Fab Melo’s Return Will Prove Essential to the Syracuse Orange
The second-ranked Syracuse Orange will roll into its second home, Madison Square Garden, to take on the St. John’s Red Storm on Saturday at noon. This will be the first visit to the Garden for Syracuse since its championship victory over Stanford in the NIT Tip-Off Classic last November.
Back from his three-game hiatus, Syracuse sophomore Fab Melo looks to make his triumphant return to the center of the lane in coach Jim Boeheim’s vaunted 2-3 zone. While Melo may not start, according to Syracuse.com, his gargantuan frame will be a welcomed presence on the lineup card.
How much of a difference does Fab Melo make?
Melo only missed three games, so stats don’t do that argument justice, but the eye test tells a story of a team lost in translation. This was a team that could cheat on defense, knowing that a Brazilian giant was waiting to clean up the mess.
Without him, holes in the zone opened and the middle of the paint was surrendered in a hostile takeover.
With Melo in the lineup, Syracuse is one of the best shot-blocking teams in the nation. The Orange still managed to pull their share of turnovers in his absence, but they were killed on the glass. Fab Melo only averages 5.7 rebounds per game, but his body in the lane allowed his teammates to clean the boards. Without him, Syracuse’s opponents looked like schoolyard bullies trying to steal the Orange’s lunch money.
Fab Melo’s return means that the rest of the team can go back to normal duties.
This Syracuse team goes 10-deep, but each player plays a role. Until Melo’s absence, it was thought that any one player for the Orange could be interchanged with another. Syracuse fans learned quickly against Notre Dame that this was not the case.
Fab Melo’s role was written exclusively for Fab Melo.
Syracuse will be fine with Baye Keita and Rakeem Christmas giving Melo breathers, but neither is a full-time replacement for him.
Offensively, Syracuse is a jack of all trades, but a master of none.
There isn’t any one aspect of the Syracuse offense that the Orange does better than any other team in the country. They tend to go with the hot hand and when that hand cools down, any one of nine other players can pick up the slack.
Luckily for Syracuse, its other two branches of basketball government are defense and transition. It is in these two aspects that Syracuse, with Melo, is peerless. Melo’s shot-blocking and rebounding are two of the main catalysts to the Syracuse running game and Jim Boeheim should have a look of relief to see them back serving his team.
It’s a very brief look of relief.
Melo has been practicing with the team and only missed three games, so there should be little to no adjustment period. The rest of the team can go back to normal duties and should enjoy travelling to its home away from home, Madison Square Garden.
This perfect Orange storm should prove to be too much for the Red Storm to handle.
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Bucks prove when healthy, they’re dangerous
The Bucks went 282 days in between their previous two road victories.
They certainly had no intention of waiting anywhere near that long for another.
Playing at full strength for the first time this season, the Bucks took care of business against a Miami team playing without Dwyane Wade, posting an impressive 91-82 victory over the Heat on Sunday at the American Airlines Arena.
“When we’re healthy, we’re a dangerous team,” said point guard Brandon Jennings. “As long as we keep that going, we’ll be alright.”
Milwaukee’s victory came despite a poor shooting night. The Bucks were 28-of-80 from the field and just 5-for-30 on three-point attempts.
But for the second straight game, Milwaukee put together a strong defensive effort. The Bucks held the Heat, averaging 107 points a game coming into the contest, to a season-low 82 points. Miami shot 37 percent (25-67) from the field and 25 percent from three (3-12).
“One thing that’s happened is the last two games we’ve looked much more like ourselves defensively,” head coach Scott Skiles said. “It’s not every day you’re going to keep a team like the Heat in the 80s. If we keep this up, we’ll be fine. We’ll be in good shape.”
Stephen Jackson, held out of the game Friday in New York after missing the team’s shoot around, was not in the starting lineup Sunday but came off the bench to score 10 points in 26 minutes. Shaun Livingston started his second straight game, scoring 10 points in 39 minutes while Jennings led Milwaukee with 23 points despite shooting just 5-of-20 from the field and 1-of-10 from beyond the arc.
