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Heat Outlast Wizards at Home as Dwyane Wade Puts Up 41 Points

February 26, 2011   Surya Fernandez   No comments

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Dwyane WadeMIAMI — The Miami Heat got back to their winning ways after a tough loss to the Chicago Bulls the night before with a tougher than expected 121-113 victory over the Washington Wizards on Friday night. Competing on the second night of a back-to-back set, the Heat looked a bit sluggish in the opening quarter of the game as the Wizards looked nothing like a team who have only managed one road victory in 29 games. The surprisingly tough victory made it seven wins in a row at home and placed the Heat a half-game behind the Boston Celtics for the Eastern Conference lead.

Wade red hot from the field

Dwyane Wade got it going in the second quarter scoring 18 of his team’s first 19 points with 9 straight baskets, enabling the Heat to score more than twice as many points as they did in the first quarter. Wade’s 41 points came off a season high 18 field goals out of 27 attempts, though oddly enough he was wobbly from the free throw line going 3-for-9. In his finest moments, he was unstoppable as he attacked the basket while also effortlessly draining shots from all over the field including a pair of three-pointers.

“I hit some jump shots and that opened up my game,” Wade explained. “I finally got it going and at the same time we needed to get back and get the lead so it was kind of one of those moments.”

Wall impressive in his debut against the Heat

Even with Wade’s offensive explosion, both teams played mostly even in the first half and deep into the third quarter as a result of Wizards guard Nick Young‘s 38 points along with prized rookie John Wall‘s 24 points and 12 assists. It was Wall’s first game against the Heat due to injuries holding him back the first two games of the season series.

 

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Blake Griffin Jumps Over a Car, Wins 2011 Sprite Slam Dunk Contest

February 19, 2011   Brett Pollakoff   No comments

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Blake Griffin dunks over car

LOS ANGELES — Blake Griffin jumped over a car.

The epic and somewhat ridiculous dunk by the Clippers rookie in the contest’s final round capped a memorable 2011 Sprite Slam Dunk contest, and was more than enough to earn Griffin the event’s championship trophy.

It went down like this: a silver Kia with tinted windows was rolled out onto the floor, with the hood of the car positioned in the paint. A choir was brought out at the other end of the court, and sang before the dunk was attempted. The head of Griffin’s teammate, Baron Davis, appeared out of the vehicle’s sunroof, and he was holding a basketball. Griffin got a running start, leaped into the air while clearing the car with ease, and caught a pass from Davis which he slammed home with two hands, bringing his team’s home-town, L.A.crowd to a fever pitch.

Like I said: Ridiculous.

“It was actually my idea to use the car,” Griffin said. “When they first came to me with the dunk contest idea, they said there was no rules. I was like, ‘So I can jump over a car?’, kind of playing around. He was like, ‘Yeah.’ And I was like, ‘Oh, maybe I have to do it now.’ “

The car was the last and greatest prop used in this year’s contest, but it wasn’t the first.

 

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John Wall Sets Rookie Challenge Record With 22 Assists, Wins Game MVP

February 18, 2011   Brett Pollakoff   No comments

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John WallLOS ANGELES — The 2011 T-Mobile Rookie Challenge started off slowly, with neither team displaying much energy and not too many thrills to be had early. But by the time it was over, Blake Griffin had some thunderous dunks and John Wall handed out a game-record 22 assists in leading the Rookies to a 148-140 win over the Sophomores.

“I was keeping count through the whole game,” Wall said of his assists. “I asked before the game what the assist record was and throughout the game my teammates were telling me, ‘it’s four away’ or ‘it’s five away’. After I got it, we were just trying to get the win.”

The MVP wasn’t Wall’s going away, however, as both DeJuan Blair and DeMarcus Cousins seemed to be after the prize, especially late in the second half when they seemed to be dueling directly against one another.

Blair was aggressive from the very start, seemingly thrilled to be free of the disciplined and restrictive San Antonio system, and shooting almost every time he touched the ball. Cousins, meanwhile, was on the receiving end of more than one spectacular pass from Wall, his former college teammate at the University of Kentucky.

