Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Tuesday Wake n Break

*Orlando took an early lead over the Bucks with 10 points after the first quarter, expanding that on a big 4-point-play from JJ Redick (this guy is still in the league?). Some big 3-pointers from Rashard Lewis and Hedo Turkoglu, gave the Magic a 58-47 lead at the half, despite foul trouble from Dwight Howard, who had to leave the first half with 7 minutes remaining and already accumulating 3 fouls. Both the Magic and the Bucks had possible injuries, with Jameer Nelson and Andrew Bogut leaving in the second half, and not returning. More on those injuries should develop throughout the day. Richard Jefferson led the Bucks with 25 points, but more importantly with some big plays and buckets at the end, bringing the lead down to 3. But it wasn’t enough and usually isn’t when you’re going up against Dwight Howard getting 24 points, 13 rebounds and 6 blocks (!). Superman Duex really acted Shaq in this one, going a horrible 10-20 from the free throw line. I thought Dwight would get up to around 65-70% FT shooting, but thus far his Superman Duex nickname is looking pretty dead on. Magic 108, Bucks 101

*The game of the night was in Miami, with Dwayne Wade and Michael Beasley hosting the Rockets for a superstar showdown. Lot of action from Beasley in the first half, getting up 13 shots, hitting 6, but was held to only one more FG for the rest of the game, and only 14 points. Also in the first half 8 guys from Houston were able to get on the board, showing great ball movement and shooting over 50% total. Yao Ming finished the game with 28 points, 12 boards, 4 assists, shooting 10-11 from the line, but with zero blocks or steals. A 7-footer playing 35 minutes should really get at least one block or steal. D. Wade’s awful shooting night (7 for 23) didn’t help Miami, and Houston cruised to a victory. Rockets 107, Heat 98

*Another awful shooting night from the Sixers, shooting under 40% for the night. The Sixers lost to the Bobcats last night, which is totally unacceptable based on the preseason talk of them competing for a championship. It was decently close after the first half, with Yahoo having the score at 41-39 and ESPN having the score at 41-41 (interesting..). The real men of the night were DJ Augustin and Raymond Felton who are no doubt fighting to kept heir starting spots when Jason Richardson comes back from injury (also interesting…). Both guards went 8-11 from the field, finishing with 25 (DJ) and 23 (Raymond). Bobcats 93, Sixers 84

*It started off close in Utah, with the Jazz and Bulls each at 26 after the first quarter. It was all Derrick Rose for most of the first half, tearing the Jazz apart with 7 for 10 shooting, 4 assists, and 0 turnovers. Quite impressive for a young guard to have such a good ball-control in the first half, against the tough-guy Jazz, on their own court. Joakim Noah got the start today, presumably to go out after Mehmet Okur at the 3-point line (since Carlos Boozer joined Deron Williams on the bench with a quad injury). Well, that didn’t work very well, with Memet going for 16 in the first half, finishing with 26 overall. Drew Gooden had a matching 16 at the half, but only getting 2 points afterwards. The Jazz’ ball movement really outshined Derrick Rose and Co, going 30-18 overall in assists. Ridiculous ending to this game, with the lead changing back and forth, and coming down to one shot at the end… a Derrick Rose juke to get open and clang off the rim with only 2 seconds remaining. Wait for it....But Larry Hughes got the offensive rebound, got up in the air, and drained a long two-pointer to win the game at the buzzer. Larry Hughes! Congrats; You get 2 more minutes per game for your winning shot, then a trade after Hinrich comes back. Yay! Bulls 101, Jazz 100

