Posts Tagged ‘portland trail blazers’
Monday, June 10th, 2013
Mario Chalmers (Keith Allison, Wikimedia Commons)
The NBA Finals are now deadlocked at one game apiece.
Sunday night in Miami, Mario Chalmers led the Heat with 19 points as Miami defeated San Antonio 103-84.
The Spurs actually had a one point lead at 62-61 with 3:16 left in the third quarter before the Heat took complete control. They went on a 14-3 run to end the quarter and then a 19-2 run to begin the fourth quarter to go up 94-67.
Five Heat players were in double figures with Chris Bosh recording a double double with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Chalmers also performed exceptionally defensively as he was a superb +30 throughout the contest.
The series now shifts to San Antonio with the Spurs needing to stop the Heat as a whole, and not just their star player LeBron James.
In other NBA news the Detroit Pistons have named Maurice Cheeks as their new head coach. Cheeks went 284-286 while coaching the Portland Trail Blazers and Philadelphia 76ers from 2001-2009. He most recently has been an assistant with the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Tags: Chris Bosh, detroit pistons, mario chalmers, maurice cheeks, Miami Heat, oklahoma city thunder, portland trail blazers, san antonio spurs
Posted in NBA |
Thursday, November 1st, 2012
Ok. It has only been two games. But seriously, how many people who follow the game of basketball at the professional level would have thought the Los Angeles Lakers would be 0-2? With the additions of Steve Nash and Dwight Howard, expectations were huge in Hollywood this season.
This week the Lakers have lost twice. On Tuesday, they lost 99-91 in their home opener to the Dallas Mavericks and then last night, got completely outplayed by the Portland Trail Blazers in a 116-106 defeat.
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Tags: dallas mavericks, damian lillard, dwight howard, los angeles lakers, portland trail blazers, Steve Nash
Posted in NBA |
Friday, March 16th, 2012
Steve Nash (Keith Allison, Wikimedia Commons)
The NBA Trade Deadline came and went yesterday. My initial reaction was simple.
Steve Nash, Canada’s greatest basketball ever, is still a Phoenix Sun and his chances of winning a championship are dwindling. He’s 38 years old, passes the ball with absolute ease, but at this stage off his career is stuck as a Sun on a team that needs a couple of years at least to rebuild in order to be a contender for a Championship.
Sure, they beat the Clippers last night without him, but last night’s performance by the Suns simply doesn’t happen often.
I’m not saying Steve Nash should be another Ray Bourque and be a professional athlete that asked to be traded to win a Championship before he retires, but that the Suns should have looked into it. Nash deserves a chance. The likelihood of Nash being a Sun next season is 50/50, and the Suns missed a great chance to get something for him.
Sure, there were trades yesterday. The Portland Trail Blazers traded Gerald Wallace to the New Jersey Nets for Mehmet Okur, Shawne Williams and a first round pick. The Milwaukee Bucks traded Andrew Bogut and Stephen Jackson to the Golden State Warriors for Monta Ellis, Ekpe Udoh and Kwame Brown, and then the Warriors traded Jackson to San Antonio for Richard Jefferson.
We also saw Washington acquire Nene Hilario from Denver, Houston acquire Derek Fisher from the Los Angeles Lakers and Marcus Camby from Portland, Indiana acquire Leandro Barbosa from Toronto, and two coaches leave–Mike D’Antoni in New York and Nate McMillan in Portland.
But with all of the movement, Steve Nash, the greatest point guard in the game remains playing under the sun in Phoenix. Are you as disappointed as I am?
Tags: andrew bogut, derek fisher, ekpe udoh, gerald wallace, golden state warriors, houston rockets, indiana pacers, kwame brown, leandro barbosa, marcus camby, mehmet okur, milwaukee bucks, monta ellis, nene hilario, phoenix suns, portland trail blazers, Ray Bourque, richard jefferson, san antonio spurs, shawne williams, stephen jackson, Steve Nash, Washington Wizards
Posted in NBA |
Wednesday, February 29th, 2012
Rick Adelman (Yahoo! Images)
I watched the upstart Minnesota Timberwolves for the first time last night and was very impressed.
The Timberwolves went into Los Angeles and beat a Clippers team 109-97. A major reason for their victory is that Head Coach Rick Adelman seemed to focus defensively on all of the Clippers except their two star players– Chris Paul and Blake Griffin.
While doing play-by-play for the University of Calgary Dinos Women’s Basketball team in 2003, I saw Dinos’ head coach Shawnee Harle execute a similar defensive strategy against the University of Winnipeg to perfection. The fundamental approach is let the entire team you are facing beat you.
Tactically, Rick Adelman is an underrated basketball genious. Even though he has never won an NBA Finals, he has gone 963-633 while coaching the Portland Trail Blazers, Golden State Warriors, Sacramento Kings, Houston Rockets and now Minnesota Timberwolves. What he has been able to do in Minnesota is amazing. Last season the Timberwolves were the worst team in the NBA defensively. Now they’re in the middle of the pack, and Minnesota is fighting for a playoff spot.
