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Kobe Bryant – Beating Shaquille O’Neal and Reaching Michael Jordan
Bryant should reach 30,000 next season. Assuming he doesn’t sustain any long term injuries, and there’s no head coach or anyone in the locker room to tell him to stop shooting, who knows where he’ll stop? Getting that sixth ring, just like Michael Jordan, doesn’t seem likely, but passing him on the all time scoring list, despite more games and seasons, should make Bryant a happier man when he finally retires and his huge ego can move on to other endeavors.
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LeBron Better Than Rose, Heat Better Than Bulls
LeBron James isn’t just looking to win his first NBA title, he seems pretty determined to win back the MVP trophy he won twice in a row before Derrick Rose won it last season. His 35 points, while Derrick Rose failed to capitalize on two late chances, gave the Miami Heat a 97-93 win over the Chicago Bulls.
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Two Wins Over the Magic Doesn’t Make Celtics Contenders
Paul Pierce suddenly scoring 24 points doesn’t mean the Boston Celtics are an Eastern powerhouse once again, but a second win in four days over the Orlando Magic (91-83), with Rajon Rondo and Ray Allen not playing, has to mean some good news for a team that looked over the hill just last week.
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Maybe Dwight Howard Will Stay With the Orlando Magic After All
Dwight Howard wasn’t supposed to be still playing for the Orlando Magic according to all the signals during the short off season, the lack of effort during the pre-season games and just by him saying he wants to be traded, with more than a team or two mentioned as potential destinations. Now, with the Magic 12-5, the match looks stronger than ever.
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Nuggets Got the Best of the Trade Deal With Clueless Knicks
Depth isn’t a problem for the Denver Nuggets, but they player their double overtime game against the New York Knicks with only 7 players. According to the usual trend, someone had to have a huge night against the Knicks at the Garden, this time being Danilo Gallinari, scoring a career high 37 points in the 119-114 win.
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Kevin Love Breaking Out to Superstar Level
Kevin Love numbers aside, are the Minnesota Timberwolves for real? Depends on what you regard being for real. Championship material? Nope, not really close. But a playoff contender? After nearly a month of NBA action, the Wolves are 7-8, far from their usual position of already thinking about next year. Beating the Red hot Clippers (101-98) in dramatic fashion was another fine example.
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Healthy or Not, LeBron James is the Best Player in the NBA
LeBron James almost didn’t play, if the talk about his chest cold were true. He did miss the morning shootaround, but there was nothing offbeat about his performance against the Lakers later on, scoring 31 points and leading the Miami Heat to a 98-87 win over the hot-at-home cold-on-the-road Lakers.
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Billups Shows Clippers Can Win Without Paul
Chauncey Billups was brought over for these moments, with Chris Paul watching, injured, from the sidelines. Big Shot Rob he used to be called, and Billups delivered with a game winning shot, beating the buzzer to give the Los Angeles Clippers a 91-89 win over the Dallas Mavericks, who lost both LA games in a similar fashion.
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The Deron Williams Options – Lakers via Trade or Mavs in the Summer
Deron Williams isn’t happy with the situation in New Jersey with the Nets. From playing on a team with high aspirations, hopfeul of landing Dwight Howard somehow, Williams has found himself as the best player on a team going nowhere, with an owner who’s too involved with current Russian politics to actually care enough it seems.
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Heat and LeBron James Means More Road Trouble for Spurs
LeBron James didn’t have Dwyane Wade on his side, as Flash continues to struggle with injuries this season, but he did have Chris Bosh, who has been having a great season so far. James scored 33 points with 10 assists while Bosh scored 30 himself, as the Heat went back to winning ways, beating the San Antonio Spurs 120-98.