As the second round of the NBA Play-Offs continue there are still a couple of former Tar Heels in the running to win a title. As we will see in this edition of “Heels in the Pros”(NBA) both of them played last night, with very different results. What the Heel Nation that follows the UNC players that are now at the next level can take confort in is that if history is correct one of the two Carolina players will be headed to their conference finals. As far as the other Heel? Well, I will let you read the rest of this post and you can make up your own mind on it. So, without further interruptions, let’s get going with this edition of “Heels in the Pros” (NBA) for 05/06/11…

The first game of the night, played last night at 7:00 pm EST (televised on ESPN), was game three (of a best of seven) in the East between #1 seed Chicago Bulls and #5 seed Atlanta Hawks. The game has come back to Atlanta tied up at one, and it would be played at the Philips Arena in front of 19,521 fans. For the home squad we have small forward Marvin Williams, who starts for the Hawks and plays a total of 24 minutes in all. In that time frame the former National Champion scores 10 points (4 for 7 ~ 0 for 0 ~ 2 for 3) to go with one rebound, one assist and a turnover, while having a pts differential of -15. As far as the game went, the top seed in the East has taken back home court advantage in this series by winning the game by the score of 99 to 82. With the loss Atlanta is now down 2 games to 1 and will host the next game on Monday night, starting at 8:00 pm EST (televised on TNT).

Hoopinion (TrueHoop Network)
Peachtree Hoops (SB Nation)
Hawks Highlight (Bloguin)

Clipped from: espn.go.com (share this clip)

The late game of the night is from the Western Conference, where the Dallas Mavericks are hosting the Los Angeles Lakers in the third game (of a best of seven series). The game, televised on ESPN with a starting time of 9:30 pm EST, was played in front of 21,156 fans at the American Airlines Center. For the home squad from the lone star state we have Brendan Haywood, who comes off the bench for 14 minutes of playing time. In that time the former Heel didn’t score any points (0 for 0 ~ 0 for 0 ~ 0 for 0), but had seven rebounds (4 offensive) and a turnover, while composing a -2 pts differential on the night. In the end it was Dallas coming back with an enormous 4th quarter performance, to win this one by the final of 98 to 92. With the victory the Mavs are up 3-0 in the series, and no team has ever come back from a deficit like this in the NBA.

The Two Man Game (TrueHoop Network)
Mavs Moneyball (SB Nation)
The Smoking Cuban (FanSided)
Slam Dunk Central

Clipped from: espn.go.com (share this clip)

I am sure that the National Basketball Association didn’t do this for my pleasure, but it’s nice to have both of the teams with a touch of Carolina Blue playing on the same night, giving me time to keep up with the former Heels now at the next level, which I call “Heels in the Pros” (NBA). in this post we look at the games from 05/02. In all there are two former UNC players still in the playoffs, and both are the underdogs in the series. But, without giving any more away, let’s get going with this edition of “Heels in the Pros” (NBA) for May 2, 2011…

The first game of the night, from the Eastern Conference, it’s the Atlanta Hawks headed to the windy city to take on the Chicago Bulls in the first of the seven game series. The game was played at the United Center in front of a crowd of 22,890. For the visiting team it’s small forward Marvin Williams, who starts but plays just 22 minutes in all. In that time frame the former national champion and one & done for head coach Roy Williams scores 5 points (2 for 6 ~ 0 for 2 ~ 1 for 1) to go with two rebounds, a block and a turnover, while having a pts differential of -4. As far as the game was concerned it was Atlanta upsetting Chicago, taking the game by the score of 103 to 95. Game 2 of this series will be played tonight at 8:00 pm EST.

NBA
ESPN
Sporting News
CBS

Peachtree Hoops (SB Nation)
Soaring Down South (FanSided)
Hawks Highlight (Bloguin)
Slam Dunk Central

The other game with someone donning the Carolina Blue is in the Western Conference, where the Dallas Mavericks headed to Cali to take on the Los Angeles Lakers in their game one of the series. The game was played in front of 18,997 at the Staples Center. For the visiting squad from the lone star state it’s big man Brendan Haywood, who comes off the bench to play 13 minutes. In that time frame the center scores two points (1 for 1 ~ 0 for 0 ~ 0 for 0) to go with one block and a +6 pts differential. As far as the game went it was another upset, this one much closer, as Dallas took this one from LA by 2, with the score being 96-94. Game 2 of this series is tonight, starting at 10:30 pm EST.

