The Basketball Diaries

Los Angeles Lakers 124 Sacramento Kings 101

If the Lakers won this game it would clinch home-court advantage for them in the playoffs, and apparently the Maloof brothers are taking heavy action against the Lakers at the Palms, because the Kings sat everybody on their team that could have helped them win this game. Kobe finished with 20 points, and Pau Gasol had 22 as the Lakers cruised to a victory. The last time the Lakers had home-court advantage? That would be in 2000, which not coincidentally led to the first of three straight NBA championships.

New Orleans Hornets 114 Los Angeles Clippers 92

While the Lakers win ended any hopes the Hornets may have had for home-court in the playoffs, their victory over the Clippers did serve a purpose as it clinched the Southwest Division. It's the first division title in the 20-year history of the Hornets, be it in Charlotte or now in Nawlins. "A lot of people had us not even getting in the playoffs," New Orleans center Tyson Chandler said. "I don't think any of us believed that. We all believed that we're one of the better teams in the conference. If you win this division it says a lot about the team because this is the best division in basketball." Oh, go to hell, Tyson. You had nothing to do with it. If it weren't for Chris Paul you'd still be an absolute waste of cap space. (In case you were wondering if the years since Tyson left Chicago have helped ease my hatred for him, they haven't.)

Detroit Pistons 115 Minnesota Timberwolves 103

Sticking with the clinching theme, the Pistons victory over the Wolves on Tuesday night assured them of the 2nd seed in the Eastern Conference. Not that they were ever really in any danger of losing it to begin with, but I guess it's a big deal. Congratulations, fellas. "That's nice to have, but I don't think it is critical," Saunders said. "With the 2-3-2 format, I don't know how much it even means." Well, way to piss on the parade, Flip.

Elsewhere...

• Magic 121 Hawks 105
• Nets 112 Hornets 108 OT
• Blazers 113 Grizzlies 91

The Basketball Diaries

Orlando Magic 115 Chicago Bulls 83

Does it matter?

New Orleans Hornets 122 Minnesota Timberwolves 90

A day after only being able to manage 66 points against the Jazz, the Hornets nearly doubled their output on Wednesday night in a victory over Minnesota. Hell, they scored 41 points in the third quarter alone. Chris Paul had 19 points and 16 assists, Peja Stojakovic had 24, and David West had 22. "We've got to come out early in the game and impose our will. I think about that going into every game, and I think that starts with me." Paul said. "Defensively and offensively it starts with me and I got to start doing a better job." The best news for New Orleans is that this win gave them a two-game lead over the Spurs, Lakers, and Rockets with only 4 games to go.

Phoenix Suns 96 San Antonio Spurs 79

And the reason the Hornets now have that two-game cushion is because they lost to the Suns on Wednesday night. Amare Stoudemire had 21 points, Steve Nash had 12 points and 10 assists, and Shaq scored 16 and pulled down 9 rebounds as the Suns grabbed a big victory in San Antonio. "Anytime you come here it's a good win," Steve Nash said. "But we're also still fighting for seeding. It gives us another possibility as far as seeding goes."

Elsewhere...

• Cavs 104 Nets 83
• Sixers 101 Pistons 94
• Wizards 109 Celtics 95
• Raptors 111 Bucks 93
• Knicks 109 Bobcats 107
• Rockets 103 Sonics 80
  

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

Minnesota Timberwolves 83 Chicago Bulls 67

I didn't bother watching this game, Tuesday night's was enough for me, and judging by the score I have to say I made the right decision. I got a text from Silvio asking me if I was watching it, and when I told him I wasn't I got the reply that 8 minutes into the first quarter the score was 3-2. After the game, Jim Boylan wasn't very happy. "I'm really disappointed in the way we performed in the second half and the way we just, some guys out there just seemed to shut it off," Bulls interim coach Jim Boylan said. "That was disappointing to see. Just shut it off. Stopped playing with energy. They stopped playing with focus. They went into their own little worlds and were acting kind of childish at times instead of doing what we know we need to do against a team like this. We let the game get away from us."

Golden State Warriors 116 New Orleans Hornets 103

A note to Hornets fans: Don't boo Baron Davis. Everytime Baron, a former Hornet, touched the ball on Wednesday night the New Orleans crowd booed him. Baron then responded by scoring 23 points, including a three-pointer late that put the game out of reach for the Warriors. "Nobody likes to get booed," Davis said. "It wasn't really motivation. It was kind of distracting, but at the same time you've just got deal with it. I expected it, so I just dealt with it." Chris Paul had 28 points and 12 assists for New Orleans.

Cleveland Cavaliers 84 Portland Trail Blazers 83

LeBron James just took over the fourth quarter in this game. In the final period, Kind James scored 17 of his 37 points. Portland scored 15. After being blocked twice by Joel Przybilla, LeBron took the game over and it was his reverse layup with less than a second remaining that gave Cleveland the victory. He also took the time to grab 14 rebounds. "I just wanted to take every possession like it was our last and be aggressive," James said. "I don't know when the turning point happened, but we were able to ride the wave and get a win."

Elsewhere...

• Magic 107 Heat 91
• Sixers 112 Bucks 69
• Raptors 122 Wizards 83
• Nuggets 106 Grizzlies 1o2
• Jazz 100 Knicks 89
• Kings 105 Bobcats 91
• Clippers 95 Hawks 88

The Basketball Diaries

Chicago Bulls 96 Minnesota Timberwolves 85

If you weren't sure there was a God, you have to be convinced now because how else can you explain the gift He has given us by scheduling a home-and-home on consecutive days between the Bulls and Timberwolves. Thank you, Jesus!! Kirk Hinrich had another strong effort in the absence of Luol Deng and Ben Gordon, scoring 27 points and handing out 6 assists. "I felt like I was getting good looks, being aggressive," Hinrich said. "I just wasn't quite getting my legs underneath me on my shots and on my drives. So I was just trying to make a conscious effort of playing through fatigue and trying to get the job done." I'd also like to thank the Timberwolves for their insistence on firing up three-pointer after three-pointer, even though they only made one of the 14 they attempted. Seriously, you guys are awesome.

Seattle Sonics 88 San Antonio Spurs 85

Is it okay to be concerned about the Spurs? I know that they're the defending champions and that we shouldn't take January games to seriously, but what the hell? They've lost three in a row now, and in their last win they were barely able to get by the Heat. A Heat team that had lost 13 in a row at that point, much like the Sonics team that had lost 14 in a row before taking the Spurs down on Tuesday night. After starting the season at 17-3, the Spurs have gone 11-13 in their last 24 games. Kevin Durant had 26 points for the Sonics, the two most important coming on a go ahead jumper with 26 seconds left.

Washington Wizards 108 Toronto Raptors 104 OT

Caron Butler? The Wizards don't need no stinkin' Caron Butler! They have Andray Blatche! (And a collective "Who?" echoes throughout the country.) Blatche took over the injured Butler's spot in the starting lineup, and scored 19 points and 8 rebounds. Andray's performance, along with Antawn Jamison's 24 point, 20 rebound effort, were enough to help the Wizards overcome a nice 37 point, 12 rebound performance by everybody's favorite car salesman, Chris Bosh. "I knew I had to bring it, because Caron's are big shoes to fill," Blatche said. "After hitting my first shot, I knew I was going to be rolling."

Elsewhere...

• Pistons 110 Pacers 104
• Celtics 117 Heat 87
• Nets 87 Bucks 80
• Rockets 111 Warriors 107
• Suns 125 Hawks 92
• Lakers 120 Knicks 109

Former NBA Player Eddie Griffin Is Dead

It happened last week, but it's only becoming public knowledge now: Former Minnesota Timberwolves forward Eddie Griffin died last week. Apparently Griffin tried to beat a train and lost.

Former Minnesota Timberwolves forward Eddie Griffin died last week when his sport utility vehicle collided with a freight train in a fiery crash, the Harris County medical examiner's office said Tuesday. Investigators used dental records to identify Griffin, 25, who began his tumultuous pro career with the Houston Rockets in 2001. He was waived by the Timberwolves in March. "The cause of death and manner of death, which also includes toxicology results, is pending," said Beverly Begay, chief investigator for the Harris County Medical Examiner's office.

Griffin has battled alcohol problems throughout his career, so I wouldn't be surprised if they had something to do with his demise.

