You Don't Want To Bring Weed On The First Day

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Michael Beasley Wants to Know How Old You Want Him to Be

While I maintain that I'd prefer Derrick Rose over Michael Beasley when the Bulls make the first pick in the draft next month, I'd also like to reiterate the fact that it's not because I think Beasley won't be a good, possibly great, NBA player. It's just that my philosophy is, when you have a chance to take a player that could be a great point guard (he's been called Jason Kidd with a jumpshot, man) you can't pass it up.

No matter how many mediocre point guards you already have on your roster. Four mediocre point guards don't equal one great one.

So, while I have no problem with Beasley, I'd just prefer Rose. For those out there that do have a problem with Beasley, their problems and concerns seem to focus on Beasley's "character issues." Issues that were well documented in a Washington Post article in 2007.

What Michael Beasley wants to know, is how we'd like him to act.

"I just turned 19 years old in January," Beasley said. "How mature do you want me to be? I'm still a kid. I'm not 20 yet. I'm not legal. I can vote, but that's about it. On the basketball side of things, I'm 30 years old. Off the court, I don't know how old y'all want me to be. Do you want me to act 25? 30? 40?. I'm 19. I'm a kid. I'm going to live my life. I'm going to mess up. I don't know as much as you do or him. I'm learning day by day. I hear a lot about character issues. But I've yet to hear what those character issues are. Until I hear somebody tell me, I don't feel the need to change."

It's rather refreshing to hear a young player like Beasley come out and say things like this, and it shows that he's not an idiot. He gets what's going on.

He also makes some very good points. He is a kid, and much like every single one of us at his age, he's going to make some mistakes. Of course, the teams that are thinking about drafting him have every right to have some concerns about his behavior.

It's not as though John Paxson or Pat Riley think Beasley is going to autograph their cars or anything, they just want an idea of what they're getting in Beasley. Whether it's fair or not, there have been plenty of young players to enter the league who have been a lot more trouble than they're worth. So when a couple of guys like Paxson and Riley have their jobs on the line, and the organization they work for are putting millions of dollars on the line, they want to know what they're investing in.

By being so open about his feelings and what he thinks, Beasley is doing everything he can to let them know.

The Basketball Diaries

Miami Heat 95 Chicago Bulls 88

Weren't these two teams battling each other in the playoffs last season? Wasn't that 4-0 sweep by the Bulls supposed to be what helped catapult them to Eastern Conference power status? My how far they've fallen. The following sentence is a complete microcosm of this Bulls season: Some guy named Kasib Powell (Who!?) was just recalled from the D-League for this game, and he led the Heat with 18 points and was a driving force in their win on Tuesday night. That's right, the Bulls can't even stop D-Leaguers. The good news is that this loss eliminates the Bulls from the playoffs mathematically, so you can now allow yourself to stop paying attention. If you are still watching this team I urge you to stop, there are plenty of other things you can do that are much better for your health. Have you ever thought about starting to smoke? Maybe you want to shoot heroin or speed (hell, why not both?) into your eyeballs? And these are just a few options, really, the world is your oyster.

Utah Jazz 77 New Orleans Hornets 66

It wasn't the kind of game you'd expect between these two teams, but I don't think the Jazz are complaining since the victory clinched their second consecutive Northwest Division title. Mehmet Okur led the Jazz with 22 points and grabbed 17 rebounds to lead the Jazz in what was a defensive struggle to say the least. Hell, the 22 points doesn't seem like that much, but they still accounted for 29% of his team's points. "I feel really good right now," said Okur. "I try to stay active on the boards, grab every rebound out there, start the game with a couple easy baskets, then I step back. I've really got my confidence." Deron Williams also had 16 assists (his team made only 35 field goals, so Deron had a hand in 46% of his team's baskets) but more importantly he continued his dominance over Chris Paul by holding CP to only 4 points and 9 assists.

Denver Nuggets 117 Los Angeles Clippers 99

Wow, something is definitely wrong in Denver because the Nuggets scored less than 135 points on Tuesday night. I know they won and everything, but still, they should be worried. Carmelo had 36 points, while Allen Iverson had 21 points, 7 rebounds, and 9 assists as the Nuggs snapped a two-game losing streak. Marcus Camby also had a big night with 13 points and 18 rebounds. Unfortunately for Denver, the Warriors won as well so they weren't able to seperate themselves in the race for the final playoff spot, and both teams remain tied at 47-31.

Elsewhere...