NBA
ESPN
Sporting News
CBS

Mavs MoneyBall (SB Nation)
The Smoking Cuban (FanSided)
Slam Dunk Central

As I come back into form and check out how the National Basketball Association Play-offs are going in my (NBA) I see that three series are set up already, with Boston and Miami ready to go on Sunday (3:30 pm EST), Atlanta vs Chicago and Dallas versus LA Lakers beginning the next day. Both of the series that start on Monday have a touch of Carolina Blue, with Atlanta having Marvin Williams and Dallas sporting Brendan Haywood. Of course Los Angeles does have a former UNC player in Mitch Kupchak. The last series going on from round one is San Antonio and Memphis where the Grizzlies have a 3-2 advantage and tonight will host game six at the FedExForum. The winner will meet up with Oklahoma City, who took down Denver (who has HC George Karl and two point guards in Raymond Felton and Ty Lawson on their roster).

Working ever so hard to make this a daily post that is also on time (which it isn’t right now), here is the next chapter of the Tar Heels now in the National Basketball Association, in what is called by me “Heels in the Pros” (NBA) for April 19, 2011. In all there were three games on this night, two of them had Carolina Blue in them. So, without any more interruptions and delays, let’s get this edition of “Heels in the Pros” (NBA) for 04/19/11…

The first game of the night is the second one between the Atlanta Hawks and the Orlando Magic, played at the Amway Center in front of 19,160. For the visiting team it’s Marvin Williams, who comes off the bench for the Hawks and plays a total of 19 minutes in all. For the fifth year small forward it’s a four point game (1 for 6 ~ 0 for 3 ~ 2 for 2) to go with three rebounds, an assist and a TO, while having a -7 pts differential. Just like the Heel, Atlanta was not on its best game in this one, losing to Orlando by six points, 88 to 82. With the loss the series is now tied at one a piece and the next game will be in Atlanta on Friday April 22nd.

NBA
ESPN
Sporting News
CBS

Peachtree Hoops(SB Nation)
Soaring Down South (FanSided)
Hawks Highlight (Bloguin)

The other game with a touch of Carolina Blue is in the West Conference where the Dallas Mavericks are hosting the Portland Trail Blazers for the second game of their seven game series. The match was played in front of 20,620 fans at the American Airlines Center. For the home team it’s ten year vet Brendan Haywood, who comes off the bench for the Mavs and plays a total of 20 minutes in this one. In that time frame the center scores just two points (1 for 1 ~ 0 for 0 ~ 0 for 4) to go with five rebounds (4 offensive), one assist and a TO. Haywood had a +9 pts differential in the game. As far as the game is concerned it was Dallas winning it by a dozen, with the final score being 101 to 89. With the W the Mavericks take a 2-0 lead in the series, with the third game being Thursday April 21 in Portland.

NBA
ESPN
Sporting News
CBS

Mavs MoneyBall (SB Nation)
The Smoking Cuban (FanSided)

The National Basketball Association began its “second season” yesterday afternoon and I have to say it was pretty good to say the least. Three teams (Indiana ~ Atlanta ~ Dallas) with a former Tar Heel on their roster were in action today and we are going to check how they did in this edition of “Heels in the Pros” (NBA). On a side note: I love for that ESPN radio host to come out and say that he was wrong about what he kept saying about Tyler Hansbrough, but I know that won’t happen, so this was just a one sentence rant! Now, back to the things at hands and “Heels in the Pros” (NBA) of 04/16/11…

The first game of the day was a barn burner between the 8 seed Indiana Pacers and the top seed Chicago Bulls (televised on ESPN). It was played at the United Center in front of 22,986 fans. For the visiting squad it was power forward Tyler Hansbrough, who seemed to have come back to the times where UNC and Duke took to the hardwoods. The second year player started for the Pacers and played 36 minutes (could have been more if not for being hit in the face hard enough he had to be taken to the locker room). In that time frame the 6’9″ forward scored 22 points (10 for 19 ~ 0 for 0 ~ 2 for 3) to go with four rebounds, two assists, a steal and 2 TOs. It was a great job by the former NPOY and National Champion, but it was not enough as the Bulls (or better said Derrick Rose) took over in the last minutes and won by the final of 104 to 99, taking Game 1 of the seven game series. The two squads will face off next on Monday, April 18, 2011, coverage on TNT.

NBA
ESPN
Sporting News
CBS

8 Points, 9 Seconds (True Hoop Network)
Indy Cornrows (SB Nation)
Pacers Pulse (Bloguin)
Slam Dunk Central

The next game of the night that has a touch of Carolina Blue is the match up between the 5th seed Atlanta Hawks and the 4th seed Orland Magic, televised by the World Leader in Sports. The game was played at the Amway Center in front of an attendance of 19,108. For the visiting squad we have yet again another National Champ in forward Marvin Williams, who came off the bench for the Hawks and played a total of 16 minutes. The fifth year man score six points in this one (2 for 3 ~ 0 for 0 ~ 2 for 2) to go with one board, two steals and an assist. As far as the game went it was the Hawks taking this one by double digits, surprising the Magic by the score of 103 to 93. The series is 1-0 for Atlanta and the two franchise will go at it once again Tuesday, April 19, 2011, tv coverage by NBA TV.

NBA
ESPN
Sporting News
CBS

Peachtree Hoops (SB Nation)
Slam Dunk Central

And finally, the last game of the night with a former Heel in it, it’s the #3 seed Dallas Mavericks hosting the #6 Portland Trail Blazers, game shown on ESPN. The game was played at American Airlines Center in front of a crowd that numbered 20,541. For the home squad it’s big man Brendan Haywood, who came off the bench for 16 minutes of action. In that time the seven footer score just two points (1 for 2 ~ 0 for 0 ~ 0 for 2) along with six rebounds (4 offensive), a block and a TO. While the contribution by the ten year vet isn’t as what it used to be his squad still took game one of the series, defeating Portland 89 to 81. The Mavs lead the series 1-0 and will be playing game two of it on Tuesday, April 19, 2001, which will be televised on TNT.

NBA
ESPN
Sporting News
CBS

The Two Man Game (TrueHoop Network)
Mavs MoneyBall (SB Nation)
Slam Dunk Central

With today being the beginning of the NBA Playoffs I figured it is time to get the Heels in the Pros (NBA) have a come back on The Fifth Corner. Below is the complete listing of the National Basketball Association first round (with times and tv coverage) playoff schedule. Then of course, since this a North Carolina blog after all, I will add all that I can about any former Tar Heel in the eight series. A brief run down shows that five series have at least one UNC player playing in them, one has a couple of floor generals along with a head coach and finally another one has an executive that are all from Chapel Hill. Here is the complete run down of the first round and below the list the former Heels in each of them…

Western Conference

(1) San Antonio Spurs vs (8) Memphis Grizzlies

Game 1 – Sun April 17 Memphis at San Antonio 12:00PM TNT
Game 2 – Wed April 20 Memphis at San Antonio 7:30PM NBA TV
Game 3 – Sat April 23 San Antonio at Memphis 6:30PM ESPN
Game 4 – Mon April 25 San Antonio at Memphis TBD TBD
Game 5 * Wed April 27 Memphis at San Antonio TBD TBD
Game 6 * Fri April 29 San Antonio at Memphis TBD TBD
Game 7 * Sun May 1 Memphis at San Antonio TBD TBD

For San Antonio we have Danny Green, who was picked up late in the season by the team and you can follow him on twitter under the nic @DGreen_14. Green played at UNC for four years and won a National Title in 2009 under head coach Roy Williams. On a side note I can not believe that NBA.com still has him in a Cleveland jersey.

(2) L.A. Lakers vs (7) New Orleans Hornets

Game 1 – Sun April 17 New Orleans at L.A. Lakers 12:30PM ABC/R
Game 2 – Wed April 20 New Orleans at L.A. Lakers 7:30PM TNT
Game 3 – Fri April 22 L.A. Lakers at New Orleans 8:30PM ESPN
Game 4 – Sun April 24 L.A. Lakers at New Orleans 8:30PM TNT
Game 5 * Tue April 26 New Orleans at L.A. Lakers TBD TBD
Game 6 * Thu April 28 L.A. Lakers at New Orleans TBD TBD
Game 7 * Sat April 30 New Orleans at L.A. Lakers TBD TNT

In this one we have the General Manager of the Lakers, Mitch Kupchak, who played under head coach Dean Smith from 1972 to 1976.

(3) Dallas Mavericks vs (6) Portland Trail Blazers

Game 1 – Sat April 16 Portland at Dallas 8:30PM ESPN
Game 2 – Tue April 19 Portland at Dallas 8:30PM TNT
Game 3 – Thu April 21 Dallas at Portland 7:30PM TNT
Game 4 – Sat April 23 Dallas at Portland 2:00PM TNT
Game 5 * Mon April 25 Portland at Dallas TBD TBD
Game 6 * Thu April 28 Dallas at Portland TBD TBD
Game 7 * Sat April 30 Portland at Dallas TBD TNT

For the third seed Dallas we have seven footer Brendan Haywood, who played in Chapel Hill from 1997 to 2001 where he recorded the first ever triple double in school’s history. You can check out Haywood’s pro career here.

(4) Oklahoma City Thunder vs (5) Denver Nuggets

Game 1 – Sun April 17 Denver at Oklahoma City 8:30PM TNT
Game 2 – Wed April 20 Denver at Oklahoma City 7:00PM TNT
Game 3 – Sat April 23 Oklahoma City at Denver 8:00PM ESPN/R
Game 4 – Mon April 25 Oklahoma City at Denver 8:30PM TNT
Game 5 * Wed April 27 Denver at Oklahoma City TBD TBD
Game 6 * Fri April 29 Oklahoma City at Denver TBD TBD
Game 7 * Sun May 1 Denver at Oklahoma City TBD TBD

This one is where have a boatload of former Heels. Two on the court and the head coach. First, George Karl, the coach of the Nuggets, who has been with the team since 2005. Then we have two point guards that are both National Champions, Raymond Felton for the 2005 squad and Ty Lawson for the `09 team. Felton is on his third NBA squad, second this season, having played for the Bobcats and Knicks before coming to Denver. Lawson has always been with the Nuggets and you can follow him on twitter.

Eastern Conference

(1) Chicago Bulls vs (8) Indiana Pacers

Game 1 – Sat April 16 Indiana at Chicago 12:00PM ESPN/ESPN3D
Game 2 – Mon April 18 Indiana at Chicago 8:30PM TNT
Game 3 – Thu April 21 Chicago at Indiana 7:00PM NBA TV
Game 4 – Sat April 23 Chicago at Indiana 2:30PM TNT
Game 5 * Tue April 26 Indiana at Chicago TBD TBD
Game 6 * Thu April 28 Chicago at Indiana TBD TBD
Game 7 * Sat April 30 Indiana at Chicago TBD TNT

In this one we have another National Champ from Chapel Hill, Tyler Hansbrough, who is getting better by the game with his stats and can be followed on twitter under @THANS50

(2) Miami Heat vs (7) Philadelphia 76ers

Game 1 – Sat April 16 Philadelphia at Miami 3:30PM ABC/R
Game 2 – Mon April 18 Philadelphia at Miami 7:00PM TNT
Game 3 – Thu April 21 Miami at Philadelphia 8:00PM TNT
Game 4 – Sun April 24 Miami at Philadelphia 1:00PM ABC
Game 5 * Wed April 27 Philadelphia at Miami TBD TBD
Game 6 * Fri April 29 Miami at Philadelphia TBD TBD
Game 7 * Sun May 1 Philadelphia at Miami TBD TBD

None from North Carolina in this one, but if you want to root against someone, Philly has a Duke player to zeron in Miami (just a thought).

(3) Boston Celtics vs (6) New York Knicks

Game 1 – Sun April 17 New York at Boston 7:00PM TNT
Game 2 – Tue April 19 New York at Boston 7:00PM TNT
Game 3 – Fri April 22 Boston at New York 7:00PM ESPN
Game 4 – Sun April 24 Boston at New York 3:30PM ABC/R
Game 5 * Tue April 26 New York at Boston TBD TBD
Game 6 * Fri April 29 Boston at New York TBD TBD
Game 7 * Sun May 1 New York at Boston TBD TBD

No one from Chapel Hill in this one either and not easy who to go with, as the Knicks have a former player from that school 8.5 miles away from UNC and Boston have someone from UK. (Wishing in a double elimination here, but it’s not possible).

(4) Orlando Magic vs (5) Atlanta Hawks

Game 1 – Sat April 16 Atlanta at Orlando 7:00PM ESPN
Game 2 – Tue April 19 Atlanta at Orlando 7:30PM NBA TV
Game 3 – Fri April 22 Orlando at Atlanta 8:00PM ESPN2/ESPN3D
Game 4 – Sun April 24 Orlando at Atlanta 7:00PM TNT
Game 5 * Tue April 26 Atlanta at Orlando TBD TBD
Game 6 * Thu April 28 Orlando at Atlanta TBD TBD
Game 7 * Sat April 30 Atlanta at Orlando TBD TNT

Finally, a breath of fresh air as we once again have a Tar Heel in this series. For the Hawks it’s Marvin Williams, a fifth year veteran while being a one and done at UNC after winning a national title.

Here it is ladies and gentlemen: The Fifth Corner National Basketball Association Playoff game, another way to give all Tar Heel fans a chance to follow the former UNC players as they try to get an NBA ring. How does it work? Simple, step one, before the first game of the first round I need your eight picks ranked from a 10 points choice to a 1 point choice. Meaning that you will not only have to pick the right games but you are going to get the possibility of getting the most points depending on which series you believe will be the one that is easiest to pick to the one that you think is the hardest. Once the first round has closed (about five minutes after the first game begins), I will be posting all the entries on the site to see how many of you are playing and who picked what at how many points. (Ex: if you think that the team that has the best chance to win its series is Boston you will choose 10 pts for them).

First Round… (due before the 1st game of the round)

10 pt choice
7 pt choice
6 pt choice
5 pt choice
4 pt choice
3 pt choice
2 pt choice
1 pt choice

Second Round… (due before the 1st game of the round)

10 pt choice
7 pt choice
5 pt choice
3 pt choice

Third Round… (due before the 1st game of the round)

10 pt choice
5 pt choice

Final Round… (due before the 1st game of the round)

10 pt choice

Winner gets:

$ 100 Visa Gift Certificate card & #BeatemDown t-shirt signed by Bomani Jones (host of the Morning Jones on The Score on Sirius Radio) + a surprise gift

If you have friends that want in let them know…

I need the results sent to me @ CarolinaDejaBlue@twcny.rr.com (do not send it here so that we don’t all see what others are saying).

Celtics vs Magic

Okay, so I admit it, I was way too premature in claiming that the Boston Celtics would be going to the NBA Finals. Now, after two games where the Orlando Magic seem to have found their game what I might be talking about is history, as it has never happened before that a National Basketball Association team comes from being 0-3 to win the series. I do not know who is going to win this series, but I know that this series is definitely getting better and better by the game! Without a doubt the next game, scheduled for tomorrow at the TD Garden in Boston, is going to be key for both squads. The Magic without a doubt have the momentum, while the Celtics have the home court. And while I am not going anyway near guessing who is going to win this game (or the next if needed) I am going to say this, whether you are a die hard fan or a passer-by one, you can not miss the game coming up in Boston, as it could be one of the best in a series in quite sometimes.

And as far as the two ex Tar Heels in this series? Well for the Boston Celtics center Rasheed Wallace played just 18 minutes coming off the bench but had a team high 21 points (7 for 9 ~ 3 for 5 ~ 4 for 4) to go along with two rebounds, two blocks, a steal and a turnover while having a -16 pts differential. On the other hand, for the Orlando Magic, it was shooting guard Vince Carter, who started and played for 26 minutes, scoring just eight points (3 for 10 ~ 1 for 4 ~ 1 for 1) to go with three rebounds, three assists, and a pts differential of +8.

In this game, played at the Amway Arena in front of a crowd that numbered 17,461 (televised by ESPN on their main channel) it was Orlando taking the lead in the first quarter and never relinquishing it. The first 12 minutes of play it was the Magic going up 31 to 27, adding on a 26 to 22 second quarter, putting the home squad ahead 57 to 49 when the two team went into halftime. In the closest quarter of the game it was the Magic beating out the Celtics 27 to 26 in the third frame, while it was a landslide win for Orlando in the last quarter, with the partial being 29 to 17 and the final score 113 to 92.