Also, and I really don't want to kick a guy while he's...well...dead, but Griffin is also the same guy whom you may remember got caught in a rather compromising position in another car accident. So as you can tell, he really took his driving safety seriously.

Kevin Garnett's Going To Boston

It seems that trading for Ray Allen on draft day has done a lot more for the Celtics than I thought it would originally. Maybe Danny Ainge actually had a plan, because now that he's teamed up Ray Allen and Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett is willing to go to Boston after all.

The Minnesota Timberwolves and Boston Celtics, who nearly completed a blockbuster Kevin Garnett trade before the June draft, have resurrected those trade talks and are again locked in serious discussions, according to NBA front-office sources.

Multiple sources told ESPN.com on Sunday night that former teammates Kevin McHale and Danny Ainge have revived discussions of a deal that would end Garnett's 12-season association with Minnesota by sending him to Ainge's Celtics, with the Wolves getting back two of the assets McHale coveted most last month: Al Jefferson and Theo Ratliff's expiring contract.

The only stumbling block in this deal is that Garnett would have to agree to it, which he didn't back in June. Garnett told the Celtics that if he was traded to Boston he would definetely opt out of his contract in 2008.

If Garnett does approve the deal, and I believe he will, it will make the Celtics an instant contender in the Eastern Conference. They'll make the playoffs, and possibly make a push for the Finals.

The only question is, with Garnett, Pierce, and Allen, will there be enough shots to go around? Actually there are two questions. The other is how will Paul Pierce react to going from his team's best player to it's third option in only a month?

Is KG Going to Phoenix?

As the neverending saga that is the Kevin Garnett trade talks continue, it appears that The Big Ticket could be heading to the desert and the Phoenix Suns.

According to ESPN's Chad Ford and Marc Stein,

There was a growing sentiment around the league Tuesday night that the Kevin Garnett sweepstakes are nearing a conclusion and that the Phoenix Suns are the most likely winners, with two trade scenarios emerging that could potentially land Garnett in the desert by draft night.

With the Los Angeles Lakers' attempts to construct a multi-team deal or a direct trade with the Minnesota Timberwolves collapsing, ESPN's Jim Gray reports that talk of a potential three-team trade that would involve Minnesota, Boston and Phoenix has been rekindled, in which the primary cost to the Suns would be All-Star forward Shawn Marion moving to the Celtics.

In return the Timberwolves would receive the Celtics #5 pick in tomorrow's draft and a stable of other players. (Delonte West, Kurt Thomas, Theo Ratliff)

There are a few sticking points in this deal though that would likely kill it.

First of all, Shawn Marion has already gone on the record saying that if he were traded to Boston he would definetely opt out of his contract at the end of next season. Since there's no way the Celtics would agree to this deal if they're only going to get Marion for one season, they want him to sign a contract extension before agreeing to the deal.

Another stumbling block is that the Wolves have been pretty adamant about the fact that they want Al Jefferson from the Celtics. The Celtics are willing to part with Jefferson, but only on one condition: Garnett would have to be going to Boston.

There's also another possible deal that would involve the Suns, Wolves and Hawks that would include Phoenix sending Amare Stoudemire to Atlanta. The Suns don't want to part with Stoudemire, and justifiably so. You could say that replacing Amare with KG would actually be a step back for the Suns seeing as how there's no telling how good Amare can be, and he's a lot younger than Garnett.

That said, if the deal between Boston, Phoenix, and Minnesota does go through, how scary are the Suns? As if they weren't good enough last season, they could go into next season with Steve Nash, Amare, KG, and Leandro Barbosa.

Being A Personal Chef Is Dangerous

What's with all the athlete-related crimes today?

Our newest story involves Minnesota Timberwolves guard Ricky Davis.

The friend of a Timberwolves player is in hot water tonight. The strange story starts with a stabbing outside of Ricky Davis's apartment -- when his personal chef gets stabbed with his own kitchen knife.

The stabbing happened at a high-rise luxury apartment building at the corner of 13th and Marquette Avenue, in downtown Minneapolis.

