Basketball World

Earl "The Goat" Manigault

2011-07-03T04:10:00.000-07:00

Earl Manigault (September 7, 1944 – May 15, 1998) was an American street basketball player famous under his nickname of "The Goat."

Early life and career

Earl Manigault was born in Charleston, South Carolina, and raised in Harlem, New York. He grew up playing basketball and practiced constantly. Manigault set the NYC junior high school record by scoring 57 points in a game in the late 1950s. While attending Benjamin Franklin High School[disambiguation needed], Manigault's life took a fateful turn when he began associating with groups that would eventually lead to his expulsion. He started using drugs and skipping classes. He was the star of his high school team and seemed destined for greatness in the National Basketball Association. Manigault was eventually kicked out of school after being caught smoking marijuana. He finished high school at a private academy- Laurinburg Institute North Carolina.
He chose Johnson C. Smith University. However, Manigault only lasted one semester due to his constant problems with school and continuous quibbles with the coach. The nickname "Goat" has several proposed origins. In an article for the New York Times, Earl himself stated that he got the nickname, because a junior high school teacher kept pronouncing his name Mani-Goat. Other theories state that by the time Manigault was in high school, he was known as "The Goat" because of his quiet demeanor. Another states that the nickname started by confusion over Manigault's last name; people thought Manigault referred to himself as Earl Nanny Goat, so he became "The Goat". However, the most popular belief is they call him The Goat as for the acronym for Greatest Of All Time. Although it is unclear how the name was dubbed, Greatest of All Time is the idea that lasted.
He was mentored by Holcombe Rucker.Manigault was particularly famous for his leaping abilities on the basketball court, including his signature move - the double dunk. He would dunk the ball, catch it with his left hand, switch the ball to his right hand, bring it back around to the top of the basket and jam it through again, all done while still in the air on a single jump, and without hanging on the rim.Like other street basketballers of the day such as Jackie Jackson, Earl was reportedly able to touch the top of the backboard to retrieve quarters and dollar bills, part of "elaborate innovations and tricks" elite street players of the era performed before games to help build their reputations.He was only 6'1", but wore ankle weights constantly during practice as a child which helped him to build up tremendous jumping ability. He once dunked two-handed during a game from near the foul line over two players much taller than himself (Vaughn Harper 6'6", Val Reed 6'8").He once reverse dunked 36 times in a row to win a $60 bet.
But to prove dunking wasn't his only skill, he would practice hundreds of shots each day, making him a deadly long-range shooter as well. Manigault played with some of the best players of his day, such as Earl Monroe, Connie Hawkins, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who went as far as calling Manigault the greatest player he had ever seen. When Abdul-Jabbar finished his career with the Los Angeles Lakers and had his number retired at the Los Angeles Forum, he was asked who was the greatest player he had played with or against. After a long silence, he answered, "That would have to be 'The Goat'."

Later years

Manigault returned to Harlem and developed a heroin addiction. He served sixteen months in prison in 1969 and 1970 for drug possession and another term of two years from 1977 to 1979 for a failed robbery attempt so he could buy heroin. After this prison term, Manigault quit heroin and started the "Walk Away From Drugs" tournament for kids in Harlem to prevent them from making the same mistakes he had made. Much of his later years were dedicated to working with kids on the court.
Manigault is quoted in the New York Times article 'A Fallen King Revisits His Realm' as saying "For every Michael Jordan , there's an Earl Manigault. We all can't make it. Somebody has to fall. I was the one."

Manigault died from congestive heart failure in 1998 at Bellevue Hospital Center in New York City.

In 1996, HBO aired a TV movie about Manigault's life entitled Rebound: The Legend of Earl "The Goat" Manigault, starring Don Cheadle in the title role.

I will post download link and synopsis of this movie..

Streetball History

2011-06-29T04:31:00.000-07:00

Street Ball is basketball with more relaxed rules. It's been played in cities since basketball began. Since there's no ref it can get a little rough. It's always been that way. For over a hundred years.
Taking more then two steps is permitted, because it allows players to dunk the ball better. Double dribbles are also allowed to pull off tricks.
"If it ain't tight, it ain't right!" A foul is not called unless it is flagrant or results in serious injury. "No blood, no foul!" There's no free throws unless specified, so if you play, watch out, because if you really get hurt, there's no free shots! Official basketball games are in an arena, but in street ball you play out in the sun, even if it's raining! You have to play or you forfeit the game. Street ball was designed for people who want to take their game to the next level!

Related Posts:
Streetball

Streetball

2011-06-29T02:52:00.000-07:00

About Streetball

Streetball is a city game, played on playgrounds and in gyms around the world. Streetball also does not involve a rigorous schedule; participants may choose to play ten games in one day or one game in ten days. Usually only one side of the court is used, but otherwise the rules of the game are very similar to those of professional basketball. The number of participants in a game, or a run, may range from two players, known as one-on-one (or mano-a-mano), to two full teams of five each.
Streetball is a popular game worldwide, and some cities in the United States have organized streetball programs, such as midnight basketball, as a way for young people to keep out of trouble and avoid problems such as juvenile crime and drugs.

Rules and Features

While the rules of Streetball are essentially/theoretically the same as normal basketball, Streetball places a higher emphasis on one-on-one matchups between the offense and defender. Often the attacker will perform numerous flashy moves while attempting to drive to the basket, including crossovers, jab steps, and other fake-out tricks. Streetball often features spectacular dunks and alley oops, impressive ball handling, and trash talking. Also featured in streetball, is moves. A move is either used to trick the defender to look away, or just to confuse. There are many different moves in the streetball world. One of the most known is "The Boomerang", which is invented by Phillip "Hotsauce" Champion.

Certain rule violations in traditional basketball, such as carrying, do not apply in Streetball. Style is often the determining factor in what is and is not legal in a Streetball game - if it looks good, it's not against the rules. In this sense, Streetball is as much performance art as it is an athletic contest.
However rules vary widely from court to court. Almost invariably a "Call your own foul" rule is in effect, and a player who believes he has been fouled, simply needs to call out "Foul!", and play will be stopped, with the ball awarded to the fouled player's team. The etiquette of what rightly constitutes a foul, as well as the permissible amount of protestation against such a call, are the products of local social norms, as well as of the level of seriousness of a particular game. An outsider at a playground should closely observe the status quo in these matters. Some areas where different interpretations of rules are likely to occur are:
Travelling--whether a step is permissible prior to dribbling, and how many more than the nominally permitted one and a half steps should be allowed at the end of the dribble.
Hand- (and leg)-checking on defense--how much can one touch the person one defends and how much physical pressure may one apply in so doing.

A common feature to Streetball is the "pick up game". To participate in most Streetball games across the world one simply go to an outdoor court where people are playing, indicate a wish to participate, and once all the players who were at the court before you have played you will get to pick your team out of the players available and play a game. Many games play up to 7, 10 or 11 points with all baskets counting as one point (sometimes shots beyond the 3 point arc count as 2 points). Ballers often play "win by 2" or "win by 3," which means that the team has to win by a margin of at least 2 or 3 clear points. Sometimes a local "dead end" limit applies; for instance a game may be played to 7, win by 3, with a 9 point dead end, which would mean scores of 7-5, 8-6, 9-7, or 9-8, would all be final; while with scores of 7-6 or 8-7, play would continue. The most common streetball game is 3-on-3 played half court though often 5-on-5 full court can be found.
A unique streetball feature is having an "MC" (from the term, "Master of Ceremonies") call the game. The MC is on the court during the game and is often very close to the players (but makes an effort to not interfere with the game) and uses a microphone to provide game commentary for the fans.

Variations

A popular variation of street basketball is the "21" game. "21" is played most often with 3-9 players on a half court and is a "every player for himself" game, with much looser rules than even streetball. Rules are fluid, often differing geographically or even by court. Sometimes it may seem that there are no rules. A very challenging game, it is popular because it allows an odd number of people to play, unlike regular basketball or other variants.

Related Posts:
Streetball History

Hoping for a miracle

2011-06-29T01:38:00.000-07:00

DALLAS -- With the clock ticking down, NBA owners and their representatives are still hoping for a last-second miracle, but are preparing for a worst-case outcome that could produce the league's first labor lockout in 13 years.

The two sides have agreed to meet one last time Thursday in New York before the Thursday midnight deadline when the collective bargaining agreement expires.
While there was no "lockout vote" per se taken at Tuesday's Board of Governors meeting at the Hilton Anatole, NBA commissioner David Stern and deputy commissioner Adam Silver would not rule out the possibility of a shutdown.
"The owners authorized the labor-relations committee to do whatever steps were necessary to effectuate a new collective bargaining agreement," said Silver. "And so that committee has the full authority of all 30 teams to act in whatever way they deem appropriate."
Silver said that during the meeting that lasted nearly four hours, the board heard a presentation from the labor relations committee, led by San Antonio Spurs owner Peter Holt and a presentation from the revenue sharing committee, led by Boston Celtics owner Wyc Grousbeck.
The National Basketball Players Association has been urging the owners to implement revenue sharing as a way to offset what the league says is $300 million in losses among the 30 NBA teams.
"I think it's fair to say the revenue sharing will be considerably more robust after a new collective bargaining agreement is entered into," Stern said. "It's hard. We've discussed principles, ideas and the like. But it's hard to complete one without the other."
According to the owners, a new agreement must come first.
"We did talk about different forms of revenue sharing among the teams," said Silver. But in terms of the players, as we've said before, we've presented our financials ... and showed them our aggregate loss and made clear to them that given the aggregate loss among all teams, roughly $300 million for the season, we cannot possibly correct that problem through revenue sharing.
"It would only be sharing the small profit that the eight teams have among those 22 teams that already lose money. The net would still be a loss of $300 million no matter what we do. So while we've told the players we're happy to share with them our revenue-sharing discussions as they progress among the owners, it will not change the aggregate financial situation we find this league in."
Neither of the men would rule out an extension of the negotiating deadline if they deem some sign of progress is evident at Thursday's meeting in New York.
"Nothing in this world is absolute," Stern said. "We're not talking about likelihoods. We're looking forward to Thursday's meeting. That was the union's choice. We were prepared to go over the weekend."
Negotiations have stalled with the teams far apart on a "soft" salary cap, which was $58 million per team for the 2010-11 season. Under that deal, 57 percent of basketball-related income is designated for players salaries and the owners would like to reduce that to near 50 percent.
The players did not present a new proposal at the last meeting between the sides on Friday and the owners don't know if one will be forthcoming on Thursday.
"We don't know," said Stern. We have a meeting scheduled with them. And we don't know whether they will be making another proposal."
As the deadline draws near, both sides are staring into uncertainty that could affect the product on the court and the popularity of the league.
"Well, I sure would like to see us make a deal," Stern said. "Not making a deal should give everybody apprehension because the way to continue our growth is to come up with a deal that keeps our union as the highest-paid union in the world and gives all of our teams the opportunity to make a profit and makes us a more competitive league. That sounds like the tripod for a win-win-win.
"We'll have to see whether that's a possibility when we meet again with the players on Thursday. There's always time to make a deal."

Former Hawks forward Lorenzo Charles dies in bus crash

2011-06-28T03:16:00.000-07:00

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) -- Lorenzo Charles, the muscular forward whose last-second dunk gave underdog North Carolina State a stunning win in the 1983 national college championship game, was killed Monday when a bus he was driving crashed along a highway, a company official said.

