The Orlando Sentinel (Brian Schmitz) reports: The Magic will win 50 games this season, plus a few more, and they should get it Friday night against the woeful Minnesota Timberwolves at home. Reaching 50 would mean the Magic have made at least a 10-game improvement since last season’s 40-42 record — a significant bump by league standards. It represents a 14-game bump from the back-to-back 36-46 seasons the previous two years. They can become just the fourth Magic team to win 50, and the first since the exalted 1995-96 team of Shaq and Penny. Coach Stan Van Gundy said 50 wins separates a team from mediocrity, providing instant respect. Sort of like breaking 90 on the golf course. It took the Magic a long time to put this thing back together — and they tried — after Shaquille O’Neal’s departure in 1996 started a rapid decline.
Author: Inside Hoops
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Bosh wants louder support from home fans
The Toronto Sun (Mike Ganter) reports: At one point midway through the second quarter after the Raptors had taken the lead and the Bucks took a timeout, Chris Bosh angrily gestured at the fans to get off their hands and show a little support. “I was just saying it was quiet,” Bosh said. “I’m just saying: ‘I’m excited’. I don’t know if anyone else is excited but I’m excited. I’m not waiting for next week. I’m trying to do it right now and that’s the mentality we have to take as an organization.” And as for the fans. “If the crowd just reacts, it’s a tough place to play,” Bosh said. “We go to places like Dallas and Utah, Cleveland and Detroit and it’s loud. It really makes a difference and really gives them an advantage.”
Nets need a true No. 1 option
The Bergen Record (Al Iannazzone) writes the following on his blog: The Nets will never admit this, but this is my feeling, you’re not going to win when Richard Jefferson is your No. 1 option. He’s not even one of the top five small forwards in the East. I rank in no order Paul Pierce, Andre Iguodala, LeBron James, Hedo Turkoglu and Caron Butler ahead of Jefferson, and I may be missing someone. Carter’s contract and his ability to carry a team make him valuable to the Nets, so I expect him back. They’re not going to trade Harris, the point guard they acquired for Jason Kidd, unless somehow the Nets wind up in the top three in the draft and have the opportunity to take a Derrick Rose. What they probably will do, however, is look to move backup Marcus Williams, instead.
Cuban would like age minimum to be 22
Mark Cuban, on BlogMaverick, writes: “If it were up to me, I would raise the age limit to 22 or when your class graduates from college. Why ? It’s not because there are not 18 or 19 year olds who can’t play in the NBA. There always have been, and there always will be. Doing what is right for the NBA is about far more than basketball talent. My logic is simple. If a kid is NBA ready to play at 18 or 19, he will be NBA ready at 22. They don’t forget how to play basketball and they don’t get worse. What does change considerably between the ages of 18 and 22 is the maturity level of the kids. Ask any 22 year old in college if they are more “worldly” and better prepared to deal with life post college than they were when they were 18 or 19.”
Cuban continues: “From the perspective of an NBA owner, maturity is far harder to qualify than talent. Can he manage the personal side of his life ?When friends, relatives and hangers on are coming out of the woodwork asking for something. I know that when I first started making great money, it was difficult for me, in my late 20s to deal with who to say no to. How is a 19 year old going to say no to people who he has grown up around and are still his close friends ? How is he going to deal with the gold diggers ? A 1 or 2 week “Scared Straight” class by the NBA isn’t going to do the job.”
Heat sign Lasme for rest of season
The Miami HEAT announced today that they have signed forward Stephane Lasme for the remainder of the season. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Lasme, a 6’8”, 215-pound forward, has appeared in 11 games for the HEAT averaging 4.7 points, 3.5 rebounds, 1.55 blocks and 1.00 steals in 19.7 minutes of action. He scored a career-high eight points at Detroit on Mar. 27, grabbed a career-high seven rebounds at Indiana on Mar. 31 and blocked a career-high three shots on two occasions, first at Charlotte on Mar. 22 and then in his next game vs. Milwaukee on Mar. 24.
Lasme, the 2007-08 NBA Development League Co-Defensive Player of the Year, was originally signed to a 10-day contract with the HEAT on Mar. 21 and was then re-signed to a second 10-day contract on Mar. 31.
