Nets Defeat Spurs for First Time Since 2010

newsday.com

By Nick Ziegler (@Ziggy26x)

February 6th, 2014

San Antonio Spurs vs. Brooklyn Nets Post Game Recap

Final Score: Spurs 89 Nets 103

For the first time since 2010, the Brooklyn Nets were able to defeat the San Antonio Spurs, as they took advantage of the banged up Spurs, earning themselves a nice victory at home. The win moves the Nets to (22-25) on the season, which puts them three games back of the Toronto Raptors in the Atlantic Division.

Player of the Game: Alan Anderson

One of the most unlikely people on the Nets to be the player of the game has to be Alan Anderson, but on Thursday night in a game the Nets needed to get against a Spurs team that was without so many of their rotation players, Anderson stepped up. Coming off the bench, Anderson played 30 minutes, while scoring a game-high 22 points on nine for 15 shooting. He really left his mark on the game in between the third and fourth quarters, as he scored 11 straight points for Brooklyn, which helped them secure the win.

W2W4: San Antonio Spurs vs Brooklyn Nets 2-6

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By Nick Ziegler (@Ziggy26x)

February 6th, 2014

W2W4: San Antonio Spurs vs. Brooklyn Nets

The Brooklyn Nets will be hosting the San Antonio Spurs on Thursday night, as Brooklyn looks to keep the momentum from a win against the Philadelphia 76ers. The Nets will be entering Thursday’s game with a (21-25) record, and are 3.5 games behind the Toronto Raptors in the Atlantic Division.

- Getting Healthy

In the win against the 76ers on Monday the Nets were without three of their normal rotation players, but on Thursday they should be back to full strength. Joe Johnson, Andray Blatche, and Andrei Kirilenko are all expected to be playing, which will be a big boost, as in the win on Monday their bench unit really struggled with the lack of depth. 

Knicks Upset Spurs Behind Shumpert's Career Night

By Kenneth Teape (@teapester725)

Thursday, January 2, 2014

New York Knicks vs. San Antonio Spurs

Post Game Recap

The Knicks were able to pull off the upset and get their best win of the season in San Antonio, defeating the Spurs 105-101. The victory gave the Knicks their second consecutive game in San Antonio and the first against the Western Conference this season. It was an entertaining game that any fan of basketball would have enjoyed taking in, especially if you are a Knicks fan. The Knicks showed comradery and came together when they needed it most tonight, finally looking like a team that wants to get back into the playoff picture legitimately in the Eastern Conference, not just because of how bad it is this season. It was a career night for two players and an outstanding game played by both teams. The Knicks took everything the Spurs gave them and responded as well as they could. This is the kind of win that could jump start a team and gets them going in the right direction. A new year looks to have brought about a new Knicks team eve if it is just only one game.

Player of the Game: Iman Shumpert

AP Photo

Shumpert had a career night offensively in a game the Knicks needed it most. He put in 27 points on 10-13 shooting from the field (6-8 3pt, 1-1 FT). Shumpert scored 10 points in the first quarter alone as he came out with confidence and aggressiveness that he has seemed to lack in the recent weeks. He provided in other areas as well, as he recorded six rebounds, one assist and three steals. Shumpert had his biggest rebound with about 24 seconds remaining as he tipped in a missed Anthony jump shot to give the Knicks a two point lead. The three steals do not do justice to just how outstanding Shumpert was tonight on the defensive end. From the get go Shumpert was able to shut and slow down Tony Parker. Parker scored only 12 points and added seven assists. He was unable to get comfortable and dictate the game on the offensive end as basketball fans have come accustomed to seeing from Parker, who is deadly in the pick-and-roll. Tonight Shumpert was able to hold him to 5-13 shooting as he put together an outstanding game on both ends of the court.

-Positives

W2W4: New York Knicks vs. San Antonio Spurs; January 2nd, 2014

By Kenneth Teape (@teapester725)

Thursday, January 2, 2014

New York Knicks vs. San Antonio Spurs

Pre-Game News and Notes

The Knicks will embark on the dreaded Texas Triangle road trip starting Thursday in San Antonio. For a team struggling as much as the Knicks a road trip of this difficulty could spell disaster. It will be a tall task for the Knicks to pull the victory out tonight, but here are a few things to keep an eye on for the game tonight that will point them in the right direction.

-Player News and Notes

Mark Bonifacio/New York Daily News

The Knicks will get a big boost Thursday as Carmelo Anthony is expected to be back in the lineup. The Knicks have looked like a complete mess offensively over the last three games with Anthony sidelined. The Knicks have obviously struggled throughout the season even with Anthony in the lineup, evident by their 9-21 record, but having Anthony helps them out.

Some other injury news for the Knicks is that Raymond Felton and Pablo Prigioni will continue to be sidelined. Neither player made the trip to San Antonio nor both are expected to be out the whole road trip. Metta World Peace is dealing with a knee injury and his timetable to return is unknown at this time.

The Spurs on the other hand look to be heading into the game with a full complement of players. With them playing their last game New Year’s Eve there should be no shenanigans pulled by Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich, who has notoriously gave players rest when he feels necessary.

-Lineup Changes

NBA Taking Its Show on the Road Next Season

By Kenneth Teape (@teapester725) 

The NBA has been attempting to build their product around the world by playing some exhibition games around the globe in recent seasons. This past season the New York Knicks and Detroit Pistons played in London in front of a sold-out frenzy crowd. The NBA has a lot of events in China as well with the help of Yao Ming to help gain exposure there as well.

The NBA will continue having teams play abroad and will be adding another location for the 2013-2014. The Atlanta Hawks and Brooklyn Nets will play a regular-season game at the O2 Arena in London January 16^th as part of the NBA Global Games London 2014.

End of Season NBA Power Rankings

Derek E. Hingle/USA Today

By Kenneth Teape (@teapester725)

With the NBA season officially coming to end Thursday night with the Miami Heat defeating the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA Finals here are the final power rankings for the season.

1.) Miami Heat (66-16) – NBA Champions for the second consecutive season lands the Heat in the top spot. Was Game 7 the last time we will see the Big 3 of Lebron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh? But as long as Lebron James is on the team they will be title contenders.

2.) San Antonio Spurs (58-24) – They gave the Heat all they could handle in seven games but ultimately came up short. Danny Green and Kawhi Leonard put themselves on the NBA map and look poised to take over even more next season. Manu Ginobili’s struggles bring up the question of retirement for him as well.

3.) Indiana Pacers (49-32) – A surprising season in Indiana ended with a tough loss to the Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals. Paul George has emerged as a legitimate star taking over for the injured Danny Granger. Finding a way to get David West back into the fold and improving the bench will improve the Pacers’ chance of besting the Heat next season.

4.) Memphis Grizzlies (56-26) – A surprising sweep at the hands of the Spurs in the Western Conference Finals does not diminish a franchise best season in Memphis. How different will they look next season though in a full campaign without Rudy Gay and with a new head coach as Lionel Hollins was not retained?

5.) New York Knicks (54-28) – Some people are disappointed with a second round exit at the hands of the Pacers but it was yet another season of improvement for the Knicks. Bringing in another point guard and infusing some youth is a must for the Knicks to improve next season. Carmelo Anthony finally taking that next step wouldn’t hurt either.

Week in Review with Kenny and Nick: June 2nd, 2013

This week on the Week in Review with Kenny (@teapester725) and Nick (@ziggy26x) on the Bob Sullivan Show (@BobSullivanShow) everyone's favorite radio hosts talks a little about the NBA Draft Lottery and a little preview of some players to keep an eye on and the early direction some teams are leaning on which players to take.  After they will get into the Eastern Conference Finals and break down everything you need to know heading into the winner takes all Game 7 between the Miami Heat and Indiana Pacers for the right to take on the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA Finals.  Finally they talk about the week in baseball, including the hottest and coldest teams and Nick will use his powers to call out teams to start playing better or tell them to slow it down a bit.

Follow the link below to listen in to the whole show!

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/the-bob-sullivan-show/2013/06/02/week-in-review-with-kenny-and-nick

NBA Power Rankings: Week 23

Getty Imgaes

The NBA did not have to wait long for a team to get on another tear after the Nuggets and Heat both lost their winning streaks in the same week as the Knicks have picked up the slack and moved up the rankings yet again with an NBA high 12 game winning streak.  The Eastern Conference playoffs are set as to who will be in, but the Western Conference is a totally different story.  There are still spots up for grabs, as the race for the eighth seed in the Western Conference looks like it will come down to the last days of the season and seeding is still being worked out as well.  Were coming down the stretch run of the NBA season and it will be exciting to watch.

1.) Miami Heat (60-16) – Miami is sitting pretty right now; they are still dominating teams while their stars get healthy.  While the Knicks and Pacers still battle for second in the East and the West big dogs struggle with injuries, the Heat are gearing up and resting their players for another championship run.

2.) San Antonio Spurs (57-20) – It will be worthwhile to watch if Gregg Popovich can make some magic again in San Antonio.  The Spurs will need it with Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker ailing recently.  Tim Duncan cannot carry the team at his advanced age like it is 2003 can he?

3.) New York Knicks (50-26) – The longest current winning streak in the NBA resides at Madison Square Garden as the Knicks went into Oklahoma City Sunday afternoon and handled business.  Things could not be going better for the Knicks, who watch Carmelo Anthony put on a historic performance this past week and Mike Woodson has led the Knicks to the fourth most wins in the NBA since he took over as head coach, trailing only the Heat, Spurs and Thunder.

4.) Oklahoma City Thunder (56-21) – Things cannot be lining up any better for the Thunder currently heading into the end of the season, as the Spurs, Nuggets and Grizzlies all deal with injuries and the Clippers just cannot seem to get everything clicking.  The Thunder have everyone healthy, but could the loss Sunday to the Knicks be a precursor of them not clicking as well as they need to be?

5.) Denver Nuggets (53-24) – The Nuggets were going to struggle to make too much noise in the playoffs without home court but the injuries are mounting against them making it an either harder mountain to climb.  Losing Danilo Gallinari for the season and Ty Lawson hobbled it will be tough for them to go anywhere, even with home court.

NBA Power Rankings: Week 22

Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images

The Heat and Nuggets both had their long win streaks snapped last week, opening up the door for another team to take over the NBA lead for wins in a row.  That team is also making their reappearance in the top five this week for the first time in a while.  Things are starting to shape up in the rankings and playoff picture as there is really only one spot still up for grabs; eighth place in the Western Conference.

1.) Miami Heat (58-15) – Chicago ended their 27-game winning streak last week, but the Heat were not down long as they destroyed the Hornets and then beat the Spurs without Lebron James and Dwayne Wade thanks to a Chris Bosh game winning three-pointer.  Erik Spoelstra is sitting pretty right now knowing he can pick and choose some places to rest his players if they have enough sans-James and Wade to still beat the Spurs.

2.) San Antonio Spurs (55-18) – After being relatively scathe free of injury prior to Tony Parker going down, the injury bug has come back to the Spurs, this time on Manu Ginobili.  Gregg Popovich thinks Ginobili could be out for weeks, which would be a real damper on the Spurs playoff hopes.

3.) Oklahoma City Thunder (54-20) – The Thunder have a golden opportunity to steal the top seed and home court advantage throughout the Western Conference playoffs from the Spurs with the Ginobili news.  It will be another thing to get them up after a loss to the Timberwolves this past week.

4.) Denver Nuggets (50-24) – The Ty Lawson injury is a big blow to the Nuggets, as like any team without their starting point guard just isn’t the same.  Denver will be dangerous in the playoffs if they are able to hold onto home court advantage and will be heavy favorites to move on as long as they do.

5.) New York Knicks (46-26) – Currently riding the longest win streak in the NBA at eight games, the Knicks are rolling again, looking like they did earlier in the season when they started 18-5.  Pablo Prigioni and J.R. Smith have been the catalysts in the Knicks resurgence, as the 35-year old rookie is combining to help Smith play the best basketball of his career.

NBA Power Rankings: Week 21

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We are all currently witnessing NBA history as the Miami Heat and Denver Nuggets are both sporting winning streak of at least 15 games.  That will be something to keep an eye on as the Heat look to take over the longest winning streak in NBA history and the Nuggets try and move up the Western Conference and get home court in the playoffs.  The New York basketball scene is starting to heat up as well as the Knicks and Nets are playing for the Atlantic Division title. 

1.) Miami Heat (55-14) – 26 wins in a row. That is all you need to know.  Sure a large amount of them are against lottery teams but the Heat doesn’t make the schedule.  They are handling business and if they beat the Magic, Bulls and Hornets they will have a matchup with the Spurs for win number 30 on Easter Sunday.

2.) San Antonio Spurs (53-17) – The Spurs continue to roll along and will be getting a boost with the return of Tony Parker; not that they missed him too much as they went 6-2 without their leading scorer and assist man. 

3.) Denver Nuggets (49-22) – The Nuggets are on an impressive winning streak of their own, winning their last 15 games in a row and six in a row on the road.  Their winning streak is not getting as much attention as the Heat but is something worth keeping an eye on.

4.) Oklahoma City Thunder (52-19) – A soft spot in the schedule could not have come at a better time for the Thunder who lost to the Nuggets and Grizzlies before bouncing back against the Magic and Blazers.  A couple easier games against the Wizards, Timberwolves and Bucks will lead into a game against the Spurs.  That game against the Spurs very easily could be for the Western Conference title.

5.) Memphis Grizzlies (47-22) – Losing Marc Gasol to an abdominal injury could not have happened at a worse time.  They should let him rest for the regular season so that he is healthy come playoff time.  The Grizzlies will also need a little help to avoid going to Denver in the first round of the playoffs.