Gameday Dish: Thunder vs. Lakers

March 29 by Leave a Comment

The Oklahoma City Thunder (38-12) sit atop the Western Conference with 16 games to go in the regular season and lead the entire NBA in scoring per game at 103.7.  Tonight they venture to SoCal to take on the Los Angeles Lakers, leaders of the Pacific Division at 31-19 and a rugged 20-4 at Staples.

NBA scoring leader Kobe Bean Bryant (28.3) will be welcoming back longtime backcourt mate Derek Fisher. D-Fish, who was traded two weeks ago to the Houston Rockets and then bought out and signed by the ring-hungry Thunder, played 13 years for the Lake Show and helped them win five championships over that span. Look for the Hollywood crowd and ex-mates to give Fisher lots of audible love.

This evening’s 48 will be the second time these two sides have squared off this compacted season. On February 23rd in OKC, the Thunder brought some lightning in the form of MVP candidate Kevin Durant.  KD had 33 points on 12 of 22 shooting, and OKC won 100-85. Durant, the 2X NBA scoring champion, currently sits just below the Mamba at 27.8 ppg.

Coach Mike Brown’s crew played on Tuesday night at Golden State and prevailed 104-101. Kobe had 30, Pau Gasol pulled down 17 boards and C Andrew Bynum had a seat on the bench after jacking up an ill-advised,
bizarre 3-bomb. A few Laker players, including Bryant, have clashed with Brown in his first year at the helm of the team. Brown is in a tough spot taking over one of the league’s most scrutinized teams for the 11 X champ Phil Jackson.

The Thunder have the second best road team in the NBA with a 16-8 record away from the Sooner State. On Tuesday in Portland, PG Russell Westbrook brought the sizzle. The one-time UCLA Bruin and LA native went 16-26 for 32 points and dished out 8 dimes in OKC’s 109-95 victory. KD went 10-14 for 25 points in the game.

A ‘W’ tonight would mean a lot to both sides. The Lakers sit just 2 games above their intra-arena rivals the Clips for the division. And though the Thunder lead the West, they have the surging, deep, veteran Spurs on their heels, trailing the 1-seed by only 2.5 games.

As the usual entertainment stars from stage and screen align in their primo seats, the historical, milestone variety will cosmically line up too. Fifty years ago today, Laker HOF teammates Elgin Baylor and Jerry West became the first and only teammates to both score 40 or more points in a playoff game. Interestingly, the tandem of Durant and Westbrook has accomplished this feat twice just this season.

Tune in to TNT, Marv and me at 10:30 PM ET to watch these Western Conference stalwarts do battle.

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Gameday Dish: Nets vs. Hawks

March 23 by Leave a Comment

The Atlanta Hawks and New Jersey Nets faced off three times in the first ten games of this crunched NBA season: twice in Jersey and once in the ATL. The Hawks won all three contests and look to sweep the series at home tonight. The good news for the guys from the Garden State is that their margin of defeat went from 36 to 7 to 5. If the Nets continue to gain ground on the Hawks they just might get a long overdue W.

The Hawks last played on Wednesday, when they bested the young Cleveland Cavaliers and soon-to-be Rookie of the Year PG Kyrie Irving in OT, 103-102. 8th-year forward Josh Smith led the team with 32 points and 17 boards. But 11th-year SG Joe Johnson saved the day with a 3-bomb at the end of regulation and the winning basket in the bonus round.

The Nets lost to the Wizards on Wednesday at home, 108-89. The game marked the 10th straight outing without starting center Brook Lopez, who will be sidelined again tonight (and perhaps for the remainder of the season) with a sprained right ankle. PG Deron Williams and head coach Avery Johnson were both ejected in the third quarter for arguing a non-call on a Williams drive to the hoop.

The emotional third quarter was the culmination of a frustrating season fraught with injuries and hard-to-swallow losses. New Jersey needs a win badly. But they haven’t fared anywhere near well at Philips Arena of late. In fact, they’ve dropped six in a row in the Peach State by an average of 17.2 points.

