As a follow up to the Part I of Rodney Stuckey is candy and a Rose blooms – Part I, your intrepid author would like to show you some interesting comments by Coach Michael Curry of the Detroit Pistons.

Keep in mind, Joe Dumars hired Curry in part because he is such a great student of the game and the players of the game.

This comment came after the Pistons beat the Bulls.

After the game, Pistons coach Michael Curry described Phoenix’s Steve Nash, San Antonio’s Tony Parker and Denver’s Chauncey Billups — who started the season with Detroit but was traded, in part, because of Stuckey’s development — as the gold standard of NBA point guards.

Next, Curry identified New Orleans’ Chris Paul, Utah’s Deron Williams and New Jersey’s Devin Harris as a trio who have “separated themselves … as a young group of guards pushing Nash and Parker and Billups.”

Then he mentioned his own guy.

“I think Stuckey is in a group with Derrick Rose and (Boston’s Rajon) Rondo as the up-and-coming next group of guards,” Curry said. “It’s going to be interesting to see how they all continue to mature and grow as players. All three have different skill sets, but all three have the kind of demeanor that it takes to be very successful in this league.”
source

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Kobe Bryant – from back spasms in game 4 to greatness in game 5

Image details: Los Angeles Lakers v Utah Jazz, Game 4 served by picapp.com

Kobe Bryant could not be stopped.

From passing that is.

Kobe had a sore back and was going to make Utah pay for it.

And they did.

The last 7 or 8 minutes of this game showed why Los Angeles is so dangerous as a team. The ball was moving all over the court, finally settling in Kobe’s hands sucking in the defense. Kobe would then drive to the hole and distribute the ball for a dunk or 3 pointer or easy jump shot.

If Utah tried to stop Kobe they fouled him and sent him to the line, where Kobe lived for his 4th quarter points. Kobe Bryant has beautiful foul shooting form and showed it once again with the game on the line.

The Los Angeles Lakers led the Utah Jazz all the way through the 4th quarter, but the margin was slim and the game was in doubt until the very end. Every time Memo Okur or Deron Williams would make a good play, Kobe had the answer. The answer was the Laker’s team and Kobe was the captain of that ship.

This time it was Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom leading the Lakers down the home stretch.

The two combined for 13 fourth-quarter points and the Lakers never trailed in a 111-104 victory over the Jazz in Game 5 of their Western Conference Semifinal series at the Staples Center on Wednesday.

Kobe Bryant led Los Angeles with 26 points, but it was Gasol and Odom nailing clutch shots in the final minutes to give the Lakers a 3-2 series lead.
source

Kobe played in this game after suffering severe back spasms in the last game. It was doubtful he would be at full strength. Heck, it was doubtful he would be able to even play. Maybe that is why he took so few shots, but play he did.

They huddled in a tunnel here at the Staples Center early Wednesday evening, waiting to run onto the court, their season having reached a crossroads. Bryant nodded.

“I’m good,” he said.

Did anyone doubt he wouldn’t be? Isn’t this what the great ones, the MVPs, do? Bryant once jetted in from a Colorado courtroom to hang 42 points on the San Antonio Spurs in a playoff game, and back spasms were going to stop him?

Not on Wednesday. Bryant stepped onto the stage and starred yet again, fighting off the Jazz in a tense 111-104 victory that left the Lakers within one win of the Western Conference finals.

Bryant’s teammates saw all they needed to see 18 seconds into the game. With the fans having barely settled into their seats, Bryant raised up and buried a long three-pointer. He followed with a 14-foot jumper. Already, his teammates on the bench began to laugh. Lamar Odom had predicted Bryant’s “gun to be blazing,” and it certainly looked like that’s how the evening was heading.

source

The Lakers needed the game to maintain home court and gain a 3 – 2 series lead.

The next game is in Utah and Kobe will once again be called upon to shake off the effects of coming back from the back spasms. Once again, we will have to wait and see, but one thing is for sure, this time we all expect him back and expect him to be great!

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In a game of two awesome point guards, it was the lack of defense that stood out.

Dallas came back in the fourth quarter with a 16 – 0 run to take the game. A game that Phoenix led from the get go and had a 13 point lead in the 3rd quarter.

Dirk scored 32 points on one ankle as the Mavs won 105 – 98.

Dirk Nowitzki signals he can score on one ankle or two

“Every team we’d played so far we were right there, on the road or at home,” Nowitzki said. “So it feels great to get finally over the hump. I think everybody in t he locker room was pretty hyped up that we had finally pulled this one out. Hopefully this could build some momentum.”

