I am yet to see this remarkable edifice Jerry Jones dropped in north Texas but NBA players, who have seen just about everything and possess nearly as much, are a jaded bunch who are not easily impressed.
However, playing the All-Star Game inside gigantic Cowboys Stadium of Sunday left many of the players in awe of the facility, where nearly every major component is built on a Texas-size scale.

“I came to this stadium expecting the craziest stadium I had ever seen and I was still awestruck when I first walked in,” New York forward David Lee said. “Every single one of the All-Stars were awestruck. Every one of us were like little kids going to the amusement park for the first time, staring at the different attractions.”

With a crowd of 108,713, the most ever to watch a basketball game, the game in many ways was overshadowed by the venue and the crowd.
The Eastern Conference All-Stars beat the Western Conference team 141-139 and Miami guard Dwyane Wade was voted MVP of the game. But that wasn’t what most people were talking about.

“Not even in my dreams have I played in front of this many people,” Wade said. “I got a few little butterflies playing in front of this crowd.”

The stadium, where the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys play their home games, has a video screen that is longer length-wise than an NBA court. When they weren’t actually playing — and sometimes when they were — the players stole glances at the video screen, which produce startling clear high-definition images.

“It almost nauseated you, because you were so close to it,” Lee said. “The most surreal part of it was the screen was longer than the court, that was unbelievable.”

Some of the players weren’t overwhelmed by playing in the stadium. Carmelo Anthony, who attended Syracuse and played his college basketball games inside the 33,000-seat Carrier Dome, said the largeness of Cowboys Stadium was no big deal.

“It’s just a basketball game,” Anthony said. “And the basketball court is the same size.”

Whenever a basketball game is played inside a large stadium, there is some concern about the background and depth perception for players. But the players said they weren’t affected.

“It’s not that difficult,” said Atlanta guard Joe Johnson, who scored 10 points and shot 50percent from the field. “If you’re a shooter, you can shoot anywhere.”

Not that the players were too concerned about shooting, because the All-Star Game is rarely a game, it’s more of a show. And the 2010 version of the game placed a much bigger emphasis on the “show” than in past years.

Each of the starting players rose from somewhere underneath the floor and then jogged down a runway while high-fiving fans. Many of the starters mugged for the cameras as the crowd roared its approval. While none of the players could duplicate Shaquille O’Neal’s hilarious “Jabbawockeez” dance during player introductions at the 2009 All-Star game, they did play to the crowd that filled all five levels of the stadium.

“It was a lot of fun to play in front of a huge crowd,” Phoenix forward Amare Stoudemire said. “I never thought I would be playing in front of a crowd of 108,000. It was a great experience.”

Wade emerged cupping his ear and Dwight Howard was dancing — sort of — as he surfaced. LeBron James was kind of dancing when he emerged and led the East starters into an impromptu dance.

Oh, by the way, a basketball game was played Sunday. Wade scored 28 points on 12 of 16 shooting and had 11 assists, six rebounds and five steals. Anthony led the West with 27 points on 13 of 22 shooting and had 10 rebounds.

The teams gave hometown favorites plenty of opportunities to score. Toronto forward Chris Bosh, who grew up in Dallas, scored 23 points for the East. Dallas Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki scored 22 points for the West and Utah guard Deron Williams, also from Dallas, scored 14.

Memphis forward Zach Randolph, playing in his first All-Star Game, scored eight points on 4 for 10 shooting in 19minutes. The former Blazer also had six rebounds.

Notes: The Blazers’ Brandon Roy, who couldn’t play because of his hamstring injury, simply waved during his introductions. He probably would have incurred the wrath of Blazers management and fans had he done anything more. … Blazers forward Nicolas Batum briefly switched careers and was broadcasting Sunday night at the game. Batum said he was a reporter for a French television network. “I did it last year during the rookie game,” Batum said. “It was fun.” …

Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said he was a little concerned about attendance before the game but expressed hope the crowd would enjoy the experience. “What we’re trying to do is for the fans to see the game like they’ve never seen it before,” Jones said. “I’ve been really rewarded by this great crowd.” … Sunday’s game marked the sixth time the All-Star Game was played in a dome. The previous games: the Pontiac Silverdome in 1979, the Hoosier Dome in 1985, the Kingdome in 1987, the Astrodome in 1989 and the Alamodome in 1996.

All I can add at this point; I need to see this baby.

by – Geoffrey C. Arnold

A Historic Night at Cowboys Stadium with Dwayne Wade is a post from: AroDrive

Make it three consecutive Mondays atop weekly NBA Power Rankings for the Cleveland Cavaliers.

The Cavs are the only team in the top 10 these days that can claim reasonably good health and on-the-court consistency, making them an automatic choice to retain the top spot in spite of a Friday slip-up at Denver with the Nuggets missing Carmelo Anthony.

Orlando normally would have fallen further than No. 4 after its recent 0-4 skid — and Dallas and Phoenix likewise moved up more than usual after so-so weeks — because so many teams in the top 10 have hit slumps or been derailed by injuries.

Another interesting jumble can be found in the middle of the pack, where No. 16 Memphis and No. 17 Utah certainly can make cases to be placed a little higher but got shoved down because of the recent surges seen from No. 13 Miami, No. 14 New Orleans and No. 15 Toronto.

Click here to rank the teams yourself, or click here to comment on these rankings.

2009-10 Power Rankings: Week 12
RANK (LAST WK)		TEAM	REC.	COMMENT
	1 (1)	Cavaliers	29-10	Not going to grade them down too much for Friday’s slip at Melo-less Denver. Not when the Cavs have won six of their past seven roadies and when none of their closest pursuers is healthy enough to push ‘em.
	2 (2)	Lakers	29-8	Kobe’s, Pau’s and Artest’s injuries have been legit disruptions, but defensive slippage isn’t so easily dismissed. Not when L.A. allows 100-plus points in eight of 11 after doing so just eight times in its first 26 games.
	3 (4)	Celtics	26-9	An angry KG is ordered to rest his knee and you inevitably wonder whether Boston will ever be healthy enough to make a real run … but also whether the Lakers will wish they did the same with Kobe and his finger.
	4 (3)	Magic	25-12	As the 41-game midpoint approaches and we reflect on the Magic’s recent four-game skid as well as Vince Carter’s latest injury, perhaps it’s a wise time to say that their perfect 8-0 preseason didn’t mean a whole lot.
	5 (6)	Mavericks	25-12	Mike Bacsik isn’t just the lefty who surrendered Barry Bonds’ 756th homer. He’s a rabid Mavs fan who tweeted late Saturday: “It’s the ’90′s all over again. The Cowboys win a playoff game by 20 and the Mavs lose by 20.”
	6 (10)	Suns	23-14	Such are the ups and downs we’re seeing throughout the top 10 that Miami can deal Phoenix its fourth home defeat in eight games — after Phoenix started 10-0 at home — yet the Suns still rise in the rankings.
	7 (5)	Trail Blazers	23-16	The Blazers are tied with Cleveland and Dallas for the most wins in the league — eight — against the rest of the teams residing in our top 11. Which explains why they’re still so high in spite of all those injuries.
	8 (9)	Spurs	22-13	We all know second-half runs are the Spurs’ specialty, but they’re looking at more ground to make up than normal having played just 13 games on the road and sporting a 3-11 record against teams at or above .500.
	9 (7)	Hawks	23-13	Hope this isn’t our fault. Ever since we asked America whether it was time to officially proclaim that the East is home to four elite teams — back when the Hawks were a sparkly 8-2 — Atlanta is an underwhelming 15-11.
	10 (11)	Nuggets	23-14	He’ll never muscle his way to the top of MVP contention, but Friday’s W over our No. 1 team in his comeback game — without Melo — is yet another example of why Denver Chauncey always has to be in the conversation.
	11 (8)	Rockets	21-16	These Rockets have been so good at ignoring injury obstacles that you naturally expect them to grind through the trade rumors, too. Knowing that an easier second-half schedule is forthcoming should help the mood.
	12 (12)	Thunder	20-16	The word for Durant’s past 10 games is ridiculous: 32.7 ppg on 57.4 percent shooting and 47.1 percent on 3s. In related news, OKC has quadrupled its win total from last season’s 5-31 mark at the same point.
	13 (18)	Heat	18-17	Ran up an early 25-point lead on the Hawks. Stole one in Phoenix to improve to 6-2 in games decided by five or fewer points. And found a way to pilfer Rafer Alston from the Nets. Best week of the Heat’s season.
	14 (17)	Hornets	19-16	See what happens when we throw some committee (of one) spotlight on the Hornets’ 2-13 road record? They win three roadies in the span of a week. Who would dare say these rankings don’t mean anything?
	15 (15)	Raptors	19-19	Jim from Chicago wrote in to ask why we haven’t been trotting out our trusty Leastern Conference references. And he certainly has a point when the Raps needed an 8-2 surge just to give the East six .500 teams.
	16 (13)	Grizzlies	18-18	The Griz are back in the Southwest Division basement and awoke Monday as the West’s No. 11 team, but read the fine print. They have to be right there with Houston and Sacramento at the top of the Cinderella Rankings.
	17 (14)	Jazz	20-17	One road pounding of Dallas, impressive as it was, hasn’t stopped the masses from wondering whether Utah plans to keep Boozer and see what it can salvage from this season or keep trying to slice its luxury-tax bill.
	18 (21)	Clippers	17-18	They’ll be patient with Blake Griffin’s debut and trading Marcus Camby in hopes of driving up Camby’s value between now and the trade deadline. Why rush when you’re nearly .500 and just beat the Lakers?
	19 (16)	Bobcats	16-19	You know who’s nervous right now? The Houston Texans. They’ll be the only franchise in North America’s four major sports leagues that hasn’t yet tasted the playoffs if the Jackson-Wallace partnership keeps clicking.
	20 (19)	Kings	15-21	We should probably focus on the recent five-game skid as opposed to our guy Casspi’s run of four straight 20-point games. Or we could just tell you Kevin Martin should be back soon to make the Kings really interesting.
	21 (20)	Knicks	15-21	Grizzlies of the East? Sounds like a slam, but it’s not. The Knicks, you see, endured an even worse start than Memphis — 1-9 compared with 1-8 — but have rebounded with the East’s third-best record (12-7) since Dec. 1.
	22 (22)	Bulls	15-20	For all the early fuss about the Bulls’ annual circus trip, Chicago’s January looks just as rough with eight of this month’s 10 remaining games on the road. (P.S. — We have a lot more to say about the Bulls here.)
	23 (24)	76ers	11-25	It hasn’t eased any pressure on Eddie Jordan or hushed any of the rampant trade speculation in Philly, but the Iverson reunion experiment is sure working for Iverson. Have you looked at All-Star voting lately?
	24 (23)	Bucks	15-19	I had literally just looked up from a mound of rankings research and switched the channel from Cavs-Blazers to Bucks-Lakers right when Michael Redd planted on that left knee … and buckled. Evening ruined.
	25 (26)	Warriors	11-24	The Monta Ellis Show has been in Oaktown for a league-low 14 home games. So maybe Don Nelson isn’t as far from the record for all-time coaching wins — currently 12 shy of Lenny Wilkens’ 1,332 — as it seems.
	26 (29)	Wizards	12-23	The Wiz actually won two games last week, not that anyone noticed. There might be only one outcome that can transport the franchise out of this nightmare, which is winning the draft lottery and rights to John Wall.
	27 (27)	Pacers	11-25	With Granger mercifully back from injury, T.J. Ford banished to the bench and the names of Jeff Foster and Troy Murphy coming up often in trade speculation, Indy is pretty newsy for a team stuck in the bottom five.
	28 (28)	Timberwolves	8-30	Maybe Jefferson and Love can’t work long term as a tag team because neither provides shot-blocking or defensive athleticism. But breaking them up now, after basically a half-season under Rambis, is risky. Thoughts?
	29 (25)	Pistons	11-24	Q: When does a dozen feel like a bigger number than 10 million? A: When Ben Gordon is credited with scoring the NBA’s 10 millionth point in a defeat to Philly that stretches Detroit’s losing streak to (yikes) 12 games.
	30 (30)	Nets	3-34	Can’t be easy to lock in when your team is 0-15 against the West, stuck on a 7-75 pace and stuck waiting for the official arrival of a new owner and summer cap space. But Devin Harris could be doing more. Couldn’t he?