On the plus side, in their three losses to the Hawks this tilt NJ didn’t have Mr. Hustle, Gerald Wallace. The 11th-year SF will suit up for the Nets for the fourth time since being acquired from Portland before the trade deadline last week. The one-time NBA steals leader has averaged 17 ppg and 6 rpg for NJ. In their recent loss at Cleveland, the athletic swingman had an impressive 27 and 12 run in 40 minutes of court time.

The Nets have dropped six of their last seven contests and sit 8.5 games behind the current eighth seed in the Eastern Conference, their Hudson River rivals, the NY Knicks. With only 18 games remaining in the regular 66, hope against hope, the Nets still have a small statistical shot at the postseason.

Realistically, they’ll be on the outside looking in come playoff time. But finishing the year with effort, enthusiasm and heart will go a long way with their fan base and serve as a classy adieu before they pull up stakes and head to Brooklyn next year.

Tune in to YES tonight at 7:30 PM ET to see if the Nets can right their ship against the Hawks in Hotlanta.

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Gameday Dish: Nets vs. Magic

March 16 by Leave a Comment

The New Jersey Nets venture to central Florida tonight to take on the still Dwight Howard-led Orlando Magic. Nets fans’ hopes of landing the 26-year-old, 4X First-Team All-NBA center were dashed yesterday when Howard signed a waiver and forfeited his right to opt out of his contract at the end of this season.

With plan A scuttled, Nets GM Billy King made another move prior to Thursday’s 3PM trade deadline. King dealt 10th-year, 6’11” Mehmet Okur (valuable because of his expiring contract), 6th-year, 6’9” Shawne Williams and a top-3 protected first-round draft pick to the Portland Trail Blazers for 12th-year, 29-year-old, 6’7” SF Gerald Wallace.

Wallace is averaging 13.3 ppg, 6.6 rpg and 35.8 minutes per game this season. The high-motor Wallace is an above-average defender who excels at hustle plays. With coach Avery Johnson’s roster depleted by injury, he’ll want Wallace to suit up as soon as possible.

The Nets last played and won on Wednesday night in Toronto, 98-84. They prevailed even with starting PG Deron Williams missing his third straight game with a strained left calf and starting center Brook Lopez sitting out his sixth contest in a row with a sprained right ankle. In their absence, Gerald Green (now on his second ten- day contract) scored 26 points, and PF Kris Humphries made out with 16 points and a career-high 21 boards.

Dwight Howard had 22 points and 12 rebounds in his squad’s 122-111 loss at San Antonio on Wednesday. Orlando (28-16) sits third in the East behind their Southeast rivals the Miami Heat. With the playoffs firmly in their grasp, the Magic and other top teams will strive to achieve the delicate balance of pacing themselves without losing momentum heading into the postseason.

Tonight the Nets and Magic will square off for the third and last time this compacted regular season. They met on December 29th in Orlando with coach Stan Van Gundy’s guys besting the Garden State gang, 94-78. Howard pulled down 24 boards in the win. And on February 22nd in Jersey, the Magic won 108-91 with the crowd chanting Howard’s name because he mentioned that the Nets were one of his preferred franchises to be traded to. Look for the Magic home crowd to greet Howard with an extra-rousing ovation tonight.

Now that the trade deadline has come and gone and rosters are mostly set for the final third of the regular season, teams can focus on playing basketball and making a playoff run. Tune in to YES at 7:30 PM ET to see if the Nets can pick up a W on the road after seven straight defeats in O-Town and put an end to the Magic’s 10-game win streak against them.

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Gameday Dish: Orlando Magic vs. Chicago Bulls

March 8 by Leave a Comment

The Orlando Magic and their superstar big man 26-year-old Dwight Howard come to Chi-Town tonight to battle the NBA-best 33-8 Bulls and the reigning league MVP 23-year-old PG Derrick Rose.

With the NBA trading deadline a mere seven days away, all of the ubiquitous, swirling and often divisive trade talk surrounding First-Team All-NBA C Howard will be at max volume for the next week. Will the 25-15 Magic trade their cornerstone as he wishes, or will they play out this shortened season and try to resign him this summer?

