Down 12 in the fourth, without literally their best player on the team, their leader, yet by some divine stroke of luck and defense, the Sixers couldn’t even bribe a basket for 10 minutes, Carter showed the resilience of a team leader when he tried to come back to the game twice and that effect rubbed off on the team, rather than lying down and letting the Sixers steam roll them over, they came back had big plays offensively and defensively, the game winning block by Trenton Hassell, Brook Lopez’s dominating performance in the fourth, an improbable victory totally, with a huge cost tho, Vince Carter could be out for a month, Bobby Simmons for two weeks maybe, and without Yi, we would be very short on the wing.

But one thing is for sure, Devin Harris’ play has been very spotty for the last 8 games or so, after the second half benching by Frank, he’s only topped 20 points on 2 occasions, and his shooting numbers are all down, and so is his turnover numbers. Hopefully his first trip to the All-Star game could rejuvenate his game and he can come back stronger for the second half of the season, because this is the most crucial time of the year, and we need him at his best, especially when without Carter.

Doug Overton and CDR should have patched things up already, so this could probably be the break he’s waiting for, he’s been on the bench the entire season and literally not playing alot of minutes, but this time, Frank would be forced to give him or Ager some time on the court, and we can finally gauge their value on the team.

For the first time this season, the Nets totally outplayed somebody in the fourth quarter, although given the fact the it’s the Grizzlies; It’s always important to get the feeling of dominating a quarter especially crucial quarters like the fourth, it’s like getting the team to be able to turn on the switch that could propel them from playing good in a quarter to playing excellent.

Carter started out hot while Memphis opted to go one on one on almost every possession, maybe it’s Johnny Davis’ way of sabotaging the team because he wasn’t named as head coach for the rest of the season, in his mind he’s probably going, who the hell is Lionel Hollins?

Although it was a good win, Devin Harris himself admitted that the team had bouts of complacency during the game, letting the Grizzlies back into it during the third quarter and early in the fourth, “When we had a big lead, we could have pushed a little bit further, but we let them get back in the game”. But the effort showed in the fourth ensured the victory and thank god, we’re now 20-24.

Chris Paul must have felt very good about himself after outplaying a hurt Harris in the win against the Nets, but there was nothing Harris could have done to stop Paul from getting another strong night. He struggled the entire game shooting 1-11, and sat out the entire fourth.

Right now he’s listed as day to day but things aren’t looking up for him, injured with a bruised morale, it would be better to just rest him for a few games, and then only look to come back strong and prove whoever he’s trying to prove wrong with a healthy body and a clear mind set.

Basically he just has to forget about Boston, forget about the All-Star game, start getting the negatives out of his brain, play basketball and let things come back to him slowly.

Slow updates are the style right now, it’s called the transition from an old computer to a new one, so if anything, new posts would be slow and some how untidy, can Yi beat Chris Bosh one on one?

It would be a straight on swap, Cavs get Carter a strong shooting guard, who is still in his prime although slowly fading, but still delivering, and Nets get Sczerbiak and also gets rid of Carter and his big contract for one that is expiring this season, strengthening the push for a big 2010.

But the thing is, Is this even worth it? yes we know we lost two games by a combined total of 53 points, but so what? What did you actually expect from us? The Raptors have had higher expectations than us and now they’re rock bottom in the Atlantic? What gives?

Aren’t we giving out judgement way too fast? I know the trade deadline is like a month away from now, but come on, after a start that was against all odds, you’re going to dismantle a team that gave us that much promise based on two games? Two freaking games against the defending assholes? This is just crazy, and it shows a lack of faith on the team, stop thinking about 2010, Carter’s contract expires on 2011, so by 2010, we would still have enough cap space to sign either You Know Who, or You Know What. What are they even trying? to sign the entire free agent class?

Cleveland Trade Breakdown

Change in Team Outlook: +14.9 ppg, +2.1 rpg, and +3.8 apg.

Incoming Players
	Vince Carter 6-6 SG / SF from North Carolina 21.5 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 4.7 apg in 36.7 minutes

Outgoing Players
	Wally Szczerbiak 6-7 SF / SG from Miami-OH 6.6 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 0.9 apg in 19.6 minutes

 

New Jersey Trade Breakdown

Change in Team Outlook: -14.9 ppg, -2.1 rpg, and -3.8 apg.

