Kori Ellis
11-09-2006, 11:11 AM
Like Oberto, we take 11 shots
By Royce Webb, ESPN.com
After 11 games on the craziest night of the NBA season so far, let's look back . . . and forward.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/dailydime?page=dailydime-061109a
WEDNESDAY NIGHT STUFF
1. While the Suns have the offense everyone seems to emulate, it's the Washington Wizards who are out of the gate fastest, at almost 110 points per game.
They scored 117 points against a strong Indiana defense after coming into the night already leading in John Hollinger's offensive efficiency rating. Chalk that up to crazy-good Gilbert Arenas and the equally original Antawn Jamison, two of the truly unique scorers in the game.
2. Before his stunning, game-winning, moon-scraping 3-pointer over Chris Webber and the Sixers, Toronto's Chris Bosh had made nine 3s in his career, in 39 attempts (including one earlier in the game).
The starcrossed Webber had a strong fourth quarter erased by CB4's heroics, including several late baskets and a good defensive play just seconds before Bosh's bomb.
3. Stephon Marbury and Steve Francis were supposed to be the Knicks' answer to Detroit's Hall of Fame backcourt of Isiah Thomas and Joe Dumars. Now it appears doubtful that Francis, out with an ankle injury, can even get back into the lineup.
Why? Because Jamal Crawford threw up 35 points, including a wild 3-pointer with 3.7 seconds remaining to deflate Denver and send the Nuggets to 0-3. Crawford came into the game shooting 21 percent (10-for-47), so his insertion into the starting lineup seems to have ignited him.
4. OK, so the Celtics finally got a win . . . in OT . . . vs. the Bobcats . . . in Boston. Don't start sewing that 17th banner yet.
But did Boston coach Doc Rivers really deserve his first W? Somehow, on a roster that's supposedly too crowded with good players, he found 30 minutes to give to Tony Allen and Brian Scalabrine, who combined for -- get this -- five points, one rebound, no assists, four turnovers and seven fouls. They're like the guys no one wants to pass to in a pickup game.
Give Delonte West props, though, for sticking it out and sticking that J at the final horn. He's endured any number of injuries, not to mention the whims of Rivers and Celtics president Danny Ainge, who keep replacing him and benching him and moving him from spot to spot.
Hey guys, make up your mind. Indecision 2006 is hilarious on "The Daily Show," but not for the league's most storied franchise.
5. On most nights, Hedo Turkoglu's jumper to beat the buzzer and the Sonics would have been the evening's top play. As it stands, it was probably only the fifth most memorable shot of the night, behind game-winners by Bosh, Crawford and West . . . and Raja Bell's missed free throw.
6. Speaking of Bell, what a strange night. He comes into the game struggling so badly that he ranked dead last on Hollinger's player efficiency rating. He finally finds his jumper, making 5-of-8 3-pointers, including a dramatic one late in regulation. He follows that up with a drive to the basket, getting fouled -- two made free throws will win the game. He makes the first, but misses the second. Then, in OT, playing his usual gutsy style, he gets a little of his own medicine, taking a shot from Manu Ginobili that lays him out and forces him from the game. And the Suns lose. Not his year so far.
7. Fabricio Oberto is the perfect embodiment, in some ways, of the Spurs.
He's an Argentinean they patiently scouted and signed, but he's not the creative type, a la Manu Ginobili. His talents are so hard to see even his coach thinks his game is "ugly."
But in his second year with San Antonio, he's learned the Spurs' way so well that he's moved into the starting lineup, and he understands how to complement stars Tony Parker, Ginobili and Tim Duncan. Oberto won't go 11-for-11 again anytime soon, but in a way his night was the inevitable result of years and years of the Spurs being the Spurs, and finding players who can do what they do.
REF STUFF
8. The NBA has decided that the players' habit of throwing the ball angrily against the basket stanchion must end, so now that maneuver is an automatic technical foul. Except when it isn't. When Zach Randolph bounced the ball softly off the stanchion in frustration, the Lakers' bench howled because ref Tommy Nunez ignored the foul play. Of course, when Lamar Odom did exactly the same thing in the fourth quarter, only with more force, again on the Lakers' end of the court, the L.A. bench was silent and Nunez again swallowed his whistle.
With the news that players union president Billy Hunter might challenge the new technical foul guidelines, we haven't heard the last of these issues. At the very least, the league's enforcement must be made consistent. After all, just one T charged to Tim Duncan in the fourth quarter Wednesday night would have given Steve Nash a free throw and the Suns a win. But Whiny Tim was allowed to bicker without penalty, and the Spurs won in OT.
BIG PICTURE STUFF
9. There is no grand conspiracy in the NBA. How do I know? Boston is 1-3, the Knicks are 2-3 and still a near-disaster, and the Suns are 1-4. No rational commissioner would rig those results.
10. On the other hand, there is parity in the NBA. In fact, there's a parody of parity. We need to get John Hollinger on this to be sure, but it appears that every team is headed for a 41-41 record. Can't wait to see how the tiebreakers play out.
More than half the teams are 3-2, 2-2, or 2-3. That's not strange by itself, but when you look at who's at the top of the standings and who's at the bottom, that's when it gets weird.
The Atlanta Hawks, 19 months removed from a 13-69 season, are alone atop the East, while the New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets, who were 18-64 just before being so rudely displaced by Hurricane Katrina, are alone atop the West. Meanwhile, three of last year's playoff teams -- the Mavs, Nuggets and Suns -- have the three worst records in the league (along with the Sonics).
Think all that will last? Me either. But those early results are why the league looks more dead even than ever.
FUTURE STUFF
11. The last team to get a win this season will be the defending Western Conference champion Mavericks or the defending Northwest Division champion Nuggets.
Long way to go.
