Fire & Ice: Speed Y4 1-1

[Oznogrd]

Speed find out reality bites against the Hawks
St. Louis 79 - Atlanta 92

The St. Louis Speed suffered their first loss of their sophomore season tonight against the Atlanta Hawks. What hands played a role in this? Mainly Al Horford's with 7 blocks, effectively neutralizing Speed star Carlos Boozer. Behind that, the Speed offense stagnated, scoring a mere 12 points in the 2nd quarter. After gaining their 6 point lead, the Hawks never relinquished it and cruised to victory in the second half.

"We only forced 10 turnovers (the same number as they did), but all those blocks and steals: eventually you'll capitalize on them" said Hawk Al Horford "It was a good night for us. We thought we were in trouble after the 1st when they were up. They actually looked a little tired from their Miami game last night."

Coach Raoul Duke confirmed this statement "Its ridiculous in a 29 game season to have back to backs. Our guys were flat out beat from a tough game last night then having to get right on the bus and then come down to atlanta. I think the commisioner wants us to fold. What kind of world do we live in when a scumbag like that can disrespect a doctor of journalism like that? I demand to know!" The Speed are known for having the most fined GM/Coach tandem in the league.

Ricky Rubio was a little bit calmer in his assesment of the loss "We couldnt score, we couldn't stop them. If you put those 2 things together, you're going to lose. Its pretty easy to figure out actually."

Carlos Boozer added "Ricky said it best. We just couldnt get going thanks to Al being all over the court. They played a great game, we played a shitty game. Just like Ricky said, when that happens on nights, you're going to lose. We're just gonna look to our next game and prepare our gameplan for it. We have time to rest up and should be able to handle it."

Player of the Game
Al Horford
16 pts 10 reb 3 ast 2 stl 7 blk
With almost a triple double, Horford's neutralization of Boozer Kept the Hawks from falling behind and eventually allowed them to soar ahead

Notable Speed Performances
Carlos Boozer 27 pts 9 reb 3 ast 3 stl
Chris Mihm 16 pts 4 reb 1 stl
Trevor Ariza 13 pts 2 reb 1 blk
Stomile Swift 10 pts 6 reb 1 ast 1 stl 3 blk
Ricky Rubio 20 ast 1 stl...5 Turnovers

Notable Hawks Performances
Joe Johnson 21 pts 3 ast 1 stl
Mike Bibby 16 pts 8 ast 2 stl
Jamal Crawford 16 pts 8 ast 2 stl

Screenshots or it Didn't Happen Images of the Game


Josh Smith grabs the alley-oop over Surge


Diop with the reverse dunk had the Speed's best play tonight...not a good sign

Up Next: Dallas: can the Speed rebound against Dirk and company? With plenty of rest before then, here's hopin'

[Oznogrd]

Trade News!

Today out of the St. Louis Speed Front office Dr Gonzo announced the trade of Desagna Diops 3 year 20.78 million dollar contract to the Kings for Morris Peterson's 1 year worth 6 million. The Speed seemed to be overstacked with bigmen and lacking on guards this year as they kept stromile swift and chris mihm, while drafting a rookie PF and picking up Carlos Boozer in Free Agency.

"No disrespect to Desagna, he did alot for us. This was a strictly monetary move. He also wasnt getting alot of playing time with us so we figured this is the best thing for all parties" said Gonzo. "Now, I'm off to find the American Dream in action."

[kibaxx7]

Salary purposes. With your team full of centers, I think it's an alright move.

[Martti.]

Peterson can be great. Nice move!

[megarover]

Peterson is a pretty decent players and if you have surplus of Big Man I see why not for the deal

[puttincomputers]

wow! sweet move! throws my suggestion out the window!

[Oznogrd]

Defending Champs Dismantle Speed
St. Louis 86 - Dallas 103

In Dallas at American Airlines Arena, last year's champs easily dismantled the new look of the St. Louis Speed after they traded Desagna Diop for Morris Peterson. The Speed just couldnt physically match the intensity of Dirk, Darko, and Matrix tonight as the Speed were outrebouned 27-18. Another issue was the Speed's D. Every time a comeback began (the Speed pulled within 1 in the third), an open 3, a bad turnover, or a fast break for Dallas occurred. The Speed are surprisingly optimistic however.

"We lost to the champs, there's not much wrong with that. We're getting better and we were playing with a new plan tonight. I think we did great" said Speed star Carlos Boozer. "Sure I would've liked the win but we fought hard."

Coach Raoul Duke was not nearly as optimistic as he swigged whiskey at the podium. "Shit, they'll make me explain things. Theres not any explanation. We just got beat."

Speed point guard Ricky Rubio still managed to dish 24 assists despite losing "We just missed a few too many opportunities: open shots, free throws, things like that. If we make those, i'd have the assist record and we'd have the win. But We'll just get ready for the Spurs and hope we play better."

This was the Speed's 2nd straight loss and many fans are having flashbacks last year of a team that started 7-2 and then went on to be 9-20.

Player of the Game
Dirk Nowitzki
20 pts 8 reb 1 ast 2 stl 4 blk
With a strong defensive and offensive effort, Dirk got PotG in Dallas tonight.

