May 12, 2011 – NBA Blog – NBA Basketball Blog

2011 NBA Eastern Conference Finals is Miami Heat vs Chicago Bulls

Thursday night in Atlanta the Chicago Bulls eliminated the Hawks in six games. Winners of an NBA-best 62 regular season games, the Bulls now advance to the 2011 Eastern Conference Finals where they will face the Miami Heat (who won 58 regular season games).

To reach the Conference Finals, the Heat eliminated the Boston Celtics in five games.

Here is the complete series schedule (all times Eastern / ET)

Game 1 – Sun May 15 Miami at Chicago 8:00PM TNT/R
Game 2 – Wed May 18 Miami at Chicago 8:30PM TNT/R
Game 3 – Sun May 22 Chicago at Miami 8:30PM TNT/R
Game 4 – Tue May 24 Chicago at Miami 8:30PM TNT/R
Game 5 * Thu May 26 Miami at Chicago 8:30PM TNT/R
Game 6 * Sat May 28 Chicago at Miami 8:30PM TNT/R
Game 7 * Mon May 30 Miami at Chicago 8:30PM TNT/R

Discuss the upcoming Heat vs Bulls series in this forum topic.

Chicago NBC sports anchor Daryl Hawks found dead in Atlanta

A tragedy in the Chicago sports media world has developed.

WGN News reports:

A sportscaster for NBC 5 Chicago was found dead in a hotel room this morning in Atlanta.

Daryl Hawks was covering the NBA playoff game between the Chicago Bulls and Atlanta Hawks, in Atlanta.

NBC Chicago reports:

“We are all stunned right now. Daryl was a great member of our sports team, and was so excited about covering the Bulls during this playoff run,” said Frank Whittaker, Station Manager and Vice President of News.

Hawks was 38 years old. He was a three-time Emmy Winner and former Marine.

We’re sorry for Daryl’s friends, family as well as his station and co-workers.

Read fan reaction and share your own opinion in this forum topic.

2010-11 All-NBA Teams named

Derrick Rose of the Chicago Bulls, the 2010-11 NBA Most Valuable Player, and LeBron James of the Miami Heat, winner of the two previous MVP awards, highlight the 2010-11 All-NBA First Team. James was the lone unanimous choice, receiving all 119 first-place votes. Joining James and Rose on the First Team are Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers, Kevin Durant of the Oklahoma City Thunder and Dwight Howard of the Orlando Magic.

Earning his first All-NBA team selection, Rose led the Bulls to an NBA-best 62-20 mark. He averaged team highs of 25.0 points and 7.7 assists to go along with 4.1 rebounds, becoming only the seventh player in NBA history to average at least 25.0 points, 7.5 assists and 4.0 rebounds. Rose was the only player in the NBA to rank in the top 10 in scoring (seventh) and assists (10th).

James, who earns First Team honors for the fourth straight season and fifth time overall, was second in the NBA in scoring (26.7 ppg), and averaged team highs in assists (7.0 apg) and steals (1.57 spg) to go along with 7.5 rpg. James became the first player in history to surpass the 2,000-point, 500-rebound, 500-assist and 100-steal marks in four consecutive seasons.

Howard, an All-NBA First Team selection for the fourth consecutive season, earned the 2010-11 NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award, becoming the first player to win the award three straight seasons. He led the league with 66 double-doubles, while ranking second in rebounds (14.1 rpg) and fourth in blocks (2.38 bpg). Howard also averaged a career-high 22.9 points.

Bryant, an All-NBA First Team selection for the sixth straight season and ninth time in his career, finished fifth in the league in scoring (25.3 ppg), while averaging 5.1 rebounds and 4.7 assists. Among active players, Bryant is tied with the San Antonio Spurs’ Tim Duncan for most First Team selections.

Durant earns his second All-NBA First Team selection. Durant led the league in scoring (27.7 ppg) for the second consecutive year, to go along with 6.8 rebounds and 2.7 assists. Durant scored at least 40 in a league-high five games this season.

