Shaq (photo. Chenoa Maxwell)Defense wins championships and blah blah blah, but the Spurs still need to score points if they’re gonna get that fifth Larry O’Brien. Last night’s loss to the Suns makes it three straight games where San Antonio has failed to crack 80 points, not to mention two of their last three have ended with Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu looking confused after getting piecing by a Western Conference contender. With six or seven extremely dangerous teams in the West bracket, Robert Horry’s gimpy knees, Bruce Bowen’s noticeable decline, Parker’s recent unpredictability and a slight over-reliance on Manu’s offense, you wanna say the Spurs are in trouble. But then you look at the standings and they still hold the #2 seed … Like we said in this week’s NBA Hit List Power Ranking, Suns/Spurs was a checkpoint for Phoenix regarding the Shaq trade. And from what we saw, they’re in good shape heading into the postseason. Not only did the Suns play defense, but the game turned during a stretch in the fourth quarter when their halfcourt offense was clicking. Shaq (16 pts, 9 rebs) was posting up Fabricio Oberto and shaking off the double-team by Duncan to get easy buckets inside. When Pop switched Duncan onto Shaq 1-on-1, Diesel gave Duncan (23 pts, 10 rebs) buckets off hook shots in the lane. The best San Antonio could hope for was Shaq missing his free throws or passing out of the post and Phoenix’s shooters missing … Amare (21 pts) is officially Shaq’s new Penny/Kobe/Wade. After the game Shaq called STAT, “The greatest power forward in the game.” Any day now we’ll get the “I’ll never play for another coach other than Mike D’Antoni” interview and the mafia movie analogy where Amare is the smart son and Penny, Kobe and Flash are the flawed sons … You didn’t want to be the Timberwolves last night. Having the misfortune of falling onto the Hornets’ schedule the night after Chris Paul and his team were shut down by rival Deron Williams and the Jazz, the Wolves made for innocent-bystander punching bags (after Randy Foye dropped 16 in the first quarter and put a scare into N.O. for a minute). CP dropped 19 points and 16 dimes in the echo-y Target Center; David West finished the job he started against Utah, scoring 22 and hardly missing a shot; Peja shook off an awful shooting night on Tuesday to rain 5 threes on Wednesday; and Tyson Chandler, who watched Mehmet Okur stick jumper after jumper the previous night, held Al Jefferson to just 14 points when Al had posted 40 in his last game … Good teams know how to exploit mismatches. So when Marko Jaric ended up guarding West on the elbow one time, you know N.O. went right to West. A shoulder shimmy and dunk later, Minnesota didn’t make that mistake again … Was LeBron’s sore back bothering him against the Nets? You couldn’t really tell. On one hand, there were two plays — one layup over Nenad Krstic and another over DeSagana Diop — where you’d assume that a 100% healthy ‘Bron would have unleashed some hellacious dunk rather than a finesse finish. On the other hand, LeBron dumped 33 points on Jersey against a pretty decent athlete in Richard Jefferson, and he got pretty high when he threw down a follow dunk on a Wally Szczerbiak miss … Did you see the corner three by Devin Harris that he banked in from the very top of the backboard? You couldn’t hit that shot in H-O-R-S-E in 100 tries. Not that Devin was trying to do it, either, he just got lucky … Another banged-up superstar, T-Mac, sat out last night’s game against the Sonics. We wouldn’t be too worried, though; if the Rockets had been playing a good team (or a team they hadn’t just routed last week), no doubt Mac would have suited up. And it’s not like T-Mac’s absence magically made Seattle’s defense any better. Steve Novak hit five triples on the night, and Luther Head scored 16 starting for McGrady. We feel like the day is coming when Novak is gonna be a Robert Horry/Eddie Johnson-type for Houston in the playoffs. Don’t leave him open … E-mail from Associate Editor Austin Burton, Brooklyn resident: “At the subway stop near my place I saw this guy dressed very Kanye-ish, with the blazer, Red Monkeys, adidas Superstars, designer shades (might’ve been knock-offs) and looking like he was fresh from the barbershop. There was only one thing wrong with him: under the blazer he had on a red Steve Francis Rockets jersey. And it was tucked into his pants. Laundry day?” … DJ Mbenga’s idol, Andres Nocioni, was at it again. There was a play during Bulls/Magic where Dwight Howard caught the ball under the rim, and even though Dwight wasn’t his responsibility, Noce ran over to challenge as Howard (30 pts, 14 rebs) went up to tear down the rim. You know the rest. The odd part is that a little bit before that, Nocioni had a chance to try and spike a Rashard Lewis layup into the crowd but he just let it go. So does Nocioni just like making things harder on himself or what? … How about Isiah making another last-minute run to put fresh icing on the stale cake that has become the Knicks’ season? Last night’s win over the Bobcats was the Knicks’ third in a row, a hit list that includes Orlando and Detroit … Charlie Villanueva came out focused to face his old team in Toronto. He dropped 25 points real quick in the first half, busting Chris Bosh’s ass and looking like he was headed for 50. Charlie V cooled off, though, finishing with “only” 38 in a loss. Bosh put up 32 points and 11 boards, doing a good job of at least keeping Charlie in check after the first-half explosion while the Raps built a lead … Our NBA 1-on-1 tournament is down to the final four: Kobe, LeBron, KG and T-Mac. Vote on who you think is advancing to the finals HERE … We’re out like Isiah …
April 10th, 2008 at 4:08 am
drewstar says:
lol first
April 10th, 2008 at 4:18 am
Damon says:
dj mbenga’s idol, andres nocioni… haha
April 10th, 2008 at 5:04 am
Bob says:
Did Philly beat the Pist-ons again?
