Daily NBA Summaries
THE BIG EAST & THE NBA (11/18/2009)
by DOUG FERGUSON
For the second week in a row car troubles kept me from the NBA arena and witnessing Brandon Jennings’ rise to greatness. Instead I was forced to the 12 consecutive channels that are my life, aka NBA season pass. They actually got a well needed and well deserved rest last night as yesterday was all about the college game and in particular my latest man crush Josh Pastner. I got to scout about 30 draft prospects without getting off my couch last night though so everyone should be prepared for the best draft coverage on the planet here at NBE The Association. We will leave nothing to chance as this year my staff and I are going to get it perfect. Yes that’s right, PERFECT!!!
Game of the Night
San Antonio Spurs 94 Dallas Mavericks 99 OT
BIG EAST & THE NBA (11/17/2009)
by DOUG FERGUSON
I would like to open tonight with a little promotion. In honor of how awesome the New Big East is, tomorrow we start counting down the top 25 players from the New Big East in the NBA from the last 30 years. This commemorates 30 years of Big East Basketball. Some of the players on this list will have never played in a conference games but all players will be alumni of the 16 fine schools who make the up the league today. Here is the teaser for number 25 on the list.
This player lived every little kids dream by hitting the game winning shot of an NBA Finals clincher.
NBA PLAYER OF THE NIGHT- LEBRON JAMES (CLEVELAND CAVALIERS)
I find it pretty amazing that I’ve gone this far into the season and this is the first time Lebron has won the Player of the night award. I believe that if he makes the right decision and goes to play with another superstar somewhere that he will make Oscar Robertson’s all-time triple double record. He didn’t get one tonight but he had some big numbers in the Cavs win over Golden State. 31 points, 12 assists, 2 rebounds, and 2 blocks. I am scared to watch the next five years with him around. Whoever wants a title better get one this year.
BIG EAST & THE NBA (11/16/2009)
November 17, 2009 by nbesports · Leave a Comment
by DOUG FERGUSON
By the smile on the face of Allen Iverson to the right, one would never believe it was taken a little over 2 months ago. Iverson and the Memphis Grizzlies cut ties on Monday just 2 months and 6 days after he inked his contract and he will be placed on waivers Tuesday. This leaves us to wonder whether we have seen the last of one of the most exhilarating players of this generation. I went through The Association team by team and I couldn’t think of one reasonable fit for The Answer. He has been labeled toxic by young rebuilding teams looking to bring in a veteran to mentor their youngsters and obviously starting is a prerequisite so he won’t be inking with any playoff contenders. It is clearly a grim time for one of the greatest players in Big East history.
Maybe not, however, as the New York Daily News reports that the Knicks Will Meet With Iverson.
BIG EAST & THE NBA (11/14/2009)
November 15, 2009 by nbesports · Leave a Comment
by DOUG FERGUSON
Today was great. By far the most exciting night in The Association this year. It is official boys and girls, the season is in full swing.
We had game winning buzzer beaters by superstars and dare I say a ROY turning into an MVP before our eyes?
The Big East had the kind of night which makes them not only the best at winning in college but head of the class at turning out pros.
No fewer than 14 players from current Big East schools topped the double figure mark on Saturday. That is a clip of 1.4 per game. Ray Allen (24), Dwyane Wade (22), Rudy Gay (19), Caron Butler (16), Ryan Gomes (15), Quentin Richardson (13), Wes Matthews (13), Roy Hibbert (11), and Jonny Flynn (10) all broke double figures, a great showcase of the depth of the conference with its premier scorer off for the night. Stay tuned for 3 stars to see the best of them as well. When they weren’t lighting up the scoreboard they were doing it defensively (Sam Dalembert 5 blocks) or hitting 3/4 court shots at the end of quarters (Terrence Williams). It is funny that it was Williams last year who corrected me last year when I told him I was at the Lebron James Skills Academy to cover the Big East by saying “no its not the Big East, its the BEAST”.