The witness, who asked to remain anonymous, says the victim is 33-year-old Alonge McClaid. Davis recently hired McClaid as his personal chef. The witness says McClaid stumbled out of the elevator and staggered into the lobby, after being stabbed in the abdomen

McClaid’s injury is so severe that he remains still hospitalized at HCMC a day later. Sources close to the investigation tell us one of Davis’s friends inside of the apartment instigated the confrontation. Words escalated first into a fist fight that others in the apartment broke up; then a second scuffled erupted; and finally a third fight, this time with a knife.

Apparently somebody wasn't pleased with their mac and cheese.

McClaid's mother said that her son has already gone through one surgery and is facing the possibility of even more. She also wanted to make it clear that Ricky Davis was not in the apartment when the attack happened, and has absolutely nothing to do with any of it.

Police say they have no idea why the fight started, and they are still looking for the suspect who as of now is patrolling all the McDonalds in Minneapolis just waiting for someone to put a pickle on his Big Mac. Then he'll show them who's boss.



If sports training is an interest of yours, you may also enjoy information about camping training and golf training.

The Basketball Diaries-80-85%, My Ass

Cleveland Cavaliers 101 Minnesota Timberwolves 88

Before the game LeBron said he was only about 80-85% due to some pain in his right knee. He then went out and scored 31 points with 12 rebounds and 6 assists. What that means is Bron-Bron has been spending too much time talking to Dwyane Wade, and now he's faking injuries left and right too. Did he feel better after the game? "It's still not 100 percent," James said. "I'd say it's about 80-85 percent now. I still felt it a couple times. ... Just have to keep doing treatment and keep getting healthy, but I felt pretty good." Liar.

Miami Heat 92 Toronto Raptors 89

The Heat moved past the Wizards in the Southeast Division with their win over the Raptors on Tuesday night. James Posey came up roses in the final seconds with two huge free throws, and a couple of rebounds in the closing seconds to secure the win for Miami. "I felt comfortable despite how I played from the field," said Posey, who had a game-high 13 rebounds and a team-best five assists to go with his six points. "I dream about those situations. For the most part, in my dream, I come through."

Denver Nuggets 111 Los Angeles Lakers 105

Kobe didn't score 50 points, so the Lakers lost. He did become the youngest player to reach 19,000 career points, so that's got to be worth something. The Nuggets were without George Karl who was busy attending to his son after he had to have his second cancer related surgery in the last year. Carmelo led the inspired effort with 31 points, while Marcus Camby had a monster game with 20 points, 20 boards, and six blocks. "We needed a win," Camby said. "A lot of people are talking about trying to get the sixth seed. Sixth or seventh, you have to pick your poison -- the Suns or the Spurs. We're just trying to play at a high level entering the playoffs."

Elsewhere...

• Pistons 100 Pacers 85
• Bobcats 122 Wizards 102
• Hornets 119 Bucks 101
• Spurs 110 Sonics 91
• Suns 116 Grizzlies 111
• Mavs 97 Kings 93

The Basketball Diaries - U-G-L-Y: The Bulls Ain't Got No Alibi

Los Angeles Clippers 103 Chicago Bulls 89

The Bulls have a unique ability to look absolutely horrible when they're off. Teams have bad games once in a while, but when the Bulls do it, it's just painful to watch. Ben Gordon made 2 of his 12 shots, while Luol Deng made 5 of his 15. I'm still trying to decide what's worse. The loss to Memphis on Saturday or this one. I'm going to say this one.

Phoenix Suns 108 Minnesota Timberwolves 90

Alright, Suns fans, you can get off the ledge, your team is back to its winning ways. Leandro Barbosa stepped into the starting lineup and provided a boost with 20 points. Steve Nash had 18 points, and hit 4 of 5 three-point shots. The win also clinched the Pacific Division for the Suns. "We have loftier goals," Mike D'Antoni said, "so it's something good, but again it would have been better if we didn't have this little funk that we've been in. There were some positive signs out there that we'll be back. So overall, it's pretty good."

Dallas Mavericks 92 New York Knicks 77

Couldn't they both lose? Dirk and Josh Howard both had 24 points to lead the Mavericks over the short handed Knicks. "I think offensively we're explosive. I think we can score with the best of them," Nowitzki said. "I think even though we're a slower team now than we used to be with (Don Nelson), defensive-minded, we still have a lot of offense out there." The Knicks could also add Stephon Marbury to their list of walking wounded, as he had to leave the game in the fourth quarter with an injury to his left forearm.