April 10th, 2008 at 5:16 am
João says:
Impressive win by the Suns , 20 piece the Spurs at San Antonio ? If the Suns plays with energy and desire to win, they will knock everybody out … book it
April 10th, 2008 at 5:47 am
Suciniac says:
Does Shaq even care that when he disses one of his former teammates, he is tainting his personality and (on the decline)legacy.I didn’t believe it when he said Wade is the best player he’s ever played with and certainly don’t believe this shit.Amare best PF….yeah,right.
April 10th, 2008 at 6:06 am
miamiVIS3 says:
hahaha laundry day
April 10th, 2008 at 7:02 am
Ben says:
Candace Parker still looks like Devin Harris with long hair…
p.s. Rudy Gay got an 40.5-inch vertical?
http://ezinearticles.com/?Rudy-Gay—How-to-Increase-Your-Vertical-Jump&id=1083053
April 10th, 2008 at 7:15 am
YOUNGFED says:
Shaq to Timmy D:
‘Watch me Superman dat hooooooeee!!!’ (lol)
April 10th, 2008 at 7:29 am
rangerjohn says:
ummm oops spurs lost it in the 4th on DAMN jumpshots, go to the rim, you been doing it all night and it has been working.
oh yeah DDDDDEEEEEEETTTTTTTRRRRRRROOOOOOOIIIIIITTTTTT ……………….
and silence
lmao detroit didnt exactly play well, stucky for well nothing i guess lmao.
shaq has become a real jackass since getting to the suns, but then every player on the team who played elsewhere was ok until they got there with the pornstar i mean d’antoni. amare the best power forward? hmmm he has how many moves? he moves left, he moves right, he gets a creampuff pass from nash and DUNK, yep that is some great SKILL from nash.
i am so tired of all the bowen hate as well, amare is a terrible actor, go down holding your chest, come up holding your nuts until you realize hey wait he didnt get close enough to hit me in the nuts, pussy!
April 10th, 2008 at 7:32 am
hahns says:
candace parker definitely does not look like devin harris…shes pretty good lookin if you ask me. shelden williams is a lucky guy. i wonder who wins when they play 1on1
April 10th, 2008 at 7:49 am
tuff juice says:
Wiz don’t even get a mention….damn
April 10th, 2008 at 8:06 am
Fish says:
Can remember Charlie V talking (through his agent) how it was a joke that Toronto *only* got TJ Ford in return for his talents.
April 10th, 2008 at 8:14 am
YOUNGFED says:
Do you even watch basketball Rangerjohn, or is it HaterJohn
April 10th, 2008 at 8:14 am
Dcbum says:
I love Amare for his pure offensive skill, but I wouldn’t say he is the best PF ever. Maybe one day if he learns how to defend or at makes more of an effort to at least help defend.
April 10th, 2008 at 8:33 am
Brown says:
Does anyone think Shaq is actually serious when he says stuff like this? I think it’s more him trying to pump up his teammates and give their confidence a boost. Giving your team an added edge can’t hurt.
It’s almost like SA doesn’t look comfortable playing in the regular season. They don’t seem completely focused until the playoffs roll around. They definitely don’t seem as strong as in the past though, and their competition is definitely a lot better.