2009-10 NBA Power Rankings: Week 12 (A-List Edition) is a post from: AroDrive

For all the grief Shaq gets about his pick-and-roll D, it hasn’t really hurt the Cavs yet. They’re giving up the league’s fewest points in the paint since bringing Shaq in, and D has fueled Cleveland’s surge to No. 1.

Injury issues have started earlier this season. The list of health worries is a lot longer than last season’s, too. You’re seeing why we came into the season saying Boston’s vulnerabilities worry us more than Orlando’s.

Brings us no joy to rough the Hawks up, but they’ve had two turns in the spotlight: Thanksgiving against Orlando and their home-and-home with the Cavs. The East’s new darlings are 0-3 in those games.

Here’s the complete list;

2009-10 Power Rankings: Week 11
RANK (LAST WK)		TEAM	REC.	COMMENT
	1 (1)	Cavaliers	27-9	For all the grief Shaq gets about his pick-and-roll D, it hasn’t really hurt the Cavs yet. They’re giving up the league’s fewest points in the paint since bringing Shaq in, and D has fueled Cleveland’s surge to No. 1.
	2 (3)	Lakers	27-6	No one’s suggesting it changed the trajectory of the Lakers’ season, but they just haven’t been right since the Christmas Day double whammy of that loss to the Cavs and Artest’s freakish fall. Now Pau’s hurt, too.
	3 (4)	Magic	24-9	The Magic don’t exactly look like the deepest team in the league these days. They’re starting to look like a team that is struggling to keep everyone happy and frustrated by its inability to keep everyone healthy.
	4 (2)	Celtics	24-8	Injury issues have started earlier this season. The list of health worries is a lot longer than last season’s, too. You’re seeing why we came into the season saying Boston’s vulnerabilities worry us more than Orlando’s.
	5 (6)	Trail Blazers	22-13	This ridiculous injury plague hasn’t stopped Portland from gamely winning six of seven somehow, but it’s affecting the committee (of one) personally when it starts messing with our favorite Blazer and soccer bud L. Aldridge.
	6 (7)	Mavericks	23-11	This Power Rankings Monday also marks the 10-year anniversary of Cuban’s agreement to buy the Mavs. We’re granting an anniversary wish by pretending we didn’t see that uncharacteristic road no-show in L.A.
	7 (5)	Hawks	21-11	Brings us no joy to rough the Hawks up, but they’ve had two turns in the spotlight: Thanksgiving against Orlando and their home-and-home with the Cavs. The East’s new darlings are 0-3 in those games.
	8 (8)	Rockets	20-14	If Westphal isn’t your COY so far, it’s got to be Adelman. He’s moved into Sloan territory as one of the best never to win the COY thanks to what these no-name Rockets are doing with the hardest schedule to date.
	9 (11)	Spurs	20-12	We’ll get back to the modest present soon, but the glorious past merits one more mention: San Antonio’s 574 wins in the 2000s are No. 3 all-time for one decade, behind 584 for the ’80s Lakers and 580 for the ’80s Celts.
	10 (10)	Suns	21-13	We repeat: There’s a reason Nash tried to temper expectations when the Suns were 14-3. He knew they had depth/size issues, which is why they were grateful to see the Lakers minus Artest and Boston sans KG/Pierce.
	11 (9)	Nuggets	21-13	Even after beating Utah without Chauncey and Melo, Denver has lost sole possession of first place in the Northwest for the first time since the opening week … to a stubborn Trail Blazers team with injuries galore.
	12 (13)	Thunder	18-15	What excites you most, OKC? Durant’s seven straight 30-point games? That your nearly vet-less team inched past .500? Or how many guys it has stolen (Sefolosha, Krstic and Maynor) thanks to financial flexibility?
	13 (16)	Grizzlies	16-16	If I had said before the season that all but one team in the Southwest would be at .500 or better on the first Monday in January and that the Grizz would not be the sub-.500 team, what odds would you have given?
	14 (12)	Jazz	18-15	How stunned were we that the Jazz lost to Denver by 10 when Chauncey and Melo didn’t dress? Put it this way: Utah now has three home L’s by double digits … compared to two in each of the past three seasons.
	15 (17)	Raptors	17-18	The Raps showed us something by beating the Spurs. No Hedo/Calderon and still they proved momentum from the 5-0 stretch wasn’t lost when they failed to steal one in Boston with Pierce, KG and Rondo all out.
	16 (22)	Bobcats	14-18	A breakthrough in Miami, then an absolute stunner in Cleveland. Larry Brown’s Bobs just tripled their total of road wins in the span of a weekend and are going to make their first trip to the playoffs if this keeps up.
	17 (19)	Hornets	15-16	The Hornets’ season could hinge on this month. They’re as active as anyone on the trade front and have ample opportunity to spruce up that 2-13 road record with 11 of the next 15 games away from home.
	18 (14)	Heat	16-15	It might be time already for Riles to challenge the whole team publicly again. The home loss Saturday to Charlotte was especially costly because the Heat have only five more home games all month. And 11 roadies.
	19 (15)	Kings	14-19	You can dwell on how poorly they handled the final play when Kobe got the most wide-open buzzer 3 he’ll ever see. Or you can focus on how the Kings, without Tyreke, beat Denver and lost to the Lakers by a point.
	20 (20)	Knicks	14-20	Add up David Lee’s still-underrated board work, Nate Rob’s fairy-tale return from exile and New York’s 10-5 spell of decency and suddenly the s-l-o-w countdown to July 1 is bearable, ’cause the team is watchable.
	21 (19)	Clippers	14-18	Kaman refuses to let Zach Randolph roll on unchallenged for the unofficial title of West Big Man Most Egregiously Omitted from the All-Star Ballot. He’s up to 10 20-point, 10-rebound games after just two last season.
	22 (23)	Bulls	14-17	Comeback Coach of the Year? No such award exists, obviously, but don’t we need something after Del Negro did what no one said he could by surviving that 35-point blown lead to Sacramento … and then thriving?
	23 (24)	Bucks	13-18	Jennings knows how to get on the committee’s good side. He heard Bucks fans lobbying via Twitter to break up my all-lefty backcourt by trading Redd for T-Mac’s expiring deal. “THAT IS DUMB!” Jennings tweeted back.
	24 (28)	76ers	10-23	It’s true that every team beaten in this 3-1 revival has been shorthanded. It’s also true that the road rally A) accounts for Philly’s best week all season and B) started when Iverson came back to play on a bad knee.
	25 (21)	Pistons	11-21	How far away from Deeee-troit Bas-ket-ballll have these Pistons strayed? The losing streak has reached a stunning nine defeats in a row and they haven’t even managed to take a second-half lead in the last six games.
	26 (25)	Warriors	9-23	Although the Dubs couldn’t build on huge back-to-back wins over Phoenix and Boston, they’re finally putting proven NBA size on the floor thanks to the returns of Biedrins and Turiaf. And Monta does need the help.
	27 (29)	Pacers	10-23	The Pacers have actually weathered brief Granger absences in the past with near-.500 ball, but that was then. Now? Indy has lost nine of its last 10 games without its All-Star, including five double-digit poundings.
	28 (26)	Timberwolves	7-28	That was even more unpleasant than usual. The Wolves just missed out on a third upset of Utah when they couldn’t finish off a late comeback from 17 down, then got pushed around in Indy.
	29 (27)	Wizards	10-21	Does this sound like someone who’d protest being shipped away from this circus? Caron Butler on his blog: “Every time I was dealt [previously], I had better years with my new team than I had with my old one.”
	30 (30)	Nets	3-30	It took a seven-game homestand and help from the snoozing Knicks, but the Nets finally found the win that kept them away from the record for most losses before a team’s third W. Dallas went 2-39 in 1993-94.