• Pacers 112 Hawks 98
• Bobcats 121 TWolves 119
• Knicks 98 Pistons 94
• Celtics 107 Bucks 104 OT
• Suns 127 Grizzlies 113
• Mavs 99 Sonics 83
• Blazers 112 Lakers 103
• Warriors 140 Kings 132

The Basketball Diaries

Dallas Mavericks 111 Golden State Warriors 86

Stop the presses! The Mavericks have beaten a team with a winning record! Dirk Nowitzki returned to the lineup after missing the last four games with a high ankle sprain, and scored 18 points to help the Mavs get a big victory in the Western Conference playoff race. Though Dirk's return was nice for Dallas, it was probably the 31 points from Jason Terry that helped more than anything. The Warriors, meanwhile, now find themselves on the outside of the playoffs looking in, as they trail the Nuggets by a game for the eighth and final spot.

New Orleans Hornets 106 Miami Heat 77

One sign that the Hornets are a good team is that they win every game that they're supposed to. Sure, they've suffered a few losses in Detroit, Boston, and Houston, but they take care of business everywhere else. For a lot of young teams in New Orleans' position, Wednesday night's game against the Heat would have been a trap game. Not for New Orleans. The Hornets started and finished strong, outscoring the Heat 58-25 in the 1st and 4th quarters. Tyson Chandler didn't miss a single shot, and finished with 20 points and 10 rebounds, David West had 22 points, and some guy named Chris Paul had 14 points and 10 assists.

Elsewhere...

• Hawks 127 Raptors 120 OT
• Celtics 92 Pacers 77
• Bucks 110 Wizards 109
• Cavs 118 Bobcats 114
• Grizzlies 130 Knicks 114
• Jazz 117 TWolves 100
• Clippers 102 Sonics 84
• Lakers 104 Blazers 91

The Basketball Diaries

Houston Rockets 94 Washington Wizards 68

See, Yao Ming was holding the Rockets back. The Rockets were able to win their 13th straight game only hours after learning that the face of the franchise and communists everywhere, Yao Ming, is out for the season with a broken foot. The 41-year old Dikembe "Who wants to sex" Mutombo started in Yao's place, and scored 4 points, grabbed 8 rebounds, and blocked 4 shots. In other words, Houston better feed Tracy McGrady like crazy the rest of this season if they think they're going to have any chance of making the playoffs now. Which they won't.

Miami Heat 107 Sacramento Kings 86

The only bigger longshot in the NBA than the Rockets making the playoffs at this point is the Miami Heat winning a game. That never happ....what the? Holy shit! The Heat actually won a game. I guess that means the Rockets have a chance after all. (Just kidding.) The Heat's victory over the Kings on Tuesday night was their first in a month, snapping an 11-game losing streak. "I know we've had it in us," a visibly relieved Heat coach Pat Riley said. "I don't know where it's been. But tonight, we played extremely well. We just played a complete game for 48 minutes. I feel like a mosquito in a nudist colony. I know what to do. I just don't know where to start." You know, it's weird. That's exactly what I was thinking too.

Golden State Warriors 105 Seattle Sonics 99

One of the team's poised to feast on the rotting corpse that is the Rockets playoff chances is the Warriors, and they did their job on Tuesday night. Monta Ellis had 30 points, Baron Davis had 20 points and 10 assists, and Austin Croshere (!?) scored 14 points to lead Golden State over the Sonics. Croshere has played like 3 minutes all season, yet there he was in the third quarter scoring all 14 of his points without missing a shot. "The last few years, my role has been to be ready, not knowing if you're going to get a DNP or play 27 minutes," Croshere said. "That's tough for younger players, but I've been doing it for a while now. ... It felt good to be out there. I didn't really do anything special. We've got four great scorers out there, so I was just reading the double-teams and getting to the basket." I didn't even know he was still alive.

Elsewhere...

• Magic 102 Nets 92
• Bucks 105 Cavs 102
• TWolves 111 Jazz 100
• Suns 127 Grizzlies 113
• Lakers 96 Blazers 83

The Basketball Diaries

Houston Rockets 112 Miami Heat 100

Holy shit do the Heat suck. With their loss to the Houston Rockets on Thursday night, the Heat have now lost 25 of their last 26 games. As Charles Barkley said at halftime, they're tanking it for the lottery pick. The Rockets meanwhile are like the Heat, except exactly the opposite. They're the hottest team in the NBA right now, as Thursday was their 10th straight win, and 14th in their last 15 games. Yao Ming had 23 points, and Tracy MacGrady had 21 to lead a Rockets team that said goodbye to three players through trades earlier in the day. "Everything happens for a reason and we've got to understand that this is a business," Carl Landry said. "We've got to be positive about the situation and try to go on and continue the winning streak."

San Antonio Spurs 100 Minnesota Timberwolves 99

The Spurs have historically been a second half team, so if they're going to break out of their early season doldrums (San Antonio's standard for doldrums being 36-17) it has to start by beating teams like Minnesota. They did just that on Thursday night, but it wasn't anywhere near as easy as it should have been. Manu Ginobili scored 44 points for the Spurs, and they needed every single one of them, including his game-winning shot with 6.2 seconds left. "I always try to get to the rim, but Foye took over my left pretty good and my counter move is always step back right," Ginobili said. "I got lucky there, took a good shot and it went in."

