Heels in the League (NBA) 03/12/10
(NBA) 03/12/10
Trying to get an early start on yesterday’s recap of the ex UNC players in the National Basketball Association, here is this edition of “Heels in the League” (NBA) for Friday, March 12, 2010. In all the slate had twelve games, seven of them had a touch of Carolina Blue, one being a head to head match up between two teams from the Eastern Conference. For a complete run down of the games from 03/12/10 you can always check out ESPN or Inside Hoops recaps for the night. I also want to put the link to this Wall Street Journal’s article that talks about the fact that half of the NBA teams have “stat heads”. I found it very interesting, figured you would as well. But for now, sit back and relax as we go through the games from 03/12/10…
The first game of the night is the one that has the Cleveland Cavaliers (EC 1st Central), the first team that has qualified for the playoffs, going to the city of brotherly love to take on the Philadelphia 76′ers (EC 3rd Atlantic). This is the third game (of three) between these two teams, with Cleveland having won the first two of this series. The game was played at the Wachovia Center in front of a crowd of 20,433. For the visiting squad from C-Town we have a trio of Heels, Jawad Williams (40 Games: 13.0 MinsPG ~ 4.1 PPG ~ 1.4 RPG ~ 0.7 APG), who comes off the bench, Danny Green, who dresses but does not play (DNP – Coach’s Decision) and Antawn Jamison, who does not even make the trip to Philly. In this one Williams plays for 17 minutes, scoring six points (2 for 6 ~ 0 for 3 ~ 2 for 3) to go with a rebound, an assist and a turnover while having a -12 pts differential. As far as the game is concerned it was Cleveland winning this one by five points, defeating Philadelphia by the final of 100 to 95. With the W the Cavs are now 51-15 on the season (. winning percentage), 23-11 on the road (.676 winning percentage) and are first in the East, 5.0 games ahead of the second place squad.
Main Stream Media:
ESPN ~ NBA.com ~ The Sporting News ~ CBS Sports
Blogs:
CAVS: the blog (TrueHoop Network) by John Krolik
Fear the Sword (SB Nation) by Jeff at the BBC
King James Gospel (FanSided) by Cody Norman
Slam Dunk Central by Jeff Sack
The second game of the night is an East/West clash as the Charlotte Bobcats (EC 3rd SE) play host to the Los Angeles Clippers (WC 3rd Pacific), this being the second (of two) games between the franchises with Los Angeles winning the first one. The game was played at the Time Warner Cable Arena in front of an attendance of 15,835. For the home squad it’s speedster Raymond Felton (63 Games: 32.7 MinsPG ~ 11.7 PPG ~ 5.4 APG ~ 1.6 SPG), who starts for the Bobcats and gets a total of 38 minutes in all. The point guard has a double double in this one (coming pretty close to a triple double), scoring 10 points (5 for 11 ~ 0 for 1 ~ 0 for 0) to go with 11 assists, eight rebounds (3 offensive), two steals and a pair of turnovers, while having a +11 pts differential. In the end it was Charlotte winning this one by eight points, defeating Los Angeles by the final of 106 to 98. With the victory the Bobcats are now 33-31 on the season (. winning percentage), 24-8 at home (.750 winning percentage) and are tied for sixth in the East, 17.0 games behind the conference leader and just 0.5 games ahead of the eighth team.
Main Stream Media:
ESPN ~ NBA.com ~ The Sporting News ~ CBS Sports
Blogs:
Queen City Hoops (TrueHoop Network) by James
Rufus on Fire (SB Nation) by David Arnott
The third game of the night is the only head to head match up as the Indiana Pacers (EC 5th Central) head to Bean Town to take on the Boston Celtics (EC 1st Atlantic), played at the TD Garden in front of a crowd that numbered 18,624. This is the third game (of three) between the clubs with the series being tied up at one a piece. For the visiting squad it would be rookie lottery pick Tyler Hansbrough, but as we all know the young man is going to be sidelined for probably the remainder of the season with various health problems. For the home squad we have ex UNC big man Rasheed Wallace (61 Games: 23.2 MinsPG ~ 9.5 PPG ~ 4.1 RPG ~ 0.9 BPG), who come off the bench to play for 19 minutes in all. In that time frame the center scored six points (2 for 4 ~ 0 for 2 ~ 2 for 2) to go with five rebounds and a TO while having a team high pts differential of +12. In the end, in a pretty high scoring game, it’s all Boston in this one, as they defeated Indiana by 19, with the final tally being 122 to 103. With the win the Celtics are now 41-23 for the year (.641 winning percentage), 19-12 at home (.612 winning percentage) and are tied for third in the East, 9.0 games behind the conference leader and 6.0 ahead of the next squad . With the loss the Pacers drop to 21-44 on the season (.323 winning percentage), 7-28 on the road (.200 winning percentage) and are second to last in the East, 12 games out of playoff contention.