April 10th, 2008 at 8:44 am
yoda says:
i really dont understand why does everyone makes jokes about Andres Nocioni. ok, he gets dunked on. so what? in my team id rather have guy who tries to stop everyone, even beast like dwight, rather then some pussy who just moves away so someone can have easy dunk.
April 10th, 2008 at 8:56 am
YOUNGFED says:
I think Amare is one of the best PF’s ever too. his numbers can go head to head with almost any body.
Oh Ya’ll Nukka’s (lol) better vote K-Hova for MVP. LMAO!
April 10th, 2008 at 9:33 am
for real says:
so when Amare’s knee blows out again next year, and his career is over, how can he be one of the best Power Forwards ever?
April 10th, 2008 at 9:39 am
K Dizzle says:
Dime
Is Rip’s hip injury serious cuz dude ain’t played in forever and makes me think this might be the reason for stuckey’s big minutes recently. Somethin to watch, but no rip = no championship. Does Detroit really wanna see Philly in the 1st round? Philly got no pressure and would be playin real loose
I agree with Brown on the shaq quote. How people still take every quote seriously is comedy. Whoever shaq plays with is the best. His opinion, nuthin more….but there’s no doubt that Amare’s been the best 4 man SINCE the Shaq trade. 33ppg and 9 rpg on 59% shootin is proof. Duncan’s kinda been up and down, KG’s been hurt, Dirk’s been up and down, then hurt, Bosh been hurt and the team is strugglin. The other 4s(Al Jeff, Al H, Zach, Lamarcus, etc) aren’t nearly consistent enough.
April 10th, 2008 at 9:51 am
Diddy says:
I think the guy Yoda who posted #16 is actually Andres Nocioni. Because only Nocioni would make that comment. You’re not fooling us Andres!
April 10th, 2008 at 10:23 am
isotope says:
How about Jamison dunking on 3 celts (including KG)??? And dude made it look so easy.
April 10th, 2008 at 10:31 am
YOUNGFED says:
@for real - Damn’ thats so cold stuff there. you lookin’ foward to him blowing out his knee or something.
@K-Dizzle Rip is all good just resting the Hip for the playoffs he said the soreness is finally starting to leave plus we got the best in the Game (Arnie) working on him.
April 10th, 2008 at 10:54 am
rangerjohn says:
why what ever do you mean youngfed? sure i watch, i dont watch the BS teams like the pistons (unless they are playing one of the better texas teams)
what is it…. DEEETRRROOOIIITTTTTT………. and silence
come on DOG dont leave a brutha hangin!
damn you sure do THINK you know what the fuck the nba is all about dont you.
whats that 2 in a row for the pistons? with a loss to the knicks and only what 4 games till the playoffs, and hamilton was the only starter sitting? doesnt look good for the defending 2004 nba champions lmao
April 10th, 2008 at 10:57 am
rodnets says:
Agree with Yoda (either if he is Noce or not). You have balls like mellons to challenge Dwigth or everyone else in a dunk. Listen to that Rashards and Kyle Korvers?
Stupid? maybe from the injuries point of view, but I’ve seen Nocioni play, and when he was a kid managed to do this:
http://es.youtube.com/watch?v=VD2JXzrxyB4
Peace, Rod
April 10th, 2008 at 11:02 am
YOUNGFED says:
Didn’t you read the Sheed article RangerJ the piston only play win its worth it. Now Kick rocks with that ish.
Win we win All I wanna here is them cowboy boots clappin’ concrete son.
April 10th, 2008 at 11:06 am
Celts Fan says:
Offensively, Amare’s amazing, defensively he’s useless. He’s the 3rd best 4 at best. Get some boards, block more shots, and play some D, then we can talk. I am really impressed with how he went from Dwight Howard range (aka dunk or he’s missing) to a guy with a really, really nice jumper. That shows he is a hard worker, so why isn’t he better defensively yet?
By the way, I’m really ashamed of a lot of people on this site. There is only one answer to today’s poll question. Here’s a hint, he’s boring and has 4 rings.
