Archive for January, 2010
Celtics-Lakers Sunday!
Posted 30 Jan 2010 — by Phillip Pyle
Category Boston Celtics, Los Angeles Lakers, NBA
Category Boston Celtics, Los Angeles Lakers, NBA
Celtics-Lakers face off on Sunday, in what is in many ways a MUST win for Boston who has a lot to prove to not only themselves but the rest of the league. Paul Pierce knows that his team has been struggling but always looks forward to the Lakers coming to town.
“It’s always a big deal. It is for me,” the Los Angeles native and longtime Celtics forward said. “We feel like it’s a must-win. These are teams we’re going to see in the playoffs so we’re giving them psychological edge right now. That’s not something that you’re going to be able to turn on once the playoffs start. So we’ve got to turn it around right now.” The Celtics (29-15) are in a rut unlike any they’ve seen since assembling the New Big Three in the summer of 2007. They have lost five of their last seven and 10 of their last 16 since beating Orlando on Christmas Day, including back-to-back losses to the Magic and Atlanta Hawks. That makes Sunday’s matchup of the last two NBA champions Boston’s third game in four days — all of them against top teams in the league. “Yeah, and the Lakers are the cherry on the top for us!” Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. “It’s still fun to play these games, because they’re good teams and you enjoy playing them. There’s no love lost, and all that stuff’s good. It’s good for our league. But more importantly, it’s just fun in the middle of the season to have days like this.”
One of the more puzzling aspects of Boston’s slump is its home record. While their road mark is one of the best in the NBA — even after the recent road swing that dropped them to 16-8 — the Celtics have struggled at home, going 13-7; in their title-winning season of 2007-08, they lost only six home games all year. When the Lakers won in Philadelphia on Friday for their third straight victory, guard Kobe Bryant(notes) was keeping one eye on the Celtics. Noting their struggles against Orlando and Atlanta, he predicted that they will have things turned around by the time their archrivals arrive.
“I’m looking forward to seeing how they answer that challenge,” Bryant said. “Every time we go back to Boston, it’s special, because that’s where we lost the (2008) championship. All those memories come back.” With 47 points Sunday—a total he’s hit 29 times in his career in the regular season, but never against Boston—he would pass Jerry West as the Lakers’ all-time leading scorer.
The Truth Sports: YouTube Saturday!
I spent a significant amount of time searching all over YouTube and have found some gems.
Kobe getting 25,000th point:
Michael Jordan breaking the backboard:
Derrick Rose two hand flush on Goran Dragic. Stacey King’s reaction is priceless!:
For more enjoyed viewing head over to our YouTube page.
NBA Friday:12 Games-6 Worth Watching!
Posted 30 Jan 2010 — by Phillip Pyle
Category Uncategorized
Category Uncategorized
Trail Blazers 100, Rockets 104: Aaron Brooks scored 33 points and Carl Landry added 21 as the Rockets ended there 3 game losing streak…at home. The Trail Blazers were without Brandon Roy, Joel Przybilla, Greg Oden, Sam Bowie, and Bill Walton.
Bulls 108, Hornets 106: The Bulls stretch there winning streak to 5 games on the road with a tough overtime win in New Orleans. Happy to know The Truth Sports felt deep down inside that the Bulls were better then what they had on display early in the season. After beating the Suns last Friday, they defeated Oklahoma City, San Antonio, Houston, and New Orleans exactly a week later. David West led New Orleans with 29 points. Chris Paul added 18 points and 12 assists.
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- AP Photo-Matt Slocum
Lakers 99, 76ers 91: For a half, each let their teammates do all the scoring.Both Bryant and Iverson scored only two points in the first half, and the Lakers led 51-42 at the break. Then Elton Brand dove for a loose ball and came inches away from benig the greatest Clipper player of all-time, landing on Braynt’s leg causing him to grab his knee and walk to the sideline. But as usual Kobe walked it off and promptly took over stealing the ball and finishing with an easy jumper.“It’s evident that he is one of the best ever to do it,” Iverson said. “He goes out there night in and night out and plays the same way every night.” Iverson showed a small glimpse of his former MVP self when he crossed-over Derek Fisher and tossed up a running bank shot as his 6-foot frame slammed onto the unforgiving court. He sank the free throw to complete the three-point play that was vintage Iverson. The other A.I., Andre Iguodala shot 3-7, finishing with 8 points.
