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November 05 07
Each day during the 2007-8 season, HoopsVibe The Blog will highlight one ‘Must-See’ NBA game. The ‘Must-See’ game is our pick as the day’s best match-up.

Of course, we’re tuning in to all the day’s action and want to know what games interest you, so hit us up in the comment box below with your NBA plans for this evening.

NBA schedule for November 5th, 2007

* Houston @ Dallas.

Our pick as tonight’s ’Must-See’ game: Houston @ Dallas.

Why: One game is scheduled for this evening. Do not despair hoop fans, the Rockets and Mavericks will entertain.

Houston have been impressive this season. Their defense is still stingy, but there’s more freedom, creativity, and movement on offense. Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming have led the charge, but don’t overlook the Rockets’ new supporting cast.

Through three games, Mike James and Bonzi Wells have looked great. And the addition of international star Luis Scola fascinates me. The Argentine finally gives Houston a legitimate four-man. He will become Yao’s Otis Thorpe, a blue-collar, glue guy, who does all the little things.

Meanwhile, Josh Howard has returned from his two-game suspension, so Dallas are back at full strength. This year, the Mavericks have changed their starting line-up. Devin Harris is in as point guard, while Jason Terry is now coming off the bench.

The reasoning here is simple: Harris is a natural table-setter, Terry is an instant-offense combo guard. But will this move be enough to help Dallas finally win an NBA Title?

Who do you like tonight: Houston or Dallas? Get at us in the comment box below with your thoughts.

Miami Heat Can’t Rush Dwyane Wade’s Return, Pat Riley Addresses Jason Williams’ Selfish Comment


November 05 07
Ira Winderman of The Florida Sun-Sentinel blogs on Dwyane Wade’s health:

Dwyane Wade wouldn’t be pinned down on a return date, after Monday’s full-contact practice, his first since May knee and shoulder surgeries.

He did, though, offer perspective on where he stands, by noting that he has needed two days off recently to recover from four consecutive days of practice.

Still, after taking a few jolts from backup center Joel Anthony, figure on Wade pushing up his timetable, even as Shaquille O’Neal puts his teammate as being three weeks away.

My Quick Take: Right now, the Heat is playing with fire. And, no, I’m not referring to their 0-3 start to the 2007-08 campaign.

Wade’s long-term health is more significant than this season; after all, he’s Miami’s superstar and an elite NBA player. Rushing him back from off-season surgeries will lead to other injuries and long-term damage.

For example, last year, ’Flash’ pushed up his return from injury for the Heat’s post-season run. This was pointless. Wade and Miami struggled, getting swept by Chicago in the first round of the playoffs.

Instead of skipping the 2006-07 post-season and being well-rested for this year, Wade added wear-and-tear to his body. Now he’s missing more time.

The Heat’s problems complicate things. They’ve lost sixteen straight games going back to last year. And Wade, as leader, feels responsible.

But caution must take precedence over Wade’s immediate desire to play. He should only return when fully healthy and then Miami can evaluate Shaq and their team.

* * * * * *
Meanwhile, Coach Pat Riley addresses Jason Williams calling his teammates selfish after last Friday’s loss:

"Right now, a lot of guys are self-willed. Shaq wants to do it. J-Will wants to do it. Ricky wants to do it. Everybody wants to do the right thing. Daequan wants to do it. No, we’re not a selfish team. It’s just a team that’s not together right now."

My Quick Take: Riley is right. His players are doing too much as individuals, but nobody is intentionally trying to get theirs at the expense of team goals. There’s a difference.

After all, Ricky Davis is new to The Mia. Rookie Daequan Cook is adjusting to ’The League’. Even veterans- like Shaq, Williams, and Wade-must re-establish chemistry after missing significant portions of last year. Time is needed for the parts to fit back together.

So what to make of Williams’ statement? The baller formerly known as White Chocolate probably spoke out of frustration. No big deal. This isn’t Sacramento, part deux. Williams is a different player and person, earning Hubie Brown’s respect in Memphis and quarterbacking the 2005-06 Heat to an NBA Title.

When should Wade return? What do you think of Williams calling his teammates selfish? Get at us in the comment box below with your thoughts.

In the LOS ANGELES TIMES, Mike Bresnahan writes “in case the Lakers were feeling they hadn't experienced enough good fortune over the last few days, the health gods finally smiled upon them after creating all sorts of havoc last season. Forward Lamar Odom practiced Monday and could play Friday against Minnesota. He took part in some contact drills at practice, but, as he said, won't "rip it up" until practices later this week. He will not play tonight against New Orleans.”

In the CLEVELAND PLAIN DEALER, Branson Wright writes “Larry Hughes sat out Monday's practice because of a lower left leg contusion that he suffered in Sunday's loss in Phoenix. Hughes was injured when he banged knees with Suns guard Leandro Barbosa. Hughes experienced some minor swelling but said the contusion is nothing major. Most likely, Hughes will see limited action tonight against the Golden State Warriors at the Oracle Arena in Oakland, but his leg is not the only thing Hughes needs to fix.”

In the ORLANDO SENTINEL, Tim Povtak writes “it sure seemed excessive, all the hype last month before the Orlando Magic played the Cleveland Cavaliers in an exhibition game in China. Yet the hoopla didn't compare to what is coming from China this week. Friday's regular-season game between the Milwaukee Bucks and the Houston Rockets is being treated like a playoff series, creating considerable anticipation among the burgeoning basketball fan base in China. Game 1 of Yao vs. Yi will be huge.”

http://sports.espn.go.com/broadband/video/videopage?&brand=null&videoId=3096547&n8pe6c=2

DALLAS, Nov. 5 (AP) -- After being a starter most of his first eight seasons in the NBA, Jason Terry is coming off the bench this year.

And he's thrilled.

Returning to a role he excelled at in college, Terry showed how much of a spark he can provide with his performance Monday night, scoring 31 points and guiding the Dallas Mavericks on a late 14-4 run that carried them past the Houston Rockets 107-98.

"He just had that look in his eye and his shot really looked good,'' coach Avery Johnson said. "We are very surprised when he misses; we're kind of spoiled these days.''

A starter for Dallas in the finals two years ago and on the club that won 67 games last season, Terry showed his leadership late in the third quarter, scoring seven straight points with Dirk Nowitzki and Josh Howard on the bench in foul trouble. Then he opened the fourth quarter with a 3-pointer, a personal 10-0 run that took the Mavericks from down by five to leading by five.

"Not that I can flip a switch, but without those guys out there, I've got to look for my shot,'' Terry said.

Dallas was up only 91-90 when Terry started the winning burst with two free throws. He also fed Nowitzki on two baskets and hit two more free throws to cap the spurt with the Mavericks in control 105-94.

Nowitzki had 19 points on 7-of-20 shooting, including a 3-pointer that bounced in off the front rim for a big emotional boost during the gamebreaking run. He also had nine rebounds. Howard had 21 points and DeSagana Diop added 10 points, 13 rebounds and four blocks. Jerry Stackhouse scored 16 points on his 33rd birthday, including five in the final rally.

The Rockets came in riding a 3-0 start and a nice roll by Tracy McGrady, who earlier Monday was named the Western Conference's first player of the week for this season. While he had 35 points and eight assists, and Yao Ming had 21 points and 11 rebounds, it wasn't enough to prevent Houston from its first loss under new coach Rick Adelman.

"We've got to be smart,'' McGrady said. "They did some different things and we weren't able to adjust. ... It's a learning process. We've only been together for about a month.''

Adelman hopes to put the lessons learned to good use right away. The Spurs play in Houston on Tuesday night.

"It's tough but that's our challenge,'' he said. "We have to learn how to beat a good team and get more people involved.''

The Rockets shot 42 percent, and that was boosted by hitting 50 percent in the opening quarter. They also were hurt by nobody other than McGrady and Yao cracking double digits.

McGrady, who came in as the league's leading scorer, was 12-of-31. He had 28 points through three quarters, but managed only seven more with the game to be won.

The Mavericks are 3-1, which is notable only because they were 0-4 at this point last season, with a 41-point loss to Houston mixed in. Dallas went on to match the fifth-most wins in league history before getting bounced in the first round of the playoffs.

Johnson has tweaked things this year, making Devin Harris his starting point guard and Terry his first sub. Johnson has shown his commitment to the plan by keeping Terry as his top reserve even though Harris has missed the last two games with a bruised left thigh. J.J. Barea started both games; after a terrific performance last time, he struggled this time, with Terry starting the second half.

Terry started 558 of the first 654 games of his career, including 80 each of the last two seasons, but he embraced Johnson's plan, reminding everyone he won a national championship as a sub at Arizona. He's also set a goal of winning the Sixth Man award. He's off to a good start, having averaged 20 points over the games before this one.

"I'm very comfortable in this role,'' Terry said. "I'm going to go out there and give us what we need, a good punch off the bench every night.''

Notes: Dallas C Erick Dampier is expected to take part in his first full practice Tuesday since offseason shoulder surgery. When will he make his season debut? "His body will tell us,'' Johnson said. "The main thing is, I don't want to rush him.'' ... Dallas G Devean George (stress reaction in foot) is farther from returning, prompting Johnson to say, "Our inactive list is pretty deep right now.'' ... Adelman on McGrady being player of the week: "He's definitely deserving. We're 3-0 and he's one of the main reasons.'' ... Barea came in as the league's top 3-point shooter: 4-for-4. He also was No. 2 in field goal percentage. "That'd be nice at the end of the year,'' he said.

PHOENIX, Nov. 5 (AP) -- Swelling in Amare Stoudemire's right knee could sideline him for the second game in a row when the Phoenix Suns begin a four-game road trip Tuesday night at Charlotte.

"It all depends on how I feel,'' Stoudemire said after the Suns practiced on Monday. "If I feel good tomorrow, then I'll play. If not, then I'll sit it out. There's no pressure being put on me by the staff or the trainers.''

Stoudemire watched film, lifted weights and did some shooting while his teammates practiced. He sat out Phoenix's 103-92 victory over Cleveland on Sunday. The all-star forward had arthroscopic surgery on his right knee Oct. 2.

He missed virtually all the 2005-06 season after microfracture surgery on his left knee. The latest surgery was considered minor, and Stoudemire had come back strong before the swelling occurred.

Coach Mike D'Antoni said he was not concerned about any long-term impact.

"Maybe it's just a normal thing, just a little too much activity, maybe,'' D'Antoni said. "Whatever it is, with a couple of days' rest, he'll be fine.''

Stoudemire, the only player to appear in all 82 regular-season Suns games last season, said he is taking a cautious approach.

"It's early, I've got a long career,'' he said. "You can't win a championship in November, but you can lose one, you know what I'm saying? I just want to make sure I take my time and get back right so I'm able to go to war with these guys the next few months.''

MIAMI, November 5 (AP) -- Dwyane Wade's surgically repaired knee survived its first real test with no setbacks. During Wade's first full-contact practice this season with the Miami Heat, rookie center Joel Anthony threw his 6-foot-9, 260-pound body toward the 2006 NBA finals MVP as the guard headed toward the basket.

Wade didn't mind whatsoever.

After six months, he was more than anxious to see how he'd handle getting fouled again.

"It finally came," Wade said. "I needed to go get that first hit and I appreciate Joel for that."

The good news for the Heat was that Wade reported no problems related to his left knee or left shoulder — both of which were operated on May 15 — after practice Monday.

The bad news for the franchise is that Wade still doesn't know when he'll be ready to return to the Miami lineup, which could clearly use a boost after an 0-3 start.

"It was just good to be back out there playing, to be back out there practicing," said Wade, the three-time All-Star who averaged a career-high 27.4 points last season. "Every player loves the games and not too many love practice, but today I loved practice — for the first time."

One thing Wade made clear: Miami's slow start isn't a good enough reason for him to rush back into the lineup before he's certain the knee is ready.

When he returns, Wade wants to be back to stay.

"My prognostical prognosis, my assumption, I'll say about three weeks," Heat center Shaquille O'Neal said. "He's still D-Wade. He looks good out there. We're avoiding the very, very rough contact, but he's shooting the ball well and getting guys involved. When he gets out there, it's going to be fun."

Wade dislocated his left shoulder in February and missed most of the final two months of the regular season, plus was hobbled by the condition called "jumper's knee" when he came back for Miami's short stint in the playoffs.

So he had both conditions repaired at the same time in mid-May, being told the rehabilitation process would take about six months — meaning he's actually a bit ahead of schedule.

"It's going to be a day-to-day process, it really is," Wade said. "Hopefully we don't have the Dwyane Wade watch and countdown. I really don't want to do that. I really want to concentrate on the Miami Heat and when I come back, everybody will know it and hopefully I come back ready to help the team get on a good track."

The left shoulder, he said, is tighter than his right one now, so learning to absorb contact is the only real concern there. But the knee is Wade's ticket to explosiveness, which defines his game. And after four days of hard workouts last week, Wade had to take two days off because of soreness there.

That would indicate he's not quite ready yet for the rigors of play.

"He went after it, he took a couple hard hits, he had a good practice," Heat coach Pat Riley said. "He's just going to practice every day and when he feels ready, then that's when he'll be ready. He went hard today. We scrimmaged today. We went halfcourt, we did a lot of different packages and schemes. ... He looked good."

In LOS ANGELES TIMES, Mike Bresnahan writes “After being little more than a punch line last season, Vladimir Radmanovic is trying to punch back. Ridiculed nationwide for his ill-conceived snowboarding excursion during last season's All-Star break, Radmanovic had his best game with the Lakers on Friday in Phoenix, scoring a team-high 19 points and hitting all four of his three-point attempts. He followed it up with nine points Sunday against Utah. The key for him, as usual, will be consistency.”

In FOXSPORTS.COM, Charley Rosen writes “Greg Oden and Kevin Durant were the most heralded selections in last June's NBA draft, but the most controversial development was Milwaukee selection of Yi Jialian with the sixth pick. In so doing, the Bucks defied insistent threats by the Chinese Basketball Association that Yi would boycott Milwaukee and resume his career in his homeland. Fortunately for the Bucks, their gamble was successful.”