The Palm Beach Post (Chris Perkins) reports: Coach Erik Spoelstra said it couldn’t be done, and he was right. The Heat can’t hide Michael Beasley’s defensive shortcomings. But Miami is trying. It put center Udonis Haslem on Portland’s LaMarcus Aldridge in Wednesday’s 104-96 loss. It was the fourth time in eight games Beasley defended the opponents’ center instead of its power forward. Eventually in the Portland game, Beasley, who struggles with defensive rotations, had to be taken out altogether. “There were a lot of situations being thrown at him yesterday, and his head was spinning,” Spoelstra said after today’s practice.
Category: General NBA insight
General NBA insight
Hot stats worth knowing
The Los Angeles Lakers, the NBA’s only undefeated team, are 7-0 for the first time since the 2001-02 season.
Phoenix’s Shaquille O’Neal, who finished with 18 points in the Suns’ home loss to Houston last night, moved passed John Havlicek into 10th place on the all-time scoring list. With 26,402 career points, O’Neal needs 266 points to tie Dominique Wilkins for ninth all time (26,668).
The Lakers’ Kobe Bryant needs three points to tie Larry Bird for 23rd on the all-time scoring list (21,791).
With 2,058 steals, Dallas’ Jason Kidd needs 17 steals to tie Mookie Blaylock (2,075 steals) for 10th all time.
Orlando’s Dwight Howard recorded his first career triple-double with 30 points, 19 rebounds and 10 blocks in last night’s win over Oklahoma City. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Howard became the first player with at least 30 points and 10 blocks in a game since Hakeem Olajuwon (31 points, 10 blocks) accomplished the feat against Dallas on April 13, 1996.
New Orleans’ Chris Paul has recorded at least one steal in 90 straight games, the longest active streak in the NBA. The all-time record is 105 straight games with at least one steal, held by Alvin Robertson.
Miami’s Dwyane Wade has scored at least 30 points in a franchise-record four straight games. Wade is averaging 28.2 points on the season.
Through seven games, Indiana’s T.J. Ford is averaging a career-best 17.1 points, while shooting a career-high .479 percent from the field. He had 17 assists combined through his first four games. He has 28 his last three contests.
–NBA News
Offensive gurus on TNT Thursday
Three of the NBA’s top offensive teams will be in action tonight on TNT as part of the network’s Thursday night double-header. The Cleveland Cavaliers host the Denver Nuggets (8 p.m. ET), followed by the Detroit Pistons visiting the Golden State Warriors (10:30 p.m. ET). Denver’s mission, should it choose to accept it, is to somehow contain the NBA’s most potent weapon: LeBron James. James accounts for nearly 30 percent of his team’s points and has scored at least 40 in three of the last four games. James is averaging a league-high 29.8 points, 8.4 rebounds (25th in the NBA) and 6.9 assists (7th), and is the only player to rank in the top 25 in each category. Denver is the league’s lone team with nine players averaging at least 7.5 points. Chauncey Billups is averaging 15.7 points and 6.0 assists, while leading Denver to a 3-0 record in his three appearances as a Nugget. The 4-3 Nuggets rank seventh overall in scoring (100.1 ppg), while the 5-2 Cavaliers are 10th (99.5 ppg) … The Warriors, who paced the league in scoring last season (111 ppg), rank third thus far at 102.6 ppg. The 5-2 Pistons will need to focus on keeping the 3-5 Warriors out of the middle and off the glass. Golden State ranks first in the league in offensive rebounds (14.4 orpg), third in points in the paint with 47.3 per game and fourth in second chance points with 17.1 per contest. Detroit’s Allen Iverson needs 41 points to tie Elgin Baylor for 19th on the all-time scoring list (23,149) and 69 to tie Adrian Dantley for 18th (23,177).
–NBA News
Wizards quotes
WIZARDS HEAD COACH EDDIE JORDAN
On carrying the momentum from last night’s win: “Our leaders are great leaders. They continue to echo that message that it’s one game and that we need to continue to do the things that we did last night in each game – 48 minutes of hard, smart basketball with winning plays at the end. Even if the shots don’t fall we can still rebound, get into people and be physical. Let’s keep that message and see if we can follow it a little bit more.”
On the defense against the Utah Jazz: “I think we got our hands on a lot of balls: deflections, steals, blocked shots. We kept the ball alive on the glass. That was one of the Utah Jazz’s comments that we controlled the paint. We started early with a couple of steals and some deflections and you feed off of that. You can feel that frenzied attitude.”
On the Miami Heat: “We need to keep him (Dwyane Wade) off the rim, off the glass and out of the paint. They’re young and they play fairly small. They open the floor up. They’re going to feel good at home. We’re going to go with what was good for us last night – we’ll go sort of big. We certainly can play small or big just as long as we keep the harmony and the chemistry, and that is what we are trying to develop.”
On JaVale McGee: “His bloodlines are genuine. He’s been taught the right away – how to compete, how to behave. He is learning at an early age how to pay attention and how to compete. No one teaches how to love the game, but he loves the game. He is a special player right now because of his growth and all of the intangibles.”
WIZARDS FORWARD CARON BUTLER
On the Miami Heat: “It’s going to be tough. They play with a lot of effort and energy. Dwyane Wade is definitely back – he’s playing at an unbelievable level right now. We have to bring it. It’s not going to be easy to win in Miami, but it’s definitely something we can accomplish.”
