Why Not Get Rid of Him?

I'm actually planning on writing a new post here in my blog, this coming December 1st. But when this news caught my attention, I was itching to write about it. Here it is: Marbury Suspended.

Honestly, Marbury should've been suspended ages ago. Why? Because he's got this H-U-G-E attitude problem and I can't stand the fact that the New York Knicks is still sticking with him. Argh! Not that the Knicks are in my list of favorite NBA teams, but I just wanted him out of the NBA [period!]. He's really not a big loss to the team.

What's Wrong?

The San Antonio Spurs have now lost three games in a row. The freshest loss came against their Texas rival, Dallas Mavericks. The Spurs were definitely not playing the way they should be as the Mavs won 98-81.

The first half of the game was plainly dreadful. The Spurs just couldn't find their rhythm on the offense while the Mavs kept on hitting the right shots. Jason Terry, who's had his first game of the season, totted up with 29 points and six assists. Dirk Nowitzki played his best too, I think, with 30 points and seven rebounds. On the gray and silver jerseys, it was Tony Parker, Tim Duncan, and Roger Mason, who finished with double-digits 22, 19, 11, respectively.

So, what went wrong with the Spurs? Why 0-3? Missing Manu Ginobili's spunk? Or getting younger isn't really the best solution?

Can They Stick With It?

Too bad the Author missed the first set of season opener games. Anyways, back to back to business. The NBA season was officially opened at the Rose Garden with Boston Celtics winning 90-85 against the Cleveland Cavaliers. The highlight of the game was Banner #17, which marked the 17th championship of the Celts. Apart from the Celts-Cavs game, the season openers also included a tough battle in the West between Greg Oden's Portland Trailblazers and Kobe Bryant's LA Lakers. The Lakers routed Blazers 96-76 with Bryant leading the scoreboards with 23 points and 11 rebounds. Back to East, the games continued between the Milwaukee Bucks and the Chicago Bulls. The Bulls won 108-95 over the Bucks. Luol Deng had 21 points. The excitement continues from there on.

The following day set a more exciting feeling in the air with the Phoenix Suns facing the San Antonio Spurs at the Alamo City. The Suns was offense-driven last season under Mike D'Antoni's mustache. But with defense-oriented, Terry Porter, coaching Steve Nash & Co., the Suns are in good shape right on the defensive end. And the first time they're going to display their new-found strategy is at the Alamo City, home of the Spurs. The Suns succeeded though in outplaying the Spurs and winning, 103-98.

The question is... Will the Suns outlast the best teams in the West? There are considerations to make. First, it's too early to think that the Suns will be as competitive as they are during the past seasons. A lot of things can happen as the season goes. Second is that they are very new to this playing style. Can they handle the sudden change? And lastly, the West is as crowded as ever with teams that play good defense. So, can they stick to their style up to the very end?

Biggie Just Won't Shut

The Author's hands been itching to write after reading this Ball Don't Lie article about Shaquille O'Neal calling the San Antonio Spurs cowards.

"When you're down, I can see using that as a strategy. But when you're up 10, 15 points, there's really no need for that. That's a coward move. And he knows that. I'll make 'em pay for that."

As you know, my dearest reader, Shaquille O'Neal's ranting about the first round loss of the Phoenix Suns to the Spurs on last season's playoffs. No one can really blame him for being bitter, right? But calling another team's strategy cowardly is lame, just very lame. Hack-a-Shaq, the Spurs' strategy courtesy of Gregg Popovich, is like a slap on Shaq's face that his free throw shooting stinks. Yea, Shaq stinks on the free throw line and he's still having a hard time accepting that valuable fact.

So, instead of training himself to shoot free throws better this season, he just won't shut about the blunder his actually made during the Suns' last moments in the playoffs. He's simply having cold feet in admitting that he's slowly and surely losing his touch.

Peace out.

NBA Outdoors! Oh yeah?

The basketball season has begun and new things have happened in the NBA. Apart from the trades, which are normal, there's this outdoor games. Okay, James Naismith created the game basketball as an indoor game for his students, right? So, the idea was really quite out-of-the-ordinary.

But David Stern surely has his ways. And unbelievably, he had the preseason tickets between the Phoenix Suns and the Denver Nuggets sold out. The Suns and the Nuggets definitely had a wonderful view of the night sky in the Indian Wells Tennis Center. The game went well but it was pretty chilly that the players had to put their towels over their heads for some warmth. Allen Iverson, who's missed the game because of a sore knee, didn't have to endure the cold while watching his teammates win 77-72 against the now-defense-oriented Suns. Carmelo Anthony sat out for the second time with a sore finger while JR Smith did his own thing despite the icy-cold weather and finished with 12 points. Nene also had his share of the Nuggets' victory with 10 points.

The Suns played differently, giving more emphasis on their defense which is expected to improve. Among the problems of the cold Suns during the game was their turnovers and their poor 3-pt shooting. It was probably one of their lowest ever. Even so, Steve Nash played pretty well with 16 points while Boris Diaw took care of the ball with 10 rebounds. There's no one to blamed for the poor shooting of the Suns and Nuggets, who have showed offensive power during the past seasons, it's probably because of the wind slicing every now and then through the Indian Wells.

P.S. The new look of NBA.com is great!! Luv it!