There go my tickets to the semi finals!
Nets
Compiled By the Suburban Detail Press Sports Staff
1 Miami Heat vs 8 Milwaukee Bucks– the Miami Heat are hands down the favorite to win the NBA Championship for the second consecutive year in a row. The Heat has gone a ridiculous 34-2 over their last 36 games. LeBron may well indeed secure another MVP trophy but it is very obvious that this team wants to win more than just back to back championships. As the staffed discussed last night during our company meetings, Milwaukee is clearly shark food. We are not sure if this series even gets any TV time.
Avery: Heat in 5- The Heat fall asleep one game.
Hans: Heat in 4
Yiannis: Heat in 4-The heat will “cream” the Bucks in every game….pause.
4 Brooklyn Nets vs 5 Chicago Bulls– This may be one of the most competitive match ups in the playoffs based off of matchups alone. The issue for the Nets, as has always been, has been their consistency. The bigger problem at hand, however, may be for the Bulls, as their health has been a major concern. Noah is a huge question mark and Derrick Rose clearly will not be returning. This one may be a toss-up.
Avery: Nets in 6
Hans: Bulls in 7
Yiannis: Nets in 6- Deron Williams will be the key in the series.
3 Indiana Pacers vs 6 Atlanta Hawks– the Indian Pacers go into the playoffs looking very vulnerable from how they looked a few months ago. With the season over for Danny Granger and the lack of a consistent offense this one may be tough to call. The Atlanta Hawks don’t impress any more than the Paces on the flip side of that coin. This is well as the Heat-Bucks series looks like just a set up for the winner to be a second round victim.
Avery: Pacers in 6
Hans: Pacers in 6
Yiannis: Pacers in 4. Hawks may squeeze out one game.
2 New York Knicks vs 7 Boston Celtics– one thing we as a staff have all agreed on is this is probably the most intriguing series in a matchup of the championship pedigree of the Boston Celtics and the newly crowned Atlantic division champion New York Knicks. Let’s face it, Carmelo is easily going to win you one to two games by himself and his “Robin”, JR Smith will give the Knicks bench a good shot in the arm. The question is, do the Celtics have enough to defend the perimeter with the Knicks jump shooters? On the Knicks end of things, will their jump shooting be their Achilles heel (sorry Kobe!)? In a chess game we can easily say that the Celtics have the edge with Doc Rivers. The issue is Doc Rivers can’t lace his sneakers up. Kevin Garnett seems as if he is merely a shell of his old self and Paul Peirce seems as the old guy on the court who stays on one side of the floor to shoot jumpers. This one should be fun.
Avery: Celtics in 7 – this is purely the Knick hater in me.
Hans: Knicks in 6
Yiannis: Knicks in 6. Series will be tough and the Celtics may steal one in the Garden but overall the Knicks will get the series.
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New York, NY- Knicks 108, Grizzlies 101 JR Smith continued his red hot streak of scoring last night at Madison Square Garden scoring 35 points as the New York Knicks withstood a late rally from the visiting Memphis Grizzlies. Carmelo Anthony chipped in with 22 points.
It seemed as if Memphis forgot they had a game in the first half or the Knicks were doing their best NBA Jams rendition as they shot a scorching 61 percent from the field in the first half and scored 69 before intermission. In the beginning of the 4th with the Knicks by 16, the Grizzlies were able to mount a fierce comeback and pulled within 4 with 33 seconds remaining. With some timely rebounding after a free throw miss the Knicks were able to seal the victory. The Knicks now look ahead to host the Charlotte Bobcats on Friday.
Portland, OR-Nets 111, Trail Blazers 93 The Brooklyn Nets once again continue to confuse the hell out of everyone. The Nets, playing without Joe Johnson, absolutely pummeled the Portland Trail Blazers in Oregon last night. Book Lopez led the way with 28 points. The Nets have won two straight to remain 2.5 games back to stay paced with the NEw York Knicks who lead the Atlantic Division.
Brooklyn like their cross town counterparts were able to put 64 points up in the first half and shot over 50 percent from the half. Journeyman Reggie Evans had a monster night scoring 22 points and grabbing a career high 26 rebounds. Next up for Brooklyn are the Denver Nuggets on Friday night in Denver.
Chicago, IL- Bulls 101, Heat 97 Well so much for the San Antonio Spurs or New York Knicks getting a crack at the Miami Heat to stop their historic win streak. The Chicago Bulls did the honors for them last night. The Bulls held on to knock off the Heat 101-97 in a up and down game.
LeBron James was still his normal self scoring 32 points and 7 rebounds in the loss. Dwayne Wade contributed 18 points. The Bulls defense seemed to have the Heat out of sync the whole night as they were never able to get into a good rhythm. Now, do the Heat tank or do they come back down to earth and move forward…to be continued.