Elite Coach general manager Brad Jackson said Charles, 47, worked for the company and was driving one of its buses on Interstate 40. No passengers were aboard.
He grabbed Dereck Whittenburg's 30-foot shot and dunked it at the buzzer to give the Wolfpack a 54-52 win over heavy favorite Houston and its second national title, sending coach Jim Valvano spilling onto the court, scrambling for someone to hug in what has become one of the lasting images of the NCAA tournament.
Whittenburg was despondent when discussing his teammate and friend with The Associated Press.
"It's just an awful day," Whittenburg said. "An awful, awful day."
Charles secured his spot in N.C. State lore in the final moments of that game in Albuquerque, N.M., to cap off an improbable run to the championship. N.C. State entered the NCAA tournament with a 17-10 record, having beaten Virginia to win the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament and an automatic berth into the national field. No one expected much.
"It's still kind of amazing to me that ... people are still talking about it," Charles said in an excerpt from his comments about the championship game on his N.C. State Web page. "I remember when (it) first happened, I figured I would have my 15 minutes of fame and that would be it. Here we are and it is still a conversational piece. I don't really think that was the only great Final Four finish that has been played since then, but for some reason people just single out that game and talk about it. Maybe because it was such a David and Goliath thing."
Police released little about the one-vehicle crash that took Charles' life. Video shows the windshield broken out with tree limbs sticking through the window frame. The rear wheels of the bus were on an embankment, leaving the right front tire elevated from the road.
Charles finished his college career two years after the championship win with 1,535 total points - 15th on the school's scoring list - and his .575 shooting percentage in 1985 remains a school record for seniors.
In the 1983 run, Charles hit two free throws with 23 seconds left in the West Regional finals against the Cavaliers to give the Wolfpack a 63-62 win and the spot in the Final Four.
Their semifinal win over Georgia sent them to the matchup with the Cougars, known as Phi Slamma Jamma in those years and led by stars Clyde Drexler and Hakeem Olajuwon.
Michael Young, director of basketball operations at Houston, was a member of the team that let a national championship slip away. He told KRIV-TV in Houston that he's never quite gotten over Charles' heroics.
"For him to dunk the ball at that moment to win the game, it was one of the most heartbreaking moments I have ever felt in my whole career," Young said. "Twenty-eight years later, it's still with me. Every day somebody asks me about it. I thought I was going to get away with it today and then you called me. I'm very sorry to hear what happened."
Valvano also became famous for his emotional burst onto the court afterward, running around almost in disbelief. Valvano died in 1993 after his public fight with cancer.
NC State retired Charles' No. 43 jersey in 2008, the 25th anniversary of the championship.
Thurl Bailey, one of Charles' teammates on the championship team, said it's tough to accept that the player who made the game-winning dunk is gone.
"But I heard someone say, I was talking to them on the phone about this, that Jimmy V finally found somebody to hug," Bailey told WRAL-TV.
Current coach Mark Gottfried said his staff had just gotten acquainted with Charles and was saddened to hear the news.
"He holds a special place in Wolfpack history and in the hearts of generations of fans," Gottfried said in a statement. "We just reconnected with him last week and our staff was stunned to hear this terrible news."
ACC Commissioner John Swofford said Charles' play had an uplifting impact.
"As a former player, he made us believe in the amazing and all of us in the ACC send out our thoughts and prayers to his entire family," Swofford said in a statement.
Charles played one season in the NBA, averaging 3.4 points in 36 games with the Atlanta Hawks in 1985-86, and played internationally and in the Continental Basketball Association until 1999.
Spud Webb, who played with Charles at both NC State and then with the Hawks, remembered his friend Monday.
"We were friends, teammates and roommates over 28 years, and today I lost a very good friend in Lorenzo," Webb said in a statement. "He always had a big smile and a big laugh that I will always remember. He was a gentle giant."
A message left on a phone listed to Lorenzo Charles wasn't immediately returned Monday night.

2011 Draftees In New Uniforms

2011-06-28T03:12:00.000-07:00

Ron Artest to Legally Change Name to “Metta World Peace”

2011-06-26T05:03:00.000-07:00

On draft day there is typically a lot of news going around. Whether it be rumors or reports, speculation on draft picks or trades, the NBA draft days have been pretty hectic news-wise.

Then there is Ron Artest… or WAS Ron Artest. He is legally changing his name to “World Peace.” This is not a joke as TMZ reports:

Yes, Ron is going the way of Cassius Clay, Lew Alcindor and Chad Johnson. Ron’s filed a petition in L.A. County Superior Court to change his name to — World Peace. FYI, metta means loving, kindness, happiness and all that jazz. We’re told Ron wants to put the new last name — Peace — on the back of his L.A. Lakers’ jersey.

Mitch Kupchak was asked during a media session Thursday what he thinks about Ron changing his name to “Metta World Peace”:

As you can see it put a smile to my face” Kupchak said grinning ear to ear. “It’s been done before, so other than that, I really don’t have a comment.”

Kupchak was then asked if the name change surprised him “No, It does not surprise me, early on I wanted to change my name when I was in elementary school, and junior high there weren’t too many Kupchak’s around, but I’m happy with it now.

Finally when asked what should be on the back of Ron’s jersey next year Kupchak simply said, “I’m an advocate of World Peace!” which was met by a roar of laughter from the media room.

Raptors' Barbosa exercises option for next season

2011-06-26T04:55:00.000-07:00

TORONTO (AP) -- Raptors guard Leandro Barbosa has exercised his contract option to return to Toronto next season.

The team announced the move Saturday.
The 6-foot-3 Brazilian averaged 13.3 points, 2.1 assists and 24.1 minutes in 58 games last season, his first in Toronto.
Barbosa made $7.1 million last season and was second on the team in 3-point shooting.
The 28-year-old is in his eighth year in the NBA. He won the Sixth Man of the Year award after playing the 2006-07 season for the Phoenix Suns.

NBA Draft Prospect:Iman Shumpert

2011-06-23T05:28:00.000-07:00

NBA Draft Prospect:Kyrie Irving

2011-06-23T05:26:00.000-07:00

NBA Draft Prospect:Keith Benson

2011-06-23T05:24:00.000-07:00

NBA Draft Prospect:Jeremy Tyler

2011-06-23T05:22:00.001-07:00

NBA Draft Prospect:Justin Harper

2011-06-23T05:21:00.000-07:00

NBA Draft Prospect:JaJuan Johnson

2011-06-23T05:16:00.001-07:00

NBA Draft Prospect:Jordan Hamilton

2011-06-23T05:14:00.001-07:00

NBA Draft Prospect:Isaiah Thomas

2011-06-23T05:12:00.001-07:00

NBA Draft Prospect:Corey Joseph

2011-06-23T05:10:00.000-07:00

NBA Draft Prospect:Norris Cole

2011-06-23T05:07:00.001-07:00

NBA Draft Prospect:Shelvin Mack

2011-06-23T05:05:00.001-07:00

NBA Draft Prospect:Kyle Singler

2011-06-23T05:03:00.001-07:00

NBA Draft Prospect:Kemba Walker

2011-06-23T05:01:00.000-07:00

NBA Draft Prospect:Jimmy Butler

2011-06-23T04:58:00.001-07:00

NBA Draft Prospect:Darius Morris

2011-06-23T04:54:00.001-07:00

NBA Draft Prospect:Charles Jenkins

2011-06-23T04:52:00.001-07:00

NBA Draft Prospect:Derrick Williams

2011-06-23T04:50:00.001-07:00

NBA Draft Prospect:Chandler Parsons

2011-06-23T04:48:00.000-07:00

NBA Draft Prospect:Jamie Skeen

2011-06-23T04:46:00.000-07:00

NBA Draft Prospect:E'Twaun Moore

2011-06-23T04:43:00.000-07:00

NBA Draft Prospect:Enes Kanter

2011-06-23T04:38:00.000-07:00

Dallas Mavericks Championship Parade

2011-06-16T22:37:00.000-07:00

DALLAS (AP) -- The face of the Dallas Mavericks laughed, sang and even seemed to tear up.
For Dirk Nowitzki, the only thing that could come close to being an NBA champion for the first time was celebrating it with the fans in his adopted hometown of Dallas.
An expected crowd of 250,000 crammed downtown Thursday morning for a parade in the team's honor, with another 20,000 or so filling the arena for a rally filled with emotional moments.
After waiting 31 years for the franchise to be atop the NBA, fans honored it in a way that many said was worth the wait.

Nowitzki was the unquestioned star of the show, drawing the loudest cheers from start to finish - usually chants of "M! V! P!" There were German flags in the crowd, a sign calling him "Der Kaiser" and cut-out letters that spelled "Thank you Dirk."
After the parade and before the rally, Nowitzki and his teammates went to the balcony of the arena and spoke briefly to the crowd. Nowitzki capped it by leading a rousing rendition of their new favorite song, "We Are The Champions."
More singing came during the rally, when team owner Mark Cuban serenaded Nowitzki with "Happy Birthday"; he turns 33 on Sunday. Nowitzki got into it, too, pretending to conduct.
But this day had two other emotional crescendos for Nowitzki.
The first came when coach Rick Carlisle said, "You're looking at the best basketball team on the planet. It's also very clear we have in our presence the greatest basketball player on the planet." The overhead jumbo board showed a close-up shot of Nowitzki wiping his eyes.
When it was Nowitzki's turn to speak, his teammates and Cuban were among those standing and chanting "MVP." Nowitzki bit his bottom lip and looked down. He was too overcome with emotion to answer the first question from co-emcee Chuck Cooperstein.
"It's been an amazing ride, an amazing journey," Nowitzki said. "It's been a lot of ups and a lot of downs. This is the top of the iceberg. It feels absolutely amazing."
He relived his journey from a 19-year-old draftee with a bowl cut and a bad earring - "just a bad look," he said with a smile - to the greatest player in team history, a former league MVP and the newly minted finals MVP.

"I didn't really know what to expect," he said of his early days in Dallas. "It's been an amazing ride and you guys have been with me every step of the way. This is for our fans!"
Another highly charged moment came when it was Cuban's turn to speak.
He couldn't.
The rambunctious billionaire determined to do things his way seemed awed by the moment, surely thinking about his own journey from a fan who used to buy scalped tickets to buying the club in January 2000.
When Cooperstein joked about this being "a long way from Reunion Arena," Cuban just shook his head, lips pinched.
In came Carlisle to the rescue.
He grabbed the microphone and discussed something he said to the players a few days before, about the difference between success and fulfillment.
"Mark has had obvious success," Carlisle said. "The thing you have to understand is, to him, it doesn't matter the cost, it's to be able to bring this moment to you. So, thanks."
They hugged as fans stood and cheered. There were chants of "Thank you Mark," and Cuban wiped his eyes several times. Once he felt composed, the guy who loves being the center of attention motioned for quiet.
He had a story to tell.
"The day I bought the team, but it had not yet been announced, I went out with some friends to have an adult beverage," Cuban said. "I go into this bar and I see this tall, German, goofy-looking guy - with his bowl cut, earring - and I know I'm going to be his boss the very next day. He has no idea.
"So I walk up to him and say, 'Yo. Let me buy you a beer.' He just looks at me, shakes his head and walks away.
"The next day, we're at (the practice facility). I'm supposed to get introduced to the team. I walk in the door and I walk up and I just look at him and he just shakes his head. That's pretty much been our relationship for 13 years."

