NBA Opening Night : Tension and Drama

The NBA certainly knows how to entertain. What a night of drama and excitement it has been.

Firstly, I must point out that currently being based in the United Kingdom, it is rare to get to see NBA action live. Not only did we have the honour of watching a preseason game between the Miami Heat and the New Jersey Nets a couple of weeks ago in London, but tonight I was simultaneously able to watch the Cleveland Cavs v Boston Celtics game on free-to-air television, whilst also watching the Portland Trail Blazers at Los Angeles Lakers on the internet. Totally legally too.

TNT has a great new invention this season called OT Extra, which broadcasts select games live on the net, including multiple camera angles. They designate a camera to follow a player from each team, as voted by us, the loyal fans. The connection was a bit flaky for me tonight, however I'm sure that this was a factor of both distance across the Atlantic and the fact that every man and his blog was trying to watch the Oden-extravaganza. More on that later.

Celtics 90-85 Cavs (boxscore)

You could tell that it was opening night for a number of reasons. Firstly, everyone was jumping out of their skins with excitement and jitters. That was both beneficial and detrimental in some instances. LeBron was doing his best impression of a super-hero as always for the Cavs and he certainly did a good job of pushing the defending champions all the way on the night of their ring ceremony. His 22 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists were typical King James numbers. However at the end of the night he pulled up short, missing a shot with less than a minute to go which could have brought the Cavs within one point.

Anderson Varejao was performing his jack-in-a-box routine in the waning minutes, as he coralled rebounds that shouldn't have been his and had a dominant effect in the final quarter. He finished with 9 and 9, along with 3 steals.

Mo Williams did not seem to be completely integrated with his new teammates as yet, which is to be expected for a point guard taking charge of new sets. He committed four turnover and five fouls in the game and just did not seem in synch.

Paul Pierce dominated the score board with 27 points. His +/- on the game, of +12 was matched only by Leon Powe, who came off the bench and neutralised the performance of Varejao with a similarly enthusiastic performance, which fans became familiar with in last season's Finals.

It was a tight final couple of minutes, but the Cavs could not spoil the Garden party, as the Celtics enjoyed their championship memories for the last time before embarking on a quest for back-to-back trophies.

Bulls 108-95 Bucks (boxscore)

Greg Oden was not the only #1 pick stepping out for his debut performance tonight. That treat also belonged to Chicago Bulls point guard Derrick Rose, a Chicago native, who had flashes of brilliance during the victory with 11 points, 9 assists and 4 turnovers.

The big question with the Bulls has been how new coach Vinny Del Negro was going to split playing time, particularly in the crowded backcourt. Part of that problem was answered with a recent injury to Larry Hughes. However he started Rose (32 minutes) and athletic Thabo Sefolosha (11) at the guards and brought long-time running mates Kirk Hinrich (26) and Ben Gordon (26) off the bench.

Tyrus Thomas showed some of the promise expected of him with 15 and 10 for a solid double-double, whilst Luol Deng's 21 points led the team's scoring as the Bulls were ahead at every quarter break.

Michael Redd put up 30 points for the Bucks, who are integrating Richard Jefferson (15 points) into the lineup as well as Luke Ridnour at the point, following the departure of Mo Williams. Andrew Bogut played 25 minutes for 9 points and 7 rebounds, despite recent injury concerns.

Lakers 96-76 Blazers (boxscore)

As has been mentioned both on this site and on various others such as Blazers Edge and the Oregonian ad nauseum, these Blazers have been overhyped all offseason long. It's not that this team doesn't have a tonne of potential and it's not that they won't perform well this season and great in the long-term. The thing is, they are just not ready yet.

They are not ready for a Kobe Bryant-driven Lakers team that came so close to a title last season and have since re-loaded with Andrew Bynum (who was unavailable during the playoff run). They are not ready to blow teams away. They are not ready to harness the power and skill of Greg Oden just yet.

Oden has shown many things in the short time he has been on a basketball court. He has shown that he has amazing brute strength and an inordinate amount of skill to go along with that. He has also shown that he is yet to combine that all into one package and this gets him into foul trouble. This was the case early on in this match, as the TNT crew were forced to re-direct their Oden-Cam to Travis Outlaw -- the only Blazers starter who was providing any semblance of a game.

The big rookie did manage to block Bynum early on, in what was always a much-anticipated matchup. He also snared a few rebounds. However the cogs were not turning for the Blazers as they got significantly behind early against a smooth-running Lakers team. It was not until Rudy Fernandez came off the bench that the Portland coaching staff saw some scoring punch on the court. Both Brandon Roy and LaMarcus Aldridge failed to impress, shooting horribly from the field in what can only be described as opening night jitters.