Elsewhere...

• Nuggets 94 Bulls 90
• Bobcats 108 Cavs 100 OT
• Pistons 96 Sixers 75
• Hornets 114 Grizzlies 103
• Jazz 104 Warriors 100
• Rockets 86 Pacers 76
• Blazers 100 Wizards 98

The Basketball Diaries-The Bulls Don't Need No Stinking Low Post Scorer

Chicago Bulls 95 Boston Celtics 87

Ok, well I already covered Tyrus Thomas' night against the Celtics, but did you know his 23 points led the Bulls in scoring? They did. You know who the Bulls second leading scorer was? It was Ben Wallace. No, that's not a typo, I didn't mean Gordon. Ben Wallace had 19 points (on a career high 21 shots) and 16 rebounds. "I like being left open," Wallace said. "Me and B.G. (Gordon) switched roles. I had some good looks. When the guards get doubled-teamed or tripled-team we have to help them out any way we can. I was open and trying to take the pressure off Kirk and B.G. tonight." Oh, and apropos of nothing, Paul Pierce has some lovely breasts.

Miami Heat 88 Utah Jazz 86

The Jazz were basically in control of the Miami Heat all night, but then the fourth quarter came. Miami outscored Utah 28-12 to overcome a 14-point deficit and win their 7th straight game. Antoine Walker put down his cheeseburger and scored 11 of his 13 in the fourth to lead the Heat back. "Antoine was great," Heat coach Pat Riley said. "When the game counted most, he made all his stuff work."

Minnesota Timberwolves 86 Indiana Pacers 81

The Pacers are entering Mavericks territory in my eyes. They've now lost 10 games in a row, and thanks to their incompetence the Knicks might actually make the playoffs this season. Which would mean the Bulls won't get a lottery pick. Bastards. Jamaal Tinsley scored a career-high 37 but it wasn't enough to overcome KG's 30 and 9 to lead Minnesota.

Elsewhere...

• Hawks 104 Sixers 92
• Cavs 124 Kings 100
• Nets 112 Hornets 108
• Spurs 93 Clippers 84
• Nuggets 107 Blazers 99
• Pistons 101 Sonics 97

The Basketball Diaries-Hey Mavs, We Get It Already

Dallas Mavericks 102 New Jersey Nets 89

It's official. I've gone from liking the Dallas Mavericks to wanting them to lose at all costs. They've now won 16 straight games, and 51 of their last 56. To break the Bulls record of 72 wins in the regular season, the Mavs would have to finish their season 23-2. Seems crazy, I know, but that would be a .920 winning percentage, which is just above the .910 they've had in their last 56 games. Of the 25 games remaining on their schedule, only 7 come against teams I would consider good enough to beat the Mavs, and that's stretching it. There's the two games against Phoenix, but Dallas is already 2-0 against the Suns this season. There's a game against San Antonio, whom the Mavericks are 2-1 against, but that loss was on opening night. Then there are a couple games against the Lakers, and one against Detroit and Utah.

San Antonio Spurs 99 Portland Trailblazers 94

Speaking of Texas teams and winning streaks, the Spurs won their 10th game in a row Tuesday night. The Spurs sank 5 consecutive three pointers in the final four minutes to overtake the Blazers in Portland. Tim Duncan had 24 to lead San Antonio, but he was only a spectator in the closing minutes, which he didn't seem to mind. "It was awesome," Duncan said. "I loved watching it. Watching Manu do what he does was an incredible stretch to watch. Mike Fin has been playing unbelievable off the bench."

Minnesota Timberwolves 117 Los Angeles Lakers 107 2OT

Speaking of teams hitting three pointers to finish the fourth quarter, Minnesota's Mark Blount stepped behind the three point line and nailed three straight in the final 2 minutes to send this game into overtime. Finally after 10 free minutes, the Timberwolves vanquished Kobe and his 40 points to Losertown. Yes, I actually just said Losertown. Wanna make something of it?

Elsewhere...

• Wizards 129 Raptors 109
• Sonics 100 Knicks 99
• Nuggets 106 Hornets 91
• Kings 102 Pacers 98