The video board cut to Nowitzki several times during the anecdote and he couldn't stop smiling and laughing.
There were all sorts of funny moments during the rally.
Brian Cardinal, a backup nicknamed "The Custodian," came on the stage with a broom and dustpan. With a stogie in his mouth, he tidied up a bit, then waved his arms to loud applause. He cupped a hand to his ears, asking for them to be louder, then went back into the tunnel.
Jason Kidd was the first player to speak and he talked about it being "a dream came true when I was drafted by the Mavericks in 1994."
"I just didn't know it was going to take 17 years to win a championship," he said. "We've got one championship, now we need to go and get another championship."
Tyson Chandler upped expectations.
"I hear they do things big in Dallas," he said. "So if we do it big, it can't be just one." He held up a hand and started flipping up fingers and counting, "One, two, three, four, five."
Jason Terry wore dark glasses and a Mardi Gras-style blue necklace. He did his traditional flying airplane motion to wild cheers, then flexed his right biceps to show off the tattoo of the trophy he added in October and vowed to scrub if they didn't win it all.
Terry and Nowitzki are the only holdovers from the Mavericks' only other finals team - in 2006, when they blew a 2-0 lead against Miami. So this title is especially sweet for them.
"Not only the way we did it, who we did it against," Terry said before the rally. "We'll never forget it. We'll never forget '05-06 and we sure as heck won't forget 2011."
Fans filled the downtown streets starting early Thursday, despite temperatures approaching 90 degrees by noon. The plaza around the arena was filled to its 3,000-person capacity about two hours before the parade even began.
Franchise founder Donald Carter and his wife, Linda, for whom he started the club as gift, were in the lead vehicle, a white convertible.
"Fantastic," Carter said.
At the end of the parade, those who rode along said they were overwhelmed by the turnout - people as far as they could see.
"I'm numb," said Donnie Nelson, the team's president of basketball operations.

Dwight Howard is becoming a Free-agent

2011-06-14T03:34:00.000-07:00

Scott Howard Cooper from NBA.Com reported that Dwight Howard has said he will definitely become a free agent rather than sign an extension.

Howard was asked what he has spoke to upper management about:

“I just told them, ‘We’ve got to have guys who are going to play hard 48 minutes and who are going to battle the other team, who are going to fight night in and night out for a championship,’ ” he said.

So what will happen if the Magic don’t win the championship in 2012, and the roster stays the same?

“At the end of the day, as far as what I want to accomplish as a basketball player, to be one of the greats, you have to win championships,” he said. “That’s how I see it. I want to do that in Orlando, and hopefully we can get it done…. Everybody’s asking me from the beginning of the season until today where am I playing in a year? Am I getting traded? I have no clue. As of right now, I want to be in Orlando.” Howard said.

Regardless if Howard wants to stay in Orlando it will ultimately be up to management.

If the Magic’s front office cannot improve the roster to Howard’s liking, they may look to trade the All-Star center before they possibly see him leave in the Summer of 2012 for nothing.

Dallas Mavericks Gallery

2011-06-14T03:02:00.000-07:00

Dirk Nowitzki is the NBA Finals MVP

2011-06-12T20:18:00.000-07:00

MIAMI (AP) -- Dirk Nowitzki has been named MVP of the NBA finals for his huge role in leading the Dallas Mavericks to their first championship.

Although Nowitzki struggled in the Game 6 clincher, he certainly put them in position to win it all, overcoming injury and illness to power fourth-quarter comebacks from deficits of 12, nine and four points in Dallas' previous wins.
The 2007 league MVP won Game 2 with a left-handed layup despite having torn a tendon in the tip of his left middle finger in Game 1.
He scored 10 of his 21 points in the final period of Game 4 despite playing with a 101-degree fever because of a sinus infection.
In Game 5, his driving dunk in the final minutes put Dallas ahead for good.

Dallas Mavericks Win NBA Championship

2011-06-12T20:14:00.000-07:00

MIAMI-
Dirk Nowitzki and the Dallas Mavericks are NBA champions, and they went through LeBron James for that long-awaited first title.

Jason Terry scored 27 points, Nowitzki added 21 and the Mavericks topped the Miami Heat 105-95 in Game 6 of the NBA finals on Sunday night. The Mavericks won four of the series' last five games, a turnabout that could not have been sweeter after seeing the Heat celebrate their first title in Dallas after Game 6 of the 2006 finals.

James scored 21 for Miami, though was largely quiet after the opening minutes. Chris Bosh had 19, Mario Chalmers 18 and Dwyane Wade 17 for the Heat.

When it was over, Mavs owner Mark Cuban ran onto the court to hug coach Rick Carlisle.

And James' wait for his first NBA title will extend into at least his ninth season.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

MIAMI (AP) — Jason Terry scored 19 points and the Dallas Mavericks led the Miami Heat 53-51 at halftime of Game 6 of the NBA finals, putting the Mavs two quarters from their first championship.

With Dallas leading the series 3-2, the teams returned to Miami and put on quite a show. They traded big runs, traded the lead several times and even traded shoves during a timeout midway through the second quarter.

Terry made 8 of 10 shots, helping make up for Dirk Nowitzki going 1 of 12. He couldn't get anything to fall from anywhere on the court and had only three points.

LeBron James led Miami with 11 points. Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and Eddie House each had nine. Surprise starter Mario Chalmers had seven, and Udonis Haslem had six.

Back home after three games in Dallas, the Heat were trying to extend their season until Game 7 on Tuesday night. That also would keep alive hopes for their second championship, and first clinched on their home floor. When they beat the Mavericks in '06, they polished it off in Dallas.

Miami opened the game with the new wrinkle of Chalmers at point guard, in place of Mike Bibby. It was his first start this postseason.

But it was a strong start by James that got Miami rolling. He made his first four shots — all on jumpers — and the Heat were up 20-11. When Nowitzki went to the bench with two fouls soon after, it looked like things were about to open up. And they did; for Dallas.

The Mavericks went on a lengthy, lopsided stretch that included all sorts of surprising contributions: three 3-pointers from DeShawn Stevenson, another 3 by Brian Cardinal and a Nowitzki-esque, one-legged, stepback jumper by Ian Mahinmi. Dallas wound up leading 40-28, its biggest lead all series.

Then it was Miami's turn.

The Heat scored the next 14 points, a run opened and closed by 3 pointers from House. Dallas tried cooling him off by calling timeout. As the teams went to the bench, Haslem walked off with his fist raised, Stevenson bumped into him and soon mouths and bodies were moving. Chalmers ran in and Stevenson shoved him. Teammates tried restraining guys and nearly everyone was on the court before officials could regain control.

After watching replays, officials called technical fouls against Haslem, Chalmers and Stevenson. Dallas wound up with one free throw and began edging back toward the lead. They finally got it on a 3-pointer by Terry that made it 51-49.

The Mavs kept feeding Nowitzki in hopes of getting him on track. But he had a fadeaway jumper go in and out, missed badly from the other side, then saw a 3-pointer go in and out in the closing seconds.

Dallas was 3-0 in knockout games this postseason. One more and Mark Cuban's franchise will have its first title in its 31st season.

The Heat haven't faced elimination this postseason, and they've been darn good at home: 9-1. However, that one loss was in the last game here against the Mavericks.

Miami's home-court advantage was infiltrated by hundreds or even thousands of Mavs fans. As Dallas' lead peaked in the second quarter, they sure got a lot louder.

They were easy to spot because so many of them were wearing blue, even the giveaway T-shirts from the games in Dallas, while Heat fans know to wear white.

Stevenson's 3s accounted for his nine points. Shawn Marion had eight points and J.J. Barea added six. The Mavs are 2-0 since moving Barea into the starting lineup.

NBA Championship Rings by Teams 1947–2010

2011-06-11T02:19:00.000-07:00

Robb Harskamp and Milton Un collaborated on this awesome visual history of every championship ring laid out by team. We love how quickly this visualization tells the story of which teams have won championships, how many they have won, and when they won them. Truly a great reminder of what’s at stake in the Finals!

With the exception of the 1967 Sixers, all the rings were relatively similar for the first three decades. Starting in the 80′s the rings got more bling, becoming increasingly more elaborate from year to year. Thus, it is easy to see at a glance which teams won their championships recently (Spurs/Bulls), which teams haven’t won a championship in several decades (Knicks), and which teams have a mix (Lakers, Celtics). Also, we found it interesting that 43 of the 64 championships have come from just four teams (Celtics, Lakers, Bulls, Spurs).

We asked Robb and Milton about their inspiration for this amazing illustration:

The NBA Championship ring is that piece of hardware every fan knows about. We can name which franchises have won the most rings, measure our favorite players by rings they’ve won, and even call out the players that have never gotten one in their careers. Dirk “NoRingski”. But, one thing that we don’t always know is what the rings look like. Even the Basketball Hall of Fame doesn’t have a championship ring to showcase! Why? Because each ring is a precious and personal piece to that specific player; unlike the Championship trophies. And no player is willing to give that up.

Click on the picture for highest resoulution

Dallas Mavericks-Miami Heat (Game 5)

2011-06-11T02:04:00.000-07:00

DALLAS -- Dirk Nowitzki thrust both arms in the air, a sea of blue screaming around him and the Dallas Mavericks finally ahead in these ultra-close NBA Finals.

Now it really is "now or never" for LeBron James and the Miami Heat.

Nowitzki scored 29 points, driving for the go-ahead dunk with 2:45 remaining, and the Mavericks beat the Heat 112-103 on Thursday night to take a 3-2 lead.

Five years after going up 2-0 on the Heat, the Mavs finally got that elusive third victory, and can wrap up their first championship in Game 6 at Miami on Sunday night.

"We didn't want to go to Miami and give them basically two shots to close us out. So we kept plugging there in the fourth. So definitely a big win for us," Nowitzki said. "And now we have to go down there and basically approach Sunday's game as Game 7."

James, who called this game "now or never," responded from his worst playoff performance with 17 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists, and Dwyane Wade battled through a sore left hip after a first-quarter collision to finish with 23 points.

"I could have made a couple of more plays for my team," James said. "But at the end of the day, all it's about is a win or a loss. Triple-double means absolutely nothing in a loss. So we will be better in Game 6 on Sunday."

Chris Bosh had 19 points and 10 rebounds for the Heat, who get the final two games at home with history against them as they try to win a title in their first season together: In the 26 previous finals that were tied 2-2, the Game 5 winner won 19 of them.

"We fought hard all season for home-court advantage. We're down 3-2," Bosh said. "We protect home court, we win the series, so we just have to keep that in mind."

The Mavs shot 60 percent through three quarters, briefly gave up the lead in the fourth, then outscored Miami 17-4 in the final 4:23, controlling the final few minutes just as they had in thrilling comebacks in Games 2 and 4.

Dallas shot 56.5 percent from the field, including 13 of 19 (68 percent) from 3-point range.

"We made more shots," Dallas coach Rick Carlisle said. "We did a lot of good things defensively, which led to good offense. ... You never know when the games are going to go that way. The thing we've got to do is we've got to make sure our defense is consistent."

Terry scored 21 points and J.J. Barea had 17 for the Mavs, who insisted at some point their shots would start falling even against the Heat's stingy defense. Jason Kidd and Tyson Chandler both finished with 13 points.