Blair finished the night with 28 points on 14-of-21 shooting, to go along with 15 rebounds. Cousins finished 33 and 14. But the game’s signature highlight belonged to neither of them.

 

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Video: John Wall’s High Bounce Alley-Oop to Blake Griffin

February 18, 2011   Brett Pollakoff   No comments

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LOS ANGELES — As you might expect, defense was fairly non-existent in the 2011 T-Mobile Rookie Challenge. There were plenty of highlight dunks of course, but the one that clearly stood out among the rest was this ridiculous jam from Blake Griffin, off a high, hard bounce pass from the Wizards John Wall.

 

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2011 T-Mobile Rookie Challenge: Live Blog

February 18, 2011   Brett Pollakoff   No comments

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LOS ANGELES — DeMarcus Cousins and John Wall will be reunited as teammates for the first time since their days together at the University of Kentucky, as the Rookies will look to take down the Sophomores for the second consecutive year at the 2011 T-Mobile Rookie challenge.

We’ll be live inside Staples Center, and believe me, it’s not as glamorous as it sounds — between the screaming kids and the occasional intense flashing of the strobe lights, if we make it out without suffering a seizure, we’ll consider the night a success.

Arena experience aside, the game itself is always a good time. So join us right here for all the action, beginning at 9 p.m. ET.

 

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The Works: Midseason Matters

February 17, 2011   Bethlehem Shoals and Eric Freeman   No comments

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Today in The Works: Who will win the awards?

Who Gets The Gold?

Eric Freeman: It seems like the voters often decide on their MVP several months before the season ends, so this is as good a time as any. LeBron James has the Heat riding high after a shaky start, and he could end up the winner. But it seems like Derrick Rose‘s year — he’s stepped his game up and the Bulls are looking like contenders. Sometimes, that’s enough to win this award.

Bethlehem Shoals: It seems like everybody is riding high, the way you talk about it. Look, I’m going to give it to you straight: LeBron James is the best player in the game. And after that shaky start, he’s really made that Heat team his own, or at least found a way to assert himself so that every lesser player — including that dynamo Dwyane Wade — ends up following his rhythms. And that’s not a bad thing. James, contrary to popular belief, isn’t a selfish jerk, he does a lot of things on the court and only really takes over when it’s execution time. Derrick Rose? You’ve lost it. Nice year, nice team, but they aren’t there yet. It’s called Most Valuable, not Most Improved.

 

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Wizards End 25-Game Road Losing Streak

February 13, 2011   FanHouse Newswire   No comments

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CLEVELAND (AP) — John Wall raised his arms triumphantly and checked the scoreboard one last time to make sure it showed all zeros.

At last, the rookie knew how it felt to win an NBA road game.

“Like Christmas,” Wall said.

Nick Young scored 31 points, Wall added 19 with 14 assists and the Washington Wizards snapped a 25-game road winless streak to start the season with a 115-100 win Sunday night over the Cleveland Cavaliers, who one game after ending their own historic losing streak fell back on bad habits.

Inspired by a speech over Sunday morning breakfast from coach Flip Saunders, the Wizards built a 25-point lead in the third quarter, held on as Cleveland clawed back within 11 in the fourth and got their first victory away from home since April 9 at Boston.

 

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NBA’s 2011 Rookie Challenge Rosters Set

February 01, 2011   FanHouse Staff   No comments

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Tyreke EvansIn last year’s Rookie Challenge, Tyreke Evans led his first-year teammates to a surprise upset, earning MVP honors while ending a seven-year reign by the Sophomores.

Can Evans improve to 2-0 in the All-Star weekend event? Or will Blake Griffin, the No. 1 draft pick in 2009 whose rookie year was postponed a year due to injury, lead his squad to victory?

The NBA officially unveiled its nine-man rosters for the 2011 Rookie Challenge, and Evans will be joined by San Antonio Spurs center DeJuan Blair (who grabbed 23 rebounds in last year’s affair), Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry, Toronto Raptors guard DeMar DeRozan (snubbed from last year’s Rookie roster), Chicago Bulls forward Taj Gibson, Philadelphia 76ers guard Jrue Holiday, Oklahoma City Thunder forward/center Serge Ibaka, Milwaukee Bucks guard Brandon Jennings and Portland Trail Blazers guard Wesley Matthews.