Josh Howard added 24 points and Brandon Bass 19 for the Mavericks, who used a smothering defense in a 16-0 run that put them ahead for good in a game the Suns had led nearly throughout. Phoenix went scoreless for just under 8 minutes, missing 12 shots in the process.

source

The disturbing part of this game was the lack of defense on the pick and roll. In the playoffs, you have to be able to defend the pick and roll.

It got so bad in the second half that my TV was switched to The Lord of the Rings II. Rohan used excellent defense to defend Helms deep from the invading Orcs. It was playoff defense at its best.

Anyway, getting back to the game, it seemed like either team could shake a man loose on the pick and roll whenever they wanted. There was no cut out or rotation or trap or any of the myriad ways to defend. Nowitzki and Shaq both looked helpless on pick and rolls.

How do these teams plan on beating San Antonio and Tim Duncan or Utah and Darren Williams without defending the pick and roll?

NBA Basketball special comment It still has to be San Antonio in the West until better defense is played by the other teams.

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The Utah Jazz used a 41 point quarter to blow out the Phoenix Suns.

This is the 3rd straight home loss for the Suns, in spite of Amare Stoudemire’s 37 points.

– Carlos Boozer scored 17 of his 23 points in the second half, including a tough eight-foot bank shot with 31.1 seconds to play, and the Utah Jazz handed the Phoenix Suns their third consecutive home loss, 126-118 on Friday night.

Deron Williams had 25 points and 15 assists and Mehmet Okur had 25 points, including 4-of-6 3-pointers, and grabbed 14 rebounds to give the Jazz their fourth win in a row and just their 14th in 33 games on the road this season. source

Utah 126 Phoenix 118

The questions on the Miami Heat to Phoenix Suns trade of Shaq for the Matrix are getting louder. Is Shaq relevant? Can he fit into a full court running team?

Mark D’Antoni, the Suns Coach, is excited about changing the team’s face with the addition of Shaq.

“I don’t think there’s any doubt,” D’Antoni said. “Not play-wise, but on paper and what we see. We can be a better team than we could ever be with the little guys running all over the place. We may not be as pretty, but we’re going to be much more efficient.”

He said defensive improvement will determine whether Phoenix reaches its goal of becoming a championship contender. O’Neal has been what the Suns expected. source

Right now that defense was not apparent in the 4th quarter of the Jazz game.

The Kyle Korver pick up by the Jazz actually looks better on the court right now than the Shaq trade.

Shaq time

But you have to give this time. The Suns are a team trying to trade their stripes in the heat of battle.

“It’s going to take a toughness, and we sometimes don’t have it,” D’Antoni said. “Maybe that’s because the last three years, we haven’t had it because we didn’t need it. Now we need it, so it might take a little bit.” source

The Suns have been plagued with turnovers and poor perimeter defense since the addition of Shaq. The game itself has changed with the big guy in the middle. Shawn Marion was often on the perimeter or slashing through the land. Shaq remains at the post.

“All of that I believe is a byproduct of just guys trying to get accustomed to what we’re doing now, the different personnel and different spacing on the court,” Bell said. “You know Shawn was a guy who was definitely a spacer. That allowed Steve (Nash) and the guys who make a lot of plays to have a lot of room to make those plays. When you add a big body like Shaq, plus his defender, that space that was wide open isn’t there.” source

In the end, the Suns will be there with a better opportunity to play the half court game needed in the playoffs.

NBA Basketball Fan Question Will the Suns turn it around with Shaq and start winning?

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Who are these guys?

Deron Williams? All everyone talks about is Chris Paul of the Hornets, or the arrival of Jason Kidd in Dallas, but Deron Williams is off to a great career with that hidden team, the Utah Jazz. Deron had 14 assists by half time. Half time!

Mehmet Okur? All everyone talks about is Shaq going to the Suns, or Dirk Nowitzki lighting it up for the Mavs, or the return of Andrew Bynum, or Pau Gasol gaining new life with the Lakers, but Mehmet has some of those European style components to his game, learned in Turkey, that make him tough to guard and he rebounds well in a crowd. Just ask Joe Dumars, he wanted to keep him a Piston, but the price was too high.

Carlos Boozer? Hey, what is he doing on the Jazz? Carlos is a 20/10 guy that weighs 266 pounds. 20 points and 10 rebound season average that is and the 266 pounds on his 6′ 9″ frame makes him tough to handle inside.

