Tag: In the News

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.

Spurs’ second half hinges on health

At some point tonight, T.J. Ford is expected to slip on the No. 11 Spurs jersey again.

What happens next is almost secondary to him.

“It will feel good to be in a uniform,” said Ford, the backup point guard who has missed 24 of 34 games with a torn left hamstring. “If it’s just me shooting some layups in a layup drill, I’ll take that.

“Little baby steps.”

Having endured the annual rodeo trip, and having enjoyed the annual All-Star break, the Spurs return to the ATT Center for the first time in 25 days tonight against Chicago and the NBA’s reigning Most Valuable Player, Derrick Rose.

They open the season’s second half content with a 24-10 record but aware that it means little without a momentum-gathering second half to serve as a springboard into the playoffs.

The chief obstacle to that goal could be a laundry list of nagging injuries that began to pile up just before All-Star Weekend.

Out since Jan. 10, Ford appears the safest bet to return tonight.

“I’d like to get him a few minutes, if I can,” coach Gregg Popovich said.

The rest of the Spurs’ walking wounded remain in doubt.

Star guard Manu Ginobili (strained oblique), reserve guard Gary Neal (strained hamstring) and backup center Tiago Splitter (strained calf) practiced to some degree Tuesday. Ginobili will not play tonight, while Neal and Splitter are designated as game-time decisions.

Rookie forward Kawhi Leonard (strained calf) did not practice and is not expected to play against the Bulls.

All of those injuries are considered minor. By the end of the seven-game homestand, it is conceivable the Spurs could be back at full strength for the first time since just after New Year’s Day.

“We need everybody ready to go and at full strength,” said point guard Tony Parker, fresh off his All-Star turn in Orlando, Fla. “If not, we aren’t going to go anywhere.”

Not all injury list inhabitants are created equal, of course.

Ginobili’s return is most critical — and his increasing brittleness must be alarming for a team that has hitched its postseason fortunes to the oft-injured star.

The 34-year-old Argentine was four games into a comeback after missing 22 games with a broken left hand when he strained an oblique muscle Feb. 18 against the Los Angeles Clippers.

All told, Ginobili appeared in just nine games during the first half. The Spurs were 17-8 without him but to a man recognize their title hopes are dead on arrival unless Ginobili returns to health and to form.

“We’re not going anywhere without Manu at 100 percent,” Parker said.

The team on the opposite sideline tonight can sympathize. Chicago’s chances of toppling the Miami “Big Three” in the Eastern Conference hinge on the health of Rose, who has been playing with a bad back.

Ginobili, meanwhile, hasn’t been completely whole for an entire postseason since 2007, perhaps not coincidentally the year of the Spurs’ most recent championship.

He was playing on a bum right ankle in 2008, missed the entire 2009 playoffs with a stress fracture in the same ankle, suffered a broken nose in a 2010 first-round series against Dallas and played last season’s Memphis series with a broken elbow.

With back-to-back maladies this season, Ginobili’s teammates are cautiously optimistic he is all injured-out.

“If he gets another one, he’s definitely cursed or something,” Parker said.

“You can’t have three injuries in a row. It’s impossible.”

For now, the Spurs remain in the familiar state of waiting for Ginobili to return from injury.

Tonight, they will at least get Ford back from the shelf. In a second half that will be built on baby steps, that will have to do.

jmcdonald@express-news.net

On Twitter: @JMcDonald_SAEN

Clipper Darrell cries after being kicked out of ‘Lob City’

There’s something about live television that brings out the rawest of emotions.

Take this of a broadcast of Los Angeles television station KABC’s Sports Zone interview of “Clipper Darrell” Bailey, perhaps the most notable fan of the Los Angeles Clippers during their struggling era.

It must have been hard for Bailey to support the team during its moribund past.

But Bill Plaschke’s indicates that Bailey might have gotten too big for his blue-and-red performing suit as he attempted to become a paid spokesman for the team.

The Clippers have told Bailey they would not stop him from representing them, but would simply insist that he follow the same rules that apply to every other employee in his appearances.

“Like any company, we would need control over him and his message,” Clippers vice president of marketing and sales Carl Lahr told the Los Angeles Times. “He is using our name and our colors, and we would like control over how that is done.”

When the Clippers got hot, apparently “Clipper Darrell” decided to change his message and capitalize on the team’s sizzle.

“Somewhere along the line, he stopped being a super fan and became a marketer,” Lahr said. “He got to the point where he wanted this to be a commercial enterprise.”

The Clippers told Plaschke they they actually offered Bailey a chance to be treated exactly like a Clippers cheerleader, with a $70 nightly salary but no unsanctioned interviews or appearances, and he refused.

“He’s a really good person, but he told us he’s in this to make money,” Lahr said. “Once that happens, that changes the whole fan dynamic.”

The Clippers return home next week. It will be interesting to see if their superfan is rooting for  them in the arena.

But it wouldn’t suprise me if we saw “Laker Darrell” at other games at the Staples Center in the not-too-distant future.

Here’s a look at “Clipper Darrell’s” recent appearance on KABC. Bailey’s emotion gets the best of him when he starts crying at about the 2:10 mark of the video.