And I saw a NFL-like flying tackle against a Pacer player in the highlights. I guess that Heat player was Pittman. That's not just a basketball foul.
New Album & The Beginning of Basketball Season
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Pacers are no saints either. 3 flagrants that game, one of them a Pacer flagrant 1. The Heat's feeling the Heat! Dang Lebron is a tough guy. West just bounced off him.
true, jack. i think it started when harsbrough hit wade. then haslem dished some flying arms at harsbrough. and then pittman. i didnt see the west/lebron tussle but i imagine it's hard to take down lebron, unless it was shaq. and after the game, did i read it right, larry bird said pacers were playing 'soft'. well, that's what changed the '84 finals, when mchale clotheslined rambis. and the series was never the same again.
Momma says never to hit a guy with glasses
unless the guy with glasses was nicknamed 'superman aka clark kent'.
interestingly, rambis succeeded mchale as minnesota timberwolves head coach.
Awwwwww...you guys are woosies! That was just a hard foul
At least that's what all the NBA broadcaster/apologists like Barkely, etc are saying. Just like they were saying that Artest was being picked on because he had a reputation. Gimme a break. He's a cheap shot artist and a thug in basketball uniform. Perhaps he should think about switching sports and going in MMA.
Funny, when I played ball my friends always told me I was in the wrong sport and should be playing Football instead. I'd say our football is soccer so I'll get my sacks wherever I can. LOL.
steve williams
Site Founder, Site Owner, Administrator
KUPCHAK: LAKERS WILL PURSUE TRADES
http://hangtime.blogs.nba.com/2012/05/23/kupchak-lakers-will-pursue-trades/?ls=iref:nbahpt1
http://hangtime.blogs.nba.com/2012/05/23/kupchak-lakers-will-pursue-trades/?ls=iref:nbahpt1
steve williams
Site Founder, Site Owner, Administrator
Parker says Westbrook hasn't faced PG like him yet
SAN ANTONIO (AP) It's the main event of the Western Conference finals: Tony Parker and Russell Westbrook, All-Star point guards having their best seasons yet. One going for a fourth NBA championship, the other still chasing his first.
This is the series where things change.
''We're definitely going to go at him. It's not going to be like Dallas or the Lakers,'' Parker said Wednesday, referring to the first two teams the Oklahoma City Thunder demolished in the playoffs. ''Their point guards are not as aggressive. It's going to be a little bit different. We're going to go at him.''
Parker scored 42 points on the Thunder doing just that already this year.
And, yes - that February showcase still bothers Westbrook.
''A little bit, yeah.''
The rematch begins Sunday.
That gives both the Thunder and San Antonio Spurs - the only teams who occupied first place in the Western Conference since the second week of the season - plenty of rest before for Game 1 between the two most dominating teams of the playoffs so far.
The Spurs have won 18 in a row and swept Utah and the Los Angeles Clippers, winning by an average of nearly 14 points. The Thunder clobbered the defending champion Mavericks in four games and lost just once to the Lakers, when Westbrook averaged 25.6 points opposite Lakers point guard Ramon Sessions.
Against Jason Kidd and the Mavericks, Westbrook averaged 22.2. But as Parker reminded, Westbrook wasn't tasked with chasing or stopping a scorer on the other end of the floor. Now, Westbrook will be playing opposite the Spurs' leading scorer, who is averaging 19.1 points and a career playoff-best 7.1 assists.
It wasn't trash talk from Parker. Moments earlier, he sized up Westbrook as Oklahoma City's ''head of the snake'' and declared that the 23-year-old will be another ''great challenge'' after having just squared off with another elite point guard in Chris Paul.
But going from one All-Star to another is about the only similarity Parker is expecting.
''Chris is more looking to get his teammates involves,'' Parker said. ''Westbrook is going to be taking a lot of shots and be super aggressive.''
