November 21 , 2006 HOME - SPORTS NEWS
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Free NBA Picks- (covers.com). miami set to play smallball with out shaq.
What’s a coach to do after losing his most dominant player?
That’s the question Miami Heat head coach Pat Riley is trying to answer after learning
center Shaquille O’Neal would be out until mid-December following knee surgery Sunday.
“We`ve always been a semi-run, power post-up team and go from there and now we don`t have
that, and we won`t have it for probably six weeks,” Riley told the Palm Beach Post. “You
can`t reinvent the wheel in 24 hours, but probably over the next week we`ll change things
offensively to get more people involved and see what we can do to be more efficient.”
That cryptic answer could mean anything but in reality it comes down to just two options
for the defending world champs.
The first option is to use backup center Alonzo Mourning in the starting lineup. That’s
what Mourning did last year, playing well and averaging 11.4 points, eight rebounds and
nearly four blocks when O’Neal missed 18 games with an ankle injury.
But the Heat still struggled despite Mourning’s strong play, going 9-9 SU (7-11 ATS)
without Shaq in the lineup. That trend has continued into this season with Miami posting a
2-3 record straight up (1-4 ATS) in the five games that O’Neal has missed and Mourning has
started.
This may explain why Riley has talked of moving to a smaller lineup as early as Tuesday
when the Heat travel to play the New Orleans Hornets. That would mean using forwards
Antoine Walker and Udonis Haslem in the middle while starting James Posey or Dorell Wright
at small forward.
“It’s probably not a bad idea; they need to do something to this offense going,” says
Sportsmemo.com handicapper David Jones, pointing to Miami’s 89.3 points per game average
with and without O’Neal. “What ever it is, they just aren’t clicking.”
But the chance of Miami finding its groove against New Orleans Tuesday doesn’t look good.
The Hornets are one of the NBA’s top defensive teams through the first 10 games of the
season, holding opponents to 94.6 points per game and only 89.3 at home.
“I think you have to pick our spots with this team,” says Jones. “Oddsmakers can set a line
and take the value out of a team so it’s tricky going against them on the road. But there
may be value with Miami at home. They don’t play in front of a great home crowd and their
may be some perceived home value with the Heat that just isn’t there.”
Oddsmakers list the Hornets as 5-point home faves. The total is set at 183.
NBA PLAYOFFS- (covers.com): 76ers iverson day to day.
The status of Philadelphia 76ers guard Allen Iverson delayed the release of the line for
tonight’s game versus the Detroit Pistons.
Iverson was originally listed as questionable for the game after undergoing emergency
dental surgery to repair an abscessed wisdom tooth Monday. But apparently Iverson felt
better than expected following the surgery and has been upgraded to probable.
“He’s a tough guy so I’d bet on him playing,” says BetCRIS.com oddsmaker Shane Catford.
“But we were hearing conflicting reports as early as this morning so we just wanted to be
sure.”
Even if Iverson plays, the 76ers may still be understaffed against the Pistons with
forwards Chris Webber and Steven Hunter questionable with injuries. The two big men missed
Philadelphia’s 103-97 overtime loss to the Los Angeles Clippers as 9 ½-point favorites
Saturday.
When oddsmakers finally did release the line they set the 76ers as 2-point home dogs with
the total at 191 points.
NBA PLAYOFFS- (associated press): hornets forward to mis 4th straight game.
The New Orleans Hornets will be without forward David West when they host the Miami Heat
tonight as 4 ½-point favorites.
This will be the fourth straight game West has missed after hurting his forearm in a game
against the Portland Trail Blazers.
The Hornets are 3-0 straight up and ATS without West, the team’s No. 3 scorer, who is
averaging 17.4 points per game.
NBA PLAYOFFS- (associated press): wizards @ mavericks preview for 11/21/2006.
After breaking out of his shooting slump, Gilbert Arenas now focuses on trying to end the
Washington Wizards` road woes.
The Wizards look to avoid opening the season with five straight road losses for the first
time in 20 years when they visit the Dallas Mavericks at American Airlines Center on
Tuesday as 5-point underdogs. The total is set at 205 1/2.
Arenas scored a season-high 45 points on 14-of-22 shooting in Washington`s 111-99 victory
over Cleveland as a 4-point favorite Saturday. The win ended both a three-game losing
streak for the Wizards and a string of dismal shooting performances from Arenas.
Arenas shot 32.1 percent and was held under 30 points in his last four games - his longest
stretch of games scoring fewer than 30 since March 2005 - before Saturday`s breakout.