Royce Webb is a senior NBA editor for ESPN.com.
By Royce Webb, ESPN.com
After 11 games on the craziest night of the NBA season so far, let's look back . . . and forward.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/dailydime?page=dailydime-061109a
WEDNESDAY NIGHT STUFF
1. While the Suns have the offense everyone seems to emulate, it's the Washington Wizards who are out of the gate fastest, at almost 110 points per game.
They scored 117 points against a strong Indiana defense after coming into the night already leading in John Hollinger's offensive efficiency rating. Chalk that up to crazy-good Gilbert Arenas and the equally original Antawn Jamison, two of the truly unique scorers in the game.
2. Before his stunning, game-winning, moon-scraping 3-pointer over Chris Webber and the Sixers, Toronto's Chris Bosh had made nine 3s in his career, in 39 attempts (including one earlier in the game).
The starcrossed Webber had a strong fourth quarter erased by CB4's heroics, including several late baskets and a good defensive play just seconds before Bosh's bomb.
3. Stephon Marbury and Steve Francis were supposed to be the Knicks' answer to Detroit's Hall of Fame backcourt of Isiah Thomas and Joe Dumars. Now it appears doubtful that Francis, out with an ankle injury, can even get back into the lineup.
Why? Because Jamal Crawford threw up 35 points, including a wild 3-pointer with 3.7 seconds remaining to deflate Denver and send the Nuggets to 0-3. Crawford came into the game shooting 21 percent (10-for-47), so his insertion into the starting lineup seems to have ignited him.
4. OK, so the Celtics finally got a win . . . in OT . . . vs. the Bobcats . . . in Boston. Don't start sewing that 17th banner yet.
But did Boston coach Doc Rivers really deserve his first W? Somehow, on a roster that's supposedly too crowded with good players, he found 30 minutes to give to Tony Allen and Brian Scalabrine, who combined for -- get this -- five points, one rebound, no assists, four turnovers and seven fouls. They're like the guys no one wants to pass to in a pickup game.
Give Delonte West props, though, for sticking it out and sticking that J at the final horn. He's endured any number of injuries, not to mention the whims of Rivers and Celtics president Danny Ainge, who keep replacing him and benching him and moving him from spot to spot.
Hey guys, make up your mind. Indecision 2006 is hilarious on "The Daily Show," but not for the league's most storied franchise.
5. On most nights, Hedo Turkoglu's jumper to beat the buzzer and the Sonics would have been the evening's top play. As it stands, it was probably only the fifth most memorable shot of the night, behind game-winners by Bosh, Crawford and West . . . and Raja Bell's missed free throw.
6. Speaking of Bell, what a strange night. He comes into the game struggling so badly that he ranked dead last on Hollinger's player efficiency rating. He finally finds his jumper, making 5-of-8 3-pointers, including a dramatic one late in regulation. He follows that up with a drive to the basket, getting fouled -- two made free throws will win the game. He makes the first, but misses the second. Then, in OT, playing his usual gutsy style, he gets a little of his own medicine, taking a shot from Manu Ginobili that lays him out and forces him from the game. And the Suns lose. Not his year so far.
7. Fabricio Oberto is the perfect embodiment, in some ways, of the Spurs.
He's an Argentinean they patiently scouted and signed, but he's not the creative type, a la Manu Ginobili. His talents are so hard to see even his coach thinks his game is "ugly."
But in his second year with San Antonio, he's learned the Spurs' way so well that he's moved into the starting lineup, and he understands how to complement stars Tony Parker, Ginobili and Tim Duncan. Oberto won't go 11-for-11 again anytime soon, but in a way his night was the inevitable result of years and years of the Spurs being the Spurs, and finding players who can do what they do.
REF STUFF
8. The NBA has decided that the players' habit of throwing the ball angrily against the basket stanchion must end, so now that maneuver is an automatic technical foul. Except when it isn't. When Zach Randolph bounced the ball softly off the stanchion in frustration, the Lakers' bench howled because ref Tommy Nunez ignored the foul play. Of course, when Lamar Odom did exactly the same thing in the fourth quarter, only with more force, again on the Lakers' end of the court, the L.A. bench was silent and Nunez again swallowed his whistle.
With the news that players union president Billy Hunter might challenge the new technical foul guidelines, we haven't heard the last of these issues. At the very least, the league's enforcement must be made consistent. After all, just one T charged to Tim Duncan in the fourth quarter Wednesday night would have given Steve Nash a free throw and the Suns a win. But Whiny Tim was allowed to bicker without penalty, and the Spurs won in OT.
BIG PICTURE STUFF
9. There is no grand conspiracy in the NBA. How do I know? Boston is 1-3, the Knicks are 2-3 and still a near-disaster, and the Suns are 1-4. No rational commissioner would rig those results.
10. On the other hand, there is parity in the NBA. In fact, there's a parody of parity. We need to get John Hollinger on this to be sure, but it appears that every team is headed for a 41-41 record. Can't wait to see how the tiebreakers play out.
More than half the teams are 3-2, 2-2, or 2-3. That's not strange by itself, but when you look at who's at the top of the standings and who's at the bottom, that's when it gets weird.
The Atlanta Hawks, 19 months removed from a 13-69 season, are alone atop the East, while the New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets, who were 18-64 just before being so rudely displaced by Hurricane Katrina, are alone atop the West. Meanwhile, three of last year's playoff teams -- the Mavs, Nuggets and Suns -- have the three worst records in the league (along with the Sonics).
Think all that will last? Me either. But those early results are why the league looks more dead even than ever.
FUTURE STUFF
11. The last team to get a win this season will be the defending Western Conference champion Mavericks or the defending Northwest Division champion Nuggets.
Long way to go.
Royce Webb is a senior NBA editor for ESPN.com.