All throughout the game it went through my head, is why didn’t the Raptors make more of a push for Adelman when they had the chance after being fired by the Rockets? Why did they decide to settle on Dwane Casey instead? Adelman has more experience and has never been afraid to coach in smaller, less profile basketball markets. The Raptors blew an opportunity here my not going after the best candidate on the market.
Tags: golden state warriors, houston rockets, minnesota timberwolves, portland trail blazers, rick adelman, sacramento kings, shawnee harlee, Toronto Raptors, university of calgary dinos
Posted in NBA |
Saturday, February 11th, 2012
Daniel Nestor (Wikimedia Commons)
One of the most exciting sporting events of the entire year got under way last night in Vancouver.
For only the fourth time since 1923, Canada is in the main World Group of the Davis Cup, and yes folks there are reasons to be very excited.
Last night, Milos Raonic was dominant with his serve in his 6-2, 6-4, 7-5 win over France’s Julien Benneteau. Equally as dominant though was France’s Jo-Wilfried Tsonga who beat Canada’s Vasek Pospisil yesterday afternoon 6-1, 6-3, 6-3.
Now the stage is set for exciting doubles action today. I know Milos Raonic is the best Canadian tennis player today, but you could make the serious case that Daniel Nestor is the greatest Canadian tennis player ever. Nestor is a doubles specialist, who has a remarkable career record of 830-318. The seven-time major winner is still going great at age 39 and is currently ranked number three in the world. Like Steve Nash who I discussed yesterday, Daniel Nestor is playing at an elite level which is truly amazing to watch. Nestor along with Pospisil will play the French duo of Michael Llodra and Benneteau with the Canadian team favoured to win the match (Sportsnet, 3pm).
Play will continue Sunday (Sportsnet, 3pm) with Raonic taking on Tsonga and a fifth match with possible meaning. The two have never faced each other.
Here are the other events I’ll be watching this weekend:
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Tags: andrew bynum, bill murray, calgary flames, charlie wi, dallas mavericks, daniel nestor, daniel sedin, davis cup, dustin johnson, Edmonton Oilers, george lopez, henrik sedin, jo-wilfried tsona, julien benneteau, Kobe Bryant, lamarcus aldridge, los angeles lakers, michael llodra, milos raonic, Ottawa Senators, paul maclean, portland trail blazers, ray romano, Toronto Raptors, Vancouver Canucks, vasek pospisil
Posted in ATP World Tour, More, NBA, NHL, PGA |
Wednesday, June 1st, 2011
Jay Triano (Bing Images)
The Toronto Raptors won’t have Jay Triano as their head coach next season.
Triano will take on a new role as Special Assistant to Raptors’ President and General Manager Bryan Colangelo.
The Raptors were the third worst team in the NBA this season with a record of 22-60. Only the Cleveland Cavaliers (19-63) and Minnesota Timberwolves (17-65) were worse.
Triano, from Niagara Falls, Ontario, cannot be blamed exclusively for the Raptors’ downfall this season. The Raptors were not in a great position to win, having lost their best player, Chris Bosh to the Miami Heat last summer.
The Raptors were just not in a financial position to go on the free agent market and replace a player of Bosh’s talents last year.
Injuries were also a major factor. Jose Calderon, Andrea Bargnani, Leandro Barbosa and Linas Kleiza all missed significant time due to various ailments.
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Tags: Andrea Bargnani, atlanta hawks, boston celtics, bryan colangelo, Chris Bosh, Cleveland Cavaliers, golden state warriors, houston rockets, jay triano, jeff van gundy, jose calderon, lawrence frank, leandro barbosa, Leo Rautins, linas leiza, mark jackson, maurice cheeks, mike d'antoni, minnesota timberwolves, new jersey nets, New York Knicks, oklahoma city thunder, Orlando Magic, philadelphia 76ers, pj carlesimo, portland trail blazers, rick adelman, sacramento kings, seattle supersonics, stan van gundy, Toronto Raptors
Posted in NBA |
Friday, April 29th, 2011
Kirk Hinrich (Bing Images)
It was an interesting night in the National Basketball Association last night with three game sixes won by the Los Angeles Lakers, Atlanta Hawks and Dallas Mavericks.
I saw the majority of the Hawks/Magic game six matchup in the Eastern Conference Quarterfinal, won by Atlanta 84-81. This was a very significant series victory for the Hawks and one I didn’t see coming because they were absolutely hammered by the Magic in last year’s Eastern Conference Semi-Finals.
I came away from watching this game with two key points:
A) Kirk Hinrich is a very underrated defensive player in the NBA. Traded at the February deadline from Washington for Mike Bibby, Jordan Crawford, Maurice Evans and a first round pick, Hinrich had three key steals Thursday night and led the Hawks’ defense collectively in shutting down Dwight Howard, who recorded a terrible six turnovers.
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Tags: atlanta hawks, dallas mavericks, dirk nowitzki, jason kidd, jason richardson, jordan crawford, kirk hinrich, los angeles lakers, marcin gortat, maurice evans, mike bibby, new orleans hornets, Orlando Magic, phoenix suns, portland trail blazers, vince carter, Washington Wizards
Posted in NBA |
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