Heels in the League 03/31/09 (NBA)

03/31/09

A pretty decent line up for the NBA yesterday, with 18 squads taking to the hardwoods to battle it out for the last few games of the season. Of those teams five have ex North Carolina players on them, which means that it’s time to do my daily recap called “Heels in the League”. As usual I will link all the recaps to the ESPN article, plus some with have extra links (to Slam Dunk Central). And after we have checked out the NBA I will also check out the NBDL and if there were any ex UNC players in action there as well.

In the first game it’s the return of one of the ex Heels that has been on the sideline with an injury. It’s a divisional match up as the Detroit Pistons (2nd in the Central Division) goes to the Quicken Loans Arena to take on the Cleveland Cavaliers (1st in the Central Division). Back on the court for the first time in weeks is ex UNC big man Rasheed Wallace, who came off the bench for 27 minutes, scoring nine points, grabbing nine boards and adding an assist and a block. In what could be described as winning ugly, it was Cleveland (61-13, 36-1 home) beating Detroit (36-38, 17-19 away) by the final of 79 to 73. The Pistons are still a game ahead of the Bulls (who also lost) for the seventh spot in the East playoff run.

Second game is one between two teams that are second in their division and are both in the playoffs this season, the Atlanta Hawks (2nd in the Southeast Division) head to the city of Brotherly love and take on the Philadelphia 76′ers (2nd in the Atlantic Division). As we know for the Hawks there should have been Marvin Williams playing, but he is out for the season due to an injury. His squad could have definitely used him in this game, as Philadelphia (38-35, 22-15 home) beat Atlanta (43-32, 14-23 away) by double figures, with the final tally being 98 to 85. Even with the loss the Hawks are still firmly in the 4th spot in the East, having a 3.5 games lead on the Heat.

Third game on tap for the night with a touch of carolina blue is the one between the Los Angeles Lakers (1st in the Pacific Division) and the Charlotte Bobcats (4th in the Southeast Division) played at the Time Warner Cable Arena. In the game we have a duo of ex Tar Heels, Raymond Felton and Sean May, playing for the home squad, but only Felton gets any action as May is a “DNP – Coach’s Decision”. The ex Carolina point guard played 43 minutes in all, scoring 16 points (6 for 13) while adding five assists, three rebounds and a staggering six turnovers. All of that didn’t matter as Charlotte (34-40, 22-17 home) was able to win this one by 10 over Los Angeles (58-16, 27-11 away), with the final score being 97 to 87.  In what could have been described as a “Brown out”, you might like or not head coach Larry Brown, but you have give him his respect and props with what he does with them. With the Bobcats’ win and the Bulls’ loss the gap between 8th and 9th place is but a game, with eight games to go it’s anyone race now.

Another game with the ex Heel being on the sideline in the game between the Dallas Mavericks (4th in the Southwest Division) and the Minnesota Timberwolves (last in the Northwest Division), played at the Target Center. With ex Heel Jerry Stackhouse on the sidelines as usual, it was still Dallas (44-30, 18-21 away) winning the game against Minnesota (21-54, 11-27 home) 108 to 88, as Josh Howard returned to the Mavs’ lineup. With the win the Mavericks are 4 games ahead of the Suns for the final spot in the West playoffs.

Last game from yesterday is the one between the New Orleans Hornets (3rd in the Southwest Division) and the Sacramento Kings (last in the Pacific Division). For the lone star state’s squad it’s Rashad McCants getting 23 minutes and scoring 14 points (5 for 9 – 2 for 4 from beyond the arc) in all. The ex national champ in front of the home crowd of the ARCO Arena also had two assists and a steal, while committing no TO’s. In the end it was New Orleans (46-27, 19-16 away) winning this one by the slimmests of margins, defeating Sacramento (16-57, 11-26 home) 111 to 110. The Kings are last in the West and have had no chance at the playoff in a while.

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