2009-10 NBA Power Rankings: Week 11 (A-List Edition) is a post from: AroDrive

Kobe Bryant’s last-second shots are nice and everything, but Lakers Coach Phil Jackson isn’t exactly thrilled with them.

They tend to mask what ails the Lakers for 47-plus minutes in a game, Bryant’s late-game dependability already bailing out the team three times this season.

“I’d just as soon he didn’t have to do that, personally,” Jackson said. “Losses make mountains out of molehills. You win, you think that there’s nothing wrong and it’s pretty easy. We talked about that as a team [Saturday]. I did most of the talking. The team didn’t talk that much about it.”

Bryant seemed to agree with Jackson. After all, his trio of winning shots came against teams hovering near .500.

“Obviously, we’re not playing as well in those games as you want to play,” he said. “It’s not the best situation, but it works.”

Bryant’s last-second savers came in a 28-day span, a tidy ratio of one every 9.3 days. He began his string with his 27-foot three-point bank against Miami on Dec. 4. Then he backed down the smaller Charlie Bell and drained a 15-foot turnaround to beat Milwaukee on Dec. 16.

On Friday, he took a pass from Pau Gasol after making contact with Sacramento guard Sergio Rodriguez, who stumbled and fell, leaving Bryant with an open three-point look from the left side.

Did he foul Rodriguez to get open?

“It’s tough to make those calls,” Bryant said before making reference to the 1998 Eastern Conference finals. “A foul is Reggie Miller pushing MJ [Michael Jordan]. That’s a foul. What I did is the same thing anybody does to get open in the post. I didn’t shove the guy. The guy’s, what, 6 feet, 180?”

Rodriguez is listed at 6 feet 3, 176 pounds.

The bigger issue is why a team wouldn’t double-team Bryant in the waning seconds of a game — not that it would help.

“One guy’s not going to do it,” Bryant said. “I know how to get open.”

Truly?

“I’ll get a look,” he said. “If I miss it, I miss it, but one guy’s not going to matter, not in that situation. I’ve developed my skills to the point where I can go left, I can go right. I can pull up and shoot, I can fade and shoot. I feel confident in my abilities . . . because I’ve worked at those things.”

Artest update

Ron Artest went through part of Saturday’s practice without contact, the first step in his return since suffering a concussion Christmas night at his home. After practice, he shot around while being watched on the court by a neurologist.

“He’s with his new best friend out there,” Jackson said, nodding in the direction of the doctor.

Artest will be reevaluated before tonight’s game against Dallas.

Artest has sat out four games, during which the Lakers have given up 103 points to Sacramento, 118 to Phoenix, another 118 to Golden State and 108 to Sacramento.

Jackson won’t look like an NFL coach roaming the sidelines with a large laminated play card, but he said he would take more action in the first halves of games after the Lakers’ recent struggles.

“I think I’ll have to probably program them a little bit more instead of letting them kind of go out on a free basis,” Jackson said.

So Jackson might be scripting plays until the Lakers get on track?

“Yeah, like other coaches do,” he said.

Them again?

Tonight the Lakers face the Mavericks, who happen to be second in the Western Conference and, of equal interest, pummeled the Lakers, 94-80, in the second game of the season.

Bryant had an awful shooting night, scoring 20 points on six-for-19 shooting, and Artest had as many offensive fouls (three) as points.

“We refreshed our memory with it a little bit today,” Jackson said. “I was just talking to our staff about how [the Mavericks] kind of got their resiliency back as a team. The addition of [Shawn] Marion obviously is a help. . . . They’re a pretty deep team now and they seem to have the kind of chemistry that works well together.”

Walton getting closer?

Forward Luke Walton (pinched nerve in neck) shot at a side basket during practice while being watched by Alex McKechnie, the team’s athletic performance coordinator. A definite return date hasn’t been set.

By Mike_Bresnahan

Kobe Bryant’s Last Shot Magic a Negative for the Lakers is a post from: AroDrive

The Lakers continue to roll on as the Celtics, Magic and Cavs try to catch up.

The Hawks remains on at the number 4 spot and looking to move up as Christmas day games will see some of the big 3 fall.

Here’s the complete list;