Elsewhere...

• Blazers 92 Sonics 88

The Basketball Diaries

New Orleans Hornets 100 Chicago Bulls 88

I had a bit of a dilemma on Tuesday afternoon. As I was about to leave for work, I had to decide whether I wanted to record the Bulls game, or the Purdue/Michigan State game to watch when I got home. After coming to the realization that FanHouse pays me to write about the Big Ten, while the Bulls should pay us all for emotional damages suffered while watching them play, I chose Purdue/MSU. I made the right call. It was the same old story for the Bulls as they played a strong first half and blew it in the second half. "Obviously we would like to come out with a better effort in the third, we were right there in the fourth quarter and we kind of got our butts kick in the fourth quarter," Hinrich said. "Offensively we couldn't get anything going and had some unfortunate turnovers that they capitalized on." If there was anything positive to take away from this game it's that Tyson Chandler-A Chris Paul Production only managed to score 4 points, though he did grab 16 rebounds.

Detroit Pistons 94 Atlanta Hawks 90

Chauncey Billups couldn't make a basket to save his life through the first three quarters of the Pistons game against the Hawks on Tuesday night. He missed all eight of the shots he took, but fortunately for Detroit, they don't call him Mr. Big Shot because he drains a lot of first quarter jumpers. In the fourth quarter Chauncey came alive to score 12 of his 16 points, and help lead the Pistons to their 9th straight win. "You know me, man, you know me," Billups said. "Late in games, if I have an opportunity I'm going to take advantage of that, whether I'm hot or not. I always feel like that fourth quarter is a different game. It was like a lid was on the basket most of the game. Some of those shots [in the fourth] were the same shots I shot early in the game. I just couldn't stick them." Rasheed Wallace picked up the slack for Billups in the first three quarters, and finished the night with 21 points.

Denver Nuggets 114 Miami Heat 113 OT

Everytime I start to feel sorry for myself about having to deal with watching the Bulls play "basketball" I remind myself of one thing: At least I'm not a Miami Heat fan. The Heat lost their 9th straight game on Tuesday night against the Nuggets, and still haven't reached double digits in wins this season (9-41). Dwyane Wade led all scorers with 29 points and 10 assists, but a missed jumper at the buzzer was the only shot he took that really mattered. J.R. Smith blew up for Denver, making 8 three-pointers and finishing with 28 points. "When he is that energized it is something we can ride," Nuggets coach George Karl said. "We did tonight."

Elsewhere...

• Celtics 104 Pacers 97
• Nets 92 TWolves 88
• Grizzlies 107 Kings 94

A Trade That Makes No Sense

So apparently Shaquille O'Neal is on the verge of being traded to the Phoenix Suns for Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks. The deal has been agreed to by both sides in principle, but Shaq has to pass a physical first, and the deal could be finalized by the end of today.

This is the type of trade that doesn't happen very often. First off, it involves two stars in Marion and Shaq. Then there's the fact that it was completely unexpected, and nobody saw it coming. Finally, and this is the weirdest part of this deal, it's a bad trade for both teams and it's probably worse for Phoenix.

Let's forget about the fact that it was only a few weeks ago that we were all told that O'Neal would be out for the year with a hip problem. I mean, it's amazing how quickly NBA veterans can heal when they're about to go from a horrible team to a team that has a chance to get to the NBA Finals.

The insane part of this deal is, at 35 years old Shaq is already slowing down, and he was never moving that fast to begin with. Speed isn't generally a trait for 7-foot, 300 pound men. So how in the hell is Shaq going to play in Phoenix's system?

This is a team that lives to run all game. Shaq is a player that prefers to plod his way down the court, set up on the blocks, and go to work.

The deal doesn't really work for Miami, either. Sure, they'll be getting O'Neal and the $40 million left on his contract off their books, and they're getting a great player in Marion, but does he fit in Pat Riley's system?

Marion is the type of player that flourished in Phoenix's high-octane offense. Will he be as valuable playing Pat Riley's half-court offense, where defense is priority? I'm hoping that with both Marion and Dwyane Wade the Heat realize they're going to have to pick up the pace a bit.

Still, the biggest reason the Suns traded Marion was because he was tired of being in Phoenix where he's always felt he was unappreciated. He wanted to get out the shadow of Amare Stoudemire, and to a lesser extent, Steve Nash.

Why is Marion going to feel any different in Miami? Dwyane Wade is already the man there, and if Dwyane was the man while Shaq was in town, Marion isn't going to change that.

Miami though has less to lose because the team wasn't going anywhere this year anyway, and they probably weren't going to be that much better next year if they didn't make a change. The Suns on the other hand, are taking a pretty big risk here.

