Antoine Walker has retired from professional basketball. As someone who grew up in Celtics territory during Walker’s heyday, I remember him well. I recall listening to the Celtics on my clock radio when ‘Toine was the star and Paul Pierce was the young up-and-comer. I can still see him airballing from the corner in the three-point shootout, and I can still hear my dad joking about it. I remember attending a game in Boston and watching Walker warm up as a member of the visiting Heat. He repeatedly shot that funny-looking tiptoe three-pointer, and a group of spectators gathered and relentlessly poked fun at him. I believe that was the ’05/06 season, when ‘Toine would get the last laugh as he floor shimmied his way to an NBA title. Since then, pretty much everything has gone wrong for Antoine. He’s overweight, out of money, and now he’s out of a job. Although he made the All-Star team three times, averaged just under 18 and 8 for his career, and made upwards of $100 million, his basketball journey ended up leading him to Idaho, where he played his final games as a professional in the Development League. It’s hard to believe he’s still just 35 years old. Paul Pierce is 34.
As much as I’d like to sit here and crack predictable jokes about Andrew Bynum’s 10-27 shooting in a game with no Kobe, I don’t think that was a big problem, nor do I believe it was the story as LA lost to Phoenix 105-125. Bynum could’ve easily finished this game with 35 points (had 23) had he just made five or six shots that he normally makes… and the Lakers still would’ve lost. Can’t really fault a guy for continuing to shoot from five feet and in (11 of his misses came in the paint… how often is that gonna happen?). LA’s problem in this game was at the defensive end of the floor. I mean, that’s pretty obvious… they shot 48% and scored 105 points. They dominated the boards, too (54-36). What they were unable to do was stop the Suns from making 14 of 29 three-point shots… and to be perfectly honest, I’m not sure there was much they could’ve done differently. Shannon Brown, Michael Redd, and even Sebastian Telfair were all on fire. Those three combined for SIXTY points on 10-21 from downtown. It should also be noted that the Suns turned the ball over just 3 (THREE) times. That’s a franchise record.
The Suns have once again moved to within a game of the 8th spot. They’ve got to visit the Grizzlies, Rockets, and Spurs over the next six days, though. Those three teams currently have collective win streaks of 14 games and could prove to present roadblock as the Suns try to catch Denver.
Not often will you find me criticizing Kevin Love. His production simply doesn’t leave much room for criticism. Last night, though, I thought he played poorly on offense and defense. While 29 points, 12 rebounds, and not a single turnover make it appear as if he carried a T-Wolves team that had a below average shooting night, what he really did was gun like hell while allowing Jason Smith to explode for a variety of career highs, most notably 26 points. Although Love made 3 of 8 from distance… I thought the 13 perimeter shots he took were far too many. Said Kevin Love: “It’s tough to try and play Superman every night.” So pass the ball to somebody else. Maybe Pekovic.
Blake Griffin let his play do most of the talking, but did take a moment to respond to DeMarcus Cousins, who recently called him “an actor,” after his Clippers absolutely demolished Cousins’ Kings. Via the LA Times…
“Well I first heard about it from my acting coach,” Griffin joked. “He sent me the email and obviously he was thrilled. It was a compliment and I guess he’s seen some commercials and stuff so I appreciate it. Nah, I don’t care. I’m not into going back and forth and name-calling players through the media and all that; just let it go.”
In all seriousness, though…
“I mean this in the nicest possible way — you have to consider the source,” he said. “If this is somebody that really has been in the league a long time and really knows the ins and outs of a game, and has a great reputation for carrying himself in the right way, then it’s something that I would kind of look at and be like, ‘I really rubbed this guy the wrong way.’ But, you know, with someone like that, just keep going.”
Cousins, at nearly seven feet tall and 270 pounds, leads the NBA in drawing charges. That’s required him to do quite a bit of flopping himself, and he complains to officials even more frequently than Griffin does. I know you all hate Blake because the Clippers are a playoff team now, but DeMarcus comes away from this looking like the jackass–not Blake.
I don’t understand the Indiana Pacers. They go on a four-game winning streak, beat the Thunder in decisive fashion, then take their home floor against the Celtics and lethargically lose 72-86. I couldn’t help but notice the lack of energy from both teams out of the gate–the Cs and the Pacers sleepwalked through the opening six or so minutes–but while Boston got a boost from Greg Stiemsma (4-4, 10 points, 9 rebounds, 5 blocks) and woke the hell up, Indiana went on to shoot 35% and turn the ball over 19 times. This isn’t the first example of inconsistency from the Pacers. Two nights after beating the Heat by 15, they lost to the Nets. They went through one mid-season stretch where they lost five, won six, and lost four. They currently find themselves in third, but just a game out of sixth.
Box Score Observations: Larry Sanders scored a season-high 14 points as the Bucks beat the Blazers 116-94. The Bucks will be tied for 8th if the Knicks lose to the Bulls this afternoon. Cory Higgins scored 22 for the Bobcats, but they still lost to Atlanta by 20. Ivan Johnson, who was coming off of a 16-point performance, matched his career high with 17. Dwight Howard went 4-14, but scored 20 points and grabbed 22 boards as the Magic beat the Sixers. Seven different Warriors scored in double figures as Golden State defeated Denver on ESPN. The Nuggets continue to disappoint. Rudy Gay dropped 25 as the Grizzlies beat the Mavs 94-89.