Andrei Kirilenko? He may not be a 20/10 guy, but he does everything else with steals, blocked shots, rebounds, points, and just plain excellent defense. In 2005-06 he was on the NBA all defensive team. This year he has suffered a lot of injuries and did not play most of this most recent game.

Utah played most of the game without forward Andrei Kirilenko, who was knocked out of the game with 7:04 left in the first quarter after taking a flagrant foul from Dallas’ Dirk Nowitzki. Kirilenko went crashing to the floor and bruised his right hip bad enough that he was taken to the hospital for X-rays, which showed no break. source

NBA Basketball Andrei Kirilenko factoid – Became just 4th player in NBA history, and first since 1993-94, to average 15+ points, 8+ rebounds, 4+ assists and 3+ blocks in single season (Abdul-Jabbar six times, Bob Lanier – 1973-74, David Robinson – 1993-94) source

Kyle Korver? The least heard about trade this side of Golden State picking up old timer Chris Weber. Kyle gives them the big time bench scorer they needed and had 17 points in this game.

Utah won over Dallas 116 – 110.

The Jazz went on a momentum-changing fourth-quarter run in a 116-110 win over the Dallas Mavericks on Monday night, coming back after blowing a 21-point lead. Utah made all 18 free throws in the fourth quarter and stayed near the top of the congested standings in the Western Conference. source

Dallas

Josh Howard scored 25 points and Nowitzki finished with 23 for Dallas, which fell to 4-4 since acquiring Jason Kidd.

Kidd finished with nine assists and 19 points — 10 of which he scored in the fourth quarter. Jason Terry scored 21 for the Mavericks.

It appears the Jason Kidd experiment will take a little time to get going.

Anyway, Utah is fighting for their life in the tough Western Conference.

Back to Utah

“It was a playoff atmosphere,” Boozer said. “You had people diving for loose balls, scrapping for rebounds. That’s what the playoffs are about. That’s what the last 20 games are going to be like as we try to position ourselves for the playoffs.”

So who is Utah and why aren’t the New Orleans Hornets called the Jazz? Hmm, that does seem a bit strange.

Utah is the hidden team loaded with talent and a good record. Look out Western Conference!

NBA Basketball Fan Question Were you aware of how good the Jazz are looking?

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Maurice Brooks writes for NBA.com and has an ongoing article keeping track of his Top Ten nominations for NBA MVP.

It is called Race to the MVP Weekly Leaders.

Let’s take a look at Maurice’s list with your intrepid author’s comments in italics.

LeBron says – It is all about team (yeah, right)

1. LeBron – Last Week’s Rank – 1
The Cavs are six games below .500 without James in the lineup and 13 games above it when he plays. This past week I received a large amount of e-mails pointing out that he is in the East. Do you really think his stats would be any worse if he were in the West? As well as he has balled this season, he has been even better lately, averaging nearly 33 points, nine boards and six assists over his past six games.

You will get no argument from me. LeBron is bringing it right now and his team is winning.

2. Chris Paul

Wow, Maurice goes out of his way to rake Deron Williams over the coals, but the Hornets are hot right now and that helps.

3. Kobe Bryant

Maurice seems to think Pau Gasol will reduce Kobe’s chance to win the MVP, but your gallivanting author thinks it will increase his chances. Pau will be a number two star that will keep the winning coming, especially when they get Bynum back.

4. Steve Nash – I know there are a bunch of fans checking out R2MVP right now and wondering how come this guy is always in the top five. We’ll start with the fact that he is a great teammate, shoots over 50 percent from the floor and over 90 percent from the line, leads the league in assists and is the best player on the best team in the West and go from there.

Nash is unbelievable, but it is how he incorporates Shaq that will make the difference.

5. Dwight Howard

Maurice kids Dwight a bit and he is an emerging star, but this ranking just seems too high.

6. Allen Iverson

The only person that plays less D is Melo.

7. Paul Pierce

An unrecognized star for years, there is still the question of how well he will play number two star to Kevin Garnett.

8. Dirk Nowitzki

Wait a minute, this guy plays less D than AI.

9. Baron Davis

Love watching this guy play, but then Stephon Marbury amazes me too.

10. Kevin Garnett

This guy has to be in the top five. Come on.

Love Maurice’s column, but does he have to get down on Rasheed Wallace being picked for the All Star game? Rasheed has his ups and downs, but the Pistons are nothing without him. He routinely shuts down opposing centers and power forwards and scores his share in the Pistons balanced scoring offense.

Defense needs to be included in the MVP award and sadly is not.

Where is Tim Duncan?

NBA Basketball Fan Question Who is missing from your Top Ten?

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Sometimes they do not get into your house.

Who?

The robbers.

What are you talking about?

Sometimes they steal something inside of you.

Like what?

Your pride, confidence, or self worth can be stolen. That leaves you with only two things to do.

What two things? How do you steal someone’s pride, confidence, or self worth?

Deron Williams was left off the All Star team. It hurt. The All Star game will be held in New Orleans and Chris Paul made the team. That hurt even more.

Deron made sure that Utah would beat New Orleans last night.

Utah Jazz 110 New Orleans Hornets 88

Deron was left off, mostly because he plays for Utah.

Most of us in the Midwest or East know about the Suns, Mavericks, Lakers, even the Nuggets, but Utah? Hey, doesn’t that former Piston, Ochre, Ogre, …Okur, that is his name. Doesn’t he play for Utah?

And that one guy named for an alcohol, Boozer. Yeah, he is built like a fullback, only 6 foot nine.

Meanwhile one of the hottest teams in the NBA, New Orleans, has Chris Paul at point guard. That would be Deron’s position.

Utah just happened to be playing New Orleans.

The two things

Basic caveman, limbic system, type things. Fight or Flight.

The game was at home, so Deron did not have to take a flight, so he went with the fight.

Williams, who went with the No. 3 pick to Utah in that draft, scored 29 points and had 11 assists in Utah’s 110-88 victory over New Orleans on Monday night that extended the Jazz’s winning streak to nine games.

“People are going to compare them as long as they’re in the league,” Utah coach Jerry Sloan said. “There’s nothing you can do about that. But we’re looking for him to be Deron Williams.”

Paul went to the Hornets with fourth pick and the two have been compared ever since. source

Revenge

Think there was any revenge going on here?

“He came out tonight to send a message and I think that message got sent across,” said Carlos Boozer, who had 19 points and 17 rebounds for the Jazz and is going to the All-Star game in New Orleans.

Williams had his eighth straight double-double and hit three 3-pointers as the Jazz set a team record by making 14 from beyond the arc. He finished 11-for-13 from the floor, but his defense was just as big as the Jazz turned the meeting of division leaders into a route. source

This was no personal vendetta for Deron Williams. He is not that kind of guy, but some of that sting of that All Star vote had to be let out and Chris just happened to be there.

Williams got Hornets guard Chris Paul — selected for the All-Star game last week while Williams was not — into early foul trouble and held him to just six points and six assists.

Williams said it was nothing personal against Paul.

Your intrepid author has heaped praise on Deron Williams before.

Deron Williams is underdog

Kenny Smith listed Deron above Chris by only one position in rating the point guards. Both of them highly regarded as rookies.

Top 10 NBA point guards

So Deron will be at home for this All Star game, but don’t expect him to miss very many.

NBA Basketball Fan Question Did you vote for Chris Paul or Deron Williams?

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The return of James, your basketball author. Now the good and the bad. The good is that my most excellent boss and coworkers filled in quite nicely and that is most appreciated.The bad is that James is diagnosed with Cancer and undergoing chemotherapy. Fear not, they say the cancer is one that is curable, so let us move forward with our dreams of basketball!

John Schuhmann gives you the NBA.com power rankings with emphasis on the top 5.

1. San Antonio – last week number 3.

source

Author’s take – hard to argue. Best half court D and Tim D on O. Both recipes for playoff victory.

2. Boston – last week number 1. Unbeaten at home. Great D.

Author’s take – Boston deserves this ranking, but it is a long season and this group is still new together. Ask me again in February.

3. Phoenix – last week number 2. Grant Hill had an awesome game against the Knicks.

Author’s take – Grant gives them another weapon, like they needed one. Steve Nash is a premier player, but does the Phoenix all offense style get you past San Antonio?

4. Orlando – last week number 4. Dwight Howard is putting up MVP numbers.

Author’s take – who would have believed this team would be this good. Still Dwight is young and the playoffs are typically won by teams that have been there.

5. Utah – last week number 5. They beat the Lakers without Boozer or Okur.

Author’s take – A big team with a great young point guard. Hard to argue here.

The Pistons, Hornets, and Mavs come next with Chris Paul lighting it up for the Hornets.

NBA Basketball Fan Question Who is your number 1 team?

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And he shall come from the East and lead them…

Denver is all set up to win the Northwest.

Think about this division. Greg Oden is out for the season at Portland and they let their other big man, Zach Randolph, go to the Knicks.