Cavaliers 94, Pacers 73: Something about Indiana that Centers love. Fresh off a beating by the Lakers where Andrew Bynum went for 27 and 12, Shaquille O’Neal had one of his beast games of the season. He finished with 22 points, 8 rebounds, and 2 blocks in just 25 minutes. “Shaq is going to play like this,” LeBron James said. “We know how good a player he is, and tonight was another prime example.” For the third time in six games LeBron James missed a triple-double by a single rebound. The Pacers shot 33.7 percent from the field and scored their second-fewest points this season. Indiana scored nine points on 3 for 19 shooting in the fourth quarter.Congratulations on those back-to-back sellouts Indiana
Celtics 91, Hawks 100: The Hawks signing of Jamal Crawford in the offseason is turning out to be a brillant decision. Crawford would be without any doubt 6th Man of the Year if the season ended today. He finished with 28 points and 6 assists. Meanwhile, the Celtics offseason addition Rasheed Wallace was called for his NBA-leading 13th technical foul in the second period. This was a rough night for the Celtics who never played at the same intensity level as the Hawks. The loss the night before to Orlando may have had something to do with it. They better have an awesome practice Saturday because the Lakers roll into Boston on Sunday.
Nuggets 84, Thunder 101: Nuggets needed Carmelo Anthony in a major way. Kevin Durant recorded his NBA-leading 26th 30-point game and 20th straight game with 25 or more points. At 21, he’s the youngest player ever to accomplish that feat. Kevin Durant is headed for the All-Star game and is The Truth Sports mid-season MVP. The Thunder took advantage of a Melo-less Nuggets that are already allergic to defense. Good news for the Nuggets George Karl will coach the Western Conference at the All-Star Game.
Kobe Bryant:’I don’t leave anything in the chamber’.
Loading ...Nike’s latest ad comes days after Gilbert Arenas and Javaris Crittenton were suspended for the season for going Yosemite Sam on each other in the locker room. The ad states “Kobe Bryant SG, I’ll do whatever it takes to win games. I don’t leave anything in the chamber”. Once again the association to “combat” or “war” conflicts with the fact that its basketball they are talking about. I’m sure Nike did not intend to stir up comparisons to Arenas but this one is bad timing. Kobe Bryant and LeBron are #1,and #2 in NBA jerseys sells, and any negative feedback from this ad won’t stop their dominance. Tim Frank, a league spokesman, said in an e-mail message: “We had no prior notice of this ad. We think it is inappropriate.” He would not elaborate, but he added that the league gets advance notice about ads, and approval rights, only if they contain the N.B.A.’s logo or trademarks.
Nike did not directly address Frank’s comments, but issued a statement that defended Bryant’s quotation. The company said his comments were “intended to illustrate his all-out play and commitment on the basketball court. It is a commonly used reference for shooting the basketball and no offense was intended.”
Rae Carruth Award for Excellence: Don “Moose” Lewis
Posted 29 Jan 2010 — by Phillip Pyle
Category DUMB STUFF, Rae Carruth Award for Excellence
Category DUMB STUFF, Rae Carruth Award for Excellence
This months winner of the Rae Carruth Award for Excellence:
We’re very busy here at The Truth Sports so we usually we wouldn’t address such nonsense, but when we heard of Don “Moose” Lewis‘ plan to create an “All White” basketball league it definitely caught our attention. However, the more thought that was given to the subject the clearer things became. The habitually shameless American media will report anything that will get ratings, no matter how ridiculous or irrelevant. I’m confident that the majority of Americans(Corporate America aside) are long past the type of overt Racism that would allow someone to take a segregated basketball league in 2010 seriously, however, for the sake of our readers pleasure we’ll humor you for a moment.
An all-white basketball league was proposed earlier in the week by a group calling itself the All-American Basketball Alliance. The league’s commissioner, Don “Moose” Lewis, said that in “the culture today” you have to “worry about a player flipping you off or attacking you in the stands or grabbing their crotch.” Therefore, he said, he wanted to create a league that focuses on “fundamental basketball” instead of “street-ball” played by “people of color.” A whites-only basketball league aims to launch in twelve cities this summer, according to areport in the Augusta Chronicle. The All-American Basketball Alliance would also ban players born outside the United States.