2009-10 Power Rankings: Week 10
RANK (LAST WK)		TEAM	REC.	COMMENT
	1 (2)	Lakers	22-4	Did someone say good week? Kobe can’t stop scoring with that broken finger, Pau suddenly has a contract extension even before Kobe does and the Lakers quietly completed their long-awaited first road trip at 4-1.
	2 (1)	Celtics	21-5	This is probably just a coincidence: Boston is 3-4 on Fridays and 17-1 on all other days. This appears to be a legit problem: Rasheed and Perkins have racked up 10 and seven techs already. Suspensions start at 16 T’s.
	3 (3)	Magic	20-7	The good news: Jameer is closing in on reactivation. The bad news: Orlando has to deal with two teams that know how to make you work (Utah and Houston) before the big Christmas Day showdown with Boston.
	4 (4)	Hawks	19-7	Impressive as they’ve been this month, establishing themselves as a top-5 fixture, Atlanta’s uber-athletes could easily be 9-0 in December if not for leads blown Saturday in Chicago and that bad home L to the Knicks.
	5 (8)	Mavericks	20-8	Looking at the Southwest, especially Memphis and the other last-place clubs, Rick Adelman paid a real tribute to the Mavs with this: “They’re the best team in our division and they’re up there in the conference.”
	6 (9)	Suns	18-9	Two more plus points for the only team in the league that hasn’t lost a home game: Amare is starting to get some pop back (three straight 20/10 games) and a league-high 17 road games are in the rearview mirror.
	7 (5)	Cavaliers	20-8	The Cavs haven’t been higher than No. 4 and it’s tough to see that changing in the near future. But count on them to stay at or near the top of the rumor rankings, because they’re looking for trade upgrades. Hard.
	8 (6)	Nuggets	19-9	Didn’t take long, did it? For all of Melo’s brilliance — he just uncorked his fifth 40-point game of the season — Denver’s first two games without the injured Billups stand as reminders of how much he impacts for this crew.
	9 (10)	Rockets	16-11	Only one team out West (Phoenix) has played more roadies than the Rockets. And Houston gets to make an extra trip to Dallas if the league upholds the Mavs’ protest because it already made its two trips to Big D.
	10 (13)	Trail Blazers	17-12	The way Bayless played against Phoenix on TNT helps explain why the Blazers are reluctant to trade him. Less clear after a performance like that is why they’ve been so reluctant to throw him out there more with B-Roy.
	11 (7)	Jazz	16-11	We’re going to pretend we didn’t see the Jazz respond to their Team of the Week nod by losing at home to Minnesota and focus on D-Will’s league-leading eight 20-point/10-assist games … five of them just since Dec. 10.
	12 (11)	Spurs	14-10	For all the fretting about Jefferson’s slow start and the underwhelming 3-6 record on the road, there’s this Spurs counter: Duncan is quietly rolling again, churning out an efficient 20 and 11 in a career-low 32.1 mpg.
	13 (14)	Hornets	12-14	Even though he just missed on a triple-double, CP3′s 30 points, 19 assists and nine boards against Denver make for a historic line. No one has hit those levels in the same game since Magic Johnson and Fat Lever in 1988.
	14 (16)	Grizzlies	12-15	Division leaders Cleveland, Dallas and now Denver are all Grizz victims, but I still can’t seem to stop myself from wondering what we’d be saying if they had drafted a local collegian named Tyreke Evans over Thabeet.
	15 (12)	Thunder	13-13	The shocker is not that the Thunder are a helpless 0-5 when their franchise player is held below 20 points. The shocker is that we just saw it happen twice to young Durant in Oklahoma City’s most recent three games.
	16 (17)	Heat	13-12	Does Riles still got it? After he challenged everyone on the roster, including D-Wade, Miami trounced Orlando by 18 on TNT. But the Heat need a win Wednesday over Utah just to break even on this six-game homestand.
	17 (19)	Kings	12-14	One of my best Hanukkah presents: Casspi has been so good that it’s totally natural to talk about him all the time. Tyreke has been a certifiable stud … but my guy’s coming to Dallas for the Rookie Game, too.
	18 (18)	Knicks	10-17	We’ve all been so wrapped up in the Nate Robinson drama that we almost missed Mike D’Antoni’s Knicks — we repeat: Mike D’Antoni’s Knicks — holding seven straight foes below 100 points in their 7-3 December.
	19 (20)	Raptors	13-17	At least one thing is going according to plan for the Raps: Bosh has racked up a league-leading 13 games with at least 25 points and 10 boards. That’s six more than his closest pursuer: New Jersey’s Brook Lopez.
	20 (15)	Pistons	11-16	Can’t sum up life with the Pistons these days any better than the AP did after Sunday’s lesson from the Lakers. “Three of Detroit’s best players wore sport coats: Richard Hamilton, Ben Gordon and Tayshaun Prince.”
	21 (23)	Clippers	12-14	Just three times all season have teams failed to hold a 20-point lead … with the Clips involved every time. They beat Memphis that way Nov. 29 and lost that way Nov. 13 against Toronto and again Friday in New York.
	22 (21)	Bucks	11-14	Brandon Jennings’ recent perimeter struggles don’t worry the Bucks. Nor does the fact that ‘Reke got the better of the rooks’ first duel. The real crusher is that 1-8 record in games decided by three points or fewer.
	23 (26)	Bulls	10-15	The first Bulls winning streak since mid-November — two wins in a row after they followed up a big rally in New York with an OT home W over surging Atlanta — should bring Del Negro his first sense of relief in weeks.
	24 (22)	Bobcats	10-16	The Bobcats treasure the do-everything versatility of G-Wallace. But responding to a quiet game on the boards for Diaw and Chandler with a quote about heart is presumably not something they wanted him to do.
	25 (24)	Pacers	9-16	The ever-reliable Brian Windhorst reports that Troy Murphy is one of three PFs high on the Cavs’ trade radar. We figured that Pacer People would rather ponder that than the team’s recent Granger-less fortunes.
	26 (29)	76ers	7-20	The Sixers can (probably) live with the loss to the Clips and A.I.’s injury because last week was their best week in ages, thanks to the returns of Lou Williams and Speights and a win in Boston no one saw coming.
	27 (25)	Wizards	8-17	The record-tying run of six consecutive defeats by four points or fewer is finally over. The leaguewide circling of buzzards waiting to see whether the Wiz finally bust up their Arenas-Butler-Jamison core trio only grows.
	28 (27)	Warriors	7-19	This is the month teams down here started consoling themselves with the same two-word draft prayer: John Wall. Even teams like the Warriors, who are awash in guards with Monta and Steph Curry and need a big.
	29 (30)	Timberwolves	5-23	We’d like to think that demoting the Wolves to No. 30 was the inspiration for that stunning win at Utah. We’d also like to explain how the Wolves now have huge divisional road wins at Denver and Utah. But we can’t.
	30 (28)	Nets	2-26	More unwanted milestones: New Jersey is just the seventh team in history to rack up 25 losses in 27 games after Friday’s defeat in Toronto. The last to do so was New Orleans, which also started 2-25 in 2004-05.

2009-10 NBA Power Rankings: Week 10 (A-List Edition) is a post from: AroDrive

Kobe Bryant and the Lakers finally loss a game and Kobe nursing a sprained finger on he’s shooting hand.

The Boston Celtic didn’t waste any time to jump in front and claim the number one position not just on the A-List NBA Power Rankings, but on all NBA Power Ranking across the board.

There’s no doubt the Celtics are the best team in the NFL right now.

Rounding up the top 5; Lakers, Magic, Hawks and Cavs.

The Hawks continue to impress as they have won six games by at least 20 points after combining for just five such wins over the last the last two seasons.

Here’s the complete list

2009-10 Power Rankings: Week 8
RANK (LAST WK)		TEAM	REC.	COMMENT
	1 (3)	Celtics	19-4	It’s true that the list of victims during Boston’s 10-game win streak won’t blow you away. Yet it’s also true that seven of the 10 wins were roadies, which always says something, especially given L.A.’s soft schedule.
	2 (1)	Lakers	18-4	We nearly gave the champs a one-road-loss grace period, but there’s just enough uncertainty about Kobe’s freshly broken finger — combined with L.A.’s shaky start to an overdue stretch of road games — to merit this drop.
	3 (2)	Magic	17-6	Orlando is even more must-see than usual this week after it seemed set for the best start in franchise history, only to unravel in the second half in Utah and then fall in agonizing fashion the next night in Phoenix.
	4 (5)	Hawks	17-6	Milestones: Atlanta is at least 10 games over .500 before Christmas for the first time since 1997-98. And Atlanta has won six games by at least 20 points after combining for just five such wins over the last two seasons.
	5 (4)	Cavaliers	17-7	You can’t forget the 0-2 start or ignore the slip-ups at Washington and Memphis, but you also have to take note that the Cavs — for all the lukewarm reviews so far — are a tidy 7-2 against teams at .500 or better.
	6 (6)	Nuggets	17-7	They still need another need big man, but the Nuggets emerged from the season’s first quarter as the closest thing to a consensus No. 2 out West, with ‘Melo posting four 40-point games after just 10 in his first six seasons.
	7 (10)	Jazz	14-9	Beat the Spurs, Magic and Lakers all in the same week and bring back those old green unis — thumbs up from the committee (of one) — and Team of the Week status is all yours. The Jazz have suddenly won 10 of 13.
	8 (8)	Mavericks	17-7	Focus on what Jason Kidd can no longer do at 36 if you want, but this is all the locals see in Big D with Kidd at the controls: Rick Carlisle’s record as Mavs coach in games decided by five points or fewer is a gaudy 25-6.
	9 (7)	Suns	16-8	The Suns can rationalize an 8-7 mark after an 8-1 start because the schedule has been road-heavy. The part they can’t live with is failing to score 100 points in four of this month’s seven games. That can’t continue.
	10 (9)	Rockets	13-10	If Ariza gets suspended, as expected, for his tangle with Toronto, we’ll have to scratch Houston’s undersized Cinderellas from the list of teams to use the same starting lineup in every game. Boston is the only other team.
	11 (14)	Spurs	12-9	How big was Sunday’s breakthrough in Clipperland? Without it, as Jalen Rose reminded us on NBA Shootaround, San Antone would still be on the list of West teams with only one road win alongside the Clips and Kings.
	12 (12)	Thunder	12-10	OKC didn’t record its 12th victory last season until Feb. 6. The Thunder, though, have too many road games and too many good teams left on their December schedule to too spend much time basking in their progress.
	13 (13)	Trail Blazers	14-11	In the short term, playing without Oden will probably be easier for the likes of B-Roy and Andre Miller (for as long he’s a Blazer). Long term? Portland needed Oden to have any shot of challenging the Lakers and all their size.
	14 (15)	Hornets	10-12	After gamely splitting those eight games without Chris Paul, New Orleans was heading for a 4-0 mark since CP3′s return … until the Hornets surrendered the final eighteen points at home Friday night to the Knicks.
	15 (20)	Pistons	11-12	We were tough on him early when Will Bynum was the Pistons’ most productive guard, so it’s only right to highlight Stuckey’s turnaround: 25 points or more in four straight games to spark this five-game win streak.
	16 (21)	Grizzlies	10-13	Yes: Zach Randolph should have been on the All-Star ballot. Yes: Rudy Gay has the whole league buzzing. Yes: Memphis is 4-1 in December and tempting us to use the R word — riveting — even without Mr. Iverson.
	17 (11)	Heat	11-11	Did someone say long winter? Miami just started a six-game homestand with two lopsided losses and has played fewer road games (nine) than all but three teams: Lakers (five), Spurs (seven) and Clippers (eight).
	18 (23)	Knicks	8-15	It’s still too early for the V word — vindication — but a 5-1 record in December that includes wins over three legit teams (Phoenix, Atlanta and Portland) is best Knicks stretch we can remember in, um, a really long time.
	19 (16)	Kings	10-12	Ten wins already and nine of them at home for Sacramento’s young overachievers. The Kings didn’t get win No. 10 in 2008-09 until Jan. 14 and only won 11 games all season at what was an Arco fortress in the glory days.
	19 (17)	Raptors	11-15	The Raps can only wish that it was easy as this sentence makes it sounds: Toronto is 8-0 when its much-maligned defence (Canadian spelling) finds a way to hold the opposition below 100 points ? and 3-15 otherwise.
	21 (22)	Bucks	11-11	This Twitter exclamation over the weekend from Andrew Bogut — “11-11 baby!” — got us thinking: Is it too soon to start asking how many teams outside the top four in the East are going to wind up with a winning record?
	22 (19)	Bobcats	9-13	Stephen Jackson has clearly given the Bobs more belief, but it still ain’t happening on the road. Charlotte’s away misery includes losing to the 0-18 Nets and an OT crusher that left them 0-11 all-time against the Mavs.
	23 (18)	Clippers	9-13	Is a January comeback for Blake Griffin — assuming we’re actually going to see him next month as promised — too late to force his way into the ROY conversation? We’re asking for your input because we haven’t decided yet.
	24 (27)	Pacers	8-13	Dunleavy’s back at last, Hansbrough just had his first big NBA weekend and the finish against the Wiz couldn’t have been more fortuitous. Not that the Pacers can really celebrate after losing Granger for at least four weeks.
	25 (25)	Wizards	7-14	Ouch, ouch, ouch. As if the Indy ending wasn’t sufficiently excruciating, there’s this: Washington has followed up the presumed promise of a 4-1 stretch with four successive Ls by a combined nine points, three of them at home.
	26 (24)	Bulls	8-14	Can’t see how beating the depleted Dubs gets Vinny out of trouble. Not because of the Bulls’ recent history of firing coaches in December, but because their last four losses include three blowouts and a home loss to the Nets.
	27 (26)	Warriors	7-16	What do Monta Ellis, Michael Finley and Latrell Sprewell have in common? They’re the only three players in the last 35 years to play all 48 minutes at least five times before Christmas ? with Nellie coaching in each case.
	28 (30)	Nets	2-22	Just ruminating out loud: If the Nets could add John Wall in the draft to Devin Harris, Brook Lopez, Jay-Z as minority owner and an eventual move to Brooklyn ? would they have a legitimate shot at landing LeBron then?
	29 (29)	76ers	5-18	Hasn’t exactly been a storybook return, has it? The Sixers are 0-3 with Iverson, didn’t come close to selling out the last two games and sport the league’s longest losing streak at 12 straight Ls while AI tries to shake a knee injury.
	30 (28)	Timberwolves	3-21	Even after that recent stunner in Denver, Minnesota can’t avoid slipping into the cellar. Not when the Wolves have six losses this season by at least 20 points ? or three times as many as New Jersey in that category.

2009-10 NBA Power Rankings: Week 8 (A-List Edition) is a post from: AroDrive

The lakers are undeniably the King of the NBA, they are healthy and Kobe Bryant as usual is having a wonderful season.

Though most of their wins so far has been at home, but this team has proved year after year that they are road warriors, so we can expect thesame this year.

Just below the Lakers numbers 2 to 5 is becoming more difficult to figure out as teams are becoming evenly matched. The Magic, Celtics and Cavs all look really good and each had impressive victories this this week.

The hawks are starting to rally back again and I very much expect them to be in the top 3 next week.

Here’s the rest of the List;

2009-10 Power Rankings: Week 7
RANK (LAST WK)		TEAM	REC.	COMMENT
	1 (1)	Lakers	16-3	Are these guys Artest-proof? They sure have been since Gasol came back, playing through Ron-Ron’s “Jimmy Kimmel” appearance in his boxers and then his Hennessy stories like almost no one saw or heard a thing.
	2 (3)	Magic	16-4	They’ve won seven in a row on the road. They’ve gone 8-1 since losing Jameer. They’ve won biggies at Boston and Atlanta and sit one disputed Miami basket away from an 11-game win streak. They’ve got to be No. 2.
	3 (6)	Celtics	16-4	It’s not this seven-game win streak that moved Boston up. Or a 9-1 road record that leads the league. It’s how the Celts took it up a notch in back-to-back smotherings of San Antonio and OKC in their away green.
	4 (4)	Cavaliers	15-5	It’s not easy to move up because of the way our top three are rolling, but the Cavs have also brought some normalcy to the upper reaches of the rankings thanks to that 12-0 record when they get to 100 points.
	5 (5)	Hawks	14-6	The good news: Atlanta is a tidy 8-2 against teams at or above .500 after pulling out a W in Big D on Saturday. The bad news: Atlanta is just 6-4 against teams with losing records … and 3-4 overall since its 11-2 start.
	6 (8)	Nuggets	15-5	Does a win in San Antonio sufficiently atone for a streak-ending loss at home to the 1-15 Wolves? And when Melo cracks 30 points for the 12th time in his 20 games this season? We’re actually inclined to say not quite.
	7 (2)	Suns	15-6	First real crisis for the Suns or an inevitable gas shortage after 15 of the first 21 games were roadies? Miffed as we are about that MSG showing right after we shot them up to No. 2, we’re going with the latter.
	8 (7)	Mavericks	14-7	Just 82 points Friday night in a road L to Memphis. Just 75 points Saturday night in a home L to Atlanta. The Mavs can only hope losing two games in a row for the first time this season was just a really bad weekend.
	9 (9)	Rockets	11-9	Lil’ Aaron Brooks is generally seen as the offensive face of this scrappy incarnation of the Rockets. Just don’t forget Carl Landry and his nine 20-point games … after just four in his previous two seasons.
	10 (10)	Jazz	11-8	Boozer just had his first 30-point game since March ’08. Sloan just agreed to extend his contract for a 23rd season as Jazz coach. So why can’t we stop fixating on Utah’s latest eyebrow-raising L on Saturday in Sota?
	11 (14)	Heat	11-9	The Heat were due to lose a heartbreaker after winning this season’s first three one-point games, but that still doesn’t explain that prayer Kobe banked in Friday. If it rims out, Miami goes 3-1 on a tough trip.
	12 (13)	Thunder	10-9	As if Blazermaniacs weren’t suffering enough after Oden’s latest setback, this haunting tidbit circulated late Friday: Durant just became the second-youngest player in history to get to 4,000 points, behind LeBron.
	13 (11)	Trail Blazers	13-8	They say Portland weather can be gloomy, but it’s nothing compared to what’s suddenly hanging over the Blazers, given the afflictions that have stricken Batum, Outlaw and now Oden, along with their coach and owner.
	14 (12)	Spurs	9-8	This is the only team widely pegged for contention back in October that can’t get near the top five. The other culprit besides injuries: San Antonio is 2-7 against teams over .500 after home L’s to Boston and Denver.
	15 (20)	Hornets	8-11	The Hornets are 5-5 under Jeff Bower because they somehow went 4-4 after CP3 hurt his ankle in Bower’s first game. We frankly expected none of that … especially those home wins over Phoenix and Atlanta.
	16 (16)	Kings	9-10	Can’t quibble with the 14-3 record posted by Alvin Gentry in November, but you could easily say Paul Westphal’s 8-8 mark was also worthy of the season’s first Western Conference coach of the month award.
	17 (21)	Raptors	9-13	Who says team meetings are a waste of time? The previously defenseless Raps just swept a back-to-back on the road in Washington and Chicago after a behind-closed-doors airing of (mostly defense-related) grievances.
	18 (18)	Clippers	9-11	The Clips have won five of their past seven … and no longer have a share of the NBA’s worst start ever thanks to the Nets’ plummet to 0-18. So life’s not too bad, even if they have to wait until January for Blake Griffin.
	19 (19)	Bobcats	8-11	Twitterdom can be a cruel place. Check out this crack from our pal BergerSphere late in the loss that ended the Nets’ 0-18 start: “Larry Brown is going to quit with 30 seconds left and take the Fordham job.”
	20 (22)	Pistons	8-12	Bigger surprise: Jonas Jerebko starts 17 of his first 18 NBA games … or Ben Wallace turns back the clock at 35 to flirt with a double-digit rebound average for the first time since his first season in Chicago in 2006-07?
	21 (25)	Grizzlies	8-12	Do you realize that the Grizz — who now have three straight wins over Dallas after losing the previous 13 — would be on an 8-3 roll if they had just finished off the Clips when they had ‘em down by 22 in the fourth?
	22 (15)	Bucks	9-10	Jennings busted out of his first pro freeze with 24 points in a home loss to Cleveland, but the chill lasted long enough — 30 percent shooting during a 1-6 skid — to hush any suggestion that the ROY race is already over.
	23 (29)	Knicks	6-15	Maybe it’s a tad early to start throwing around the V word — vindication — but the Knicks have been hard to second-guess since electing not to finalize their intended signing of A.I. As Phoenix or Atlanta could tell you.
	24 (17)	Bulls	7-11	How high is Vinny Del Negro on your Coaches Under Pressure list? The Bulls’ no-show at home Saturday against the teetering Raptors had to move him up some, no matter how shorthanded the Bulls might be.
	25 (26)	Wizards	7-12	That’s twice that the Wiz blew one at home just when they looked like they might start something. The first was a shaky L to Charlotte after two wins. This time? Two wins in a row again, then an OT loss to the Raps.
	26 (23)	Warriors	6-13	The Warriors have allowed 120 points or more an NBA-worst six times. So you could do a lot worse than seeing your team hook up with Golden State if that’s the only shot you get all season to see a game in person.
	27 (24)	Pacers	6-12	The banged-up Pacers are in a 1-9 funk and just went 0-4 on a trip that included three of the West’s more inviting stops, which sounds bad until you get to the worst part: Granger is going in for more tests on his heel.
	28 (27)	Timberwolves	3-17	Kevin Love returned from a broken hand with a flourish, but that was just the second-best thing to happen to the Wolves last week. No. 1: They’re suddenly on pace for a record-avoiding 12 wins after a win over Utah.
	29 (28)	76ers	5-15	The Sixers have lost nine in a row, 13 of 15 overall, and feared losing both Andre Iguodala (ankle) and prized rookie Jrue Holiday (shoulder) to injuries. So we ask again: What momentum is Iverson going to derail?
	30 (30)	Nets	1-19	Kiki Vandeweghe on the congratulatory messages he received after winning his first game to become the first coach in NBA history to halt an 18-game losing streak: “Most of them said you should retire right now.”

