2011 NBA All-Stars: 2 Heat, 2 Celtics on Pace to Earn All-Star starts

LeBron James and Dwyane Wade of the Heat and Kevin Garnett and Rajon Rondo of the Celtics are on pace to be voted as starters for the NBA All-Star game.

Garnett and Rondo remained in second place at their positions behind the Heat duo in the third voting returns announced Thursday. Orlando center Dwight Howard is the other leader among Eastern Conference players and has the most votes of any player in the conference.

The Lakers’ Kobe Bryant is the top overall vote-getter for the game in his home Staples Center on Feb. 20. The Hornets’ Chris Paul at the other guard and Oklahoma City’s Kevin Durant and Denver’s Carmelo Anthony at forward are the other West leaders, while Houston’s Yao Ming has a sizable lead at center despite being out for the season with a foot injury.

Boosted by the huge online vote total he receives from fans in his native China, Yao was voted as a starter the first seven years of his career, from 2003-09. He was not on the ballot last season, when he was out for the year with an injury.

If an injured player is voted to start, Commissioner David Stern chooses an injury replacement for the roster and the conference’s coach tabs a reserve to start.

Starters will be announced Jan. 27.

Source/s:
http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_ylt=AgXSdLfLjiXwj23_b8RfKyG8vLYF?slug=ap-all-starvoting

2010 NBA Playoffs: The Finals, a Retribution

I thought the Phoenix Suns had it, but soon fell short against the LA Lakers. And now, Kobe Bryant faces the one team that he probably wishes most to meet in the Finals - the Boston Celtics.

It has been two years, but the memory of the '08 NBA Finals is still clear. The Celtics won and Bryant was left wanting a championship without his chum, Shaquille O'Neal. Everybody was rooting for the Lakers but no one can deny that 2008 was a great year for Boston.

KB24's greatness couldn't be compared to the Big Three. The Celtics have Paul Pierce, with the addition of Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen. The Lakers only got Bryant and a team seemingly unreliable for a playoff showdown. And then last year, the Lakers won but it appears that there was no sense of fulfillment and left everybody thinking what if it was the Celtics?

The Finals. It's all about winning now. And with the Celtics standing in the way, Bryant is sure to find retribution from the team who's beaten them two years ago.

2010 NBA Playoffs: KG's Suspension

The 2010 Playoffs is getting even hotter these days with hot matchups including the East’s Boston Celtics and Miami Heat rivalry. Celtics took Game 1 with a 85-76 win over the Heat. But here’s downside, Kevin Garnett’s not playing for the second game.

I watched the video and I pretty much agree with what Doc Rivers, Celtics Head Coach has said – suspend the retaliator and the agitator. Fair enough.


Tell me if my eyes wasn’t seeing very clearly, I saw Quentin Richardson stir up the situation while KG was busy checking up on Paul Pierce. There was the elbow, but if Richardson didn’t start KG wouldn’t be pushed to his limits. It would’ve just been fair to KG if the association re-viewed the video.

Celtics lead the series to 1-0.

The Bad Boys Tie the Series

Let me hear you say! Deeeeetrooooit baaaasketballlllllll!! Yeah! The battle is definitely on between the Detroit Pistons and the Boston Celtics. The so-called Bad Boys of Motown won 103-97 against KG and the Celts in Game 2, tying the series to 1-1. They are a team that is so consistent in being good that they elude greatness -- sometimes, it seems, on purpose. - Scoop Jackson

Now, it's time for Kevin Garnett to prove his prowess at The Palace in Games 3 & 4. I'm really loving this! Six out of the 10 Pistons were in double-figures. The leading scorer for the Pistons was Richard Hamilton with 25 points and was followed Chauncey Billups scoring 19 points. Rasheed Wallace, Tayshaun Prince, and Antonio McDyess, had 26 rebounds all in all. This is definitely what you call Detroit Basketball.

On the greener side of the court, it was Paul Pierce who dominated with 26 points while KG added 24 points and 13 boards. Where was Ray Allen? Well, I think he's slowly getting in shape with 25 points and eight assists. Boston's Big Three wasn't able to hold on to their homecourt advantage as the Pistons wreak havoc during the first half. "The atmosphere's going to be crazy. We're geeked about getting back to our home court. The fans are excited, and now it's our job to take care of home court," said Rip Hamilton. Superb win for the Pistons!.. Bravo!..

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Spurs show their age in loss to Lakers When the Spurs win, it's about their experience but when they lose it's all about their age!.. Duh!! Such foolishness!..

"He [KB24] was doing a trust-his-teammates thing in the first half. He was checking it all out and seeing where his territory was going to be. In the second half, he went to work," said Spurs coach, Gregg Popovich.

“We don't want to go down 0-2 because it's very difficult to come back," said Spurs G, Tony Parker.