"We are getting the same looks we knew we would get," Terry said. "After Games 1 and 2, you watch it on film, you see it and then you realize you're going to have the opportunities. I said to myself, I said to my teammates, we're not going to continue to miss those open shots that we're getting."

Their offense was simply too good, despite a good bounceback for James.

James scored eight points, going just 3 of 11 in Game 4, the first time in 90 postseason games he didn't hit double figures. Trying to pump himself during a rough first finals in Miami in which he's been accused of everything from "shrinking" to "checking out" in the fourth quarters, he wrote "Now or Never!!" on his Twitter page early Thursday morning, later calling this the biggest game of his career.

But they feel the same urgency in Dallas, where the slogan "The Time is Now" is printed on those blue T-shirts that surround the court, and where the Mavs are loaded with 30-somethings -- late 30s, in Kidd's case -- who could be on their last shot at an NBA title.

Nowitzki said early Thursday he felt "great," having shaken the fever that rose to 101 degrees in Game 4. This time, the health concern was Wade, who banged his hip in the first quarter and appeared to be limping at various points from there.

"I don't talk about injuries," Wade said. "It was unfortunate I had to leave the game, but I came back and finished it."

He remained in the locker room to start the second half, coming back onto the court about the midway point of the period. By then, the Mavs seemed in too good a groove to be cooled off no matter who Miami had out there.

A disgusted Heat coach Erik Spoelstra was already walking onto the court to call time by the time Chandler went up to dunk after catching the ball all alone under the basket, giving Dallas a nine-point lead that matched its largest of the series. Miami stormed into the lead midway through the fourth with a 9-0 run, all layups, dunks and free throws until Wade's 3-pointer made it 99-95 with 4:38 to play.

The Mavs tied it at 100 on Terry's 3-pointer with 3:23 left, and after James missed, Nowitzki drove for a baseline dunk and a 102-100 lead. James was called for an offensive foul and missed a 3-pointer on Miami's next two possessions before Kidd drilled a 3-pointer to make it 105-100, sending the crowd into a delirious chant of "Beat the Heat! Beat the Heat!"

The teams were at the same point as their 2006 matchup after four games, but that one was already in the midst of a massive swing by then. Miami won the final four games behind Wade, the MVP of that series.

This one has been developing into one of the closest finals the NBA has ever seen. Games 2-4 were decided by three points or fewer. That hadn't happened in the championship round since 1948, according to STATS, LLC, when the Baltimore Bullets and Philadelphia Warriors played Games 2-4 within a three-point margin during the Basketball Association of America finals, a year before that league merged with the National Basketball League to become the NBA.

The first four games were determined by 15 total points, the fewest since a 12-game difference between the Celtics and Lakers in the 1969 finals.

And all eyes were on James, just as they have been since he bolted Cleveland for a better shot at a championship in Miami.

He vowed to be more aggressive after his puzzling Game 4. He caught the ball in the post more frequently, but his jumper was still off for much of the game.

James threw up an airball with his left hand on his first shot, and when he did finally score, the Mavs quickly came back with six straight points for an early 13-6 lead, a promising start for a team that had been playing from behind nearly all series.

Wade walked gingerly to the locker room with a left hip contusion with about 3 minutes left in the period after colliding with Mavs reserve Brian Cardinal on a drive to the basket, and didn't return to the bench until more than 3 minutes into the second.

James had a basket inside that gave Miami a six-point lead with 4:26 left in the half, but Dallas closed with a 14-5 push, taking a 60-57 edge to the locker room after Nowitzki's jumper with 6.1 seconds remaining. The Mavs shot 12 of 17 in the quarter, and after not reaching 30 points in any period through four games, hit that number in each of the first two quarters of Game 5.

Game notes
Last year was one of the few times the Game 5 winner in a 2-2 finals didn't win the series. Boston went to Los Angeles with a 3-2 lead but the Lakers won the remaining games. ... In Games 1-3 combined, the Mavs led for a total of 35 minutes and 41 seconds, according to STATS. In Game 5, the Mavs led for a total of 30:59.

Related posts:
Dallas Mavericks-Miami Heat (Game 4)
Dallas Mavericks-Miami Heat (Game 3)

Ron Artest is getting a reality show

2011-06-09T15:58:00.000-07:00

TV networks have a lot of time to fill, which explains why more and more athlete-celebrities are getting star vehicles. Most of them don’t interest me, though I realize there is certainly a large demographic that can’t get enough of them.
Another athlete is joining the list, and while no one should be surprised to see him getting a reality show, it’s actually one with a more substantial premise than one might think.
From TMZ:

Los Angeles Lakers star Ron Artest has locked up a deal for a brand new reality TV show — but he won’t be dating a Kardashian sister … he’s helping ex-cons change their lives through basketball.

The show is called “Last Second Shot” (here is the trailer), and it will feature Artest mentoring 10 parolees as they try to get their lives back together post-prison, working with mental-health professionals and using basketball to teach them life lessons.
So far the show has yet to be picked up by a network, but given the redemptive-effort nature of the show, plus Artest’s background and following as an NBA player, you have to think someone will give the show a chance. Though if he could somehow work dating a Kardashian into the mix, I am sure it wouldn’t hurt.

Warriors Name Mark Jackson Head Coach

2011-06-08T13:57:00.000-07:00

The Golden State Warriors have named Mark Jackson, a 17-year NBA veteran as a player and current ABC broadcaster, as the team’s new head coach, it was announced today. Jackson becomes the 24th head coach in franchise history and the 19th since the team moved to the West Coast in 1962. Per team policy, terms of the agreement were not announced.

Jackson, 46, played for seven organizations – New York (twice), the L.A. Clippers, Indiana (twice), Denver, Toronto, Utah and Houston – during his highly-successful 17-year NBA career and helped guide his teams to the playoffs in 14 of those 17 seasons. A native of Brooklyn, New York, he ranks third on the NBA’s all-time assists list (10,334) – trailing only John Stockton and Jason Kidd – and was named a member of the Eastern Conference All-Star team in 1989. Jackson was originally selected by the New York Knicks in the first round of the 1987 NBA Draft (18th overall) and promptly captured NBA Rookie of the Year honors at the conclusion of the 1987-88 campaign. He established a still-standing NBA record for assists by a rookie in a single season (868) and played for five Hall of Fame coaches during his collegiate and professional careers (Lou Carnesecca, Lenny Wilkens, Jerry Sloan, Pat Riley and Larry Brown).

“After an extensive search and a great deal of consideration, we have come to the conclusion that Mark Jackson is the best coach for this team,” said Warriors’ General Manager Larry Riley. “He will bring a youthful and fresh approach to our team and the fact that he enjoyed a stellar playing career, where he served most of that time as the leader of some very successful teams, will prove invaluable in the long run. We were looking for a coach with leadership ability and a strong personality and believe Mark possesses those qualities. He’s very well respected in NBA circles, is a consummate professional and his knowledge and background will be an incredible asset for our team and organization.”

“We are tremendously excited about the addition of Mark Jackson as our new head coach,” said Warriors’ Owner Joe Lacob. “He epitomized leadership as a player in this league for 17 seasons and we think that characteristic – and many other positive traits – will translate very well into his coaching duties with our young team. He was a leader and a winner both on and off the floor in this league and we’re convinced that he is the right person to guide this team into the future and help us achieve the success that we are striving for as an organization.”

“I am really elated about this opportunity and I’m looking forward to the challenge of building the Warriors into a perennial contender,” said Jackson. “I cannot tell you how impressed I was with the organization during our meetings, beginning at the top with Joe Lacob and, of course, with Larry Riley, Bob Myers and Jerry West. I have sensed that Joe is committed to winning and building a team and a culture the right way. I think we all witnessed that with some of the recent front office additions as well and some of the other positive things that have been done in recent months. This is an incredible opportunity and I am honored and thank God that I have been chosen to be the next coach of the Warriors. The Bay Area has always had some of the best fans in the NBA and I look forward to being a part of that incredible atmosphere at Oracle Arena, along with my wife, my kids and my church family, who are thrilled as well.”

Jackson, who will assume his new duties at the conclusion of the NBA Finals, appeared in 131 playoff games during his career, including 23 with the Indiana Pacers in 2000, when he was a member of the Eastern Conference Champions (played L.A. Lakers in the NBA Finals). Additionally, he led the NBA in assists during the 1996-97 campaign (11.4 apg).

Jackson will be introduced to the Bay Area media later this week.

Dallas Mavericks-Miami Heat (Game 4)

2011-06-08T11:58:00.000-07:00

DALLAS — For the first three games of the NBA Finals, the Dallas Mavericks’ supporting cast received plenty of criticism for not lending leading scorer Dirk Nowitzki enough assistance.

Tuesday night, with Mavericks trying to avoid falling in a 1-3 hole and Nowitzki knocked off his game while battling a fever due to a sinus infection, the team’s unsung heroes sent a resounding message to their critics, as the Dallas squad evened up the championship series against the Miami Heat at two games apiece with a 21-9 run to conclude a come-from-behind, 86-83 victory on the American Airlines Center floor.

"Obviously their supporting cast did a good job," Heat superstar Dwyane Wade said of the Mavericks' role players after suffering the loss. "They've been getting pounded by [the media] for the last 48 hours. So, there's a lot of pride. They came out and played well. They had a lot of different guys do a lot of good things."

Needing a spark of energy and a dose of instant offense, Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle headed into Game 4 knowing that it was time to shake things up. And with his team looking to avoid a nearly insurmountable hole at the hands of the Heat, Carlisle made a change in his starting lineup, seating swingman DeShawn Stevenson in favor of reserve J.J. Barea to add the undersized guard’s ability to penetrate the lane to the first unit.

With the change in place and backup big man Brendan Haywood back from a one-game hiatus with a strained right hip flexor, the Mavericks took the floor looking to rebound from Sunday night’s 88-86 defeat while also trying to even the series in the middle matchup of three straight in Dallas.

The strategy appeared to work early on in the opening quarter, with point guard Jason Kidd drawing the defensive assignment on two-time MVP LeBron James while forward Shawn Marion slid to Wade. Meanwhile, Nowitzki went right back to work after his 34-point, 11-rebound performance in Game 3, scoring the game's first six points with an array of jumpers before his counterpart, Dallas native Chris Bosh, matched him with a 6-0 spurt of his own.

Nowitzki then got support from sixth man Jason Terry off the Dallas bench while Stevenson relieved Marion, but the Heat’s ability to control the offensive glass and force the Mavericks into turnovers — coupled with a technical foul call on Carlisle for arguing with officiating — kept the visiting Miami team in the game, with the two squads heading into the second stanza tied at 21-all.

Despite shooting just 29 percent in the first period compared to Dallas’ 50 percent, the Heat’s nine offensive rebounds made up for an inability to make shots through 12 minutes of play. The second quarter would be more of the same.

Although he was able to get into the lane at will, Barea had a hard time finishing once he got close to the basket early in the second quarter. Simultaneously, the Heat capitalized off the missed opportunities, opening the period on a 7-0 run. But Stevenson’s trifecta of 3-pointers stopped the bleeding, trimming the Heat’s lead to just two before Nowitzki tied the game at 34-34 with a vintage fadeaway jumper over Joel Anthony midway through the period.

"[Stevenson] stayed with it," Terry said of his teammate after being lifted from the starting lineup. "His confidence was there. He knew where his shots were going to come, and the defensive job he's doing in this series is very underrated. He's having to guard both [James and Wade] for the majority of the time, and I think he's holding his own. He's doing an outstanding job."