The All-NBA Second Team consists of guards Dwyane Wade of the Miami Heat and Russell Westbrook of the Oklahoma City Thunder, forwards Pau Gasol of the Los Angeles Lakers and Dirk Nowitzki of the Dallas Mavericks, and center Amar’e Stoudemire of the New York Knicks.

The All-NBA Third Team includes the San Antonio Spurs’ Manu Ginobili and the New Orleans Hornets’ Chris Paul at guard, the Portland Trail Blazers’ LaMarcus Aldridge and the Memphis Grizzlies’ Zach Randolph at forward, and the Atlanta Hawks’ Al Horford at center.

The All-NBA Teams were chosen by a panel of 119 sportswriters and broadcasters throughout the United States and Canada. The media voted for All-NBA First, Second and Third Teams by position with points awarded on a 5-3-1 basis.

Below are the results of the voting for the 2010-11 All-NBA Teams, with First Team votes in parentheses:

2010-11 ALL-NBA FIRST TEAM

Position Player, Team (1st Team Votes) Points
Forward LeBron James, Miami (119) 595
Forward Kevin Durant, Oklahoma City (69) 492
Center Dwight Howard, Orlando (118) 593
Guard Kobe Bryant, L.A. Lakers (98) 551
Guard Derrick Rose, Chicago (118) 593

2010-11 ALL-NBA SECOND TEAM

Position Player, Team (1st Team Votes) Points
Forward Pau Gasol, L.A. Lakers (2) 259
Forward Dirk Nowitzki, Dallas (47) 437
Center Amar’e Stoudemire, New York (2) 258
Guard Dwyane Wade, Miami (24) 392
Guard Russell Westbrook, Oklahoma City 184

2010-11 ALL-NBA THIRD TEAM

Position Player, Team (1st Team Votes) Points
Forward LaMarcus Aldridge, Portland 135
Forward Zach Randolph, Memphis 67
Center Al Horford, Atlanta 62
Guard Manu Ginobili, San Antonio 106
Guard Chris Paul, New Orleans 157

Other players receiving votes, with point totals (first team votes in parentheses): Rajon Rondo, Boston, 68; Paul Pierce, Boston, 55; Carmelo Anthony, Denver-New York, 53; Kevin Love, Minnesota, 48; Tim Duncan, San Antonio, 43; Blake Griffin, L.A. Clippers, 36; Tony Parker, San Antonio, 27; Kevin Garnett, Boston, 22; Deron Williams, Utah-New Jersey 19; Steve Nash, Phoenix, 17; Andrew Bogut, Milwaukee, 13; Monta Ellis, Golden State, 11; Nene, Denver, 11; Andrew Bynum, L.A. Lakers, 9; Kevin Martin, Houston, 7; Tyson Chandler, Dallas, 7; Joakim Noah, Chicago, 5; Marc Gasol, Memphis, 3; Al Jefferson, Utah, 3; Kendrick Perkins, Boston-Oklahoma City, 3; Andrea Bargnani, Toronto, 2; Chris Bosh, Miami, 2; Andre Iguodala, Philadelphia, 1; Emeka Okafor, New Orleans, 1; Eric Gordon, L.A. Clippers, 1; Gerald Wallace, Charlotte-Portland, 1; Jason Kidd, Dallas, 1; Luis Scola, Houston, 1; Luol Deng, Chicago, 1; Ray Allen, Boston, 1.

Read fan reaction and discuss your own opinion in this forum topic.

Maloofs agree to show Kings financial data to arena task force

Tony Bizjak of the Sacramento Bee reports:

Sacramento Kings co-owner George Maloof said Wednesday he has agreed to make team financial data available to a city-commissioned group studying ways to finance a new sports and entertainment facility.

That group, headed by national arena builder ICON Venue Group and downtown Sacramento developer David Taylor, is due to present an arena feasibility study to the City Council on May 26.

Team officials previously refused to provide business data for the study.

Hornets season ticket sales on rise

The AP reports:

Despite uncertainty about the Hornets’ ownership, how long they’ll be in New Orleans, or even if there’ll be an NBA season in 2011-12, support for the club appears to be building among fans and businesses in Louisiana.

