:: Intensity, Energy & Passion [9-3] :: :(

[Spotlight]

Amazing presentation! It's always nice to see that type of effort in association story! Also team looks pretty good for long association. Good luck!

[kibaxx7]

[kibaxx7]

[kibaxx7]

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) -- Vince Carter had 24 points, three rebounds, shooting 12-of-14 field goals, and the banged-up Nets won their fourth straight game with a 109-105 victory over the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday night.

After the game Carter said that Jason Richardson has made a big difference since being acquired in a trade with Phoenix last week: "He has shown what we have been missing the last couple of years. He gets in the lane and causes havoc for other teams and he's guarding guys really well, too, slowing down their offense and giving them less time for shots. He has been huge for us.'' Richardson scored 19 points and Kenyon Martin added 22 and 7 rebounds for the Nets.

"It's been difficult, but hopefully we can speed up the process and get everyone on one page quicker,'' Pacers guard T.J. Ford said of the Pacers' struggles. "It is what it is now. But we will get better.'' Ford had 21 points to go with 13 assists.

The Pacers played without injured players Marquis Daniels, Maceo Baston and Travis Diener, but only trailed once in the first half. All three have missed every game this season, but Pacers coach Jim O'Brien downplayed the injuries: "It's an insult to the guys that have uniforms on to worry about guys that don't have uniforms on,'' he said. "Everybody has to step up. You lose games and people don't care who's out. They don't care. We don't worry about that. We just play with what we have.''

Indiana took control in the first quarter with a 34-29 score, that featured ten points by Rasho Nesterovic and eight by Troy Murphy, who finished with 13 and 14 points, respectively. "With players like Marquis being out, I was just trying to definitely be a little more aggressive,'' Pacers guard Brandon Rush admitted. Certainly he was, leading Indiana with 25 points, shooting 10-of-19 shots, including 5-of-8 three pointers. "In the second half I played a few minutes at point guard, driving and kicking. Other guys stepped up and made plays. If you look at the scoring, it came from all over the place.''

The Nets led by one point at halftime, then the game was tied after three quarters and the Nets led again at 94-88 in the half part of the fourth when Richardson hit his only 3-pointer. Indiana went on a 12-8 spurt to draw within 102-100 on a fast-break slam by Danny Granger, who had a double-double with 17 points and 11 rebs. After a timeout, Devin Harris (another double-double with 12 points and 12 assists) set up Jarvis Hayes for a 3-pointer from the right wing, and Martin slammed home a layup off a nice feed from Carter to extend the lead to 106-102 with 1 minute to go. The intentional fouls started to come from Indiana's players and the game was decided.

Notes

• Indiana had five players in double figures and got points from eight players overall;
• The Pacers had 11 offensive rebounds;
• Shooting 5-of-5 field goals, Brook Lopez now leads the NBA in field goal percentage;
• The Nets had 18 fast break points and 76 points in the paint.

phpBB [video]

Video Music: Booka Shade - "Charlotte"

[Robert]

LOL , Durant is averaging 37 pts a game! And nice dynaasty .Man wish I had time to post recaps and allt hat I probaly gonna do mine in the summer .

[Pistol]

Holy shit presentaton is amazing. Can tell you have really put your time into this...looks great. Stil ldont know how the hell you guys do shit like that?

K-Mart is really doing good since you got him. And Lopez with the leading FG%, big ogre.

[Mark.]

Nice win over the pacers there bro

[Kite]

K-Mart is cashing it in!

[kibaxx7]

(1) Checking Out Club .700

Looking at the standings today, we've got seven teams with a .700 record or better. Let's briefly break down how these fast-starting clubs have moved past the velvet ropes of this elite Club. In no particular order, this are the members:

• Los Angeles Lakers (5-2): The best all-around team early in the season -- dominant defensively and offensively even while Kobe Bryant is playing "just" a team brand of basketball. However, the NBA schedule always tests you. They will keep winning, but they're not going 80-2.

• New Jersey Nets (6-1): Vince Carter will be an MVP candidate, and this team has as many offensive weapons as any team in the league. Coach Lawrence Frank is stressing balance on both ends of the floor. Devin Harris will still have chances to push pace when he gets opportunities to run. Most importantly, for the Nets to be an elite team, they need to get recently acquired Jason Richardson and Kenyon Martin to adapt to the new system.

