Heels in the League 04/01/09 (NBA)
04/01/09
Another night with plenty of action as there were nine games in the NBA, and another night with plenty of ex North Carolina players taking to the court. This “Heels in the League” is full of special games, two games with head to head Heels (one and old school match up, the other a new school one), one overtime game and a double OT contest. As usual, after we check out the NBA we will see if any ex Tar Heel was in action in the NBDL and be sure to check out the links I put in this post, as they cover much more of the game, while I focus on the ex UNC players.
In the first game of the night it’s the Charlotte Bobcats (4th in the Southeast Division) heading north to the TD Banknorth Garden to take on the reigning NBA Champs, the Boston Celtics (1st in the Atlantic Division). In this game, where the Bobcats have two ex Heels, only Raymond Felton will see the floor, getting 49 minutes in all, getting a double double in this one. The ex national champion under HC Roy Williams scored 14 points (7 for 20) and had a game high 12 assists. Felton also registered four boards, while turning over the ball twice. On the other hand, his team mate Sean May was a “DNP – Coach’s Decision”. Two nights ago the `Cats were able to take care of the Lakers, but in this one it was Boston (57-19, 31-6 home) beating Charlotte (34-41, 12-24 away) by a bucket in a double overtime game, with the final being 111 to 109. With the Bobcats losing and the Bulls being idle Charlotte is now 1.5 games behind for the last playoff place in the East.
We go from a double overtime and double ex Heels in the first game to double ex Heels in this one, but playing one versus the other. The match up is the Detroit Pistons (2nd in the Central Division) going to the IZOD Center to take on the New Jersey Nets (3rd in the Atlantic Division). For the visitors we should have seen Rasheed Wallace, who has just returned from injury the night before. However, in his last game (2 nights ago) the ex UNC big man picked up his 16th technical and the league suspended him for a game. For the home team it’s another pupil of Dean Smith, Vince Carter, who scored 12 points (5 for 12) in 41 minutes of action. The ex Heel also had seven rebounds, seven assists, a steal and a block on the night. In the end New Jersey (31-44, 16-22 home) took the game from Detroit (36-39, 17-20 away) 111 to 98, thanks to a 11 point lead in the first quarter that they never relinquished. With less than ten games to go the Nets are 4.5 games from the last playoff spot, meaning I just don’t see New Jersey going to the post season this year.
Now, from a duo of ex Heels battling it out we go back to a pair of ex North Carolina playing on the same side. It’s the match up between two last place squads in their divisions. It’s the Washington Wizards (last in the Southeast Division) heading southbound to take on the Memphis Grizzlies (last in the Southwest Division) played at the FedEx Forum (where the Heels just played the finals of the South Regionals). For the guest team it’s Antawn Jamsion and Brendan Haywood taking to the court. Jamison gets the nod at the power forward spot, getting a double double in 42 minutes of action. The ex NPOY scored 28 points while grabbing a game high 10 boards in the game. Jamison also had 2 assists, while committing 3 TOs. Brendan Haywood came off the bench for 24 minutes, scoring 2 points on 1 for 6 shooting night, while getting three block shots, two rebounds and a steal. When it was all said and done Memphis (20-54, 13-24 home) gets the win in this one, defeating Washington (17-59, 5-33 away) by 5 points, 112 to 107. As we all know the Wizs have been out of playoff contention for quite a while now.
The next game last night was an East vs West match up, with the Miami Heat (3rd in the Southeast Division) heading to the lone star state to take on the Dallas Mavericks (4th in the Southwest Division) at the American Airlines Center. For the Mavs there is no sign of Jerry Stackhouse, but in what could be called a good game, it’s Dallas (45-30, 27-9 home) beating Miami (39-36, 13-24 away) by a bucket, 98 to 96. With seven games to go it seems that the Mavericks will be the final team from the West, as they have a 4 game margin on the Suns.
The last game is another head to head match up, this time with two ex Carolina players that came under the tuteldge of Roy Williams. It’s the Sacramento Kings (last in the Pacific Division) going to the ORACLE Arena and taking on the Golden State Warriors (3rd in the Pacific Division) in a divisional encounter. For the visiting squad it’s ex national champion Rashad McCants getting 38 minutes off the bench. In that time span, shooting 5 for 14, the ex Heel got 14 points, he also added four rebounds, three assists and a steal in the game. On the other side it should have been Brandan Wright getting some playing time for his Warriors squad, however the ex Heel is out with a left shoulder injury. In the second game that goes into overtime, it was Golden State (26-49, 20-17 home) beating Sacramento (16-58, 5-32 away) by a duece, 143 to 141. Both the Warriors (19 games back) and the Kings (22.5 back) have been out for a shot at the playoffs for a while now.
In the NBDL it was a pretty big schedule, with four games, in which on had an ex Heel in it. It was Rio Grande Valley Vipers (20-25) taking on the Utah Flash (27-16). For the Vipers it’s Jawad Williams playing close to 35 and a half minutes, while getting a game high 35 points (12 for 25 – 1 for 6 from 3 – 10 for 10 FTs). The ex national champion also had four assists, two rebounds, two steals, while committing four turnovers. In the end it was the Vipers winning the game, as they defeated the Flash by a final tally of 115 to 110.
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