Grant Hill, who used to play for my Pistons (as if the ownership was mine. ha-ha) and Jason Richardson, who used to play for my Michigan State Spartans (hey, your intrepid author did graduate from there and paid a ton of expenses for that diploma, which sort of makes me an owner.) led Phoenix to their 5th victory in a row.

Phoenix 118 Denver 115

Grant Hill can still play!

Now in the who cares category, why should we care?

Hey, remember how crowded the playoff situation is in the Western Conference with 7 teams trailing the Lakers and having between 42 and 47 victories? Well, the Suns just won game 39. Hope springs for at least the rest of the season or when mathematically eliminated.

Hill hit a 12-foot jumper in the lane to break a tie with 58.6 seconds remaining, then added a free throw with 6.2 seconds left to help Phoenix extend its season-high winning streak to five games in a 118-115 victory over Denver on Monday night.

“That may have been the only jumper I hit,” said Hill, who had a double-double with 23 points and 10 rebounds, but also committed six turnovers.

source

Now add this scoring note.

The Suns have averaged 131.5 points a game in their last four, passing Golden State to become the highest-scoring team in the NBA with a 108.8 average. The Suns ranked fifth in the league at 104.4 points per game when Alvin Gentry replaced Terry Porter at the All-Star break.

Photo source Newscom

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Are we forgetting Tim Duncan? Will the Spurs just go away? Has Duncan lost his drive?
Nah!
Tim is always ready come playoff time and as usual is the ultimate mismatch player alternating short drives with post up moves making it very difficult to stop him.

Tim Duncan of the Spurs scores easily over David Lee of the Knicks

But take a look at the Western Conference.
With just a little over 10 games to go in the regular season.

The Lakers dominate with 54 victories and look solid with a returning Bynum.

But the rest of the group?

Houston 46 victories
San Antonio 45
Denver 45
New Orleans 43
Utah 43
Portland 43
Dallas 42
and Phoenix on the outside looking in with 37 victories.

As you can see, it is too early to figure out playoff matchups and it is the matchups that matter, but you can count on Tim Duncan having the Spurs ready for the NBA Playoffs.

Photo source Newscom

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The Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers took over the Western Conference lead going into the playoffs with one game to go.

Western Conference
Team GB
1. y-LA Lakers —
2. x-New Orleans 0.5
3. x-Houston 1.0
4. y-Utah 2.5
5. x-San Antonio 1.5
6. x-Phoenix 2.5
7. x-Dallas 5.5
8. Denver 7.5
9. Golden State 7.5

source

Kobe got the job done.

MVP candidate Kobe Bryant had 20 points, five rebounds and five assists before sitting out the fourth quarter, and the Lakers routed the defending NBA champion San Antonio Spurs 106-85 for their seventh win in eight games.

“It was a big game for us,” Bryant said. “It was another step in the right direction. Going into the playoffs is all about momentum. Now, we just have to take it up another notch once the playoffs start.”

source

Kobe Bryant taking it to the hole on Tim Duncan

Image details: San Antonio Spurs v Los Angeles Lakers served by picapp.com

If the Lakers beat the Kings in their last game they will assure themselves to be the Western Conference Champions. They have the tie breaker over New Orleans and Chris Paul.

The Lakers are playing excellent basketball right now as the San Antonio Spurs and Tim Duncan found out.

The Lakers also won the Pacific Division with the victory.

How strange to see the Boston Celtics on top of the East and the Los Angeles Lakers on top of the West. They have not met in the finals since 1987.

NFL Basketball special comment Winning the West has to help Kobe Bryant’s quest for MVP of the NBA.

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Tracy McGrady in his signature form, shooting the jump shot in Atlanta

It has to be smoke and mirrors.

How are they doing it? There is no Yao. The ultimate collapse was predicted.

Yet, the Houston Rockets rolled once again.

Houston 83 Atlanta 75

Ok, so the Hawks are not exactly prime time with Mike Bibby or not, it is still 20 in a row!

The Rockets tied the second longest win streak in NBA History and were led by Tracy McGrady.

The Rockets joined the 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers (33 straight) and 1970-71 Milwaukee Bucks (20) as the only teams to win 20 or more in a row.

“We did enough to win,” Adelman said.

