Indiana Pacers Are No. 1 Rebounding Team in the NBA
Frank Vogel likes to throw around the term “smashmouth” to describe what he calls the type of basketball the Pacers play.
The Pacers don’t have a Derrick Rose or a LeBron James, but they do have a team that believes they can compete with those guys.
Today, the Pacers are the top rebounding team in the league, averaging nearly 45 rebounds per game. Leading the Pacers in rebounds per game is Roy Hibbert, who averages 10 per night on his own.
The rebounding of the Pacers has been a deliberate effort. In order to achieve Vogel’s “smashmouth” status the Pacers have had to make a very distinct effort at becoming one of the better rebounding teams in the league. While they have been close to the top all season, they haven’t hit top team status yet in any statistical category.
Along with becoming the top rebounding team, they are sixth in points allowed, averaging 91 per game. These two categories distinguish the Pacers as one of the top defending teams in the league. Even the stats are starting to indicate the Pacers are smashmouth.
The Pacers topped the Dallas Mavericks last night, giving them their fourth straight victory and their first in Dallas since 2004. They will look to continue their tough defense and stellar rebounding tonight against the Orlando Magic (14-9). The Magic bested the Pacers in their last meeting in Indianapolis on Jan. 24, 102-83.
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NBA Rumors: Odds on Which Team Will Recruit Kenyon Martin
Kenyon Martin is officially an unrestricted free agent now and is expected to make his decision and sign with an NBA team very soon.
The Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Clippers, Miami Heat, San Antonio Spurs, Atlanta Hawks and New York Knicks have expressed interest in signing the veteran forward.
Martin is looking for a team that is a winner and can give him minutes.
Here are the latest odds for the teams in the running to sign Martin.
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Smith scores 60 for Chinese team
Former Denver Nuggets guard J.R. Smith dropped 60 points in a league game with his Chinese team Zhejiang Golden Bulls, including a remarkable 14 of 18 shots from beyond the arc.
Smith, who is stuck in the country seeing out a fixed contract he agreed during the NBA lockout, also had eight rebounds, six steals and two assists in the 122-110 victory over Qingdao in the Chinese Basketball Association on Wednesday.
The free-scoring display took his points-per-game average to 33.9, which leads the league, Sportando.net reported.
The 26-year-old shooting guard developed a reputation for his three-point prowess while with the Nuggets, going one shot shy of tying the NBA record 12 from beyond the arc — shared by Kobe Bryant and Donyell Marshall — against the Kings in 2009.
He shares the record for most three-pointers in a half, dropping eight against the Bulls in 2009 and the Pistons in 2011.
Although Smith has been prolific during his time with the Yiwu-based team in the eastern Zhejiang Province, his stay has been marred by incidents off the court.
The latest rumble saw his sister reportedly get involved in an altercation with rival fans who were heckling her brother.
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Orlando Magic: 4 Changes the Team Must Make Now
To start the season off, the Orlando Magic came out of the gates in spectacular fashion, as they accumulated an elite 10-3 record. Not only was the team winning games, but they were even starting to be labeled a title contender.
However, all the magic from the beginning of the season has vanished, as Orlando has dropped six of their last eight games. Three of these defeats were dealt by a margin of larger than 20 points, including a record-setting 87-56 loss to the mediocre Boston Celtics.
If there is one takeaway from this rough patch, it is the Magic’s dire need to start making some changes to the personnel and game plan. So without further ado, here are the four changes Orlando needs to make now.
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NBA Rumors: Why the Dallas Mavericks Are the Best Team for Dwight Howard
The Dwight Howard pot-of-frustration is about to boil over. As the Orlando Magic continue to lose (four-in-a-row as of Tuesday), the blame is now being put on Dwight Howard and his possible lack of determination.
As an organization, it is time to grant Howard his wish and trade him out of Orlando.
So—why not the Dallas Mavericks? Here are a few reasons why the Mavericks and Dwight Howard would be perfect matches for each other.
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Milwaukee Bucks: How the Team Can Overcome the Loss of Bogut
Once again the Milwaukee Bucks are without their star big man Andrew Bogut.
After a breaking his ankle, there are doubts as to whether he will make it back at all this season. In his absence the Bucks are left searching for answers as to how they can overcome the loss.
While it will not be easy, there are three ways the Bucks can overcome the loss of Andrew Bogut.
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Wolves look for team effort win over Pacers
The Minnesota Timberwolves have failed in three attempts at a .500 record this season. A home game against the Indiana Pacers might help them finally achieve that goal.
The Pacers, meanwhile, will try for a season high-tying third straight win on Wednesday night at the Target Center.
Minnesota (10-11) hasn’t been at .500 this late in a season since it was 22-22 on Jan. 30, 2007, and gave itself another chance Monday with a 120-108 victory during coach Rick Adelman’s return to Houston. The Timberwolves trailed by two points at halftime but pulled away with a franchise-record 42 points in the third quarter.
In his third game back from a sprained right foot, Michael Beasley tied a franchise scoring record for a bench player with 34 points.
Kevin Love added 29, narrowly missing his fourth 30-point game in five contests. Rookie point guard Ricky Rubio matched a season high with 18 points and had 11 assists for his fourth double-double in six games.
“It was a really good team win,” Adelman said. “A lot of guys played and a lot of guys contributed.”
Minnesota will try for its seventh win in 10 games by continuing its recent success at the Target Center against Indiana (14-6), which has dropped five of six there. The Timberwolves’ latest home win over the Pacers was a 101-75 rout March 9 that tied their most lopsided defeat in 2010-11.
Love had 21 rebounds in that game as Minnesota posted a 66-46 advantage on the boards, and he and Beasley each scored 16 points. With 21 points, Tyler Hansbrough was the only Indiana player with more than 13, and Danny Granger missed 17 of 19 shots while finishing with just 10.
Granger is a career 29.5 percent shooter in Minnesota, his worst in any opponent’s building, but has helped during a pair of strong scoring performances for the Pacers. He had 24 points during a 106-85 rout of Orlando on Sunday — Indiana’s fourth win in five road games — then topped 20 for the fourth straight contest during a 106-99 home victory over New Jersey on Tuesday.
Paul George led the way in that second straight win with a career-high 24 points. Roy Hibbert contributed 18 and 14 rebounds despite having his broken nose set the day before. The Pacers, who are off to their best 20-game start since going 16-4 to open the 2003-04 season, topped 100 points once in their first 18 games.
“We continue to grow our identity,” coach Frank Vogel said. “Paul George really carried us through some offensive stretches. He’s a heck of a weapon at both ends.”
Granger and Dahntay Jones had 19 points apiece during a 116-105 home win over Minnesota on Feb. 11. The Pacers have produced 109 or more points in seven of their last eight against the Timberwolves, but Minnesota has proved equally adept at scoring on Indiana with at least 101 in every game in that span.
The Pacers will be short-handed for this game with George Hill out indefinitely after sustaining a small fracture in his left ankle in Tuesday’s victory. Jeff Foster is expect to remain out for the rest of the week with a sore lower back.
The status of Minnesota reserve J.J. Barea is unknown due to a sprained left ankle, as is Darko Milicic’s because of an illness.
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Big East Basketball: Grading Each Team Halfway Through Conference Play
With the NFL winding down, college basketball is getting ready to step up. The Big East conference is wide open and any team can swoop in and take the crown.
The Big East is currently halfway done with conference play. The usuals are at the top of the conference, while there are some surprises as to who is succeeding and who is failing.
Over the next 16 slides, I will grade each team’s play so far and tell you what the team should be doing come the Big East Championship Tournament and March Madness.
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Kings coach Smart prepares to face former Warriors team
Keith Smart has his second chance as a head coach, with the Sacramento Kings, and Tuesday faces his former Golden State Warriors.
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Villanova Basketball: Team Effort Not Enough Against Marquette
The Villanova Wildcats entered the game at 10-11 on the season, trying to get back to .500 and to get their first win against a ranked opponent. They fell short on both, 82-78, but not for a lack of effort and heart.
The Wildcats came out blazing in the Wells Fargo Center, holding a 30-12 lead midway through the first half. They were playing tight defense, grabbing almost every rebound and even knocking down shots from the outside.
After hitting their first four attempted threes, they were just 4-of-16 the rest of the game. To Marquette’s credit, they never let the game get away from them and they stormed back, finishing the half on a 24-16 run, trailing by 10 at the break.
As Villanova has so often done this season, they waited a few minutes to start playing in the second half. In the first 90 seconds, Marquette had cut the lead to five. By the three-minute mark, Villanova’s two big men, Mouphtaou Yarou and Markus Kennedy were on the bench with four fouls each.
No matter what obstacles they had to climb, the Wildcats stuck together, played tough and as a team. They had five players score in double figures along with five who had at least two assists.
JayVaughn Pinkston continued his freshman season surge with 17 points and five rebounds. Dominic Cheek has 16 points and six rebounds. James Bell brought a ton of energy to go along with his 13 points and four rebounds.
Little-used junior big man Maurice Sutton gave the performance of his life, with 11 points and nine rebounds. His intensity and enthusiasm truly carried the ‘Cats through the second half.
Usual scoring leader Maalike Wayns scored 12 points in 28 minutes. For the second straight game he sat for a significant stretch due to foul trouble after a questionable charge call. Villanova struggles too much to score with Wayns on the bench, and his absence sapped their early momentum.
But more than anything else, Villanova lost this game with sloppy and careless play. Turnovers, fouls and poor shot selection being the worst culprits.
The Wildcats finished the game with 20 turnovers and were whistled for 26 fouls, including two technicals. They also took two horrible three-point attempts in the final minutes with the game still in reach.
In the end, Villanova played another tough game. No matter who they play, they make the opponent work for the win. Too often, Villanova finds a way to give the game away.
In fairness, Marquette had the two best players on the court in Darius Johnson-Odom and Jae Crowder. The duo combined for 46 points, 18 rebounds and nine assists. Johnson-Odom in particular proved hard to stop as he dissected the Wildcat defense on possession after possession.
Villanova just doesn’t have the experience or the know-how yet to hang with the upper echelon teams in the Big East. They are improving and they are a team worthy of watching, but it may not be until next season that Jay Wright’s hard work and coaching will come to fruition.
They have a lot of time to think about this game though, as they don’t play again until they visit Pittsburgh next Sunday. Hopefully by then they can figure out a way to defend without fouling. Hopefully they can earn a well-deserved win.
They may not play pretty, but they bring it every night and there is a lot to be said for that.
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