“I thought Brandon really hung in there tonight,” Skiles said. “He had a bad night from the field but he didn’t let it get to him.”
The Bucks (6-9) return home to face Atlanta Monday night at the Bradley Center.
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Dallas Mavericks: Why Delonte West Will Prove to Be Biggest Addition
After losing Tyson Chandler, Caron Butler, J.J. Barea and DeShawn Stevenson this offseason, things weren’t looking to good for the reigning NBA champs heading into this season.
In an attempt to make up for their losses with only a couple of weeks to work with, the Dallas Mavericks picked up veteran talents Lamar Odom, Vince Carter and Delonte West.
Odom and Carter were obviously the biggest names of the bunch, and many believed the two would be able to immediately break into Dallas’ starting rotation and make an impact.
Unfortunately, that hasn’t been the case so far this season.
Odom’s numbers in both scoring and rebounding are nearly half of his career averages, and he has also seen a career-low amount of floor time. If he doesn’t return to the quality of basketball Laker fans were used to seeing night in and night out, it’s unlikely Dallas will bring him back for another year.
Carter started at shooting guard on opening day against the Miami Heat but, after struggling out of the gate, soon lost his spot to the other newcomer, Delonte West.
Upon his arrival in Dallas, many saw West as a solid backup to veteran point guard Jason Kidd. Instead, he’s started at the two-guard position alongside Kidd. When Kidd missed a few games with a lower back injury earlier this month, West also did a fine job filling in as the starting floor general.
Dallas coach Rick Carlisle has grown fond of West, calling him the team’s best defender.
Due to the Mavericks’ depth at the shooting guard position, West only sees around 22 minutes per game, but he’s played well in those minutes. His ability to play both guard spots doesn’t hurt, either.
West also came at a surprisingly low price. The Mavericks signed him to a one-year deal at the veteran’s minimum, yet he’s playing like somebody worth significantly more.
He’s had a journeyman’s career, as Dallas is his fourth team in nine years, but he seems to be playing like he wants to stick around in Big D a little while longer.
With Kidd likely to retire at season’s end, it’s entirely possible West could become the main man running the point for the Mavericks next season, given his good play keeps up. He could also stay at shooting guard, but throughout his career he’s played mainly at the point.
However, there’s a lot of buzz around the league that the Mavericks will be in pursuit of superstars Dwight Howard and Deron Williams once this season comes to an end. In order to sign both players, the Mavericks most likely would not re-sign any of their free agents. That would lead to the losses of Jason “The Jet” Terry, Odom, Carter, Kidd and West.
What’s the most impressive about West in Big D is that he’s been able to keep his name out of the press for the wrong reasons—at least to this point.
In 2009 while playing for the Cleveland Cavaliers, West was arrested on a weapons charge when police found two pistols and a shotgun hidden inside a guitar case in his vehicle. West plead guilty and was assigned electronic monitoring, community service and probation, as well as psychological counseling.
That arrest was apparently the reason West was unable to attend the team’s recent visit to the White House to meet with President Barack Obama.
It seems now that in Dallas West has his head on straight and is focused on basketball, which is definitely nice to see.
Hopefully for the Dallas Mavericks, Carter and Odom begin to pick their game up. But until that day, it’s safe to say it is in fact the cheaper, yet more youthful Delonte West who has made the biggest impact on the court.
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Kobe Bryant’s Sizzling Numbers Prove That He’s Still a Top-5 Player
Only a few players in history have the ability to play well when they’re angry.
Michael Jordan could do it, Larry Bird could do it and Kobe Bryant is doing it. Kobe has been in a mean and surly mood since before the jump ball on Christmas Day.
Life and organizational change has cast him there, but rumors of his demise are premature. Even if he doesn’t say it verbally, he acknowledges the rumors with every fall-away and jab step.