Westbrook is 23, an age when Parker had already won two NBA titles. They arrived in the NBA under vastly different circumstances, with the Spurs taking a chance on a then-19-year-old Frenchmen at the bottom of the first round in 2001, and Westbrook getting drafted fourth overall in 2008, three spots behind former MVP Derrick Rose.
Parker walked onto a team already with one championship, and the Spurs mostly needed him to simply be a sidekick during Tim Duncan's prime. Westbrook, on the other hand, needed to team with Kevin Durant and rebuild a franchise that just uprooted from Seattle and was 20-62 the year before.
Now 30 and a one-time NBA Finals MVP, Parker is in position to make Westbrook go through him if the Thunder are going to make the most remarkable franchise turnaround that's possible in a span of just four seasons.
''We're not in this position without Russell's play,'' Thunder coach Scott Brooks said. ''We have a good team but Russell makes us very good with what he does. His talents and his skills and his work ethic and his determination, sometimes it's hard to control. ''
That's where Russell can be the anti-Parker: emotional and excited in celebration, but at other times temperamental. Westbrook was whistled for 10 technical fouls this season - only six other NBA players had more. Parker not only hasn't been hit with a technical foul all season, but Westbrook has three more technicals than all of the Spurs combined.
But Brooks isn't asking Westbrook to change at this stage of the season.
''We definitely need Russell to play with the passion that he does,'' Brooks said. ''You can't get frustrated if a guy scores on you. You have to stay within what we do but you have to have that passion. It should eat at you. You should get frustrated if somebody scores on you, if the defense breaks down and you don't feel like you did a good enough job to prevent them from scoring.''
Such was the case in February, when Parker scored a season-high 42 and had nine assists. Westbrook, who scored 18, recalled three months later that the Thunder just ''let them do what they wanted to do.''
Not even the Spurs are counting on that again.
''He had an unbelievable night,'' Spurs guard Manu Ginobili said. ''But erase it. It doesn't carry. This is a different story. We're starting from scratch.''
SAN ANTONIO (AP) It's the main event of the Western Conference finals: Tony Parker and Russell Westbrook, All-Star point guards having their best seasons yet. One going for a fourth NBA championship, the other still chasing his first.
This is the series where things change.
''We're definitely going to go at him. It's not going to be like Dallas or the Lakers,'' Parker said Wednesday, referring to the first two teams the Oklahoma City Thunder demolished in the playoffs. ''Their point guards are not as aggressive. It's going to be a little bit different. We're going to go at him.''
Parker scored 42 points on the Thunder doing just that already this year.
And, yes - that February showcase still bothers Westbrook.
''A little bit, yeah.''
The rematch begins Sunday.
That gives both the Thunder and San Antonio Spurs - the only teams who occupied first place in the Western Conference since the second week of the season - plenty of rest before for Game 1 between the two most dominating teams of the playoffs so far.
The Spurs have won 18 in a row and swept Utah and the Los Angeles Clippers, winning by an average of nearly 14 points. The Thunder clobbered the defending champion Mavericks in four games and lost just once to the Lakers, when Westbrook averaged 25.6 points opposite Lakers point guard Ramon Sessions.
Against Jason Kidd and the Mavericks, Westbrook averaged 22.2. But as Parker reminded, Westbrook wasn't tasked with chasing or stopping a scorer on the other end of the floor. Now, Westbrook will be playing opposite the Spurs' leading scorer, who is averaging 19.1 points and a career playoff-best 7.1 assists.
It wasn't trash talk from Parker. Moments earlier, he sized up Westbrook as Oklahoma City's ''head of the snake'' and declared that the 23-year-old will be another ''great challenge'' after having just squared off with another elite point guard in Chris Paul.
But going from one All-Star to another is about the only similarity Parker is expecting.
''Chris is more looking to get his teammates involves,'' Parker said. ''Westbrook is going to be taking a lot of shots and be super aggressive.''
Westbrook is 23, an age when Parker had already won two NBA titles. They arrived in the NBA under vastly different circumstances, with the Spurs taking a chance on a then-19-year-old Frenchmen at the bottom of the first round in 2001, and Westbrook getting drafted fourth overall in 2008, three spots behind former MVP Derrick Rose.