2009-10 NBA Power Rankings: Week 7 (A-List Edition) is a post from: AroDrive

Why the NBA does it’s best to sell its younger talents like Lebron James, Dwayne Wade, Dwight Howard and Chris Paul, the real king of the NBA remains the Black Mamba – Kobe Bryant.

In a game hyped by the best sports hype machine in the world; ESPN, the Miami Heat vs Los Angelis Lakers Friday game (December 4th) lived up to the billing.
Both super starts came to play, but only one was able to close the game out at the buzzer.

Normally a Kobe Bryant buzzer beater would be ho-hum. Haven’t we seen that before? Don’t we expect it to happen? The talk of the NBA should’ve the Nets actually winning a game. Now that’s a rare event.

Except this shot — this off-one-leg, swaying-to-the-left, three-point bank shot at the buzzer to beat Miami — was so ridiculous that it had his NBA peers firing off astounded tweets (“@rudygay22 Are you kidding me Kobe!”) and even Bryant had a hard time believing it. He called it “the luckiest shot I’ve made by far.”

“I released the ball, I was kind of like, ‘No effing way. No way this ball’s going in,’” Bryant said. “It felt good, I just didn’t think I was going to make that shot. I’d like my chances if I had squared up and got the shot I’d wanted to.”

Call it luck, call it skill, call it guts, the fact of the matter is, this was a heck of a shot from the Best Player in the Game right now.
The NBA is lagging in the ratings again this year, and the reason is because they are working hard to sell stars like Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul, Dirk Nowitzki and other guys in the league that might be good, but not great.
Don’t get me wrong, these guys are star worthy, but, to be great, consistency most be the name of the game. No one has been more consistent in the last 10 years in the league than Kobe Bryant even during the terrible years after the departure Shaquille O’Neal.

Kobe is head and shoulders above any star in the NBA today (including Lebron James) and he plays in the most complete team the NBA has to offer. If the NBA plans to boost ratings, then market the guy that is sure to be in the mix in June winning another NBA championship.

The NBA is missing out on marketing Gold in Kobe Bryant is a post from: AroDrive

This week has been another week of excitement in the national basketball association. The leagues flagship players, Kobe Bryant, Dwayne Wade, Lebron James and Dwight Howard all had big games and big wins. This has lead to lots of movements in the rankings with Lakers remaining at the top spot, Suns and Magic rising one spot each to 2 and 3 respectively.

Cavs rise from 7 to 4 and the biggest disappointment has been been the Atlanta Hawks who lost big games this week to Hornets and at home to the magic. The hawks drop to the seventh spot.

The Nets tops the list from behind after firing their coach, they went to LA and tied the NBA loosing record (The Nets hit the 0-17 Milestone and it’s going to get worse!)

Here’s the rest of the list

2009-10 Power Rankings: Week 6
RANK (LAST WK)		TEAM	REC.	COMMENT
	1 (1)	Lakers	13-3	The Lakers play only four of their first 21 games on the road. The Suns play only seven of their first 22 games at home. The relevance? Trying to find something for the Lakers to sweat after six straight double-digit wins.
	2 (3)	Suns	14-3	First team in the league to 14 wins. Only team in the league that hasn’t lost at home. Seventeen games played? Seventeen games with 100 points or more. We clearly had the Suns too low at No. 10 in the preseason.
	3 (4)	Magic	14-4	As a longtime J-Will fan, I promised to stifle my bias for a bit before touting what a sneaky-good pickup he was for a team that lost a lot of playmaking when Turkoglu left town. I’ll let you decide: Is crowing OK now?
	4 (7)	Cavaliers	12-5	It’s not exactly Hollinger-esque data, but the stat won’t discourage folks who think LeBron’s team always would be better off playing at a faster pace: Cleveland is 12-3 since an 0-2 start and 9-0 when it scores 100.
	5 (2)	Hawks	12-5	The Hawks take a dip, but not because their coach recently asked: “What’s Power Rankings?” It’s because Woody’s Hawks got roughed up by Orlando (and Detroit) after all the buildup to their big Thanksgiving game.
	6 (8)	Celtics	13-4	Ray Allen is shooting 30.1 percent from long range. Sheed is 12-for-63 on 3s since sinking six 3s in Philly on Nov. 3. And Boston has given up 110 or more points three times … after doing so just six times in ’08-09.
	7 (6)	Mavericks	12-5	Losing at home to the six-man Warriors can’t go unpunished — hence the drop to No. 7 — but maybe we’ve been a bit too tough on the Mavs. They’ve had injuries, too … but going 7-3 on the road works for anyone.
	8 (5)	Nuggets	12-5	What kind of long shot were the Wolves to end Denver’s 17-game home winning streak? The Nugs are the second team ever with a win percentage of .750 or better to get dumped by a team on a skid of at least 15 games.
	9 (11)	Rockets	9-8	GM Daryl Morey, via Twitter, on the new Rockets: “We cannot win if we are in [a half-court game] as much as [the] opponent.” As for the tweeted conclusion you did expect from him: “We have little margin for error.”
	10 (12)	Jazz	9-7	Real Salt Lake has set the bar high with the city’s first championship since the ABA’s Utah Stars won one in ’71, but the Jazz have more modest aspirations these days. Restoring their dominance at home, for starters.
	11 (9)	Trail Blazers	12-7	No time to revel in the best statistical run of Oden’s young career when it coincides with new injury problems (Outlaw and Batum) and humbling double-digit losses (on the road to Golden State and at home to Memphis).
	12 (15)	Spurs	9-6	Problem No. 1 has been solved: San Antonio finally has a road win after breaking through in Houston. Next up? Finding some lasting health and building some momentum with only six road games left in 2009.
	13 (14)	Thunder	9-8	Morey after Houston inflicted Oklahoma City’s fourth home loss: “Huge W against vastly improved OKC [team] playing like a top-10 [team].” Top-15 is more like it, but add him to the (growing) list of Thunder admirers.
	14 (13)	Heat	9-7	Good thing they’ve somehow found a way to win the close ones. The Heat are 4-0 in games decided by five points or fewer but start a western swing (A) mired in a 3-6 funk and (B) still asking D-Wade to do more than ever.
	15 (10)	Bucks	8-7	After all the slobbering over Jennings, we have to devote as much space to the little lefty’s bad days, too. So here goes: Jennings has averaged just 14 points during the Bucks’ four-game skid while shooting 20-for-69.
	16 (19)	Kings	8-8	The Kings take a .500 record into December. We repeat: Sacramento is a .500 team despite losing Kev Martin to a wrist injury. With apologies to anyone else worth nominating, this is your Surprise Team of November.
	17 (16)	Bulls	6-8	If the Bulls got anything out of their latest dreaded circus trip — with their composite post-MJ record on those trips now a haunting 10-60 — it was a nice view of potential trade target Boozer’s best game of the season.
	18 (23)	Clippers	8-10	Has the worst passed for Mike Dunleavy? We would be asking different questions if not for that epic fourth-quarter comeback against the Griz, but the Clips have quietly gone 4-1 starting with that home win over Denver.
	19 (25)	Bobcats	7-9	Did we wake these guys up or what? Since last week’s comment that the Bobs wouldn’t score or win enough to resist shopping Stephen Jackson before the trade deadline, they’re 4-0.
	20 (18)	Hornets	7-10	Whatever weird mojo makes the Hornets unbeatable at home as long as the game goes to OT — they’ve won 11 straight OT games at their place — worked against Milwaukee even with CP3 out. So something’s working.
	21 (17)	Raptors	7-11	As pointed out by Twitter follower JumpedTheWeis, Toronto’s struggles have helped drag the Atlantic Division back toward Titanic status. The Raps, Sixers, Knicks and Nets have a combined (gulp) 31 losses in a row.
	22 (22)	Pistons	6-11	The Pistons’ best (and sturdiest) player so far has been a 35-year-old named Ben Wallace. Which would make for a heartwarming story if not for all the losses and injuries that piled up in a rough November.
	23 (21)	Warriors	5-10	A run of six straight games against topflight teams ended with a 33-point hammering from the Lakers. The Dubs would prefer that we focus on the wins over Portland and Dallas, but that depends on what happens next.
	24 (20)	Pacers	6-8	Mike Dunleavy Jr. finally returned, but Hansbrough and Granger missed time with their own knee issues last week. Don’t think you need reminding that Indy needs everybody to have any shot at the East’s top eight.
	25 (26)	Grizzlies	6-11	We were all set to wax poetic about how the one Iverson story no one is writing is how well Memphis has played since A.I. left. Then the Griz gave up 33 of the game’s final 40 points to blow a 22-point lead in Clipperland.
	26 (24)	Wizards	5-10	Heavy sadness overwhelmed the chaos in Washington with the passing of owner Abe Pollin … only for a bad home loss to Charlotte to bring all the tension back. No one in the Wizards’ world is going to miss November.
	27 (29)	Timberwolves	2-15	This was only the second time two teams have started 1-15 or worse in the same season. Which is why there isn’t a soul who can get away with claiming that he/she saw the Wolves winning in Denver to get to 2-15.
	28 (27)	76ers	5-12	The biggest problem we see with bringing Iverson back, even if it’d provide a short-term boost at the gates, is that Philly would eventually have to let him go again. And then deal with the post-A.I. fallout once more.
	29 (28)	Knicks	3-14	The good news: Al Harrington has somehow erupted for 40 points or more twice off the bench. The bad news: Harrington’s Knicks have surrendered four of the league’s past 10 50-point games after Melo’s 50 on Friday.
	30 (30)	Nets	0-17	Can’t tell you quite yet who the next coach will be. Can tell you that three of the Nets’ next five games (Friday vs. Charlotte, Saturday at New York and Dec. 9 vs. Golden State) would appear to be (somewhat) winnable.

