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Curse of the Lakers Loss?

By R1zzo23 | January 7, 2009 | Big Green Machine

The Boston Celtics could do no wrong to start the season. They opened up with the best 29 game start in NBA league history, going 27-2. The biggest regular season game on the NBA regular season schedule pitted the top two teams in the league in the Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers. The Celtics lost that game and we didn't think much of it, just a tough loss against perhaps our best competition in the league. Then, the next six games happened.The following night, the Celtics looked to rebound against the lowly Warriors. They started out strong, but ended up losing by 10 points (outscored 35-17 in the 4th quarter alone). They gave up 28 points to team captain Stephen Jackson and this seemed to be a trend in the five recent losses of the C's: big scoring outputs by players who shouldn't dominate the best defense in...

Read more | Discuss | Tags: Boston Celtics, Charlotte Bobcats, Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles Lakers, NBA, New York Knicks, Portland Trail Blazers, Sacramento Kings, Washington Wizards

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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Nets Again Win at Home, 98-80. 17-18

By Cliffy | January 6, 2009 | StateNets

It was not pretty, especially in the 1st half, but what's important is the Nets won this game, behind some great 2nd half play and you could just feel that they are building up some momentum at home, which is very welcome for this team. With Kevin Martin unstoppable during the 1st half, the Kings built a 57-43 half time lead and to make matters worse, Harris called it a night in fear of aggravating his still sore hamstring.Oh no right? Considering that the Nets have not won a single game without Harris and considering that this is at home, this was starting to look like another bad loss. But, it was actually the complete opposite, behind some great defense by their second unit, specifically Boone and Dooling. The Nets came back and outscored the Kings 55-35 in the 2nd half. Add to that the offensive explosion of Yi and...

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Eight-Second Violation: Tuesday, December 6, 2009

By Zach Harper | January 6, 2009 | Talk Hoops

By Zach HarperMarbury Potential Hard For People To Give Up OnWhat is it about potential, skill sets, and athleticism that makes us all clamor for those who don't deserve the attention? Is it because not even one percent of the world can accomplish the things that we see on the hardwood/parquet floor every night? Is it because we can make anybody in NBA 2K9 a threat to be great?(First side note: It really is true that NBA 2K9 is the Matrix for anyone that we want to turn into Neo and give them free reign on the pixilated battle ground that resides in my XBOX 360. I have seen Kevin Ollie and his mustache drop 62, Steve Francis play like he actually still existed, and Earl Watson perform like Larry Bird and Isiah Thomas settled their difference, had a love child, and named him after Earl Monroe and Matt...

Read more | Discuss | Tags: Boston Celtics, Caron Butler, Crab Dribble, Denver Nuggets, Golden State Warriors, Indiana Pacers, LeBron James, Los Angeles Lakers, Miami Heat, Milwaukee Bucks, NBA, New Jersey Nets, New Orleans Hornets, Sacramento Kings, San Antonio Spurs, Stephon Marbury, Toronto Raptors, Utah Jazz

NBA Stock Market: Stuckey Has Pistons Pushing Forward

By Joe Boikess | January 5, 2009 | MVN Outsider

Tayshaun Prince is Detroit's most consistent player (Photo via flickr.com/Jeffrey Simms Photography)

Every week here at NBA Outsider we look at which teams and players are hot and who's not from the Association. Here's the contenders for the first week of 2009...Rising:Detroit Pistons - Rip Hamilton, Rasheed Wallace and Antonio McDyess have all missed time recently for Detroit, yet the Pistons have somehow found a way to win seven in a row. Their latest win came on Sunday night when a last-second Allen Iverson floater was goaltended by the Clippers' Al Thornton to give Detroit the 88-87 win. A big part of their success has been the play of Rodney Stuckey, who is averaging just under 23 points per game during their seven-game winning streak. The Pistons are 13-3 with Stuckey as the starting point guard, and it clearly seems obvious at this point that he'll be sticking around.Kevin Martin (Kings) - Martin had missed 22 of Sacramento's first 24 games with...

Read more | Discuss | Tags: Boston Celtics, Charlotte Bobcats, Dallas Mavericks, Detroit Pistons, NBA, Sacramento Kings, Utah Jazz

Game 35 Preview, Nets vs Kings

By Cliffy | January 5, 2009 | StateNets

The Nets travel back home after that heart breaking loss to the heat to face the Kings, who are surely motivated by the return of Kevin Martin, who erupted for 40+ points in their last game against Indiana. Starters: Nets: Lopez, Yi, Simmons, Carter and HarrisKings: Miller, Moore, Garcia, Salmons and Udrih Injuries: Nets: Harris?Kings: Thomas and Hawes I'm not so sure if Martin will be starting, but it does not really matter, the Nets need to contain him. Also, I hope Harris will play, because the Kings do not really have anyone that can stop him. It'll be nice to see Moore back, he was a personal favorite of mine, but the Kings really did over-pay for him. How will Lopez bounce back from essentially being schooled by Wade? I know I'm a Nets fan and all that, but those blocks were sick. It's growing pains really and what...

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Stuckey pours it on as the Pistons winning streak goes to 6

By Jason Miller | January 3, 2009 | Pistons Palace

Chauncy Billups who? Rodney Stuckey poured in 38 as the Pistons slipped past the Kings. 98-92.The Pistons were short three players seeing McDyess, Hamilton, Wallace all out with various nagging injuries. Playing with 9 players didn't seem to bother the Pistons advance over the listless Kings. Stuckey dominated the game with good jump shots and driving past any King defender thrown at him. NBA coaches should to start to take notice of Stuckey for the NBA all star team. His caliber of play right now is top 5 in the Eastern Conference right now. Will he make the all star team this year? What do you think? ...