Main Stream Media:
ESPN ~ NBA.com ~ The Sporting News ~ CBS Sports

Blogs:

Magic Basketball (TrueHoop Network) by Eddy Rivera
CelticsHub (TrueHoop Network) by Brian Robb
Orlando Pinstriped Post (SB Nation) by Ben Q Rock
CelticsBlog (SB Nation) by Jeff Clark
Howard the Dunk (FanSided) by Andrew Melnick
Slam Dunk Central by Jeff Sack
Red’s Army by Red’sArmy
Celtics Life by Bohemian

Box Score — Play-By-Play

Magic vs Celtics

If “The Ball Don’t Lie”, a quote that rings in my head thanks to the great Celtics Late Night Show podcast, tonight Rasheed Wallace and his Celtics will be sweeping the Orlando Magic, who have another ex Tar Heel, Vince Carter, on their roster. Say what you will but I doubt that anyone (including all those so-called experts) that thought this could be true. Heck, how many people would think that the Celtics would be still playing while the Cavaliers would be home and trying to figure out what next year will bring. But that is what the National Basketball Association is giving us this season, a Celtics team that seems to have turned on the switch at the right time while a lot of the teams on fire in the regular season have not looked so good in the playoffs. Tonight’s line has Boston as a seven points favorite, and after having watched the series, you have to think that the Celtics will easily cover that. But what about the two Tar Heels, how have they done in this series?

For the shooting guard for the sunshine state it has been a 34 minutes per game in the series, while scoring 18.0 PPG to go with 3.7 RPG, 2.33 SPG and 1.7 APG. Not bad overall, as the points went up compared to the regular season, the assists went down, the rebounds remained about the same and the steals were excellent compared to the first 82 games. On the other side, Rasheed Wallace has dropped four minutes from the regular season to the series against Orlando (22.5 to 18.3), so has his rebounds (4.1 to 2.3) but his points have gone up somewhat (9.0 to 9.7). Reading those numbers you could make the case that Carter is a lot more important to the Magic than Wallace is to the Celtics, and in a way you would be right, but in another, for the minutes that are needed to give the starters a break, you would be wrong. The Celtics are going well right now because they don’t have to put 100% with the starting five and can rely on the bench for plenty of help.

If the Celtics do sweep, with the Western Conference final being 2-1 does the team from Bean Town want to have the other series finish as quickly as possible or would they rather have the rest? I will be asking that to several Boston bloggers in the next couple of days on my podcast!

GE & GL 06/08/09

And after being able to do my “Good Morning Tar Heel” link dump this morning, I am also able to get back into doing my nightly one, called “Good Evening & Good Linking”. This post is just about some good links from friends of The Fifth Corner, as the shout outs and birthday wishes are done in the morning edition. Tonight we might just hit the double digits in links since it’s been a while that I have gone around to my favorite sites. So, sit back and relax as I give you “Good Evening & Good Linking” for June 7, 2009…

First off, from the Evil Empire, err, a Yankees blog called Yanks Go Yard, here is a piece about the Bronx Bombers needing more from the Draft. Hey, there are two very good Diamond Heels coming out this year, but they will go in the Top 5-10 picks, so they won’t be seeing George as their “Boss”.

Staying with baseball, here is Detroit4Lyfe talking about Baseball Game Etiquette. I think he hit the nail on the head on all four points, with the last one being the best one!

Paneech talks about race horses, but not about them when they are racing, but when they can’t anymore. Interesting to say the least.

Jeff Sack at Slam Dunk Central gives us his recap of the second game between Orlando and LA, which he entitled “Lakers out Last Magic“. The key to me will be game three, if Orlando can’t fight back they will go down in a sweep!

Rip City has their draft done, and they have Hansbrough (at the 20th spot – Utah), Lawson (at 19th spot – Atlanta) and Ellington (at the 23 spot – Sacramento) going in the first round. Danny Green going in the second round seems more and more evident, don’t it?

Ethan, at NESW Sports, has another great video, this time of Rick Reilly On the Tony Hawk “Ride”. And mark my word, I am not going to be that anytime soon!