It could pay off huge because maybe Shaq will be magically healed now that he's out from under Riley and playing on a good team. Maybe combined with Amare Stoudemire, the Suns will then run through San Antonio and Los Angeles and finally get to the NBA Finals.

I highly doubt it though.

Foul Balls

Mr. Clemens Goes To Congress - I'm not going to get into how idiotic I find it that Congress feels the need to waste it's time talking to baseball players about whether or not they stuck a few needles in their ass ten years ago. Sure, there are more important things Congress could be doing, like finding out if the Patriots cheated or not, but hey, I don't vote so I shouldn't tell them what to do.

Anyway, Clemens told Congress the same thing he's been saying to us for weeks now. He hasn't done anything.

The star pitcher gave a sworn deposition for about five hours to congressional lawyers behind closed doors Tuesday, addressing his former personal trainer's allegations. And this time, Clemens was under oath.

''I just want to thank the committee, the staff that I just met with. They were very courteous,'' the seven-time Cy Young Award winner said, wearing a pinstriped gray suit instead of a pinstriped New York Yankees uniform. ''It was great to be able to tell them what I've been saying all along -- that I've never used steroids or growth hormone.''

See what Roger did there? He admitted he's done HGH in his denial. He said he hasn't done steroids or growth hormone. No where did he say he's never done human growth hormone.

Thought you'd get away with it, didn't you Clemens?

Meanwhile, In CrazyLand - As a sports fan that generally considers himself pretty educated and knowledgeable about the world outside of a sporting event, I can fully admit there are some sports fans out there that are complete idiots.

A lot of them live in Green Bay, but not all of them. They also have their fair share up in New England (Okay, we have some here too.) where I'd like to introduce you to the following moron. His name is Victor Thompson, and he's heartbroken.

If Victor Thompson had hair covering his Patriots-emblazoned skull, he admits he probably would have been pulling it out Sunday evening as New England went down to defeat in Super Bowl XLII.

For the New York Giants, the 17-14 win was the realization of one of the biggest upsets in NFL history.

But the man who tattooed his head like Patriots quarterback Tom Brady's helmet is definitely in the dumps.

"The minute the Giants got that (last second) touchdown I knew it was done ... it killed me," said Thompson.

Thompson, 39, of Laconia has gained both local and national attention for a stunt that saw him getting the Patriots logo tattooed on both sides of his shaved head and Brady's number 12 on the back along with the American flag.

Now I don't think I need to explain to you, the intelligent reader, just how stupid what Thompson has done is. What makes this "story" for me though is this. Emphasis is mine.

He noted that he still has plans to get New England's other championship Super Bowl years tattooed on his head.

Thompson said the trophy will have to wait.

"Maybe next year. As Brady said (after the game) ... we will be back."

Until then Thompson has tentative plans to get his entire head tattooed silver like the real helmet and he is still working on getting Brady himself to sign his skull with a tattoo gun to make it official.

Even Britney Spears thinks this guy is nuts.

The Basketball Diaries

San Antonio Spurs 90 Miami Heat 89

Oh those poor Miami Heat. There they were on Thursday night riding their 14-game losing streak, at home against the defending champion San Antonio Spurs. Nobody would have cared had they just packed it in, and took the night off. Let's face it, when you've lost 14 in a row, what's one more? Instead they showed up with every intention of winning, and jumped out to an early lead on Spurs. Dwyane Wade's 27 points and 9 assists seemed like they'd be enough to get Miami a W, but, alas, Manu Ginobili's layup in the final minute gave the Spurs the lead for the first time all night. They didn't relinquish it, and the Heat now sit two more losses shy of tying the franchise record. I'll be rooting for them!

Milwaukee Bucks 104 Indiana Pacers 92

Michael Redd hasn't been getting many shots lately, but he made up for it on Thursday against the Pacers. He took 29 of them, and luckily 13 went in, so Michael ended up with 37 to lead the Bucks to victory. "There's nobody on our team I'd rather have taking an open shot than Michael," Bucks coach Larry Krystkowiak said."It's the time when maybe he carries the burden on his shoulders a little bit and takes some forced shots," he said. "I don't want to rob anybody of feeling like they can't take shots when they're open." It's the Pacers third loss in four games since losing Jermaine O'Neal, which has become a winter tradition in Indianapolis.

Golden State Warriors 121 New Jersey Nets 119

I'm kind of pissed off I forgot to record this game, because I don't mind watching Jason Kidd and Baron Davis on the court together. Unfortunately, since there's no AP report up about this game as I write this, I have no idea what happened yet. Maybe Panger will fill you in later.

