The Contra Costa Times reports: It has become apparent of late that Andris Biedrins has a weakness in his game other than free throws and post-ups. He struggles against athletic big men. When he is not longer, faster and playing with more energy, he is hardly as effective. It takes a lot of energy out of him to keep up with those types, and he isn’t the type of big man who goes down on the other end and make them pay on offense. Samuel Dalembert, JaVale McGee and Kevin Garnett exposed Biedrins. You don’t realize how much Biedrins got off people overlooking him and not paying attention to him. Wednesday, when a shot went up, Garnett went for Biedrins to block him out. Both Garnett and Dalembert defended Biedrins as if they’d studied his moves, even blocking his little flip shots.
Category: General NBA insight
General NBA insight
Kendrick Perkins leading league in techs
The Boston Globe (Julian Benbow) reports: The first thing you should know about technical fouls is that they’re not cheap. They’re $1,000 a pop, and that’s just the first five. The next five go for $1,500. Five more and you’re looking at $2,000 plus a warning letter from the league after No. 12. The 16th is the suspension ceiling, where every other technical costs you a one-game suspension. They also cost you $2,500 each. Kendrick Perkins has eight techs in about a month… “This is what I’m trying to explain to y’all,” he said. “I’m not trying to be out there getting techs. It’s just something, you get caught up in the heat of the moment. It’s something I can’t control, but I’m not trying to get techs. I’m not trying to let them take a thousand dollars out my pockets every time.”
Cavs at Knicks game notes
Tuesday night in Madison Square Garden the New York Knicks hosted LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers. The arena is packed with stars. Here are raw, totally unedited game notes taken from the arena:
In the first quarter the Cavs mostly did it at a team. LeBron James was content to mostly sit back and let his team show they are legit. But he did nail a pair of three-pointers along the way.
It was later in the first that LeBron started operating solo in isolation up top, and each time he drove it looked like a mismatch. Too easy. Even when the play didn’t go as planned he was clearly dominant.
End of first quarter: Cavs 34, Knicks 22. King James had 11 points and three rebounds. Delonte West scored nine. Zydrunas Ilgauskas had six. For the Knicks Chris Duhon had eight on good shooting. The Knicks had just one free throw attempt.
Second quarter:
Bill Bradley is in the house. He received some polite applause.
At 10:12 in the second quarter the Cavs got inside. JJ Hickson, Wally Szczerbiak and Anderson Varejao got easy buckets near the rim and made it 42-22 Cavs, leading to a Knicks timeout and scattered boos from the fans.
After Wilson Chandler got called for traveling the fans booed a bit more. But a play or two later th Cavs kept rolling with LeBron on the bench and a Szczerbiak three made it 55-26.
The Knicks wake up a bit and a Nate Robinson fast break layup over several defenders cuts it to 35-57. But Natev wound up limping off the court to the locker room.
A Cavs fast break resulted in Delonte West throwing down a nice uncontested dunk, hanging on the rim as a defender passed under him. Cavs up 59-35. Mike D’Antoni lashed out at a ref, I am guessing due to no tech being called on West, and the ref handed a tech to the Knicks coach.
The Cavs keep rolling, and LeBron is barely having to do anything. Cleveland guards keep penetrating and creating at will.
The Knicks defense is totally asleep. No energy.
At the end of three quarters the Cavs lead 95-66.
No more game notes from me today. It is a blowout. I will write more later tonight.
Zach Randolph says he is as good as Elton Brand
The New York Knicks recently traded power forward Zach Randolph to the Los Angeles Clippers. Randolph is an excellent scorer and rebounder, but the rest of his game often gets criticized as not being particularly effective. Meanwhile, Philadelphia 76ers power forward Elton Brand has an excellent reputation, though like Randolph, Elton’s teams in the NBA haven’t been particularly successful. The Los Angeles Daily News (Ramona Shelburne) reports:
Zach Randolph seemed generally pleased to be in Los Angeles and playing with the Clippers, despite their woeful start to the season, and even more tumultuous offseason. Asked whether he was comfortable trying to fill the shoes left by Elton Brand, Randolph laughed, then confidently said, “Shoot, he ain’t better than me. He ain’t better than me.” The Clippers certainly could have used Randolph on Monday night. Hornets power forward David West went off for 27 points on 12-of-21 shooting and point guard Chris Paul had a triple-double with 14 points, 10 rebounds and 17 assists. The loss, and uncertainty surrounding the trade, overshadowed what ended up being a breakout game for Clippers rookie Eric Gordon who scored 25 points in his first career start.