April 10th, 2008 at 11:22 am
rangerjohn says:
soooo soorry youngfed, i dont buy into that “WE ONLY PLAY WHEN ITS WORTH IT” bs from the pistons, so i guess they only played in 2004? thats the last time they won anything. see the pistons are trying to steal another one from the spurs. spurs are known the league over as the ones who pick it up in the playoffs, AND THEY PROVE IT. pistons are still DREAMING about the respect they think they have earned, sure they are the 2nd best team in the leastern i mean eastern conference, and sure they used to own the 2nd best record in the league but at the end of it all they will be hanging their heads ONCE AGAIN.
oh and for the record i think you mean WHEN we win NOT WIN we win.
April 10th, 2008 at 11:34 am
D-NICE says:
WOW! charluie v reminded me last night why I was devastated when I first heard about the trade. when he wasn’t lighting up CB4, it looked like he had something personal against bargnani and laced like 3 treys in his eye and took him of tha dribble a lil bit too. I was cheering for him so much like he was still on tha raps lol. T dot misses you Charlie V a.k.a. Sagat from street fighter
April 10th, 2008 at 11:42 am
word says:
Garnett and Duncan clearly beat out Amare but fuck whatever Shaq gotta say to keep them motivated and winning games is fine by me. Big win for us, I believe we can take this thing but I won’t get too ahead of myself. Regardless that was a crucial win for their psyche, which I think will play a huge role in the postseason, if ALL and I mean all including Diaw and Bell, have their minds set for that title, it can be done.
April 10th, 2008 at 11:44 am
YOUNGFED says:
RANGERJOHN Even if we didn’t continually win it we only done missed the finals once since then. So Holla!
“YOUNGFED” aka “YOUNG FIZZLE” aka “THE GREAT BLACK HOPE” aka “PIMP EASY” aka “THE TOOTH DOCTOR” (aleast in highschool, only the real one will understand the last name).
PS
Where’s that “Yallallreadyknow” cat I know yall dislike fella, but dude was kinda funny the little foriegner makes me laugh.
April 10th, 2008 at 11:57 am
DH says:
Just a question throwin out there. Cheeks for coach of the year? What ya’ll think?
April 10th, 2008 at 11:58 am
YOUNGFED says:
Oh I forgot
aka “YOUNG MINAJ YA GIRL”
April 10th, 2008 at 1:10 pm
GEE...currently trying to learn the the triangle choke hold says:
aka “Young I was no where to be found when my Pistons loss the other day” LOL
Don’t get your pannies in a bunch Young just messin with ya.
For real though a cat was looking for you to give you the drama about your squad taking the L.
Can’t pick to hard though cause I like the D too.
Anyway
Houston Up!
It’s just a peaceful feeling to “know” that your squad is in the playoffs and not fighting for a spot ya know. Rick is smart to keep “His fragileness” safe. Cause in order for them to make that upset he will have to do some Kobe, Lebron type stuff. Oh yea and Houston is going to upset whoever they play first. Gotta let em know.
Shaq is whack. I don’t care if the Suns when it all or whatever he is just lame. I will be sooo glad when he gets his Brett Farve on and leaves! Good Riddance!
You know folks really shouldn’t be all on that N.O. is to young and will falter in the playoffs. Duuuh?!?! They are going to so use that for motivation as a “Why not us, why not now” type of deal. Trust me I wouldn’t be saying nothing …nada. It’s like ok we got a team that can possibly whip our %^& so let’s call them to young and give them reason to whip that $%^ lol. What they say…let a sleeping dog be.
Oddly enough LeBron still gets my Mvp and Al gets my ROY. Seeing as neither one will probably get it, perhaps they should do a MVP for the East and West. Award two. Then it would be Kobe and K.G. prolly and Al and Kevin.
Kobe is going to get the MVP this year. I’m putting all the cash on that and Kevin will probably get that RoY.
Wooo plain and simple….Washington was crankin last night. They looked a little scary for real.
Poor Nets I don’t know if they will ever be any good.
Right now that West finals is still Lakers to me but the Suns are starting to make me wonder for real.
Hoping Dallas, Utah and San An all take L’s this year. The rest I don’t really have a problem with.
April 10th, 2008 at 1:20 pm
K Dizzle says:
Cheeks for COY …..unless N’Awlins claims the 1 seed in the west, then Byron Scott and the all-Black staff take home the hardware, and CP3 steals more of Kobe’s MVP votes
April 10th, 2008 at 1:45 pm
Austin Burton says:
I really wish Coach of the Year wasn’t reserved for coaches of teams who weren’t supposed to be good and overachieved. That’s why Jerry Sloan has never won the award, because the Jazz are consistently good, so he doesn’t get credit for the turnaround job it takes to win COY. Personally, I think guys like Sloan and Popovich should get more credit when it comes to this year’s voting. Look at Popovich: the West was much stronger this year, his team was one year older, he had to deal with injuries to Duncan and Parker, and yet San Antonio still has the 2nd best record in the West. And they have beaten every team at their own unique style, from the Warriors to the Magic to the Rockets. That’s not great coaching?