Tracy McGrady scored 21 of his 28 points in the second half for Houston, which led only 71-70 with 5 minutes remaining. McGrady then scored five points in Houston’s 10-0 run to take control.
source

Now this gets complicated, because the number of non-contenders on the win streak schedule. Even when they faced the Mavericks, Dirk Nowitzki was serving a one game suspension for brutality. The experts will say that Houston has beaten no one and their playoff spot is still in jeopardy and there is some truth to that statement.

But come on, 20 in a row against Middleville Junior High would still be impressive. The NBA is a grind. You get any team at home and they are apt to shoot the lights out and beat you just for some momentary respect.

And give some credit to the players that have stepped up in Yao’s absence, like Battier, Alsten, Landry and others.

And defense, did anyone tell you, Houston is playing some fine defense.

Houston allowed only 89.3 points per game during its 19 straight wins and set a low scoring pace against the Hawks.

…Houston has held two straight opponents to 75 or fewer points, following a 91-73 win over New Jersey on Monday.

So there is Houston one game away from the Lakers and the best record in the Western Conference and still no respect for what they have accomplished.

“It’s unbelievable,” McGrady said. “For me to be on this team that has accomplished 20 straight wins, that has got to be right up there with the most gratifying things I’ve accomplished in this league. … You look at the Bulls that were 72-10, they didn’t even do it. So this is pretty remarkable.”

Added Adelman: “You could see the guys, it really means something to get this and just keep not only the streak going, but keep moving in the right direction.”

The Rockets are for real and seem to have rallied around Yao and the feeling of them against the world.

NBA Basketball Fan Question Will the Rockets make an impact in the playoff?

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Tim Duncan, the Big Fundamental, goes to work on New Jersey

How do they do it?

They do it with defense.

The San Antonio Spurs have the best record in the Western Conference. They just extended their longest winning streak of the season with a 10th win in a row against the Vince Carter New Jersey Nets. They are one game better than the Kobe Lakers.

San Antonio 81 – New Jersey 70

That’s right, 70 stinking points.

“Think about this. They won the game shooting 33 percent,” New Jersey coach Lawrence Frank said. “That just shows you how good they are. Those guys are the gold standard. They make you grind it out.” source

Tim Duncan

As usual, it was Tim Duncan leading the way.

Tim Duncan had 29 points and 12 rebounds for his 37th double-double of the season, and the Spurs overcame their offensive struggles to beat the New Jersey Nets 81-70 on Tuesday night for their 10th straight victory.

Manu Ginobili added 12 points.

New Jersey

No more Jason Kidd in New Jersey, so now it is Vince Carter leading the way with 19 points. New point guard Devin Harris had 13 points.

One had to realize that before it was all said and done that San Antonio would be back in the saddle leading the way in the Western Conference.

NBA Basketball Fan Question Will the Spurs be in the NBA Finals once again?

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Shaq to change uniforms again

Has Shaq done it again.

Is Shaquille O’Neal up for “Rent a NBA Title”?

You get the Shaq, you win a title, and then you wait for someone to take him off your hands.

Quick quiz: What is missing from the Phoenix Doughnuts…er…Suns.

Answer: a center!

Quick quiz number 2: What is Shaq?

Answer: a center!

Are we starting to see the logic here?

No longer confident they can win a championship with their current roster, the Phoenix Suns are close to completing a blockbuster trade that will bring them Shaquille O’Neal, a source with knowledge of the negotiations said Tuesday.

O’Neal is scheduled to travel to Phoenix aboard a private plane Wednesday, the source said, to undergo an MRI on his ailing left hip. If he passes the physical, the Suns will complete the trade by sending Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks to the Miami Heat. source

This would allow Amare Stoudemire to move over to power forward. Although some tweaking of the Sun’s small ball run all the time offense may have to happen.

The trade represents a dramatic change for the Suns, whose run-and-gun, small-ball style had revolutionized the league in recent seasons. That same style, however, had failed to bring the Suns a championship, and team officials had become increasingly skeptical about their chances of contending without giving Amare Stoudemire some help on the front line.

The Lakers picking up Pau Gasol and moving to the head of the Western Conference list of favorites could be yesterday’s news.

Kobe Bryant thought Pau Gasol was taking him over the top. Now Phoenix general manager Steve Kerr has told the Western Conference, ”I see your Gasol and raise you one Shaq.” Shaq’s style doesn’t work in Phoenix? Taking passes from Nash kind of works for anyone. And dunking and shooting 60 percent fits just about anywhere.

The Suns need a center. The Suns get a center.

Look out Lakers!

NBA Basketball Fan Question Will Shaq be effective in Phoenix?

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