Hoop Links, 1/16
* LeBron James was more excited about the Cavs’ 132-124 OT win over the Grizz than he was about his 51-point explosion last night. “When we win, it means a lot,” said James, who also had nine assists and eight rebounds. “Every point counted tonight. I’ve lost a couple games scoring 50 points, and I didn’t like it too much. To have that accomplishment and to win the ball game means a lot.”
* Marc Iavaroni was wowed by LeBron’s ability to pass the rock last night, comparing James to Magic Johnson given his ability to see the court. “He’s got more velocity on his passes,” Iavaroni said of James. “Magic was sweeter and more efficient. But (LeBron) can put it on a dime and with zip. … It’s a function of his ability to score. He allows people to get free. He sneaks you. He’s 6-9 and he can see.”
* As Rashard Lewis hung 10 of his 26 points on the Bulls during the Magic’s 32-10 third quarter run, Ben Wallace was laughing on the bench, writes Jay Mariotti. “So there was Ben Wallace, $60 million waste, laughing on the bench Tuesday night in Orlando. The Bulls were losing by 20-something points in another hapless, character-less performance, and Big Bum was having such a good time that you wanted to stuff him in a Goofy suit and point him to Disney World.”
* Mike D’Antoni couldn’t figure out how to stop Sam Cassell last night - he tried to use Steve Nash to guard the 38-year old for a portion of the first half, but Cassell gave Nash 16 points in that period. He tried to use Raja Bell in the third, but Cassell added 10 more. “It seemed like Shawn (Marion) had him (Cassell) under control and then he got loose and Shawn couldn’t get him back,” said D’Antoni. “Shawn did a pretty good job. Anytime I took him off him, he just lit guys up.”
* After the Nuggets cut the lead to eight, AI was bumped by the Hawks’ Anthony Johnson on two consecutive inbound plays without a call - the second of which led to a costly turnover. Iverson erupted, received two quick T’s and was tossed out of the game. Shortly thereafter, J.R. Smith exploded and was also sent out of the gym. George Karl had Iverson’s back. “There’s a lot of emotion and frustration on our team right now,” said Karl. “There are circumstances out there where, if you feel like you’re getting mistreated, you burst. I can understand A.I. I don’t understand what J.R. did.”
* Antawn Jamison told us before the game about the defensive clamps that led to the Wizards’ recent success. But the Wiz couldn’t keep the Knicks under the 100-point threshold. The Knicks credited their success to sharp ball movement. “We’re just letting the ball decide who is going to shoot,” explained Jamal Crawford, who finished with 29 points.
* The Nets brought in former left-handed point guard John Lucas to work with their young southpaw Marcus Williams, writes Dave D’Alessandro. “The drills are intense,” an exhausted Williams confirmed. “He didn’t let up — from start to finish, everything was hard. He was just stressing working hard, getting back in shape, getting my timing back.”
* Rip Hamilton’s 39-point drubbing of the Raptors didn’t look all that tough. “He got it cooking,” said Chauncey Billups. “That was a real easy 39 for him tonight, man. He was just on fire. They were pretty much playing him straight up, and he was coming off, having some great looks. I couldn’t believe he kept getting so open in that corner, especially after he was hitting so many. They never really changed up.”
* The Knicks are rumored to have an interest in Mike Bibby. But a big obstacle in any sort of trade with the Kings will be David Lee, who is coveted by both teams. “(Lee) is a heck of a player, a guy you don’t have to run offense for,” said Reggie Theus. “David Lee can’t shoot his way out of a paper bag, but David Lee can play. He rebounds hard, and every time he rebounds it, he’s trying to dunk it, and every time he gets around the basket he’s got good hands.”
* The T-Wolves cut a Golden State lead from 17 points to 4 before committing three of their 20 turnovers within the final 3:26. Stephen Jackson capitalized down the stretch, sinking a three and converting a steal to seal the game. “It’s kind of hard to use a lot of energy to stay in the game and get a lead, then have to try to finish, too. So the bench guys have been doing a great job of helping us,” said Jackson.
January 16th, 2008 at 10:14 am
Andrew says:
Is Ben Wallace serious? He’s supposed to be a leader, but is laughing on the bench when his team is getting smoked. What about Jim Boylan giving his players the option to suspend him?
Also, Wallace and Joakim Noah got into it last night during halftime according to the Daily Herald. http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=114329&src=150
January 16th, 2008 at 11:26 am
Myrie says:
Steve Nash gave up buckets to a 38yr old slow-footed Sam Cassell. Phoenix ain’t going nowhere to their point guard learns how to apply some defense. 2nd round knockout.
Kobe goes for 48 in an overtime win on the road…..LeBron goes for 51 in an overtime win on the road the next night. Coincidence?
If the NY Knicks mention David Lee’s name in a trade rumor, there will be a riot in the city from Harlem to Brooklyn hieghts.
John Lucas was the best the Nets could get? Couldn’t they have googled searched to locate Nick Van Exel?
January 16th, 2008 at 11:29 am
girlybballluver says:
I’m not defending Wallace at all…I’ve never been a fan of his. But if I was getting paid $60 mil, I’d be laughing all day everyday about everything!
I wish everyone would get off Lebron’s jock strap. Geez, it’s so annoying.
Melo is balling this season. I hope the Nuggets make a deep playoff run.
The knicks have to be the worst organization in all the nba. Why in the world would they want Bibby?…Oh yea, I know because they’re in such desperate need of another guard.
January 16th, 2008 at 11:38 am
K-Dizzle says:
Myrie
You an educated enough hoophead to know that no point guard in the league could hold Sam last night. He’s still the smartest point in the league and when that left elbow shit is fallin, the defense don’t matter. All the top teams EXCEPT my Lakers look bored right now.