Notable Speed Performances
Carlos Boozer 36 pts 2 reb 3 ast 2 stl 2 blk
Stromile Swift 14 pts 6 reb 1 ast 3 blk
Trevor Ariza 12 pts 3 reb 1 ast
Radoslav Drobnjak 11 pts 1 reb 2ast 1 blk (7 minutes of play)
Ricky Rubio 8 pts 2 reb 24 ast 1 stl

Notable Mavericks Performances
Josh Childress 24 pts 2 ast 1 blk
Shawn Marion 12 pts 9 reb 4 ast 1 blk
Jason Terry 11 pts 1 reb 8 ast 1 stl
Nicolas Batum 10 pts 3 ast
Jaso nKidd 9 pts 14 ast

Screenshots or It Didn't Happen Images of the Game


Radoslav puts up his first NBA poster on 7 footer Jason Smith


Rashad McCants goes for the wide open layup



Up Next: Can the Speed rebound against the Spurs?

[hova-]

Argh, tough losses despite Boozio still putting up decent numbers. It's like 20+ assists for Rubio all the time, a bit unrealistic though.
You have a tough schedule, the Spurs will be even harder than the Mavs.

[Martti.]

Yeah every game it's Rubio 20 asssists and Boozer 35-37 points.

Maybe it's good to get the Mavs and Spurs type teams out of the way early. Makes it easier late.

[Oznogrd]

Argh, tough losses despite Boozio still putting up decent numbers. It's like 20+ assists for Rubio all the time, a bit unrealistic though.
You have a tough schedule, the Spurs will be even harder than the Mavs.

I dunno about that: marion, dirk, and darko was a tough down low combo. Took boozer forever to get going.

[kibaxx7]

Josh Childress in Dallas. That afro in the McCants pic seemed familiar

[Oznogrd]

Speed Surprise Spurs in Upset Win
St. Louis 88 - San Antonio 81

The Speed looked like the team that went on a 2-18 streak last season to close out in the first quarter. Then..something clicked. Mainly between Ricky Rubio and Carlos Boozer. The only sign the Speed needed was for the 2nd time this season: Ricky Rubio hit a half court buzzer beater at the end of the 2nd to keep the game tied going into the locker room. After that, it seemed they were destined for this win.

"We figured out that Carlos could beat McDyess 90% of the time. If we saw that matchup, we were going for it" said Speed Coach Raoul Duke "Booz shot well and that helped put us over the top."

On his way to a career and team tying record 42 points, Boozer kept banking in bucket after bucket. Soon, when the Spurs began to double team Boozer, open shots were given to Trevor Ariza, Ricky Rubio, and other midrange shooters on the team. The Speed managed to outscore the Spurs by 13 pts in the middle quarters and eventually used that lead to cruise to the win. Many of the points came off fouls to post players Stromile Swift and Carlos Boozer.

"I dont know what it was in those 2 quarters, our shots weren't falling, they were blocking us, they were stealing it from us. Nothing went right for 2 quarters. You have to play well for four to win in this league" said Tim Duncan "They played a tough game out there and it was fun to watch I'm sure. Just not as fun to get beat"


Player of the Game
Carlos Boozer
42 pts 7 reb 3 ast 1 stl
Despite playing no defense tonight, his offensive play was ridiculous shooting 17-23 and keeping it close early in the game.

Notable Speed Performances
Stromile Swift 14 pts 3 reb 1 ast 3 blk
Trevor Ariza 11 pts 3 reb 1 blk
Ricky Rubio 9 pts 23 ast

Notable Spurs Performances
Tim Duncan 28 pts 8 reb 4 ast 5 blk
Tony Parker 16 pts 1 reb 9 ast
Antonio McDyess 10 pts 4 reb 1 ast 1 stl 1 blk

Screenshots or It Didn't Happen Images of the Game


Matt Bonner with the Whitest alley oop of all time



A rare sight: duncan getting posterized

Up Next: In another back to back can the Speed take down the young Grizzlies?

[megarover]

You split a game against the two Texan teams. I cant believe Rubio had 24 assists. How often has he went off like that?

[Oznogrd]

You split a game against the two Texan teams. I cant believe Rubio had 24 assists. How often has he went off like that?

Quite a bit. his assists directly correlate with how much i run through booz/swift/mihm. As their numbers go up: so will his.

[kibaxx7]

Swift posterizing TD? This world has gone nuts!

[Oznogrd]

Swift posterizing TD? This world has gone nuts!

Yeah..I didn't take it against TD much. He was pwning me pretty well. The way I won was attacking McDyess. He just couldnt match the athleticism of my frontcourt. We'll see if my guys have enough energy left to take the grizz on: possibly somepoint tomorrow or thurs.

[Oznogrd]

Memphis easily dispatches exhausted Speed
St. Louis 70 - Memphis 108

The Speed lost their 2nd game of their 2nd back to back of the season, being manhandled by the Grizzlies by 30 points. Despite a strong showing out of Carlos Boozer, the Speed shot poorly, turned the ball over too much, and were outrebounded 32-12.

"Tonight was just awful. You never wanna play a game like that. But then we'll do some mescaline and go swimming, so it balances out" said Speed Coach Raoul Duke.

The Press Conference was short due to the fact even usual interview mainstays Stromile Swift, Ricky Rubio, and Carlos Boozer declined comment and got directly onto the team bus.

Player of the Game
Marc Gasol
12 pts 6 reb 3 ast 7 blocks 1 stl

Notable Speed Performances
Carlos Boozer 32 pts 7 reb 1 ast
Stromile Swift 9 pts 3 reb 1 ast 2 blk
Ricky Rubio 3 pts 20 ast 1 stl 5 TO

Notable Grizzlies Performances
OJ Mayo 24 pts 2 reb 4 ast 1 stl
Shaquille O'Neal 16 pts 10 reb 3 ast 1 stl 1 blk
Julian Wright 12 pts 1 reb 1 ast 1 stl
Rudy Gay 10 pts 2 reb 2 ast
Hasheem Thabeet 8 pts 6 reb 1 stl 5 blk

Screenshots or it Didn't Happen Images of the Game


This pic can sum up the futility of this game

Up Next: Detroit Pistons: can the Speed stop from falling to .500 against another .500 team?

[megarover]

You got 12 rebounds...that is bad. I never though I'd see a number like that with a front court that good. I bet you can manhandle DET though.

[Oznogrd]

You got 12 rebounds...that is bad. I never though I'd see a number like that with a front court that good. I bet you can manhandle DET though.

Gasol, Thabust(video game), Shaq, Randolph > Swift, Boozer, Mihm, Drobnjak. By like...alot.

Here's hoping i destroy detroit but they might be pretty good...we'll find out. My guys are getting a couple weeks rest so that should help...those last 3 games were all the same week

[kibaxx7]

Liking the Pistons frontcourt

[Martti.]

Just 12 rebounds? Damn, Gasol and Thabeet has as many blocks together.

[Oznogrd]

Liking the Pistons frontcourt

It was the Grizz frontcourt, not pistons. They were actually a really tough team to beat. Only 1 loss if i read the standings right.

[hova-]

Bad loss, I mean by 30 points. But that's only realistic because actually in your frontcourt no on can rebound very well except Boozer.

[kibaxx7]

It was the Grizz frontcourt, not pistons

Ah, my bad

[Oznogrd]

Speed win at cost of Injury
St. Louis 95 - Detroit 80

Achilles: the ancient greek warrior who had one weak spot. A heel. Anyone who's ever watched or participated in sports knows the dangers of your Achilles Tendon. Tonight during the Speed win, not just 1, but 2 players went down with a Strained Achilles. On the Detroit-side, John Salmons went down after a foul on a fast break. Three plays later, karma bit the Speed in the ass as Morris Peterson was fouled and suffered the exact same injury.

"It's eerie man, you dont expect karma to happen that fast" said Speed leader Carlos Boozer who committed the foul on Salmons. "I swear I was just going for the ball."

How was the rest of the game? Well the Speed outrebounded the Pistons 26-16, had 78 points in the pain, all while shooting 62%.

"How do you think it went? We lost. They whupped our asses." said Ben Gordon who only had 3 points off the bench. "We just couldn't slow them down."

The Speed continued to run almost completely through the play of their frontcourt as Boozer, Stromile Swift, Chris Mihm, and rookie Radoslav Drobnjak shined. 76 of the Speed's 95 points came from the four big men.

"It was cool to watch them setting great picks and getting themselves open. All I had to do was make sure Rodney didn't swipe the ball from while they were setting up. It sucks Mo-Pete got hurt, but it was a fun game nonetheless" said sophomore Ricky Rubio who had 18 assists.

"We're gonna keep working and make sure we come out consistently like that every night. There's no reason we should lose with that much skill. We just need to make sure no matter who we're playing we're all ready to go." said Coach Raoul Duke "Now if you'll excuse me, theres a man in a red pendleton sweater getting kicks from acts I'll never know."


Player of the Game
Carlos Boozer
39 pts 6 reb 3 ast 2 stl 2 blk
Only missing four shots and almost breaking 40 gets Booze the PotG tonight.

Notable Speed Performances
Stromile Swift 15 pts 5 reb 1 ast 1 blk
Chris Mihm 13 pts 2 reb 1 ast 1 stl
Radoslav Drobnjak 9 pts 6 reb 1 blk (7 minutes of play)
Ricky Rubio 2 pts 18 ast 1 stl

Notable Pistons Performances
Rip Hamilton 19 pts 3 reb 3 ast 4 stl 1 blk
Charlie Villanueva 11 pts 2 reb 4 ast
Rodney Stuckey 8 pts 1 reb 8 ast

Screenshots or it Didn't Happen Images of the Game


Despite Rubio's awesome fast break, some players on the bench find their plain white shoes more interesting.


Rip does a Howard Dean BYAAAAA! while trying to block Stack.


Up Next: Can the Speed continue their winning ways against the 8-3 Denver Nuggets?