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The Sixers Storm The Rockets

By Chris Ellis | January 7, 2009 | Passion and Pride

Andre Iguodala score 28 points and led the Philadelphia 76ers(14-20) to a 104-96 victory over the Houston Rockets (21-15) on the first game on their home court since December 20th. The Sixers went 1 and 5 on their two week roadtrip but came back against a good Rockets team. Lou Williams and Marreese Speights each scored 15 points off the bench, both receiving significant minutes. On the other side of the ball, Luis Scola continued his current torrid stretch by scoring 18 points and grabbing 17 boards. Iguodala flashed his driving ability tonight, at one point going coast-to-coast with a defensive rebounds. He now has now at least 20 points in 4 straight games. His resurgence on the offensive end has coincided with becoming the main option on offense again. This doesn't bode well for his play when Elton Brand returns to the lineup. Coach Tony DiLeo will find himself...

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NBA Power Rankings: New Year, New Number One

By Joe Boikess | January 6, 2009 | MVN Outsider

Dwight Howard - Keith Allison/Flickr.com

It's been two weeks since the last edition of my power rankings, where the East's mighty trio of Boston, Cleveland and Orlando took the top three spots. But that was last year, and now that 2008 has come and gone, it's time for a new leader: the Lakers. There was plenty of repositioning elsewhere as well, including the Detroit Pistons re-entering the top-10 for the first time since mid-November.1. Los Angeles Lakers (27-5) - Technically the Lakers are still a half-game behind the Celtics for the NBA's best record, but after L.A. beat Boston pretty convincingly on Christmas Day, then downed both Utah and Portland by double digits, there's no question who should be #1.2. Cleveland Cavaliers (27-6) - LeBron couldn't rally the Cavs past the Heat last week on his birthday despite dropping 24 of his 38 in the second half, and I can forgive him for that. But...

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Round And Round: Roy Jones, Jr. - Evander Holyfield, Paul Williams - Winky Wright And Joshua Clottey - Kermit Cintron

By Tim Starks | January 6, 2009 | The Queensberry Rules

I realize the picture above is of Charles Barkley, aka "the Round Mound of Rebound," not a visual representation of "Round and Round," the feature here at The Queensberry Rules where I examine some fights in the works. I'm always looking for an excuse to drop that nickname somewhere, though.The occasion of another holiday and a little bit of busy-ness at the ol' day job has kept me from posting in 2009 before now, but I promise, I'm all the way back in business. And what a better way to start than to discuss three significant fights being discussed for the very year we now inhabit....

Read more | 14 Comments | Tags: Boxing, Philadelphia 76ers

NBA Stock Market: Rondo Keeping Celtics on Record Pace

By Joe Boikess | December 22, 2008 | MVN Outsider

Rajon Rondo surveying the floor (Photo via culhanen/flickr.com)

Note: We at MVN Outsider have re-organized our posting schedule in an effort to make our sports coverage more well rounded and timely. For those of you expecting to see the NBA Power Rankings today, that post has been moved to Tuesdays. With these changes, get ready to see more fresh content every day on every major sport. Thanks, and enjoy!Rising:Boston Celtics - Honestly, this team has been on the rise this entire season, piling up wins at a rate that we haven't seen since the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls. They now have won 18 in a row and have tied the league mark for the best start (26-2) for a team with two losses. Their recent success has been due in large part to the play of point guard Rajon Rondo. When the team needs him to score, he does it (as we saw on Sunday in the C's win...

Read more | Discuss | Tags: Atlanta Hawks, Boston Celtics, Detroit Pistons, NBA, NBA Outsider, New York Knicks

Elton Brand Out A Month

By Chris Ellis | December 19, 2008 | Passion and Pride

That's the prognosis on his shoulder injury. Expect Marreese Speights and Reggie Evans to receive more playing time, and expect coach Tony DiLeo to be forced to give Sam Dalembert 30+ minutes a game again....

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Eight-Second Violation: Thursday, December 18, 2008

By Zach Harper | December 18, 2008 | Talk Hoops

News and Notes By Zach Harper Elton Brand Dislocates Shoulder During Wednesday night's game against the Milwaukee Bucks, Elton Brand jumped in the air when he bought on the Luc Richard Mbah a Moute pumpfake. When he came down, he tumbled over Mbah a Moute and awkwardly landed on the ground with his arm taking the brunt of the force. It caused his right shoulder to become dislocated and since he's human and not a cyborg, he had to leave the game. If he was Detective Riggs from the Lethal Weapon series, he would have run over to the staunchon, slammed his body into the corner of it, and popped that sucker back into place. He then would have taken a glock, unloaded 25 to 35 shots with a single clip, and saved the day from some drug dealers. Unfortunately, this isn't Lethal Weapon and Elton Brand is still...

Read more | Discuss | Tags: Atlanta Hawks, Boston Celtics, Chris Bosh, Chris Paul, Elton Brand, Joe Johnson, Kendrick Perkins, Kevin Garnett, Marcus Camby, NBA, New Orleans Hornets, Orlando Magic, Philadelphia 76ers, Phoenix Suns, Portland Trailblazers, San Antonio Spurs, Toronto Raptors

Starting From Scratch: LeBron Scores 32 as Cavs Tame Timberwolves, 93-70

By Amar Panchmatia | December 18, 2008 | Cavalier Attitude

Highlights ll BoxRemember back when the Cavaliers had their first winning streak of the season, the eight-game streak, snapped at Detroit and how fans were upset at the prospect of starting a new one?Well, that "new" streak ended up being a better one. And Cavs fans can only hope that Wednesday's 93-70 eyesore in the Twin Cities is the start of something even better.This was a little closer than the score indicates. Considering that the Cavs came in 20-4 while the Wolves were 4-20 and losers of 10 straight, you had to wonder what the hell Minnesota was doing down by just one at 57-56 with 3:27 left in the third quarter. The old lackadaisical Cavs who played down to their opponents almost looked to be back, and the team appeared to be sleepwalking despite being without their starting center and top backcourt reserve.The Timberwolves simply could not stop LeBron....

