Heels in the League (NBA) 02/21/10
(NBA) 02/21/10
Once again on the late side of things (as the day didn’t go according to plans) here is the recap from the games from yesterday, Sunday, February 21, 2010. In all the National Basketball Association had seven games on tap, five of them had a touch of Carolina Blue, three of them head to head match ups, of which all three were either on ABC or ESPN. As usual, if you are looking for a break down for the complete day of games you can check out Real GM‘s daily recap for the day’s games. But for now, sit back and relax as we go through this edition of “Heels in the League” (NBA) for the games from 02/21/10…
First game of the night, as well as first head to head match up, involves two teams that have ex UNC team mates on them as well as the top two squads in the Eastern Conference. It’s the Cleveland Cavaliers (EC 1st Central) heading down to the sunshine state to take on the Orlando Magic (EC 1st SE). A game that was held at the Amway Arena in front of a crowd that numbered 17,461. This was the third (of four) match ups between these squads, with the first two both going to Cleveland. In this one, for the visiting team from C-Town we have Antawan Jamison (43 Games: 38.4 MinsPG ~ 20.0 PPG ~ 8.8 RPG ~ 0.2 BPG), Jawad Williams (32 Games: 12.3 MinsPG ~ 4.0 PPG ~ 1.4 RPG ~ 0.1 BPG) and Danny Green. With the first two players coming off the bench for the Cavs and the third not even suiting up for this one. Jamison gets a total of 31 minutes in which he scored 19 points (9 for 14 ~ 1 for 1 ~ 0 for 1) to go with eight rebounds, one steal, a block and a pair of TOs while having a +10 pts differential. Williams, who plays 12 minutes in this one, scoring just two points (1 for 3 ~ 0 for 0 ~ 0 for 0) to go along with three rebounds (2 offensive) and a block while compiling a pts differential of +2 in this one. On the other side of the ball we have veteran shooting guard Vince Carter (50 Games: 30.8 MinsPG ~ 16.4 PPG ~ 2.9 APG ~ 4.2 RPG), who started for the Magic and played a total of 32 minutes in all. In that time the vet got 11 points (4 for 9 ~ 0 for 1 ~ 3 for 3) to go with three assists, a board, a steal and a pair of TOs while having a +8 pts differential. In a game I enjoyed watching on tv, it was Orlando pulling it out in the end, defeating Cleveland (who is on a 3 game slide) by six points, with the final score being 101 to 95. With the W the Magic are now 38-19 overall (.667 winning percentage), 22-6 at home (.785 winning percentage) and holding on to the second spot in the East, 5.0 games behind the conference leader. The loss drops the Cavs to 43-14 on the year (.754 winning percentage), 19-10 on the road (.655 winning percentage) and stays in the top spot of the East, 5.0 games in front of the next squad.
Main Stream Media:
ESPN ~ NBA.com ~ The Sporting News ~ CBS Sports
Blogs:
Orlando Magic Daily (TrueHoop Network) by Philip Rossman-Reich
CAVS: the blog (TrueHoop Network) by Mark Cameron
Fear the Sword (SB Nation) by Jeff at the BBC
Orlando Pinstriped Post (SB Nation) by Ben Q Rock
Slam Dunk Central by Jeff Sack
The second game of the day that was on ABC and watched as it was also the second head to head match up with Heels on both benches is the one between the Boston Celtics (EC 1st Atlantic) and the Denver Nuggets (WC 1st NW) in a East/West battle. The game was played at the Pepsi Center in front of an attendance of 19,818 and this was the first (of two) match ups between these squads). For the team from Bean Town it was ex UNC big man Rasheed Wallace (51 Games: 23.6 MinsPG ~ 9.9 PPG ~ 4.1 RPG ~ 0.0 BPG), who comes off the bench for 22 minutes. In that time the center scored eight points (4 for 10 ~ 0 for 3 ~ 0 for 0) to go with two rebounds, an assist, a steal, a block and a turnover while having a -11 pts differential. On the other side, it’s rookie Ty Lawson (52 Games: 22.0 MinsPG ~ 9.2 PPG ~ 3.4 APG ~ 0.8 SPG), who also comes off the pine and gets a total of 13 minutes in this one. The speedster scored four points (2 for 3 ~ 0 for 0 ~ 0 for 2) to go with two rebounds, two assists, one steal and a TO while having a pts differential of -8. In the end, in what was another good game to watch, it would be Denver winning by nine, defeating Boston by the final of 114 to 105. With the W the Nuggets are now 37-19 on the year (.661 winning percentage), 24-5 at home (.827 winning percentage) as they keep a hold of second place in the West, 5.0 games behind the conference leader. With the loss the Celtics drop to 35-19 on the season (.648 winning percentage), 20-10 on the road (.667 winning percentage) as they keep the third spot in the East, 6.5 behind the conference leader and 1.5 behind the 2nd place squad.