The Basketball Diaries

Chicago Bulls 126 Miami Heat 96

Ahh, nothing like a little in house fighting and the Miami Heat to cure all your problems. The Bulls actually resembled a real basketball team on Wednesday night, as they took down Shaq and Dwyane Wade. It was Shaq's first game back in the lineup since December 26th, but he couldn't help keep Miami from losing it's 11th straight. It was an all around effort for the Bulls, as Ben Gordon scored 24 points, Joe Smith had 23, Luol Deng had 21, and Andres Nocioni had 20. Also, now that he's out of Scott Skiles' dog house, Thabo Sefolosha continues to build his confidence and play more like the impressive rookie he was last season, as he dropped 17 last night. "It was a much needed win after two tough losses," Sefolosha said. "We came out ready to play and did the job throughout the game."

Boston Celtics 100 Portland Blazers 90

Okay, so the people in Boston can stop panicking. The Celtics ended their two-game losing streak on Wednesday night with a victory over Portland. They're no longer an embarrassing 30-6, but a somewhat respectable 31-6. Ray Allen had a season high 35 points, 26 of which came in the second half, and Kevin Garnett had 26 to lead Boston. "It was great to watch. When you've got a hot player like that who's done it so many times throughout his NBA career, you just try to ride the hot hand," Pierce said "We just tried to get him the ball as much as we could. He made plays off the ball, on the ball and finished it with the shot."

Elsewhere...

• Pacers 125 Warriors 117
• Raptors 116 Kings 91
• Bobcats 99 Magic 93
• Knicks 111 Nets 105
• Hornets 123 Sonics 92
• Bucks 87 Hawks 80

The Basketball Diaries

Los Angeles Lakers 102 San Antonio Spurs 97

Personally I don't think that this win should count. The Lakers got to play a Spurs team that was without Tim Duncan and Tony Parker on Thursday night. For Christ's sake, Bruce Bowen led the Spurs in scoring with 22 points. Manu Ginobili was only able to manage 14 without Parker and Duncan around. It was hard," Ginobili said. "I tried at the beginning to play off the ball and find the open man. But we weren't making those shots, and I wasn't making mine, either. You've got to give them credit, too, they played a good defense on me." Kobe led the Lakers with 30 points as Los Angeles won it's fourth game in a row.

Washington Wizards 104 Miami Heat 91

Home is not where the heart is for the Miami Heat. Another loss in Miami on Thursday night dropped the Heat to 2-7 in front of their fans this season. DeShawn Stevenson led the Wizards in scoring with 26 points while Caron Butler scored 19 points and 9 rebounds to lead the Wizards attack. All five Washington starters finished the game in double digits in scoring. "A lot of people are doubting us and underestimating our ability to go out there and perform at a high level but we continue to prove doubters wrong," Butler said. "We're going to go out there and leave it all on the court and just get better on the fly." Pat Riley is no where near as confident in his team right now. "I'm beyond disappointed in our team," Heat coach Pat Riley said.

The Basketball Diaries

Dallas Mavericks 99 New York Knicks 89

I hope you didn't actually think I'd start the Diaries off with the Knicks and basketball would actually be the story. Why would I want to talk basketball when talking about the Knicks? They're horrible at it. I'd rather just talk about Isiah whom according to fans near the Knicks bench wasn't too pleased with the MSG crowd last night. Though it's hard to be happy with people who boo you constantly. Isiah of course denied all of this after the game. "I was just trying to make sure that we kept the team together and we stayed focused on what we were doing and trying to win a basketball game," he said. "Our fans are great, they support us and they show up and we're glad they're here."

Atlanta Hawks 98 Orlando Magic 87

I know you're wondering how the Magic could actually lose to the Hawks, but it's pretty simple actually. Orlando isn't very good at home, it's on the road that they dominate. They're 5-4 this season at home, and 11-2 on the road, which presents a paradox for Orlando. The more games they win the more likely they are to have home court advantage in a playoff series, but the more times they play at home, the more likely they are to lose. It's insanity!

Miami Heat 117 Phoenix Suns 113

Just when you think the Heat are completely washed up, they score a win in Phoenix over the Suns. Dwyane Wade had 31 points for Miami, 10 of which came in the final four minutes, as he led Miami to it's biggest victory of the season. "I'm getting a lot more comfortable with my game, especially with my pull-up jumper," said Wade, who scored 16 in Miami's 40-point first quarter. "I wanted to come out and be real aggressive and put some pressure on them." It's the first time Miami has beaten Phoenix in the last three years.

Elsewhere...

• Sixers 100 Rockets 88
• Kings 96 Bucks 93

The Basketball Diaries

Not pictured: Isiah telling Stephon, "It's cool, bitch!" And then grabbing a handful of his ass

Los Angeles Clippers 84 New York Knicks 81

It's the classic story really. Star player and head coach get into a fist fight on the team plane, the star player leaves the team for a game, the team fines the star $195,000, he suddenly comes back to the team and makes up with the head coach. Then they both go out and lose the game. How Dickensian! Stephon Marbury and Isiah Thomas aside, the Knicks did make a late rally to draw within a point with seven seconds left, but couldn't finish the comeback. Chris Kaman led the Clippers with 14 points and 18 rebounds, and any time you're leading scorer has more rebounds than points, that means you shot like shit. Which the Clippers did, making only 37% of their shots. Of course, the Knicks only shot 35%, so they padded Kaman's stats as well.

"Seattle" Sonics 104 Miami Heat 95

And the Sonics finally get on the board! In a night that was supposed to mark the glorious return of Dwyane Wade to the Heat lineup, Kevin Durant got his first pro victory in nine games. Durant had 18 points, but it was Chris Wilcox's 20 and 10 that led the Sonics to their first victory this season. As for Wade, he scored 15 points in 25 minutes, but he couldn't keep the Heat from falling to 1-7. Have you seen Shaq this season? He looks terrible. All that pounding he's taken over the years has finally caught up to him. If Wade doesn't stay healthy and take over again, things aren't going to get any better in Miami this season.

Orlando Magic 117 Cleveland Cavaliers 116 OT

LeBron James had a chance to win this game for Cleveland in the final seconds, but as he drove the lane and went for the shot, Hedo Turkoglu got his hands on the ball and tied him up. Time expired in the resulting jump ball. LeBron did seem to remember the play a bit differently. "I went into the lane and I got grabbed," James said. "He had some of the ball, but he had part of my arm as well. Once I feel a little bit contact, I am trying to go up and get the shot off and hopefully they will call a foul. It didn't go our way." James did finish with 39 points, 13 rebounds, and 14 assists. The last player to amass those kind of numbers in a single game was Wilt Chamberlain in 1968. Dwight Howard didn't play half bad himself, scoring 35 points and grabbing 16 boards of his own to lead the Magic. Oh, and he got the win too.

Elsewhere...

• Hawks 117 Bobcats 109
• Wizards 103 Pacers 90
• Jazz 92 Raptors 88
• Celtics 91 Nets 69
• Hornets 95 Sixers 76
• Bucks 102 Grizzlies 99
• TWolves 108 Kings 103
• Nuggets 110 Blazers 93
• Lakers 93 Rockets 90
• Pistons 111 Warriors 104

The Basketball Diaries

Boston Celtics 119 Denver Nuggets 96

As if the city of Boston hasn't abused Denver enough lately. The city of Denver hasn't even had time to recover from their World Series loss, and the Celtics have to go and pour salt into their open wounds. Sure, Boston only won this game by 26, but it wasn't even that close. The Celtics had a 39 point lead.....at halftime. At the intermission it was 77-38, so Denver actually outscored Boston 58-42 in the second half. Way to fight back, fellas! Paul Pierce had 26, KG had 23 and 13, and Ray Allen added 22 to help the Celtics improve to 4-0. You know what that means don't you? We're two more Celtics victories away from Bill Simmons' column wondering if they can go undefeated.

Utah Jazz 103 Cleveland Cavaliers 101

If John Paxson is by some chance reading this, I'd like to ask him to give the Jazz a call. Forget Kobe for a second, and see if the Jazz would be willing to talk about Paul Millsap. The second year player from Louisiana Tech scored a career high 24 points and grabbed five boards along with 5 steals. The kid is going to be a beast, and though I doubt the Jazz would be dumb enough to trade him, it can't hurt to ask. As for the rest of the game, LeBron James hit a three-pointer with just over 6 seconds left to tie the game at 101, but my boy Deron Williams then took the inbounds pass and went coast to coast and made a lay up with 1.9 seconds left to give the Jazz the lead back. Damon Jones than missed a half-court attempt as the Jazz won in Utah on Wednesday. LeBron had a triple-double in the losing effort.

San Antonio Spurs 88 Miami Heat 78

When was the last time the Heat won a basketball game? They were swept out of the first round in the playoffs by the Bulls, they went winless during the preseason, and now they're 0-4 after losing to San Antonio on Wednesday night. Let's see, in Boston the Patriots and Celtics are undefeated, and in Miami the Dolphins and Heat are winless. Can the Heat go 0-82? I'll say yes. Manu Ginobili had 25 points, and Tony Parker had 23 to lead the Spurs on what was an off night for Tim Duncan.

Elsewhere...

• Hawks 105 Suns 96 (?!)
• Clippers 104 Pacers 89
• Sixers 94 Bobcats 63
• Magic 105 Raptors 96
• Grizzlies 105 Sonics 98
• Blazers 93 Hornets 90

The Basketball Diaries

Phoenix Suns 106 Seattle Sonics 99

So I've been able to see the Sonics play the last two nights, which means I've already seen them play twice as many times this season as I did last. Here's what I've learned about them so far: Kevin Durant is good and will be the rookie of the year. A shocking prediction, I know. After scoring 18 points in his NBA debut on Wednesday, Durant scored 27 points on Thursday night. Unfortunately for him, the Suns are a much better team than the Sonics, and they showed it in the fourth quarter as they pulled away from Seattle. Amare Stoudemire had 23 points and 11 rebounds, and Steve Nash scored 18 points while dishing out 12 assists. The Suns are still the Suns, but they have no chance in hell of beating the Spurs in a seven game series as they're currently constructed. Stoudemire's backup right now is Brian Skinner. I think that's all I really need to say.