Joining Griffin on the Rookies’ roster is fellow No. 1 draft pick John Wall and Clippers teammate Eric Bledsoe, as well as Sacramento Kings center DeMarcus Cousins, New Jersey Nets forward Derrick Favors, New York Knicks guard Landry Fields, Minnesota Timberwolves guard Wesley Johnson, Detroit Pistons center Greg Monroe and San Antonio Spurs guard Gary Neal.

The head coaches for the Rookie Challenge consist of the lead assistants for the 2011 All-Star Game. Since the Spurs have already locked up Gregg Popovich’s spot coaching the West, San Antonio’s Mike Budenholzer will guide the Rookies. He’ll be joined on the sidelines by Amar’e Stoudemire and NBA TV/TNT analyst Kevin McHale. The Celtics secured the top spot in the East with a 95-90 win in Sacramento on Tuesday, meaning Doc Rivers will coach the East and Lawrence Frank will coach the Sophomores. Frank will be assisted by Carmelo Anthony and TNT analyst Steve Kerr.

The 2011 Rookie Challenge will be televised by TNT at 9 p.m. ET on Friday, Feb. 18.

– Updated to reflect Doc Rivers being officially named the East’s coach.

 

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The Works: LeBron James Does Battle With Himself

January 18, 2011   Bethlehem Shoals and Eric Freeman   No comments

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Today in The Works: rethinking positions and All-Star voting; dream analysis and the Washington Wizards; and we explore the Kevin Love-Blake Griffin rivalry.

But first, LeBron James’ latest Twitter disasters.

Will LeBron James Ever Learn?

LeBron James had himself some interesting Tuesday and Wednesday nights last week. As you’ve likely heard by now, near the end of Tuesday night’s atrocious 112-57 loss by the Cavs against the Lakers, the franchise’s one-time savior tweeted the following: “Crazy. Karma is a b****.. Gets you every time. Its not good to wish bad on anybody. God sees everything!” It seemed, at the time, like a case of someone kicking the team when it was down, rubbing their face in their own failure while at the same time shaming them for ever claiming they could live without LeBron. Never mind that LeBron’s response was at least partially justified by Dan Gilbert’s childish response to his departure. No matter the circumstances, James was just being a little mean.

Of course, according to LeBron, this was all some huge misunderstanding. On Wednesday night, James clarified things by claiming he had no intent to hurt anyone’s feelings with the tweet and was merely passing along some sage words of advice from a friend. If you believe LeBron’s explanation, then he was just being a fount of wisdom rather than a bully. No one could blame you for thinking this was a poorly disguised attempt to save face, but his response is his response.

I honestly don’t care much if LeBron was lying or not, because the tweet itself indicates a bizarre personality trait that’s only really been noticed since the “Decision” mess turned public opinion against him. In short, James is decidedly tone-deaf to the ebbs and flows of public opinion and often doesn’t consider the contexts in which his words operate, even if he doesn’t intend to harm anyone.

 

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Charley Rosen: John Wall, DeMarcus Cousins Talented but Unfinished

January 11, 2011   Charley Rosen   No comments

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John WallIn a sloppy but exciting game between two of the worst teams in the NBA, the hometown Wizards bested the Kings 136-133 in overtime. There were an abundance of story lines in the contest: Nick Young‘s career-high 43 points. Washington’s several backcourt turnovers that were responsible for their blowing a six-point lead with 13 seconds left in regulation. Kirk Hinrich finally putting the game on ice by scoring five big points and coming up with a steal in the waning moments of the extra period.

But the focus here is on another intriguing subplot: the performances of each team’s blue-chip rookie. For the Wiz, John Wall, the top pick of last spring’s draft. For the visitors, DeMarcus Cousins, the league’s fifth pick.

Last season, Wall and Cousins were freshman teammates at Kentucky. Now they represent the futures of their respective pro squads, even as the latter has already gained an unsavory reputation for being a knucklehead.

Which one has made the most progress? Which has the most potential?

 

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