Randolph was playing well with the Knicks this season under new coach Mike D’Antoni. He’ll be worth watching on the Clippers, at least initially to see how he plays alongside the mess of big men (Chris Kaman and Marcus Camby) and star point guard Baron Davis.
Suns notes
Matt Barnes is averaging 11.7 points, 5.8 rebounds and 2.2 assists in 28.7 minutes on the season.
Shaquille O’Neal made his impact felt in the Suns last home game with 19 points (8-12 FG) and 17 rebounds in 36 minutes against the Trail Blazers.
Raja Bell is averaging 9.8 points and 2.6 rebounds and 1.4 assists while shooting .450 (27-60) from behind the arc in 32.8 minutes.
Amare Stoudemire had 17 points, nine rebounds, two blocks, two steals and was a perfect 5-of-5 from the free throw line against Portland on Nov. 22.
Steve Nash is averaging 13.5 points, 7.6 assists, 2.7 rebounds and is shooting .492 from the field and .442 from three point range in 33.2 minutes. Nash had 16 points (6-7 FG, 2-2 3FG, 2-2 FT), seven assists and three rebounds in his last game against the Blazers.
Next Suns opponent: Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder host the Suns on Tuesday, November 25, in the first regular season meeting between the clubs since moving from Seattle. Phoenix swept the series last season and has won 11 of the last 15 meetings. The Suns are 115-85 all-time against the team and have a 75-25 record at home.
The Suns take on Al Jefferson and the Minnesota Timberwolves at the Target Center in the first meeting between the clubs this season on Wednesday, November 26. Phoenix has lost the last two matchups in Minnesota but has won 10 of the last 14 games in the series. The Suns are 20-16 in games played in Minnesota.
With wins in four of the last five meetings at USAC between the teams, Phoenix welcomes Dwyane Wade, Michael Beasley and former Sun Shawn Marion on Friday, November 28. On January 6, 2006, Steve Nash dished out a franchise-record 12 assists in the first quarter en route to a 111-93 win at home. Overall, the Suns are 30-10 in the series with a 16-4 record in Phoenix.
The Suns face Vince Carter, Devin Harris and Brook Lopez – twin brother of Suns center Robin Lopez – of the New Jersey Nets on Sunday, November 30 in Phoenix. The Suns swept the season series last year, and opened the season this year at the IZOD Center with a 114-86 win. Phoenix has won fourteen consecutive meetings at US Airways Center. On Dec. 7, 2006, Phoenix nabbed a season-high 161 points in a double overtime win, 161-157, in New Jersey.
The Suns head to New Orleans to face Chris Paul, David West and Tyson Chandler of the New Orleans Hornets at New Orleans Arena on Wednesday, December 3 for the first time since the Hornets stole the Suns’ home opener on October 30, 108-95. The 8-5 Hornets have won three straight games, and sit in second place in the Southwest division. The Suns have lost five-straight to the Hornets following a stretch during which Phoenix won 11-of-12 matchups. The Suns are 3-1 this season in the front end of a back-to-back set.
The Suns take on Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Kidd of the Dallas Mavericks at American Airlines Center on Thursday, December 4 for the first matchup between these two teams this season. The Suns have an advantage in the all-time series record, 69-49. Dallas has won four-straight games, tied with the Los Angeles Lakers for the West’s longest active win-streak. Phoenix has won five of the last nine games in the series and has split the last 14 meetings with Dallas.
UPCOMING MILESTONES
* Grant Hill is three steals away from 1,000 for his career.