"He's a pro," Carlisle added with praise for Stevenson. "He just kept himself ready all year. The 3's he knocked down in the first half were huge, because we were fighting through some deficits. And he was one of the guys that set the tone defensively for us."

The Mavs continued to ride the momentum for most of the first half, taking the lead on a Terry jumper followed by the star reserve’s transition feed to a trailing Marion. But a Wade and Bosh-led spurt to close the half gave the Heat a 47-45 edge entering the break, as the Mavs headed to the locker room looking to come back ready to attack in the final 24 minutes of play.

With James held to just four points at the midway point, the Heat turned to the other two components of their Big Three, with Bosh leading all scorers with 16 first-half points while Wade pitched in 13 points. Stevenson’s 11 points on 3-for-4 shooting from behind the 3-point arc paced the Mavs, with Nowitzki and Terry combining to add 17 points to the cause. Meanwhile, the Dallas team finished the half getting outrebounded by the Heat, 24-18, while also being bettered by the visiting Miami squad in the shooting department, 45.2 percent to 43.2 percent.

Battling triple-digit temperatures, Nowitzki came out of the intermission looking to attack after shooting 4-for-10 in the first 24 minutes of action. But with the 7-footer clearly off his game due to the illness, Barea and Marion took charge, with the young lead guard’s penetration breaking down the Heat’s defense while Marion scored at the rim.

Marion continued to take over the scoring responsibilities while Nowitzki battled his ailments, with a 26-for-26 stretch from the foul line in the Finals series and 37 straight overall coming to a close for the 10-time All-Star in the period. But a thunderous alley-oop connection from James to Wade not only sucked some of the air out of the American Airlines Center, it also set the Heat up with a 69-65 edge heading to the fourth quarter.

The Heat then benefited from a six-point swing to start the final period, with Stevenson missing on a corner 3 while sharpshooter Mike Miller cashed in from the same spot at the other end of the floor. It would lead to 5-0 spurt, as Miami grabbed its largest lead of the night at 74-65 with 10:11 remaining for the Mavs to respond.

"I think it didn't look good there in the fourth quarter when we were down nine," Nowitzki confessed, "but energy and defense really picked us up. Didn't shoot the ball well, again, had some good looks there in the fourth, but our defense grinded it out."

Not to be forgotten, however, was Terry, whose back-to-back scores gave the Mavericks a lift while looking to stem a comeback attempt. At the same time, Nowitzki began his attack on the Miami defense, looking to answer Wade’s end-to-end play — using a spectacular block on center Tyson Chandler which led to his own layup on offense — for the Heat.

But it would be Terry that would give the Mavs a 79-78 lead after a defensive stop and long outlet feed from Stevenson, as the former Sixth Man of the Year exploited his matchup with James to put his team in front, before Chandler continued a growing run with a 1-for-2 trip at the foul line to put the Mavericks up a deuce with 4:36 remaining.

"Being aggressive, looking to attack instead of settling for the jump shot," Terry said when describing his play down the stretch. "[James'] length obviously is going to bother me if I shoot it in his face. It's going to be contested. So, percentages on those shots are going to go down. But if I can get in the paint and draw the defense and then make the pass or make the shot, then that's going to be advantages for us. That's something I looked to do tonight."

The spurt would conclude at 17-4 with Nowitzki at the line and the Mavs in the penalty with 2:16 left. But the Mavericks weren’t out of the woods yet, with Kidd sending Wade to the line, where the ’06 Finals MVP attempted to tie the game with 30.1 seconds left on the clock.

However, after making the first, Wade found all rim on the second stroke, with the Mavericks grabbing possession of the ball and calling timeout with 29.3 seconds left to close the door. Out of the timeout, the ball went to Nowitzki as he patiently attacked Heat big man Udonis Haslem, before battling through the fever to score on a drive to his right to put the Mavs up three with 14.4 seconds left.

"You know, this is the Finals. You're going to leave it out there. Like I said earlier in the series ... it's June. We've been playing on a high level for eight, nine months. So, everybody has a little something going, and this is the Finals. You have to go out there and compete and try your best for your team. So, that's what I did," Nowitzki said of the final sequence.

"He's one of the greatest ever," Carlisle proclaimed of his star player. "He wants the ball, and he wants the responsibility of winning and losing the game. So, we make every effort to put him in those situations. It's not easy, because teams deny him the ball. And in those situations, you know, Jason Terry has been one of the best fourth-quarter players in the league for a number of years, and Kidd's experience. ... And generally, we want to play through Dirk as much as we can."

But again Wade answered, driving straight to the hoop for a slam with 9.0 seconds on the clock, forcing Carlisle to call the Mavs’ last timeout. Looking to finish the Heat off, the ball was inbounded to Terry, who nailed a pair of clutch foul shots after being sent to the line with 6.7 seconds left.

Still, the Heat had an opportunity to answer, but Wade nearly fumbled the ball into the backcourt before saving it and finding Miller for a desperation 3 that sailed past the rim as time expired to even the series at 2-2, after the Mavericks outscored Miami in the fourth period, 21-14.

Despite battling the illness and struggling en route to a 6-for-19 shooting night, Nowitzki finished with a team-high 21 points to go along with 11 rebounds. Marion pitched in 16 points on 7-for-12 from the floor, while Chandler also registered a double-double with his 13 points and 16 boards to help the Mavs' supporting cast make up for Nowitzki's sluggishness at the offensive end.

“I just took the [criticism] personally, because this is the Finals, and I’m going to give it all every second I’m out there. When I saw the man [Nowitzki] walking today, he was barely able to talk. I knew I had to have a big night. I just told myself what I can do that I haven’t been doing of late. And I felt like I can get out and run, open things up, get some screen-and-rolls and open myself up on the glass,” Chandler said of his big night.

Off the Dallas bench, Terry posted 17 points (eight in the fourth quarter) despite connecting on just 6-of-15 from the floor, while Stevenson’s 11 points on 3-of-7 from behind the 3-point line all came in the first half.

Wade finished as the high-point man with his 32 points on 13-of-20 shooting, while Bosh added 24 of his own. But no other Heat player reached double figures, including James, who totaled a career playoff-low eight points on 3-of-11 from the floor despite also grabbing nine rebounds and dishing out seven assists.

"Definitely didn't play great offensively," James admitted. "I've got to do a better job of being more assertive offensively, not staying out of rhythm offensively the whole game."

The Heat ended the game outshooting the Mavs, 42.7 percent to 39.7 percent, while also collecting a 44-41 rebounding advantage to combat Chandler’s monster night on the glass. But the Mavericks took full advantage of the Heat’s 15 turnovers, flipping the script in what has been a theme in the series favoring Miami and turning the giveaways into 18 points at the other end, as the visitors racked up 12 points on Dallas’ 11 total miscues.

And with the game also featuring 15 ties and 12 different lead changes, the Mavericks’ 28-15 advantage in bench scoring became even more crucial, as Terry and Stevenson alone outdueled the Heat’s reserves.

“Look, everybody has to be ready, and our game has to be a team game,” Carlisle concluded. “We’re not going to outrun or outjump these guys, but we’ve got to play a sound game, we’ve got to play a persistent game. It was tough. We had a lot of shots that were there that didn’t go tonight. But the guys kept believing, they kept battling, and then the defense in the fourth held us. And we’re able to get out of here alive.”

The Mavericks will now head into Thursday night’s Game 5 at home looking to continue the momentum of the all-important win and hoping to have a healthy Nowitzki back and ready to go as they bid for a 3-2 series lead before it shifts back to Miami.

"There's no long-term," Nowitzki said of the illness. "I'll be alright on Thursday. It's a little sinus infection. Hopefully I'll get some sleep tonight, take some meds and be ready on Thursday. ... Obviously, we would love to get Game 5 here. Don't want to go to Miami down 3-2, knowing they have two chances to close us out. Big game Thursday."

Related posts:
Happy Birthday,Allen Iverson
Dallas Mavericks-Miami Heat (Game 3)
Miami Heat-Dallas Mavericks (Game 2)

Happy Birthday,Allen Iverson !

2011-06-07T14:30:00.001-07:00

Happy Birthday, Allen Iverson!
The Answer is 36 today and he wants to play ball.
What a surprise. Birds want to fly. Fish want to swim.
It was 10 years ago this month that Iverson was probably at the peak of his powers, having hoisted an undermanned Sixers squad onto his skinny shoulders and carried them to The Finals against the Lakers and even pulled off that shocking upset in Game 1.
Of course, it’s been a 1 1/2 years since Iverson left the NBA, just a few weeks after being voted a starter for the Eastern Conference in the 2010 All-Star Game. He did not play.
Since that time, there was the brief sojourn to play in Turkey, followed by surgery on his leg. But now Iverson says he’s completely healed and wants back in the NBA next season.
In an interview with Tzvi Twersky in SLAM Magazine, The Answer says he’s ready to deal with the questions:

SLAM: You feel like you’ve got a lot of ball left in you?
AI: I think the sky’s the limit for me. That’s my whole personal thing that’s going to go on, just trying to get back and let the fans know I belong and am capable of exciting them like I’ve been doing for all of these years.
SLAM: You think anyone is going to give you the chance?
AI: [Deep breath] I don’t know. We’re going to work hard at it, but like I said, if it doesn’t happen, I promise you I won’t sit home on my ass. I won’t do that. I’ll play for somebody.

Surely, at 36, Iverson doesn’t think he can be the same dominant player he was at 26 when he was named MVP? Or does he? Wasn’t his own perception of himself the problem when he signed on with the Grizzlies in 2009 and then quit after playing just three games? Wasn’t that still the case when he returned to the Sixers before walking away from the league?
Is there a place on a roster somewhere in the league for an aging Iverson to work his old magic? More important, is there a way Iverson will allow himself to fit into a subordinate role for one more chance?
Those are the questions. What do you think about The Answer?

Related posts:
Shaquille O'Neal Retires
Nowitzki injured in Game 1
Mike Brown is the New Lakers Head Coach

Dallas Mavericks-Miami Heat (Game 3)

2011-06-07T02:08:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Chris Bosh’ go-ahead jumper with 41 seconds remaining and Udonis Haslem’s tough defense on Dirk Nowitzki, Lebron James might have escaped another round of criticism.

Criticized heavily in their Game 2 loss in Miami for celebrating to early and missing four shots in the last seven minutes, James again had late-game miscues with two turnovers - a double dribble and a blocked three-point attempt by Shawn Marion.

After a team timeout when Nowitzki tied the ballgame 86-all, Lebron passed to an open Chris Bosh who calmly made the shot. On Miami’s ensuing possession after Nowitzki made a bad pass, Lebron again settled for a 3-point shot missing badly.
On Dallas’ final play, Nowitzki attempted a turnaround fadeaway shot with Haslem on his face but missed the shot, losing the game to Miami 88-86.

Dwyane Wade led Miami with 29 points and 11 rebounds. James added 17 points and nine assists with Bosh adding 18 points.

Nowitzki finished with 34 points, but didn’t get much help. Jason Terry scored 15 and Shawn Marion had 10, but both were shut out in the fourth quarter.

Miami had a 14-point lead late in the second quarter, then fell into the same bad habits they showed at the end of Game 2, letting Dallas get within 47-42 at the halftime break.