Detroit Pistons 91 Miami Heat 80

It's the regular season so that means Dwyane Wade and Shaq can't play in the same game. Wade took his turn sitting out last night, but the Pistons were kind enough to sit Rip Hamilton in the interest of keeping things fair. Tayshaun Prince picked up all the slack for Hamilton though, as he scored a career high 34 points to lead Detroit to the win. Early feelings on both of these teams, Detroit's still good, but they aren't as good as the Pistons teams we've seen the last few years. The Heat? They're more athletic this season, but I don't think they're going to be any better than last year. Of course, considering either Wade or Shaq are always hurt, you never can tell.

Houston Rockets 106 Utah Jazz 95

The Rockets got a little revenge on Thursday night, as they beat the team that ended their season last spring, the Utah Jazz. Tracy McGrady went off for 47 points as the Rockets won their second game of the season to improve to 2-0. The Jazz meanwhile are now 0-2. Carlos Boozer scored 30 points and grabbed 16 boards for the Jazz, while Deron Williams scored 18 and handed out 13 assists, but it just wasn't enough to overcome McGrady and the Rockets.

Antoine Walker Was Robbed

Not of some basketball award, Walker doesn't have any of those, but at gunpoint.

In his home.

Again.

Miami Heat basketball player Antoine Walker was robbed at gunpoint in his Chicago home Monday evening, the player's agent said. It was the second time the NBA forward has been robbed in his hometown in the past several years.

Police said late Monday the home invasion occurred in a residence in the 400 block of West Huron Street in the River North neighborhood at about 5:30 p.m.

There were two others in the house with Walker, and he had his car, some jewelry, and cash taken from him. According to his agent, Mark Bartelstein, nobody was injured.

"He's OK," Bartelstein told The Associated Press. "There was a robbery. It's a scary thing. It's a terrible thing. He's trying to get himself back together. Police are there and he's getting it taken care of."

If you remember, Walker was held up at gunpoint in Chicago back in 2000 along with teammate Nazr Mohammed. In that incident Walker had $55,000 worth of cash and jewelry taken from him. Which is why I don't go through the streets of the west side of Chicago with $55 worth of anything on me, let alone $55,000.

There are no suspects at the moment, but if I were an upstanding member of the Chicago Police Department, I'd find out what MJD was doing at the time.

The Basketball Diaries - Youth Is Served

Chicago Bulls 92 Miami Heat 79

You know, to be honest I'm actually kind of pissed the Bulls won on Sunday. I would have much rather they lost and extended the series for a couple more days. Now they're going to have a week off before starting their series with Detroit, and the way they're playing right now, the last thing they need is an extended break. I know Detroit has a week off as well, but they weren't playing as sharp as the Bulls against an easier opponent in Orlando. I get a feeling like the Pistons are gonna whip the Bulls in Game 1 by like 20 because of it.

Golden State Warriors 103 Dallas Mavericks 99

I was actually more excited about this win for the Warriors than I was with the Bulls yesterday. I knew the Bulls were going to get rid of Miami, it was only a question of when. This? This is more surprising. Dallas cannot stop Baron Davis, and Dirk is scared. I knew this game was over when Davis hit that half court shot to tie the game up as the first half ended. Dallas had played as well as they could at that point, and they could still only manage a tie score at the half. I think Dallas will take Game 5, but the Warriors will shock the world in Game 6.

Phoenix Suns 113 Los Angeles Lakers 100

Just look at these two stat lines. Steve Nash: 17 points, 23 assists. Amare Stoudemire: 27 points, 21 rebounds. I'm not sure which one is more impressive. To go 20 and 20 in a playoff game is huge, but 23 assists? The only two names posting 23 assists in a playoff game are Magic Johnson and John Stockton. I think it's pretty obvious who the MVP is.

New Jersey Nets 102 Toronto Raptors 81

It's been a nice season for the Raptors, but it's over now. Much like Dallas, they'll take Game 5 back in Canada, but they won't beat the Nets in Game 6. The Nets are finally playing like the Nets everyone expected all season before injuries knocked them on their ass. They still don't have Krstic, but now that Richard Jefferson is healthy this team is a lot better than their regular season record indicates.

Chicago Bulls Sweep

Fifteen years ago to the day, the Bulls swept a series over the Miami Heat, led by Michael Jordan and his 56 points.

