Big NBA News Featuring Amare Stoudemire (Knicks Eying Thabeet)

Hello friends! Welcome to another edition of Big Sports News. Today, I will be going into the NBA section of the Big Sports News series. This is my first NBA section of Big Sports News so I might not have everything you are looking for but I got my best, especially to those two sneaky ones at the title. So grab a bag of chips, actually don't (get fit!), and read away!

Rafer Alston According to the Orlando Sentinel, Rafer Alston (who has subbed in for Jameer Nelson since February) that he wants to stay with the Magic, who are leading 3-2 in the Eastern Conference Finals against the Cleveland Cavaliers. Alston was traded from the Rockets and has been a big help off the trade. But Alston does know he will be backing up Nelson next year, and might be making $5.5M if he  gets re-signed. All the luck to Alston and his Magic, who look to make the NBA Finals.

Amare Stoudemire

Stoudemire has been crazy right now, well, that's what I think. On ESPN New York Radio, he has confirmed he wants to play for Mike D'Antoni in 2010 and says he is better than number four: Chris Bosh.

Here is New York and Washington Post's take on this:

"When asked Stoudemire if he's better than Bosh, the Suns forward said, "Oooh man, are you kidding me? Ask Chris Bosh that question."

So that's a yes?

"No doubt about it, I'm better than Chris Bosh"

"How serious will you consider the New York Knicks in 2010"?

"I will be totally serious about that, I spent a lot of my childhood there, I have a connection with the state, and I also love the entire coaching staff.

" I think Coach D'Antoni's doing a phenomenal job with the Knicks, NY's a great city, I follow them closely."

"Um, I love D.C., quote, end quote," Stoudemire said, eliciting oohs and ahhs and a follow-up question about how he sounded interested by this prospect. His answer?

"I love D.C, quote, end quote," he repeated.

"I'm going into my eighth year in the NBA, and it's time for a

championship," he said moments later. Joking aside, he was asked how far away the Wiz were from contending for one of them trophy things. "You might just be a No. 1 jersey away," he said." Hhmm.

Jannero Pargo

Pargo, a free agent, has confirmed that he and his agent are talking to the Hornets  about Pargo making a possible return to them.

Here are some quotes from The Times Picayune:

"Jeff (Bower, Hornets general manager) and I spoke (Tuesday) about a bunch of things and Jannero was something we discussed and we'll take it a step at a time and see where it goes," Mark Bartelstein said. "There's nothing new to talk about now, but we'll

look at it and see what happens. "I think you could say there's mutual interest. That's fair to say." "I think there's a lot of people interested," Bartelstein said. "He's healthy now;

had the surgery about 10 days ago. He feels great and is now 100 percent healthy. We're just going to take a deep breath and digest everything and figure out what's best.

"Olympiacos has also expressed interest that they'd want him back. We've talked about that. There are a lot of things for him to consider."

Indiana Pacers

The Indiana Pacers have been very interested in point guards for the NBA Draft, as Indy holds the 13th pick, a pretty good spot to stand at.

Right now, the word is coming that the Pacers are interested in these five prospects: Ty Lawson, Wayne Ellington, Eric Maynor, Stephen Curry, and recently, Tyreke Evans.

Indiana has said they are interested in Evans the most. But after looking deep into the Indy Star, they have dug up some stuff from Maynor and Lawson, who may be the real guys for Indy.

"They talked to my agent and they said they need a point guard to come in," Lawson said. "They've got T.J. Ford and Jarrett Jack, but I don't know if they're happy with them. They said they need one to come in."

"I've already got a workout set up with Indiana," Maynor said. "They are looking at taking a point guard. I haven't really had much contact with them, but my agent talked to them."

Stephen Curry

The Oklahoma City Thunder has announced that they are very interested in Davidson point guard, Stephen Curry, the New York Post says.

The Thunder, who hold the third pick in the Draft, are eying three players now for the 2009 NBA Draft: Hasheem Thabeet, Ricky Rubio, and, of course, our very own Stephen Curry, of who we just mentioned right now in this little tidbit.

"Like they had season tickets," Curry said.

Like they do.

