Mar

12

Nene Near Return?

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It is not certain at this point, but hope springs eternal in Denver as very soon news as to whether Denver Nuggets forward/center Nene will be able to play at all this season; Nene sat on the bench during Friday’s game against the San Antonio Spurs, but has not played at all since January 11, when he was diagnosed with testicular cancer - which has since been treated.

Perhaps the best indicator of whne Nene returns comes from coach George Karl, when he told Paul Willis of the Rocky Mountain News,?”The gut feeling is this week’s going to be kind of important.? We’re hoping to get him on the court some this week, touching the basketball and playing the basketball a little bit.? I don’t know how much physical contact we’ll do, but we’re moving him toward playing basketball as quick as he possibly can.”

Mar

12

Wittman Says Telfair Will Return To Playing In A “Little While”

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I covered Randy Wittman when he was the coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers for two years at the beginning of the decade. Randy is one of the nicest, most genial, good natured men that I have had the pleasure of being around in Sports. He is someone, I would love to have as a next door neighbor. But from what I saw his two years in Cleveland, Randy did not have the leadership skills to be a? NBA head coach. And the more I hear from my sources he really has not improved a whole lot as a take charge type of guy in his job as head coach of the Minnesota Timberwolves.?Here is a good example, taken from the “Minneapolis Star Tribune” Wednesday. T-Wolves guard Sebastian Telfair tweaked his ankle Friday night in a game against the Sacramento Kings. Tuesday Telfair had a MRI Taken on his injured ankle, no breaks or tears showed up, just a sprained ankle. When reporters asked Wittman how long Telfair would be out of commission, Wittman responded a “little while.” Wittman followed that up with the equally meaningless response “It just depends on how it reacts.” Way to grab the Bull by the Horns coach!

? Copyright 2008 thesackattack.com

Mar

12

O’Brien Staying Optimistic On Jermaine And Jamaal Returning This Season

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The “Indianapolis Star” reported Wednesday that Indiana Pacers coach Jim O’Brien is staying optimistic about veterans Jermaine O’Neal and Jamaal Tinsley returning to his team’s rotation before the end of the season. Both players are currently inactive with sore left knees, O’Neal has been out of action since January 16, while Tinsley has not been playing since February 5. Even though Indiana has just 18 games remaining, the Pacers first year coach believes both players will see action before the end of the season. O’Brien when asked if he expected both veterans to play responded “Absolutely but it’s one of those situations where I have no timetable to go by. I haven’t been given a timetable. I can’t afford to spend too much time from a coaching standpoint thinking about it until I know somebody is able to get on the court to practice.”

? Copyright 2008 thesackattack.com

Mar

12

Big Men Still Rule In The NBA

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There is one thing you can always count on in the NBA: big men will always dominate the league.Another wave of great big men is developing before us. These aren?t just the new age of Dirk Nowitzki-like 7-footers who live on the perimeter. These are the centers who receive the ball with their back to the basket.Orlando?s Dwight Howard and Phoenix?s Amare Stoudemire have already established themselves as perennial All-Stars, with Howard developing the all-around game (Amare can?t play a shred of defense) to possibly become an all-time great. Not coincidentally, Orlando and Phoenix are playoff-caliber teams.

Minnesota?s Al Jefferson is a monster of a player and has drawn comparisons to the great ? and vastly underrated ? Moses Malone. When Minnesota shopped Kevin Garnett last summer, they wanted a promising big man in return and they got him in Jefferson. Unfortunately for Jefferson, he might go unnoticed in the upper Midwest in the years to come as he will have stiff competition for the annual All-Star game. The Lakers? Andrew Bynum progressed rapidly this season, before going down with a knee injury in January. Assuming he fully recuperates, Bynum has shown the requisite skills to turn into a dominate post presence. Again, it?s no coincidence that the ascension of his game occurred simultaneously with the Lakers? improved standing in the Western Conference.

Portland?s Greg Oden could be the linchpin to the big man revival. If he fulfills his promise, then he and Bynum become instant rivals. Although L.A. and Portland play in separate divisions now, the two teams have had many great battles (1991 and 2000 Western Conference Finals being two of them). Both teams have talented, young rosters which seemed primed to be in playoff contention for the long-term. Of course, both team?s futures hinge, at least partially, on the knee recuperation’s of both players. Bynum?s has been explained. Oden had microfracture knee surgery before his NBA career began. His sophomore year will be his actual rookie year, so none of us really know how to evaluate his NBA game.

Nevertheless, the proliferation of young, talented back-to-the-basket centers is promising for the NBA. A little balance always helps sports leagues, and with number or young, talented perimeter players in the NBA, the rise of the big men is a welcome sight. Phoenix’s Shaq O?Neal and San Antonio?s Tim Duncan are have won eight of the last nine NBA titles. If Howard, Stoudemire, Jefferson, Bynum and Oden stay on the right rack, NBA teams will be carried by big men for years to come.

Mar

12

Slam Dunk Central Presents: ESPN NBA Daily Dime: Wednesday

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Mar

12

Kobe Leads The Way As Lakers Rock Raptors 117-108

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Kobe Bryant scored a game high 34 points, and the Los Angeles Lakers shot a scalding 53.6% (45-84) for the game as they held off the Toronto Raptors 117-108 Tuesday night at the Staples Center. the win puts? Los Angeles in first place over all in the Western Conference playoff race a half game over defending NBA Champs the San Antonio Spurs.

The first quarter was well played on both ends and Toronto would come out of the period with a slim 25-22 lead. The Raptors would hold the lead in the second quarter until Jordan Farmar hit a 25 foot trey putting L.A. ahead 37-35 with 6:27 left in the period. The Lakers held the lead the rest of the quarter and were up 58-52 as the game reached the half. Los Angeles?never ran too far away in the third quarter but they held the lead throughout the period, and had a 83-77 advantage at the end of the quarter. Farmar hit the first basket of the final period, and Toronto would never get closer than 7 points behind for the rest of the game.

Bryant had a superb game, along with his 34 points, he had 7 assists, 7 rebounds, 4 steals, 1 block in the L.A. victory. Lamar Odom scored 20 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, Derek Fisher scored 18 points, 5 assists, 2 steals, 1 block. Pau Gasol scored 12 points, 7 boards, 5 assists, 1 block, Jordan Farmar scored 10 points coming off the bench, 5 assists, 1 rebound.

T.J. Ford may have had his best game since getting injured in Atlanta earlier this season. Ford came off the bench for Toronto and scored a game high 28 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal. Anthony Parker scored 21 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, Rasho Nesterovic scored 18 points, 8 boards, 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 block. Andrea Bargnani scored 15 points, 6 assists, 6 rebounds, 1 steal. Los Angeles now sits at 45-19, Toronto 34-29.

? Copyright 2008 thesackattack.com

Mar

12

Gooden Plenty Drew Leads Bulls in Upset Over Utah 108-96

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Drew Gooden recorded a double-double, and the Chicago Bulls put an end to the Utah Jazz five game winning streak as the Bulls shocked the Jazz Tuesday night 108-96. Gooden tied his season high in points with 24 in the victory. Chicago had six players that scored in double? figures, as they excited the home crowd at the United Center.

The two teams played it tight for the first quarter, as the Bulls held a slim 25-23 lead at the end of the period. Chicago started out the second quarter on a tear, as they went on a 12-2 run to open up a 37-25 lead. The Jazz would rally back to cut the lead to 8 points as Andrei Kirilenko hit a trey to make it a 46-38 game with 2:30 left in the quarter. But Chicago ended the quarter on a 9-4 run to give the Bulls the lead at the half 45-32. Utah never really recovered after that, they never trailed by less than double digits in the third as the Bulls were ahead 86-71 at the end of three. The Jazz never came close to being a threat in the final period.

Drew Gooden scored 24 points, 10 boards, 5 assists, 3 blocks, 1 steal, in undoubtedly his best effort in a Chicago uniform. Ben Gordon scored 19 points off the bench, 4 assists, 2 steals, 2 rebounds, Luol Deng scored 14 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, 1 block. Kirk Hinrich scored 13 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists, Thabo Sefolosha scored 11 points, 3 assists, 2 rebounds, Tyrus Thomas scored 10 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 block.

Mehmet Okur had an outstanding game for Utah as he recorded a double-double, 22 points, 18 boards, Deron Williams also registered a double-double scoring 20 points, 10 assists, 2 rebounds, 2 steals. Ronnie Brewer scored 14 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, Andrei Kirilenko returned from a hip injury and scored 12 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block, Carlos Boozer scored 10 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 2 blocks. The win improves Chicago’s record to 26-38, Utah is 42-23.

? Copyright 2008 thesackattack.com

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