Knicks make moves, score T-Mac & cap room

In a blockbuster 3-team deal, the New York Knicks have not only landed Houston Rocket Tracy McGrady, but also have cleared cap room for the upcoming 2010 free agent wars. It was reported earlier on Thursday that the Rockets and Kings were working out a deal to trade Kevin Martin and several players in exchange for McGrady and other players. Right before the NBA trade deadline struck, the Knicks managed to acquire Tracy McGrady and Sergio Rodriguez (Kings).

The Knicks have now traded away Nate Robinson, Darko Milicic and Jared Jeffries, freeing up plenty of cap space to sign two max free agents. That could mean their #1 choice Lebron James will suit up as a Knick starting in 2010-11, and that another player such as Chris Bosh or Dwyane Wade will join him in the lineup. The Knicks may have upped their status as potential title contenders for that next season with these moves, which at first appeared odd with them simply trading away Nate Robinson to the Celtics for bench player Eddie House.

The Houston Rockets now acquire Jared Jeffries (Knicks) along with Kevin Martin from the Kings. Also, Sacramento picks up Larry Hughes (Knicks), Carl Landry and Joey Dorsey both from the Kings. Tracy McGrady will be a member of the Knicks but has an expiring contract as well, and has mentioned a desire to play for a playoff contender like the Lakers or Cavaliers. However, the Cavaliers wouldn't exactly be a contender if King James is long gone.

Confused yet? The important things to note are that Kevin Martin is now a Rocket, and Tracy McGrady is now a New York Knick. Oh and that the Knicks just might be able to woo King James with enough money to have him switching from a red-maroon Cavs jersey to Knicks blue and orange for 2010-11.

Read more about today's trade here at NY Daily News.

Suns-Rockets Basketbrawl Punishments

You may have seen the highlights as a pretty-good sized fight broke out during the Houston Rockets vs. Phoenix Suns game just a few nights ago. According to AZCentral.com:

Just moments after Steve Nash clutched his shoulder after slamming into a McGrady screen, Suns forward Matt Barnes lowered his shoulder into a high screen set by Houston guard Rafer Alston as McGrady made the 3-pointer. Alston came back at Barnes in the middle of the floor, where Nash soon showed up as he raced out of the lane. McGrady shoved Nash out of the area, prompting Shaquille O'Neal to push down McGrady and give more-gentle pushes to Yao Ming and Alston as well. The dust-up carried crosscourt, with Suns coach Terry Porter trying to get between the combatants.

The incident definitely drew the attention of the league, as any instance of on-court violence has following the Pistons-Pacers melee years ago. Today the league handed out an assortment of punishments to the various individuals involved.

The main individuals behind the altercation, Raefer Alston of the Rockets and Matt Barnes of the Suns each received 2 games off from the league. The Suns will also miss their floor general, as Steve Nash was given a 1 game suspension. Suns center Shaquile O'Neal was fined $35,000 while T-Mac of the Rockets had his wallet lightened by $25,000.

In other Shaq news, despite the fine, he recently surpassed legend John Havlicek to become #10 on the all-time scoring list making for quite a milestone in the Big Aristotle's career.

In other fine news, the Sacramento Kings and their coach Reggie Theus were each fined $25,000 for their comments following a recent loss to Detroit.

Video footage of Suns-Rockets fight at USA Today blogs.

Home Sweet Home!?

It pays to play at home in the NBA playoffs. The only teams to have successfully taken away some of the "home court advantage" factor in the playoffs have been Philadelphia and Utah. Utah of course owns a 2-0 lead over the slightly higher seeded Rockets, as they won both games in Houston. Philadelphia stunned the NBA nation by going into Detroit and pulling off a game 1 win. That series is tied at a game a piece now.

On Thursday night, several teams took advantage of being back home so they could get themselves back into their playoff series. Washington had quite an impressive win over Cleveland, blowing them out 108-72 for the Wizards' biggest playoff win ever. DeShawn Stevenson and Caron Butler figured big in the game, with Stevenson leading the way and using a "you cant see me" hand gesture after several big baskets. The crowd was on Lebron all night, chanting "over-rated" which as we and they all know is untrue. Kevin Duarant, Clinton Portis, Soulja Boy & Colin Powell were amongst the celebrity spectators for the game in DC.

Toronto was also back home Thursday night, hosting the Orlando Magic. Toronto stayed ahead in this one and won 108-94 behind 21 points from point guard TJ Ford. Jose Calderon wasn't too shabby either. The Raptors are now back into the series, down just 2 games to 1. I still don't see the Raptors taking this one, but the NBA is where amazing happens.

Houston traveled to unfriendly Utah for their Game 3. The Rockets had guard Raefer Alston back from injury which was good news. As mentioned before, the Rockets were down 0-2 to Utah, and it could become yet another first round loss for Tracy McGrady. We finally got an exciting, down to the wire contest here, amongst all the recent playoff blowouts (Celtics, Pistons, Cavs, Wizards, Hornets, etc). Houston ended it by pulling off a 94-92 win in Utah, which they really had to do. Houston had their backs against the wall as T-Mac said afterwards. T-Mac had 27 points and 7 assists. The returning Raefer added 20 points as well. Carl Landry had a huge block on Deron Williams to protect the Rockets lead and win. Unfortunately, Landry also took a shot during the game and lost some of his teeth...

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2008 NBA Playoffs Day 3

Just two games on the NBA Playoff slate Monday night with Washington and Cleveland resuming their series, and Utah going back into Houston for their Game 2.

Cleveland gave the most dominant performance of the playoffs so far winning by 30 points over the Wizards. Lebron racked up 30 points, 12 assists and 9 rebounds in the impressive victory. Cleveland had a 13 point lead at halftime, then pulled away in the 2nd half. Clevleand now leads 2 games to none over Washington, who thought it would be a good idea to trash talk Lebron and the Cavs before the games began.

Cavaliers Top Wizards 116-86 for 2-0 Lead in NBA Playoff Series

On the other hand, any of the Utah Jazz could have talked trash about T-Mac before their series and been ok. Utah did more of the same against Houston tonight, picking up a win to go 2-0 in the series. T-Mac was 1 assist shy of a triple double, playing a brilliant game despite the losing effort. A dejected McGrady was shown leaving the court prior to Deron Williams giving his postgame interview to Craig Sager. Game 3 is Thursday night at 10:30 PM. This could be yet another disappointing early exit for T-Mac in the playoffs.

NBA playoffs: Jazz take 2-0 series lead

A look at Tuesday's Playoff schedule:

Toronto Raptors vs. Orlando Magic 7:30 PM (NBA TV)
Atlanta Hawks vs. Boston Celtics 8:00 PM (ESPN)
Dallas Mavericks vs. New Orleans Hornets 7:00 PM (TNT)
San Antonio Spurs vs. Phoenix Suns 9:30 PM (TNT)

Also of note, Brendan Haywood had a hard foul on Lebron James during their Game 2 and was ejected. TNT also decided to jump all over the Lebron James comments towards Deshawn Stevenson who called him "overrated". Lebron had said Stevenson calling him out was like Soulja Boy calling out Jay-Z. TNT analyst Marv Albert discussed it during Monday night's game, then later TNT's genius staff superimposed Marv's head on a dancing figure while Soulja Boy's hit "Crank Dat" played.

2008 NBA Playoffs Day 1

The 2008 NBA Playoffs have started off at a furious pace. On Saturday the playoff gates opened with a classic Western Conference game going into double overtime. It was the rematch of the Spurs vs. Suns, which is now considered one for the ages. Tim Duncan, who hadn't hit a three point shot all year managed to hit one in the first overtime to tie things up. In the second overtime there was a series of wild shots by both teams, ending with Manu Ginobli's drive with 1.8 seconds to go. The Spurs defeat the Suns 117-115 to take Game 1. Duncan recorded a game high 40 points and 15 rebounds in the thriller.

Cleveland and Lebron James handled the trash talking Wizards 93-86 in their game 1 in Cleveland. Gilbert Arenas had made comments that there's no way a team can beat another in the playoffs for 3 straight years, and the Wizards would "try their luck" this year. His teammate Deshawn Stevenson decided to throw in that Lebron James is "overrated". Definitely not the smartest of moves to stir up King James after he made the Finals just 1 year ago.

In other action, The Hornets defeated Dallas 104-92 in Game 1. Chris Paul made his much-anticipated NBA playoff debut scoring 35 points and 10 assists to lead his New Orleans Hornets to a 1-0 start. Dallas was ahead by as much as 12 at one point, but New Orleans gained momentum and played almost flawlessly in the second half. Paul also showed why he may be receiving the proverbial torch from future Hall of Fame PG, Jason Kidd. Dirk Nowitski had stated earlier that he was happy they weren't facing the red hot Lakers, but it looks like the Hornets were just as heated.

