Hawks soaring high on new NBA season posted by nbahawks

The Atlanta Hawks is creating a lot of buzz in the new season of the National Basketball Association.Despite their less stellar lineup, the Hawks is on top of the leader-board in the young season of the premier professional basketball league in the planet. The Hawks is currently sporting an impressive 11-2 record after they defeated the Houston Rockets 105-103 Friday night.High flying Hawks power forward Josh Smith played hero for the top team in the NBA by scoring on a put back from a miss by Hawks top point guard Mike Bibby with 0.7 seconds remaining. Marvin Williams, the starting small forward of the Hawks top scored for the team with 29 points to help defeat the Rockets, one of the top teams in the NBA Western Conference.The recent victory of the Hawks is remarkable since the Rockets are on the verge of defeating the team and hand them their third loss but the impressive play of Smith saved the youth laden ball club to escaped with a victory. Prior to his game winning shot, Smith stayed mostly from the bench due to foul trouble but he was able to returned in the waning moments of the game and lead his team to victory.The strong and impressive plays of the Hawks is getting huge praise from basketball fans and experts. During the off-season, the Hawks is not among the top contenders for the NBA crown this season due to their less star studded roster. However, despite the lack of big named players in its lineup, the Hawks still showed class and impressive talent to defeat 11 teams so far.Aside from the strong plays of its veteran players Smith, Bibby and Joe Johnson, the Hawks also get huge contribution from newly acquired NBA veteran Jamal Crawford who contribute in both offence and defence for the team. Aside from the Hawks, the run and gun Phoenix Suns is also playing good this NBA season. NBA superstars point-guard Steve Nash and power forward Amare Stoudamire are playing well to lead the Suns to an impressive record in the NBA.Fans of Hawks team can buy the tickets to watch the NBA game live.

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Great TNT Double-Header Tonight posted by Scott Shepherd

The NBA league pass is awesome, but nothing beats a good TNT double-header.

Tonight, we get a great TNT double-header.

The night starts off with Cleveland at Miami. I’ve written this before, but LeBron vs. Wade is the best head-to-head matchup to watch in the NBA right now. These guys always bring out the best in each other.

In 19 career games against each other, LeBron is averaging 28.6 points per game, 5.6 rebounds, 7.7 assists and 1.2 steals. Wade is averaging 27.2 points per game, 5.4 rebounds, 6.8 assists, and 2.4 steals.

In seven of the last nine meetings, at least one of the two has dropped for at least 30. Twice in that span has each player scored 40 in the same game.

With Miami having only one loss so far this season, and Cleveland coming off a big win against the Magic, I would expect nothing less than a shootout tonight. I expect both superstars put their respective teams of their back and play out what, hopefully, is a very entertaining game to watch.

In the late game, the Suns make their way to the Staples Center to play the Lakers. It’s a battle for first place, and hopefully it reignites what was not too long ago a pretty intense little rivalry.

I couldn’t be happier that the Suns are 8-1 and have the best record in the league. Make no mistake, I hate the Suns. With a capitol “H”.

I hate Steve Nash; I hate the :07 seconds or less offense; I hate their owner; I hate their uniforms: I hate their mascot.

But I love the fact that after this hot start I keep reading things like, “The Suns are back!!”

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How Can the Washington Wizards Improve to Contender Status? posted by Chase Hughes

Last night I was listening to an interview with former NBA head coach P.J. Carlesimo on 106.7 The Fan.  He was commenting on the opening days of the NBA regular season, specifically about the Eastern Conference and his thoughts on who were the better teams.  Not surprisingly he named the top three teams as the “factors,” those being Cleveland, Boston, and Orlando.  He said that there are not any teams even close to those three but on the outside looking in is the Washington Wizards.  The Wizards were the only team he mentioned as the fourth best team and he said this about three times.  These comments got me thinking about what the Wizards need to do this regular season to take the next step and breach that label, in what areas can they improve to develop into the fourth Eastern Conference power? 
First of all, this piece is not in discussion of anything to do with the playoffs, I am not assuming that the Wizards are clearly the fourth best team or that they will even make the playoffs at all.  What I am saying is that the Wiz are in that second tier bunch that follows the top three, which in my opinion also includes the Toronto Raptors, Atlanta Hawks, and the Philadelphia 76’ers (3rd tier: MIA, CHI, NJ, DET).  Carlesimo added that this is the way the East is presently, that come December we could be talking about another team that has emerged or perhaps a top team will regress and make way for one that is on the brink.  We know that this is Gilbert Arenas’ team but what pieces need to fall into place for Washington to make that jump?  I offer several possibilities, some more plausible than others for how the Wizards can materialize into a contender:

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The Phoenix Suns are NOT the worst defensive team in the NBA posted by Ryan Greyslak

The Phoenix Suns are not the worst defensive team in the NBA.

