The X wrote:I would like to see some Donnell Lawrence & Barney Steele coverage, provided it doesn't include any mention of that traitor Melo. That's why I don't like Heat, J.R. Smith bolted to join the Cheat.
Cleveland Pip Stealth At Last Moment
Cleveland Cavaliers at Seattle Stealth: 94-93
Preview | Boxscore | Recap | Highlights
November 30, SEATTLE (AP) – Kevin Durant tried his best to deliver a win but it was Lebron James who spoiled the party. Durant put on a show with 11 third quarter points and 17 fourth quarter points but it was not enough as the Cavs squeezed out a hard-fought win on the Stealth home floor.
Durant started slowly with 2 early fouls and, as a result, sitting out most of the first quarter. Thanks to Jason Kidd finding Andrew Bogut and David Lee for easy buckets; the Stealth stayed in the game despite the Cavs cleaning up the glass with ease. Kidd had 10 first half assists while Bogut scored 12 points and Lee added 8.
In the second half, the Cavs frontcourt shut down their Stealth opponents. Free agent signing Byron Brock (14 points, 10 rebounds, 4 blocks, 3 assists, 2 steals) proved yet again that he could be the X-factor to the Cavs’ campaign for a championship this season as he played brilliantly on both the offensive and defensive ends of the court. His starting partner in the Cavs front court Joakim Noah was just as strong with 18 points, 12 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 blocks, 2 assists. Stealth Head Coach George Karl stated that the performance of the Cavs’ big man duo was the main reason for his team’s loss, “The Cavs didn’t look like they were dangerous until the big fellas started to play.”
Despite the strength of the Cavs play, Durant helped to keep his team in the game during the third quarter. The Stealth then went on a 10-0 run in the fourth quarter to grab a 10 point lead with 4 minutes to play, the largest of the night. James’ thunderous dunk at 2:07 cut the Seattle lead to 5 points at 82-87.
Further costly turnovers and poor defence saw the Cavs close the gap with 3 easy buckets. Noah’s second chance bucket was good with 1:45 remaining and the score was then 88-87 in the Cavs’ favor. Durant scored a layup with 1:39 on the clock before adding two free throws with 55 seconds to get Seattle in the lead 88-91.
With Seattle looking in control, Rudy Gay didn’t need to do try hard to walk right into the paint and score an uncontested layup. “This was a terrible defensive effort tonight,” Coach Karl said, “Actually, there was no defensive effort at all. Just terrible.”
Kidd had two big chances to put the Stealth ahead in the final seconds with Durant under duress from the Cavs’ double teaming. His first was a layup that rolled off the rim and resulted in a Brock layup on the other end with 24 seconds left in the game. Brock’s bucket gave the Cavs a 1 point lead at 92-91.
A Stealth timeout led to a Kidd three pointer that was luckily cleaned up by Bogut and converted for a put back. Bogut’s offensive grab and bucket put Seattle ahead 92-93 with 14.5 second remaining. After a Cavs timeout, James dunked the ball with 7.9 seconds left put his team up for the final time: 94-93. With no timeouts to call, Durant rushed the ball up the floor. Durant, unable to find a good look, was forced to pass to Kidd who had a third chance to redeem himself. He watched on as his wide open shot attempt from the top of the key fell short.
Notes: Rocky Akonnor was impressive in his short stint on the court as he had 2 blocks and provided energy to help team stay close to Cavs… Kidd finished with 13 assists. He had 3 of his 4 missed shots in the final moments of the match… Reshawn Tyson scored 8 points in a quiet night…
Box Score wrote:Cleveland Cavaliers 12-5 (25 – 25 – 22 – 22 – 94)
Rudy Gay: 28 pts, 4 reb, 2 ast, 12-23 FG, 1-7 3PT, 3-3 FT
Lebron James: 23 pts, 7 ast, 2 stl, 1 blk, 9-19 FG, 0-5 3PT, 5-7 FT
Joakim Noah: 18 pts, 12 reb, 5 ast, 3 blk, 3 stl, 9-13 FG
Seattle Stealth 9-8 (27 – 23 – 20 – 23 – 93)
Kevin Durant: 32 pts, 5 reb, 3 ast, 1 blk, 1 stl, 12-17 FG, 1-1 3PT, 7-8 FT
Andrew Bogut: 20 pts, 10 reb, 2 blk, 10-18 FG
David Lee: 12 pts, 6 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl, 6-9 FG
Houndy wrote:9-8. Not playoff material. Hard loss, but hey, you should have let Kevin take a shit shot and pray for it to go in
Thierry • wrote:9-8 man, struggle... and man, that train logo sucks
shadowgrin wrote:L-Train! Loser Train
Updated: December 1, 2013
Sometimes You Can Only Work With What You Got
The number 2 pick of the 2009 NBA Draft has developed his own niche in Utah as a defensive machine.
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Donnell Lawrence and his coaches are happy with the player he has become in Utah
By Woody Hannes
ESPN.com Writer
When Donnell Lawrence was selected by the Jazz in the 2009 NBA Draft, he was touted as the ‘second best player behind Moses Chara’ and a player with ‘tremendous upside, an already solid post game and a tough defender’. Some even called him ‘a future all-time great’. Five years down the track, the projections have not really panned out but for the Utah Jazz and the newly re-signed 27 year old; they are happy with the progress made.
The 27 year old out of Northwestern believes he now has the perfect role. “I am passionate about my team and I am passionate about doing what I do,” the 6’9”, 260 lbs power forward stated, “I am proud to be a player for the Jazz and I love playing defense.”
Lawrence reflected on the past offseason where he was rewarded with a meaty new contract with the Jazz, “It’s a blessing for me to be able to stay here. I love the fans and I love my teammates.” Lawrence seems genuinely happy with everything and doesn’t let any of the critics get to his head. Before this season, a lot of people called him a bust (and many still do call him a bust) because he does not score in double digits on a nightly basis. However, he claims that he never let it get to him and he just focused on what he could do on the court.
“I know that many people were probably expecting me to become a 20 point scorer and really lead this team,” Lawrence said, “I replaced Carlos Boozer who is a great player. I know that in my first two years in the league, I wasn’t getting the results I wanted either. I can understand all of the negative talk but after a while, I knew that my real calling was on the defensive end.”
As he keeps talking to me, I realize how passionate he is about hustling and working hard on defense. It is a refreshing change from contemporary basketball values that are all about scoring and all about making the highlight reel. “I never thought I would be this kind of player,” Lawrence admits, “When I was young, I was trying to be the next scoring machine.”
Lawrence was a solid scoring forward at the college level but received a rude awakening when he made it to the pros. His lack of post moves and lack of a dependable jump shot have meant low shooting percentages not preferable for a first or second offensive option. For a power forward and to shoot at a career clip of .452 FG%, he was never going to be a favorite of the retired Jerry Sloan’s when he was around as the Jazz coach. The Jazz have always supported him but they did eventually realize that he was not going to be a factor on the offensive end and that that is why the team signed Joe Johnson from Atlanta. “Coach Sloan always tried to make sure I didn’t get the rock unless I was wide wide open,” Lawrence laughs, “I wasn’t happy at the time obviously but looking back, Coach made me a better player.” This season, he is averaging 9.2 ppg at a career best accuracy of .485 FG%.
Despite the knocks against Lawrence’s scoring game, no one can deny that he has grown into a force off the ball. Lawrence is averaging career highs across the board this season with 11.9 rebounds, a league leading 3.2 offensive rebounds, 4.4 assists and 1.8 blocks. “He is one of the most underrated players in this league,” Johnson praised his younger teammate.
Last season, Lawrence was called up by David Stern to the Western Conference All-Star bench and there was a lot of public outcry. At the time, Stern defended his decision to call up the Jazz man, “I think that people forget about the great NBA players who have served this league simply by being defensive stalwarts. Donnell’s selection to represent the West was to recognise his outstanding effort on that end of the floor.”
Lawrence is motivated to prove that he is an All-Star worthy player in the Western Conference and he has done a good job so far. He has scored in double figures in 8 of 16 games played including a season high of 20. Even more impressive is the fact that he has failed to grab double digit rebounds in just 3 games. Some may balk at his lack of scoring prowess but do the Jazz really need him scoring when Deron Williams (25 ppg, 8.4 apg), Joe Johnson (24 ppg), and Sidney Hooper (14 ppg) do most of that? And don’t forget the most important statistic, which is the Jazz 10-6 record.
As Lawrence enters the prime of his career, it is clear that he may never play to the level that people had predicted he would on the offensive end. Lawrence has accepted this and fully embraced what he believes he is capable of. “I love playing defense because that is the only part of the game you can control. You can’t control whether your shot will drop but you can control how many points your opponent scores on you,” Lawrence says. Wise words indeed.
shadowgrin wrote:Donnell Lawrence!
Always been a fan of defensive bigs.
Team Report
This season has seen Reshawn Tyson close the gap between him and Durant as he is averaging 25.4 ppg. The success has been attributed to Tyson’s aggressiveness on offence that has not been seen since his North Carolina days. There are reports that it has caused disharmony in the locker room and the Stealth contemplating on whether to finally trade Tyson and get him out of his misery (Tyson asked to be signed and traded to the New York Knicks in the Summer but Seattle are staying firm). Tyson’s attitude and subsequent play has certainly not helped Seattle as they look medicore at best with a 9-8 record to close November.
Kevin Durant leads the team in scoring with 26.7 ppg and Bogut is their third best at 13.8 ppg. The team’s 9-8 record is the 7th best in the conference and 3rd in their division. Seattle have had to counter injuries to Iverson and Bogut and that is another reason for the team’s poor performance. As proof of the difficulty to win without their main players; since Bogut’s return to health, the team has been 5-2.
A positive of the season has been Bogut’s all-around numbers that prove he is the most important player so far. He’s had 9 points, 14 rebounds, 9 assists against Phoniex; 13 points, 10 rebounds, 11 assists against Orlando; and 11 points, 12 rebounds, 8 assists against the Knicks over a 3-game stretch – all the games were wins for Seattle.
Durant was in hot form to start the season with 26 points in the team’s opener against Philadelphia. He then scored 38 against the Celtics in the second game of season. The Stealth then ran into three straight losses, including a 1 point heartbreaker against their rival Sacramento Kings, and bad news ensued in the third loss with Andrew Bogut dislocating his finger in a Stealth 97-106 loss to Atlanta. After a win against injury ravened Orlando, Stealth suffered another 3 game losing streak ending with a demoralizing 139-115 loss to Indiana. In that game, Durant had just 17 points and it was official that the Stealth do not look the same as the last season. Tyson helped snap the losing streak in a 132-93 win against Toronto Raptors. Tyson finished with 44 points, 6 rebounds, 7 assists and Durant added 21 points and 7 rebounds.
The highlight of the month came later as Tyson and Seattle beat former UNC teammate Martti Must and the resurgent Phoenix Suns. 140-113. It was a total team effort led by Tyson who finished with 34 points, 8 rebounds, 9 assists, 3 steals in the 140-113 win. Kevin Durant was playing at a high level again with 30 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks. Andrew Bogut added 22 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists, Jason Kidd with 18 points, 9 assists, Adam Morrison chipping in with 12 off the bench and David Lee putting up 12 points and 14 rebounds.
Although the Stealth fell in a thriller to Cleveland to end the month, players around the league still call them a championship caliber squad. MVP candidate Must had 18 points, 8 rebounds, 9 assists, 8 blocks in his team’s loss and described Seattle as a credible threat come playoff time, “I know that their record is not great but tonight they proved that they are a very strong team. They are contenders and I would be stupid to say they are not.”
League Standings
Cleveland 12-5
Indiana 11-5
Atlanta 12-6
New Jersey 10-6
Chicago 10-7
Milwaukee 11-8
Miami 8-6
Charlotte 8-9
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Philadelphia 7-9
Orlando 7-11
Washington 6-10
New York 7-12
Toronto 6-12
Boston 5-11
Detroit 5-11
Sacramento 13-6
Portland 12-6
Utah 10-6
New Orleans 10-7
Golden State 9-7
Phoenix 10-8
Seattle 9-8
Houston 9-9
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Minnesota 9-9
Dallas 8-8
LA Lakers 7-8
Denver 7-11
LA Clippers 7-11
San Antonio 5-11
Memphis 4-11
League Leaders
Points
B Roy, Blazers 26.9
K Durant, Stealth 26.7
B Gordon, Blazers 26.2
R Tyson, Stealth 25.4
C Anthony, Nets 25.3
D Wade, Heat 25.2
Rebounds
D Lawrence, Jazz 11.9
D Howard, Magic 11.7
M Must, Suns 11.6
G Oden, Blazers 10.2
A Horford, Hawks 10.1
E Okafor, Bobcats 10.0
Assists
B Steele, Nets 10.0
J Kidd, Stealth 9.2
R Rubio, Pacers 9.1
B Roy, Blazers 8.7
D Williams, Jazz 8.4
C Paul, Hornets 7.7
Steals
A Iguodala, Sixers 2.7
C Paul, Hornets 2.5
R Westbrook, Kings 2.4
K Dela Cruz, Mavs 2.4
D Wade, Heat 2.4
Blocks
M Must, Suns 3.3
D Howard, Magic 3.3
K Dela Cruz, Mavs 2.8
J Kalnins, Wolves 2.7
C Andrews, Spurs 2.5
PER
M Must, Suns 31.3
B Roy, Blazers 28.8
R Tyson, Stealth 28.6
M Chara, Kings 27.9
J Gray, Bucks 27.2
K Durant, Stealth 26.2
dare wrote:here
try to do tables for the standings but that is a lot of work
Houndy wrote:Look fine to me
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