops distract you. his Olympic gold was also amazing in its own right because nobody stopped him. nobody… and while we’re at it, marbury barely played any important minutes, please cut the crap. that was the AI-TD show, while melo sulked and didn’t get any time on court. Manu shot over 70% from the field that entire tournament, hello!!
and he was dangerously close to getting finals MVP in 2005 against detroit, who everybody said has such a great D. duncan only beat him out 4-3 in the MVP voting, and I dare say TD got that on just reputation. Games 1 and 2 he destroyed Detroit until they went back home and started hacking him. in the final game, TD did his thing in the first half, they voted for the MVP at half, but it was Manu in the 2nd half that clinched the championship. check the film. i’m out like the manu haters!
November 19th, 2007 at 7:45 pm
Bron42 says:
marbury actually did get minutes and the simple fact the team was sooo bad that duncan flat out said he’d never do it again, should say enough that it wasn’t our best players let alone dream team. the simple fact the names kg,kidd,kobe were left off the list says enough.
manu is ok but stop actin all crazy like he has kobe type superstar potential, because he doesn’t. He in never the focal point of the offense on the spurs. and on top of that he made flopping fashionable…hes like the rapper cameron and wearin pink. floppin was gay until people saw manu gettin away with it. I’ll give manu credit, hes one of the few euro guys i wouldnt call soft, but hes not d wade level, kobe level, even tony parker level. hes a spark who plays well in a system that revolves around ball movement and chem. I’m out like the idea of manu bein elite
November 23rd, 2007 at 11:11 am
Kudabeen says:
I’m late I know, but Every time I watch Manu I’m amazed at the stuff he does. While he may not have the varied skills of a Kobe or a TMAc we have never ever in these forums questioned his drive to wine or his abilities to be a team player. Those are two incredibly invaluable characteristics that I respect. Manu wouldn’t be any worst on the lakers or Houston if there was a straight up trade. I know it’s hard to believe, but when has he been shutdown or taken out of his game? He is always under control. I think the separator that we all fail to see in his abilities is how determined he is while still being balanced in motion and with the teams objectives.
That beating the Dream Team comment was weak, but Manu is still a top 10 player in my eyes.