In a recent article released by Dime Magazine they claimed the Suns were the worst defensive team in the NBA.

http://dimemag.com/2009/09/the-phoenix-suns-are-the-worst-defensive-team-in-the-nba/

It is not a fair assumption to call the Suns out as the worst defensive team in the NBA next season. They never have been known for their defensive ability as a team but have been slowly putting pieces in place that will play defense. Some of the Suns younger players might actually become strong defenders in the league over the next couple of years.

There have always been the open holes defensively on the Suns roster. One of the biggest is Steve Nash, he gets substantially worse defensively each year and every point guard in the league gets giddy at the thought of going head to head with him. He can’t stop anybody off the dribble but has always been good at getting where he needs to be on the court to take the charge. Jason Richardson should be traded so Leandro Barbosa can start. He has never been a good defender and doesn’t really show the drive to become any better. Grant Hill is not getting any younger and Channing Frye has never showed the potential to be a strong defender. Even with some of these players on their roster it is not enough for them to already be considered the worst defensive team in the NBA. 

They have several young players and a few wild cards on the team this year that could put forth a strong defensive effort for the team this year.

Goran Dragic looked great in euro league play this summer. He is a quick physical defender that just needs to continue to build more confidence. Nash will need a lot of rest to stay healthy this season and Dragic could benefit greatly from that if he can step up. There is a strong chance that you will see a great improvement in Dragic this season.

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What is Shaq thinking doing this Shaq vs. tv show??????????????????? posted by Devin

I understand that Shaquille O'neal is a man that transcends just the NBA, but watching him attempt to play against other athletes in their own sport is extremely difficult to swallow.  Watching Shaq attempt to swing a bat was like watching a baby giraffe trying to walk.  It was hard to watch yet I could not take my eyes off of it, like a car accident.  The 7'1" O'neill attempted to out-slug Albert Pujols, out-spike beach volleyball stars Misty May and Kerri Walsh, and out-throw Ben Roethlisberger, needless to say he could not out-do anybody at anything.  The show is a half hour too long and the hosts are extremely annoying.  The most important part of the show, the actual competition, takes place in the last fifteen minutles of the show making the first 45 minutes irrelevant.  Here are some short examples of the show from Youtube:

As you can see Shaq should stick to basketball and leave his reality tv career wherever he left his acting career and rapping career.

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Suns hoping to gain experience in summer league. posted by john howard

Rebuilding has begun in Phoenix and it's youngsters are going to have to step up.  Keeping Steve Nash and Armarie Stoudamire tells everyone that they want to stay competetive and get back to the top soon.  And that means some young guys are going to have to develope quickly.  This summer in Las Vegas was a step in that process.

They may have found Steve Nash's backup in second year player, Goran Dragic.  He scored 12 points per game while dishing out 5 assits.  He looks to be a solid but not spectacular backup.

Second year player Robin Lopez is coming along slowly. Very slowly.  He averaged 12 points and over 6 rebounds a game.  Other team's second year players are scoring more than that this summer. So, they may be able to count on Lopez to score. He did average 2 blocks a game.

14th pick Earl Clark aslo averaged about 12 points and 7 rebounds with 1 block.  He and Lopez are going to be playing a lot more than what they should this year.

Another rookie that may play more minutes is secound rounder Taylor Griffin.  He played a lot of minutes this summer but didn't do much statistically.  He is very athletic and will be expected to defend and rebound.

Stoudamire might have to play a lot of minutes this year.  The Suns have a lot of young inside players.  I'm not sure how ready they are to play, or how high their potential is. 

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How Kerr Ruined the Suns posted by z

Remember the days when the Phoenix Suns were the most exciting team in the league and perennial contenders? I don’t either. There’s a laundry list of bad Steve Kerr decisions: traded away Kurt Thomas to save money, made an awful trade of Shawn Marion for Shaquille O’Neal that didn’t make any basketball sense, traded valuable assets Boris Diaw and Raja Bell for Jason Richardson, didn’t try to convince Mike D’Antoni to come back, and traded away good draft picks like Rudy Fernandez, Rajon Rondo, and Marcin Gortat. Where to start. Kurt Thomas was their best low post defender and the only guy on the roster who could do a reasonable job guarding archrival Tim Duncan. Ironically enough, he ended up landing in San Antonio, adding insult to injury. He acquired Shaquille O’Neal, who didn’t fit in Phoenix’s up-tempo style at all. 7 seconds or Shaq? Completely ineffective. They lost their identity. How could Kerr not know this? It was such an unnecessary risk. Marion was the perfect wingman for Nash to get the ball to. Super athletic, a great slasher, alley-oop extraordinaire, and solid shooter. Marion will never be as good now as he was with Nash. The Nash-Marion combination was a match made in basketball heaven. They brought out the best in each other. Now, Marion was essentially turned into expiring contracts. That trio of Nash, Marion and Stoudemire was one of the best in the league. Kerr flushed it down the toilet. For some reason, he didn’t want Diaw and Bell anymore, even though Diaw could play 4 Continue reading "How Kerr Ruined the Suns"