Today's sweep was pure team effort, as the Bulls wore down the Miami Heat 92-79 and sent the defending champions home with their tails between their legs.

The Bulls beome the first team to oust a defending champion in the opening playoff series since Phoenix did it to San Antonio in 2000.

Ben Gordon scored 24 points, Luol Deng had 22 points and 11 rebounds, Andres Nocioni added 11 points. Then there was Ben Wallace. Big Ben finished with 13 points and 11 rebounds but that wasn't the whole story. Tired of the "Hack a Ben" strategy, he countered by shooting 7 for 8 from the free throw line. No, that is not a typo. And to think, he did it without a headband.

Compare that to Shaq O'Neal who went 0-7 from the line and there's your game.

Dwayne Wade played his heart out scoring 24, making 10 assists and getting 5 rebounds. And James Posey had a spectacular 18 rebounds. But they just couldn't hold up against the speed, agility and swagger of this young Bulls team.

More on this game tomorrow from Fornelli. I have to go watch the Suns/Kobe game.

The Basketball Diaries - Baby Bulls No More

Chicago 104 Miami 96

How bad did the Bulls want it? Ben Gordon, 27 points. Luol Deng, 24 points and 11 rebounds. Kirk Hinrich, 22 points, 6 assists. Andres Nocioni, 10 points, 8 rebounds. Ben Wallace, 8 defensive rebounds and, more important, deep in Shaq's head. Chris Duhon, 6 rebounds, 4 assists and one inbound save that took him into the third row. An energy so intense, a game so swift and, ultimately, focused, that the Heat were left in a sweaty disheveled heap, helpless as Chicago racked up a 15-2 fourth-quarter run. How bad did the Heat want it? Shaquille O'Neal, dazed and confused, 3 for 12 from the foul line. And, shockingly, Dwayne Wade, who actually looked strong with 28 points, missed when it mattered, 4 for 10 from the line. As the game drew to a close, it felt more like watching a fight for pack supremacy on The Nature Channel. The old lion, pack leader, had moments of greatness but in the end, the once-mighty beast lies near death. The final blow could come as early as this Sunday. No team has ever lost a series that went 3-0. (I just hate stats like that.)

Golden State 109 Dallas 91

Don Nelson looks like a toner cartridge salesman who just pulled an all-nighter at a Holiday Inn piano bar. And Baron Davis looks like he's auditioning for lead singer in a Commodores cover band. But the two of them? Classic tricksters in the tradition of Nasrudin, Loki, Bugs Bunny, Minnesota Fats. "No, we can't win this. We're just gonna have fun out there." Hey, Dirk, Avery? Check your pockets. Your wallets are missing. And by the way, Nowitski for MVP: a fading discussion.

New Jersey 102 Toronto 89

Speaking of bullshit artists, how's that injury, Jason? Kidd, who claimed he might not even play because of a bruised knee, made a recovery that could earn him an appearance on The 700 Club, with a playoff career-high 19 assists in his 10th postseason triple-double. Vince Carter had a nice night too with 37 points, giving the Nets 2-1 lead over the Raptors in their Eastern Conference first-round series.

The Basketball Diaries - The Closer

Chicago Bulls 107 Miami Heat 89

Like I've been saying all along, the Heat have no chance against the Bulls. Okay, so maybe I'm a little surprised by this. It's not so shocking that we're up 2-0, but the fact that we've basically dominated Miami has caught me off guard. Also, I think the Bulls have answered the critics who said they didn't have a "closer" in crunch time. I do believe Luol Deng scored 14 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter after the Heat started inching closer. Not even Shaq could complain after this one. "I have been around a long time and I've been in all these situations before," O'Neal said. "Basically, the Bulls did what they're supposed to do and protect their home court. We have to play smarter basketball. We got to come with a lot more energy and play with a lot more effort and a lot more passion." It's important to remember, if the Bulls don't win at least one game in Miami, they're right back where they started so let's not celebrate just yet.

Phoenix Suns 126 Los Angeles Lakers 98

Unlike Bulls fans, Suns fans can start celebrating their first round victory. The Lakers have no chance in hell of winning four of the next five against the Suns. Steve Nash had 16 points and 14 assists to lead Phoenix, who I'm pretty sure started this game with a 20-0 lead. "It's hard to single things out," Suns coach Mike D'Antoni said. "Our defense was really good, our rebounding was really good, we really ran well, and I don't know if we can play any better than that."

Toronto Raptors 89 New Jersey Nets 83

Congrats to Sam Mitchell. He won the Coach of the Year and a playoff game yesterday. Anthony Parker had 26 and Chris Bosh had 25 for the Raptors. Still, New Jersey did what they had to. They stole a game in Toronto, which is a very tough place for a road team to win, and now they've got Toronto going on the road where they aren't anywhere near as good. The Nets still control this series.