BIG EAST & THE NBA (11/13/2009)
November 14, 2009 by nbesports · Leave a Comment
by DOUG FERGUSON
Oh yes, the two creepiest nights of the year all within 2 weeks. And some creepy play by what many think will be the last 2 teams playing this year….and oh yes, we will get to this later. Some teams we thought were bad might actually be good and Skip to My Lou clocks a triple double. Also Villanova alum Dante Cunningham saw his first NBA minute for Portland this year. He did not record a stat in that minute but congratulations to Dante in becoming an official NBA pro.
BIG EAST & THE NBA (11/10/2009)
by DOUG FERGUSON
Well apparently the NBA owners abandoned replacement referees only to hire random Wal-Mart cart collectors but we will get into that later. We found out that Carmelo could be guarded (kind of) and we found out that Jeff Green might be the world’s best fantasy player. We also found out that Zach Randolph can do something accidentally with his elbow that he couldn’t do on purpose with his fist when he broke Hasheem Thabeet’s jaw. Just another wacky night in THE ASSOCIATION!
NBA & THE BIG EAST (11/7 – 11/8)
November 10, 2009 by nbesports · Leave a Comment
by DOUG FERGUSON
My apologies to everyone for not showing my face for a couple days. I know you guys missed me dearly. I know I am a great source of diversion from screaming kids and nagging wives (and sometimes husbands) which is why I try to report to you every day.
The men are starting to be separated from the boys in The Association as well. The basketball equivalent to a nagging wife looks to be starting divorce proceedings in Memphis as Allen Iverson has taken a “personal leave” from the Grizzlies. Chad Ford has written on espn.com speculating that Iverson’s days in Memphis are numbered in what has turned out be the ultimate of failed experiments.
Also, I hope everyone enjoys that we have entered the 19th century and added illustration to our site for added pleasure. Other than that, we have a lot of stuff to get to so lets get it poppin.
BIG EAST & THE NBA (11/6/2009)
November 7, 2009 by nbesports · Leave a Comment
The day started with two undefeated teams and ended with the big goose egg. The ‘72 Dolphins are popping champagne as we speak. Oops, wrong sport. Its getting to that time of the season where we realize that even the best teams aren’t going to win every night. Both undefeateds lost to teams that were above average and one of them lost at home where they are usually pretty unstoppable. This makes it as evident as ever that the NBA is the absolute toughest league to succeed gambling. I’m not just saying that because I’m doing bad so far this season either. When people talk about the NFL and its parity is practically gut-busting. Of course the odds of succeeding in the betting world are statistically with the house in every sport but if I had to guess the percentages would be significantly lower in ‘The Association’.
BIG EAST & THE NBA (11/5/2009)
November 6, 2009 by nbesports · Leave a Comment
With the 2 game schedule on Thursday, we’re going to cover 2 days in one. Hope everyone didn’t miss me too much yesterday. Don’t worry, I’m not the dad who left to go to the market and never came back. I’m here for the long haul. Just hoping my picks work out so I can validate myself and laugh at those who didn’t pick with me. Without further ado, here’s your two-day wrapup.
Games of the Day
We are going with the TNT doubleheader tonight.
Chicago Bulls 86 Cleveland Cavaliers 85
Poor Lebron James! He gets no call on his drive to the basket on the game’s final play. Well it turns out its a lot easier to get rejected by the defensive ace of a two-time national champion then it is to get dunked on by a reserve guard from a mid-major program. It was more about premature maturation by Taj Gibson, premature return to glory for Luol Deng, and premature superstardom from Derrick Rose. Whatever the reasons may be, the Bulls are the early frontrunners in the Central Division and people like myself who predicted big things from the Cavs are left shaking our heads.
San Antonio Spurs 99 Utah Jazz 113
Marquette’s own Wes Matthews had a little coming out party on national TV as the Jazz continued their good fortune against the leagues most recent dynasty. Matthews scored a career best 12 points in 25 minutes off the bench in Utah’s 14 point victory over the Spurs. Carlos Boozer and Deron Williams looked more like what fans are used to as they led all scorers with 27 a piece. DeJuan Blair had 14 points and 9 rebounds in the Spurs’ loss.
3 Stars from the Big East
1st Star- Dwyane Wade (Miami Heat/Marquette)
Big 40 point night on Wednesday in a much needed win for Miami to get on track. Exactly the game an elite player is supposed to bring on the road when his team is slumping.
2nd Star- Rudy Gay (Memphis Grizzlies/Connecticut)
Mr. Gay put in a season high 29 points to go with 8 boards despite a loss to the Warriors on Wednesday.
3rd Star- Allen Iverson (Memphis Grizzlies/Georgetown)
He got his wish playing 28 minutes off the bench on Wednesday and didn’t disappoint with 18 points and 7 assists in the Grizzlies 8 point loss to Golden State
NBA PLAYER OF THE NIGHTS- DERON WILLIAMS (UTAH JAZZ)
If this game was a little closer, Williams would have flirted with a triple double as he posted 27 points, 9 assists, and 7 rebounds as Utah finally looked a little more “Jazzy” in beating the Spurs. They will need Williams to play more like the second best point guard in the league if the Jazz are going to contend for a playoff spot.
FRIDAY PICKS!!!!!!
Record- 19-9 straight up; 11-14 against the spread
Had a couple of games where I won but didn’t cover. Oh well, life goes on. I would like to let everyone know that I picked the Bulls to cover +12 but lose to the Cavs and the Spurs to cover the meager 1 point spread against the so far pathetic Utah Jazz. I am a fair play type of guy so they won’t reflect on my record. But I just want to let everyone know that is what I had in mind for this night.
Headliner
San Antonio Spurs 88 vs. Portland Trail Blazers (-3) 95
The Spurs have shown a that they are too old to play back to back on the road. These are going to be the games the Spurs lose this season.
Random Machine X3
Denver Nuggets (-1.5) 112 vs. Miami Heat 101
I don’t see anyone on Miami who slows down Carmelo Anthony on his scoring warpath. Michael Beasley? Udonis Haslem? Quentin Richardson? I think not.
Milwaukee Bucks 84 vs. Minnesota Timberwolves (-2) 91
A battle of the two best rookie performers of the early season. Jonny Flynn and Brandon Jennings just happen to be matched up position-wise as well. Jennings wins the personal battle but Milwaukee gets killed down low. One more game for Milwaukee until their arena is graced with my presence next Wednesday against the Nuggets.
Washington Wizards (-1.5) 96 vs. Indiana Pacers 84
The Wizards are simply the better team here. The Pacers played well on Wednesday but the Wizard backcourt is doing it big with Agent 0 back..
I had such fun combining 2 nights into one. The coolest part was that no team played twice so it was kind of like one big 48 hour day.. The Cavs and Jazz amongst others have some serious issues to deal with. The excuse of its a long season only works for so long. If some of these teams continue their poor play the season will be a lot shorter then they expect. I’ll see everyone tomorrow when we will be back to our normal review per day schedule. Seeing as I hate Ernie Banks, the phrase “lets play 2″ isn’t one of my go to lines anyways. See everyone on the flip side.
Charles Barkley Quote of the Day
After Peja Stojackovic won the 3-point contest: “Kenny said it was going to be an all-international night. I want to know which international brother is going to win the slam dunk contest.”
BIG EAST & THE NBA (11/3/2009)
November 4, 2009 by nbesports · Leave a Comment
by DOUG FERGUSON
Sometimes we take for granted the NBA’s slogan. The truth is very apparent that “IT’S FANTASTIC”. Very cliche, yes. Sometimes talk for the simpletons does the best justice to what we’re watching. Kobe found himself trying to impersonate Michael once again as he played through the flu in an OT win over the Thunder, Steve Nash continued to give us deja vu, and Troy Murphy and Dwight Howard both went down with shoulder injuries. Howard came back, Murphy did not and is day to day. Its probably the difference between one being built like the Ultimate Warrior and the other having a body like Hacksaw Jim Duggan. Just a few of many storylines tonight in the Association.
