By: Holly MacKenzie
I am still struggling with the news of Kobe’s injury. I thought this re-injury thing wouldn’t end up being anything serious and it looks like it is just that. Great. We all know that guy is a warrior so if they are talking about him needing surgery, well, it just isn’t good. I can only hope we can play him sparingly for awhile to try to get some rest for that damn hand.
I can honestly say that one pinkie has never caused me so much stress before, but this pinkie holds the weight of the franchise, hanging in the balance. If the league makes Kobe play in this All-Star game… Well at least we’ve got Byron as the coach and he has good judgment.
If Kobe does take the game off then one warrior needs to be replaced with another. Jax! Baron! Please, please give me some Warrior-love.
I missed most of both games last night because I am a good friend. Nothing exciting, don’t worry. I allowed myself to miss the end of the Bulls/Heat game and most of the Mavs/Suns game. Had I been needed from tonight through Sunday, it would have been too bad.
This Dallas-Jersey trade just gets more complicated. Now Stack may have tripped them up with his comments about taking 30 days off and re-signing with the Mavs? Oh man. It is like the powers that be are forcing Kidd back to Jersey.
I can now say ALL-STAR 2008 is here. Our guys are in New Orleans and I am anxiously awaiting all of the updates, stories and fun. I’ve already decided I will not be leaving the TV for the next three evenings and I’m very excited. Rookie/Soph! All-Star Saturday Night! All-Star Sunday! Leave your picks for everything below, please. Final score, game MVP, dunk contest, three-point comp, skills comp, and anything and everything in between.
And, since Shaq looks like he will be playing his first game in a Suns uniform against the Lakers next week, what are your predictions for HIS stats in the game? Minutes, points, rebounds, assists, blocks, turnovers, calls for a sub, etc. Leave those below, too.
Chicago 99 Miami 92
The Miami Heat continue to get used to having Shawn Marion in the mix, but they didn’t have quite enough to overcome the Bulls as they dropped a 99-92 decision last night. Chicago led 48-43 at the half after holding the Heat to only 15 points in the second quarter. While they went on to take a nine-point lead in the final period, they were unable to sustain it as the Heat charged back and cut the deficit to one, 82-81 midway through the quarter. The Heat were unable to take the lead as they were stuck trading baskets with Chicago until Thabo Sefolosha connected on two free throws and then stole the ball from Dwyane Wade, breaking up a Heat possession. On their next possession, a made free throw extended the Chicago lead to 94-87 and they were able to hang on from there to take a win into the all-star break. The Bulls out-rebounded Miami 53-35 as Miami also turned the ball over 18 times in the contest. Kirk Hinrich led Chicago with 24 points off of the bench as Joe Smith scored 19 points to go with 11 rebounds. Andres Nocioni had 18 points with his 11 rebounds, Sefolosha scored 17 points and pulled down 12 rebounds and Tyrus Thomas added 10 points and 12 boards. Dwyane Wade had 30 to lead the Heat while Marion added 23 points as he was the only other member of Miami to reach double-figures in the loss.
Phoenix 109 Dallas 97
While the big match up between the Suns and Mavs lacked both Shaquille O’Neal and Jason Kidd, the intensity was still there despite both teams being on the second night of back-to backs. With Dallas leading by one at the half, the Suns would begin to make their push in the third as they outscored the Mavs by five in the period, taking a four-point advantage into the fourth thanks to Leandro Barbosa scoring off of his own miss at the end of the third. Things were close in the final quarter until the Suns managed to reel off an 11-2 run to extend their lead into double-figures as they went up 104-93 with less than two minutes remaining in the game and went on to the victory from there. While the Phoenix offense was flowing the Mavs were stagnant, finishing with only eight assists as a team while Steve Nash finished with 13 of the Suns 24 team assists. Nash also had 24 points while Amare Stoudemire and Barbosa finished with 26 points apiece and Boris Diaw had 19 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists. Dirk Nowitzki led the Mavericks with 36 points and 12 rebounds while Jason Terry scored 29 points and Eddie Jones added 9 in the loss.