“Fundamental Basketball”?! Tim Duncan is black, a foreigner and, nicknamed “The Big Fundamental”. Its not a new trick, and he may even have a viable audience who would pay to see such a novelty, but if Old man Moosey and his cohorts succeed he’ll be profiting off all our years of working against desegregation. Mr. Moosey should understand that in “New America” we’re only interested in results. Long gone are the days where Major “Taylor” is asked not to show up to the racetrack because its not in the rules of the game for a black person to win a race against his white contemporaries. In the last 30 years or so good American Sportsmanship has helped usher in a new era of tolerance. I can safely say without any doubt, that the majority of American children these days idolize their favorite player in any sport based on their performance and their ability to play the game. Merchandising statistics from every league have time and time again confirmed this.
We compiled what the AABA All-Star team might look like:
Luke Ridnour, J.J. Redick, Mike Miller, David Lee, Brian Scalabrine, Brad Miller, Chase Budinger,Mike Dunleavy, Jeff Foster, Tyler Hansbrough , Kevin Love, Nick Collison
The Truth Sports: NBA All-Star Reserves!
Posted 29 Jan 2010 — by Phillip Pyle
Category NBA, Uncategorized
Category NBA, Uncategorized
Today the NBA released the reserves for the 2010 NBA All-Star Game, that is take place Valentines Day(February 14th) in Dallas Cowboys Stadium to over 80,000 people. The selections in the East were all deserving. Gerald Wallace, Derrick Rose, Rajon Rondo, and Al Horford will all be making their first appearance at the All-Star Game. Horford was a surprise selection, based on the play of David Lee, teammate Josh Smith and, Joakim Noah. Paul Pierce making his 8th apperance and Joe Johnson making his 4th appearence will join them in Dallas.
The West selections of Dirk Nowitzki(9th), Chris Paul(3rd) Zach Randolph(1st) and, Brandon Roy(3rd) came as no suprise. Kevin Durant was also a deserving selection in his first appearence at the All-Star Game. The Los Angeles Lakers Pau Gasol’s selection was met with wonder, based on his missing of the first 17 games and having lower numbers then the Los Angeles Clippers Chris Kaman. We attribute the selection based on the Clippers lost to 4-40 New Jersey Nets, and the Clipper Curse.
Regardless of the picks we don’t like, the NBA All-Star game looks to be an amazing experience for the players and even those sitting in the nosebleeds in Dallas Stadium.
2010 Eastern Conference All-Stars
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2010 Western Conference All-Stars
| No. | Player (Team) | Pos. | Ht. | Wt. | Birthdate | College/HS/Country | Selections |
| 15 | Carmelo Anthony (Denver) | F | 6-8 | 230 | 05/29/84 | Syracuse | 3 |
| 24 | Kobe Bryant (L.A. Lakers) | G | 6-6 | 205 | 08/23/78 | Lower Merion HS | 12 |
| 21 | Tim Duncan (San Antonio) | F | 6-11 | 260 | 04/25/76 | Wake Forest | 12 |
| 35 | Kevin Durant (Oklahoma City) | F | 6-9 | 230 | 09/29/88 | Texas | 1 |
| 16 | Pau Gasol (L.A. Lakers) | F | 7-0 | 227 | 07/06/80 | Barcelona, Spain | 3 |
| 13 | Steve Nash (Phoenix) | G | 6-3 | 178 | 02/07/74 | Santa Clara | 7 |
| 41 | Dirk Nowitzki (Dallas) | F | 7-0 | 245 | 06/19/78 | Wurzburg, Germany | 9 |
| 3 | Chris Paul (New Orleans) | G | 6-0 | 175 | 05/06/85 | Wake Forest | 3 |
| 50 | Zach Randolph (Memphis) | F | 6-9 | 260 | 07/16/81 | Michigan State | 1 |
| 7 | Brandon Roy (Portland) | G | 6-6 | 211 | 07/23/84 | Washington | 3 |
| 1 | Amare Stoudemire (Phoenix) | F/C | 6-10 | 245 | 11/16/82 | Cypress Creek HS | 5 |
| 8 | Deron Williams (Utah) | G | 6-3 | 207 | 06/26/84 | Illinois | 1 |
The Truth Sports: NBA 11-Game Wednesday Re-Cap
Posted 28 Jan 2010 — by Phillip Pyle
Category Atlanta Hawks, Chicago Bulls, Cleveland Cavaliers, Denver Nuggets, Detroit Pistons, Golden St. Warriors, Houston Rockets, Indiana Pacers, Los Angeles Lakers, Memphis Grizzlies, Miami Heat, NBA, New Jersey Nets, New Orleans Hornets, Oklahoma City Thunder, Philadelphia 76ers, Portland Trailblazers, Toronto Raptors, Utah Jazz
Category Atlanta Hawks, Chicago Bulls, Cleveland Cavaliers, Denver Nuggets, Detroit Pistons, Golden St. Warriors, Houston Rockets, Indiana Pacers, Los Angeles Lakers, Memphis Grizzlies, Miami Heat, NBA, New Jersey Nets, New Orleans Hornets, Oklahoma City Thunder, Philadelphia 76ers, Portland Trailblazers, Toronto Raptors, Utah Jazz
AP Photo/Pat Sullivan
Nuggets 97 Rockets 92: The Nuggets won for the second straight time without Carmelo Anthony, the NBA’s second-leading scorer, who sat out with a sprained left ankle. The Rockets lost for the eighth time in 12 games, despite yet another dominating start. Chauncey Billups and J.R. Smith were enough to beat the sputtering Rockets who have lost a bit of the intensity they had early in the season. Not to point the finger but Trevor Ariza is shooting 13-45 over the three game skid.
Hawks 90 Spurs 105: An old dog never loses its tricks and the Spurs used everyone of those tricks on display in a trouncing of Atlanta. Tim Duncan grabbed a career-high 27 rebounds and scored 21 points, and the San Antonio Spurs ended their three-game slide with a 105-90 win over the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday night. It was the first 20-20 game since 2005 for Duncan, who bested his previous career rebounding high of 25, set against Miami in 2003. Jamal Crawford earned his 23rd career 4-point play. Now just one behind Reggie Miller’s NBA record. Whwn the Hawks win and lose BIG!
Lakers 118 Pacers 96: Bynum scored 22 points in the first half. Kobe Bryant took over in the second half and finished with a game-high 29 points to go with nine rebounds and seven assists. Bynum finished with 27 points and 12 rebounds. Indiana decided to go small and it failed. Times have been rough in Indiana, for basketball at least. The Indianapolis Colts are playing in the Super Bowl next Sunday! Los Angeles doesn’t even have a football team, so…small victories.
AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki
Bulls 96 Thunder 86: Derrick Rose scored 26 points, Noah added 13 points and 11 rebounds and the Bulls held the Oklahoma City without a field goal for the first eight minutes of the fourth quarter on their way to a 96-86 victory on Wednesday night. The Truth Sports knew the Del Negro ship would stay afloat. It was Chicago’s fourth straight win — all on the road — after starting the season 4-15 away from the United Center. The Bulls — fresh off wins at Phoenix, Houston and San Antonio — improved to 22-22, returning to .500 for the first time since they were 6-6 on Nov. 21. A disappointing 3 game losing streak that gets tested Friday against the Nuggets….good luck
Heat 103 Raptors 111: Chris Bosh had 24 points and a season-high 18 rebounds,Andrea Bargnani scored 27 points and Raptors played another solid game after beating the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday.
Ron Turenne/NBAE via Getty Images
“We put (the Lakers game) behind us,” Bosh said. “One thing about a big win, you don’t want to beat a good team and then come back and have a poor performance. You always want to keep the momentum going and I think we’re building some good resistance at home.” Dwyane Wade had 35 points and 10 assists and former Raptors center Jermaine O’Neal scored 22 for Miami, which lost Michael Beasley to a right knee injury. The injury may keep him out of Heats next game against Detroit. Bosh is the onlyRaptors player to start all 46 games this season, and even more appealing to the Heat, and the Rockets, and the…….
Timberwolves 95 Cavaliers 109: Cavs are 9-0 at home against Western Conference teams, if you consider the Timberwolves a team. Just kidding, but this one was a no-brainer. LeBron is dancing in the highlights, and thats never a good sign.
Grizzlies 99 Pistons 93: The Pistons 11-19 (57.9%) free-throw shooting was the only negative output of the game, unfortunately the Grizzlies shot 26-28 (92.9%) from the stripe. The Grizzlies have passed all the wins they had all last season(24). Ben Gordon (groin) missed his 19th game of the season, and Will Bynum (ankle) also sat out for Detroit.
76ers 88 Bucks 91: This game was not watched, yet it was played. Brandon Jennings scored 18 points, hitting a 12-footer with 22 seconds left, and the Bucks held on for a 91-88 win on Wednesday night after the Sixers missed three shots to tie in the final 11 seconds. Iverson finished with six points, all in the first half.
Jazz 106 Trailblazers 95: Here are some mismatch numbers. The Jazz had 19 turnovers the Blazers had 9. Utah shot 60.3 percent from the field, hitting 38 of 63 shots. Portland shot 36.3 percent (33 of 91). Utah led by as many as 26 points during the first half. The Jazz won for the eighth time in nine games and took over second place in the Northwest Division. Carlos Boozer, who scored 14 points, left the game early in the third quarter with a right calf strain and did not return. Can you hear the money slipping through Boozers fingers. It sounds like when Sonic loses his rings.
Hornets 123 Warriors 110: Did you know Stephen Curry is 5th in steals per game, crazy right? Chris Paul scored 38 points to lead five New Orleans starters in double figures. Paul shot 14 for 19 from the field, made all nine of his free-throw tries, dished out nine assists and grabbed six rebounds. Paul is a lock for All-Star reserve. Monta Ellis returned for Golden State after missing the past two games with a sprained right ankle and had 19 points, nine assists and six rebounds. He had been averaging 30.7 points over his previous 16 outings. Hope this doesn’t hurt Monta’s chances of making it to the All-Star Game as a reserve. The roster is to be announced tomorrow.
AND THE HIGHLIGHT OF THE NIGHT!!!
NETS WIN!!! NOW THE STRIVE FOR 5!
The Truth Sports: NBA Top 15 Power Rankings
Posted 25 Jan 2010 — by Phillip Pyle
Category NBA
Category NBA
1. Cleveland Cavaliers: LeBron single-handedly put the Cavs in first this week with BIG blocks at the end of the Lakers, and Thunder games. LeBron James was named as the NBA’s Eastern Conference Player of the Week for the 4th time this season.
2. Los Angeles: Lakers are 10-8 on the road. Swept by the Cavs, and a loss yesterday to Raptors, still 5 games left on this road trip including a back-to-back Boston, Memphis.
3. Boston Celtics: Good win over Roy-Less Blazers, and the return of the “pinto” Kevin Garnett, have the Celtics moving in the right direction. Hawks friday, then Lakers Sunday.
4. Dallas Mavericks: On Sunday they beat the Knicks by 50! 50!
5. Denver Nuggets: 6 straight W’s with Melo hurt, and J.R.Smith tripping.
6. Atlanta Hawks: the first team this season to record 20 double-digit wins. Jamal Crawford is a strong 6th Man of the Year candidate.
7. San Antonio Spurs: Loses to Houston & Utah showed the obvious..Tim Duncan is old, and Richard Jefferson is over-rated
8. Orlando Magic: Great OT win against hot-Bobcats team. Matt Barnes has shown an offensive side, and Vince Carter has become Halfman/Half-Disabled
9. Portland Trailblazers: Nate McMillian is Coach of the Year if Blazers make it to the Playoffs…period!
10. Toronto Raptors: Didn’t let Kobe go for 81 on Sunday, in a convincing win. “I haven’t been this encouraged in a while,” Bosh said. Too bad h is leaving.
11. Phoenix Suns: The Suns are slowly falling back to Earth. 12-15 since Dec.1 and majority of wins against sub-.500 teams. At least two players(Nash,Stoudemire)starting in All-Star Game.
12. Oklahoma City: OKC’s past four losses to the Spurs, Mavs, Griz, Cavs came by a total of five points. Durant still our choice for MVP.
13. Utah Jazz: The Jazz are a season-high seven games over. 500. They just have to keep wearing the “green” throwbacks and they’ll be fine.
14. Memphis Grizzlies: upcoming schedule: Magic and Lakers at home, Spurs and Cavs on the road. If they make it through this torture chamber and they will definitely be moving up.
15. Houston Rockets: Holding on to the last spot by the hairs on Aaron Brooks chin. 4-6 in January. Brooks, Scola, and Landry are only consistent players, more “run” for Budinger would help. Ariza upset he missed out on Lakers trip to White House.
