Tag: Carmelo Anthony

Spurs route Knicks at home, prepare for 76ers

The San Antonio Spurs fought off what little momentum the New York Knicks had coming into the game marking the return of shooter JR Smith to run away with a 120-89 whipping of the Knicks at Madison Square Garden.

“It was embarrassing for us to come here on our home court and lose a game like this,” Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony said. “It wasn’t about losing the game, it was just how we lost the game. We didn’t compete today and it showed out there on the court.”

The 76ers are coming off a 125-127 Overtime loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers.  Tickets for the Wells Fargo Center game are still available.

Stuckey’s big night leads S&Ds, Pistons’ OT victory over Lakers

It was almost like the good ol’ days at the Palace at Auburn Hills Tuesday night.

A sellout crowd — only the fourth of the season  for the Pistons — turned out to watch the lone appearance by Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers of the year.

And Rodney Stuckey brought back memories of the good days for the Pistons, erupting for 34 points to lead them to an 88-85 overtime victory.

Stuckey scored six points in overtime to lead the Pistons to the win after Bryant hit a shot a tying shot at the end of regulation.

“When you just have a short amount of time with this lockout and stuff like that—new team, new coach—everything’s brand new,” Stuckey told the Associated Press. “It’s going to take time. It’s all a process.”   

After starting the lockout season 4-20, the Pistons have won nine of their last 15 under new coach Lawrence Frank. Stuckey’s recent development has been a major reason.

“Stuckey did an unbelievable job of attacking the paint,” Frank told the AP. “Kobe made a great shot to put the game into overtime and yet our guys kept the resolve.”

STUDS

Detroit G Rodney Stuckey: Erupted for 34 points to lead the Pistons’ overtime victory over the Los Angeles Lakers.  

Boston F Paul Pierce: Scored a game-high 30 points, six rebounds, two assists, two steals and was plus-9 in the Celtics’ overtime victory over Houston.

Charlotte F Corey Maggette: Went for 29 points, seven rebounds and was plus-19 in the Bobcats’ victory over Orlando.

Dallas F Dirk Nowitzki: Produced 28 points and was plus-16 in the Mavericks’ victory over New York.

Atlanta F Josh Smith: Notched 27 points, nine rebounds and was plus-9 in the Hawks’ victory at Indiana.  

Miami F LeBron James: Filled the stat sheet for 21 points, nine rebounds, six assists and was plus-20 in the Heat’s victory over New Jersey.

Los Angeles Lakers C Andrew Bynum: Went for 30 points, 14 rebounds, three blocked shots and was plus-8 in the Lakers’ overtime loss to Detroit.

DUDS

Orlando’s forwards: Starters Hedo Turkoglu and Ryan Anderson combined to hit only 7 of 25 from the field with 20 combined points, five turnovers and a combined minus-32 in the Magic’s loss at Charlotte.

New York F Carmelo Anthony: Hit 2 for 12 from the field with two turnovers and was minus-18 in the Knicks’ loss at Dallas.

Indiana F Tyler Hansbrough: Went 1 of 4 from the field with a turnover and was a team-worst minus-13 in the Pacers’ loss to Atlanta.

Houston C Samuel Dalembert: Struggled through a 4-for-11 shooting effort with three turnovers and was a team-worst minus-15 in the Rockets’ overtime loss at Boston.

New Jersey G Gerald Green: Clanked through a 1-for-7 shooting night with three turnovers and was minus-8 in the Nets’ loss at Miami.

Detroit C Greg Monroe: Went 1 of 10 from the field and was minus-6 in the Pistons’ overtime victory over the Los Angeles Lakers.

New York G Jeremy Lin: Struggled through a 4-for-13 shooting effort with two turnovers and was minus-11 in the Knicks’ loss at Dallas.

Bosh calls lockout the owners’ revenge against Miami, New York

Over the last 18 months, we’ve seen “The Heatles” dictate their arrival to Miami and Carmelo Anthony steer himself to New York from Denver.

Those moves have been orchestrated by players determining their fate and attempting to hold their old old teams hostage unless they can arrive at  new teams in bigger markets.

And according to Chris Bosh, one of the Miami players who arrived by those means, the owners of smaller franchises .

Bosh told the South Florida Sun-Sentinel that the lockout was orchestrated to enable the teams to retain control and end future players from leaving in similar fashion.

“I think so,” he said.

But Bosh added that the efforts to block such an approach are misguided.

“I mean, if you look at the free agents coming up in the same situations, with Chris Paul, Dwight Howard, Deron Williams, they can control their own fate,” Bosh said. “They have the power to control that and I think that’s a great thing. In any job you want freedom to negotiate.

“With us doing what we did, and Carmelo going to the Knicks, I think that has a lot to do with it. Hopefully we can keep that and guys can come and go and make the deal that’s best for them and their family.”

It’s a ticklish situation. Players  want the ability to play for who they want. But the NBA would like to find a way that small markets have a chance to be competitive for a championship.

And considering the Spurs are the only small-market franchise to claim an NBA title in the last 30 years, the current  model currently isn’t working.

The players have control.

Bosh is right. It’s not surprising the owners tried to grasp control of their game back, by whatever means are necessary.

It’s unfortunate that the fans suffering through the lockout are caught in the middle of it.