• Orlando Magic (6-2): This team is growing up, and the young players are contributing. Dwight Howard is one of great defenders in the game, and Rashard Lewis is showing himself to be a consistent forward who can score, rebound and play defense. This games Jameer Nelson showed himself as an all-around talent. Off the bench, Mickael Pietrus has made positive contributions.

• Dallas Mavericks (5-2): Jason Kidd is off the charts with a triple-double last game against the Lakers. Jason Terry is finding his stride and Dirk Nowitzki is having an usual season of his. But I still want to see how the backcourt reacts together, with Kidd, Terry and Jason Stackhouse playing at SG. I see Dallas as a top-five team in the West.

• Detroit Pistons (5-2): Rip Hamilton has been playing as a MVP so far, boosted by his huge performances in the last games. His maturation and confidence is very evident by the way he's performing. This is a complete team and a joy to watch.

• Miami Heat (6-2): You can't minimize Shawn Marion's excitement and enthusiasm, and now Dwyane Wade back to his best days. New coach Erik Spoelstra understands they won the NBA Championship with an explosive offense, a quality that puts them head and shoulders equal as the rest, as the best team in the East right now along with New Jersey.

• San Antonio Spurs (5-2): Gregg Popovich's team began the season with a 3-0 record. Playing with an injured Tony Parker, not on a 100%, catched up with them as they lost 2 of the last 3. The Spurs play very well at home -- the toughest home court in the league -- but getting W's on road is vital. If they get some consistent intensity on the road, that will help them finish as the second seed, with the Lakers being the best team in the West right now.

(2) Manu Wins The Confidence Game

Confidence. It's something that never completely deserts a great player, no matter how bad a game he is having. And for Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, confidence was still radiating from Manu Ginobili even after every missed layup, clang off the back of the rim and poor pass during Tuesday's 120-118 comeback road win against the Knicks. Things were just not going Manu's way, and for that matter San Antonio's way either, as New York had the Texas team frustrated and out-of-sync for most of the game -- at one point the Knicks built a 11-point lead.

But even with all that going against him, including a 1-for-9 night through the first half a hour, for 7 points, confidence never left Manu's side: "The average player could not have withstood that in the first half," Popovich said. "The average player misses shots and shuts off. The great players miss a shot and he starts thinking the odds are on his side. That's what makes him a great player." Well, after that type of -- or lack of -- performance through the first three quarters, the odds were definitely in Ginobili's favor, and Pop saw that. So, even with Pierce playing almost 32 minutes through three quarters, the coach gambled and kept him on the floor in the fourth to see if the odds would work out. And let's just say... they did. Manu turned into a beast on the offensive end that the Knicks could not stop, no matter what kind of defense they threw at him.

"You look at the shots Manu made," Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni said. "He drove the basket a couple times, but he was making a lot of 18-, 19-foot shots with guys contesting it." With hands in his face, and even on one drive with center Eddy Curry's arms extended, Manu found a rhythm. He finished the final quarter 9-for-9 from the field, scoring 23 of his 30 points, which propelled the Spurs to the win. "I just took advantage of the opportunities," Ginobili said. "I like to play within the flow of the offense; we ran our stuff, and I got caught in situations where I had opportunities to score." With "M-V-P" chants echoing though the arena when Ginobili was at the free-throw line in the final seconds, it was clear that whatever slump he was in, Manu, Pop and even Tim Duncan knew it wasn't going to last long.

(3) Extreme Behaviour

TUESDAY'S BEST • Manu Ginobili, SAS
As said above (2), he didn't have the best start, but he pulverized New York in the fourth. Spurs won 120-112 at the MSG.

Bonus Tracks • Gerald Wallace, CHA; LeBron James, CLE; Jason Kidd, DAL
Wallace led the Bobcats to a 122-102 win over Denver with 29 points. James flirted with a triple-double with 33 points, 7 rebounds and 7 dimes in the 111-109 triumph against Milwaukee, while Kidd did posted a triple-double with 11, 10 and 17, respectively, in the Mavericks' defeat of the Lakers, 124-112.

TUESDAY'S WORST • Linas Kleiza, DEN
The Nuggets lost against the Bobcats, 102-122. Kleiza only posted 12 points shooting 4-of-14, most layups.

Bonus Tracks • Charlie Villanueva, MIL; Mehmet Okur, UTA; Zydrunas Ilgauskas, CLE
Villanueva saw the Bucks lose 111-109 against the Cavaliers, thanks to a Maurice Williams buzzer-beater, but Charlie only scored 10 points missing really easy shots. Okur took part in the Jazz' 121-97 defeat against Philadelphia, posting 8 points in 32 minutes. Although his team won, Ilgauskas only shot 2-of-10 for 5 points and wasn't the inside force the Cavs needed.

[kibaxx7]

LOL , Durant is averaging 37 pts a game! And nice dynaasty .Man wish I had time to post recaps and allt hat I probaly gonna do mine in the summer .

Now I have less time because I now have a job But every free time I have I use it in the dynasty. Thanks for posting man

:crazyeyes: Holy shit presentaton is amazing. Can tell you have really put your time into this...looks great. Stil ldont know how the hell you guys do shit like that?

K-Mart is really doing good since you got him. And Lopez with the leading FG%, big ogre.

Thanks man, yes K-Mart has been really good since the trade, he's helping Lopez now, the leading FG% player

Nice win over the pacers there bro

Thanks bro, Ford was on fire for the Pacers but then Vince appeared

K-Mart is cashing it in!

He has been great.

Guys I posted the Daily Dime V2, I guess it looks better than before, I added the TV pics with the day's best players and it's now all written, not made in PNG's, I do it quicker. Tell me guys what do you think about the articles.

[Mark.]

Looks good bro, I like it. Adding the TV pics of the days best players is a nice touch

[Kite]

I like the Daily Dime, but maybe if you just change the subtitles to pictures. Like the ones you used to use but you don't put the text in the pic.

[kibaxx7]

Contrary to popular belief, the regular season does matter in the NBA, which is why we should pay close attention to the 6-1 and 6-2 starts by the New Jersey Nets and Miami Heat. Don't say it's only November. Take note because it's November. Last year, the Boston Celtics used November to end all questions about whether Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce could mesh their games -- and if Doc Rivers would be around to coach them. They went 13-2 in November and bought themselves 4½ months of freedom from speculation, their fate a nonissue until playoff time. On the flip side, last November, the Chicago Bulls dissolved from a playoff team into a puddle of worries about contracts and trade. They never did recover. The Nets and the Heat have reputations to refurbish and new identities to establish.

The thing is, the Nets didn't take the 2007-08 regular season seriously enough. They played hard only when they felt like it, which is why they beat the Lakers at the Staples, Cleveland at the Quicken Loans and at home, and even Orlando at the Amway Arena, but also lost to Toronto by 37 points and Memphis at home. They couldn't get into the playoffs with a 34-48 record. This season, with only 7 games played, we can already project them finishing in the upper half of the Eastern Conference. Good teams win on the road. That applied to the Nets, being 3-0 away from the Izod Center this season. Every victory they get playing the way they are right now, will only reinforce the good basketball habits they displayed. Players like Vince Carter, Devin Harris and recently acquired Jason Richardson aren't looking for their own shots, they're looking for the best shot.

Coincidentially, before losing with the Heat against the Nets on Monday, Miami coach Erik Spoelstra had a good take on New Jersey before the game, when he told reporters: "They've been together for a couple of seasons, and they are having some success right now. When you keep your team together like that, and you add a piece like a [Jason] Richardson or a [Kenyon] Martin, and everybody kind of falls in, and then Devin [Harris] improves a little bit and Vince [Carter] does, you start working and you start believing. Confidence plays a big part in this game."

The Heat only allow the opponents to score 99.5 points (average) this season. After losing against the Nets, they clamped down Wednesday night with an energized squad, spurting to a 37-17 lead in the first quarter against the Portland Trail Blazers, using Shawn Marion's energy and Michael Beasley's length to bother them. They held the Blazers to only 83 points (100-83 win). The swing play came on defense, when the Heat led by five in the second quarter and Marion blocked a Rudy Fernandez 3-pointer out-of-bounds with one second remaining on the shot clock. At the other end, Beasley rebounded a Brandon Roy miss and got a layup-and-one to put the Lakers up by seven points.

I can say that the Heat' inefficiency last season was a latent problem. It turns out that it was more a matter of missing personnel than anything else. Now that Marion and Beasley are in the mix and at full strength, the Heat have the right combination of height inside and length and athleticism on the perimeter.

Nets' 4-0 winning streak could end Friday when they play against Atlanta at home. Miami will look for the second win in a row, playing against Washington at home, in the American Airlines Arena. The month of November is, though; it gives you all the evidence you need to see which rookies can play at his level, or which offseason transactions will work. Teams that have won championships recently can afford to hang back and draft at the start of the race. The Nets and the Heat are teams that don't have that luxury. Well, the Heat won one with Shaq, but the giant center isn't at Florida anymore.


Larry Brown's Charlotte Bobcats overcame a 10-point Denver lead to defeat George Karl's Nuggets in a meeting of head coaches who both played collegiate ball at North Carolina. In the 37th regular-season meeting of those coaches, the tide tipped in Brown's favor: He now has 19 wins to Karl's 18 in their regular-season meetings. Karl has won four of the past six meetings; the teams are slated to meet again on Jan. 30 in Denver.

• There have been six 40-point games in the NBA this young season: three by Kevin Durant -- November 2, vs. Minnesota, W 112-101, 43 pts.; November 5, vs. Boston, W 120-97, 41 pts.; November 12, vs. Orlando, L 109-122, 43 pts. -- and other three by the rest of the players in the league combined (LeBron James -- November 7, vs. Indiana, W 116-115, 45 pts. --, Gilbert Arenas -- October 29, vs. New Jersey, L 109-111, 41 pts. -- and Stephen Jackson -- November 7, vs. Memphis, W 139-116, 42 pts.. The last NBA player to reach the 40-point mark at least three times in his team's first eight games of a season was the greatest player of all-time, Michael Jordan, in 1991.


WEDNESDAY'S BEST • Dwight Howard, ORL
Howard posted a double-double of 19 points and 16 rebounds in the Magic's 122-109 win at Oklahoma City.

Bonus Tracks • Vince Carter, NJN; Danilo Gallinari, NYK; Lamar Odom, LAL
Vinsanity was almost perfect from the floor with 12-of-14 field goals, scoring 24 points in the Nets' 109-105 win over Indiana; Gallinari led the Knicks to a 140-118 triumph over Memphis at the FedExForum with 28 points, shooting 11-of-15; while Odom was the player of the game in the Lakers' 115-97 win against New Orleans, at the New Orleans Arena, with 22 points, 10 rebounds, 5 dimes and 2 steals.

WEDNESDAY'S WORST • Hakim Warrick, MEM
After scoring 25 points at Phoenix and 32 at Denver, Warrick was only limited to 8 points last night, thanks to a great defense by Gallinari.

Bonus Tracks • Morris Peterson, NOH; Jerryd Bayless, POR; Shaquille O'Neal, PHO
Peterson was defended by Kobe Bryant and scored 11 points in 4-of-15 shooting (3-of-11 treys). Bayless started at point guard in the Blazers' 100-83 loss against Miami, with 8 points (3-of-11 field goals). O'Neal had 8 rebounds but only posted 2 points against Houston; after averaging 12.9 last season, he's now posting 6.3 per game.

[kibaxx7]

Looks good bro, I like it. Adding the TV pics of the days best players is a nice touch

Thanks man, there's another Dime

I like the Daily Dime, but maybe if you just change the subtitles to pictures. Like the ones you used to use but you don't put the text in the pic.

Like that? Yep looks better.

Someone tell me something about the Dime articles, normally I don't stay until 4:30 am to post them.

[Fresh8]

Brilliant Dime as always my man.

[Pistol]

Looks great. Durant going over 40 three damn times...i hope i can post those numbers with him, lol.

[Kite]

Like that? Yep looks better.

Someone tell me something about the Dime articles, normally I don't stay until 4:30 am to post them.

YAY you actually listened to me!

And the articles are excellent, very well written.

[kibaxx7]

Brilliant Dime as always my man.

:applaud: Looks great. Durant going over 40 three damn times...i hope i can post those numbers with him, lol.

YAY you actually listened to me!

And the articles are excellent, very well written.

Thanks a lot to all three Gonna play the next game right now.

[kibaxx7]

It was the perfect metaphor for the Mavericks' start: a dagger 3-pointer by Jason Terry, with Kirk Hinrich right in his grill, that staved off a Chicago comeback and gave Dallas a 114-111 win over the Bulls with 0.7 seconds left in the clock. The win pushed the Mavs to 6-2, and with Spurs and Lakers at 5-2, this win made them the Western Conference's best team. It's a status they will have to hang on for a while -- three of Dallas' next four games are in the road, but, starting in December, they will play seven straight games in the friendly confines of American Airlines Center.

Although Terry denied flashing back to the Finals while draining the shot over Hinrich, it symbolized the motivation for Dallas' awe-inspiring start. The Mavericks were exposed as soft, mentally and physically, in that six-game defeat to Miami in the 2006 NBA Finals, winning the first two games of the series but then losing four in a row. This start has been a response to that discovery. For that matter, an earlier Hinrich-related episode helped demostrate Dallas' newfound toughness. It all started when Derrick Rose used a first-quarter stoppage in play to take exception to a blow from Dirk Nowitzki underneath; the German made sure to respond. When Hinrich -- who hadn't even checked into the game yet -- came off the bench to intervene, Nowitzki would have none of it, and each earned a tech for his troubles. It never got physical, but it showed Mavs' resolve.

"[Rose and I] were just talking," said Nowitzki, "Kirk came in, and I was just trying to go back to the bench because there was a timeout. [But] you gotta do what you gotta do out there." Just to make sure where they stood, Erick Dampier did get physical with Hinrich later -- earning a technical foul for shoving him after a Bulls score when the two were fighting for position underneath. While we don't typically celebrate technical fouls, this play was indicative of an edge to the Mavericks that was missing before.

However, this win was impressive for much more. Most notably, the Bulls' defense suffocated the Mavericks in the first half, leading 63-51 after two quarters. Dallas bounced back with a 28-16 third quarter to win the game with Terry's buzzer-beater in the 4th. Terry, it's not just that he's back, it's that he's in shape, active and engaged. He was, in my estimation, far better defensively than he'd been before. "We have an even better player [now]," said Mavs coach Flip Saunders, "and Jason makes our abilities different from what they were before." It showed when he rejected a shot by Ben Gordon in the second quarter. Terry was always lurking on the help side, and it effectively closed off most routes to the basket and turned the Bulls into jump shooters. "They're really loading up [on the strong side]," said the Bulls' Joakim Noah. "You're not going to be able to beat them on one side of the floor. You have to get the ball to the other side."

So dominant were the Bulls through the half, in fact, that it appeared they'd cruise to an easy win with a very limited contribution from Gordon. Ben had just 10 points on 4-of-10 shooting when Dallas found itself clinging to tie the game at 79 after three quarters. Gordon scored 28 points of the Bulls' 48 in the second half. Then Terry's buzzer came. "You can't defend much better than what Kirk did," said Bulls coach Vinny del Negro. "What great players do, like Terry -- they make big shots." And what great teams do, he might add, is win big games.


With the Nuggets' 100-87 win over the Cavaliers on Thursday night, Carmelo Anthony is now 9-2 over LeBron James in their head-to-head matchup. That is about the only advantage Anthony has over James since the duo became two of the marquee faces of one of the most celebrated drafts ever in 2003. Since then, James has led an average Cleveland squad to the NBA Finals -- and has firmly entrenched himself as either the best or second-best player in the world (depending on whether you pick him or Kobe Bryant). Although Anthony hasn't been able to keep pace with all the individual accolades thrown at James, the Nuggets star has emerged as one of the top 20 players in the league. The 2003 draft was a lot more than James and Anthony, however. It featured an unusually large number of stars, starters and contributors. Given that we now have had five years to evaluate them, we can see more clearly which players should have gone in the lottery -- which, you might remember, some people labeled "The LeBron Lottery." So here is how I would rank them, the 10 best players of the '03 draft:

• 1. LeBron James, Cleveland (No. 1): Where the 2003 class ranks in the pecking order of draft greatness will depend on how spectacular James' career ends up being. Yes, the 1984 draft featured all-time greats Hakeem Olajuwon, Charles Barkley and John Stockton, but what made that the best draft of all time was the greatest player of all time, Michael Jordan. A similar statement can be said about the legendary class of 1996 that included players like Allen Iverson, Steve Nash, Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Ray Allen, Shareef Abdur-Rahim, Jermaine O'Neal, Peja Stojakovic, Marcus Camby, Antoine Walker and Stephon Marbury (when he used to actually play ball instead of wear suits during games). While those players have had (or are still having) good careers, the person that puts that class into the "greatest ever" debate is Kobe. A truly distinguished draft requires a once-in-a-lifetime type player, and for the Class of 2003 that person is James.

• 2. Dwyane Wade, Miami (No. 5): He was overshadowed by James and Anthony early in his career, but it is clear now that only one of those two belongs in front of him on the list of career achievement. He has enjoyed the most team success -- being named the 2006 Finals MVP after the Heat took care of the Mavs. Injuries are the only thing that can slow him down.

• 3. Carmelo Anthony, Denver (No. 3): The high-scoring forward is no longer being viewed on the same level as James (besides Bryant, who is?), but he is still one of the elite players in the league. He needs to improve as a passer and on defense, but his shooting and rebounding more than compensate for any shortcomings the All-Star and Olympic gold-medal winner has.

• 4. Chris Bosh, Toronto (No. 4): The face of the franchise, he has been consistently good since arriving on the scene, posting at least 22.3 points and 8.7 rebounds the past three seasons. He has been the top power forward in the East this season, and the three-time All-Star was a key member of the 2008 U.S. Olympic team that won gold.

• 5. David West, New Orleans (No. 18): Known for his rugged play, he has turned into one of the top power forwards in the West without much notoriety. Last season, he was rewarded with an All-Star berth, and he has put together three straight seasons of at least 17 points and seven rebounds.

• 6. Josh Howard, Dallas (No. 29): The fact that he has been in the headlines for a lot of the wrong reasons lately has made people forget he is a very good small forward. Minds are starting to wake up with the Mavericks 6-2 now. The former All-Star rebounds, plays defense and is the No. 2 option behind Nowitzki.

• 7. Chris Kaman, LA Clippers (No. 6): Without much fanfare, he has become one of the game's top centers. He had career averages of 10.3 points and 8.3 rebounds entering this season.

• 8. Kirk Hinrich, Chicago (No. 7): Hinrich joined James, Anthony, Wade and Bosh on the All-Rookie first team and has been an above-average playmaker with the Bulls ever since. Chicago drafted Rose to replace him as the starting point guard this season.

• 9. Leandro Barbosa, Phoenix (No. 28): One of the fastest players in the league, the 2006-07 Sixth Man of the Year winner is perennially one of the game's top reserves. He is a deadly 3-point shooter and owns a career average of 12.6 points per game entering 2008-09.

• 10. Mo Williams, Cleveland (No. 47): He has developed into a shoot-first point guard with a deadly midrange game. His career took off his past two seasons in Milwaukee. He was traded to Cleveland this offseason and is being counted on to provide some offensive relief for James.


THURSDAY'S BEST • Stephen Jackson, GSW
Jackson posted his second 40-game of the season against Detroit. He led the Warriors to a 121-111 win over the Pistons with 43 points, 3 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals, shooting 13-of-19 (5-of-7 treys).

Bonus Tracks • Carmelo Anthony, DEN; Dirk Nowitzki, DAL
The 32 points and 11 rebounds of Melo have gave him his first double-double of the season, in the Nuggs' 100-87 win over Bron's team. Nowitzki may be a little tired today after scoring a game-high 33 points and 8 rebounds on 12-for-23 shooting in 33 action-packed minutes as Dallas defeated Chicago 114-111.

THURSDAY'S WORST • Maurice Williams, CLE
Runs the offense at Cleveland but against Denver, he only apported 8 points in 3-of-16 field goals.

Bonus Tracks • Tayshaun Prince, DET; Andres Nocioni, CHI
With Jason Williams starting at shooting guard and Richard Hamilton at small forward (a Michael Curry test), Prince started from the bench and hasn't been up to the challenge, scoring only 6 points for the Pistons. Williams wasn't good either. Nocioni only had 8 points for the Bulls loss at Dallas.

[Mark.]

Loving these daily dimes mate, top writing

[kibaxx7]

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) -- Vince Carter had 20 points and 5 rebounds, and the New Jersey Nets' bench made a significant contribution in a 101-90 victory over Atlanta on Friday night. Point guard Devin Harris had 18 points for the now 7-1 Nets, owners of the league's best record, and Jason Richardson added 15 points in 25 minutes. Josh Boone, who recovered from a dislocated finger, had 6 points in 13 minutes off the bench.

Al Horford was the Hawks' main offensive weapon: he had 26 points to go with twelve rebounds, and Joe Johnson added 22 points. The Hawks shot 53 percent and were 6-for-15 from 3-point range. Mike Bibby added 18 points and 3 assists in a spirited duel with Harris. Guard Richard 'Flip' Murray only played 1 minute, but made his way for 5 points. Marvin Williams, the first player off the Atlanta bench, picked up three fouls in his first 7 minutes on the court. The Hawks' reserves were outscored 33-7 by their Nets counterparts.

Nets owner Bruce Ratner uncharacteristically got off his front-row seat at midcourt three times in the first quarter to vent his anger at the officials. The usually stone-faced Ratner yelled at the officials after one sequence in which Johnson stole the ball from Jarvis Hayes and was fouled by Richardson with 3:10 left. After Johnson sank both free throws, Ratner hollered something else at the referees with his hands cupping his mouth as they jogged up the court. He got up again during a timeout and walked up and down the sideline. Strange to see him so passionate with the team after putting it on sale; rumors on the papers say that the team is very close to be under a new major owner.

Bibby hit two straight 3-pointers to start the second quarter; that cut the Nets' lead to 28-22. But Harris and Keyon Dooling responded with a pair of 3-pointers for a 34-22 margin, and the Hawks never threatened after that. New Jersey was up front 54-33 at the half. Richardson's 16-footer to start the third quarter increased the Nets' margin to 56-33, the biggest lead in the game. At small forward, Josh Smith had 13 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists, quarterbacking the team the rest of the way, but it wasn't enough.

Notes

• One night after allowing 105 against Indiana (109-105 victory), the Nets defense turned up a bit and had 28 rebounds and 6 blocks, shooting 59 percent and going 4-for-8 from 3-point range;
• While Nets' only inactive player was Chris Douglas-Roberts (medial collateral ligament strain), Hawks didn't have any inactive players. Only Murray, Williams and Maurice Evans took part of the game from the bench for Atlanta, with Acie Law, Speedy Claxton, Mario West and Zaza Pachulia not playing a single minute. Douglas-Roberts will be available for tomorrow game at Atlanta but it's not certain coach Lawrence Frank will activate him;
• Atlanta convinced Shareef Abdur-Rahim to come out of retirement and play for them one more time, in his first game back he posted 4 points in 2-of-8 FGs;
• The Nets have won 13 of the last 14 from the Hawks in New Jersey;
• Hawks had 12 personal fouls;
• Both squads took advantage of the paint; Atlanta scoring 54 points and New Jersey 56.

phpBB [video]

Video Music: Digitalism - "Zdarlight"

[Fresh8]

Loving the vids

[kibaxx7]

Loving the vids

Thanks a lot Sit Come on guys, needing more replies

[Robert]

Man you have to me the best Dynasty on this site by far my favorite . Man these dialy articles are unbelievable keep it up!The vids and also I love how you did like a schedule and it was showing the top games man!!!!

[kibaxx7]

Tracy McGrady screaming in delight. Ron Artest punching at the air. The San Antonio Spurs walking off looking forlorn, but certainly not dejected. Not after the way they stuck with the Houston Rockets all night, not with the way they had this one in their grasp until T-Mac rose over 6-foot-11 Tim Duncan and buried a 20-footer from the right side with a half-second left to give the Rockets a 98-97 victory Wednesday night over the Spurs. "It was the NBA at its highest level tonight, and we just happened to come up on the short end," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said.

Prior to McGrady's game winner, Shane Battier put the Rockets ahead on a 3-pointer from the corner with 7.4 seconds left. Battier was defended most of the night by five-times All-Defensive First Team, Bruce Bowen. "I'm happy with my locker room, and we've just got to build off this game," Popovich said. "I don't look at this as a moral victory because of the way we played, a loss is a loss, and I'm sure the way we lost it doesn't sit well with these guys. But from a coaching standpoint, I'm very optimistic and happy with the way we're going." There's no doubt this game left the Rockets with something to think about, especially after they had to battle back from an early 15-point deficit.

"We want tonight to be a flagship to get our season going," Artest was saying beforehand. Houston got a great game out of T-Mac (15 points, the winner shot) and Yao Ming (25 points, 9 rebounds, 2 blocks), and better-than-mediocre games out of Artest (14 points, but only four in the second half) and Rafer Alston (10 points, 6 assists). Both benches scored 28 points, and the Rockets had only six 3-pointers to San Antonio's 10. Statistically, it was pretty much even. In fact, it was pretty much even all the way through, any way you looked at it. So even though Popovich dismissed the notion of a moral victory, it pretty much amounted to that for some players who had their first taste of basketball this season, like Ime Udoka or Austin Croshere.

"The swagger's there. We've got that swag," Manu Ginobili said. "We want to let people know we're serious, and that's what we've been doing. We lost, that's the bottom line, but we get to play them a couple more times, and we'll be looking forward to those." Ginobili scored 16 points. After starting the season 3-0, the Spurs are now 5-3.


It's early, true. Yet for the long-suffering residents of the Eastern Conference, it's never too early to pass on a chance for a little gloating, given that they've come away with a losing record in cross-conference games against the West in every season of this millennium as well as in the 1999-2000 season. In Thursday night, there was a West's three-game sweep: Denver over Cleveland (100-87), Dallas over Chicago (114-111) and the Warriors over the Pistons (121-111). The reason you can get away with bringing this up so soon is because it might not be a temporary trend this time. Although it certainly figures that the West's eight playoff teams, as a group, will wind up being more potent than the East's top eight, there's no denying that the West -- Lakers aside -- is currently in a serious state of flux. The West also houses most of the league's weakest teams, while the East has witnessed the arrivals of Elton Brand, Derrick Rose... even the return of that Dwyane Wade guy.

First, there is a downside in Toronto to Chris Bosh playing the best basketball of his life: Bosh is gaining on (or maybe even surpassing) LeBron James as the guy every team with cap space hopes to steal in the heavenly free-agent summer of 2010. I'm quite sure that the Raps, with Bryan Colangelo running things and with plenty of projected salary-cap space that summer to re-sign Bosh and add another quality piece or two, have a far better chance of re-signing Bosh than he going down to the States. The reflex is to to remember that Damon Stoudamire, Tracy McGrady and Vince Carter all eventually barged their way back to the States and assume Bosh wants to do the same.

Second, you might be aware of the idea Shaquille O'Neal tossed out in October, about him and Grant Hill someday buying the Orlando Magic. For the record, Shaq swears that is not one of those times that he was just "throwing stuff out there to see what kind of response I get," as he likes to say. "No joke," O'Neal told us recently. "I'm serious." Be advised that a serious discussion about the matter is at least 18 months away, with O'Neal contracted to play through the 2009-10 season and Hill having registered roughly zero interest in retirement lately. The Magic also have to be for sale for a group headed by O'Neal and Hill to buy them, which team officials insist won't be happening any time soon. Yet I can't resist asking how denizens of the Magic Kingdom would react to Shaq -- who famously left them for the Los Angeles Lakers after spending just four seasons in Orlando -- coming back as an owner or general manager. Asked whether he has any regrets about leaving the Magic as a 24-year-old, O'Neal continued: "No. Not at all, because it was a business decision on both sides. Everyone has to take care of their business. At the time, I was a young guy. I had other things going on [in my life] that I could capitalize on, and those other things were easier living in L.A. I went out there and luckily got three [championships]. Then I had to take care of business again and go to Miami and won another one. Business is business. Never take it personal." He later reminded that "as a player, I took Orlando to the Finals [in 1995]. Maybe as a president or a GM, I could help them win it all. I've got great people skills, and I know I got the eye [for talent]."


FRIDAY'S BEST • Amare Stoudemire, PHO
What is going on with Amare? He exploded last night with 37 points. He also had two blocks and twelve rebounds, including 2 three pointers, as Phoenix defeated Sacramento scoring at least 28 points on each quarter (41 on the 3rd): 143-112.

Bonus Tracks • Danny Granger, IND; Jason Kidd, DAL; Kobe Bryant, LAL
Just as Stoudemire, Granger posted another 37 on Philadelphia, shooting 14-of-18 and 5-of-7 treys. We can say that a 15-10-10 have become somewhat a routine for Kidd as he posted his second triple-double in three games. And Kobe led LA to a 101-95 win over Detroit with 24 points (10-of-13 FGs, 4-of-5 3-pointers).

FRIDAY'S WORST • Beno Udrih, SAC
The Kings were totally thrashed by the Suns led by Amare, 143-114 at ARCO Arena. Udrih shot 4-for-13 and couldn't help Sacramento at all.

Bonus Tracks • Andre Miller, PHI; Jameer Nelson, ORL
Another two point guards who couldn't help their teams much; Miller shot 2-for-9 (lost against the Pacers) and Nelson 2-for-12, even worse (lost against the Mavericks).