Rumors Commentary: Not shocking that Sonics owners planned to move all along
It’s not shocking at all to learn that the new Sonics owners seemingly planned all along to move the team to their base, Oklahoma City. From an owner perspective, it makes sense to keep the team in Seattle if things are going well financially. But if the ability to make money using the current arena is going to be a permanent problem, it makes sense to move the squad, especially to where the new owners have lots of business connections and can easily land good sponsorships… I hadn’t paid attention to this but some Sonics fans emailed InsideHoops saying that when the Hornets were playing in OKC, a lot of the ticket prices were at a very reduced price, so the high attendance there isn’t a lock to be repeated when prices go back to normal when the Sonics get there. I haven’t looked into that myself, though… A lot of John Calipari’s college success is based on recruiting, not coaching. Now, I’m not saying he’s a bad coach. But there’s no guarantee his coaching will translate to the NBA a second time around… Just as I was typing this, Bruce Bowen showed up out of nowhere and elbowed me in the back while falling down. I think it was just an accident, though I’m not sure how he got in without me hearing him… The Knicks need to smile to Isiah Thomas this summer, thank him very kindly for his efforts, and completely part ways… The NBA MVP is going to be Kobe or CP3, I say (and lots of others are saying this as well, of course)… I was excited to share that the Knicks are giving free food and beverages to fans for the last home game, and that’s still cool, but now it’s reported the Cavs are going to give $1 million in prizes away. I wonder what the prizes are, and what percentage of the fans will win something… Just as I was typing something else, Bruce Bowen somehow got in here again and for some weird reason stuck his foot under mine. I better be careful when I stand up, or I might twist an ankle… The thing about the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament is, virtually no first round picks are playing there, and only a handful of second rounders, and you learn more about these players over the full NCAA season than you do seeing them play three or four games with teammates they aren’t familar with… Go Inside Hoops every day… More NBA rumors stories during the day as they develop… Talk to you tomorrow.
This is from the InsideHoops NBA Rumors page, the web’s single most must-read daily roundup of hot stories. Hit the page.
Apr. 9: Suns 96, Spurs 79
The AP reports: Amare Stoudemire led six Suns players in the double digits on the way to a 96-79 victory over the defending champions on Wednesday night… Shaquille O’Neal had eight of his 16 points in the decisive fourth quarter and grabbed nine rebounds for Phoenix. Nash scored 12 points—including eight in the fourth quarter—and had 10 assists… Tim Duncan scored 23 points and had 10 rebounds for the Spurs, who have now lost seven at home this season, and Tony Parker added 20 points… Spurs forward Bruce Bowen ran into Stoudemire in the fourth quarter, upsetting the Suns center. “Bruce came elbow first. Elbowed me right in my rib cage,” Stoudemire said.
Apr. 9: Rockets 103, Sonics 80
The AP reports: Rafer Alston scored 18 points as the Rockets, playing without Tracy McGrady, got 48 points from their reserves to easily beat the Sonics 103-80. McGrady sat out with a sore left shoulder that’s bothered him for more than a week, but the Rockets didn’t miss him, handing Seattle its 11th staright road loss. Rookie Luis Scola had 13 points and 12 rebounds, Luther Head started for McGrady and scored 16 and sharp-shooting reserve Steve Novak added a career-high 17 points as Houston kept pace with first-place New Orleans in the tightly packed Western Conference playoff race… Former Texas star Kevin Durant scored 26, Nick Collison grabbed 15 rebounds and Earl Watson added 16 points and eight assists for the Sonics, who’ve lost seven straight meetings with Houston and 18 of their last 20 games overall.
Apr. 9: Hornets 122, Wolves 90
The AP reports: Chris Paul helped the New Orleans Hornets stay atop the Western Conference and set a team record for wins, too. Paul had 19 points and 16 assists, and the New Orleans Hornets bounced back to beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 122-90 Wednesday night. Peja Stojakovic scored 24 points and David West had 22 for the Hornets, who scored just 66 points in a loss to Utah on Tuesday and looked sluggish through the first half against Minnesota… Rashad McCants had 23 for the Timberwolves, who have lost six straight. Randy Foye scored 20 points for Minnesota, but just four of those came in the final three quarters. The win gave the Hornets a franchise-best 55 wins, beating the record set in 1996-97.
Apr. 9: Knicks 109, Bobcats 107
The AP reports: Fred Jones made the go-ahead 3-pointer with 3:47 left and scored 15 points, and the Knicks beat the Charlotte Bobcats 109-107 on Wednesday night to match a season high with their third straight victory… Wilson Chandler added 12 points and Nate Robinson had 11, joining Jones to give the Knicks a huge advantage off the bench. New York’s reserves outscored Charlotte’s, 54-14… Jamal Crawford scored 18 points for the Knicks, who seemed in control after an 18-0 spurt in the second quarter, but blew all their lead before pulling back ahead to win three straight for only the second time this season, having also done it from Jan. 13-16… Jason Richardson scored 25 points, and Raymond Felton and Emeka Okafor had 24 apiece for the Bobcats, whose franchise-record four-game road winning streak was snapped. Okafor missed a jumper at the buzzer that would have tied it.