Fan Blog: Coach firings, Wolves and more

The Goose Juice: A look around the league from NBA fan “The Goose”

It’s tough to argue with the firing of Maurice Cheeks given the Sixers’ start to the season. It’s kind of tough to argue with the firing of Sam Mitchell given the Raptors’ start. But would a coaching staff of Phil Jackson, Red Auerbach and Coach K be able to squeeze even 18 wins out of the Oklahoma City Thunder?

– Big shout out to Andrew Bogut who donated some of his own money last week to help keep Australian professional basketball team the Sydney Spirit from going under mid-way through the season. All 29 Spirit fans were said to be ecstatic.

– Another big shout out, this time to rookie Timberwolves power forward Kevin Love. In Sunday’s loss to the Lakers, Love had only 20% of his shot attempts rejected, a new career low!

– Speaking of the Minnesota Timberwolves, anyone seen the numbers OJ Mayo and Brandon Roy have been putting up lately? The one good transaction Kevin McHale made in recent memory was stepping down as VP of Basketball Operations, and even that came with the trademark “McHale Catch” as he named himself Head Coach.

– I don’t care if they beat the Cavaliers. I just don’t think I’ll ever again get used to the idea of an Atlanta Hawks team that doesn’t suck. It’s been one of the most consistent things in recent NBA history, along with D’Antoni teams not playing defense, Don Nelson starting two guards in his frontcourt, and Ricky Davis missing jumpshots.

Pistons want to limit McDyess minutes

The Detroit Free Press (Chris Lau) reports: Ideally, Pistons coach Michael Curry would like to play veteran forward/center Antonio McDyess in the second and fourth quarters only, and keep him in during crunch time. McDyess is the leader of the second unit. He’s valuable because he’s the primary scoring option off the bench, a strong defensive presence and a calming influence on teammates. He’s also 34, so Curry wants to limit his playing time now to preserve him for the playoffs. That hasn’t happened of late. In Tuesday night’s 104-98 win over Chicago, McDyess played 26 minutes, 34 seconds, including the final 8:53 of the third quarter.

Dec 25: Mavs 102, Blazers 94

The AP reports: Dirk Nowitzki scored 24 of his 30 points in the first half, and Jason Terry had 19 to help the surging Dallas Mavericks beat the Portland Trail Blazers 102-94 on Thursday night. Nowitzki was 12-of-18 from the field and scored on power moves and jumpers despite playing the second half in foul trouble. Josh Howard added 15 points for Dallas, 15-4 in its last 19 games after opening 2-7. Portland’s Brandon Roy had 22 points, but went scoreless in the fourth quarter. Steve Blake added 14 points and seven assists, Travis Outlaw and Rudy Fernandez had 13 points each, and LaMarcus Aldridge finished with 12… Josh Howard was ejected after picking up a flagrant foul and two technical fouls in the third quarter.

Dec 25: Cavs 93, Wizards 89

The AP reports: Trailing by eight to woeful Washington, the Cavaliers scored 11 straight points in the final 1:33 to preserve their perfect home record with a 93-89 win Thursday night. Mo Williams scored 24 points, and LeBron James and Delonte West had 18 apiece for the Cavs, who at 15-0 are the NBA’s lone unbeaten team at home. Cleveland trailed 89-82 before storming back with three free throws by James, a 3-pointer by Williams and five more foul shots in the last 26 seconds. Antawn Jamison scored 28 points, and Mike James 26 for the Wizards, who dropped their eighth straight and continue to find new ways to lose… Overmatched because of injuries to All-Star guard Gilbert Arenas (knee) and center Brendan Haywood (wrist), Washington is off to the worst start in franchise history and has already had a coaching change before the end of the calendar year.

InsideHoops.com editor says: I thought several lousy calls greatly benefitted the Cavaliers in the final few minutes of this game. But, the Cavs were the more aggressive team in the clutch, and that always helps draw calls. Still, I thought the Wizards got slightly robbed here.

Dec 25: Lakers 92, Celtics 83

The AP reports: Kobe Bryant had 27 points, nine rebounds and five assists, Pau Gasol scored seven of his 20 points in the final three minutes, and the Lakers used a strong finish to beat Boston 92-83 Thursday, snapping the Celtics’ franchise-record 19-game winning streak… “Give them all the credit,” said Boston’s Paul Pierce, who had 20 points and 10 rebounds but was scoreless in the fourth quarter. “We just have to play better down the stretch.” … Lamar Odom had 10 points and seven rebounds for the Lakers (24-5), who won their 12th straight game at home, where they’re 15-1… Kevin Garnett shot 11-of-14 in leading the Celtics (27-3) with 22 points and nine rebounds. Ray Allen scored 14, but went 2-of-11 after making his first three shots. Rondo was held to six points, shooting 3-of-11, but had 12 assists.