On JaVale McGee: “He’s doing great. A lot was expected of him, and I think he came in and did exactly what he was supposed to do. He played with a lot of effort and energy. When you apply that much energy and effort out on the court, good things are going to happen on the offensive end. Guys are going to reward you and throw the ball up there. He’s been doing great; he’s been finishing strong and getting the crowd into it. He was a real big part of our success last night.”
WIZARDS GUARD JUAN DIXON
On getting a win: “We’re happy to get a win. I thought we played a lot better on the defensive end and we moved the ball a lot more on the offensive end. As long as we continue to play with the energy we played with last night and execute on the defensive side, I think we’ll be fine.”
On the Miami Heat: “We have to contain Dwyane Wade. We have to be on point like we were last night (against the Utah Jazz). Miami has a young team and they have their All-Star (Dwyane Wade) playing at a superstar level right now. We have to do our part on the defensive end.”
James Posey talks Kobe
The Orange County Register (Janis Carr) reports — James Posey: “You can’t stop Kobe because he does so much. He scores, he shoots the 3-ball well, he has a nice in-between game, he knows how to get to the free-throw line, he attacks the basket. It’s tough. He’s one of the guys who has the ball a lot, and a lot of attention needs to be directed toward him. You can’t stop him, you just try to control him, just try to make him work for everything,” Posey said. “Sometimes even that isn’t enough.”
InsideHoops.com editor says: I could shut Kobe down. He knows it. He’s scared. Same with LeBron. None of these dues could score on me. But I like them and don’t want to hurt their feelings, so instead of signing with an NBA team and doing it, I’ll just continue to run InsideHoops.com.
Joel Anthony name games
The Palm Beach Post (Chris Perkins) reports: Center Joel Anthony was so low-key as a rookie last season many fans don’t even know how to pronounce his first name. It’s Jo-elle. And judging from his performance in Monday’s 99-94 victory over New Jersey (four points, four rebounds, one block), he might be ready for more minutes at Mark Blount’s expense.
InsideHoops.com editor says: If Joel wants his name to be pronounced “Jo-elle” he should consider adding a dash in the actual word. By the way, please now pronounce my name as “Jay-eff” rather than Jeff.
Amare ditches his goggles
The Arizona Republic (Paul Coro) reports: Amare Stoudemire’s goggles didn’t last a month. He had worn protective eyewear since he returning from a torn iris four weeks ago but ditched the pair for Monday’s game. “A little uncomfortable with the goggles,” he said. “They get a little blurry on me. There’s a lot of adjusting, so I’ll try to go without them.” The goggles seemed fine in a 49-point game last week. “Well, I had 50 without them,” he said of his career high in 2005.
Nets helping unemployed fans
In the midst of this challenging economy, the Nets will give unemployed fans a break by providing free tickets for five select Nets home games, as well as offering résumé placement with Nets sponsors, and providing access to a Career Fair.
As part of the new Nets Employment Program, fans that are seeking jobs can sign-up at www.njnets.com and should email their résumé, former employer, contact information, and career field of interest to the Nets Job Bank at jobbank@njnets.com. The Nets would then release 300 tickets per game on a first-come, first-serve basis for fans that enroll in the Program. In addition, the team would send the résumés received to Nets sponsors and season ticket holders with businesses that are involved in the Program.
The Nets are also hosting a Career Fair before their game against the Los Angeles Clippers at the IZOD CENTER on Saturday, November 22. Job-seekers will gain access to many top employers featuring sports teams, businesses, and Nets partners such as UPS, Haier America, TD Bank, Emblem Health, Coca-Cola Enterprises, and Valley Health System.
“Unemployment is on the rise in the metropolitan area, so we want to offer our fans that are between jobs some help in finding a job, as well as a chance to relieve some stress by coming to a Nets game,” said Nets CEO Brett Yormark. “We are committed to investing in our fans now, and hopefully they will invest in us when times are better.”
Sixers still adjusting to Elton Brand
The Philadelphia Inquirer (Kate Fagan) reports: The Sixers are going back to basics: working on their spacing around power forward Elton Brand. Yesterday was the last of three days of practice at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine before tonight’s 7 o’clock game against the Utah Jazz (5-1). The Sixers (2-4) haven’t played since a Thursday night loss at the Orlando Magic. “With Elton, we need to read and react,” coach Maurice Cheeks said. “Certainly, the last few days we’ve been practicing that.” “It’s different playing with a post player who commands attention,” said swingman Andre Iguodala, whose scoring average has dipped to 11.0 points per game, down from last season’s 19.9 average. “It’s everyone who is adjusting, not just me.”
Perkins and JO have beef
The Boston Herald (Steve Buckley) reports: According to Kendrick Perkins, these confrontations with Jermaine O’Neal are getting serious. “There’s always words exchanged,” he said. “We do have something personal. That’s how we’ve been since we’ve been matching up. But you know, it is what it is.” Don’t worry, though, Perkins and O’Neal won’t be meeting out on Causeway Street to settle whatever differences they may have. “He’s out there competing,” Perkins said. “It’s nothing personal off the court, but it’s personal when we get on the court.