In the nightcap, Tracy McGrady's Rockets met Deron Williams and the Utah Jazz. T-Mac has the stigma of being bounced from the first round of the playoffs all 6 times in his career. As Stephen A. Smith of ESPN noted "it's like a black cat is following him around". That black cat sort of hit when it took out Yao Ming for the season, but the Rockets still had an impressive 22 game winning streak, with half of them during Yao's absence. T-Mac was on the receiving end of another loss to start things off as the Jazz defeated the Rockets 93-82. Deron Williams, Andre Kirilenko and Carlos Boozer combined for 61 points for the Jazz.

More playoff action Sunday with the Celtics vs. Hawks, Pistons vs. Sixers, Raptors vs. Magic and Nuggets vs. Lakers series all opening up.

Celtics Land the Rockets

Last night Houston had a problem. As the luck of the Irish continues, the Boston Celtics were able to use tight D to finally ground the Rockets, with a 94-74 triumphant victory. It not only crashes T-Mac and his crew to the earth, but also continues to prove just how tough and good a contender the Celtics make for NBA champions. According to a Wall Street Journal blog, the last time the Rockets lost, the New York Giants were underdogs in the Superbowl. From there the Giants won an impressive game over the Patriots to become champions, and the Rockets began their ascension into the stratosphere, winning 22 straight. Yao Ming was also lost for the season along the way, but that didn't stop the Rockets from winning 12 games without their Great Wall. The streak lasted for an impressive 48 days and really revved up Houston fans for their team's hopes at winning a title.

Chris Sheridan of ESPNprovided the following about the streak:

“The Rockets did, after all, write their own little piece of history with the streak, accomplishing something the NBA hadn’t seen in nearly four decades,” “But that made it all the more surprising to see them wilt in the toughest test they’ve faced during the streak, a night when a national-television audience tuned in to see what all the buzz about the Rockets was about, then switched their TV sets off shaking their heads at how good the Celtics looked.”

So what we have learned is Houston can succeed without their man in the middle, Yao, and that T-Mac and his supporting cast are definite West coast contenders. We also learned that the Celtics are capable of beating any team, in any place, at any time. This will go a long way towards their momentum and championship hopes. The loss puts Houston into a tie with the Lakers for first, not too depressing for fans of the Rockets. Unfortunately, another loss or two could push them back down to the bottom tier of the Western Conference playoff teams.

Rockets Keep Soaring Higher

The Rockets continued to fire on all cylinders on Sunday as they achieved their 22nd straight win, defeating the Los Angeles Lakers by a score of 104-92. The Rockets now have the 2nd longest win streak in NBA History. The team they beat, the Los Angeles Lakers own the #1 all time streak at 33 straight games won.

On Sunday, Kobe Bryant didn't have it in him to overcome the intense D of Shane Battier and the great 3 point shooting displayed by Houston. Kobe shot just 11 of 33 from the field thanks to Mr. Battier. The Rockets have won 10 games in a row since Yao Ming's departure, making them one of the most interesting 2nd half success stories.

Next up for the Rockets is a tough 2 games facing first the Celtics and then the Hornets.

See more about the Rockets-Lakers game here.

When Will Rockets Land?

Just over a week ago, I discussed here at the Love and Basketball blog how the injury of Yao Ming would ground the Rockets, who were on an impressive run. Since then, they've continued their winning ways, thanks to the power of superstar Tracy McGrady. As of Saturday night, T-Mac and his Houston crew are now on an 18 game winning streak, one of the more impressive streaks in recent sports history. Last night T-Mac put on a show scoring 41 points, 9 assists and 6 rebounds to lead his team over a very good New Orleans squad in the West.

According to the Houston Chronicle:

If this wasn't a perfect game, it was close. McGrady was on the floor for all 48 minutes, scored 41 points, handed out nine assists and grabbed six rebounds.

Years from now when someone asks you why McGrady was special, tell him to watch this game. Whenever New Orleans seemed about to get back in it, McGrady delivered.

"We also had Tracy McGrady, and it didn't matter what they did," Rafer Alston said.

When it was over, when the Rockets had beaten the Hornets 106-96 to become just the seventh NBA team to win 18 games in a row, they acted like a bunch of high school kids.

Full Houston Chronicle article

T-Mac is definitely one of the top stars of our beloved b-ball league, but the problem will come when they have to win a series of consecutive games against a San Antonio, Dallas, Phoenix or even Lakers. That's not to say the Rockets aren't capable. According to the Chronicle article, the Rockets do all the intangibles necessary to scrap and win games. You'd have to attribute that to a guy like Shane Battier, who's always been a defensive stalwart and the type to get splinters by taking charges or diving for loose balls.