Steve Blake

According to The Oregonian, Blazers guard Steve Blake will undergo arthroscopic shoulder surgery on Friday.

He is expected to come back and practice with Portland in between six to eight weeks.

That'll be before training camp, of course.

Let's see how he does.

Hasheem Thabeet

Well, this is the moment you guys have literally have been waiting for. You have passed over 860 words just to get here. What an accomplishment for you, good job (not). Thabeet, to me, has made the biggest news flash here on Big Sports News.

The Knicks have said they are the most interested in big man, Hasheem Thabeet, from UConn. The Knicks, although they do have Eddy Curry, they need a guy who won't get injured and only play three games like Curry did last year, but only due to injury.

People have also been saying that they might trade Curry or someone else for a higher draft pick to steal Thabeet. The Knicks are also scared that he might fall to Memphis or Oklahoma City. Maybe even L.A. at number one!

With Al Harrington and Eddy Curry, Thabeet be a guy to help them out, and quick.

Thank you for reading Big Sports News! Will the Pacers draft Eric Maynor? Who will get Stephen Curry? Will the Knicks get a shot for Thabeet? Find out and it may be in the next edition of Big Sports News: NBA edition!

 NBA Talk: King No More, Missed Three Saves Orlando, 116-114

It was 116-114. The Cavs were going to go to LeBron and they did. It was going to be deja vu like Game Two, but guess what happened? He missed. He missed! He actually missed. King James, King, MVP, LeBron, Number 23, etc. no more!

Orlando had a "magical" night on Game Four.

Dwight Howard took an important part in the game, especially when he scored ten points in overtime. He had 27 total. Rafer Alston scored 26 points, and was solid all game long.

"You can almost taste it," Alston told ESPN. "We've got to win one more game and it's not going to be easy." Yeah I know, not.

The Magic could have swept the Cavs if they tried. They just gave away Game Two to make the Cavs look special, kind of like what the Colts are in the pre-season of the NFL season. After facing a tough time against the un-Garnett Celtics, they looked like they were facing a tougher team like the Cavaliers.

They didn't. The Magic now have a chance at closing out the series on Thursday as they look to win the series, 4-1, by the Cleveland only winning one game by a "lucky" shot. Here is what Poe said from OTRBasketball.com said if the Magic took a 3-1 lead in the playoffs from Monday:

"The Cavs will need to come out with a sense of urgency this game. I'm thinking it could be the deciding one for who goes to the next round. If the Cavs win, they reclaim home-court advantage. If the Magic win, then the Cavs will be down a convincing 3-1 with the one being a 'lucky' game winner."

—Poe from OTRBasketball.com

It's okay Mo. John Rauox/AP

Yeah, sure LeBron had 44 points, but who cares. LeBron James is the Cavaliers if you think about it! He leads the team in every category, I swear! Mo Williams and LeBron just make up Cleveland.

So the King can't be Superman's kryptonite.

"We just have to keep fighting," Howard said. "We have an excellent opportunity in front of us. We can't think that anything's going to be easy. As a team, we believe that anytime we step on the floor and play our brand of basketball we can win."

Of course you can, and that is why you take a 3-1 lead in the playoffs.

The Magic brought it on the defense of Cleveland, pulling out 17 shots from downtown. 17 three-pointers, there were also 17 points from Rashard Lewis and Mikael Pietrus, who has been outstanding.

Now what will happen next. Will Cleveland bounce back and avoid losing the Eastern Conference Finals? Will Mo Williams not guarantee a win so he doesn't have to get people pissed off at him and doesn't have to be the Joe Namath of basketball (remember Super Bowl Three?)?

But don't worry about that until Thursday.

Coming up next on NBA Talk: The Nugs and Lakers. Will the Nuggets prove they can actually beat the Lakers and prove they are the best of the West (or maybe the best of the rest)? We'll find out tonight.

Stay tuned, for another episode of....NBA Talk!
Cavs-Magic Recap (Courtesy of NBA.com)

 Magic-Cavs: Why The Magic Will Win This Series

It's one tough series. Just ask Delonte West. Cleveland.com

The Magic and Cavaliers series is going nasty, but great. The Magic are currently leading 2-1, but they should have be leading 3-0.

I say Magic all the way. Why? Here are some of the strengths of the Magic and some points that will help them to victory.

Supporting Cast

This is the biggest part of the whole series. It is mainly Dwight Howard vs. LeBron James, but which one of these superstars has a better supporting cast? No doubt, it is Superman. Why?

Consider

According to ESPN.com, LeBron James is the leader in each category. He leads the team in points, rebounds, assists, and blocks. LBJ's only trusted companion is Mo Williams, who averages close to 18 points per game.

Now to Dwight Howard.

Consider

Howard only leads in points, rebounds, and blocks. But it isn't all Howard with the Magic like it King James with the Cavs.

Hedo Turkoglu leads in assists. Besides Howard, six players on the team average close to or more than 10 points per game. Now compare that to Cleveland; four.

The supporting cast plays a big part. The Magic also have a lot of consistent shooters while Cleveland fail, as I and many of you have seen in the playoffs.

Offense

The Magic are probably better in this category, as I have observed with ESPN. The Magic average 101 points per game compared to Cleveland's 100.3. Just a small difference, but a huge effect. The Magic average 10 rebounds per game compared to Cleveland's close to 11 per game.

Cleveland won that one, but again, it's pretty much all LeBron and he can't always get it. Then there is Cleveland's 20 assists per game compared to Orlando's 19.4. You might think Cleveland is better on offense, but again, it's all LBJ.

LBJ, Mo, and Wally Szczerbiak are probably the only consistent three-point shooters. The Magic probably have about four-to-six I have seen throughout the NBA season. The Magic are also more consistent with their shooting.

In the playoffs, when one of the Magic players are wide open from behind-the-arc, they will make it. Cleveland can't.

For Example

In Game One of the Eastern Conference Finals, Rashard Lewis hit a three with 14.7 seconds left that made it look like an easy win. Then with the game almost over, LeBron passed it to Mo and he passed it to a wide-open Delonte West. He missed it.

Get it now?

Defense

The Magic can win on defense as well. The Magic beat Cleveland on defensive rebounds. Cleveland has 31.4 defensive rebounds per game compared to Orlando's 33.3.

Cleveland beat Orlando on steals by a ratio of 7.20 to 6.95. The Magic barely beat Cleveland in blocks with Orlando averaging 5.35 to Cleveland's 5.30.

So you can see, the Magic beat Cleveland in two out of three categories mentioned, the same number of games the Magic have won against Cleveland in the Eastern Conference Finals so far.

Miscellaneous

I already mentioned some but there are still three categories left. The Magic make more mistakes, with 13 turnovers per game compared to Cleveland's 12.

Cleveland and Orlando are both tied for personal fouls called with 20.3 per game.

Then there is an important one; technical fouls.

Magic make 0.9 per game compared with Cleveland's 0.8. So Cleveland wins this category out of how many have I mentioned? Five. Cleveland is one-out-of-four in the categories, which proves my point. The Magic are good all-round.

The biggest factor is the supporting cast. The superstars can't do everything, and that is why Cleveland got swept by San Antonio two years ago. They could be swept again this year.

The Magic don't look like underdogs in this series, Cleveland does. The Magic have been taking over all-round.

Cleveland just got luck in Game Two. The Magic always had a lead at the end. Remember in Game One when the Cavaliers were taking a 15-point lead at the half and failed at the end? That is exactly what I am talking about; inconsistency.

I stand my case and that is why the Magic will win.

 NBA Talk: Magic Don't Care About Buzzer-Beater! Fly Over Cavs, 99-89

                                   "It's all good!" Phelan M. Ebenhack/AP

Remember in the first game, Rashard Lewis saved day? It was so underrated toward LeBron's game-winner. Why? Because it's LeBron! But hey, guess what the Magic did today? They beat LeBron and the Cavs, 99-89, to lead the series, 2-1.

So really, there probably is no point of having that LeBron shot made because of the looks of it, the Magic are the contenders for the Finals.

But guess what?

The Cavs could have won this one, easily! The fouls messed them up. For example: Dwight Howard, 24 points—14 on free throws. Rashard Lewis had 18 points in the ten-point victory.

Dwight Howard was a monster as he lead the Magic in points with 24. Reinhold Matay/AP

This was a real nasty game from start to finish. Thanks to ESPN, this is what they observed: 86 free throws attempted, 58 personal fouls called, two technicals, and a flagrant.

Pretty clean, huh? No! Probably the refs finally had an exercise, too. It must have been a long day for them.

In the first half, Mo Williams got elbowed in the eye by Magic's, Anthony Johnson. His left eye was split open! Uggh!! Talk about nasty, man. James said it was a cheap shot while Mo had to get four stitches.

James did score 41 points, but unfortunately, he was eleven-of-28 from shooting. What also hurt him, and the Cavs, was that he missed five important free throws in the last quarter of regulation. Also, James' supporting cast didn't really "support" him either. Mo, West, and Ilgauskas didn't support him at all as they were all combined for 13-of-37 from shooting.

Man! Talk about some "good" supporting. Nah, I'm just fooling around with you.

The Magic and Cavs will face off again on Tuesday night. Will the King strike back at the Superman because of his "Magic" not bowing down to him?

We'll find out.

But coming up next, on NBA Talk: On Monday night, Memorial Day, will both teams honor their veterans. Will no worrying about that, of course they will!

But let's get to the point!

Will 'Melo try to regain his TV Audience for The Carmelo Anthony Show? Or will Kobe Bryant pull up another 40 points to pop bottles, man, that's a lot of champagne then! Or, what about Birdman? Will he be the crazy basketball player he is?

Find out, on the next edition of...NBA Talk!

Cavs-Magic Recap (Courtesy of NBA.com)

May 20, 2009

Bryant gets the credit with his 40 points as the Lakers beat the Nuggets, 105-103. Picture provided by Andrew D. Bernstein/Getty Images and ESPN.com

Kobe Bryant put his best on Carmelo Anthony, especially in the fourth quarter: pulling off a come-from-behind victory. That's how you get it done! Bryant literally was popping bottles, as the song says it, and scored 40 points. What really made a difference were the dramatic six free throws in the final 30 seconds! Wow!

Kobe Bryant usually scores between 25-40 points when you see him. But this time, he was playing with an injury. What a guy! "Once I sensed we didn't have the energy, I had to take it upon myself to lead by example," number 24 told ESPN. "It's just part of my responsibilities to this team." Of course it is.

Bryant's injury wasn't too serious, though: just his right ring-finger. He did dislocate a while back but then he popped it back in. Carmelo Anthony brought up his game, too, as he scored one point behind Bryant: 39. It was 'Melo vs. Kobe all day. Billups brought some help with his eight assists, leading his team with it. He also sliced in 18 points.

Pau Gasol, who was the man of Game Seven in the Rockets vs. Lakers matchup, was a factor in this game, adding 13 points and grabbing 14 boards. Gasol also had two free throws to make the last tie of the game at 99.

"There's no moral victories in playoff basketball," Denver coach George Karl said. "The next 48 hours are going to be difficult." He's right, it will.

So we ended our day. Lakers survived Houston and were done playing around. They really brought it on against the Nuggets. Hopefully, the Nuggets could strike back. If they get the Birdman doing what he does best, Chauncey Billups being the leader, 'Melo racking up some more points, Kenyon Martin being thuggish (Watch out Cuban!), and Nene pulling up some boards, we got a fight in for us.

Now let's see what happens today, as the King meets Superman. 23 vs. 12. Red vs. Blue. MVP vs. Defensive Player of the Year. It's going to be epic. We all just can't wait!

Lakers-Nuggets Recap (Provided by ESPN.com)

May 18, 2009

NBA Talk: Lakers Finish Off Houston While Magic Rumble the Celtics

Lakers rolled, and so did Pau Gasol (Picture from ESPN.com)

The Lakers really handed it to the Rockets. They kept their stride and won by 19 points. With no Ming and McGrady, the Rockets got the Lakers that one time. But that was only that time! This time, the Lakers did not take that B.S. They got Houston back and they won it, taking them badly! For me, I hate the Lakers, so I wanted Houston to win. But hey, I got to hand it to them!

The Lakers brought the pressure to the Rockets. How so? First, you got Pau Gasol just killing the Rockets on both sides of the court. You got Kobe Bryant not taking that many shots, but hey, he fooled the Rockets and made passes to his wide-open teammates to make them sink the easy jumpers.

The Lakers played with emotion, making Pau Gasol have dominating stats with 21 points. But it is not over: an additional 18 rebounds. The Lakers were playing like that one-seeded team they always were. So that is it for the Lakers and the Rockets.

Los Angeles and Denver, oh boy! That is going to be one heck of a game. Carmelo vs. Kobe. This is going to be a fight!

What is the next game we go to? Oh right, the Orlando Magic pummeling the Boston Celtics, 101-82. I am so sorry to Graham Brunell, a very huge Celtics fan and writer and the head writer of Celtics 17. But hey, I got to recap it.

Rashard tries to get a shot up on Kendrick Perkins (Picture from PicApp.com)

So, like everyone called it, it was a "Magic Touch." You get Hedo Turkoglu hitting up shots as he poured on 25 points and spilling in twelve assists.

"I believe we can win a championship. We're not going to stop going after one until we get it. We have the right team. We have the talent. We have the coaches. It's just on us to go out there and play hard. I have a long way to go, but I'm still hungry," Dwight Howard told ESPN.

Howard did not score much in the game, but he did put the boards. He piled up twelve points and slithered in 16 rebounds. So, that Big Baby shot really did not matter, huh? The Magic will advance towards the third round of the playoffs, as they face the hungry Cleveland Cavaliers to advance to the Finals. Who will take the gold?

NBA Talk: Kenyon Martin Responds to Cuban, Calls Him a Coward

Kenyon Martin and Mark Cuban might start a feud, it's Thug vs. Coward. Picture provided by Garden Grasp

First, it was Mark Cuban spazzing out when the Carmelo Anthony call wasn't called while 'Melo hits a game-winning three. Second, Cuban spazzes out even more when he goes up to Kenyon Martin's mom and calls his son a thug and a lot of other Nugget players.

Third, you got Kenyon Martin really mad when some reporters ask him about the Cuban situation. It sounded scary when Martin said, "I'll take care of it." I was like, oh crap, Martin is going to beat the living daylights out of Cuban. Fourth, Martin doesn't, oh man. Then you get Cuban apologizing on his blog! That isn't the right way to do it!

Now we are here, Kenyon Martin now calls Mark Cuban a coward. Thanks to ESPN and Hoops Hype.com, Martin said this quote:

"He's a coward. He couldn't face it. You all read the only apology that he's made [on his blog]. The world got to see it before the person who it was meant for got to see it. That tells you how that goes. I ain't never known nobody apology to somebody through other people."

--Kenyon Martin

But says it was a "mistake" saying an apology on his blog. He meant to say it to Ms. Moore, Martin's mother, in person. Oh really? I don't think so. First, why would you say someone's mom's son is a thug? I mean seriously! That's childish. And also, you just get Kenyon Martin ticked off, and Cuban is all happy as he tries to be all manly when he is not even close to that!

That's just messed up. Then Cuban responds back to the "coward comment" by writing something in his blog post. Another expert:

"I would also like to know if Kenyon is going to take responsibility for his actions rather than hiding behind "no comment." Will he apologize to the wife of our staff member that he called a [expletive] fat pig' immediately after Game 3? Will he apologize to fans that he threatened to, and I'm paraphrasing here, "[expletive] beat the [expletive] down" during Game 4? Or to the fans he walked by after Game 4, [Martin] cursed and gave the finger to? Will he take responsibility for what he said and did? Is there some reason he has not?"

I got to admit, he does kind of have a point there, but Cuban, you made him do it! Well, Martin already got Cuban back again with that 124-110 win to advance in the playoffs, destroying the Mavs, 4-1, in the series.

"Me and my mom ain't going to lose no sleep if we don't talk to Mark Cuban" Martin told ESPN. "We're going to lay our head down and sleep well every night. I'm still playing right now. [Cuban's] got time to think about all that. I got games to win right now. So give [Cuban] time to think about [what he might do]."

Let's see what he might do.

May 16, 2009

NBA's Forgotten Stories: Erick Dampier

By Josh Dhani