*The San Antonio Spurs visited the Memphis grizzlies last night, looking like a matchup between old and young, this generation vs the future. San Antonio had good control over this game, despite leading at halftime by only 5. Roger Mason was bringing the rain from downtown, hitting 5 three pointers, finishing with 18 points total. OJ Mayo was shooting well, again playing 43 minutes (!), shooting the rock 21 times, hitting 10 of those. OJ finished with 26 points, hitting all 5 of his free throws. The rest of the team didn’t have a good shooting night, with the team finishing at 39%, led by Rudy Gay’s awful night, going 6 for 19. Tonight was Manu Ginobili’s debut for the season, and Coach Pop brought him off the bench, where he might or might not continue to do so when Tony Parker comes back. Manu came in and produced right away, scoring 11 points in 12 minutes (!). I actually considered at some point that the Spurs might not make the playoffs this year, but with Manu back earlier than expected, looking this good (3-4 from the field and 5-6 from the line), they not only look like a playoff team, but with a healthy Tony Parker should be a contender for a championship. For Memphis, it was nice to see young star OJ Mayo after the game, discussing the loss with maturity and addressing Tim Duncan as “Mr. Duncan” showing great respect for his elders and the game. Spurs 94, Grizz 81

5 Comments:

Unknown said...

I cant believe JJ is still in the league either..This guy was a college legend, did nothing in NBA. Everyone was shocked when he went so late in draft, but I guess NBA scouts sometimes know what they are doing..

D.Miz said...

I'm just glad that the scouts are seeing through the Duke spoiled brat BS...

How many Duke "superstars" (oh, and he was definitely a Duke superstar), really make it big in the NBA? Grant Hill, Elton Brand (both have had questionable careers mostly due to injury)...

Who else??

Oh, and I don't like Duke. Go Terps!

Anonymous said...

http://www.databasebasketball.com/players/bycollege.htm?sch=Duke+University

list of former dukies..
u will be surprised..

Anonymous said...

Abdelnaby, Alaa 1990-1994
Alarie, Mark 1986-1990
Armstrong, Tate 1977-1978
Avery, William 1999-2001
Banks, Gene 1981-1986
Battier, Shane 2001-2007
Boozer, Carlos 2002-2007
Brand, Elton 1999-2007
Crow, Mark 1977-1977
Davis, Brian 1993-1993
Dawkins, Johnny 1986-1994
Deng, Luol 2004-2007
Dennard, Kenny 1981-1983
Denton, Randy 1971-1976
Duhon, Chris 2004-2007
Dunleavy, Mike 2002-2007
Ewing, Daniel 2005-2006
Ferry, Danny 1990-2002
Gantt, Bob 1946-1946
Gminski, Mike 1980-1993
Groat, Dick 1952-1952
Henderson, Dave 1987-1987
Heyman, Art 1963-1969
Hill, Grant 1994-2007
Hurley, Bobby 1993-1997
Jones, Dahntay 2003-2007
Kennedy, Joe 1968-1970
Kistler, Doug 1961-1961
Laettner, Christian 1992-
Lang, Antonio 1994-1999
Langdon, Trajan 1999-2001
Lewis, Mike 1968-1973
Maggette, Corey 1999-2007
Marin, Jack 1966-1976
McLeod, Roshown 1998-2000
McRoberts, Josh 2007-2007
Melchionni, Gary 1973-1974
Mullins, Jeff 1964-1975
Nessley, Martin 1987-1987
Parks, Cherokee 1995-2003
Randolph, Shavlik 2005-2007
Redick, J.J. 2006-2007
Riedy, Bob 1967-1967
Spanarkel, Jim 1979-1983
Taylor, Vince 1982-1982
Vacendak, Steve 1967-1969
Verga, Bob 1967-1973
Williams, Jay 2002-2002
Williams, Shelden 2006-2007


About statistical abbreviations

D.Miz said...

Be surprised at what?

Sure there are some quality ball players on that list, but have ANY of them lived up to the hype they had while attending Duke? JJ Redick and Sheldon Williams the most recent college superstars turned less than average nba players(is he a #5 pick?)

The point i make is, super over-rated draft picks because of the Duke name, and the fact that every ball game in college against Duke is mostly called in their favor, padding the stats and record. Yea, I said it.