Seattle is playing for the future with young Rookie of the Year front runner Kevin Durant. They are young and inexperienced.

The Timberwolves are starting the Al Jefferson show and have yet to move up town with their supporting cast of castaways.

This leaves only Utah. Carlos Boozer, Deron Williams, Mehmet Okur present a solid core, but an unhappy Kirilenko really hurts them.

Carmelo is set to lead the Nuggets out of the Northwest.

He’s not the all-around threat James is, but he does exude greatness, able to put the ball in the basket as well as anyone in the game. All that has been missing are key ingredients like maturity and help. He feels he has both now. Excuses are out the window.

CBSSports.com believes in Anthony and the Nuggets, predicting they’ll overcome Utah in the Northwest Division. If they fail, it had better be a result of the scenario Karl believes possible, where Utah simply outperforms them and wins more than 60 games. That’s unlikely, but if it happens, Denver has every right to shake off the disappointment and feel good about its season. source

Introducing the Champions of the Northwest to be, the Denver Nuggets with an aging but still hungry Allen Iverson, a shoot happy Carmelo, a block happy Camby, and perhaps the key in Kenyon Martin.

Kenyon is coming off microfracture surgery and a lot depends on his recovery. Without Kenyon Martin they are not a very tough team on the offensive blocks.

Camby is counted on more for defense. Did you know he was the defensive player of the year? Came as a shock to me.

It appears any kind of chemistry on offense between The Truth and Melo should produce close to 50 victories and be good enough to win the division.

Hard to believe they have the horses to march through the playoffs, but we believed that about Cleveland and LeBron last year.

NBA Basketball Fan Question Who do you pick in the Northwest Division?

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Deron can handle the rock

Deron Williams is an up and coming star in the NBA.

That bears repeating, because for those of us that followed his career at Illinois, it did not always seem that way.

Now your intrepid author is a Michigan State University Spartan fan and grad. Izzo, baby, that is all that needs to be said. MSU finds themselves as a basketball school and oh do we not like that label. We want to be a basketball, football school.

Well, guess what, Illinois finds themselves in the same boat. There were some intense rivalry games between IU and MSU and Deron Williams was a part of quite a few of them.

In college, Deron seemed like an excellent passer, kind of fast, but not too quick, pretty good shooter, but not great. He played next to Dee Brown and Dee seemed to have all the star power in the year they went to the finals with only 1 loss.

Alan Anderson of the Spartans got hurt before the North Carolina game, during the weekend when my Spartys beat UK and Duke. The feeling around here, right or wrong, was that the Spartans would have beaten NC with a healthy Anderson and faced Deron Williams and the Illini in the finals.

That did not happen and NC defeated Illinois. Deron was only a Junior but pretty much had to declare pro with most of the Illinois graduating. There would not have been much team left and it could only hurt his draft status to stay.

Prediction for the Jazz

Who would have thought Deron would be such a great pro? With Deron at the point Johnny Ludden at Yahoo Sports is picking Utah to be first in the NorthWest Division.

Is that confetti in your hair? After an impressive run to the Western Conference finals, the Jazz made only a couple of minor tweaks to their roster. Deron Williams and Carlos Boozer, quickly resembling another formidable Utah pick-and-roll combo, anchor the team’s impressive core. Mehmet Okur is coming off an All-Star season and second-year guard Ronnie Brewer is making a strong bid to start. source

The NBA Draft

Deron is used to being the underdog and when he faced the NBA draft, once again Deron Williams had to prove himself to the doubters.

When it was time for Deron to take his collection of All-Big Ten awards and the ’05 Chicago Regional MOP trophy to The Greatest Show on Earth, he found that he had some believers out there. While some questioned his build and speed, Deron blew up during pre-Draft workouts, impressing the Jazz enough that they tabbed him with the third overall pick. Bigger-rep players Raymond Felton and Chris Paul followed.

Underdog

If Utah makes it a habit of winning all the time then that will probably cure the underdog stuff up with Deron and the fans, right?

Though his ball club is on the verge of regaining their once West Coast dominance, the playmaker can’t see the dim light raying on him any different. “People still don’t know my name. I go to [visiting] arenas, sometimes the announcers will call me Duh-RON. I have to make the PR people go and correct them,” he says. “So although a lot more people notice my game now, I still consider myself an underdog.”

Oh, well, if Deron is Underdog at least they have a movie about you!

NBA Basketball Fan Question Will Deron be an All Star this year?

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