Main Stream Media:
ESPN ~ NBA.com ~ The Sporting News ~ CBS Sports
Blogs:
Celtics Hub (TrueHoop Network) by Brendan Jackson
Denver Stiffs (SB Nation) by Nate Timmons
Celtics Blog (SB Nation) by Greg Payne
Slam Dunk Central by Jeff Sack
RedsArmy.com by BigMck
Extra coverage:
ESPN’s basketball analysts Jon Barry and Michael Wilbon (PTI) talk about the Boston Celtics acquisition of Nate Robinson and the team’s chances at a championship.
Extra coverage:
This was given to me by Jose3030, of (Tar Heel) head coach George Karl during the game:
HC George Karl
Our third game of the night is the first non head to head match up and also the first one that I didn’t watch on television. This one has the Minnesota Timberwolves (WC 5th NW) playing host to the Oklahoma City Thunder (WC 3rd NW), which is the second (of four) time the two divisional foes meet up, with Oklahoma City taking the first one by 2 points. The game is played in front of a crowd of 14,202 at the Target Center. For the home squad we have rookie guard Wayne Ellington (55 Games: 17.9 MinsPG ~ 6.3 PPG ~ 0.9 APG ~ 2.2 RPG), who comes off the bench for 13 minutes of playing time. The shooting guard scores just around his season average with five points (2 for 5 ~ 1 for 2 ~ 0 for 0) to go with a rebound and a pair of TOs while having a +11 pts differential. In this one, just like the first meeting of these two teams, it’s a two point affair that once again Oklahoma City wins, defeating Minnesota by the final of 109 to 107, which is the sixth loss in a row for them. With the loss the TWolves are 13-44 overall (., 9-20 at home (.310 winning percentage) being the last place team in the West, 18.5 games out of playoff contention.
Main Stream Media:
ESPN ~ NBA.com ~ The Sporting News ~ CBS Sports
Blogs:
Canis Hoopus (SB Nation) by Stop-n-Pop
Dunking with Wolves (FanSided) by Derrick Willis
The second to last game of the night is once again a head to head match up, while also being a East/West coast battle, as the Atlanta Hawks (EC 2nd SE) go cross country to take on the Golden State Warriors (WC 5th Pacific), for the first (of two) clash between the teams. The game was played at the ORACLE Arena in front of an attendance that numbered 17,822. For the team from the east coast it’s forward Marvin Williams (53 Games: 29.9 MinsPG ~ 10.2 PPG ~ 5.0 RPG ~ 1.0 APG), who gets 30 minutes as a starter for the Hawks. In the time frame the ex one and done for Roy Williams scores nine points (4 for 7 ~ 0 for 0 ~ 1 for 2) to go with two rebounds, a steal and a block while having a pts differential of +1. On the other side, for the Warriors, we would love to see Brandan Wright, but as we all know he is still out battling the shoulder injury. In a pretty high scoring affair, that went down to the wire, it was Golden State winning it, defeating Atlanta by the final of 108 to 104. With the W the Warriors are now 16-39 on the year (291 winning percentage)., 12-16 at home (.428 winning percentage) and are second to last in the West, 14.5 behind the last playoff squad. The loss puts the Hawks at 34-20 for the season (.630 winning percentage), 13-14 on the road (.481 winning percentage) and are fourth in the East, 7.5 behind the conference leader and 3.5 of the fifth place squad.
Main Stream Media:
ESPN ~ NBA.com ~ The Sporting News ~ CBS Sports
Blogs:
Hoopinion (TrueHoop)
Peachtree Hoops (SB Nation) by hawksdawgs
Golden State of Mind ATMA Brother One
Soaring Down South (FanSided) by KWillis
Blue Man Hoop (FanSided) by sfwyee
And we close it up with a divisional match up as the Sacramento Kings (WC 4th Pacific) go to play the Phoenix Suns (WC 2nd Pacific) for the fourth time (of four), with the Kings having won 2 out of first 3 games. This one was played at the US Airways Center in front of a crowd of 17,369. For the visiting squad we have ex UNC big man Sean May, who does not see any playing time in this one (DNP – Coach’s Decision). As far as the game was concerned it was Phoenix winning it pretty big, defeating Sacramento by the final score of 104 to 88. With the loss the Kings are now 18-38 overall (.312 winning percentage), 5-25 (.166 winning percentage) and holding on to the 13th spot in the West, 13.0 games out of the playoff race.
Main Stream Media:
ESPN ~ NBA.com ~ The Sporting News ~ CBS Sports
Blogs:
Sactown Royalty (SB Nation) by Ziller
Shortlink:
