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!

Cavs vs Celtics

For the visiting squad, as I said above, Antawn Jamison, the eleven year veteran, was the only ex UNC player to get minutes. The power forward started and played 29 minutes in all. In that time frame Jamison was able to have a very good game as he registered a double double on the night. He scored 20 points (7 for 15 ~ 0 for 2 ~ 6 for 7) to go along with 12 rebounds (5 offensive), two assists, a steal and a turnover while having a pts differential of +27 (second best on the team/game). So far in these playoffs the ex NPOY has scored in double figures seven out of eight times, three of those being double doubles and is averaging 17.5 points (shooting just short of 50% from the field: 52-105) and 8.0 rebounds per game. On the other side, for the home team, it’s ex UNC big man Rasheed Wallace, who comes off the bench and plays 15 minutes. In that time the 14 year vet scored just two points (1 for 2 ~ 0 for 0 ~ 0 for 0) to go along with a rebound and a -7 pts differential.

And while my opening paragraph gave the score away, the points differential between the two Tar Heels should leave no doubts! Cleveland came out in the first quarter and told their opponent and their crowd that this game was over before it began with a 36 to 17 showing. The second 12 minutes also went to the visiting squad, this time a lot closer, with the Cavs outscoring the Celtics 29 to 26, meaning that the home squad went into the locker room trailing 65 to 43. It would not get any better in the second half as Cleveland would take the third quarter by 4 points, 31 to 27 (96 to 70) and the fourth by three, 28 to 25, making the final score 124 to 95.

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

Box Score — Play-By-Play

Celtics vs Cavaliers

As the National Basketball Association keeps moving on last night we had yet again another game involving ex North Carolina players. It was the Cleveland Cavaliers, with its three Heels, hosting the Boston Celtics and their one. After the first game, where the Cavs came behind to beat the Celtics by the final of 101 to 93 most people figured this would be a good game, probably no one thought the outcome would be what it was. The telecast of the game, which was on TNT, began with the MVP presentation to LeBron James, and that might just have been the best highlight the home team had in this game. For the visiting team from Bean Town we saw Rasheed Wallace have a heck of a game, playing 18 minutes and scoring 17 points (7 for 8 ~ 3 for 4 ~ 0 for 0) in that timeframe. The ex UNC big man also had two rebounds in this game while having a -2 pts differential in the game. (Wallace had scored a total of 21 points up to this game). On the other side of the ball Jawad Williams and Danny Green were a non factor, with the first coming in for a minute scoring no points (0 for 1 ~ 0 for 1 ~ 0 for 0) and nothing else, while the second didn’t even suit up for the game. Who did suit up and play 36 minutes was Antawn Jamison. The power forward scored 16 points (6 for 11 ~ 2 for 5 ~ 2 for 4), which was second best to James’ 24, to go with six rebounds (1 offensive), a block and two TOs while having a -13 pts differential.

The game was tight at the end of one, with the visiting team winning by four, 26 to 22. That was the same margin as both teams went to the locker room as Boston led Cleveland 52 to 48. The third quarter is where the game broke up, with the Celtics outscoring the Cavs 31 to 12, giving them a 83 to 60 lead going into the final twelve minutes of the game. And while the home team did outscore its opponent in the final quarter 26 to 21 it was definitely nowhere close to enough as the Celtics tied up the game by winning this one 104 to 86. With the series now switching to Boston and the Cavs having lost the home court advantage Game 3 has the making to be a great one, giving this series the possibility of becoming a real good one as well.

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

Blogs:

Celtics Hub (TrueHoop Network) by Brian Robb
CAVS: the blog (TrueHoop Network) by John Krolik
Celtics Blog (SB Nation) by Jeff Clark
Fear the Sword (SB Nation) by AncientMariner
King James Gospel (FanSided) by Cody Norman
Slam Dunk Central by Jeff Sack
Red’s Army by Big Mck
Celtics Life by TB727

Box Score — Play-By-Play

Celtics vs Cavs

And so, just like that, the second round of the NBA began last night. In front of one another two teams with a touch of Carolina Blue. The visiting Boston Celtics taking their Heel, Rasheed Wallace, during the off season, while the Cleveland Cavaliers having Jawad Williams from last season, drafting rookie Danny Green and having brought in veteran Antawn Jamison this February. The good thing, if you are a Tar Heel like I am, is that you know that for sure there will be an ex North Carolina player going to the Eastern finals this year. However I doubt that either the Celtics or the Cavs are thinking about just getting to the conference finals, they both have their sights set on the ultimate prize in the National Basketball Association: the championship trophy! The game, played last night at the Quicken Loans Arena (or as the locals call it “The Q”), began what should be a great series. As it has been for most of the season it was a packed house, with 20,5612 fans in attendance.

For the visiting team from the East Coast Rasheed Wallace got just 13 minutes in all. In that time from the ex pupil of Dean Smith scored two points (1 for 5 ~ 0 for 1 ~ 0 for 0) adding two rebounds, an assist, a turnover and a pts differential of -1 on the night. On the other side, for the home squad, only power forward and ex NPOY Antawn Jamison got to see the court, while Williams suited up but didn’t play (DNP – Coach’s Decision) and Green was not even suited up. For the 12 year vet it was a so-so performance, as he played 37 minutes in all. In that time he scored just 7 points (2 for 6 ~ 0 for 1 ~ 3 for 6) but had a team high nine rebounds (1 offensive) to go with two blocks, a steal and a pair of TOs along with a pts differential of +11.

The game was in control of the Celtics for most of the first half, as they lead by six (26 to 20) at the end of the first quarter and brought the lead to double digits going into the locker room, 54 to 43. However all of that was cancelled in the third quarter as the Cavs outscored their opponents by a dozen, taking a one point lead into the final 12 minutes of the game, 79 to 78. In the last quarter it was mostly all Cavs all the time as they took the first game of the series by the final of 101 to 93.

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

Blogs:

Celtics Hub (TrueHoop Network) by Brendan Jackson
CAVS: the blog (TrueHoop Network) by John Krolik
Celtics Blog (SB Nation) by Jeff Clark
Fear the Sword (SB Nation) by AncientMariner
Slam Dunk Central by Jeff Sack
Red’sArmy by BigMck
Celtics Life by Mike Saver
Gino’s Jungle by Travis

Box Score — Play-By-Play

NBA Playoffs 04/17/10

Welcome to the first post season edition of “Heels in the League” (NBA) recapping the games from yesterday, Saturday, April 17, 2010. In all there were games, all four had a touch of Carolina Blue, one of them being a head to head match up. For the complete rundown of the games from a non-UNC look you can always head to ESPN’s Scoreboard Page. But for now, let’s sit back and relax as we go through this edition of “Heels in the League” (NBA) for the games from 04/17/10…

The first game has the top seed Cleveland Cavaliers taking on the eighth seed Chicago Bulls. The game was played at the Quicken Loans Arena in front of a sold out crowd that numbered 20,562 and is the first game of a best of seven series. For the home town team we have a trio of Tar Heels: Antawn Jamison, who starts for the Cavs and gets a total of 33 minutes, Jawad Williams, who comes in with a minute to go in the game and Danny Green, who does not even suit up for the game. For Jamison it’s a double double night, with 15 points (7 for 14 ~ 1 for 4 ~ 0 for 0) to go with 10 rebounds, three blocks, a steal and three TOs while having a pts differential of +15. Williams played about sixty seconds and did not register anything while having a pts differential of 0. As far as the game went, it was Cleveland taking control of the game in the first half and managing the game in the second, defeating Chicago by 13, with the final score being 96 to 83. Game 2 of the series is set for Monday, April 19th in Cleveland.

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 Ancient Mariner
King James Gospel (FanSided) by Cody Norman
Waiting for next Year by Brendan
Slam Dunk Central by Jeff Sack

Box Score — Play-By-Play

Moving on here is the only head to head match up of the night as the sixth seeded Milwaukee Bucks took on the third seeded Atlanta Hawks at Philips Arena in front of a crowd of 18,729. This was the first game of a best of seven series. For the visiting squad we have Jerry Stackhouse coming off the bench to play a total of 27 minutes. In that time the veteran shooting guard didn’t have a great night scoring wise, getting only six points (3 for 10 ~ 0 for 3 ~ 0 for 0) to go with two rebounds, an assist, a steal and a -1 pts differential. On the other side, for the Hawks, it was small forward Marvin Williams, who started and played 27 minutes as well. In that time frame the ex national champ from `05 scored 12 points (4 for 5 ~ 0 for 0 ~ 4 for 4) to go along with four rebounds (2 offensive), two assists, a steal and a pts differential of +6. In the end it was Atlanta winning this one by ten, defeating Milwaukee by the final of 102 to 92. Game 2 of this series will be held on Tuesday, April 20th at Philips Arena.

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

Blogs:

Hoopinion (TrueHoop Network) by Brett Lagree
Bucksketball (TrueHoop Network) by Jeremy
Peachtree Hoops (SB Nation) by hawksdawgs
Brew Hoop (SB Nation) by Frank Madden
Slam Dunk Central by Jeff Rhodes

Box Score — Play-By-Play

In the next game with a touch of Carolina Blue it’s the fourth seed Boston Celtics hosting fifth seed Miami Heat. This is also the first game of a best of seven series and it was held at the TD Garden in front of 18,624 spectators. For the home town team it’s ex UNC big man Rasheed Wallace who comes off the pine and plays for 14 minutes in all. In that time the center scores four points (1 for 1 ~ 0 for 0 ~ 2 for 3) to go with a rebound, an assist, a block and a turnover while having a pts differential of +7. In what was a very low scoring game that had a wild finish due to some scrapping between players it was Boston taking this one by nine points, defeating Miami 85 to 76. Game 2 of the series will once again be at the TD Garden on Tuesday, April 20th.

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

Blogs:

Celtics Hub (TrueHoop Network) by Brian Robb
Celtics Blog (SB Nation) by Jimmy Toscano
Slam Dunk Central by Jeff Sack
Red’s Army by BigMck
Celtics Life byMargaret
Gino’s Jungle by Alyssa F.

Box Score — Play-By-Play

Lastly, with the only game from the Western Conference, we have the other 4/5 match up with the Denver Nuggets play host to the Utah Jazz. This is the first game of a best of seven series, played at the Pepsi Center in front of 19,155 fans. For the home town squad it’s rookie Ty Lawson, who comes off the bench and gets 22 minutes. In that time the speedster and ex national champ from `09 scors 11 points (3 for 8 ~ 2 for 3 ~ 3 for 4) to go with six assists, three rebounds, a steal and a +16 pts differential (which was the team’s second best). In a high scoring affair that its fair share of runs on both sides it was Denver defeating Utah by a baker’s dozen, with the final score being 126 to 113. Game 2 of this series will be played on Monday, April 19th at the Pepsi Center.

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

Blogs:

Roundball Mining Company (TrueHoop Network) by Jeremy
Denver Stiffs (SB Nation) by Nate Timmons
Nugg Love (FanSided) by madness
Slam Dunk Central by Stephen Rhodes

Box Score — Play-By-Play

Eastern Conference 1st Round

Yesterday I gave you the ten ex North Carolina players that will be going to the NBA post season in a small post. Today, in this small post, I am going to give you more details on the match ups that will either begin tomorrow or Sunday. (On a side note: looking at the way the games are set up it just boggles my mind, as the post season is so long that momentum goes out the window). As I said yesterday for anyone that follows the ex Heels in the Pro’s this should be a fun year with eight (out of 16) teams having a touch of Carolina Blue on them, several of them with the athletes to make it deep into the post season. Before I get into the numbers let me first congratulate ex UNC player and new owner of the Charlotte Bobcats Michael Jordan for having his team in the post season for the first time in team’s history. And now it’s time to look at the teams…

The Cleveland Cavaliers, the number one seed in the East, with the best record in the NBA at 61-21 (.744 winning percentage) is going to go against the Chicago Bulls. These two teams met four times in the regular season, with the two teams splitting the series. Interesting tid bit about the series is that the Chicago Bulls are the only team in the playoffs to have a minus points differentials as it scores 97.5 and allows 99.1 points per game.

- April 8th: Bulls 109, Cavaliers 108
- March 19th: Cavaliers 92, Bulls 85
- December 4th: Cavaliers 101, Bulls 87
- November 5th: Bulls 86, Cavaliers 85

The first four games of the series will be played as follow:

- Game 1: Saturday, 17th (3:00 p.m. EST) – Chicago at Cleveland (Quicken Loans Arena)
- Game 2: Monday, 19th (8:00 p.m. EST) – Chicago at Cleveland (Quicken Loans Arena)
- Game 3: Thursday, 22nd (7:00 p.m. EST) – Cleveland at Chicago (United Center)
- Game 4: Sunday, April 25th (3:30 p.m. EST) – Cleveland at Chicago (United Center)

Prediction: Cavs in 5

The number two team in the East, with the second best record in the NBA at 59-23 (.720 winning percentage), will take on another team with a touch of Carolina Blue in the Charlotte Bobcats, seventh in the East, with a record of 44-38 (.537 winning percentage). The two squads met four times this season, with the Magic winning three of the games and the Bobcats winning the last one. The tid bit for this game is that no Larry Brown (another Tar Heel) coached team has been swept in Y2K, last time being 1999.

- March 14th: Bobcats 96, Magic 89
- January 23rd: Magic 106, Bobcats 95
- November 16th: Magic 97, Bobcats 91
- November 10th: Magic 93, Bobcats 81

The first four games of the series will be played as follow:

- Game 1: Sunday, 18th (5:00 p.m. EST) – Charlotte at Orlando (Amway Arena)
- Game 2: Wednesday, 21st (7:00 p.m. EST) – Charlotte at Orlando (Amway Arena)
- Game 3: Saturday, 24th (2:00 p.m. EST) – Orlando at Charlotte (Time Warner Cable Arena)
- Game 4: Monday, April 26th (7:05 p.m. EST) – Orlando at Charlotte (Time Warner Cable Arena)

Prediction: Orlando in 6

The third match up in the East, once again a head to head series with Tar Heels on both sides, is the third ranked Atlanta Hawks, 53-29 (. winning percentage), going up against the sixth ranked Milwaukee Bucks, 46-36 (.561 winning percentage). These two franchise met three time in the regular season, with Atlanta taking two out of the three games, none of the games were won by double digit margins. The tid bits in this one are simple, with Jerry Stackhouse the Bucks became a better team, but losing Andrew Bogut puts them back down into the mediocracy area.

- April 12th: Hawks 104, Bucks 96
- March 22nd: Bucks 98, Hawks 95
- February 28th: Hawks 106, Bucks 102

The first four games of the series will be played as follow:

- Game 1: Saturday, 17th (5:30 p.m. EST) – Milwaukee at Atlanta (Philips Arena)
- Game 2: Wednesday, 21st (7:00 p.m. EST) – Milwaukee at Atlanta (Philips Arena)
- Game 3: Saturday, 24th (2:00 p.m. EST) – Atlanta at Milwaukee (Bradley Center)
- Game 4: Monday, April 26th (7:05 p.m. EST) – Atlanta at Milwaukee (Bradley Center)

Prediction: Atlanta in 5

And the last series with a touch of Carolina Blue in the East is the one that have the fourth ranked Boston Celtics, 50-32 (.610 winning percentage) and the fifth ranked Miami Heat going at it. These two teams played three times during the season, with the Celtics sweeping the series, but never winning by over seven points in the games. The tid bit for this game is that both teams had the same record at home (24-17), but the Celtics were three games better than the Heat on the road, winning 26 compared to 23, which also means that Boston had a better record on the road than at home.

- February 3rd: Celtics 107, Heat 102
- January 6th: Celtics 112, Heat 106
- November 29th: Celtics 92, Heat 85

The first four games of the series will be played as follow:

- Game 1: Saturday, 17th (8:00 p.m. EST) – Miami at Boston (TD Garden)
- Game 2: Tuesday, 20th (8:00 p.m. EST) – Miami at Boston (TD Garden)
- Game 3: Friday, 23rd (7:00 p.m. EST) – Boston at Miami (American Airlines Arena)
- Game 4: Sunday, April 25th (1:00 p.m. EST) – Boston at Miami (American Airlines Arena)

Prediction: Boston in 6

NBA Playoffs

With the National Basketball Association’s regular season over it is now time to check out which ex Tar Heel is going to keep playing and which one is staying home. As we all know there were fifteen North Carolina players in the Pro’s at the beginning of the season, one of them, Brandan Wright, starting off the season with a major injury and never got to play in the `09-`10 season. Two ex players from Chapel Hill began the year as free agents, with Jerry Stackhouse finding a team and Rashad McCants not being able to. Two Heels moving to teams with high expectations, with Vince Carter “going home” to the Orlando Magic and Rasheed Wallace going east to the Boston Celtics. And of course with last year’s NCAA national champions now being rookies in the NBA…

Looking at the Eastern Conference there are six out of the eight teams in the post season with a touch of Carolina Blue, two of them being head to head match ups, with all the four top seed having at least one player that once played in Chapel Hill. This means that if the first round went chalk the Conference Finals would have two squads with ex Heels on it. The other two teams from the East with an Heel on it are ranked 6th and 7th.

#1 – Cleveland Cavaliers

Antawn Jamison: 66 Games (64 started) ~ 36.5 MinsPG ~ 18.7 PPG ~ 8.4 RPG

Jawad Williams: 54 Games (6 started) ~ 13.7 MinsPG ~ 4.1 PPG ~ 1.5 RPG

Danny Green: 20 Games (0 started) ~ 5.8 MinsPG ~ 2.0 PPG ~ 0.3 APG

#2 – Orlando Magic

Vince Carter: 75 Games (74 started) ~ 30.8 MinsPG ~ 16.6 PPG ~ 3.1 APG

#3 – Atlanta Hawks

Marvin Williams: 81 Games (81 started) ~ 30.5 MinsPG ~ 10.1 PPG ~ 5.1 RPG

#4 – Boston Celtics

Rasheed Wallace: 79 Games (13 started) ~ 22.5 MinsPG ~ 9.0 PPG ~ 4.1 RPG

#6 – Milwaukee Bucks

Jerry Stackhouse: 42 Games (0 started) ~ 20.4 MinsPG ~ 8.5 PPG ~ 1.7 APG

#7 – Charlotte Bobcats

Raymond Felton: 80 Games (80 started) ~ 33.0 MinsPG ~ 12.1 PPG ~ 5.6 APG

On the other side, in the Western Conference, the number of ex Tar Heels is a lot less. However they are all in the top seeds of the first round, and could easily see one of the teams in the conference final.

#2 – Dallas Mavericks

Brendan Haywood: 77 Games (67 started) ~ 30.6 MinsPG ~ 9.1 PPG ~ 9.3 RPG

#4 – Denver Nuggets

Ty Lawson: 65 Games (8 started) ~ 20.2 MinsPG ~ 8.3 PPG ~ 3.1 APG

(NBA) 04/06/10

(Let me say before I begin this that real life has taken over for the last couple of days and so I am way late on all posts, not just the “Heels in the League” ones. Hopefully things are back to normal and I can not get back on track with my site). Still not being able to catch up with the (not so) daily post about the North Carolina basketball players now in the National Basketball Association which I call “Heels in the League” (NBA) here is the recap from the games from Tuesday, April 6, 2010. In all there were nine games on the slate, six of them being a touch of Carolina Blue, one a head to head match up. For the complete run down of the games from 04/06/10 you can alway check out ESPN’s Scoreboard Page or RealGM’s recap. However, without further ado, let’s get going with this edition of “Heels in the League” (NBA) for the games from 04/06/10…

The first game of the night is one that has two teams heading to the playoffs with the Cleveland Cavaliers (EC 1st Central) playing host to the Toronto Raptors (EC 2nd Pacific) in a game that was played at Quicken Loans Arena in front of a sold out crowd of 20,562. This is the fourth (of four) games between these teams with Cleveland being ahead 2-1. For the home town squad we have a trio of Tar Heels, starting with Antawn Jamison (63 Games: 37.0 MinsPG ~ 18.8 PPG ~ 8.6 RPG ~ 0.3 BPG) who starts for the Cavs and plays for 32 minutes. Jawad Williams (50 Games: 12.9 MinsPG ~ 4.2 PPG ~ 1.4 RPG ~ 0.1 BPG) and Danny Green (17 Games: 5.6 MinsPG ~ 2.3 PPG ~ 0.3 APG ~ 0.8 RPG) both come off the bench, with the first playing 28 minutes and the latter only getting in for a minute. For Jamison it’s a 20 points night (10 for 18 ~ 0 for 3 ~ 0 for 0) to go with four rebounds (1 offensive), an assist, a steal and a TO while having a pts differential of +1. Williams scores 13 points (5 for 8 ~ 3 for 5 ~ 0 for 0) to go along with five boards, two assists and a turnover while having a +9 pts differential. Green does not do anything in the game besides having a +3 pts differential. In the end, in a pretty high scoring game, it’s Cleveland winning by a dozen, defeating Toronto 113 to 101. With the win the Cavs are 61-17 overall (.782 winning percentage) and 35-4 at home (.897 winning percentage).

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 Ancient Mariner
King James Gospel (FanSided) by Cody Norman
Waiting for Next Year by Scott

Box Score — Play-By-Play

The second game of the night is an East/West match up with the Golden State Warriors (WC 4th Pacific) heading cross country to take on the Washington Wizards (EC 5th SE) in a game played in front of a crowd that numbered 14,721 at the Verizon Center. This was the second (of two) games between the franchises with the first one going to Golden State. In this one for the touch of Carolina Blue we would be turning to one & done Brandan Wright, but as we all know the forward is out for the whole season due to a shoulder injury. As far as the game was concerned it was Washington taking this one, defeating Golden State by 18, with the final tally being 112 to 94. With the loss the Warriors drop to 23-54 overall (.298 winning percentage) and 6-32 on the road (.157 winning percentage).

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

Blogs:

Golden State of Mind (SB Nation) by IQofaWarrior

Box Score — Play-By-Play

The next game on tap is the only head to head match up, as well as being a divisional battle between squads headed to the post season, with the Atlanta Hawks (EC 2nd SE) drive up north on I-95 to play the Charlotte Bobcats (EC 4th SE). The game, played at the Time Warner Cable Arena in front of a crowd that numbered 18,610, was the fourth (of four) between the two squads, with the series being 2 to 1 in favor of Atlanta. For the visiting team it’s forward Marvin Williams (77 Games: 30.5 MinsPG ~ 10.1 PPG ~ 5.2 RPG ~ 1.1 APG) starting for the Hawks as he has all year and playing 23 minutes in all. In that time the ex one and done for HC Roy Williams scored six points (1 for 4 ~ 0 for 0 ~ 4 for 4) to go with four assists, three rebounds and a pts differential of +7. On the other side, for the home team, it’s point guard Raymond Felton (77 Games: 33.1 MinsPG ~ 12.1 PPG ~ 5.6 APG ~ 1.6 SPG), who starts for the Bobcats and plays 35 minutes in this one. In that time frame the ex team mate of Williams at UNC scores 14 points (6 for 10 ~ 2 for 2 ~ 0 for 1) to go along with six assists, two blocks, a steal, a TO and a +7 pts differential. In the end the game went to Charlotte who took down Atlanta by the final of 109 to 100. With the W the Bobcats go to 41-36 on the year (.532 winning percentage) and 30-9 at home (.769 winning percentage). With the loss the Hawks drop to 49-28 on the season (.636 winning percentage) and 17-21 on the road (.447 winning percentage).

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

Blogs:

Queen City Hoops (TrueHoop Network) by Brett
Hoopinion (TrueHoop Network)
Rufus on Fire (SB Nation) by David Arnott
Peachtree Hoops (SB Nation) by THHB

Box Score — Play-By-Play

Moving on the fourth game of the night is the one that has the Boston Celtics (EC 1st Atlantic) heading down I-95 to take on the New York Knicks (EC 3rd Atlantic) in a divisional battle at the mecca of basketball. The game, played at Madison Square Garden in front of a sold out crowd of 19,763, was the fourth (of four) between the teams, with the Celtics having won all the games so far. In this one, for the visiting squad from Bean Town, it’s ex UNC big man Rasheed Wallace (75 Games: 22.5 MinsPG ~ 9.0 PPG ~ 4.0 RPG ~ 0.9 BPG), who gets 20 minutes off the bench. In that time frame the center scores seven points (3 for 7 ~ 1 for 2 ~ 0 for 2) to go with two rebounds, two assists, a steal and a turnover while having a +9 pts differential. In the end, in what is definitely an upset, it was New York winning this one, defeating Boston by three points, with the final being 104 to 101. With the loss the Celtics slide to 48-29 overall (.623 winning percentage) and 24-14 on the road (.631 winning percentage).

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

Blogs:

Celtics Hub (TrueHoop Network) by Brendan Jackson
Celtics Blog (SB Nation) by Greg Payne
RedsArmy by MrTripleDouble10
Celtics Life by Karl Dillinger

Box Score — Play-By-Play

The next game is a divisional battle that has the Milwaukee Bucks (EC 2nd Central) heading to the Windy City to take on the Chicago Bulls (EC 3rd Central). The game, played at the United Center in front of a crowd of 20,268, is the fourth (of four) between the franchises, with Milwaukee being in the lead 2 to 1. For the visiting team it’s veteran Jerry Stackhouse (39 Games: 19.9 MinsPG ~ 8.1 PPG ~ 1.6 APG ~ 2.3 RPG), who comes off the bench for the Bucks and plays 16 minutes in all. In that time the shooting guard scores five points (2 for 8 ~ 0 for 4 ~ 1 for 2) to go with two rebounds, two assists, a block and a pts differential of -3. In what was a very, very low scoring affair, it was Milwaukee beating Chicago by five points, with the final score being 79 to 74. With the win the Bucks are now 43-34 overall (.558 winning percentage) and 16-23 on the road (.410 winning percentage).

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

Blogs:

Bucksketball (TrueHoop Network) by Jeremy
Brew Hoop (SB Nation) by Frank Madden

Box Score — Play-By-Play

And we close out this recap with the game that has the Sacramento Kings (WC 5th Pacific) hosting the San Antonio Spurs (WC 2nd SW), in a game that was played at the ARCO Arena in front of a crowd that numbered 11,732. This was the fourth (of four) games between these teams, with the series being led by San Antonio 3-0. In this one, for the home town team, it’s ex UNC big man Sean May (35 Games: 9.2 MinsPG ~ 3.5 PPG ~ 1.9 RPG ~ 0.2 BPG) coming off the bench for 14 minutes. In that time the power forward scored 10 points (5 for 6 ~ 0 for 0 ~ 0 for 0) to go with a rebounds, an assist, a steal and a turnover while having a -4 pts differential. In this one it is San Antonio taking it (and sweeping the series), defeating Sacramento by nine points, with the final score being 95 to 86. With the loss the Kings drop to 24-54 on the season (.307 winning percentage) and 17-21 at home (.447 winning percentage).

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

Blogs:

Cowbell Kingdom (TrueHoop Network) by Zach Harper
Sactown Royalty (SB Nation) by Ziller
A Royal Pain (FanSided) by Eze

Box Score — Play-By-Play

(NBA) 04/04/10

As I continue to catch up on my daily post about the North Carolina players in the National Basketball Association which is called “Heels in the League” (NBA). In this edition we check out the games from Sunday, April 4, 2010, where in all there were eight games. Of those five had a touch of Carolina Blue, one of them being a head to head match up. For the complete run down you can either check out ESPN’s Scoreboard Page or RealGM’s recap. But without further ado, let’s get going with this edition of “Heels in the League” (NBA) for the games from 04/04/10…

The first game of the night is the only head to head match up between two division leaders that are headed to the post season. It’s the Cleveland Cavaliers (Ec 1st Central – Clinched Conference) headed to Bean Town to take on the Boston Celtics (EC 1st Atlantic – Clinched Division) in what is the fourth (of four) contests between these two teams, with Cleveland leading the series 2 to 1. For the visiting team from C-Town we have three Tar Heels: Antawn Jamison (62 Games: 37.1 MinsPG ~ 18.8 PPG ~ 8.7 RPG ~ 0.3 BPG) who starts for the Cavs and played 31 minutes in all, Jawad Williams (49 Games: 12.6 MinsPG ~ 4.0 PPG ~ 1.4 RPG ~ 0.1 BPG) who comes in for less than a minute and Danny Green, who once again dresses but does not play. For the ex NPOY it’s a double double night, scoring 16 points (5 for 10 ~ 2 for 3 ~ 4 for to go with ten rebounds (1 offensive), an assist, a steal, a block and a TO while haing a +7 pts differential. For the national champ from `05 it’s nothing but a pts differential of -5. On the other side, for the home town team, it’s ex UNC big man Rasheed Wallace (72 Games: 22.5 MinsPG ~ 9.1 PPG ~ 4.1 RPG ~ 0.9 BPG), who comes in off the bench for the Celtics and plays 10 minutes. The center scores six points (3 for 5 ~ 0 for 0 ~ 0 for 0) to go with an assist, a block and a +5 pts differential. In the end, in a high scoring pretty tight ending affair, it was Boston winning this one, defeating Cleveland by 4, with the final result being 117 to 113. With the win the Celtics go to 48-28 on the season (.632 winning percentage), 24-15 at home (.615 winning percentage) and are fourth place in the East, 1.0 games behind the third team in the conference. With the loss the Cavs drop to 60-17 on the year (.779 winning percentage), 26-13 on the road (.667 winning percentage) and are atop of the East, 6.0 games ahead of the pack.

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

Blogs:

CAVS: the blog (TrueHoop Network) by John Krolik
Celtics Hub (TrueHoop Network) by Brendan Jackson
RedsArmy by BigMck
Celtics Life by Dillinger
Waiting for Next Year by Scott
Slam Dunk Central by Jeff Sack

Box Score — Play-By-Play

Second game of this recap has the Indiana Pacers (EC 4th Central) playing host to the Houston Rockets (WC 4th SW) in an East/West match up of teams out of the playoff. The game, played at Conseco Fieldhouse in front of a crowd of 14,201, was the second (of two) between the teams with the first one going to Indiana. For this game we should be seeing power forward Tyler Hansbrough, but as we know the rookie lottery pick didn’t play as he is going to be out for the season fighting an inner ear infection and maybe more. As far as the game went it was Indiana winning it (and sweeping the series), defeating Houston by 31 points, with the final score being 133 to 102. With the win the Pacers move to 29-48 on the season (.377 winning percentage, 21-17 at home (.552 winning percentage) and are tenth in the East, 10.0 games out of playoff contention.

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

Blogs:

Indy Cornrows (SB Nation) by goodlucksaturday

Box Score — Play-By-Play

Halfway through the night’s recap we find another East/West battle as the Orlando Magic (EC 1st SE) play host to the Memphis Grizzlies (WC 3rd SW) for what is the second (of two) games between these teams, the first one having been won by Memphis. For the home town team we find veteran Vince Carter (70 Games: 31.1 MinsPG ~ 16.6 PPG ~ 3.1 APG ~ 4.0 RPG) starting for the Magic and getting 29 minutes in all. In that time the shooting guard has an outstanding night scoring a game high 26 points (9 for 18 ~ 2 for 5 ~ 6 for 7) to go with seven rebounds (3 offensive), six assists, two steals and a turnover while having a game +14 pts differential. As far as the game was concerned it was Orlando beating Memphis in this one by 15, with the final being 107 to 92. With the W the Magic go to 54-23 overall (.701 winning percentage), 31-7 at home (.815 winning percentage) and are second in the East, 6.0 games behind the conference leader and 4.5 ahead of the third team.

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

Blogs:

Orlando Magic Daily (TrueHoop Network) by Philip Rossma-Reich
Orlando Pinstriped Post (SB Nation) by Ben Q Rock
Howard the Dunk (FanSided) by Andrew Melnick

Box Score — Play-By-Play

We keep going on with the recap once again encoutering an East/West match up as the Golden State Warriors (WC 5th Pacific) head north of the border to take on the Toronto Raptors (EC 2nd Atlantic). The game, the second (of two) of the series between these franchises has Golden State leading it 1-0, was played at the Air Canada Centre in front of a crowd that numbered 17,509. For the visiting team from the West Coast it should be forward Brandan Wright, but he does not play due to an injury that has kept him out of the line up the whole season. As far as the game went it was a real tight one, with Golden State winning it by one points, defeating Toronto by the final of 113 to 112 and sweeping the mini series. With the W the Warriors move to 25-53 overall (.303 winning percentage), 6-31 on the road (.162 winning percentage) and are tied for second to last place in the West, 23.5 games out of the playoff chase.

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

Blogs:

Golden State of Mind (SB Nation) by djfuzzylogic

Box Score — Play-By-Play

And we close out the night with a divisional rivalry game between the Minnesota Timberwolves (WC 5th NW) and the Oklahoma City Thunder (WC 3rd NW). The game, played at the Ford Center with an attendance of 18,203, was the fourth (of four) games between these franchises, with Oklahoma City having won all the previous ones so far. For the visiting team it’s rookie Wayne Ellington (72 Games: 18.2 MinsPG ~ 6.7 PPG ~ 1.0 APG ~ 2.1 RPG) who comes off the bench for 11 minutes for the TWolves. In that time frame the `09 national champ scored no points (0 for 3 ~ 0 for 1 ~ 0 for 0) to go with an assist and a +4 pts differential. In the end, in this one, Oklahoma City winning the game (and sweeping the series), beating Minnesota by eight, with the final score being 116 to 108. With the loss the TWolves drop to 15-62 (. winning percentage), 5-34 on the road (.128 winning percentage) and are dead last in the West, 32.0 games out of the post season chase.

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

Blogs:

Canis Hoopus (SB Nation) by SG

Box Score — Play-By-Play