Parker walked onto a team already with one championship, and the Spurs mostly needed him to simply be a sidekick during Tim Duncan's prime. Westbrook, on the other hand, needed to team with Kevin Durant and rebuild a franchise that just uprooted from Seattle and was 20-62 the year before.
Now 30 and a one-time NBA Finals MVP, Parker is in position to make Westbrook go through him if the Thunder are going to make the most remarkable franchise turnaround that's possible in a span of just four seasons.
''We're not in this position without Russell's play,'' Thunder coach Scott Brooks said. ''We have a good team but Russell makes us very good with what he does. His talents and his skills and his work ethic and his determination, sometimes it's hard to control. ''
That's where Russell can be the anti-Parker: emotional and excited in celebration, but at other times temperamental. Westbrook was whistled for 10 technical fouls this season - only six other NBA players had more. Parker not only hasn't been hit with a technical foul all season, but Westbrook has three more technicals than all of the Spurs combined.
But Brooks isn't asking Westbrook to change at this stage of the season.
''We definitely need Russell to play with the passion that he does,'' Brooks said. ''You can't get frustrated if a guy scores on you. You have to stay within what we do but you have to have that passion. It should eat at you. You should get frustrated if somebody scores on you, if the defense breaks down and you don't feel like you did a good enough job to prevent them from scoring.''
Such was the case in February, when Parker scored a season-high 42 and had nine assists. Westbrook, who scored 18, recalled three months later that the Thunder just ''let them do what they wanted to do.''
Not even the Spurs are counting on that again.
''He had an unbelievable night,'' Spurs guard Manu Ginobili said. ''But erase it. It doesn't carry. This is a different story. We're starting from scratch.''
Spurs will be a real test for OKC, just like how Dallas tested them last year in the Western Finals. Spurs have proven veterans like Duncan, Parker and Manu, just like Dallas had in Dirk, Kidd, and Terry. What OKC has to demonstrate now is their will to win. They have virtually the same line-up as last year, so it's the hunger factor that will carry them through. It's tough to win in the the Spurs home court. And if it becomes 2-0 early, OKC will feel the pressure as any one loss at home will put them down 1-3. OKC has to think with a killer road warrior mentality. Match ups to me are pretty even and while Parker can score bundles, I can't see how he can stop or limit Wesbrook's shooting. I'd like to see OKC do a split in the first 2 games and it will be a good sign.
Boston advances to meet the Heat. While I'm happy for their feat, it will be a tall order to beat the Heat with this kind of a tattered lineup from the C's. That Rondo saved them today is just one game he played fantastically in scoring the 4th quarter points needed to win, but the C's gotta need more than that to beat the Heat. They need consistent contributors and not just fantatic one gamers from either of the big four. The duo of James and Wade have been great in the last few games and it would be a big challenge to stop them, specially when the C's have no one really to stop them. What the C's have though is heart. They will play their hearts out, and it will spell what is the possibly the end of the Big 3 or 4 era, win or lose.
Agreed. Raja Rondo is IMHO a superstar that he is not acknowledged as such is a mystery to me... The man is a short (relatively speaking) 6 feet tall and rebounds like the best centers, his basketball IQ is immense .. If the Celtics are the real Cs they will rebuild the around him. No Raja Rondo and the Celtics wouldn't be here .. In my book one of the two best Point Guards in the NBA the other is Chris Paul and to me it is a toss-up. I would take Rondo over Devon Williams
I don't think the Cs can beat the Heat ... Heat in 6
Well, Frantz, Boston needs to win at least a game in MIA or even 2 to make it interesting. I heard some analyst saying Boston will not just allow Wade or James to each score 40 points via their team defense. And another analyst pointed out that Miami's last 3 wins over IND was due to 2 players. Time for the C's to play spoilers in James' quest for Kingship. Boston needs a lot of luck in this series, and maybe surprise performers each game.
steve williams
Site Founder, Site Owner, Administrator
WOODSON SHEDS INTERIM TAG, SIGNS EXTENSION WITH KNICKS
HANG TIME PLAYOFF HEADQUARTERS – Someone can go ahead and print up those new business cards for Mike Woodson, who shed the interim tag and officially became the head coach of the New York Knicks today after signing a multi-year extension.
Retaining the coach that led the Knicks out of their midseason mess and into the playoffs promises to be just the first of what should be many important steps for the franchise this summer. They have free agents to deal with, namely a guy named Jeremy Lin, and other matters to sort out after winning their first playoff game since 2001 on Woodson’s watch.
The former Hawks coach and former Knicks draft pick replaced Mike D’Antoni in March and guided to the Knicks to an 18-6 finish to the regular season, earning the No. 7 seed in the Eastern Conference playoff race and a date with the Miami Heat in the first round. They only lasted five games against LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and the Heat. But they played without Lin and with an ailing Tyson Chandler, the KIA Defensive Player of the Year, not to mention Amar’e Stoudemire playing with an injured hand to finish the series.
Woodson was rewarded as much for the work he did getting to the Knicks to the playoffs as he was anything else. They were headed for next week’s lottery before he took over for D’Antoni, who resigned March 14.
“Mike has the respect of every person in this organization,” Knicks general manager Glen Grunwald said in a statement. “He and his staff led the team in an impressive push into the playoffs over the last 24 games and we believe he is the right man to lead the franchise as we move forward.”
It’s hard to argue that point, given the way Woodson was able to steer the Knicks out of a tumultuous stretch of their season and into the playoffs. He also was able to get All-NBA forward Carmelo Anthony back in a groove after the “Linsanity” craze and the inevitable slump that came after that surge.
Woodson might not be the big name Knicks fans have gotten used to in recent years — Pat Riley, Isiah Thomas, Larry Brown, D’Antoni — and he’s probably not the former Knick they were hoping would come home to rescue the franchise, that would be one Phil Jackson. But he is the coach whose hard work helped rescue them this season. And that was clearly taken into account by the organization.
You could also make the argument that he’s exactly what the Knicks need right now, as a coach who won’t make headlines for anything other than his team’s performance on the floor.
“Mike took over the team under challenging circumstances and made it clear, starting on day one, that he was going to hold every player on our roster accountable,” Madison Square Garden chairman James Dolan said. “We saw a significant improvement since Mike took over and believe our team will only keep improving under Mike’s direction.”
Woodson has extensive history presiding over a rebuilding project. In six turbulent seasons in Atlanta his Hawks teams improved each and every season, going from the worst record in the league his first season to making the playoffs in each of his final three seasons and winning 53 games in his final campaign.
So Woodson’s is no stranger to the process the Knicks will undergo this summer and in the near future trying to build a contender basically from the ground up. He’s certainly starting off on much more solid ground this time around with Anthony, Chandler and Stoudemire as his core pieces to build around.
“I’m very humbled and honored to continue coaching the franchise where I started my NBA career,” Woodson, who was drafted by the Knicks in 1980, said in a statement. “Our goal is to build off the success we had at the end of last season and to continue our quest of bringing an NBA championship to Madison Square Garden.”
Much will be made of Woodson’s paltry .363 playoff winning percentage and the fact that he’s not Jackson or some other marquee name that would have lit up Broadway the moment he stepped to the podium to be introduced as the Knicks’ new boss. But don’t let his 224-292 career coaching record fool you. He’s a much better coach than those numbers indicate. When given comparable talent to work with, Woodson-coached teams have made the playoffs in each of his last four seasons calling the shots.
In a bottom line league that always recognizes what could be but rewards what really is, Woodson is the right man for the job.
HANG TIME PLAYOFF HEADQUARTERS – Someone can go ahead and print up those new business cards for Mike Woodson, who shed the interim tag and officially became the head coach of the New York Knicks today after signing a multi-year extension.
Retaining the coach that led the Knicks out of their midseason mess and into the playoffs promises to be just the first of what should be many important steps for the franchise this summer. They have free agents to deal with, namely a guy named Jeremy Lin, and other matters to sort out after winning their first playoff game since 2001 on Woodson’s watch.
The former Hawks coach and former Knicks draft pick replaced Mike D’Antoni in March and guided to the Knicks to an 18-6 finish to the regular season, earning the No. 7 seed in the Eastern Conference playoff race and a date with the Miami Heat in the first round. They only lasted five games against LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and the Heat. But they played without Lin and with an ailing Tyson Chandler, the KIA Defensive Player of the Year, not to mention Amar’e Stoudemire playing with an injured hand to finish the series.
Woodson was rewarded as much for the work he did getting to the Knicks to the playoffs as he was anything else. They were headed for next week’s lottery before he took over for D’Antoni, who resigned March 14.
“Mike has the respect of every person in this organization,” Knicks general manager Glen Grunwald said in a statement. “He and his staff led the team in an impressive push into the playoffs over the last 24 games and we believe he is the right man to lead the franchise as we move forward.”
It’s hard to argue that point, given the way Woodson was able to steer the Knicks out of a tumultuous stretch of their season and into the playoffs. He also was able to get All-NBA forward Carmelo Anthony back in a groove after the “Linsanity” craze and the inevitable slump that came after that surge.
Woodson might not be the big name Knicks fans have gotten used to in recent years — Pat Riley, Isiah Thomas, Larry Brown, D’Antoni — and he’s probably not the former Knick they were hoping would come home to rescue the franchise, that would be one Phil Jackson. But he is the coach whose hard work helped rescue them this season. And that was clearly taken into account by the organization.
You could also make the argument that he’s exactly what the Knicks need right now, as a coach who won’t make headlines for anything other than his team’s performance on the floor.
“Mike took over the team under challenging circumstances and made it clear, starting on day one, that he was going to hold every player on our roster accountable,” Madison Square Garden chairman James Dolan said. “We saw a significant improvement since Mike took over and believe our team will only keep improving under Mike’s direction.”
Woodson has extensive history presiding over a rebuilding project. In six turbulent seasons in Atlanta his Hawks teams improved each and every season, going from the worst record in the league his first season to making the playoffs in each of his final three seasons and winning 53 games in his final campaign.
So Woodson’s is no stranger to the process the Knicks will undergo this summer and in the near future trying to build a contender basically from the ground up. He’s certainly starting off on much more solid ground this time around with Anthony, Chandler and Stoudemire as his core pieces to build around.
“I’m very humbled and honored to continue coaching the franchise where I started my NBA career,” Woodson, who was drafted by the Knicks in 1980, said in a statement. “Our goal is to build off the success we had at the end of last season and to continue our quest of bringing an NBA championship to Madison Square Garden.”
Much will be made of Woodson’s paltry .363 playoff winning percentage and the fact that he’s not Jackson or some other marquee name that would have lit up Broadway the moment he stepped to the podium to be introduced as the Knicks’ new boss. But don’t let his 224-292 career coaching record fool you. He’s a much better coach than those numbers indicate. When given comparable talent to work with, Woodson-coached teams have made the playoffs in each of his last four seasons calling the shots.
In a bottom line league that always recognizes what could be but rewards what really is, Woodson is the right man for the job.
I think they got the right man. He's hungry and anyone who played for Bobby Knight has the right pedigree (ok with one exception).
I think Rondo's had holes in his game in the past. I think he's worked hard and proved critics wrong. Now it's time to reap the rewards.
Still have some holes .. So did Magic Johnson, he had to develop a mid-range shot (the baby hook) and a jumper after the debacle of 1984 (85) ... He was called for a while Tragic Johnson... Rondo is not perfect but how good is he? Immensely talented and a cold-blooded , fearless leader ... I would love him on my team and so would all the GMs who don't have Paul or Williams as their PG ....
steve williams
Site Founder, Site Owner, Administrator
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