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daily_stat-04-20-11

Combined points and rebounds for Orlando's Dwight Howard through two games of their playoff series against Atlanta.
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daily_quote-04-19-11

"If they're playing great, they're a better team. OK? If they're playing on top of their game, they're a better team. I mean, they won 58, we won 41. That doesn't mean that we aren't going to play and compete and fight. But when they come out tonight and defend the way they did ... it's going to be very difficult for us to beat them."
Philadelphia 76ers coach Doug Collins after a 94-73 loss to the Miami Heat. The Sixers trail 0-2 in the best of five series.
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Athlon Sports NBA Awards

Derrick Rose and Blake Griffin

Athlon Sports names its winners for the NBA's MVP, Rookie of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, Sixth Man of the Year and Coach of the Year.

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER
Derrick Rose, Chicago Bulls
He led Chicago to the league’s best record and the No. 1 seed in the East. On the way, he was the only player to finish top 10 in scoring (25.0, 7th) and assists (7.7, 10th), and he quieted all doubters about his 3-ball by hitting 128 after having made all of 32 his first two seasons.

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
Blake Griffin, L.A. Clippers
Can you be a rookie in your second year? Sure, why not? Griffin is a slam-dunk choice for Rookie of the Year. The All-Star finished as the league’s 10th-best scorer (1,845), third-best rebounder (989), third-best in double-doubles (63) and fifth in minutes played (3,112).

DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Dwight Howard, Orlando Magic
He was tops in the league in defensive rating (94.0) for the third straight year, defensive win shares (7.7) for the fourth straight year, first in defensive boards (789), second in total rebounds (1,098), third in blocks (186). No one dictates the game on defense like Superman.

SIXTH MAN OF THE YEAR
Lamar Odom, L.A. Lakers
He’s Mr. Consistency for the Lakers. He shot a career-high 53 percent from the field and a career-high 38 percent from 3-point range to average 14.4 points per game. That goes along with 8.7 rebounds a game and 28 double-doubles this season.

COACH OF THE YEAR
Tom Thibodeau, Chicago Bulls
The first-year coach, without his full starting lineup for 57 games — winning 43 of them — guided Chicago to the NBA's best record, its second-best scoring defense (91.3) and were tops in field goal percentage allowed (.430). The Bulls never lost more than two in a row.

— Corby A. Yarbrough @AthlonCorby on Twitter



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daily_quote-04-17-11

"I'm disappointed, yeah. Stunned, surprised. But we were the ones responsible for that to happen, so we have to own up to that and come back to work in the next couple of days and get the series where we want it to be."
Lakers' star Pau Gasol after Los Angeles' 109-100 home loss in Game 1 of their playoff series against New Orleans.

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daily_stat-04-17-11

Rebounds per game for Minnesota's Kevin Love. He's only the second NBA player, along with Ben Wallace in 2002-03, to average more than 15 boards per game for a season in over the last decade.

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NBA Playoffs — Day 1

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Thoughts from Day 1 of the NBA Playoffs

• All three higher seeds in the Eastern Conference trailed by double digits at some point during Saturday's games. Only Orlando failed to mount a comeback.

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NBA Playoff Dancers and Predictions

Submitted by Corby Yarbrough on Sat, 2011-04-16 00:19

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First round picks, conference winners and a new champ.

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Chicago paces playoff rankings

Athlon Sports NBA Power Rankings — Playoff Edition

1. Chicago — The league's best team rides into the playoffs as winners of 13 of 14 and a league-best winning percentage of .703 against teams with a .500 record or better (26-11).

2. Miami — The Heat picked a good time to start, um, heating up. Miami is 41-4 when it scores 100 or more points, while its first-round opponent, Philadelphia, is 6-25 when it gives up 100 or more points.


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It's NBA Playoffs Eve

A few thoughts on the eve of the NBA Playoffs beginning...

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Age just a number out West?

A look at the eight teams representing the Western Conference in this year's NBA Playoffs

Click here for Eastern Conference at a Glance

No. 1 SAN ANTONIO SPURS (61-21)
For a top seed there sure seems to be a lot of uncertainty surrounding the Spurs. Did they peak too soon? Has age caught up with them as well? Do they have enough size to compete in a long series over the next couple of months? San Antonio will hold off Memphis in the first round but all bets are off after that.

No. 2 LOS ANGELES LAKERS (57-25)
Here is another veteran team that gets the age questions thrown at it. The two-time defending champions have the luxury of 7-footers Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum, the Sixth Man of the Year in Lamar Odom and the best finisher in the game in Kobe Bryant. “Flip the switch” is the phrase du jour around the Lakers in regards as to whether or not they can flip it on. With the size down low and Bryant on the court, the Lakers are always a dangerous team.

No. 3 DALLAS MAVERICKS (57-25)
Stop me if you’ve heard this before. Is this the last ride for Dirk Nowitzki, Jason Kidd and the current Maverick roster? Probably. They have actually instilled a defensive philosophy — 10th in the league in points allowed — but draw a Portland team that might just have their number.

No. 4 OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER (55-27)
Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and Kendrick Perkins make this a dangerous team in the West. Durant and Westbrook came close of pulling a first-round upset against the Lakers last season, and a year later they might find the Lakers again — this time in the Western Conference finals.

No. 5 DENVER NUGGETS (50-32)
George Karl did a great job with “two” teams this season — the one that had to endure the Carmelo-drama and the one that brought a crop of Knicks over in the trade for Anthony and meshed well enough to post an 18-7 record after the All-Star break. Unfortunately for the Nuggets, OKC stands in the way in the first round.

No. 6 PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS (48-34)
Could Portland really be the darlings of the West? Seems like there is a fight between Portland, Oklahoma City and Denver for that crown this postseason. But the Trail Blazers went 16-10 after the break, including an 11-6 mark against playoff teams.

No. 7 NEW ORLEANS HORNETS (46-36)
No David West (ACL) means no chance inside against the Lakers. The Hornets have just four wins against playoff teams since the All-Star break — Memphis, Dallas, Portland and Indiana — and are about as far removed from the 8-0 start of the season as a team could be.

No. 8 MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES (46-36)
The Grizzlies might finally get that first playoff victory, but that will be about it — one victory. The loss of Rudy Gay, who received the max contract in the offseason, was not as detrimental to the team as one might think — Memphis scored more per possession sans Gay. But experience will defeat size in the first round as the Grizzlies will put up a fight against the Spurs before an early KO.

— Corby A. Yarbrough @AthlonCorby on Twitter



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