Other Scores From Last Night
76ers 100, Bucks 92
Celtics 93, Cavaliers 92
Hawks 107, Raptors 88
Bobcats 114, Magic 108
Clippers 105, Hornets 91
Pacers 100, Rockets 91
Timberwolves 117, Wizards 80
Spurs 100, Nuggets 99
Jazz103, Suns 88
Kings 105, Warriors 98
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Phoenix, AZ-Nets 102, Suns 100 The Brooklyn Nets were able to keep their composure in the desert last night agains the Phoenix Suns after giving up a 12 point lead at half and going into the 4th quarter down by 1. The Nets overcame an abysmal defensive 3rd quarter and rallied in the fourth to beat the home team 102-100 in front of the 14,00 fans that attended.
Deron Williams scored 20 points and added 11 assist, but the biggest story of the night for the Nets came from the bench. Kris Humphries scored 17 points and grabbed 8 rebounds and c.J. Watson scored 14 points off the pine for the Nets. With the score tied at 87 with 5:08 remaining, Williams hit a three pointer to put the Nets up for good. The nets are trying to keep pace with the New York Knicks for the Atlantic Divions, where they currently sit 2 games behind. Thhe Nets now travel to Portland to take on the Trail Blazers on Wednesday.
Miami, FL- Heat 109, Bobcats 77 This is beginning to sound like the same song every night. The Miami Heat got off to a slow start, playing without Dwayne Wade who sat out with a bruised knee, and dominated the second half to cruise past the Charloette Bobcats 109-77. This is Miami’s 26th consecutive win.
The Bionic Man himself, LeBron James put on another clinic with 32 points 10 assist and 8 rebounds to lead all scorers. Though the Bobcats battled early it never seemed as if they had a chance even when they lead 19-8 early in the first quarter. Miami visits the Orlando Magic tonight to shoot for 27 in a row. Its apparent that Dwayne Wade will be a game time decision.
In other scores from last night:
76ers 117, Kings 103
Hawks 104, Bucks 99
Rockets 96, Spurs 95
Bulls 104, Timberwolves 97
Thinder 103, Trail Blazers 83
Mavericks 113, Jazz 108
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Phoenix, AZ- Lets be completely honest Brooklyn Nets fans. There is probably no way, even if the Nets miraculously win the Atlantic Division, that there is anything to look forward to this season. The argument can be made that they would have been better off swinging a deal for Dwight Howard. That still remains a possibility come this summer. However, knowing the wishy washy Dwight Howard, no one can tell what’s going to happen. Moving away from the infinite possibilities of summer madness, the Nets simply are primed to do absolutely nothing in the playoffs. Can they win a first round playoff series? Sure. Will they win a first round playoff series? I wouldn’t be surprised if they didn’t.
Last night in Los Angeles, the Nets did what they have been doing all season. They played three decent quarters of basketball and then couldn’t get themselves going in the fourth as they let the Clippers steal the game. in this NBA year they have played dominate basketball in spots and have found ways to look absolutely terrible at the same time. Now in their defense, most playoff teams don’t have a coach get fired during the season and still find a way to thrive. You simply cannot be fooled, the Nets are apart of a very weak conference. If the Nets played in the Western Conference they would be a 7th seed right now, fighting to even get into the playoffs.
The Nets are not that good and that could be said for a mass of eastern conference teams. The Nets can’t seem to play cohesive enough basketball to put together a sufficient enough of a run to win the atlantic division and or to get a playoff series. This isn’t a a factual article but more of a debatable one. Chime in if you must.
Avery Mullen, MBA – Beat Writer
@AveMBA_SDP
New York, NY- Knicks 110, Raptors 84Carmelo Anthony was in his rare form with a dominating effort scoring 28 points to lead the New York Knicks over the Toronto Raptors 110-84, last night at Madison Square Garden. The strange player wearing number 3, that of former Knick John Starks, was Kenyon Martin, who put up another strong stat line for the New York. Martin scored 18 points and grabbed 7 rebounds while shooting 7-11 from the field.
The Knicks stretched what was a five point game to a 12 point game at the half with a 9-2 run. They never looked back after that and the contest was never even close. The Raptors were playing with out Rudy Gay, who sat out the game with back spasms and left the previous contest in the second quarter.
The Knicks now lead the Indiana Pacers in the race for the 2nd seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs.
Los Angeles, CA- Clippers 101, Nets 95 For the life of many Brooklyn Nets fans, no one can figure this team out. The Nets continue to show us why no one believes that they will not only not win in the playoffs but also win the Atlantic Division, in which the Knicks tried to hand to them over a week ago.
They simply cannot cash in. Last night agains the Los Angeles Clippers, the Nets squandered a lead late in the game with a lazy effort in the final 2 minutes.