* Steve Nash is 31 assists away from passing Guy Rodgers for 14th on the NBA’s all-time assist list (currently 6,880).
* Nash is also just 32 assists from recording 4,000 career assists as a member of the Suns. It would make him just the third player in franchise history with 4,000 or more assists.
* Shaquille O’Neal is seven blocks from passing Tree Rollins for seventh place on the NBA’s all-time blocks list.
Kings overworked in November
The Sacramento Bee (Sam Amick) reports: By the time November is done, the Kings will have played a league-high 17 games during the month. Utah, Milwaukee and Oklahoma City will share the distinction, with the Kings and Jazz the only two that will go the entire month without more than one day between any of their games. The Kings have four sets of back-to-back games in all, with two this week (at the Lakers on Sunday and at Portland today; at Utah on Friday and home against Dallas on Saturday). The combination of the two major factors to the season’s start was, quite obviously, far from ideal. Kings coach Reggie Theus said the only solution is to continue focusing on the bigger picture. “One thing is for sure is that you can’t worry about the end result,” he said. “We just have to keep playing and finding a way to play. … But we have to accept where we are, what our goals are, and understand that the fight to get to the next place is always there.”
Anthony Randolph defending well
The San Francisco Chronicle (Janny Hu) reports: Rookie Anthony Randolph has all the tools to be an offensive star, but, for now, it’s his defense that’s leading the way. The lanky forward entered Sunday’s game averaging about one point and one rebound for every two minutes played – highlighted by his 10-point, nine-rebound and four-block gem in just 13 minutes against Chicago on Friday. He showed his rough edges against the Sixers with six points (on 3-for-10 shooting) and three turnovers to go with four rebounds and two blocks in 28 minutes.
24 is on tonight
For all you fans of the Fox show 24, there’s a two-hour 24 “event” called “Redemption” on tonight at 8 p.m.
When I first heard about it, I assumed that the new season was finally starting. It’s been what, two years now? But it appears that “Redemption” is just a special and not the start of anything.
I have no idea if 24 is actually having a new season or not anytime soon, or ever. It’s one of the only shows I kept up with over these last few years. If anyone knows the deal, email me at editor at insidehoops dot com.
Zach Randolph OK with trade
Former Knick Zach Randolph is now with the Clippers. Although Randolph was mentioned in NBA trade rumors fairly regularly, it’s still often a shock when a deal actually happens. But he seems cool with it. The Newark Star-Ledger (Dave D’Alessandro) reports:
This deal also means it’s worth watching the next few Clippers games, to see how Baron Davis continues to adjust to his new teammates, and how the Clippers handle having Randolph, Chris Kaman and Marcus Camby on the roster together. Who starts, who sits? Randolph absolutely can’t pretend to be a small forward, because whoever he guards at the position would go right past him. It’ll be an interesting frontcourt to watch, at least for the next few days as they sort things out.
Shaq vs Oden Saturday night
Phoenix Suns center Shaquille O’Neal, now old and slowing down, still has game and once he retires will be known as one of the best ever at his position.
Portland Trail Blazers center Greg Oden missed the entire 2007-08 season but is playing this season and is considered a rookie. At a listed 285-pounds, Oden is much bigger than he was the day he was drafted first by the Portland Trail Blazers, and is still adjusting as he learns to play in the NBA while getting himself into proper shape.
Tonight at 9 p.m. ET the Blazers visit the Suns, and the two big-men will face each other for the first time.
In no way is this a true measure of how good Oden is, or how good he may someday become. Shaq, now 36 years old, is not himself anymore and putting up a modest 15.1 points and 7.9 rebounds per game. Oden, putting up 9.6 points, 7.7 rebounds and 2.1 blocks on 51.2% shooting, may take another full year to get over his knee injuries and resulting surgeries, plus he still has to get in shape and develop a more sound offensive game.
Also, Shaq plays limited minutes. And Oden comes off the bench behind Joel Przybilla. So Shaq and Oden may only be on the court at the same time for brief stretches.
Still, it’s worth watching if you get it on local TV or have league pass.