Grant Hill’s best financial offer comes from D’Antoni’s Knicks, but no chance at a championship. posted by Ryan Greyslak

Grant Hill has a few tough decisions ahead of him. Stay with the Suns where his family has settled, go to Boston for a chance to win a championship and get out of the first round of the playoffs for the first time in his career, or take the most lucrative offer given to him from the New York Knicks?

 The Knicks have offered Grant Hill more money then any other team yet to come finish his career with them. According to the NY Post, the Knicks have offered Hill the option of signing a one-year contract worth $5 million, or a three-year contract worth $10 million.  If he is looking for money the Knicks would be the obvious choice. However, if he is looking to win a championship he would be no better off with the Knicks then he would be with the Phoenix Suns. He has also been offered the starting position with the Knicks and the Suns but would likely be a sixth man in Boston with Paul Pierce as their starting small forward.  On a side note, It has been reported by the AZ Republic that the Suns have no interest in re-signing free agent Matt Barnes who has a up and down season last year with the Suns.  Today is the day that free agents can confirm and sign contracts, as well as the day that trades can be made. Continue reading "Grant Hill’s best financial offer ..."

Grant Hill gets offers from Boston Celtics and New York Knicks posted by Ryan Greyslak

Grant Hill is coming off one of his best seasons in years and is currently a free agent. His former team the Phoenix Suns are interested in resigning him but he is also entertaining offers from other teams. The Boston Celtics have offered him one year at 1.9 million and the Knicks have offered a portion of their mid-level option that is believed to be higher then what the Suns or Celtics can pay him.

 

It doesn’t make much sense for Grant Hill to go to New York but there is a good chance he could end up in a Boston Celtics uniform by next season.

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Suns Rumors and off-season moves posted by Ryan Greyslak

Grant Hill Rumors

Grant Hill met with Doc Rivers over the weekend and according to Comcast Sports Net ( http://www.csnne.com/wickedgoodsports/rasheed-is-a-celtic/ ) he is expected to agree to a deal with the Boston Celtics before the week is over. The Suns have been actively pursuing free agent Grant Hill but it is rumored he wants to play with a championship contending team for his final season. Grant Hill has been a stand up guy with the Suns, a great locker room guy, and the most consistent defender on the Suns team. For the first time in many years he was able to play all 82 games last season and put up career numbers.

 

Ben Wallace Rumors

Ben Wallace was the main piece brought over from the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Shaquille O’Neal trade. The main reason Ben Wallace was acquired is because it was rumored that after not seeing much court time last season and his trouble with injuries that he would accept a buyout of his contract or retire which could save the Suns a considerable amount of money. Since Wallace has been acquired by the Suns there has been little to zero talk about what the plan is for him.

 

The Suns have been in discussion with the New Orleans Hornets regarding a trade of Wallace for Tyson Chandler. Tyson Chandler is an active athletic mobile defender that would actually be a good fit for the Suns. The only problem is that by acquiring Chandler for Wallace they will be putting themselves back in the financial problems they were in before. Tyson Chandler is owed just under $12 million this year and $12,750,000 next year.

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Suns surging as Nash turns 36 (AP)

The Phoenix Suns are surging amid speculation Amare Stoudemire could be traded in the next two weeks. Steve Nash turned 36 on Sunday with the Suns on a season-high, five-game winning streak that includes their first 4-0 road trip since December 2006. Nash said it would be a shame to see Stoudemire traded away, with the team playing as well as it is. [read full article]

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Nash, Amare help Suns cap 4-0 road trip (AP)

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Amare's 20 and 17 lift Suns over Nuggets (AP)

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Billups to play, Anthony questionable (AP)

Chauncey Billups will be in the Denver Nuggets' lineup against the Phoenix Suns but Carmelo Anthony's status is a game-time decision. Both players are hobbled by sprained left ankles. Anthony didn't participate in the morning shootaround ahead of Wednesday night's home game. The All-Star forward has missed the last five games since injuring the ankle Jan. [read full article]

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Suns hold off Paul-less Hornets 109-100 (AP)

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