The thing that has to be remembered is, this is a Portland team that is integrating four key rookies into an already young squad in an attempt to improve upon a .500 record from last season, playing against a seasoned Lakers squad that can argue itself to be the best team in the league. Anyone who was drinking from the media bandwagon Kool-Aid that said the Blazers were going to come out and surprise the LakeShow were kidding themselves. To suggest the Blazers may do it by the end of the season is another story, but now? No way.

As a Portland fan, this game was difficult to watch. Don't get me wrong, it's not that I don't see the potential of the team unfolding before our eyes, it's just that it is always hard to watch a game where your team is clearly not in a position to challenge for the victory.

It has almost become a cliché with this Blazers team that injuries are rife. Well, Oden even managed to injure his right foot in this game (according to Yahoo! Sports), limiting him to 12 minutes of action. The extent of the injury is not known at this stage. Let's not go any further into that for the time being.

Outlaw managed 18 points for the Blazers, followed by Fernandez with 16. Joel Przybilla proved his workmanlike self, with 11 rebounds in 25 minutes off the bench.

For the home side, Pau Gasol scored 15 points (most of them early on), whilst Kobe went for 23 points, 11 rebounds, 5 assists and 5 turnovers in what was a sloppy game. Trevor Ariza proved why he has been in consideration for a starting role, with 11 points in 24 minutes. The "other" big fella, Bynum, finished with 8 points, 3 rebounds and 3 blocks in 27 minutes.

The Lakers cruised through this game but surely have plenty of things to fine tune, as tonight's oppposition was clearly not on the top of their game. Portland will be looking to get the "Big Three" combination of Oden-Roy-Aldridge better acquainted as the season goes on and will be crossing their fingers that Oden does not have any lasting injury.

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Bynum and Farmar can read women's minds (and fight Chuck Norris)

What women want. Andrew Bynum knows it. Jordan Farmar knows it. Now you too can know the secret, for just 10 instalments of $39.95 + p&p.

Well, perhaps the last part isn't totally correct. However, both Bynum and Farmar said in a recent interview that they know what women are thinking and there are a lot of men out there who would too like to know the secret. Do they teach this in the NBA rookie program? Perhaps that was the study course that Mario Chalmers and Darrell Arthur were brushing up on?

NBA.com Lakers reporter, Mike Trudell, asked the Laker youngsters a series of "would you rather?" questions. I have to admit that I was thoroughly impressed with the answers that the two came up with for many of the questions. To the question, "would you rather be able to communicate with animals, or be able to read women's minds?" both went the animal route:

Bynum: Communicate with animals, actually. I think you already know what’s on a woman’s mind, so definitely the animals ...

Farmar: Animals. I can already read women’s minds.

They were both pretty assertive on that point.

Another question asked would they prefer to meet Chuck Norris in a cage fight or match Kimbo Slice in a street rumble. Both opted for Norris. Obviously neither of them have seen this site.

Interestingly, when given the choice of a Laker teammate to select for a 2-on-2 battle, big boy Bynum opted for his big man cohort Pau Gasol, rather than Kobe. Perhaps it was also because Bynum has asked Pau to take him to Spain to introduce him to some Hispanic ladies (another question in the interview alluded to this).

Go ahead and read it, it's a quality read. I have to admit that the reason I opened the article in the first place was one of shock. I read the headline: "Would You Rather: Andrew Bynum/Jordan Farmar" as a serious question to the reader. I mean, who in their right mind would select Jordan Farmar over Andrew Bynum (apart from an angry Kobe Bryant in a parking lot a year ago talking to some kids with a video camera)?











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Eddie Jones : bought out by Pacers

Eddie Jones will likely call it a day on what has been a fine career, after not reporting to the Indiana Pacers and reaching a buyout on his contract. Jones has made it clear that he did not want to be dealt to any team that was not a contender and the Pacers clearly do not fall into the "Championship threat" category.

The Press Release delivered via the Pacers' website acknowledges the joint agreement that was made and likely was expected by the team when they dealt for the veteran swingman.

"Eddie has had a terrific career and has been a great professional and we appreciate him working with us on this agreement," said Pacers President of Basketball Operations Larry Bird. "This will allow us to go out and sign another player if we want to."

After a solid career at Temple University along side Aaron McKie, Jones was the 10th pick in the 1994 NBA Draft, joining the Los Angeles Lakers. As a rookie on a Cedric Ceballos-Nick Van Exel-Vlade Divac led team, Jones ranked first in the NBA in steal/turnover ratio and unsurprisingly made the All-Rookie 1st Team. He spent four and half seasons with the Lakers before being traded to the Charlotte Hornets in part of a 1999 for Glen Rice.

1999-2000 saw arguably Eddie's finest statistical season, as he averaged 20.1ppg, 4.8rpg, 4.2apg and led the NBA with 2.7spg. This performance earned him an all-star berth, his third such honour after 1997 and 1998. He found himself on a team which fades from memory in the Hornets colours, including Derrick Coleman, Baron Davis, Brad Miller, David Wesley, Anthony Mason, Ricky Davis, Elden Campbell and veterans Dale Ellis and Hersey Hawkins.