Main Stream Media:
ESPN ~ NBA.com ~ The Sporting News ~ CBS Sports
Blogs:
Celtics Hub (TrueHoop Network) by Brendan Jackson
Celtics Blog (SB Nation) by Jimmy Toscano
Indy Cornrows (SB Nation) by Tom Lewis
Hardwood Houdini (FanSided) by greenbanner18
RedsArmy by BigMck
As we continue on we now have the game that brings the Denver Nuggets (WC 1st NW) to the Big Easy to take on the New Orleans Hornets (WC 5th SW) in what is the third (of four) games between the clubs. The first two games were split one a piece. The game was played in front of a crowd of 17,220 at the New Orleans Arena. For the team from the Mile High City we should be seeing rookie point guard Ty Lawson, but the young man does not play in the one (DNP – Coach’s Decision). As far as the game went it was Denver taking it, defeating New Orleans by the final score of 102 to 95. With the W the Nuggets are now 44-21 overall (.677 winning percentage), 16-16 on the road (.500 winning percentage) and are third in the West, 3.5 games behind the conference leader, 0.5 games behind the second place squad and 2.0 games ahead of the fourth team.
Main Stream Media:
ESPN ~ NBA.com ~ The Sporting News ~ CBS Sports
Blogs:
Denver Stiffs (SB Nation) by Andrew Feinstein
In the fifth game of the night we have the Minnesota Timberwolves (WC 5th NW) playing host to the San Antonio Spurs (WC 2nd SW) in what is the second (of three) match ups between these two teams, with San Antonio having won the first one. The game was played at the Target Center in front of a crowd of 17,009. For the home town team it’s yet again another rookie, Wayne Ellington (61 MinsPG ~ 18.0 MinsPG ~ 6.4 PPG ~ 0.9 APG ~ 2.2 RPG), who gets 31 minutes in this one. In that time the shooting guard scores 17 points (7 for 10 ~ 2 for 3 ~ 1 for 1) to go with three rebounds, an assist and a -5 pts differential. While Ellington had one of his best games of the year it was still San Antonio winning this one by 18, beating Minnesota by the final score of 103 to 85. With the loss the TWolves are 14-52 on the year (.212 winning percentage), 9-25 at home (.264 winning percentage) and are dead last in the West, 25 games out of the playoff race.
Main Stream Media:
ESPN ~ NBA.com ~ The Sporting News ~ CBS Sports
Blogs:
Howlin’ T-Wolf (TrueHoop) by JSteinmeyer
The second to last game of this recap is an East/West clash as the Milwaukee Bucks (EC 2nd Central) played host to the Utah Jazz (WC 2nd NW) in the second (of two) games between these franchises, with Utah winning the fist encounter. The game was played in front of 14,917 fans at the Bradley Center. For the home squad it’s newly acquired Jerry Stackhouse (24 Games: 20.5 MinsPG ~ 8.0 PPG ~ 1.9 APG ~ 2.6 RPG), who comes off the bench for the Bucks and plays a total of 13 minutes. The shooting guard scored just three points in this one (1 for 5 ~ 1 for 4 ~ 0 for 0) to go with a rebound, an assist and a -10 pts differential. In the end it’s another win for the hot Milwauke squad, who defeats Utah by eight points, with the final being 95 to 87. With the win the Bucks are now 35-29 on the season (. winning percentage), 22-9 at home (.709 winning percentage) and are in fifth place in the East, 15.0 games behind the conference leader and 2.0 games in front of the next squads.
Main Stream Media:
ESPN ~ NBA.com ~ The Sporting News ~ CBS Sports
Blogs:
Bucksketball (TrueHoop Network) by Jeremy
Brew Hoop (SB Nation) by Alex Boeder
And we close it up with the Sacramento Kings (WC 4th Pacific) playing host to the Portland Trail Blazers (WC 4th NW), which is the third (of four) match up of the two, with Portland having a 2-0 edge in the series. The game was played at the ARCO Arena in front of a crowd that numbered 12,110. For the home town squad it’s UNC big man Sean May (27 Games: 9.7 MinsPG ~ 3.5 PPG ~ 2.1 RPG ~ 0.2 BPG), who comes off the bench to play for 14 minutes. In that time frame the power forward scores six points (3 for 5 ~ 0 for 0 ~ 0 for 0) to go with three rebounds (one offensive), an assist and a TO, while having a pts differential of +5. In the end it was Portland winning (and going up 3-0 in the series), defeating Sacramento by 16 points, with the final score being 110 to 94. With the loss the Kings are 22-44 on the year (.333 winning percentage), 16-16 at home (.500 winning percentage) and are 13th in the West, 17.0 games out of the playoff race.
Main Stream Media:
ESPN ~ NBA.com ~ The Sporting News ~ CBS Sports
Blogs:
Sactown Royalty (SB Nation) by Ziller