The All-Star guard connected on 7 of 11 3-pointers against the Cavaliers, and scored 18 of
20 Washington points during one stretch.
Arenas topped 40 for the third time this season - all of those games have been at home.
``This was a must-win because we`re going back on the road,`` Arenas said. ``Hopefully, our
confidence can push us forward and we`ll see what happens on this trip.``
Washington is 4-1 at home (2-3 ATS), averaging 112.2 points in those games, but is
averaging just 92.5 points in its four road losses.
The Wizards haven`t opened a season with an 0-5 road mark since 1986, when they started a
franchise-worst 0-7 away from home.
``We just can`t get caught up about having a phobia about playing on the road,`` said
Washington coach Eddie Jordan whose team is 2-2 ATS away from the nation`s capital.
``Frankly, we have to make a big shot here and there. We`re competitive enough. We carry
out the game plan well enough.``
Arenas has contributed to the Wizards` road struggles, as he is averaging just 18.3 points
on 28.2 percent shooting there.
He had one of his worst shooting nights of his career the last time the Wizards visited
Dallas. Arenas scored 12 points on 4-of-22 shooting in Washington`s 103-97 loss at American
Airlines Center on Feb. 15 as a 9 1/2-point underdog.
The Wizards have lost four straight games at Dallas (6-4), and eight of their last nine
against the Mavericks overall going 4-5 ATS.
The Mavericks defeated Charlotte 93-85 as 4-point favorites on Monday, their sixth straight
win after starting the season 0-4. Dallas shot just 39 percent, but managed to get five
straight points from Jason Terry down the stretch to put the game away.
``We can turn a bad night into a good night,`` Mavericks coach Avery Johnson said. ``We had
some bad nights early in the season, but we lost. It`s good to have some bad nights - and
win these games. We very well have some stuff to work on.``
Dirk Nowitzki had 24 points and 14 rebounds on Monday to record his fifth straight
double-double. Nowitzki is averaging 27.7 points and 11.7 rebounds in his last three home
games against the Wizards.
NBA PLAYOFFS- (covers.com): 2007 rookie of the year odds.
Brandon Roy +200
Adam Morrison +300
Rajon Rondo +300
Rudy Gay +300
LaMarcus Aldridge +400
Marcus Williams +500
Jordan Farmar +1000
Ronnie Brewer +3000
Jorge Garbajosa +3000
Shelden Williams +3000
Tyrus Thomas +4000
Hilton Armstrong +4000
Andrea Bargnani +4000
Rodney Carney +4000
Randy Foye +5000
Shannon Brown +6000
Maurice Ager +6000
Steve Novak +6000
J.J. Redick +7500
NBA PLAYOFFS- (covers.com): odds to win nba championship.
San Antonio Spurs +391
Phoenix Suns +703
Miami Heat +731
Dallas Mavericks +833
Cleveland Cavaliers +1071
New Jersey Nets +1135
Chicago Bulls +1217
Houston Rockets +1752
Detroit Pistons +1794
Los Angeles Lakers +2165
Los Angeles Clippers +2325
Utah Jazz +2403
Orlando Magic +2722
Washington Wizards +3614
New Orleans Hornets +4967
Denver Nuggets +6139
Indiana Pacers +6790
Toronto Raptors +7012
Sacramento Kings +7293
Memphis Grizzlies +7500
Seattle Sonics +7500
Golden State Warriors +7500
Portland Blazers +8236
Minnesota T-Wolves +8650
Atlanta Hawks +8652
Philadelphia 76ers +8842
Milwaukee Bucks +9000
Boston Celtics +12500
New York Knicks +30000
Charlotte BobCats +50000
NBA- (covers.com): top 10 ats teams as of 11/21/2006.
1 GS
2 SA
3 SEA
4 UTA
5 PHI
6 NO
7 DET
8 NJ
9 IND
10 ATL
NBA PLAYOFFS- (espn.com): jazz of to 10-1 start.
Carlos Boozer's big game on his birthday and a breakout performance by rookie Paul Millsap
helped the Utah Jazz to yet another win.
Boozer scored a season-high 35 points on his 25th birthday, rallying Utah past the Toronto
Raptors 101-96 Monday night for its 10th victory in 11 games and the best start in
franchise history.
"Sometimes you are going to have nights like that and some nights are going to be tough in
the NBA. But it's nice to have things go right on your birthday," Boozer said. "All I
wanted is a win."
He might not have gotten his wish without Millsap, who sparked the comeback with eight
points in a 16-1 run that put the Jazz ahead to stay, 93-86.
It was the second consecutive game Utah rallied from a 16-point deficit. The Jazz beat
Phoenix 120-117 in overtime Saturday after trailing by 16.