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Miami Heat-Dallas Mavericks (Game 1)

Miami Heat-Dallas Mavericks (Game 2)

2011-06-04T04:05:00.000-07:00

MIAMI – A day after the retirement announcement of one of the NBA’s all-time great big men, the Dallas Mavericks head into their Game 2 matchup with the Miami Heat needing more from their big bodies inside in order to even the NBA Finals at a game apiece before the series shifts to Dallas.

Looking to draw inspiration from Boston Celtics center Shaquille O’Neal’s exit from the game, the Mavericks’ duo of interior-based 7-footers, Tyson Chandler and Brendan Haywood, admit that they will have to bring more to the table after watching their team lose the battle on the glass, 46-36, surrendering 16 offensive rebounds for the Heat to have its way. And with Chandler in foul trouble for most of the 92-84 Game 1 loss, the Mavs’ high-octane five man enters Thursday night’s outing knowing that he must increase his level of activity after scoring nine points but snatching down just four boards in just under 34 minutes of play.

“We gave them too many offensive rebounds,” Chandler explained. “Either we were taking the ball out of the net or they were getting another shot attempt. We’ve gotta box out, we’ve gotta limit them to one shot and we’ve gotta run.”

“Rebounding is very important. It’s not just about me and Tyson, but as a team collectively,” Haywood added, coming off a three-point, seven-rebound effort in just about 14 minutes of action. “Offensive rebounds are a very important part of the game. I think early on in the game we gave them a sense of life when they didn’t really have anything going. Those second-chance opportunities really gave them a chance to get buckets. I think if we would have controlled the boards a little bit better, we might have had a bigger lead when we made that [7-0] run in the third.”

Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle couldn’t agree more, emphasizing to his team the importance of defensive rebounding even despite the fact that Dallas’ 16 second-chance points bettered Miami’s 15 points after extended possessions. And with the coach hoping for a rebounding turnaround on Thursday night, Carlisle says that he isn’t putting the entire onus on his big men inside, knowing that the Mavs will have to gang rebound in order to keep the likes of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh — who collectively grabbed 28 rebounds in Game 1 — from once again controlling the pace of the game.

“A lot of this comes down to the disposition that we need to have on the defensive boards. We work hard for 20 or 22 seconds to get a stop, and then they’d get the ball back. I mean, that kills you. So, the defensive rebounding has got to be better for us. … We can [play at a faster pace] when we rebound better. That’s gonna be the key. It’s hard to generate tempo taking the ball out the basket. It just is. And it’s even more difficult when the opponent has two consecutive shots at the basket. It just takes more of your defensive energy. So, defense is important, but finishing off possessions with defensive rebounds is critical.”

The health of Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki is just as critical to the team getting a win on Thursday night, likely taking the court with a splint on his left middle finger after suffering a torn tendon in the final four minutes of the loss.

Nowitzki went through practice on Wednesday as well as Thursday’s walkthrough without any kinks in his off hand. But now the 7-footer admits that he will have to play through the injury for the remainder of the series in order to lead the Mavericks to a title, starting with a Game 2 victory before returning to Dallas to host three scheduled games.

“At this point in the season, everybody has bumps and bruises. This is just a bump, and you gotta play through it,” Nowitzki modestly said.

Hoping to show no ill effects from the injury, Nowitzki will lead the Mavs back into American Airlines Arena in search of a 1-1 split and the home-court advantage.

Note: The NBA Finals between the Dallas Mavericks and Miami Heat will continue Thursday in Miami, with Game 2 airing nationally on ABC at 8 p.m. CT.

The Mavericks will host Game 3 at the American Airlines Center on Sunday, June 5, in a game that tip off at 7 p.m. CT and air nationally on ABC. Tickets for the Finals are on sale now. Visit Mavs.com for details or call 214-747-MAVS (6287).

All of the Mavs’ home Finals games at American Airlines Center will be a MAVS ROYAL BLUE-OUT!

Every seat at the American Airlines Center will have a MAVS ROYAL BLUE playoff T-shirt placed in it. We need for you and every Mavs fan to show their Mavs pride. So, dress ready to put on your MAVS ROYAL BLUE playoff T-shirt when you get to your seat.

The Dallas Mavericks will host a FREE watch party for fans on Thursday, June 2 as the Mavs take on the Miami Heat in Game 2 of the 2011 NBA Finals.

Fans can join the Mavs Dancers, ManiAACs, Street Team, Ali Dee and Ro Parrish and watch the game on the full HD video boards inside American Airlines Center.

Parking will be available in Lots E and F for $5 and the Platinum parking garage for $10. Fans can enter American Airlines Center through the north and east doors beginning at 7 p.m.

The North and South Fan Shops will be open for fans to purchase NBA Finals and other Mavs apparel. Food and beverages will also be available for purchase

BREAKING: Shaquille O’Neal Retires after 19 Seasons

2011-06-01T15:47:00.000-07:00

Shaquille O’Neal who helped bring three world championships to the Los Angeles Lakers announced on twitter on Wednesday that he is retiring:

We did it!, 19 years baby, and I want to thank you very much, and that’s why I’m telling you [twitter followers] first! I’m about to retire. Love you, talk to you soon!”

In his career he averaged 23.7 points, 10.9 rebounds, and 2.3 blocks per game. O’Neal shot 58% from the field, in his 19 seasons.

O’Neal finishes his career with 28,596, points, and is ranked 5th in all-time scoring. The 15 time all-star is a former league MVP, 3 time NBA Finals MVP, and won four world championships. (3 with Lakers, 1 with Heat)

O’Neal battled through injuries over the last couple of seasons. He was only able to play 36 games for the Celtics during the regular season, and played a total of 12 minutes in the playoffs for Boston limited by his Achilles injury.

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Miami Heat-Dallas Mavericks (Game 1)

2011-06-01T15:35:00.000-07:00

MIAMI — The long wait was over, and after sitting for nearly a week once they finished off the Oklahoma City Thunder in five games, the Dallas Mavericks returned to the hardwood looking to finish off the championship path they began with training camp in September.

Hoping to continue a franchise-best five-game road playoff winning streak, the Mavericks stepped into American Airlines Arena focused on one clear-cut task: Doing what no team has done this postseason on the Miami Heat’s home floor.

With the Heat 8-0 at home entering Game 1 of the NBA Finals, the Mavs looked to draw off their success away from Dallas after tying with Miami for the best road record at 28-13 during the regular season. Meanwhile, Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle tried to keep things as close to normal as possible for his players despite the media-crazed circus surrounding the championship series.

“I have a quarter to seven on my watch,” Carlisle joked before the 9 p.m. local time start. “I didn’t change over. I’m on central time. It’s an 8 o’clock game as far as I’m concerned.”

But with all joking aside, Carlisle and the Mavericks took the court looking to send a message while also trying to steal the home-court edge in the best-of-seven, 2-3-2 series. However, the Heat had other things in mind, with Miami’s Big Three of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh striking first to take a 1-0 lead and put the Mavericks in a series hole for the first time all playoffs, after surviving a 92-84 defensive struggle.

“We’ll play better. I’m certain of that. Again, we had some opportunities. … Shots we normally make, they didn’t go down. And so, that was tough. But look, it’s a long series, and we’ll adjust and do things we need to do to get ourselves in a better position. This is a very good basketball team we’re playing. They were more opportunistic tonight than we were. That’s been one of the traits of our run. We’ve been very opportunistic. Tonight, we weren’t as much,” Carlisle concluded after the loss.

The visiting Mavs faced some early adversity, beginning the game 1-for-7 from the floor and finding themselves in a defensive combat zone. The team would rally, though, using back-to-back 3-pointers by point guard Jason Kidd to climb back into the game, while swingman DeShawn Stevenson and forward Shawn Marion shared the defensive duties on James and Wade. Dallas then grabbed a 17-16 lead after one quarter of play, with sixth man Jason Terry cashing in at the line on two free throws after a hard foul delivered by James to send a message that it would be a physical showdown.

With both teams shooting just 28.6 percent from the floor in the period, the Mavs grabbed the slight edge thanks to 3-of-8 shooting from 3-point range compared to 1-of-6 from behind the arc for the Heat.

After a quiet opening quarter for the series’ biggest stars, the Heat’s talented trio of James, Wade and Bosh began to insert themselves, while Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki did the same. Meanwhile, the Mavs began to look inside, with Marion’s post-ups and an empathic alley-oop and-1 finish by Chandler off a Kidd feed lifting Dallas to a 44-43 advantage at the midway mark.

Both teams struggled to find the bottom of the nets with regularity in the first half, as the Mavs outshot the Heat through two quarters, 38.2 percent to 36.6 percent. At the same time, both squads also relied heavily on their go-to scorers, as Nowitzki and Terry combined to tally 25 points to combat 30 collectively between the Heat’s Big Three.

After struggling to score through 24 minutes of play, however, the Mavericks would briefly catch fire, starting the third on a 7-0 spurt. But the Heat battled back behind Wade and James, capitalizing on the Mavs’ costly turnovers to take a 65-61 edge into the final 12 minutes of play after James’ fadeaway 3-pointer to beat the third-quarter buzzer.

“We started the quarter on a 7-0 run, which got us an eight-point lead, which gave us momentum,” Carlisle explained. “Then they answered. They responded well. During that period, they were making a run at us, and I thought we did a good job of hanging in. And, again, I thought there were some critical situations where we needed to somehow come up with one loose ball here or go make a shot there that would have made a big difference. But it didn’t happen.”

The Mavericks appeared that they would in fact remain poised in the game’s last 12 minutes, using a suffocating defense with a mixture of man and zone to stay in the game. But after Heat forward Udonis Haslem found a hole in the Dallas defense and scored an and-1 over Nowitzki in the lane, the Mavericks faced an uphill climb and a 75-69 deficit with 6:36 left to play.

Despite Marion’s best efforts on the offensive end, the Heat continued to control the pace and flow of the game down the stretch, with Wade draining a stepback 3 to put the Heat ahead 82-73 with 3:06 left for Carlisle and his troops to regroup. James followed that up with a thunderous and-1 slam to put the Heat up 10 with just under three minutes left to play, quieting Marion’s and Nowitzki’s attempts to muster up a comeback.

“They have two very good closers, two of the best in the game,” Nowitzki said of Wade and James. “I mean, Dwyane made some big shots there in the fourth quarter and LeBron has been shooting the ball really well this playoffs. They had some open looks and really made some tough shots.”

Still, Nowitzki continued to battle, even while wearing a splint on his left middle finger after tearing a tendon during the period when his hand got tangled up attempting to steal the ball from Bosh. The 7-footer swished a pair at the foul line to draw his team to within six, 85-79, with 1:36 remaining. But after Wade forced a defensive stop, Bosh cashed in at the other end with a two-handed slam, before Wade also found James for an above-the-rim finish to ice the game for the home team and put the Mavs behind the eight ball for the first time in this year’s postseason.

Despite Nowitzki’s game-high 27 points on 7-of-18 shooting and Marion’s 16 points to go along with 10 rebounds, the Mavericks got little help offensively. Terry was the only other Mav in double figures with 12 points (all in the first half), but did so while hitting just 3-of-10 from the floor as reserve guard J.J. Barea also struggled to a 1-of-8 finish to the night, leading to the Dallas bench being outscored by Miami’s second unit, 27-17.

“Not tentative at all, just had opportunities that weren’t taken advantage of,” Terry simply said after a rare off night.