Read more | 2 Comments | Tags: Anderson Varejao, Atlanta Hawks, Carmelo Anthony, Cleveland Cavaliers, Delonte West, Denver Nuggets, Detroit Pistons, Houston Rockets, Kevin Garnett, LeBron James, Mike Brown, Minnesota Timberwolves, Mo Williams, Oklahoma City Thunder, Philadelphia 76ers, Phoenix Suns, Zydrunas Ilgauskas

Elton Brand Hurt, Andre Iguodala Missing In Action, Sixers Win!

By Chris Ellis | December 18, 2008 | Passion and Pride

Lou Williams came off the bench to score 25 points and lead the Sixers (11-14) to a 93-88 win over the lowly Milwaukee Bucks (11-16). He played a season-high 31 points and basically auditioned for the starting shooting guard spot. Elton Brand left halfway through the third quarter after a gross shoulder injury, while Andre Iguodala shot 2 for 14 from the floor. Marreese Speights and Reggie Evans filled in for Brand and Sam Dalembert and scored 14 points and pulled down 16 boards between them. The entire bench actually scored 49 of the 93 points in the game.For his part, Lou Williams had by far his best game of the season. He shot 9-17 and got to the free throw line 9 times, sinking five of them. His ability to get the basket, and finish, really showed itself tonight. He even shot 2-4 from behind the three-point line. He...

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NBA Power Rankings: New Year, New Number One

By Joe Boikess | January 6, 2009 | MVN Outsider

Dwight Howard - Keith Allison/Flickr.com

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NBA Stock Market: Rondo Keeping Celtics on Record Pace

By Joe Boikess | December 22, 2008 | MVN Outsider

Rajon Rondo surveying the floor (Photo via culhanen/flickr.com)

Read more | Discuss | Tags: Atlanta Hawks, Boston Celtics, Detroit Pistons, NBA, NBA Outsider, New York Knicks

NBA Stock Market: Spurs back among the West's elite

By Joe Boikess | December 11, 2008 | MVN Outsider

Tim Duncan posts up Big Baby (flickr.com/Lorianne DiSabato)

Here's this week's risers and fallers from around the NBA...Rising:San Antonio Spurs - This team's 2-5 start to the season sure does seem like it happened ages ago. As of today San Antonio has won four games in a row and is back to being in the thick of the Southwest Division. In the last week the Spurs have gotten wins in Denver and Dallas in addition to cruising to home wins over the Warriors and Hawks. Manu Ginobili returned to his usual role as sixth man extraordinaire, while Tim Duncan continues to be virtually unguardable. San Antonio might not contend with the Lakers for the West's top seed in the playoffs, but they have as good of a chance as any team to finish as high as second.Carmelo Anthony - Last night's Nuggets-Timberwolves game probably didn't get a whole lot of viewers outside of the Denver and Minneapolis areas,...Read more

Read more | 1 Comment | Tags: Carmelo Anthony, Charlotte Bobcats, Denver Nuggets, Elton Brand, Los Angeles Lakers, NBA, NBA Outsider, New York Knicks, Philadelphia 76ers, San Antonio Spurs

Knicks trade Zach Randolph to the Clippers

By Jon Burkett | November 21, 2008 | MVN Outsider

In a matter of 24 hours, Knick GM and President Donnie Walsh traded the Knicks top two scorers. First, Jamal Crawford was dealt to the Warriors for Al Harrington. Now, Zach Randolph was dealt with guard Mardy Collins to the Clippers for Cuttino Mobley and Tim Thomas. This is Thomas's second stint with the Knicks. He spent part of the 2003-04 season with the Knicks after being traded from the Bucks for Keith Van Horn. With the Knicks that season, Thomas averaged a career-high 15.8 points per game in 24 games. Thomas spent the entire 2004-'05 season with New York, averaging 12 points a game in 71 contests. Through 10 games this season, he's averaging 9.5 points per game. As a Clipper, Thomas never really found the shooting stroke that carried him in his time with the Knicks and later on, the Suns. Cuttino Mobley coming to New York...Read more

Read more | 4 Comments | Tags: Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles Clippers, NBA, New York Knicks, Philadelphia 76ers

NBA Stock Market: Parker, Spurs finally get a win

By Joe Boikess | November 6, 2008 | MVN Outsider

The Spurs' Tony Parker (flickr.com)

Beginning today and continuing throughout the season on Thursdays, I will be analyzing various teams and players from around the league to give you a general view of the ever-changing atmosphere that is the NBA. Which teams and players are moving up, and which ones are dropping? Read below to find out, in NBA Outsider's first edition of its NBA Stock Market.Rising:San Antonio Spurs - It was very weird for me to see the Spurs, a team that has always had success for about as long as I've been a basketball fan, in last place in their division at 0-3 just a day ago. But after yesterday's 129-125 double OT win over the Wolves, a win that required Spurs point guard Tony Parker to explode for a NBA season-high 55 points and 10 assists, San Antonio finally got its first win of the young season. The Spurs won't be anywhere...Read more

Read more | 1 Comment | Tags: Amare Stoudemire, Andre Iguodala, Los Angeles Clippers, Mario Chalmers, Miami Heat, NBA, NBA Outsider, Philadelphia 76ers, San Antonio Spurs

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