The last time Phoenix played Portland with a long winning streak, Brandon Roy dropped 52 on the Suns, and the Blazers won. So what happened last night, when Portland played a Phoenix team that had won six in a row? More of the same. The Blazers had a balanced attack last night in the Rose Garden, getting 14 points from Steve Blake, 29 points and 12 boards from Lemarcus Aldridge, 26 from Brandon Roy and 23 from Rudy Fernandez in a 129-109 win over Phoenix, in a game that wasn’t as close as the final score. Phoenix is still 3.5 games behind Dallas for the 8th seed in the West, while Portland remains tied with the Hornets for the 5th seed. Check the highlights below:
One team the Lakers may not want to see come playoff time is the Portland Trailblazers. The young Blazers, who played one of their most complete games of the season Monday night, beat the Lakers for the 7th straight time in the Rose Garden, 111-94. Portland came out the gates playing very aggressive, and the Lakers bench had no answer for the offensive firepower Portland had from their reserves.
Perhaps the biggest headline of this game came late in the 3rd quarter though, when Blazers guard Rudy Fernandez was fouled extremely hard by Trevor Ariza. Check out the foul, and tell me if this should get Ariza suspended:
photo - Rick Bonner
The four slam dunk contestants are now set for the Sprite NBA Slam Dunk Contest during All Star weekend in Phoenix this February. Rudy Fernandez will join Dwight Howard, Nate Robinson, and Rudy Gay in the contest.
In case you haven’t seen the Blazers’ rookie dunk, check out this video:
Thanks to Matt over at Sprite for sending over this link!
Check out the Sprite Slam Dunk Participants politic for your vote. The Sprite Slam Dunk Contest is during NBA All Star Saturday Night in Phoenix, Arizona, and LayupDrill.com will be there covering all the happenings of All Star Weekend and bringing them to you right here!
http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=4EA849417E2A5752
You can vote for who you think should challenge Dwight Howard for the title here:
NBA.com/Dunk
Here is my personnal take how the NBA season has gone so far and how things would fall if the season were over tomorrow. Enjoy!
Most Valuable Player
- LeBron James: He is averaging robust numbers with 27.8 ppg, 7.2 rpg, 6.4 apg, and 1.9 spg. Beyond that the Cavaliers are off to their best start ever and own the leagues third best record behind LA and Boston(Both of which have multiple stars contributing).
- Dwayne Wade: The only thing keep D-Wade from the top spot is his teams record at 9-9. He sports numbers just as good as King James with 28.7 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 7.9 apg, 2.3 spg and 1.7 bpg.
- Dwight Howard: The Magic center is averaging a jaw dropping 14.0 rpg and 3.9 bpg to go with his 21.4 ppg off of nearly 59% shooting. This is down low dominance not seen Shaq still had legs to jump with.
Honorable Mention: Chris Bosh, Kobe Bryant, Devin Harris, Chris Paul and Chauncey Billups.
Rookie of the Month
- Derrick Rose: Rose has lead the Bulls to an 8-9 record. He is averaging 18.4 ppg, 6.0 apg, 4.1 rpg and 1.0 spg.
- O.J. Mayo: Similar to D-Wade above the only thing holding Mayo from the #1 spot is his teams dismal 4-13 record. He is averaging 21.9 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 2.2 apg and 1.3 spg.
Honorable Mention: Micheal Beasley, D.J. Augustin, Russell Westbrook, Marc Gasol, and Rudy Fernandez.
Coach of the Month
- Jerry Sloan: Sloan’s decision to start CJ Miles and bring former all-star Andrei Kirilenko off the bench was a genius gamble. To top that off the Jazz having an 11-7 record with all the games lost to injuries is a reflection of the hard nosed style of play Sloan preaches.
- Doc Rivers: Doc continues to develop his younger players around the Boston Three Party of KG, Paul Pierce, and Ray Allen. The whole time continuing to get great production from his entire team who stands at 17-2.
Honorable Mention: Phil Jackson, Stan Van Gundy, Greg Poppovich, and Mike D’Antoni.
Sixth Man of November
- Utah Jazz Bench: Hear me out on this one. The Jazz have lost more than 50 games already to injury this year. Mostly from Deron Williams, Carlos Boozer, Andrei Kirilenko, Matt Harpring, and Kyle Korver. At different times this season the entire bench has stepped up. The effort has been lead by AK, Ronnie Price and Paul Milsap.
- Nate Robinson: He is averaging 14.5 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 4.2 apg, and 1.7 spg.
Best Decision So Far:
- Denver Trades For Chauncey: The Nuggets are 12-4 since shedding Allen Iverson for Chauncey Billups in order to provide a floor general for a team that had enough scorers. Doesn’t that really say it all.
- Jazz Bench Kirilenko: Andrei and CJ Miles are thriving under this arrangement. Ak is averaging three year highs of 12.6 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 3.4 apg, 1.4 spg, and 1.3 bpg off of the bench. While as a starter Miles is averaging career highs of 11.1 ppg, 2.6 rpg, and 2.2 apg.
- New York Dumps Salary: Seriously can anyone doubt that dropping the salaries of Zach Randolph and Jamal Crawford was a great idea. Who in New York doesn’t want LeBron to sign as a free agent in 2010.
Mostly Likely To Contend For Championship
- LA Lakers
- Boston Celtics
- Cleveland Cavaliers
Honorable Mention: Utah Jazz, Denver Nuggets, Orlando Magic, Houston Rockets, and the Phoenix Suns.
Mostly Likely To Win The Lottery
- Oklahoma City Blunder
- Los Angeles Slippers
- Memphis Fizzlies
Dishonorable Mention: Washington Wizards, Sacramento Kings, Minnesota Timberwolves, and the Golden State Warriors.
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