Penn State losing guard Jermaine Marshall early (Yahoo! Sports)
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) — Penn State guard Jermaine Marshall, the team’s second-leading scorer, is foregoing his senior year of eligibility to pursue a professional career overseas.
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Michigan losing Hardaway Jr. to draft (Yahoo! Sports)
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — Tim Hardaway Jr. is moving on to the next challenge, well aware that he’ll still need to prove himself if he’s going to follow his father’s footsteps in the NBA.
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As Jay-Z sells, Nets losing minor owner, big name (Yahoo! Sports)
NEW YORK (AP) — The Brooklyn Nets are losing one of their biggest names as they prepare for the playoffs.
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Pistons end 18-game losing streak to Bulls (Yahoo! Sports)
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. (AP) — The Detroit Pistons’ season ends in four games, but they still could have some effect on the Chicago Bulls’ playoff path.
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Are Oklahoma City Thunder Losing Ground in Title Race?
The Oklahoma City Thunder lost a close game to the red-hot Denver Nuggets, and they’ve won a game against just one top-tier Western Conference opponent just once in their past four tries. They’ve shown weakness in an otherwise hardheaded championship race.
As the defending Western Conference champions, the Thunder came into the season as the favorites to win the West again. Sure, they had just traded James Harden away and the Los Angeles Lakers had thrown together a super team, but most level-headed folks valued consistency over newfound riches.
Talk to most people, and the only serious NBA Championship contenders are the Miami Heat, San Antonio Spurs and these Thunder. However, the Nuggets, Los Angeles Clippers and even the Memphis Grizzlies have done their best to insert themselves into the situation.
What should be most concerning for the Thunder is that—while the Nuggets, Spurs, Clippers, Grizzlies and Heat have made big strides this year compared to last year—Oklahoma City’s improvements have not been comparable.
Oklahoma City’s strides this year have been totally chemistry related. Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook work well together, their offense is humming along even more than it was a season ago and, as far as player development goes, Serge Ibaka and Reggie Jackson have shown quite a bit of improvement.
They’re better than last year. But so is everybody else—and by a larger margin.
Taking the Heat as the finest example; the addition of Ray Allen has added another dimension to their offense, but Miami’s improvement goes beyond the addition of a sharpshooting veteran.
Miami’s teamwork this season is off the charts. The ability to get everybody involved and work as a cohesive unit has led to the team’s current 23-game winning streak.
Their offensive efficiency of 112.6 points per 100 possessions is second only to the Thunder, but they’ve also got the best player on the planet. Plus, they boast two wins over Oklahoma City.
Looking over at the Western Conference, the Spurs have found the fountain of youth while simultaneously developing their young guys.
When you’ve got Tim Duncan looking like a Defensive Player of the Year candidate, Tony Parker playing like an All-NBA First Team point guard and Kawhi Lenoard improving daily—plus Gregg Popovich continuing to helm the boys—this definitely looks like an improved team.
The Clippers improvement has been pretty straightforward. They’ve added a strong bench, grew together as a team and they still have Chris Paul. Sure, Vinny Del Negro might still be coaching them, but he’s got less of a say in running the offense than Ryan Hollins.
Memphis has turned back the clock, turning itself into the dangerous defensive juggernaut that it was when it took down the top-seeded Spurs in the first round of the 2011 playoffs.
They don’t have a go-to scoring threat, but neither did the 2004 Detroit Pistons and things seemed to work out well for them.
Finally we break down the Denver Nuggets who, with a combined 18-6 record against Western Conference playoff teams, have proven themselves to be formidable opponents.
Sure, you could hold their two losses to the Miami Heat against them, but seeing as those losses came in the first nine games of the season—and that the Nuggets got off to a rough 11-12 start— it’s easy to reason that they’re a different team today than they were then.
They’ve gone 36-10 since that sub-.500 beginning and have been virtually unbeatable at home.
This isn’t your daddy’s run-n-gun, Nellie Ball style of fast-paced basketball. This is an all-out onslaught of athleticism that tires out defenses and suffocates offenses.
Oklahoma City still has a leg up on the Western Conference competition thanks to the fact that it has two top-15 players. Still, the rest of the conference is right there with them, and the Thunder should be looking over their shoulder.
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Chicago Bulls: Why the Bulls Losing Skid Will Continue Against Warriors
The Chicago Bulls will face the Golden State Warriors tonight following a 121-79 drubbing at the hands of the Sacramento Kings.
After the loss, Tom Thibodeau took full responsibility for the team’s poor showing, stating it is on him to do a better job with getting the players ready and that he will push them harder going forward.
While I have no doubt that he will drive the point home with his players, here are are couple of reasons why the Bulls will come up short against the Warriors.
Offensive Woes:
For starters, the Bulls have had a difficult time putting the ball in the basket as of late. They connected on just 38 percent of their shots against the Kings, marking the team’s fourth consecutive outing in which they have failed to shoot 40 percent from the field.
Chicago has also dropped 12 of its last 19 games overall, including six of their last 10.
In addition to that, the Bulls are averaging just 81 points per game away from home during their current five-game road slide.
Unless they can find a way to generate a lot of easy scores on the offensive end, this game will get away from them early.
Trends:
Chicago did beat Golden State 103-87 when the teams faced off at the United Center back in January. Kirk Hinrich led the way with 25 points, including 6-of-7 from beyond the arc.
However, this game will be on the Warriors’ home court and history shows the Bulls don’t play too well in the Bay area.
In fact, Chicago has come away empty-handed in 11 of their previous 13 road games against Golden State and the last three losses were by double-digit margins.
On the flip side of the coin, the Warriors are averaging over 100 points per game on the season and have won 10 of their previous 13 home games.
As is the case with most of their games this season, the Bulls defense will make things interesting for awhile.
In the final analysis though, the Warriors will continue their dominance over a fatigued and depleted Bulls team that is searching for answers.
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Why Losing Rasheed Wallace Severely Hurts New York Knicks’ Title Aspirations
The recent news that Rasheed Wallace will be having season-ending surgery should make New York Knicks fans worry about their team’s chances at an NBA championship.
The 38-year-old came out of retirement before this season and contributed to the Knicks’ great start.
In the 20 games Wallace participated in before his injury, the Knicks were 16-4.
The last time he was on the court was on December 13 when the Knicks beat the Lakers 116-107 and extended their record to 17-5. During that game, Wallace had eight points, three rebounds and shot 3-of-5 from the field as well as 2-of-4 from behind the arc in 12 minutes.
He also had 12 points and seven rebounds against the Miami Heat in the second meeting between these two teams in this season, which ended in a 112-92 victory for New York. The Knicks could surely have used Wallace on Sunday, as they ended up losing 99-93 with the game slipping away in the final minutes.
Over the course of this season, Wallace averaged 7.2 PPG and 4.2 rebounds in 14.6 minutes.
However, once you look into his per 36 minutes stats, you start to get a sense of Wallace’s impact on the court.
Now, he’s averaging 17.8 PPG, his highest since the 2002-03 season. He’s also averaging 10.2 rebounds. In his entire career he has never averaged more than nine rebounds per 36 minutes.
His win shares per 48 minutes is .104 and his PER is 16.8, both of which are above the league average.
Another crucial element that Wallace brings to the team, which can’t be quantified in a statistic, is veteran leadership. He has won an NBA championship and played enough seasons at the highest level that he could have had an impact for the Knicks down the stretch.
The loss of Wallace also negatively impacts the Knicks’ key players, as they will have to spend more time on the court, which will increase wear and tear.
That should be a red flag for the Knicks, as they had to face the Miami Heat last year without several key players such as Jeremy Lin and Iman Shumpert.
The Knicks bench is depleted. Just compare the Knicks lineup from opening night and Sunday’s game, both against the Miami Heat. In the first game, the Knicks had seven players coming off the bench. In the second game, the number was reduced to four.
Carmelo Anthony’s minutes have gone up from 35.3 MPG to 38.8 in February. In his first two games in March, he has averaged 42.5 MPG. Tyson Chandler has also seen his minutes increase dramatically. He averaged 29.5 in November, but last month the number had gone up to 34.5.
How much do you think the Knicks wished they had Wallace’s 14 MPG right now, so they could allocate some time on the bench for their star players?
The question going forward for the Knicks is how to replace the veteran. The reality is that while the Knickerbockers could probably have found someone who gave them 7.2 PPG in 14 minutes, that’s not what they did.
The Knicks signed Kenyon Martin, another veteran player, but so far it remains to be seen if he can make up for the loss of Wallace.
Martin has only played five minutes since he arrived in New York, so he has not exactly provided any relief for the starters.
Additionally, judging by Martin’s stats, there’s very little indication that the Knicks will get the same offensive production from him as they got from Wallace.
In his last season with the Clippers, Martin averaged just 5.2 PPG in 22.4 minutes, which equates to 8.3 points per 36 minutes.
There have been some reports that Wallace could return once the playoffs start. Although he might be reeling from the lack of playing time, Knicks fans should keep their fingers crossed.
Wallace’s production during his 20-game stint, as well as the Knicks’ lack of spark from the bench, should be enough for them to wish for his return.
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Iona Snaps Three-Game Losing Streak and Secures a Top Six Seed in the MAAC
With four minutes left to play in a two-point game, junior guard Sean Armand missed a three. The ball hit the rim and hovered in the air until junior guard Tre Bowman dunked the rebound through.
The Iona crowd erupted into “oohs and ahs” after the top-10esque play. Loyola head coach Jimmy Patsos was livid over his team’s lack of effort getting the rebound and was called for a technical. Senior guard Lamont “Momo” Jones and Bowman are raising their arms, signaling for the crowd to get louder. The Iona team is chest bumping and high-fiving each other. Queen’s song “We Will Rock You” bounced around the walls of the Hynes Center.
Momentum is now sitting on the Iona bench, and that is where it remained for the rest of the game. The Gaels never relinquished the lead from that point on and won 90-86, securing at worst a sixth seed in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, which avoids the play-in game.
“That won us the game,” Jones said afterwards. “We haven’t had a play like that all season.”
After losing the last three games and six of the last seven games by a combined 11 points, Iona head coach Tim Cluess said, “We needed that electrifying play.”
Jones, the nation’s No. 2 scorer, had a game-high 35 points, but Armand, the second half of the most prolific scoring duo this year in Division I (along with Jones), was held to just eight points as his recent struggles continued.
So it was poetic justice that Bowman dunked Armand’s miss, symbolizing other players on Iona stepping up during their captain’s cold streak.
Cluess applauded his two bigs—sophomore forward David Laury, who finished with 14 points and eight rebounds, and senior forward Taaj Ridley, who finished with 15 points and four rebounds—for stepping up as well.
“David [Laury] played much better today,” Cluess said, “And Taaj [Ridley] battled underneath. We needed those two in this game against their size.”
Early on in this game, Iona threw away a 15-point lead with ill-advised passes and poor ball security, resulting in eight turnovers and 10 Loyola points.
The Greyhounds scored 10 unanswered points to close out the half and tie the game at 36. This seemed eerily similar to recent games for the Gaels.
The second half was back and forth with no lead extending beyond six points.
That was until Bowman’s dunk, which sparked an 11-6 Iona run, giving the Gaels a 82-72 lead with two minutes to play.
Loyola cut the lead to five, 82-77, but with just 56 seconds left on the clock, the Greyhounds had to start fouling to preserve the precious seconds.
The No. 3 free-throw shooting team in the nation welcomed the opportunity to shoot from line, converting 6-8 free throws inside the one minute mark.
“They could’ve layed down at any time, but they continued to fight,” Cluess said. “I’ve never seen a team work as hard as they do…They never felt sorry for themselves.”
Iona will take on Manhattan this Sunday at 2 p.m. for this year’s senior day.
All quotes and information were obtained firsthand.
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College Basketball’s 10 Best Players Hidden on Losing Teams
Not every great college basketball player pulls on a Duke, Indiana or Michigan jersey. Sometimes it seems that way, but there are countless talented athletes with little chance of reaching the NCAA tournament.
Some are surrounded by deficient talent and some have the misfortune of playing in loaded conferences. Others play for programs that rack up losses by being sacrificial lambs to the power-six programs.
All, however, have proven they can ball against those major opponents.
These 10 players share two more things in common: They can crunch numbers and they toil on teams with sub-.500 records as of Feb. 28.
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Syracuse Basketball: Orange Look to End Losing Skid, Face No. 10 Louisville
The Syracuse Orange need to be in desperation mode on Saturday against the No. 10 Louisville Cardinals. The Orange have lost two straight games to ranked opponents and have fallen to fourth place in the Big East.
‘Cuse was riding high in mid-January after a 70-68 upset victory of then No. 1 Louisville.
In that game, point guard Michael Carter-Williams took over in the second half and led his team to the win. The sophomore finished with 16 points and seven assists. Senior guard Brandon Triche had a stellar game against the Cardinals, scoring 23 points and contributing six rebounds.
Things are much different this time around. Syracuse has not been playing well as of late, losing five of its last 10 games. The team has been inconsistent and unable to shoot a high percentage from the floor.
Syracuse ranks 39th in the nation in points scored, at 74 a game. The team is ranked 96th in field goal percentage at just 44.7 percent a game. The Orange spent much of the year ranked in the top 10 of rebounding, but now find themselves at 16th, with 39.5 boards a game.
The Orange are led by Triche, who scores 14.5 points a game. Forward C.J. Fair is right behind him with 14.4 points a game. Carter-Williams has seen his numbers decline in recent days, now scoring 12.5 points a game with 7.9 assists per game. He is no longer the nation’s leader in assists.
If Syracuse hopes to come out on top, it’s going to have to limit the mistakes and get back to playing the solid basketball it was just a month ago.
Louisville enters the game at Syracuse on a bit of a hot streak. After losing three straight in January, including the loss to Syracuse, the Cardnials have since gone 7-1, including four in a row.
They are led on offense by junior guard Russ Smith, who averages 18.4 points a game. In the last meeting, Smith led all scorers with 25 points.
The Cardinals have been playing great defense recently, allowing over 61 points just once in the last eight games. The frontcourt combination of Chane Behanan and Gorgui Dieng creates matchup problems for many teams.
Though neither team is ranked as high as they had hoped at this point, this will still be a great Big East matchup.
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