Read more | Discuss | Tags: All star team, Detroit Pistons, Eastern Conference, Kings, Pistons, Rodney Stuckey

Are We Overestimating Wally Szczerbiak's Expiring Contract?

By Amar Panchmatia | December 26, 2008 | Cavalier Attitude

On the day of the NBA Draft back in June, Nets president Rod Thorn's phone was ringing. It was Danny Ferry, and he had an offer that Thorn had to think about before refusing.Wally Szczerbiak for Vince Carter, straight up. You'd have to invent a new phrase for the talent swap there, because "one-sided" wouldn't do it any justice. The catch was that Szczerbiak would be entering the final year of his contract and would give the Nets, who had re-signed Carter to a mega-deal back in '07, tremendous cap relief. And considering that the Nets had shipped Richard Jefferson to Milwaukee in exchange for Yi Jianlian and Bobby Simmons, Ferry had every reason to believe that Thorn was operating a firesale.Based on accounts of that conversation, Thorn thought about it seriously before saying no. But that hasn't stopped numerous rumors linking Carter to the Cavs from popping up in...

Read more | 9 Comments | Tags: Anderson Varejao, Andrei Kirilenko, Antawn Jamison, Ben Wallace, Bill Simmons, Bobby Simmons, Brad Miller, Cleveland Cavaliers, Danny Ferry, Darnell Jackson, J.J. Hickson, Michael Redd, Mike Bibby, Mike Brown, Mike Miller, Milwaukee Bucks, New Jersey Nets, Richard Jefferson, Rod Thorn, Sacramento Kings, Shawn Marion, Vince Carter, Wally Szczerbiak, Wally Szczerbiak's Expiring Contract, Yi Jianlian, Zydrunas Ilgauskas

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: Stuckey Has Pistons Pushing Forward

By Joe Boikess | January 5, 2009 | MVN Outsider

Tayshaun Prince is Detroit's most consistent player (Photo via flickr.com/Jeffrey Simms Photography)

Read more | Discuss | Tags: Boston Celtics, Charlotte Bobcats, Dallas Mavericks, Detroit Pistons, NBA, Sacramento Kings, Utah Jazz

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

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

NBA Stock Market: Ford's play has Pacers soaring

By Joe Boikess | November 13, 2008 | MVN Outsider

Indiana's Jermaine O'Neal (flickr.com)

A week ago I tabbed the San Antonio Spurs as the team on the rise after Tony Parker led them to their first win of the season. Then Parker went down with a badly sprained ankle, sidelining him for about a month, and the Spurs have since managed only one win. This only proves that things can change in an instant in the NBA. Here's my risers and fallers for this week...Rising:Indiana Pacers - Indiana's schedule to begin the season was about as tough as it gets: games at Cleveland and at Detroit, and two home meetings with the Celtics and Suns. But after starting out 1-3, the Pacers have won their last three after notching a couple wins over the Nets and one against the lowly Thunder. T.J. Ford has carried much of the load during this latest win streak, getting within a few rebounds or assists shy of...Read more

Read more | Discuss | Tags: Andrei Kirilenko, Houston Rockets, Indiana Pacers, NBA, NBA Outsider, Phoenix Suns, Sacramento Kings, San Antonio Spurs, Toronto Raptors, Tracy McGrady, Utah Jazz

Fantasy Tracker: Target Gasol, Thompson to boost forward/center production

By Michael De Leon | November 5, 2008 | MVN Outsider

Every Wednesday, I'll highlight five players who you should either add to your fantasy team if you need the help or put on your watch list. I'll also list 5 players that should have their bags packed and may be on their way to free agency in your leagueADD/WATCH LISTNick YoungWhile Young was buried on the guard-heavy Wizards bench last season, he will get plenty of minutes this season with Gilbert Arenas out once again. The Wizards start Antonio Daniels to set up the offense and distribute the ball, but when they want instant offense, Young is their go-to guy. He has been averaging 16.5 points through two games, and I only see him getting better. Keep in mind that for the most part, he is mostly a one-cat guy. If you need assists or steals, you may want to go another route, but Young will provide points and he...Read more

Read more | Discuss | Tags: Detroit Pistons, Memphis Grizzlies, NBA, NBA Outsider, New Orleans Hornets, New York Knicks, Portland Trail Blazers, Sacramento Kings, Utah Jazz, Washington Wizards

How the West will be won

By Joe Boikess | October 22, 2008 | MVN Outsider

With the NBA regular season set to tip off in less than a week, it's time to reveal my predictions for how the Western Conference will shape up. Last year the requirement was at least 50 wins for a team to make the playoffs in the ultra competitive West, and I believe this year will be no different. That's not to say that all the same teams will be there in the end, however...In addition to ranking the teams in the order that I believe they'll finish, I decided to also separate the teams into tiers based on their potential to win the West. Here goes...Tier 1: The Clear Favorites1. New Orleans Hornets (1st in Southwest) - I realize that preseason performances should only be taken with a grain of salt, but the Hornets are 6-0 so far, and they have allowed the third-fewest points of any team during the...Read more

Read more | 7 Comments | Tags: Dallas Mavericks, Denver Nuggets, Golden State Warriors, Houston Rockets, Los Angeles Clippers, Los Angeles Lakers, Memphis Grizzlies, Minnesota Timberwolves, NBA, NBA Outsider, New Orleans Hornets, Oklahoma City Thunder, Phoenix Suns, Portland Trail Blazers, Sacramento Kings, San Antonio Spurs, Utah Jazz, Western Conference

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