The club has sold about 8,000 full-season tickets for 2011-12, up from about 6,300 when the 2010-11 season began.

“Being ahead of where we were last year is really a good sign considering that we’re at the beginning of May,” said Matt Biggers, the Hornets’ senior vice president of marketing. “We still have a lot of work to do because we want to get to 10,000 (season tickets), so we’re going to keep working hard all offseason to get to that number.” …

The Hornets have set their season ticket goal at 10,000 because that is about what they had in 2008-09, the last time the club turned a profit. Attendance averaged just under 17,000 that season, compared to just more than 14,700 this season, which ranked 26th in the NBA out of 30 clubs.

For sale: Seats from Madison Square Garden

Over the next few summers, Madison Square Garden is renovating. It’ll look pretty different next Knicks season, and vastly different a year later. So naturally there’s plenty of stuff in MSG worth collecting (or throwing out, depending on how big a fan you are). Here’s the info:

The Madison Square Garden Company and Steiner Sports Collectibles announced today that they are partnering to offer collectors and avid fans the chance to own a piece of The World’s Most Famous Arena. MSG-Steiner Collectibles which already offers fans rare and unique artifacts, memorabilia and hand-signed items for the Knicks, Rangers, and Liberty, will now be offering fans a variety of unique exclusive Madison Square Garden memorabilia as a result of The Garden Transformation. The first items that will be available beginning today are authentic seats from The Garden. The announcement was made by Steiner chairman Brandon Steiner and Scott O’Neil, president of MSG Sports.

“While construction crews work around the clock to transform The World’s Most Famous Arena into the world’s most spectacular arena, we were intent on preserving some history for our best and most loyal fans. We have the seat you sat in for the ’94 Stanley Cup run and Larry Johnson’s 4-point play, and the seat you stood next to when you went to see Elton John or Billy Joel for the fifth time,” said O’Neil. “MSG-Steiner Collectibles is offering these seats as well as other one-of-a-kind pieces that represent not just Madison Square Garden’s history, but New Yorkers and visitors from around the world’s history at Madison Square Garden.”

“What a showcase item,” said Steiner. “It will be a kick to watch a game televised on MSG Network at home, sitting in a Garden chair.”

Madison Square Garden is currently undergoing a comprehensive top-to-bottom transformation that will make the Arena a state-of-the-art building. During the current Knicks and Rangers offseason the arena is shut down to complete work on the lower bowl. When the building opens for the 2011-12 seasons it will include all new lower bowl seating area, expanded Madison Concourse (lower concourse) with city views and additional food and beverage offerings, all new Event Level Suites and club spaces. The current Madison Square Garden opened in 1968; this is the fourth location for the Arena. Additional memorabilia from The Garden will be available through MSG-Steiner Collectibles at a later date.

The Madison Square Garden seats are priced at $899.99 for a pair and $549.99 for an individual seat, and are available in two colors, fuchsia and teal. To order call 800-759-SCORE or log onto www.PieceofTheGarden.com.

Durant, Thunder ease past Grizzlies 99-72 in Game 5

The AP reports:

Kevin Durant’s work was done early.

After three quarters. Not three overtimes.

Instead of hunting down key shots, he was tracking down a T-shirt from the stands and reveling in the Oklahoma City Thunder’s 99-72 blowout of the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday night that gave them their first series lead in the Western Conference semifinals…

Marc Gasol had 16 points to lead Memphis, which didn’t have much left after such a draining loss on its home court.

The Grizzlies shot a season-worst 36 percent, matched their lowest point total from the regular season and never put up much of a fight in the second half…

Zach Randolph, who played 56 minutes in the marathon Game 4, never was effective for Memphis. He finished with nine points and seven rebounds, and even missed four of his first five free throws. He had been averaging 26 points and 14 rebounds in the series…

Conley made just 4 of 16 shots, Tony Allen was 4 for 13 and O.J. Mayo 2 for 8 on a dreadful night when nothing was going in…

Westbrook had 11 points in 25 minutes—half of what he played in Game 4. Mohammed added 10 points and Collison had nine points and 10 rebounds, helping the Thunder to a 50-33 edge on the boards.