April 10th, 2008 at 2:42 pm
GEE...currently trying to learn the the triangle choke hold says:
AB I got to agree on that one.
I also think they should have a coach of the year for the East and West.
April 10th, 2008 at 3:39 pm
Lady Luck says:
Hey guys…check this out. Is it real or fake?
https://www.kb24.com/news/article/577.html
I love him. KB for MVP.
April 10th, 2008 at 3:44 pm
Lady Luck says:
MVP - Kobe
ROY - Horford
COY - I’m torn between Byron Scott, Phil Jax, and Jerry Sloan. Both Byron and Phil’s teams were not expected to compete for the top spots in the west with their rosters. Both have coached their teams brilliantly. Jerry is just a helluva coach and like Kobe, deserves some acknowledgement for his mastery.
Most Improved - Monta Ellis, Rudy Gay, Tyson Chandler
I definitely think if you can have conference champions then you can have conference awards, especially for MVP.
April 10th, 2008 at 4:13 pm
Celts Fan says:
I hear ya Austin, and usually I’d agree with you, but getting that Philly team into the Playoffs (that roster screams lottery team!) should get it for Cheeks, getting NO (potentially) to the #1 seed out West could get it for Scott, and the 22 straight could’ve won it for Adelman had they kept up a solid record after it ended. Too many great candidates this year (though if Sloan doesn’t win one soon, I’ll be shocked. He’s had too many good teams over too many years to keep losing out like this…)
April 10th, 2008 at 4:31 pm
for real says:
@YOUNGFED
not wishin’ harm on STAT, just sayin’ if a dude has only 5-6 years in the League, averaging 64 games a season, I don’t think you can call him one of the best ever.
Potential vs production vs longevity - lots of questions and variables.
no hate - but he does have horrible defense
April 10th, 2008 at 5:38 pm
doc says:
for real. It aint the public saying he’s the best ever, it’s his teamate who is trying to hype him up for the playoffs and the shit might work.Front if you want and act like its not possible he drops 40 on every other tough PF in the playoffs.But GO SIXERS GO.
April 10th, 2008 at 6:38 pm
Ian says:
shaq u gotta shut the fuck up
if next season the suns turn to crap hes gonna start gettin injured demand a trade to the hornets call c.paul the greatest teammate he has ever had(like he did with penny,kobe and wade), west the best power foward ever and that he would only play for b.scott(like jackson and riley). shaq please shut the fuck up and retire. btw he rode wades cape to ring 4 and might do it again with the suns. so if he has some shit to say about winnin more than kobe at least kobe stuck with his team and didnt demand a trade to the spurs.
retire mfker u r getting to stupid
April 10th, 2008 at 6:42 pm
Ian says:
cant wait to hear all the shit the man is going to speak if the suns win
it had notin to with the suns bein one of the two best teams last 3 season (spurs other) of that they got hill or that they learned about the past games how to beat the spurs no hes is gonna say
that he told everyone he was bringin a ring to phoenix and that he created amare the greatest pf ever that cant guard shit
April 10th, 2008 at 6:44 pm
Ian says:
austin
fuck yeah
every season to me the coach of the year is one of the two u mention
the old , boring , cant win anymore spurs are number 2 and he dealed with injuries of everyone on that roster
pop should be in the mix
April 10th, 2008 at 6:46 pm
Ian says:
who are the 18 people that voted for amare ?
April 11th, 2008 at 4:52 am
yoda says:
@Diddy
yeah sure, im noce
as general, i dont like argentinian players, couse i think they are all floppers. but to trash talk someone who has heart and desire to stop and block EVERYONE, not matter is that dwight or dfish, its kinda nonsense to me.
April 11th, 2008 at 10:54 am
Diego says:
I’ve got to agree with Yoda. I recently saw the Bulls at the Hawks, and Nocioni on pretty much back-to-back plays went right up agains J. Smoove and J. Chill attempted slams, and had stops on both (and sent J. Chill sprawling). I was impressed with his nuts in going after them–as well as his actual hops. No lie.