The speculation and uncertainty may be taking its toll on Howard’s team. On Tuesday night Orlando lost to the league-worst Bobcats 100-84 after blowing a 20-point lead. In his postgame comments coach Stan Van Gundy questioned their collective desire to compete and improve. Howard had 17 boards and 15 points in the defeat, and the Magic were outscored by Charlotte 28-13 in the fourth quarter.

Coach Tom Thibodeau’s squad leads the NBA in assists per game, rebounds per game and is second in points allowed. On top of that, the Bulls are an impressive 15-2 at the Madhouse on Madison II. In addition, the Second-City Ballers are on a season-high eight-game winning streak after besting the Bucks at the buzzer in Milwaukee last night, 106-104. The all-everything, 4th-year Rose finished with 30 points, 11 dimes and 8 boards and hit the game-winning step-back long 2-point shot with no time remaining.

The Magic have dropped their last four contests against Chicago. A win tonight could change many people’s thinking about the direction of Orlando, most critically Howard’s. It would also be a strong start to a tough stretch of games over the next six days. After tonight, the Magic play Indiana, Miami and San Antonio – all before the 3/15 trading deadline.

As for the Bulls, who sit two games ahead of the Heat in the Eastern Conference, a W would be a great way to kick-off a six-game homestand and stay above the Miami juggernaut in the standings.

Kevin Harlan and I will be teaming up for this evening’s Orlando Magic at Chicago Bulls broadcast at 8:00 PM ET on TNT.

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Gameday Dish: Thunder at Magic

March 1 by Leave a Comment

The NBA-best Oklahoma City Thunder (28-7) come to central Florida tonight to take on the Orlando Magic. Coach Scott Brooks’ guys arrive on a six-game winning streak and are virtually unbeatable at home at 15-1. On the road they’re tough as well at 13-6. Coach Stan Van Gundy’s squad is a strong 12-6 at The Amway Center and 23-13 overall. The Magic currently sit in second place in the Eastern Conference’s Southeast Division, five games behind the surging Miami Heat.

These two sides matched up on Christmas Day in their season-opening game in OKC. Three-time All-Star Kevin Durant scored 30 points, and the Thunder won 97-89. In the defeat, First Team All-NBA C Dwight Howard had 15 boards, but only 11 points. PF Ryan Anderson led the Magic with 25 points while shooting 6 of 12 from 3-point land.

Two-time league scoring champion Kevin Durant has averaged only 15.3 ppg in Orlando over four career visits – his worst mark against any of the league’s 29 other teams. However, in Sunday’s All-Star Game KD shot 14 for 25 and notched 36 points to lead the West’s best to a 152-149 win over the East and earn the game’s MVP trophy. Thunder PG Russell Westbrook also played well in the talent-filled contest, scoring 21 points on 10 for 17 from the field.

Both the Thunder and Magic are coming off hard-fought wins. OKC beat the Atlantic-Division leading Philadelphia 76’ers 92-88. With both KD and Westbrook having off-shooting nights, the Thunder had to rally in the fourth quarter for the ‘W’. Durant had 23 points on 7 for 18 shooting and Westbrook had 22 points on 7 for 20 from the field, though he pulled down an amazing 13 boards from his PG spot.

Orlando won in D.C. last night, topping the reeling Washington Wizards 102-95 for their sixth straight loss. The much-speculated-upon Dwight Howard had 14 points, 12 boards and 5 swats. But the star of the night for coach Van Gundy was 4th-year PF 6’10” Ryan Anderson, who scored 23 points and had 15 boards. On a night when big man Howard was the constant target of double teams, the perimeter guys stepped up and went 15 for 36 from triple-point territory.

Since moving from Seattle to OKC in 2008, the Thunder have beaten every other NBA team on the road except for the Magic. With a victory tonight, OKC will equal their season high of seven consecutive wins. While the Thunder display the great one-on-one abilities of Durant, Westbrook and Harden, the Magic will be hoisting up long shots. Look for an exciting, meaningful, effort-filled 48 when Marv Albert, Steve Kerr, Craig Sager and I bring you Oklahoma City vs. Orlando at 8:00 PM ET on TNT.

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