Dec 25: Spurs 91, Suns 90

The AP reports: Roger Mason didn’t play at all in the fourth quarter until there were 4.3 seconds left. Then he came in and made the biggest shot of the game. Mason’s 3-pointer from the corner at the buzzer Thursday gave the San Antonio Spurs a 91-90 victory over the Phoenix Suns… Tony Parker scored 27 and Tim Duncan had 25 points and 17 rebounds as the Spurs won their fourth straight. Amare Stoudemire had 25 points and 13 rebounds and Shaquille O’Neal 23 points and 12 boards for the Suns, who led most of the afternoon but never by more than eight in the second half… O’Neal was 9-of-16 at the foul line to become the only player other than Wilt Chamberlain to miss 5,000 career free throws. Steve Nash had 13 points. His eight assists made him the 13th NBA player to reach 7,000 for his career. Porter is among the other 12.

Suns to assign Alando Tucker to D-League

The Phoenix Suns tomorrow will assign swingman Alando Tucker to the Iowa Energy of the NBA Development League, it was announced today by Suns President of Basketball Operations and General Manager Steve Kerr.

The 6-6, 205-pound Tucker was selected by Phoenix with the 29th overall pick in the first round of the 2007 NBA Draft.  The second-year player from Wisconsin has not yet made his season debut with the Suns in 2008-09 after missing the first 22 games due to injury, including 19 following arthroscopic surgery on his left knee in November.

Dec 25: Magic 88, Hornets 68

The AP reports: Hedo Turkoglu scored 20 points to lead the Magic to an 88-68 win over the New Orleans Hornets on Thursday in a matchup of division leaders… However, Stan Van Gundy said he understood how his team could build a 61-31 halftime lead and then shoot 23 percent in the second half… Dwight Howard had 12 points and 15 rebounds in Southeast-leading Orlando’s sixth-straight win. Rashard Lewis added 18 points and Jameer Nelson 14… David West had 13 points for New Orleans. Chris Paul and Devin Brown each added 12. Paul, the NBA steals leader (3.7 average), snapped his league-record string of 108 games with at least one… With Peja Stojakovic also out for the fourth straight game with back spasms, the Hornets were weak up front, and the Magic took advantage.

InsideHoops.com says: The Magic stomped the Hornets something nasty. It was 29-14 after the first quarter and 61-31 at the half. For the game, Turkoglu hit 4-of-6 three-pointers for 20 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists (but 5 turnovers). Rashard Lewis on 12 shots had 18 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists. Jameer Nelson hit 4-of-6 threes for 14 points, 3 assists and 2 steals. Dwight Howard shot just 4-of-15 for 12 points, 15 rebounds and 3 blocks. Orlando shot just 40.5% but the Hornets were just 33.3%.

A Spike Lee Jordan documentary?

Big-time basketball documentaries that get national attention don’t come out too often. When they do, I make sure to watch. Gunnin’ for that #1 Spot, on HS ballers, was very good. So was Through the Fire, the Sebastian Telfair one. The Year of Yao, on Yao Ming, wasn’t quite as good, but still at least worth the time to watch.

But if the following item actually materializes, myself and everyone who loves basketball would definitely catch it. The New York Post (Page 6) reports:

Spike Lee has found his next muse. The director was overheard “discussing his upcoming project, a documentary on the life of Michael Jordan,” during a birthday dinner for Aymeric Clemente at West 13th Street eatery Bagatelle the other night.

That’s a gossip page, which means the info isn’t set in stone. Page 6 is one of the most proven gossip pages around, but it’s still just a rumor until proven otherwise.

I hope it happens.

Nielsen NBA ratings for Christmas games

Nielson.com reports: Since ABC obtained NBA broadcasting rights in 2002, the network’s Christmas Day games have averaged a 4.1 rating and 6.9 million viewers nationally. The highest mark came in 2004 when the Lakers and Heat (featuring a much-anticipated reunion between Kobe and Shaq) pulled a 7.3 rating and 13.2 million viewers. The San Antonio Spurs and Phoenix Suns officially tip off ABC’s broadcast season at 2:40pm ET Christmas Day.  Last year, the NBA on ABC averaged a 2.2 national rating, up 10% from 06-07.

InsideHoops.com says: Looking at the Nielson ratings for NBA Christmas games, Phoenix at LA Lakers in 2007 was seen by 5,985,000 people. LA Lakers at Miami in 2006 was seen by 5,464,000 viewers. Miami at Cleveland in 2006 was seen by 5,020,000 people. San Antonio at Detroit in 2005 was viewed by 6,011,000 people. LA Lakers at Miami in 2005 was seen by 8,063,000 viewers. Miami at LA Lakers in 2004 was seen by 13,182,000 people. Dallas at Sacramento in 2003 was seen by 5,030,000 people. Houston at LA Lakers in 2003 was seen by 7,187,000 people. Boston at New Jersey in 2002 was seen by 3,957,000 people. And Sacramento at LA Lakers in 2002 was seen by 7,484,000 viewers.