Meanwhile, James finished with 24 points, Wade registered 22 and Bosh tallied up 19 to go along with 28 boards from the trio, as the Heat out-rebounded the Mavericks, 46-36, including 16 offensive rebounds.

Thanks to the rebounding discrepancy, the Heat overcame an off-shooting night while still bettering Dallas in that department, 38.8 percent to 37.3 percent. And with James knocking down 4-of-5 from long range to add to sixth man Mario Chalmers' 3-of-7, the Heat’s 11-of-24 shooting from behind the 3-point arc after the slow start also outdid the Mavericks’ 9-for-22 from deep at the other end.

"I mean, you hold a team to 38 percent and 92 points, for us that's usually a victory. To score 84 points is very rare for us," Marion said after the Mavs scored two more than their postseason-low. "To get 67 shots as well, even to shoot 37 percent. Most times we shoot 37 percent from the field, the other team is going to shoot lower than that. It was about equal, and we only were able to score 84 points."

“They’re a very good defensive team,” Carlisle added. “It was tough to get shots all night. Both teams shot under 40 percent. That gives you some idea of how difficult good, clean shots are going to be to come by in this series.”

The Mavericks will now try to make the proper adjustments heading into Thursday night’s Game 2, looking to take advantage of a second opportunity to steal the home-court edge before the series shifts to Dallas for three straight games.

“We’re a veteran team, so you can’t get down with a loss. You gotta come back strong on Thursday,” Nowitzki said when looking ahead. “And I’ve said it a couple of times this playoff run, if you’re the road team, you’re happy with a split. So, we’ve got another opportunity on Thursday to go get one. Obviously, we don’t want to go home being down 0-2, which is a hole, so we’d love to go home with a split. We’ve just gotta be a little bit sharper there on Thursday in some areas.”

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Nowitzki injured in Game 1

Nowitzki Injured in Game 1

2011-06-01T05:27:00.000-07:00

MIAMI – For the Dallas Mavericks, the only thing worse than losing Game 1 of The Finals would be an injury to Dirk Nowitzki.

Well…

Nowitzki showed up to his postgame press conference with a bandage on his left middle finger. And when he was asked about it, he revealed that he has a torn tendon in the finger, suffered when he tried to knock the ball out of Chris Bosh‘s hands (and called for a foul) with 3:44 left in the fourth quarter on Tuesday.

“I thought I stripped him clean,” Nowitzki said, “and then I kind of looked down and I couldn’t straighten my finger anymore.”

The good news is that the injury is not on Nowitzki’s shooting hand, and he seemed to downplay it. He said an x-ray taken was negative.

“I guess it will be all right,” he said. “I have to wear a splint probably for the rest of the playoffs, for a couple of weeks. But it will be all right. It’s on my left hand, so I’ll be all right for Thursday.”

LeBron James downplayed it, too.

“Dirk’s right-handed,” James said. “He’ll be all right.”

Nowitzki led the Mavs with 27 points on 7-for-18 shooting in Game 1. He was 1-for-2 from the floor and 2-for-2 from the line after the injury.

“We’ll take 7-for-18 every game we can,” Dwyane Wade said about Nowitzki’s performance. “There’s going to be some nights we’re going to play the same defense and he’s going to hit those shots. We can’t get down about it and guys can’t get frustrated. You understand he’s one of the best scorers and shot-makers that this game has seen.”

Mavericks loud and clear: Bring on the Heat

2011-05-29T22:44:00.000-07:00

DALLAS -- NBA Finals tickets went on sale here Saturday morning.
If the team on the other side of that ticket was anyone other than the Miami Heat, this trip to the NBA Finals wouldn't be the same for the Dallas Mavericks. They wouldn't admit it after locking up the Western Conference crown and their first return ticket to the Finals since falling to the Heat in the championship round in 2006. But this is the matchup they wanted all along.
Dirk Nowitzki's somewhat-muted celebration at the end of that Game 5 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder had everything to do with a potential rematch with the Heat, not that the Mavericks' superstar would admit it or anything.

"Once you get to the Finals, there is no second-place finish," Nowitzki said. "I was already thinking about the Finals, and I know you've got to stay in the moment, obviously ... it's been a long stretch here. After the year we lost in the Finals we came back and won almost 70 games, had a great season and then lost in the first round. That was another tough one. We've been trying to get back to this stage ever since and fell short a bunch of times. But this is a bunch of veterans who want to play and are unselfish. I think that's what makes this group special, everybody sacrificing for each other and we just want to win."
There is no visible scar for Nowitzki or Jason Terry, the only two regulars on the Mavericks' current roster from that 2006 Finals, but it's there, on the souls of this franchise's biggest star and the psyche of a city that you can't mention the words "Mavericks" and "NBA Finals" without mentioning the Heat.
The Mavericks have been running from the ghost of 2006 ever since they melted down just minutes away from a commanding 3-0 lead during that series. Now they are ghost chasers. They have an experienced team of veterans with the skills, mettle and chemistry needed to defeat the Heat, Bulls or any other team the Eastern Conference offered up.
LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh ... the names don't matter to the Mavericks this time around. It's the Heat. A team they handled twice during the regular season without Nowitzki playing the way he is now. They're locked in and ready.
"Our goal is to win four more games no matter who we play in the Finals," Terry said, that tattoo of the Larry O'Brien trophy on the inside of his right bicep serving as a season-long reminder. "This time it's going to be even more special. We're going to leave it all out there on the floor. This is what you play for."
Nowitzki and Terry will have some seasoned help this time around. Jason Kidd, Tyson Chandler, Shawn Marion, Peja Stojakovic, J.J. Barea and Brendan Haywood all have their own redemption stories to write against Miami. They all have playoff pain to remedy in one way or another.
Terry knows each and every story by heart.
"Peja Stojakovic, Sacramento versus LA, he didn't get it done," Terry said. "Myself and Dirk, 2-0, Finals and didn't get it done. Coach (Rick) Carlisle, two Eastern Conference finals, never made it to the championship. Jason Kidd, two Finals appearances, didn't hoist up that trophy. Shawn Marion has been to the Western Conference twice, hasn't gotten to the Finals.
"We all have unique stories," Terry said. "Shawn Marion, Peja, coach Carlisle, Jason Kidd being there twice and not getting it done. Those unique stories are what drive us and motivate us to get it done this year. That's what's driving us. And that's why we're going to try and get it done for all of those guys."
The Mavericks don't have a specific deficiency any team they've faced has been able to exploit consistently. Whatever your method of attack, they've had a solution.
Portland was supposed to be more athletic than them in the first round, but the Mavericks countered that with superior defense, better execution and plenty of late-game firepower from Nowitzki to finish off the Trail Blazers in six games.
The two-time defending champion Los Angeles Lakers were supposed to be better up front and had Kobe Bryant to close games for them in the conference semifinals. The Mavericks countered with diabolical 3-point shooting from the bench, monster efforts from Chandler and Haywood up front and more Nowitzki when it mattered most, sweeping the Lakers into an early summer break.

The Thunder offered up the greatest challenge, Carlisle insists, because they had two stars in two-time scoring champ Kevin Durant and All-NBA point guard Russell Westbrook to deal with and the most athletic and explosive team the Mavericks had faced to that point. The Mavericks punched back with stifling defensive work from Kidd, Marion and DeShawn Stevenson, and once again Nowitzki and crew stayed poised down the stretch to finish off Oklahoma City in five games in the Western Conference finals.
Whatever challenge put before them, the Mavericks have found a way to respond and eventually dominate the situation.
"People have been doubting us from the start," Marion said. "And I've been saying the same things from the start. It's not about them. It's about us. It's about this team and what we're about and what we're trying to do. The past is the past. The 2006 Finals and what went on then, that's not going to help us reach our goal. We've got four more wins to get before we can finish this thing off the way we planned. Four more wins."
Still, this Heat team would appear to be a more difficult challenge than anything the Mavericks have seen thus far.
"We've showed everybody our mental toughness," Terry said. "It's been questioned the last five years. But we're a different team now. And we're not going to settle for less."

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Chicago Bulls-Miami Heat (Game 5)

2011-05-27T08:55:00.000-07:00

After the Bulls routed the Heat in Game 1, Miami has come storming back with three consecutive victories.
LeBron James led the Heat in the team's most recent win with 35 points in a 101-93 overtime victory that gave Miami a commanding 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series.

Miami has used dominant defense and solid team play to overwhelm the Bulls in the last three games. The Heat's Big Three have really come up big in this series, with the trio contributing in key moments on both sides of the floor.

Derrick Rose had a chance to win Game 4 in regulation, but LeBron's defense shut down the league MVP.

After Dwyane Wade struggled in the game, he came alive in overtime, scoring six of his 14 points, as well as two crucial defensive plays that helped give the Heat enough to hand the Bulls their first three-game loosing streak of the season.

Rose has been limited to 36 percent shooting in the series, and that in large part can be attributed to James stellar defense.

Miami has also gotten a big lift from their bench, mainly Mike Miller and Udonis Haslem, who has returned from injury to give the Heat toughness and rebounding that they had previously been lacking.

Miller broke out of his slump to post 12 points and nine rebounds in the midst of his newly born child being in the intensive care unit. Miami will need bench production again if they want to end the series tonight.

Chicago is looking to rebound on their home floor in order to avoid elimination and bring the series back to Miami for a Game 6. They have struggled in the fourth quarter against Miami, who has outscored them by 25 points in games 2-4 in the fourth quarter and overtime.

Game 5 begins at 8:30 pm ET with the Heat keeping the same starting lineup of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, Mike Bibby and Joel Anthony and the Bulls sending out Derrick Rose, Joakim Noah, Luol Deng, Carlos Boozer and Keith Bogans.

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Mike Brown is the New Lakers Head Coach

2011-05-26T00:25:00.000-07:00

Deal is done. Mike Brown and Lakers agree to 4-year, $18.25 million deal. Team option for 4th year. Brown gets $2.5 mil if option not taken

Mike Brown was hired by current San Antonio Spurs head coach Greg Popovich in 2000 as an assistant coach. After winning a championship with the Spurs in 2003, he went to Indiana to be an assistant coach for then head coach Rich Carlisle.
Brown got his first shot at being the head man when he was hired by the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2005 and in 2007 he led the Cavs to the NBA Finals.
In 2009, he was awarded the Coach of the Year, and won over 50 games with the team, four of his five seasons as the head coach of the Cavaliers. Brown went 272-138 (.663) in 5 seasons with Cleveland.
Since being fired by the Cavaliers in 2010, Brown has been an NBA analyst for ESPN. Brown turned 41 years-old in March.