2009-10 NBA Power Rankings: Week 6 (A-List Edition) is a post from: AroDrive

The Boston Celtics, Cleveland Caveliers and Orlando Magic all share one thing in common — and it’s not their love of dance theatre — but, rather they are all looking up at the Atlanta Hawks in the Eastern Conference standings.

In an age where young guns have transformed into seasoned veterans and baby birds have learned to fly, one team has dared challenge the East’s natural pecking order.

The Hawks, a team universally considered to finish no better than fourth in the conference and second in their own division, have gotten off to a blazing start to begin the season 10-2 and forced the league to take notice. They sit atop NBA.com’s and ESPN.com’s weekly power rankings.

The national media descended upon Atlanta on Wednesday night to watch the Hawks dispatch their latest victims, the Miami Heat (7-4), at Philips Arena by a final of 105 – 90. It provided Atlanta with its sixth straight victory, and fourth consecutive game in which they held an opponent to under 100 points.

“Guys have figured out that when we play defense at a high level we’re tough to beat,” said forward Marvin Williams, now in his fifth season with Atlanta.

Tough defense, indeed. And it has started with the team’s top two players, all-star guard Joe Johnson and starting power forward Josh Smith.

In recording his second straight 30-point performance, Joe Johnson has had a hand in limiting his All-Star counterparts, Brandon Roy and Dwayne Wade, to only 17 and 15 points in consecutive victories over the Portland Trail Blazers and Miami Heat.

“Atlanta forces me to be more of a jump shooter,” said Heat guard Dwayne Wade after a frustrating night in which he shot only 6-of-18 from the floor and didn’t take his first free throw attempts until the game’s final quarter of play.

“They did a good job of forcing me out of the paint. You have to be smart when you play them, because they are a very athletic team and they will meet you at the rim.”

Josh Smith has been just as effective energizing both the team and the crowd with his dazzling array of high-flying jams and jaw-dropping blocks. He has pleased many a fantasy owner, filling up the stat sheets and offering plenty of material for the highlight reels.

Now, although Smith may still take the occasional ill-advised jumper, reminiscent of one from a six-year old at a local carnival, by and large, his play has been under much better control.

Watching from the bench, rookie point guard Jeff Teague gets one of the better views in the house.

“He plays so hard,” Teague said in a postgame interview. “The things he [does] on the floor, like blocking shots and rebounding and [other] things he doesn’t get credit for … I always try to pump him up when he comes off the floor to let him know that somebody’s seeing what he’s done and that we appreciate it.”

Said Johnson about the stellar play of his teammate, “We’re a tough team to beat when he’s playing like that. When he’s rebounding, playing defense and diving down in the paint for dunks and layups, it makes the defense collapse. That’s leaving guys like me and Mike [Bibby] open for shots.”

With Wednesday night’s 16-point, 14-rebound, seven-assist and two-block performance, Smith recorded his second consecutive double-double, and fourth in the last five games.

The accolades are coming from far and wide, and for longtime Hawks’ fans, this may take some getting used to.

Said Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra after last night’s contest, “Against an athletic team like this, you have to really keep your turnovers down. Otherwise, they will capitalize on it. They have long athletic defenders that do a good job of defending the paint.”

It’s not easy to forget just how far these Hawks have come. Three starters (Joe Johnson, Josh Smith, Marvin Williams) and the head coach (Mike Woodson) still remain from the team that won only 13 games all season five years ago.

“I’ll never forget those 13 wins,” said Woodson. “I’ll never forget walking into the locker room and seeing those faces, knowing we couldn’t win many games.”

Oh, how things have changed.

After wins in Boston, at home and on the road against Portland, an early season rout of Denver, and most recently, the Miami Heat, this team realizes that it has a great chance to win every night it takes the floor. Through trial and error, they have learned how to play basketball.

They are no longer just an “athletic and talented” band of misfits. With the additions of veterans like Mike Bibby, Jamal Crawford and Joe Smith, and the natural process of their own maturation for players like Josh Smith, Al Horford and Williams, this team is as deep and well-rounded as any you’ll find in the league.

Said Crawford when asked about what he’s witnessed as an outside observer from afar, “They’ve grown. They’ve gotten better [as individuals] these last couple of years, and they’ve put some pretty good pieces around them.”

In their 10 victories this season, the Hawks have used a lethal combination of energy, athleticism and effort to outscore and frustrate their opponents.

“I can’t ask for anything better,” said Woodson. “I couldn’t be more proud of a group of guys that made a commitment when they came into camp this year.”

We are far from knowing who really is the best team in the East, and the sudden emergence of the Atlanta Hawks only complicated the matter. But we should all take notice that they have, at the very least, entered the conversation.

Will they stay there, is what remains to be seen.

By ATLien

Atlanta Hawks flying high and Beating down the competition is a post from: AroDrive

There really is nothing better than when your favorite team exceeds expectations during the regular season.
Teams such as the Atlanta Hawks and the Phoenix Suns have absolutely shined thus far, ranking at the cream of the crop in both conferences.
But with such great success rises a crucial question, will these teams be able to extend their hot streak throughout the entire season?

Brandon Ribak breaks down the Top Three Contenders and Pretenders in the NBA and explains why three organizations will ultimately continue their scorching tear on the season and why the other three will fizzle down within the next few weeks.

Top Three Contenders

1. Atlanta Hawks (11-3, .786)- 1st in East

Atlanta is clearly the hottest team in the league right now with an 11-3 overall record on the season.
With big victories against the Celtics (in Boston), the Nuggets, and the Blazers (twice), the Hawks are obviously a legitamite team this season.

Point-guard Mike Bibby fell to an ankle injury during the teams last game, but with the offseason acquiring of Jamal Crawford, Hawks fans can rely on the sharp-shooter to contribute in loads in replace of the veteran.

The Hawks are averaging 108 PPG, ranking third in the league in scoring. If the starting core can continue to produce at the high level that they are, there is no doubt that Atlanta will rank amongst the elite in the East all season long.

2. Dallas Mavericks (10-3, .769)- T-1st in West

Similar to Atlanta, the Mavericks are off to a teriffic start in the early stages of the NBA season.
Dallas’ roster continues to fill up the stat sheet each and every night with forward Dirk Nowitzki leading the way, averaging 26.9 PPG (8th in NBA).