There is no room on his mental bulletin board for motivational material. Surely, if we could take a peek, it would read:
Kobe has lost a step at 33 years old, he’s played over 46,000 minutes in his NBA career.
Kobe shoots too much.
Kobe is behind LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Dwight Howard, Dirk Nowitzki and Dwyane Wade as far as top NBA players are considered.
Will his divorce will negatively effect his play?
Kobe’s wrist injury is too much for him to overcome.
The list can seemingly go on forever, but Kobe is fueled by the adversity and the doubt. With him, piling on is like blowing a spit ball at the baddest kid in school when he’s looking for a fight.
Bryant seemed to be proving many of the naysayers and doubters right early in the season. The Lakers lost a heart-breaker on Christmas and Kobe’s eight turnovers were a big reason for their collapse against the Bulls. His mishaps set the stage for Derrick Rose to one-up him at the Staples Center.
Slowly but surely, Kobe has found his bearings. With a new offense and under a new coach, Kobe has found himself under both.
Don’t look now, but Bryant is averaging over 30 points per game for the season, and a healthy 44 points per game in his last two. One a 48-point explosion versus the Suns, and lastly, an impressive vintage Bryant performance at Utah, to hand the Jazz their first home loss of the year. It was also the Lakers first road win of the year.
The shooting percentage many were worried about is .459; his career total is .455. His rebound and assist numbers are up from his career averages as well.
Can you say early favorite for MVP? I can.
To think that Kobe is producing at this level, amidst the pressure and tenuous circumstance, is amazing.
Like all great players in their 30s, Kobe’s game has evolved. There won’t be as many thunderous slams, but the footwork and touch is heightened.
The Black Mamba strikes differently, but he’s just as deadly as ever.
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Indiana Basketball: What the Hoosiers Have Yet to Prove in Their Recent Surge
Welcome back, Indiana basketball. Assembly Hall is rumbling. The Hoosiers have knocked off the top two teams, and have surged into the Top 25.
The 14-1 Hoosiers have had one of the best starts in their recent history and recently fended off No. 13 Michigan at Assembly Hall.
However, the Hoosiers have yet to prove one thing—that they can win road games against Top 25 opponents.
After losing all of its ten road games last year, Indiana was able to break its losing streak on the road with an early-season win against Evansville. The Hoosiers then won on the road against NC State, a decent ACC opponent.
The Hoosiers have proved that they can win road games. That is evident through their two non-conference wins on the road.
However, Indiana showed vulnerability in their road loss to fellow Big Ten opponent Michigan State (No. 17), who overcame the Hoosiers 80-65 and gave them their first loss of the season.
There’s no denying that Indiana stacks up well against fellow Top 25 opponents, as the Hoosiers have upset No. 1 Kentucky and No. 2 Ohio State. However, they’ve done so at Assembly Hall.
This isn’t to take away from the credibility of those monumental wins, as they were two of the most exciting college basketball games of the decade. However, the Hoosiers have yet to prove that they can win against Top 25 opponents on the road.
They certainly have the potential to do so, but as was proven in their game at Michigan State, potential doesn’t win games.
Indiana will put to its biggest test of the year on January 15 against No. 7 Ohio State. The Hoosiers defeated the Buckeyes in Bloomington to register their first Big Ten conference win, but this time it’s in Columbus.
The Hoosiers will also take to the road to play No. 19 Wisconsin, No. 13 Michigan, and Purdue in their Big Ten lineup. How Indiana performs without Assembly Hall on their back is crucial to their overall success this season.
Indiana has established itself as one of the best college basketball teams in the nation but if the Hoosiers expect to win the Big Ten or make a run at a NCAA championship, they will have to establish themselves on the road against tough opponents.
Can the Hoosiers win against Top 25 teams on the road? We’ll find out January 15th.
Indiana’s next game, this Sunday against Penn State, is on the road as well.
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Louisville vs. Kentucky: Wildcats Prove Loss to Indiana Was a Bump in the Road
When the No. 3 Kentucky Wildcats lost to the Indiana Hoosiers a couple weeks ago there were whispers that perhaps Kentucky wasn’t quite as good as advertised. That was put to rest on Saturday, however, as the Wildcats impressively downed the No. 4 Louisville Cardinals 69-62.
The win marks Kentucky’s third over a power school this season as it had previously beaten both Kansas and North Carolina. With the loss of guard Brandon Knight to the NBA, it would have been very easy for the Wildcats to take a step back, but they haven’t in the least.
One of the biggest reasons for that has been the immediate emergence of freshman forward Michael Kidd-Gilchrist. He exploded for 24 points and 19 rebounds against Louisville and has continued to get better as the season has worn on. That is in addition to super sophomores Doron Lamb and Terrence Jones, as well as senior Darius Miller.
Last season the Wildcats had very little in the way of expectations with a very young team, but they managed to make it to the Final Four and very nearly to the National Championship Game. Although much more is expected of them this season, Kentucky hasn’t folded under that pressure.
The Wildcats are still young when compared to some of the other top teams, but their players that went through the Final Four run last year have matured. That much was very apparent as they beat the Cardinals in what could be described as a fairly split crowd.
When Kentucky lost to Indiana a couple weeks ago many observers were shocked. Although I don’t want to take anything away from the Hoosiers I think that the loss was more of a fluke than anything. Indiana is a good squad at 12-1, but they played a very inspired game at home and still won by just a point.
Kentucky rebounded from that loss with a string of victories against inferior opponents, but the true test of their mettle came against Louisville. Had the Wildcats lost to the Cardinals, there would have been some major questions regarding whether they could beat the upper-echelon teams. The Wildcats rose to the challenge, though.
More often than not a team isn’t going to go undefeated during the regular season no matter how good it is. That is especially true in college basketball today with the amount of parity there is. With that in mind, I think it is safe to chalk up Kentucky’s loss to Indiana as an aberration.
There isn’t a team remaining on the Wildcats’ schedule that is as talented as they are, but they’ll still probably lose a couple more games. That’s the nature of the beast in college basketball, but I think it’s fair to say that the win over Louisville proved that Kentucky is still a top national title contender.
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Louisvillle vs. Kentucky: Wildcats Prove They’re Championship Pedigree
Go ahead and take out your bracket and pencil in Kentucky to the Final Four.
This team is the real deal, and they have everything a team needs for tournament success.
The Wildcats are currently the No. 3 team in the country with a 13-1 record. They chalked up their most impressive win of the season to date with a 69-62 win over No. 4 Louisville.
Defense Wins Championships
Kentucky won this game with great defense. They held the Cardinals to an astonishingly low 32.3 field goal percentage.
The Wildcats used an energetic and swarming defense to smother Louisville. This caused the Cardinals’ ball handlers fits on the perimeter and would not allow them to get into their offense.
Kentucky is able to press on the outside like this because they have Anthony Davis manning the paint to shut down the oppositions interior offense. Davis had six blocks on the day.
The Wildcats played championship-caliber defense in this game, and their effort and determination left Louisville fans conceding the Wildcats were the better team on Saturday.
This is not the only display of their dominant defense either. Earlier in the season, they held No. 17 Kansas to a 33.9 field goal percentage.
Rebounding
The Wildcats owned the glass in this contest. They outboarded Louisville 49-28. This dominance came on the offensive and defensive end. The Wildcats had a nearly unthinkable 48.8 offensive rebounding percentage in this game.
They also added 35 defensive rebounds to Louisville’s eight offensive rebounds.
When viewing this stat, it’s important to note that the Cardinals are normally a good rebounding team. They are 16th in the nation on the boards. Kentucky is 11th.
Tournament Caliber Wins
This was the Wildcats’ third marquee win of the season. They beat Kansas 75-65 and No. 5 North Carolina 73-72.
Kentucky’s defense was not as stifling against the Tar Heels. UNC shot a decent 41.7 percent from the field and a remarkable 61.1 percent from three-point land. However, that fact is what makes that win so impressive.
Kentucky is equipped to win higher scoring games, against a red hot team, when their defense is shutting down an opposing offense.
Mark Them in the Final Four
Kentucky is young and athletic team that’s only going to get better as the season goes on. Their defense is developing each game, and it’s going to be downright impenetrable by tournament time.
The Wildcats don’t get a lot of baskets off of assists—they are 69th in the nation—but with their athleticism, ability to get out on the break, and offensive rebounding they don’t need to.
This team can play defense and rebound with any team in the country, and that leaves them impervious to offensive slumps that can derail top seeds. This squad will not be vulnerable to a let-down game in the tournament.
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Miami Heat: What 4th Quarter Comebacks and Closeouts Prove About the Miami Heat
The Achilles’ heel for the Miami Heat last year was their inability to closeout big games, as evidenced by their play during the regular season, and their inability to make comebacks capped off by game-wining shots, as evidenced by their play in the NBA Finals.
Good news Heat fans, it looks like the Heatles have figured out how to put an end to what plagued them throughout the majority of the 2010-11 NBA season, as evidenced by their play so far this year.
Two of the Heat’s first four wins have been come-from-behind victories, both featuring game-winning shots from Dwyane Wade in the final few seconds of the game.
Against the Charlotte Bobcats, Wade drove to the basket on Bobcat’s guard Gerald Henderson, hitting a five-foot jumper over him with 2.9 seconds left. Against the Timberwolves last night, LeBron James hit Wade with an alley-oop from out of bounds with 4.6 seconds on the clock, which proved to be the game-winner.
So what do those late game heroics tell us about the Heat? First of all they show us that both Wade and LeBron James have successfully accepted their “roles” when it comes to offensive production down in the clutch.
LeBron, who some people like to call a choke-artist, has embraced his new “facilitator” role when it comes to last-second offense. People need to remember that throwing a 30-foot pass from out of bounds to a cutting Wade with the game on the line is no easy task.
LeBron is more comfortable creating opportunities and hitting open teammates than he is with taking the game winning shot. I’m sure there will be times in the 2011-12 NBA season when LeBron’s number will be called to hit a game-winner, but for now he’s comfortable creating those game-winning opportunities.
Wade, on the other hand, has fit into his new role of “Mr. Clutch” very nicely, effectively hitting every game-winner that has been asked of him so far this season Why is Wade the go-to man offensively? I think it is in large part due to the quickness that exists in his game, especially against the mismatches he can create against defenders who aren’t as strong as Wade.
In addition to finally being able to hit clutch shots to win games, the Miami Heat have also shown that they now understand the concept of “closing out games.”
In their first two wins of the season against the Dallas Mavericks and the Boston Celtics, the Heat got out to big leads only to have them fade as the clock inched closer to zero. The Heat of last year would have succumbed to the pressure of closing those games out and ultimately lost, but the Heat of this year has a different way of doing things, actually closing out games.
The Miami Heat have finally found an ability to close games, and it starts with an increased focus on the defensive side of the ball. Whether it is a timely James block, a Norris Cole steal or a Wade intercepted pass, the Heat have found ways to lock down offenses during late-game stretches this season, resulting in a new-found ability to close out games.
The Heat can’t continue to win games all season with a reliance on last-second game-winners and late-game heroics, they must find a way to dominate teams for all four quarters.
Can you imagine how good the Miami Heat will be once they start bringing their “A-game” for all four quarters of games?
Once the Heatles start playing complete, four-quarter games, they will not only be unstoppable, they will also undoubtedly be NBA champions.
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Lakers Rumors: Matt Barnes Needs to Prove He Deserves Minutes
Considering the various problems the Los Angeles Lakers encountered in their first three games, the plight of Matt Barnes just doesn’t seem all that important.
Then again, what exactly is Matt Barnes’ plight? Whatever it is, it’s kept him on the bench for all but 14 minutes in the early part of this season.
The good news is that, according to the Los Angeles Times, Barnes is healthy. He’s listed as having bursitis in his left hip, but Barnes insisted after Tuesday night’s blowout of the Utah Jazz that he’s just fine.
The sentence in the Times report that catches one’s eye is this: “He didn’t publicly comment after that, perhaps not wanting to be seen as complaining about a lack of playing time.”
Hmmm…
It would be a stretch to say that Barnes is in Mike Brown’s dog house. The reason for his lack of playing time seems to be much simpler—and much less controversial.
Put simply, Brown has better options to go to at small forward. Devin Ebanks has performed pretty well as the team’s starting small forward, and Metta World Peace has been very effective coming off the bench, particularly in the Lakers’ last two games.
The 14 minutes Barnes did get to play against the Sacramento Kings on Monday were a mixed bag. He scored four points and had three rebounds and three blocks, but he also committed three fouls and a turnover. That’s more mistakes than Brown or anyone else would like to see in a 14-minute window.
The fouls are the big concern, and they’re unfortunately par for the course as far as Barnes is concerned. The energy that he brings when he’s on the floor is all well and good, but he doesn’t quite know how to control it. He’s a loose cannon.
There’s a way Barnes can earn consistent minutes, and the first step is just to tone it down a little. Nobody has ever faulted Barnes for playing energetic and aggressive basketball, but he needs to play smart basketball. The Lakers have enough weak links as it is.
Right now, Barnes is a weak link. What sets him apart is the fact that stashing him on the bench does not hurt the team.
The only way Barnes can reverse his fortune is by helping the team.
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Minnesota Timberwolves vs. Milwaukee Bucks: Turnovers Prove Costly for Wolves
A day after the Minnesota Timberwolves made a valiant effort against the Oklahoma City Thunder; the Wolves gave one away to the Milwaukee Bucks, literally. The Wolves committed 25 turnovers on Tuesday in the 98-95 loss.
Rick Adelman said coming into the year cutting down on turnovers would be a key for this young Wolves team. Last year the Wolves averaged 17 turnovers a game, the most in the NBA. In Monday’s season opener against the Thunder the Wolves only committed 12 turnovers in a very well played game, compare that to Tuesday’s contest where the Wolves committed 25 turnovers in a game against the Bucks that the Wolves should have won.
Lost in the shuffle of the Wolves turnover mess is the wonderful performance turned in by Kevin Love. A day after going for 22 points and 12 rebounds against the Thunder, Love put up 31 points and 20 rebounds. Love also set a franchise record for free throws made in a game with 19. If only Love could get some help.
A day after leading the Wolves with 24 points, Michael Beasley added only 15 against the Bucks. JJ Barea only put in nine points and rookie Derrick Williams only had three points after having 13 in his NBA debut. Luke Ridnour did step up supplying 17 points after only having two against the Thunder. The Wolves need someone to step it up if they want to win some games; looking at Michael Beasley or Derrick Williams to step up and help Love on the offensive end.
Ricky Rubio looked as he did in his NBA debut, good. Rubio had six points again, but only four assists. It may be a lot to ask of a rookie, but Rubio needs to pump up his assists to help this young team win some games.
Going into the fourth quarter the Wolves were down by 11, but cut down that lead. The 98-95 score is kind of deceiving though, it was an uninspired effort by the Wolves until crunch time and they didn’t get it done then despite great coaching by Terry Porter who was filling in for Rick Adelman while he attended his mother-in-law’s funeral.
The Wolves will again be tested in their next game; they draw the Miami Heat on Friday in Minneapolis at Target Center. Depending on what Wolves team shows up it could be a fun game to watch. If the Wolves team that played the Thunder shows up the Wolves could give Miami a hard time. If the Wolves team that played the Bucks shows up… let’s just say let the LeBron James and Dwyane Wade show begin.
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