Houston may have a problem. Playoff time may be a reality check, when the Rockets are brought down to earth. For now it's fun to watch them continue to blast off into the stratosphere, and engrave their names into the NBA history books.

The Rise and Fall of Houston's Yao Ming

The Rockets continued their impressive winning streak on Tuesday night as they dropped the Wizards. However, the Rockets may soon be landing. Unfortunately for Houston it's big man, Yao Ming went down with a serious foot injury which will keep him out for the rest of this NBA season as well as the 2008 Playoffs.

According to USA Today and ESPN, Yao has suffered a stress fracture of his tarsal navicular bone, aka the foot. TNT analyst Doug Collins had the same type of injury in both his feet when he was a player. Due to limited technology it was misdiagnosed as tendinitis. Yao's dealt with the injury bug for the past 3 seasons now, limiting his games play drastically.

USA Today's recent article discussed how Yao "doubts his durability" and how his dynasty as a top center may soon be in jeopardy. The article also discusses how the Rockets have always gone sub .500 when either Yao or T-Mac is hurt. See the full USA Today article here.

It's a shame because the All-star Yao Ming definitely has talent and this season analysts claimed he was becoming quite the imposing defender in the lane. The Rockets had blasted off in the West and appeared unstoppable. Now, yet again Houston's chances to make the NBA Finals seem to have fallen with its big man.

Best Damn Talks to Ray Allen

Ray Allen recently appeared on the Best Damn Sports Show Period, via satellite from Boston, Massachusetts. Ray discussed how great it is to play for a storied franchise like the Celtics and wear the throwback jerseys in a recent game. He also discussed his acting gigs such as He Got Game. Ray said that he was being trash-talked by Spike Lee during a Knicks-Bucks game early in his career. Spike eventually talked to Ray about auditioning for the part. Ray talked about how intimidating it was to work with a legendary actor like Denzel Washington.

In "Get to Know Ray Allen" Ray said he never received Allan Ray's paycheck when they were teammates. Ray said his 1 bad habit is singing, because he can't do it too well. He also once painted his toenails purple for a playoff run in Milwaukee. Ray discussed an interesting campaign being done by Vitamin Water and NBA players on December 19th too.

The December 19th promotion which involves players like Ray Allen, T-Mac, Shaq, Dwight Howard and Chauncey Billups as part of Team Vitamin Water. For every point scored by these players, Vitamin Water will donate money to the food bank of their specific city (Boston, Orlando, Miami, Detroit, Houston, etc). A pretty sweet promotion for the holiday season, so let's hope these guys score a bunch. How about a couple 50 point performances? Ray and T-Mac are definitely capable.

NBA News and Notes 11.05.07

Here's some news and notes from around the NBA with the season in its first full week of action.

Elton Brand and Greg Oden aren't the only stars forced to sit out for most of or all of the NBA season. Adam Morrison of the Charlotte Bobcats is now out for the season with an ACL tear in his left knee, probably one of the worst injuries someone can see in basketball or pro sports. Morrison will have surgery on the knee in about 5 days. Despite the injury, Seattle Times reports Morrison is trying to stay positive.

Players of the week for the first NBA week were Indiana Pacer Danny Granger and Houston Rocket Tracy McGrady. Both teams are off to 3-0 starts in their respective Conferences, and perhaps Indiana was the bigger surprise of the 2. Strong play from Granger indicates he may have a breakout season to lead this team, with J O'Neal struggling with injuries. T-Mac is more expected although he and teammmate Yao will need to also stay healthy this season to keep the Rockets contending.

Speaking of Yao, there was the highly-praised game of his fellow Chinese superstar, Yi Jianlian for the Milwaukee Bucks. Yi had 16 points and 8 rebounds in an early game, helping the Bucks record a win over the favored Chicago Bulls. According to reports from China, fans were flipping back and forth between the Houston Rockets game to see Yao and the Bucks game to watch Yi in action. This is definitely great for the NBA as it broadens its fanbase even more. Yao was already very popular there and jersey sales of other NBA stars are as well. Yi is also being heavily promoted amongst Chinese media sources. The question will be do both these guys get a ton of votes come All-star time?

And of course the NBA story everyone loves to hate is that of Kobe Bryant. Will he stay a Laker, or will he leave? It's always good to see a player stay his career for one team, but sometimes it is inevitable and things can't be worked out in their current situation. Kobe seems unhappy with the way the current Lakers team is and it may be justified as he's won in the past. So where will the star end up next? Marc Stein at ESPN.com has the "Take a spin on the Kobe Coaster" article in which he says don't rule out Chicago or Dallas at all. Stay tuned.