With the score tied at 90, Chris Paul hit a jump shot and in just seconds later Jamal Crawford stole a pass from Deron Williams for an easy dunk which made it a 4 point game with 48 seconds left. After the Nets scored on their next possession Chris Paul then hit an layup to go along with a foul call on Deron Williams and sank the free throw that essentially iced the game.
The Nets play in Phoenix tonight and remain 2 and a half games behind the New York Knicks for the Atlantic Division.
In other scores:
Pistons 92, Bobcats 91
Bulls 87, Pacers 84
Grizzlies 110, Celtics 106
Nuggets 101, Kings 95
Warriors 101, Wizards 92
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New York, NY- Knicks 106, Magic 86 Thank God for some home cooking along with a side order of Carmelo Anthony….pause. The New York Knicks were able to put together two straight victories, with last being their latest, defeating the Orlando Magic at Madison Square Garden. Melo score 21 points to go along with 8 rebounds in the win. JR Smith added in 22 in the Knicks first season sweep of the Magic in 15 years.
The Knicks jumped all over the Magic early in the game and never trailed. Although they were only up by 5 at the half, the Knicks went on a 13-6 run to start the 3rd and before you knew it lead 83-65 going into the 4th quarter.
The Knicks travel to Canada to face the Toronto Raptors tomorrow at 7 pm EST.
Dallas, TX- Nets 113, Mavericks 96
Brook Lopez made his best Wilt Chamberlain impersonation last night by dominating the Dallas Mavericks and posting 38 points and 11 rebounds in the Brooklyn Nets’ win last night in Dallas. Hands down, this was one of the best performances of the year by the Nets, especially on the road against a Western conference foe. The win also helped keep the Nets on pace with the New York Knicks with whom they remain one game behind in the standings for the Atlantic division title.
Cleveland, OH- Heat 98, Cavaliers 95 A few years back LeBron James went on National TV to tell the world that Cleveland was too small for him and that he was headed to South Beach. Fast forward to last night and James still is finding was to get the last laugh.
While watching the Knick game, the staff and I saw a highlight of the Cleveland Cavaliers burying the Miami Heat at halftime by 21. With the exception of one of us, not to be named, we thought the streak would end where LeBron started his career. Hoe badly wrong we were. The Heat managed to outscore the Cavaliers 64-40 in the second half as they pulled off a miraculous comeback to shock the fans in Cleveland. James pulled off another non-human-like effort scoring 25 points 12 rebounds and 10 assist. The Heat have now won 24 straight games.
In other scores from last night:
Clippers 101 76er 72
Bobcats 107 Raptors 101
Hawks 98 Bucks 90
Hornets 87 Celtics 86
Rockets 100 Jazz 93
Grizzlies 90 Thunder 89
Spurs 104 Warriors 93
Wizards 88 Suns 79
Salt Lake City, UT- Knicks 90, Jazz 83 It feels like it has been forever since the New York Knicks sniffed a victory. Well, it came last night and the timing could not have been better. JR Smith and Raymond Felton led the Knicks to a 90-83 win over the Utah Jazz last night. After hitting this road trip and dropping the first 4 games by almost 20 points per game, the Knicks held onto a 4th quarter lead to preserve the victory.
Smith scored 20 points while Chris Copeland put up 14 filling in for Tyson Chandler and Carmelo Anthony. The Knicks shot 46% from the field and hit 8 three pointers on the night. Though they were outrebounded they were able to make up for it with solid defense down the stretch, including a big block of a three pointer by Kurt Thomas with 4 minutes left in the game.
My winless prediction on this road trip did not come true; however, I am sure that most Knicks fans are only relieved momentarily because they know that there is still a lot of basketball to play.
Auburn Hills, MI- Nets 119, Pistons 82 –
The only reason why we are even talking about this game is because the Brooklyn Nets trail the New York Knicks by 1 game in the Atlantic Division race. Otherwise, this game was never close as the Nets went up by 13 points after the first quarter and never looked back. Deron Williams scored 31 and Brook Lopez added 18 to lead the Nets to a laugher last night in Detroit.
Boston, MA- Heat 105, Celtics 103 So the Boston Celtics had me believing for a minute. Then reality came crashing thru my living room window. Call it 23 straight now for the Miami Heat who trailed by 17 in the second quarter only to come back and beat the Celtics in Boston.
One thing that I learn every time I watch the Heat play is that LeBron James is not human. He stuffed the stat sheet with 37 points 12 assists and 7 rebounds. If you watched the game it seems as if he did it all without even trying. And say what you want, but Paul Pierce did a pretty decent job defending him. James hit the go ahead jump shot with 10.5 seconds left in the game.
Overshadowed by the Heat win and LeBron’s monster game was Jeff Green who scored a career high 43 points for the Celtics. The problem is that Green had his last second shot blocked by Shane Battier to end the game and seal the victory for the Heat.
Chicago, IL- Nuggets 119, Bulls 118 (OT)–
Andre Iguodala hit a three pointer and Joakim Noah was called for an offensive goaltending as the Denver Nuggets went on to win their 12th straight game. The Nuggets are easily the second hottest team in the NBA behind the Miami Heat as they are now a half game out of the 3 seed which is currently owned by the Clippers who they have defeated on this win streak. Wilson Chander, the former New York Knick, who has been on a tear as of late, scored 35 points for Denver and Nate Robinson, another former Knick, scored 34 for the Bulls.
Other Scores from last night:
76ers 101 Trailblazers 100
Pacers 111 Cavaliers 90
Bobcats 119 Wizards 114
Mavericks 127 Hawks 113
Warriors 93 Hornets 72
Grizzlies 92 Timberwolves 77
Suns 99 Lakers 76
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Detroit, MI – The Brooklyn Nets are in a place that they haver not been in months. No I am not speaking about The Palace of Auburn Hills, where they are set to face off against the Detroit Pistons. I am talking about staring down their big brother, NewYork Knicks, who reside right over the Brooklyn Bridge down Madison Avenue in Manhattan. The Nets are a mere 1 game behind their New York counterpart seeking to become tied in the standings. The Nets face a daunting 8 game road trip which will more than likely decide their Atlantic division crown’s future. Furthermore, the Nets are only 1.5 games ahead of the Boston Celtics who host the red hot Miami Heat tonight in Boston.
The Pistons are currently on a 8 game losing streak and are desperate to save face as the season winds down. How bad do the Nets want this division? According to PJ Carlesimo, the Nets g=have to simply “work harder.” if Deron Williams and Joe johnson can get themselves together this can be a very interesting final lap in the regular season. The Knicks had a six game lead but have recently squandered it by dropping 4 straight of their own. Brook Lopez should have a solid game tonight since he historically plays very well agains the Pistons averaging 21 per game. The Pistons alo boast one of the worst defenses in the NBA which should be something for the Nets to take advantage of.
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Los Angeles, LA- Clippers 93, Knicks 80 Lets be honest with eachother, did you really expect the Knicks to go in to LA and beat the Los Angeles Clippers without Carmelo Anthony and Tyson Chandler? If you did you must of had to reset you game of NBA 2k13 to have that come true at least 3 times and be playing on the rookie level. Well last night Chris Paul put up 20 points and 8 dimes to lead Lob City over the New York Knicks.
Caron Butler scored 14 and Blake Griffin put up a double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds as the Clippers have won 7 out of their last 10 games. Surprisingly the Knicks got off to a hot start but just could not keep hitting shots as the game wore on. By the third quarter the Knicks found themselves in familiar territory on this West Coast nightmare, down 19 points.
JR Smith scored 17 points on 4-20 from the field and said that he felt that the Knicks had shown good effort at the very least. Unfortunately, this type of effort is going to give the Knicks a first round exit and one way ticket back to Manhattan. As I mentioned before, this team is simply moving like a 1980 Volvo with 500,000 miles on it. The good news is that they play a beatable Utah Jazz team tonight in Utah. The bad news is they’ll probably lose. I hope everyone has their coffee ready for that donut they will bring back to New York after this trip.
Brooklyn, NY- Hawks 105, Nets 93
Maybe the Brooklyn Nets were scoreboard watching last night and forgot that they had a game to play. Al Horford and Jason Smith dominated the Nets front court last night and helped the Atlanta Hawks snap a 5 game losing streak to beat the Nets in Brooklyn. Nets head coach, P.J. Carlesimo said that his team just could not defend and it has been an up and down season for them on the defensive end. Th Nets could have broke into a tie with the Knicks in the Atlantic division but got the doors blown off of the car in the 4th quarter.
Toronto, ON- Heat 108, Raptors 91
The Miami Heat, aka the Street Sweepers, keep rolling as they reeled off their 22nd straight victory yesterday against the Toronto Raptors. The Heat have tied the 2007 Houston Rockets for the second-longest streak in NBA history. Dwayne Wade and LeBron James scored 24 and 22 respectively and Chris Bosh chipped in with 18. Toronto did put up a fight by drawing within 3 to end the third but the Heat put the clamps down and scored 32 points in the final frame and outscored the Raptors by 14.
In other games around the league:
Bucks 115, Magic 109
Warriors 108, Rockets 78
Timberwolves 97, Hornets 95
Thunder 107, Mavericks 101
Lakers 113, Kings 102
Avery Mullen, MBA- Beat Writer
@AveMBA_SDP
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