Incoming Players
	Wally Szczerbiak 6-7 SF / SG from Miami-OH 6.6 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 0.9 apg in 19.6 minutes

Outgoing Players
	Vince Carter 6-6 SG / SF from North Carolina 21.5 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 4.7 apg in 36.7 minutes

 

If benching the star players is the only way to get the message across, then so be it, sometimes they need to realise that we need to play defense in order to win a basketball game.

Dear New Jersey Nets,

I wanted to thank you for helping the Celtics. I know you’ve been watching your division rivals struggle lately. You probably saw what we saw: a sluggish team that struggled with the things they had done well for a long time. So we all really appreciate you rolling over and dying in the second half. The chance to rest our starters is really huge right now.

If that’s not enough? How about this video?

Vince Carter after having two crappy games musn’t be feeling too good about himself today, so maybe you know? And Rondo, wait till you hit a hundred jumpers before you can say you’re better than Devin Harris, KG? He’s just a punk, Find someone your size, douche bag.

Saw how far Bayless went sliding after the wicked crossover by Harris? that’s quickness people, and Devin Harris needs a proper nickname to go with his skills, generic shit like DH34 just ain’t gonna get the job done.

The team shot tremendously the entire game but somehow we just didn’t made them when it mattered most, Vince was probably still recovering from the shock of witnessing a plane crash, everyone played an almost perfect game, it seemed impossible for us to lose in the third because we were playing that well, we were neck and neck with the Blazers.

It also looked easier when Steve Blake wasn’t playing, which meant that they would be short at the PG position, but then again, it’s just like the Nets, which Brandon Roy, a great passer who is capable of playing PG, it allowed Jerryd Bayless, an undersized scoring guard to come in and play the SG, and it was his introduction to the game that turned it around for them. 23 points and 11-11 FTs? Unfathomable.

This team just needs a really strong perimeter defender that is fast enough and can hold guys on the other team from scoring, we’ve seen it in so many previous games, and today it’s the same thing all over again, a 6-7 wing scoring all over us, this time it was Travis Outlaw. We have guys who are average defenders, but they’re just not good enough, Trenton Hassell was once a decent defender, but now he rarely gets on the floor, and when he does, he’s not able to do anything.

The much hyped out battle between the two rookie centers was, well just hype. Brook Lopez again consistent with his performance, coming up with 17 points, 6 rebounds and the daily 2 blocks, Ryan Anderson had his second consecutive game in double figures, but he hadn’t boxed anyone out for the entire game, 2 rebounds from the PF spot is Ruffin-ish.

Eventhough it’s a tough loss, it was still a decent performance from the team, 19-21 is not too bad at the moment, I just hope that this mini run of losses would give the team more character and somehow strengthen their resolve to start winning on the road again.

Well, Carter who was apparently reported that he was going to be a game time decision really should have stayed at home for this one, a 4 point, 1-10 shooting dud from him isn’t really the best way to boost his chances for an All-Star berth.

We were neck and neck with champs for two quarters, going into the half only down by 10, but again, again, again and again, we lost it at the third quarter, which totally blew the game open, and we blew ourselves out of it. 18 points was the gap alone in the third quarter, and Paul Pierce alone had 18 in the third, it’s just totally mind boggling that we just allow ourselves to get steamrolled in this fashion.

For all four quarters we were outrebounded, outscored, outshot, and totally outplayed by the Celtics, and seriously tonight, we looked like a team that’s headed for the lottery rather than the playoffs. This game just made me hope that the few close games we squandered early on in the season does not come back and haunt us when we need wins in the coming months.

Brook Lopez and Ryan Anderson, the two rookies were the only bright spots and in a really forgettable game, both of them combining for 26 points, which were more than the two scoring duo in the league managed to produce. CDR also got to play which was great news, and so did tattoo-less Ager.

Let’s just hope this team would take this loss and a personal thing and take it all out in the next game against Brandon Roy and the Blazers because the four games left in this stretch, just shows us where we are right now as a team, and if the playoffs are serious ambitions, this is the real barometer test.