Rabu, 23 Desember 2009

Christmas Day 2009 NBA Schedule

Christmas day 2009 offers NBA fans a nice selection of basketball games featuring the top teams and superstars in the league. This year Santa delivers us Kobe versus Lebron in an always hot matchup, as well as the Boston Celtics battling the Orlando Magic in a rematch of last year's playoff series. These are the last two teams to make the NBA Finals from the East, and both have added new personnel to compete at that higher level.

Earlier in the day, Dwayne Wade will take his high-flying scoring act into MSG to take on the New York Knicks. No word yet on whether Spike Lee will be watching from the front row on Christmas day.

In the nightcap games we'll get to see several more top superstars in action, as the LA Clippers visit Steve Nash, Amare Stoudamire and the Phoenix Suns at 8PM, while Melo and the Nuggets take on Portland in the late game at 10:30 PM. Unfortunately, the two young superstars in those games are both out of action (Greg Oden, Blazers; #1 draft pick, Blake Griffin, Clippers).

Here's a look at the full NBA schedule for Christmas Day 2009:

Miami Heat at New York Knicks 12PM EST on ESPN
Boston Celtics at Orlando Magic 2:30PM EST on ABC
Cleveland Cavs at LA Lakers 5PM EST on ABC
LA Clippers at Phoenix Suns 8PM EST on ESPN
Denver Nuggets at Portland Trailblazers 10:30PM EST on ESPN


Looking forward to any of these games in particular? Who do you think will win? Feel free to comment below!

Minggu, 06 Desember 2009

Greg Oden out for Season, again...

It's another unfortunate injury for Greg Oden and the Trailblazers. This time it was a left knee cap injury that will have Oden likely to miss the rest of the 2009-10 season. Although the Blazers won the game, they definitely lost a lot in terms of size and power.

The injury occurred Saturday night in the Blazers-Rocks game when Oden fractured his left knee cap. He was down on the floor clutching at his left knee. The incident happened after the big man collided with the Rockets Aaron Brooks. Trainers and physicians immediately huddled around the Portland center to attend to his injury. He was down for at least 7 minutes, and fans at the Rose Garden let out a "Oden!" chant in support.

Eventually, they moved Oden to a stretcher and wheeled him off court to get have an MRI performed. The report already says Oden will need surgery for this latest setback.

"I'm obviously disappointed having worked so hard to get to where I was. This is a setback but I'll be back. It's in God's hands now," Oden said in a statement released by the team. "I want to thank the fans, my teammates and everyone in the Blazers family for all of their good thoughts."

The early knock on Oden was he might be the #1 pick, but he may mirror the path of another Portland big man, Bill Walton. Walton is still heralded as one of the greats, but found himself plagued by injuries to his legs as well. Similarly, another big man, Yao Ming from the Houston Rockets, has been out this season due to foot problems. It might be true, the bigger they are, they harder they fall...

Story Source: The Associated Press

Jumat, 04 Desember 2009

NJ Nets start 0-18, Can they buy a win?

Devin Harris must have been jumping for joy when he learned he was heading to the New Jersey Nets. Not only was he being traded for one of the all-time greatest point guards in the game, Jason Kidd, but he was at least going to have an alley-oop wingman in Vince Carter. Harris who's been known to score in bunches probably felt like he could at least garner some attention for future free agency. However, he soon inherited a team minus Vince Carter, full of newbies and guys who skipped the D-League. And now, Devin Harris and the Nets have officially sank to a new low, as the team has began the 2009-10 campaign at 0-18. The loss is a new record for worst start to an NBA season, with 23 games the longest losing streak in NBA history during a season. Ironically that 18th loss came to Harris' former team, the Dallas Mavs.

It's a dismal record and beats out previous awful starts by the LA Clippers and expansion Miami Heat. New Jersey is playing like an expansion team right now, with no real identity, young players, a new coach - GM Kiki Vandeweghe (Lawrence Frank was fired last week), and lack of offense or defense. The interesting stat to see would be how many games part owner Jay-Z has sat courtside for this season. It's likely Jigga man preferred slapping hands with VC, Kidd and Richard Jefferson, but isn't exactly in a rush to give a fist bump to Yi or Josh Boone after a score. For several years now, the talk of Jay-Z and Nets officials has been discussion of moving this team to Brooklyn, but would the city really want this team?

Perhaps the answer is for Jay-Z to do something about this. The mogul could arrange a who's who of rap artists for a "Rappers Unite for New Jersey" campaign. Then the Nets could buy a win, or some players to help stop the bleeding. New Jersey's upcoming games against the Charlotte Bobcats, New York Knicks, Chicago Bulls, Golden State Warriors, andIndiana Pacers offer the team a glimmer of holiday hope for that first W. Right now, they're in contention for next year's #1 draft pick, but surviving the 82 game season will be quite a ride for Nets fans, players and personnel.

Read more about the NJ Nets at NY Daily News