With Josh Howard still sidelined, the Mavericks bench has managed to step up and help contribute to the teams success.
If Dallas can keep racking up the W’s it is blatanly obvious that they will remain as one of the teams on top of the Western conference standings.

3. Denver Nuggets (9-4, .692)- 4th in West

Carmelo Anthony and the Denver Nuggets have shown early on this season that they have the mindset capable of making it far into the postseason this year.
Melo currently leads the league in scoring dropping 30.5 PPG on 47.9 percent shooting in 13 games.

Anthony is a top candidate in the early MVP talks thus far and is undoubtedly playing his best basketball since first entering the league.
With a supporting cast consisting of Billups, Lawson, Smith, Nene, Martin, and Anderson, all Melo needs to do is keep up the production and his team will receive the respect that they deserve.

The Top Three Pretenders

1. Phoenix Suns (10-3, .769)- T-1st in West

While the Suns do indeed rank on top in the West, we expect a quick drop in their overall standings within the next few weeks as they will face up against the Lakers (twice), Cavaliers (twice), Magic, Mavericks, Spurs, Blazers, Celtics, and Nuggets next month.

In addition, in 13 games played thus far the Suns have compiled 10 wins, with five of the ten coming from teams under .500.

Teams with easy schedules during the first month of the season tend to have an inflated record and with an extremely difficult schedule in the month of December, the Suns will struggle to hold their first place record.

2. Milwaukee Bucks (8-3, .727)- 4th in East

While the Bucks have been the biggest surprise team so far with rookie Brandon Jennings leading the way, Milwaukees luck will soon run out in the month of December.
Similar to Phoenix, the Bucks have seven of their eight wins to extremely unimpressive teams with winning percentages under .385.

Although they have looked great in the early start to the season it is safe to say that Milwaukee won’t be anywhere close to playoff contention near seasons end.

3. Miami Heat (7-5, .583)- 6th in East

After winning six of their first seven games many believed that the Heat were the real deal this season.
Since then the heat has already ran out, losing four of their past five games.

With a pretty stacked schedule ahead of themselves (Lakers, Nuggets, Blazers (twice), Spurs, Magic, Dallas) Miami is destined to lose even more games in the month of December unless Dwyane Wade can pull out a miracle for his team.

by Brandon Ribak

The NBA Contenders and Pretenders is a post from: AroDrive

If these Suns are for real, let us learn from our mistakes.

No more giant foam fingers. No Trophy Guy wandering the concourse. No more hating on Steve Nash, ever, and no more toxic comments directed at the general manager.

Already, this reshaped basketball team has become the talk of the NBA, just like it did in 2004. That’s when the run-and-gun Suns were formed, a team that sparked a revolution in the NBA. This team is much different.

These Suns are gritty, committed and soaring in the power rankings. They have shaken off a suspicious exhibition season full of mixed signals, posting victories at Miami, Washington and Boston. They scored 110 points against the Celtics, almost as impressive as a football team scoring 41 points against the Bears. They have slugged out fourth-quarter victories with newfound tenacity. They are full of intangibles.

The Suns played Chris Paul’s Hornets and completely distroyed them placing eight guys in double figures making the Hornets look like a very bad defensive team, next a road game against Kobe Bryant’s Lakers the next night and once again made kobe look like a rookie. The lack of buzz that harkened the end of one era – a 153-game sellout streak when the Suns were the biggest party in town – might yet be a temporary condition.

“It’s definitely causing some activity,” Rick Welts, the team’s chief executive officer, said. “This team was a big unknown until we went out on this road trip. And it wasn’t only that we won the games, it was the way we won them. That has really moved the needle back to people believing that Suns basketball is back.”

The Suns will not sell out their game against the Hornets, but once again people are getting excited. The win against the previously unbeaten Celtics demanded too much for this uprising to be a total fluke. And it proves that the impact of a team stocked with devoted, selfless, smart players always will exceed the sum of its individual parts. The Suns proved this when Amaré Stoudemire was injured in 2005, when an undersized team nearly willed its way to the NBA Finals.

After eight games, the Suns ranked first in the NBA in offense, scoring more than 110 points per game. They ranked 16th in defense, which is more than acceptable. Their rebound differential is zero, meaning this tissue-paper team is holding its own on the glass. That’s a miracle. But that’s what happens in the NBA with the right mix of personalities.

The Suns have beaten some weak teams, no doubt. But so far, Channing Frye looks like a masterful acquisition, the perfect fit of player and system. Jason Richardson is responding to Alvin Gentry. Jared Dudley is Steve Kerr’s revenge. And the indomitable Grant Hill has 69 rebounds, one more than Stoudemire’s total.

Meanwhile, it’s clear that the understated Nash is burning with something else this season, probably the desire to mute all the critics who thought he was just a gimmick exposed in 2008-09, when his reign as MVP candidate came to a crashing halt.

Some also wondered about Nash’s motivation level, choosing to re-sign with a team that had little chance to compete for that elusive championship, the only thing that separates him from a sure place in the Hall of Fame.

What Nash heard over the summer is what Randy Johnson heard when he came back to the Diamondbacks. He was painted as an old guy with a dwindling fire, a guy looking for a soft parachute to the bottom.

Instead, Nash was reshaping the team from afar, using his leverage to make sure that the locker room would be united and that Shaquille O’Neal wouldn’t be part of his future.

Once, the 2009-10 season seemed preordained. Five teams would fight for a title. Most of the rest would struggle financially.

The Suns were caught helplessly in between, good enough to make the playoffs and flawed enough to lose your interest.

Except magic sometimes happens in the NBA. We’ve seen it happen around here. And the success of the new Suns might prove something else:

You don’t have to run and gun to be popular. You just have to hustle. You just have to care. If it lasts, it won’t be long before another sellout streak begins.

The Phoenix Suns another Flash in the Pan? is a post from: AroDrive

Cleveland Cavaliers has the biggest challenge of this coming off season and that’s  convincing Lebron James to forget the big lights and the heavy endorsement that will come with the move to the empire state, or tell him he can win enough championships in Cleveland than going down to south beach and joining he’s pal Dwayne Wade.

Right now the biggest issue the Cavs are facing is the issue of scoring and giving Lebron a break from all the double teams he faces. Mo Williams and then Shaq were both brought in to take this role and so far that has not worked out.

While Mo Williams has done a really fine job both last year and so far this season, he can be and most often short down by a good defender and does not need double teams.

Shaq, we all can agree he’s still a big obstacle in the middle on the defensive end but, he’s offensive abilities have really depreciated and does not need double teaming any more, though some stupid coaches still find it necessary to do that any way.

Allen Iverson no question is a tough guy to insert into any offense, because while he can easy get shots for him self some how he finds it difficult to get shots for others.

That said, Iverson is still one of the best offensive players this league has ever seen and he’s career stats speaks for it’s self: 27.0 PPG, 2.2 SPG, 6.2 APG these are stats that rank up there with guys like Michael Jordan, Oscar Robertson and Isiah Thomas (lets not forget 4 time scoring titles and MVP of the regular season and all Star game) and he has played for almost 16 straight seasons, I don’t know how many of you out there knows what it takes to go out night after night (82 games) putting up numbers like these, this guy can ball and under a good coach (Larry Brown and George Karl) he has proven he can be a team player and win games.

If the Cavs really want to win this year and they really want to keep Lebron in Cleveland for the foreseeable future Allen Iverson is the ‘Answer’ to all their questions.

The positives

Iverson is a scoring threat even when he’s having a bad scoring night, opposing coaches have faced him for years and they know he can go 3 for 27 in 4 quarters and with less than a minute to go in the game score 8 straight points.

So with him and Lebron on the court at the same time you can be rest assured Lebron will never command a double team.

Mo Williams game will improve considerably, because now he has a hall of famer cutting into he’s playing time and we all know that leads to guys playing even harder.

By the way: Iverson must start.

And most importantly, Iverson is a very cheap hire.

A one year veteran’s minimum for the talent he brings is a big upside for the Cavalier’s balance sheet and if it doesn’t work out as planned not much would have been lost.

Iverson is a lot of things; locker room divider is not one of them.

Iverson proved in he’s short term with George Karl and the Denver Nuggets that he’s ready to make what ever sacrifice needed of him to ensure team success, and that attitude he will bring with him to Cleveland.

How do I know? Iverson like every other veteran that has been in the league for this long knows an NBA Championship is the most important thing on their resume and will do what ever it takes to get one. And, if you saw any of he’s games in Memphis (or just the one) you’ll know he still got it.

The negatives

If you don’t start him, we might have a problem.

If you think am missing any other negatives let me know.

Iverson + Lebron = Championships:-)

The Allen Iverson – Lebron James combo is a winner is a post from: AroDrive

Top 5 Hottest Male Athletes – from every sports (Part 2) is a post from: AroDrive

Top 5 Hottest Male Athletes – from every sports (Part 1) is a post from: AroDrive