"I think Millsap has shown us a great deal about what team basketball is," said Utah coach
Jerry Sloan, who doesn't hand out many compliments to rookies. "We don't like to talk about
it. We just go do it."
Sloan earned his 900th win as coach of the Jazz, who opened the 1998-99 season with a 9-1
record but lost their 11th game en route to a 37-13 finish in the lockout-shortened
campaign. Sloan is 900-538 with Utah and 994-659 overall.
"It really doesn't mean anything," he said. "That's the way I've always played this game,
and always thought about it. I'm just here as a coach, but it is a players' game. It always
has been and always will be."
Millsap and Boozer were the players making the plays at the end on this night. Millsap, a
second-round draft choice, established a career high with 20 points and had five offensive
rebounds, four of which led to second-chance points.
"I just wanted to come in and make some impact. If it's just getting one rebound, one steal
a game, it's all right with me," Millsap said. "I'm going in there and doing what I've got
to do."
Chris Bosh thought Millsap changed the complexion of the game.
"He had a phenomenal game tonight. He just got those key loose balls and then when he got
them he scored 'em. Those are the points in the paint. He got the crowd into it with his
hustle plays and we should've kept a body on him," said Bosh, who paced Toronto with 17
points.
The Raptors got within two, but Boozer made the last three Jazz field goals down the
stretch, including one when he was fouled and landed on his backside above the free-throw
line as the ball banked in.
"We're having fun. I think you could see that out there in the fourth quarter with the fans
going crazy," said Boozer, who made 14 of 16 field goals and grabbed nine rebounds to keep
the Jazz perfect at home.
Boozer was one point shy of his career high of 36 against Seattle on Dec. 1, 2004.
Jorge Garbajosa, T.J. Ford and Fred Jones all had a chance to tie the game in the final
seconds with a 3-pointer, but none managed to connect. The Raptors lost all five games on
their road trip out West.
"We stayed hungry. We never gave up and we had a lot of fun in the second half," said
Mehmet Okur, who had 17 points and 13 rebounds and made two free throws for the final
margin.
Ford had 16 points and Jones added 15 for Toronto. Andrea Bargnani, the No. 1 pick in the
2006 draft, had the best game of his brief career with 15 points.
Derek Fisher opened the fourth-quarter scoring with a 3-pointer to bring the Jazz to 77-74,
but Bargnani and Morris Peterson answered with 3-pointers to help push the lead to 85-77.
As well as the Jazz played at the end, they struggled with 16 turnovers in the first three
quarters. The Raptors' biggest lead came at 70-54 midway through the third quarter.
"We probably panicked a little bit when they made their run. You know, this is the NBA. We
had to be aware that the home team was going to make a run," Toronto coach Sam Mitchell
said.
Andrei Kirilenko missed his fourth straight game with a sprained ankle, but the Jazz have
won them all without him.
"The second half was great but the first half was terrible. It was like night and day,"
Boozer said.
NBA- (espn.com): warriors release dajuan wagner.
The Golden State Warriors released guard Dajuan Wagner on Monday, two months after the
former college star recovered from a serious illness to make an NBA comeback.
Wagner, the sixth pick in the 2002 draft by Cleveland, signed with the Warriors in late
September after missing most of the previous two NBA seasons while recovering from an
inflammation of his colon, which was removed.
He started well at Golden State during the preseason but quickly fell out of favor with
coach Don Nelson. Wagner, who once scored 100 points in a high school game in New Jersey,
played in just one game with the Warriors, scoring four points against Detroit on Nov. 11.
Wagner apparently struggled to adjust to the NBA's everyday grind, particularly lagging on
defense. He was unlikely to get much playing time behind Warriors guards Baron Davis, Jason
Richardson, Monta Ellis and even Anthony Roberson, an undrafted second-year pro.
FREE NBA PICKS - (associated press): wizards jarvis hayes released fron hospital.
Washington Wizards guard Jarvis Hayes was out of the hospital and listed as day-to-day
Sunday after bruising his back and banging his head in a collision during a game.
X-rays showed he didn't do any structural damage, the Wizards said.
Hayes left the hospital Saturday night after being taken there for precautionary tests. He
was removed from the court on a stretcher late in Washington's 111-99 victory over
Cleveland on Saturday.
He got tangled up with Cavaliers guard Shannon Brown and slammed to the court. Play was
delayed for about 10 minutes.
Hayes missed 89 games the past two seasons because of a knee injury for which he had
offseason surgery. He's averaging 6.2 points and 2.1 rebounds in 18.6 minutes this season
for the Wizards (4-5). |