In the off-season of 2000, Jones made a homecoming to Miami, joining Mason, Ellis and Davis in a deal that sent PJ Brown, Jamal Mashburn, Otis Thorpe and change to Charlotte. Jones spent five and half productive seasons in Miami (with a season and a half in Memphis in between) however a title continued to allude him.

He made a last dash at a title by joining the Dallas Mavericks for 2007-08 and we all know how that panned out. He will be remembered as a spectacular dunker, three point marksmen, athletic defender and a great team-oriented player.

Here is a chronological look at the highlights of Jones' solid career, from his Temple days, up until his time in Miami (2006):



Eddie also appeared in this great Taco Bell "neck syndrome" commercial with Shaq in his Laker days:




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Today's warnings : 21 July, 2008

Summer League action has provided a glimpse at some of the incoming rookies for 2008, Olympic teams are set and the last crumbs of free agency are still being devoured by the few with enough room in their bellies (salary caps) to fit them. Here's a round-up of your warnings for today:

• John Rillie has a great summary of the happenings in the world of Australian and Olympic basketball this week.
• Angola, the one-time punching bags of Charles Barkley (circa 1992), beat Serbia in an Olympic warmup match.
• Red's Army comes up with the worthwhile question: Did the '92 Dream Team ruin the NBA? Believe me, it's more than just a juicy headline and perhaps telling of the current and future state of international basketball.
• Once Were Sonics, now are Thunder...
• The Akron Police are going to be getting around on some King James bicycles!
• Bostjan Nachbar to play in Russia. "Already this summer, Tiago Splitter of Brazil, a first-round pick of the Spurs in 2007, and Goran Dragic of Slovenia, a second-round pick of the Spurs in 2008 whose rights were traded to the Suns, have opted for more lucrative deals in Europe than they'd be eligible for as rookies in the NBA.
  And four international players with NBA experience -- Carlos Delfino, Jorge Garbajosa, Pops Mensah-Bonsu and Juan Carlos Navarro -- have accepted offers from European teams that easily trumped the money NBA teams were willing to offer.
  "The NBA had better be careful," Nachbar said. "European teams are offering a lot of money. It's much more, considering there are no taxes, than what I could make signing for the mid-level exception."
• Josh Childress is seriously considering his European options (in Greece), unless someone throws a good contract his way quickly. Of course all of this talk of players going overseas must be of some concern, or at least thought-provoking, for my namesake Mr Stern. However, overall I think that this is nothing but good for world basketball. Sure, the NBA would like to retain as many top players as possible, but until the marquee players start heading overseas (say Dirk Nowitzki, Tony Parker or Pau Gasol for example), this is not a major problem for the NBA,
• Lakers fans will miss the intensity of Ronny Turiaf, but there simply isn't room in the rotation for him behind Odom, Gasol, Bynum, Radmanovic and Mihm -- at that price anyway.
• Get your feed of Raptors links from Cuzoogle.
• Final Summer League thoughts from the land of the Blazers. "Yes, Bayless tweaked his hand during that breathtaking, game-saving 36-point outburst against the Suns. But three team sources, including Bayless, insist he did not undergo any tests on his hand."
  
  
  
  
  

NBA : Today's warnings : 11 June 2008

• One of many fans outraged at the alleged "malleable" result of the 2002 Western Conference Finals has put together a nice little montage of one call in question. I wish more fans would come out with great substantive evidence like this, rather than usless ranting... hey, don't look at us!
• You really do have to feel sorry for Chris Webber though, if this whole thing is true as Donaghy claims...
• Spanish basketball fans may be happy to see the arrival of Rudy Fernandez to the Blazers, but it seems it's a one-in-one-out policy on Spaniards, with talk that the Raptors are about to buy out the injured Jorge Garbajosa. It will be disappointing for the big man, who has already been disallowed by the Raptors from playing in the Olympics over the Summer.
• Some Blazer fans really don't want local boy Kevin Love joining the team, it would seem.
• While the Lakers and Celtics play on, Grizzlies fans talk to Heat fans about who gets Michael Beasley. I can see how Pat Riley doesn't want a player like Beasley on his team, but I just don't envisage how the Grizzlies can give up something the Heat wants, whilst still being beneficial to their building project. Rudy Gay has to be retained. Does the Heat really want Mike Miller?
• Does everyone remember at the start of the season when the sudden breaking news that Kevin Garnett was traded to Boston took the heat off the Tim Donaghy scandal? Now it seems Donaghy is back, taking a bit of the shine off KG's big moment. If only the NBA could have done something to push that trial out a bit further.