Damn. That shit in Chicago is gettin toxic. This will not end well
January 16th, 2008 at 11:59 am
Myrie says:
K-Dizzle–
Sam Cassell is the sh*t. Too bad he leaving the courts to become a bench coach after this season. Cassell would give anybody buckets when he’s doing his thing.
But really….my post was more about Steve Nash’s lack of defense. I mean….Sam Cassell is rock solid, but he’s still 38 and slow footed. If Steve Nash can’t stop him….who’s he gonna handle in the playoffs where they all (PGs) quick for every other team in the west?
January 16th, 2008 at 12:14 pm
GEE ...this ain't even my church says:
LOL Mike Bibby in NYC naw that’s not a good look for Bibby or them. Who they gone give for Bibby. Honestly who would the Kings want from that squad besides Crawford?
January 16th, 2008 at 2:34 pm
What is this!? says:
LOL! Coach Karl can’t stand J.R Smith for some reson, he’s always throwing him under the bus. I have to say that people are giving the Nuggets a bad time but I have to respect their ability to still stay competetive after all the injuries they’ve had to key players and all the line up changes, I couldn’t imagine any team that would still be able to be in the competetive mix under those conditions. Another thing is that team better be glad they Iverson there to light a fire under thier ass, if it wasn’t for that guy, that team would be struggling to be .500. Thats real talk.
Man, Sam Cassell is still ballin’!! It don’t take much to light Steve Nash up, but still. This just goes to show that for some athletes, age ain’t nothing but a number.
Ben Wallace should have never left the Pistons, that was the biggest mistake he could have made.
January 16th, 2008 at 2:34 pm
What is this!? says:
Oh and Lebron is ballin’…but what else is new?
January 16th, 2008 at 3:06 pm
Myrie says:
ON A SERIOUS SIDE NOTE……
What is this about Nene Hilario having a testicular tumor? Possibly cancerous?
Yikes!!
January 16th, 2008 at 3:41 pm
GEE ...this ain't even my church says:
Please someone answer him
January 16th, 2008 at 6:38 pm
dagwaller says:
Ha, Myrie, what a joke. Can you read? Did you see that D’Antoni tried putting their “best defenders” on him - Bell and Marion - with worse results? Well, worse with Bell. 10 points in 1 quarter generally means 20 in 2. So, if we do our reading and math correctly, that means that Sam could have gotten 20 on Bell in a half, which is…MORE or LESS than 16? Then Marion “did a good job”. This is the same guy who by all accounts should be on a first defensive team.
Seriously, though, Ben Wallace pisses me off. I’m a Bulls fan, and seeing Tyson Chandler flourish in N.O. is…well, frustrating. Overpaid, a problem from the start (60 million dollars to not wear a headband…uhh, I can do that), not at all what the team needed at the time (an interior post scorer, not ANOTHER defender for a League leading defense at the time) and finally, doesn’t even do what he’s supposedly good at doing. What a waste.
January 16th, 2008 at 6:43 pm
dagwaller says:
Oh yea, and Steve led the League in assists last night (again), while Cassell ended up with a little more than half of Nash’s assists. When your team’s PG has a lot of assists…well, let’s just say I’d rather be a Suns fan than a Clips fan.
Big ups to Kaman for leading the League in rebounding last night (18), though. Marion outrebounded Amare 17 to 8. Maybe the the real problem is becoming more obvious, Myrie?
January 16th, 2008 at 6:55 pm
BlazeMcHerbs says:
Seriously, Nash aint shit. He’s a overhyped good-passer with good 3 point accuracy. That’s all folks. There’s a gang of PGs out there I would rather have than Nash. Stockton was 10 times the player Nash was. Why? Cuz Cassell could hang 30 on Nash while playing from a wheelchair, thats why. He couldn’t guard a referee if his life depended on it.
Ben Wallace is no longer the SuperMan stopper he once was. Its a shame, but it is what it is. But laughing on the bench is unacceptable. I like the fact that Noah has heart, but being from NY he should know how quickly someone can get laid out, especially against a bull the size of Wallace.
Next thing you know they’re gonna say Lebron’s on ‘roids. The man is a beast. If he had MJ’s jumper…
January 16th, 2008 at 7:19 pm
K-Dizzle says:
6/12 from the 3 for 51? Don’t need MJ’s jumper. Y’all forget MJ didn’t start using that jumper till he was into gis mid-to late 20s. Lebron’s 23.
Cool down on the Nash hate. No such thing as an overhyped passer who leads the league in assists and strokes it at 50% from the arc. Some of y’all don’t even check numbers.
Math lesson time - If Sam gave Bell 10 and Matrix 12 and he scored 38, how many did Steve get? Don’t try to be here actin like he got all 40 when other dudes caught Sam on one of his nights
January 16th, 2008 at 8:12 pm
dagwaller says:
Right. Plus, Nash gets boards for a pg (almost 4 a game) AND can shoot for a good percentage. From anywhere. On one of the highest scoring teams in the league (if not the highest scoring). AND they’re second in the west (until the Lakers come back down, which they will now that Bynum’s out). You’re saying that Stockton’s better? Wow. Nash isn’t as good as the all-time steals and assists leader? You’re harsh, bro. If only Stockton, Magic and Isiah could play into their 50s, this league would have some REAL talent!
Think before you post.
January 17th, 2008 at 1:02 am
gdon says:
Nash is the guy you want running your offense. OK that’s an understatement. But defensively, he’s the last PG I want in any juncture of the game. That’s just the facts. Don’t need any fancy numbers to figure that shit out.