About Mike Brown (Wikipedia)

Dallas Mavericks-Oklahoma Thunder (Game 5)

2011-05-26T00:23:00.000-07:00

The Dallas Mavericks overcame an eight-point deficit in the fourth quarter to reach the NBA finals for only the second time with a 100-96 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder Wednesday.
Dallas clinched the best-of-seven Western Conference Finals series by a 4-1 margin with the thrilling Game Five win and will face either the Miami Heat or the Chicago Bulls in the NBA finals. The Heat lead that series 3-1.
Roared on by their home fans, talisman Dirk Nowitzki, who sealed the triumph with a pair of late free throws, and fellow forward Shawn Marion scored 26 points apiece while Jason Terry weighed in with 12 points off the bench.
Guard Russell Westbrook scored a game-high 31 points for the Thunder, who were unable to prevent the Mavericks from conjuring a second successive come-from-behind win. NBA scoring champion Kevin Durant added 23 points for the visitors.
"They played a small lineup and really tried to jump the game up," Nowitzki told reporters of the Thunder. "They drilled us on transition all night long and you've got to give them credit. They left it all out there today.
"We just had to get some stops down the stretch. We finally got away with a little zone (defense), a little man-to-man, and got some stops. That was big."
After the Mavericks were presented on court with the Western Conference trophy, team owner Mark Cuban said: "All I can tell everybody is: 'We ain't done yet'."
As the fans began chanting: "Beat the Heat, Beat the Heat," Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said courtside: "All of us, including all of our fans, believe. We believe in each other. This is a great moment but we've got a lot of work left."
ROARED BACK
Dallas, who won Game Four 112-105 after overtime in Oklahoma City two days earlier, opened an early six-point lead but the Thunder roared back to lead 27-26 after the first quarter.
The Mavericks twice drew level before the fourth-seeded Thunder edged ahead again to lead 55-53 at halftime.
With James Harden and Nick Collison sparking Oklahoma City's bench, the visitors kept the third seeds under continual pressure to grab a 76-72 advantage going into the final period.
Westbrook landed a two-point jumper to put the Thunder ahead 85-77 for the biggest lead of the night with 9.14 remaining.
However, the Mavericks steadily clawed their way back, and had reduced the deficit to 92-90 with a little under four minutes on the clock following consecutive pairs of free throws from Nowitzki and veteran Marion.
Nowitzki then missed a three-point attempt but Dallas stole the rebound and this time the German made no mistake from beyond the arc to put his team ahead 95-94 with 1.14 left.
"The guys did a great job getting to a loose ball and I said: 'It's now or ever. We've got to go for it.' And I was able to knock it down," Nowitzki said.
The Thunder again lost possession, this time on attack, and Marion burst away to score with a running slam dunk shot, forcing a foul for a bonus free throw to give Dallas a 98-94 lead which they never relinquished.
The Mavericks, who swept the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers in the previous round, reached the NBA finals once before in 2006, when they were beaten 4-2 by the Miami Heat.
"We were right there where we wanted to be but couldn't close out," said Nowitzki who, along with Terry, was part of that Mavericks team. "Miami, they played a heck of a series.
"We are back again and hopefully with a better result now. We've got a bunch of veterans who want to win and play off each other. We will see how it goes

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Chicago Bulls-Miami Heat (Game 4)

2011-05-25T00:51:00.000-07:00

LeBron James led the Miami Heat to their third straight win over the Chicago Bulls to help Miami take a commanding 3-1 lead in the Eastern Conference finals seven-game series.
It was a hard-fought game by both teams with Derrick Rose missing the game-winning shot to send the game went into overtime, where the Heat were able to pull away for the win.

These are the keys to the game.

The probability at this point is undeniable. The team that takes a 3-1 lead wins the series 94 percent of the time. It's hard to see either of these young teams, the Chicago Bulls or the Oklahoma City Thunder, coming back to win their series. It's likely that the Heat and Mavericks will meet in the finals.

Which brings up this point: Both Dirk Nowitzki and LeBron James have been playing like they're on a mission. They are arguably the two greatest players without a ring.

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Dallas Mavericks-Oklahoma Thunder (Game 3)

Dallas Mavericks-Oklahoma Thunder (Game 4)

2011-05-24T10:37:00.000-07:00

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma — Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Kidd used their experiences to guide the Dallas Mavericks to a shocking 112-105 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 4 of the NBA’s Western Conference final Monday night.

“We worked really hard these two games to win, and none of that guarantees anything for Game 5. We know that,” said coach Rick Carlisle.

“All of us involved with this team have been through a lot of these wars,” Carlisle added. “We understand our position that we’re in.

“We respect it. We’re very humble about it. We’ve got to get ourselves revved up and ready for Wednesday, because that’s an opportunity.”

Down big in the last closing quarter of the game, the Mavericks stayed focus and rallied from a 15-point deficit in the final 5 minutes of regulation to pull off the stunning win.
Nowitzki scored 12 of his 40 points in the dramatic fourth quarter comeback, where Dallas used a 17-2 run to force the game into overtime.

“It’s just a bunch of veterans with a lot of unique stories. A lot of guys have been through a lot in this league and have been around forever,” Nowitzki said.

“A bunch of guys have been to the finals. … Ultimately, we have one goal and we came together and fought through some stuff.”

Kidd then hit the go-ahead 3-pointer with 40.3 seconds remaining in overtime and finished with 17 and seven assists in the win that put the Mavericks 3-1 up in the seven game series.

Jason Terry added 20 points, while Shawn Marion was crucial when called on for his defensive skills for Dallas.

Kevin Durant led the way for the Thunder with 29 points and 15 rebounds, while Russell Westbrook added 19 points, eight rebounds and eight assists and Serge Ibaka finished with 18 points, 10 boards and five blocks.

The Thunder also got 12 points apiece from Thabo Sefolosha and Nick Collison, who also grabbed seven boards in a game that James Harden fouled out.

Oklahoma City were suffering their first consecutive losses of the postseason and the first back-to-back home losses in six months.

Game 5 will be Wednesday night in Dallas.

“There’s no doubt it was a tough loss,” Oklahoma City coach Scott Brooks said. “If this loss did not hurt, there’s no such thing as a loss that can hurt you.”

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NBA:Ben Gordon Workout

2011-05-23T16:39:00.000-07:00

Benjamin "Ben" Gordon (born April 4, 1983) is a British American professional basketball player. He currently plays for the Detroit Pistons in the NBA. In college he played both shooting guard and point guard for the University of Connecticut.

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Chicago Bulls-Miami Heat (Game 3)

2011-05-23T15:35:00.000-07:00

For the second consecutive game the Miami Heat have seemingly imposed their will on the Chicago Bulls. The Heat’s speed on the defensive side of the ball, the fact that they switch everything and the success that they’ve had in keeping Derrick Rose out of the lane has given them a 2-1 series lead, winning Game 3 with a final score of 95-86, and Chicago’s decisive victory in Game 1 has long since been forgotten given their play over the last two games.

Chris Bosh, the proverbial whipping boy in Miami this season, turned in yet another outstanding game with 34 points; LeBron James chipped in 22 points, 10 assists and 6 rebounds; and Dwyane Wade contributed 17 points and 9 rebounds. Udonis Haslem, the hero in Game 2, had another solid outing with 8 points and 4 rebounds in 24 minutes of play on the floor, but it was the team defense of the Heat that was the most impressive as they forced Chicago into shooting 41 percent from the field as compared to Miami’s blistering 50 percent.

For the Bulls, it was yet another struggle for Derrick Rose. He contributed 20 points on 8-19 shooting and in the fourth quarter he managed to score just 2 points on 2 field goal attempts. Miami’s scheme to keep him out of the lane has worked exceptionally well and Chicago still hasn’t figured out a way to adjust and make the game easier for him.

Carlos Boozer tuned in his best game of the postseason thus far with 26 points and 17 rebounds, but like Rose, Boozer shot just 8-19 from the field and continued to frustrate fans by missing countless layups at the rim for 3-point play opportunities. It’s hard to imagine a player putting up those kinds of numbers and still having virtually no impact on the game, but that was the case for Boozer in Game 3. Joakim Noah, who pulled a Kobe Bryant by making a homophobic slur directed at a fan behind Chicago’s bench after drawing his second foul in the 1st quarter, may have been amped up a little too much as he turned in a very disappointing line with just 1 point and 5 rebounds. He did have 6 assists in the game, but his contributions were sorely needed on the offensive and rebounding ends.

The loss Sunday night is only the second time this season that Chicago has lost back-to-back games. They’ll be looking to earn a split in Game 4 on Tuesday night in an absolute must-win game. Losing and going down 3-1 in the series to these Miami Heat will effectively mean that their season is over.

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NBA:Brandon Roy Workout

2011-05-23T15:00:00.000-07:00

Brandon Dawayne Roy (born July 23, 1984)is an American professional basketball player for the Portland Trail Blazers of the National Basketball Association. He was selected sixth in the 2006 NBA Draft, having completed four years playing for the Washington Huskies. In 2009, he served as the team's co-captain, along with LaMarcus Aldridge. His nickname is "B-Roy", but he is also referred to as "The Natural" by announcer Brian Wheeler.

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NBA:Greg Oden Workout

2011-05-22T09:07:00.000-07:00

Gregory Wayne Oden, Jr. (born January 22, 1988) is an American basketball player at the center position. Oden is a member of the Portland Trail Blazers of the NBA. Oden played basketball for Ohio State University for one season, during which the team was the Big Ten Champion and the tournament runner-up in the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship.
On June 28, 2007, Oden was selected first overall in the 2007 NBA Draft by the Trail Blazers. He underwent microfracture knee surgery in September 2007, and missed the entire 2007–08 NBA season as a result. He recovered and made his NBA debut on opening night 2008.

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Dallas Mavericks-Oklahoma Thunder (Game 3)

2011-05-22T04:12:00.000-07:00

The Oklahoma City Thunder lost Game 3 to the Dallas Mavericks on Saturday night, 93-87, and this time Russell Westbrook is not the man fans will point their fingers at. However, it will be interesting to see fan’s reactions to the loss since the man to blame for the Thunder’s woes is Kevin Durant.

Kevin Durant is the poster boy for the Oklahoma City Thunder. Even when Russell Westbrook or James Harden or Serge Ibaka is tearing it up on the court, fans still chant “GO KD!” Unfortunately for the Thunder, KD did not answer the fans calls in Oklahoma City on Saturday night and Dallas took a 2-1 lead in the Western Conference Finals.

Kevin Durant only hit 7 of 22 shots on the night and did not hit a single 3 the entire game. The entire Thunder team failed behind the arch, only hitting one from long distance, but Kevin Durant was the one whose misses killed the Thunder. As a matter of fact, the NBA scoring leader only has one 3-pointer in his last 17 attempts.

"I was telling myself after the game, 'It's not like me to miss 12 or 13 threes in a row,'" Durant said after the game. "I get 'em up every day [in practice]. I work on it every day. It's just a matter of me being confident."

After scoring 40 and 24 in the first two games respectively, Kevin Durant finished Game 3 with another 24 point game but ten of those came on free throws and Durant even missed one of those.

"Frustrating," said Durant after the game. "It's tough to start a game, not make shots and you give teams easy baskets. That's like a backbreaker."

Russell Westbrook, on the other hand, rebounded from his ‘benching’ in Game 2 and scored 30 points with four assists and seven rebounds.

However, not all the blame can be laid at the feet of Kevin Durant. Scott Brooks should know by now that the Thunder need their bench to play strong to win games. In Game 3, Brooks played James Harden for 36 minutes and Nick Collison for 24 but that was it, save for short stints by Eric Maynor and Daequan Cook. After relying on the bench to pull out the win on Thursday, they only scored 16 points on Saturday.

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NBA:Corey Brewer workout

2011-05-21T15:24:00.000-07:00

Corey Wayne Brewer (born March 5, 1986) is an American professional basketball player for the Dallas Mavericks. He formerly played small forward for the Florida Gators, where he starred on the men's basketball team which won both the 2006 and 2007 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournaments,as well as the 2005, 2006, and 2007 SEC Tournament. He was named Most Outstanding Player of the 2007 NCAA tournament.Brewer is 6'9" and weighs 188 lbs.

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