Heels in the League (NBA) 12/22/09
(NBA) 12/22/09
Starting early today err tonight on the games from this evening in the National Basketball Association (even if I will post this in the morning). We have a schedule of nine games in all tonight. Of those 9 match ups five of them have a touch of carolina blue, with two of them having UNC players on both benches. And so we all know by now, be it all of the Tar Heels in action or just one, if there is anything Carolina there is the usual recap, called “Heels in the League” (NBA), here on The Fifth Corner. So, without further interruptions, let’s get going with this edition for the games from Tuesday, December 22, 2009…
The first game of the night has the Washington Wizards hosting the Philadelphia 76′ers at the Verizon Center. A game that was played in front of a crowd that numbered 15,435 (max capacity: 20,173). For the team from the nation’s capital we have the tandem of Antawn Jamison and Brandan Haywood. For the ex NPOY under Dean Smith it is a sub par night, playing 33 minutes and scoring just seven points in all (1 for 6 ~ 0 for 0 ~ 5 for 6). The forward also had five rebounds, three assists, a steal and a turnover. For the ex UNC big man it’s a 24 minutes appearance, where he only had a couple of points (1 for 4 ~ 0 for 0 ~ 0 for 0), as well as six rebounds, two assists, a block and a pair of TOs. At the end of it all, even without great performances by the two Heels, it was still Washington beating Philly by the final score of 105 to 98. With the win the Wizards are now 9 and 17 on the season. The number one site for the Wizards, Truth About It, has the following to say about the game: Flip Saunders’ Wholesale Third Quarter Substitution.
On The Washington Post web site there is a small tidbit about the benching of all the starters by the head coach of the Wizards and how Antawn Jamison reacted to it:
Antawn Jamison kicked the ad banner near the Wizards bench and grabbed a seat at the end of the bench. Asked about the benching after the game, Jamison said, “I have no comment on that.”
The next game of the night has the Charlotte Bobcats hosting the Detroit Pistons at the Time Warner Cable arena, a game played in front of a crowd of 16,864 (max capacity: 19,026). For the home team we see ex national champion Raymond Felton, who gets 37 minutes in all as the starting point guard for the Bobcats. In that time frame the ex speedster from Chapel Hill almost gets a double double, scoring 10 points (4 for 8 ~ 0 for 1 ~ 2 for 2), to go with eight assists, two rebounds, three steals and four turnovers. In what was a low scoring game, it would be Charlotte defeating Detroit by a dozen, with the final score being 88 to 76. With the W the Bobcats are now 11 and 16 on the season. My good friend Natalie, from Need4Sheed, has a small recap of the game.
The third game on hand for last night was the first of two games with UNC players on both sides. In this one we have the Indiana Pacers heading east to take on the Boston Celtics at the TD Garden with a crowd numbering close to capacity at 18,624 (max capacity: 18,854). For the visiting team we have rookie big man Tyler Hansbrough, who comes off the Pacers bench for 20 minutes. In that time the ex NPOY gets just two points (1 for 4 ~ 0 for 0 ~ 0 for 0) to go with five rebounds and an assist. On the other side, another ex UNC big man, Rasheed Wallace, gets the start for the Celtics (due to Garnett’s injury), going for 36 minutes in all. For the ex pupil of Dean Smith it’s almost a double double evening as he scores nine points (3 for 8 ~ 1 for 4 ~ 2 for 2) to go with 13 rebounds (3 on the offensive glass), three assists, three steals and a block. With a second half rally it was Boston defeating Indiana by the final of 103 to 94. The W brings the Celtics to a 22 and 5 record, while the loss puts the Pacers close to 10 under .500 at 9 and 18. Indy Cornrows says the following of the game: Indiana Blows Seventh Double-Digit Lead Of Season In Loss To Boston. At Slam Dunk Central Jeff Sack has his own recap of the game, also talking about the Celtics Second Half Surge Pushes Them Past Pacers 103-94!
The fourth game from 12/22/09 is the other game with Heels on each side of the court. In this one we have the Atlanta Hawks going to Target Center to take on the Minnesota Timberwolves, with an extremely small crowd of 11,271 (max capacity: 20,500). For the visiting team we see small forward Marvin Williams, who starts for the Hawks and gets 31 minutes in all. The “one and done” for Roy Williams scores 10 points in this one (4 for 10 ~ 0 for 2 ~ 2 for 2) to go with six boards, one assist, one steal, a block and a turnover. On the other side, for the TWolves, we have rookie shooting guard Wayne Ellington, who comes off the bench for 13 minutes in this one. In that time the guard scores two points (1 for 3 ~ 0 for 0 ~ 0 for 0), gets two rebounds and has an assist. In great part thanks to Jamal Crawford it was Atlanta beating Minnesota by the final tally of 112 to 87. With the win the Hawks are now 20 and 7, while the loss pushed the TWolves close to 20 games below .500, with a 5 and 24 record.
The last game on tap has the Golden State Warriors taking on the Memphis Grizzlies, in a game that is played at the FedExForum in front of a crowd of 12,827 (max capacity: 18,119). For the team from the west coast we know that Brandan Wright is their touch of carolina blue, but we also know that he is still out recovering from a shoulder injury/surgery that he had before the beginning of the season. As far as the game went it was Memphis beating Golden State 121 to 108, thanks in large part to the game by Zach Randolph.
Shortlink:
