Mike D’Antoni: “Kobe Will Be on the Bench Tonight”
Mike D’Antoni is obviously feeling the loss of Kobe Bryant, as the Lakers are down 0-2 to a sturdy Spurs team.
Kobe famously tweeted during Game 1 and decided to stay off social media for Game 2.
But where will he be for Game 3? D’Antoni says he will be at the Staples Center and talks about what that will mean for the crowd.
Excited to see Kobe on the sideline? Let us know in the comments below.
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Heat Stars LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh out Tonight vs. Cavaliers
The dynamic trio of the Miami Heat will not play against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Monday night, as LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh have all been ruled out.
Forty-year-old Juwan Howard, who has logged a whopping 14 minutes this season, will start for the 64-16 Heat against the Cavs. It will be Howard’s first start since he was a member of the Portland Trail Blazers in 2010, as revealed by ESPN’s Brian Windhorst:
The absence of Miami’s big three shouldn’t come as a shock. With just three days remaining in the regular season, the Heat have first place in the East locked up and are doing whatever they can to assure their stars are completely rested for the playoffs.
After missing six games in a row, Wade played a total of 71 minutes over the weekend against Boston and Chicago, quickly shaking off the rust against the latter.
James, meanwhile, has paced himself in April. He missed three games to start the month, then played two against Philadelphia and Milwaukee before sitting out against Washington and once again returning for two wins against Boston and Chicago.
The sporadic play hasn’t affected his MVP-caliber performance, either, as he is averaging 24.8 points on a staggering 69.1 percent shooting to go with 6.0 rebounds and 6.8 assists this month.
As for Bosh, this will be his fourth DNP of April.
Many will wonder if this irregular playing time will affect the Heat’s chemistry come playoff time, but they have won without their stars and they have won with their stars. If anything, these past few weeks have proven that they have better depth than originally believed. There should be little question that they will be ready to defend their title.
Meanwhile, as the last few days of the NBA season prove to be mundane when playoff races are already decided, there is nothing like a little Juwan Howard vs. Tyler Zeller to inject some excitement.
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LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh All out Tonight vs. Wizards
The Miami Heat will get to know what life without their vaunted Big Three would look like on Wednesday night. According to the Heat’s official Twitter feed, Dwyane Wade (ankle), Chris Bosh (illness) and LeBron James (hamstring) will all miss tonight’s game against the Washington Wizards at the Verizon Center:
Though coach Erik Spoelstra had been resting his starters down the stretch, this will mark the first time all three have missed the same game. James played in each of Miami’s past two games, including Tuesday night’s win over the Milwaukee Bucks, after missing three consecutive with a hamstring injury.
Wade and Bosh both sat out the two contests James played in.
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Orlando big man who brutalizes Miami Heat out tonight
Nik Vucevic hasn’t been cleared to play yet because of concussion, will miss game vs. Heat
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Bracket Briefing: 5 Reasons the madness starts tonight
If you’re one of many casual fans, there’s a strong chance you’ve yet to fill out your bracket.
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Kobe Bryant will play tonight with ankle injury
Lakers coach Mike D’Antoni expects his star in Friday’s 7 p.m. ET game against the Pacers.
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Tonight a ‘Must-Win’ for Iowa Basketball? Breaking Down the Remaining Schedule
The Iowa Hawkeyes Men’s Basketball team travels to Madison tonight to take on Bo Ryan’s Wisconsin squad.
Over the last couple seasons these two teams have been involved in some intense, defensive-minded games. Tonight may be the most important of those meetings from Iowa’s standpoint.
Some are calling this a “must-win” for the Hawkeyes. But is this truly a game the Hawkeyes must have to have any chance of being on the bubble come March?
Let’s examine the remaining schedule before looking at tonight’s matchup.
Including Wisconsin, the Hawks have nine games remaining before the Big Ten Tournament.
They have five games at home in Carver Hawkeye Arena, where they have played very well this year, only losing two close games to Indiana and Michigan State. The five remaining home games are against Northwestern, Minnesota, Purdue, Illinois and Nebraska.
I think it is realistic to think Iowa can, and should win at least four of those games. There is no excuse to lose to Northwestern, Purdue and Nebraska at home.
None.
Illinois, with their outside shooting that comes and goes, could cause problems. The last couple times the two teams have met, outside of the first round of the Big Ten Tournament last year, the shots have been falling for the Illini. While they are on a downward trend right now, they are still a team rich with talent.
Minnesota is another toss up. I felt that Iowa did not play particularly well last Sunday in Minnesota and still had a two-point lead with under 15 seconds left in the game. If Iowa can duplicate that effort, and get anything from Roy Devyn Marble, this is a very winnable game against a ranked opponent.
Let’s say, for the sake of argument, that Iowa splits with Illinois and Minnesota and goes 4-1 at home. That leaves four road games. At Wisconsin, at Penn State, at Nebraska and at Indiana.
Indiana is a likely loss. I know the score was close at Carver on New Year’s Eve, but everybody knows that Indiana is a different team in Bloomington. Penn State should be a victory. Iowa played bad for long stretches last week against Penn State, including falling behind 10-3 to start the game, but still had the game in control the entire second half.
Nebraska is a game the Hawks should win, but may not. I have a gut feeling that much like last year against the Cornhuskers, it may be a big let down game on the road. Again, for the sake of argument, let’s say Iowa goes 1-2 in those three games away from home.
That leaves tonight against Bo Ryan’s Badgers.
Iowa beat Wisconsin a couple weeks ago in Iowa City. However, a few things worked in the Hawks favor in that meeting. One, Carver was as raucous as ever. It was a Saturday night, and more importantly, it was Chris Street night. If anybody saw the Chris Street segment on Big Ten Network’s, “The Journey,” they know that Iowa wasn’t losing that game on that night.
Second, Wisconsin big man Frank Kaminsky was not playing but will be available tonight. And third, and most importantly perhaps, is that the game was in Iowa City. Bo Ryan-coached Wisconsin teams are incredibly tough at home. Bo Ryan’s career record at the Kohl Center in Madison is 177-17 while at Wisconsin.
That’s impressive.
Unless Roy Devyn Marble breaks out of his slump in a big way, as in 20 or more points against the stingy Wisconsin defense, I really don’t see the Hawks pulling this one out tonight, as much as I would like them to.
But, hey, the Hawks did it last year in Madison, so who really knows? Of course, Matt Gatens isn’t coming off the bench to pick up Josh Oglesby’s slack beyond the arch tonight.
So assuming Iowa goes 4-1 at home and 1-3 on the road, which I don’t think is too much to expect at all, they would finish the season at 8-10 in the Big Ten and 19-12 overall.
Let’s go one step further. If Iowa wins eight Big Ten games, they will likely face either Northwestern, Penn State or Nebraska again in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament. Assuming they win that one, they would be sitting at 20 wins for the first time since Steve Alford roamed the sidelines.
Would the committee really keep a 20-win team from the nation’s toughest conference out of the Dance? I really believe Iowa would be dancing.
So is tonight a “must win”? I truly don’t think so. It sure would be a nice resume builder, but Iowa fans, don’t panic if they don’t pull it off tonight in Madison. There is still hope.
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Brent Musburger did it again, said sideline reporter was ‘really smokin’ tonight’
ESPN announcer makes comment in first game since ogling Katherine Webb
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Knicks’ Amare Stoudemire to Make Season Debut Tonight
After missing the entire season so far, Amare Stoudemire is expected to make his season debut tonight for the New York Knicks. Stoudemire has been out because of knee surgery he underwent in the preseason. The Knicks are beat up, so getting Stoudemire back could be a nice lift for them.Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports says sources have told him Stoudemire will make his debut tonight and come off the bench. Even if Carmelo Anthony can’t go because of a hyper-extended knee, Stoudemire will still come off the bench. The Knicks take on the Portland Trail Blazers tonight in New York. Stoudemire should provide a much-needed presence in the low post with Tyson Chandler, but the team will be without Raymond Felton and possibly Carmelo Anthony.Stoudemire has averaged 21.6 points per game and 8.8 rebounds per game in his career. He has battled knee problems for most of his career, but he has also managed to overcome them and be one of the best big men in the league. Unfortunately, the formula of
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Minnesota Twolves Ricky Rubio won’t be back tonight
The exciting point guard has been out since tearing his ACL and MCL on March 9
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