(Wow, this is really embarassing) Wednesday Thursday Bullets
November, 2, 2006
Nov 2
2:33
PM ET
- Can anyone stop the Blazers? Well, yeah, probably a lot of people can. (Erin's suggestion: "Darius Miles can.") But not the mediocre Sonics when they are missing a lot of big men. Feel-good story Ime Udoka, who wasn't supposed to make the team and just lost his dad, got the big rebound. Brandon Roy fulfilled the promise, especially in the third quarter as a ball-handler. Zach Randolph was grinding. Juan Dixon in Jason Quick's article: "I'm telling you, we are a different team." Jarrett Jack was so delirious with the win that he started doing something most athletes never do, and that's making analogies: "It's like we are a book, but everybody has their own chapter," said point guard Jarrett Jack, who had 13 points, six assists and six rebounds in 44 minutes. "Zach might start the book off, then Brandon and I might take over, then Juan and Travis. . . . It's fun because everyone is contributing, and that makes everyone that much more into the game."
- The Blazer victory was SO special that it even warranted a rare warm-and-fuzzy from John Canzano. NBA.com has terrible highlights from this game. They start to walk us through crunch time to set up the scene, but neglect to include a single basket from the game-winning scoring binge in the closing moments.
- Jalen Rose is said to be serious about Miami. I know he has always envisioned himself as a tall point guard from Michigan, a la Magic Johnson, and the Heat might have minutes for him at the "one" among other places. One little problem, though, is that Rose reportedly wants to put the Heat into luxury tax territory, while the team has already told Gary Payton and Alonzo Mourning that they 're not worth paying luxury tax for, so what message would it send?
- Matt Watson of Detroit Bad Boys after a spanking from a team with a deer for a logo: "Am I worried? Do I regret Detroit's decision to let Wallace leave? No, not yet (Ben didn't exactly turn in a gem of a game in Chicago's loss to Orlando), but it was quite clear this team needed a couple of minutes to realize that someone was supposed to go after all of those loose balls. I stopped counting how many balls Nazr Mohammed touched but couldn't grab hold of in the first quarter, but he eventually got the memo and finished with 12 boards. Tayshaun Prince ultimately pulled his weight and then some, snagging 11. Heck, even Chauncey Billups did his best Jason Kidd impression and hauled in six."
- To League Pass or not to League Pass? (Commissioner Stern, thanks, but there's really no need to weigh in on this one--we know your views.) Bethlehem Shoals is in, but not without angst: "The annual confrontation with the League Pass Question forces a man to admit that, honestly, there may be a limit to how much sports he can watch."
- Manhattanites headed to Nets games, by Lang Whitaker: "Any time we have a chance to visit The Swamp is cause for celebration. Between the depressing ride out through the Lincoln Tunnel, the unavoidable rush hour traffic and the apparently abandoned construction (more like destruction, actually) project next to the Continental Airlines Arena at the horrible idea for a mall called Xanadu, going to games in Jersey can be a chore. There’s also sort of an underlying sadness inside the CAA, knowing that the Nets are trying to get out of there as fast as they can."
- I have hated the Lakers my entire life. (No, I don't need to give you a reason for that. It's sports.) But damn, after Lamar Odom's six-month old son died, and nice guy Ronny Turiaf is coming off open heart surgery and playing really well, it's getting a lot harder. I'm struggling.
- This comes off kind of weird, but Nate Jones really likes Keith Van Horn now that he's not playing.
- The Clippers fail to exploit Phoenix's inside defense Achilles heel. ClipperBlog: "What happened to the foolproof Side Screen & Roll? The efficient two-man game? Did Shaun forget how to deal an entry pass? I know Kurt Thomas was back but, still, how difficult is it to work it inside against this team? I imagine that a good number of Elton's 22 shots came from his 8 offensive rebounds. Dunleavy will be tempted all season to go small, as he did tonight, with EB at the center and TT at the 4. Don't."
- I have a nightmare that the departure of his muscle, a coach with a weak hand on the tiller, and the new zero-tolerance for flapping lips rule could reignite Rasheed Wallace's brush fire of a victim complex. I hope not to see too much of that if it happens, because it burns to see a man who can be so great act to petty sometimes. MJD breaks down 'Sheed's ejection last night.
- Being a dutiful NBA reporter, I spent some time in the crapper examining a little pamphlet from the league explaining the collective bargaining agreement. Something I learned: All-Stars on the winning team get $35k each. Losers get $15k. Rookie game winners get $15k. Rookie losers get $5k, which probably doesn't cover one All-Star Weekend's worth of Courvoisier.
- Big ol' David Friedman look at Larry Hughes.
- Can Canadians be too friendly? RaptorBlog is imagining what the Toronto TV commentators would say if Ruben Patterson were in Toronto: "Leo: 'Sure, he was charged with sexually assaulting his nanny. But I'm sure we've all had experience with women making claims like that whether it's true or not.' Chuck: 'I talked to Ruben before the game and I don't care what anyone says. It's an overused phrase but he is a character guy.'
- Its not easy to live blog three overtimes. Knickerblogger: "Everyone is tired, including bloggers following the game. KnickerBlogger puts his pen and notepad aside with his cramped hand, and instead of keeping notes he reserves his energy for yelling at the tv."
- Tim Cowlishaw with a surprising bit of news for Dallas: "The last Finals loser to win a championship the next year was the 1989 Detroit Pistons."
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