Every morning, we’ll give you five things from the night before in the NBA to start your day.
1: It’s a great rivalry… but…
The Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers engaged in an entertaining back-and-forth yesterday afternoon that showed all the signs of a classic rivalry. Neither team was able to pull away after making a big run, both teams were going at each other with physical play, and there was even a dust-up that required players to be separated.
But there was nothing in that game that made you point at the screen and say “now that team is going to go places.” Of course I have said before that you canot put TOO much stock in this regular season, so I am sure one of these teams will prove me horribly wrong. But the fact remains that the bigger, faster, stronger teams in the NBA have shown themselves to be in a different class than these two franchises at the moment. So as the trade deadline approaches, it will be interesting to see how these two teams handle themselves.
They are in different places. The Lakers, with Kobe Bryant, are trying to make a last ditch effort to get him another ring. The Celtics are already programmed to self-destruct after this season with less than half their roster under contract for next season. So despte a ton of rumors for both teams, it is no guarantee that anything huge happens.
2: Everyone at Staples gets a mask!
Apparently feeling left out of the masked fun at Staples, Chris Paul is going to be wearing one too.
Actually, he broke his nose in the Spurs game. Here is the story:
3: HIGHLIGHTS!!!
Andrew Bynum is very tall… which helps with a finish like this
Kenneth Faried can jump
4: Line of the night: Ersan Ilyasova – 31 points, 12 rebounds, 1 asssit, 2 steals
Stop the Ersanity!! Ilyasova has been going off lately, putting up 31, 26 and 32 in his last three games. Since February 15, he has only scored single digits once and he has had nine double-doubles (including a 29-point, 25-rebound performance against the Nets on February 19).
Last night, he shot 11 for 16 against the Raptors, hitting all three of his 3-pointers and all six of his free throws. Not bad for a guy who is averaging just more than 12 points a game.
Now if only his performances could translate into wins. Milwaukee is 4-8 in this stretch after last night’s win.
5: You can quote me on that
“I feel confident because I get a lot of minutes to play, with a lot of injuries we have. We’re short on the big guys and I got this opportunity to step up and play basketball the way I do. I try and give 110 percent offensively as well as defensively.”
-Ersan Ilyasova
“I just didn’t feel like it was fair to them to take them out and try something else. If guys are going to fight that hard and bring you back, I [want to] give them the chance to finish it up.”
-Mike D’Antoni, on benching Carmelo Anthony and Amar’e Stoudemire in the 4th quarter of New York’s loss to Philadelphia
“I don’t really know what was Coach’s mindset,” said Anthony, who had 22 points on 5-of-13 shooting in 29 minutes. “Maybe he was trying to save us for tomorrow. I’m not sure. You’re going to have to ask him.”
-Carmelo Anthony
