lethalweapon3

^^It's the sequel he never wants to see again. ~lw3

I'm fine with it. Let's just say it's not what runs any viewers off. LOLI like the image montage that accompanies it. I haven't seen the Fox Sports productions (like FS Carolinas' Bobcats games or FS Tennessee's Grizzlies games), but my hunch is FSN does a similar intro, quite possibly with the exact same music.~lw3

Give me 60% of that bench production in playoff games, and we're ready to roll.~lw3

Horf didn't look like a picture of confidence about his prospects for the start of the playoffs during the in-game interview tonight, but I'm just gonna attribute his response to a little "poker face" action. No need to get hopes up so soon.~lw3

http://shamsports.com/content/pages/data/salaries/pistons.jspThose salaries... Egads!!! Great Caesar's Ghost, Detroit is stuck with a LOT of dead weight next season! Maybe their best move was releasing Rip without using amnesty. Otherwise, that would be $29 million in 2013-14 (two seasons from now) for Gordo, Charlie V, and Tay. Holy Frijoles!!!(Aside: Go Magic!)~lw3

Will the lights be on at the Highlight Factory this time around? Fans won’t be thrilled with another clunker, like the last time the Hawks laid an egg at their home nest. As was the case just a few days ago, Atlanta’s opponents will arrive fresh from an impressive victory and showing no clear signs of a tank job in effect. The Pistons arrive having won five of their last ten, having rocked and rolled Cleveland to a 50-point lead through three quarters last night before calling off the dogs. It wouldn’t be accurate to say Brandon Knight couldn’t miss (28 points on 7-for-7 2FGs and 4-for-5 3FGs), but it wouldn’t be far off either. He, Rodney Stuckey and Will Bynum were converting passes into buckets at will (Piston guards collectively had 22 assists and just 5 turnovers) against momentary Hawk Donald Sloan and his band of outclassed teammates. Making a late push for the NBA All-Rookie team, it appears Knight is option number one going forward, having scored 20+ points in three of his last four games after having none in his previous 20 outings. In those last four contests, he’s nailed 10 of 14 three-point shots. Greg Monroe is transitioning from his comfy high-post passer role, and yesterday displayed the kind of defensive wizardry Coach Frank has been demanding of him all season, with 12 defensive boards, 4 steals and a couple blocks against the Kyrie-less, Sideshow Bob-less, Boobie-less Cavs. Tayshaun Prince found his defensive mojo as well, effectively shutting down Antawn Jamison (3 points on 0-for-10 shooting, plus 4 turnovers). The starters continued to play fairly late in that contest, though, and it will be intriguing to see what lineup Lawrence Frank trots out on the second night of a back-to-back, and what minutes they’ll get given there’s another, more-winnable game tomorrow at home versus Minnesota. I’m expecting we’ll see much more of ex-Yellow Jacket Bynum, who logged less than ten minutes last night and lofted up just one shot, but had 4 assists. Last night’s performance from Monroe aside, Detroit remains a subpar defensive rebounding team (28.2 per game, last in the NBA). At first glance, that low number is shocking for a team with eight players 6’7” and higher on the roster (including Ben Wallace, in what might be his final Atlanta appearance), and indeed there is a lot of dead, tall wood behind Monroe. That ranking has far more to do, however, with porous overall defense (46.6 opponent FG%, 4th highest in the league) than a mere inability to box out (10.5 opponent offensive rebounds, 4th fewest). Guards Joe Johnson, Jeff Teague, and Kirk Hinrich, Jannero Pargo, and Willie Green must exploit the Pistons around the arc when guys like Ben Gordon slack on defense. It’s clear that long-limbed Austin Daye and Tayshaun Prince aren’t usually coming out to help on the perimeter. Forwards Josh Smith and Tracy McGrady can help with the ball movement as well against Detroit (22.1% opponent assist rate, 2nd highest in the league). Teague had his season high of 11 assists in the last Pistons game (a 101-96 Hawks victory two weeks ago) to go along with a season-high 24 points. The Pistons may give Human Highlight Nephew Damien Wilkins, a free agent again this summer, another opportunity to slow down the Hawks offense by contesting ballhandlers and disrupting passes. The Pistons turn the ball over with some frequency (15.1% turnover rate, 2nd highest in the NBA; 8.6 opponent steals per game, highest in the NBA), so there should be some good transition opportunities out there for Teague and company. Atlanta almost doubled up Detroit in fastbreak points (28-15) in their last meeting. Charlie Villanueva has been thawed out by Coach Frank after nearly a month of riding the pine. Having logged less than 16 minutes in his entire injury-plagued season through April 8, he’s appeared in four of the last five games, getting double-digit points in three of them but, perhaps out of desperation, jacking up shots way too frequently (4-for-17 for 3FGs; 38.5 FG% and 9.8 shots in just 16.5 mins per game). Rebounds from his rushed shots are great opportunities to catch the Pistons on their heels and create fastbreak opportunities. Villanueva has also displayed some anxiety on defense, aggravating Derrick Rose on Sunday by bloodying the reigning MVP’s nose while defending a drive. Watch out for a little over-assertiveness from Charlie V as he strives to justify his $8 million salary in the closing week of his season. The Hawks were battered on the inside by the Pistons’ big men (31-for-46 shooting) during the 86-85 loss at Auburn Hills on March 9. Those same players were just 12-for-28 on April 6 in Atlanta as they relied too heavily on Stuckey to come off the bench and produce most of the offense. Marvin Williams and Ivan Johnson will continue to be useful as defensive assignments on Prince and perennial Hawk-killer Maxiell, while helping Josh Smith with defensive rebounding duties. Zaza Pachulia was a non-factor in either game, so although he remains unavailable tonight (as will Erick Dampier, who strained his calf doing... something), that shouldn’t necessarily jeopardize Atlanta’s likelihood for victory. Consistency through four quarters will be key, as the Hawks were sunk in that March road game by a poor third quarter (outscored 26-12), but kept Detroit close enough at home to pull out the win late in the April 6 game. Go Hawks! ~lw3

HUGE fan here. Sounds like he plans on staying in Lawrence, so we'll see where he ranks in next year's draft (right now he'd be mid-to-low 1st). Great for a playoff-quality team in 2013 that needs frontcourt depth.~lw3

http://www.blazersedge.com/2012/4/17/2956027/canzano-blazers-g-jamal-crawford-responds-to-report-of-expressed ~lw3

http://www.csnnw.com/pages/landingblazers?Source-Suns-will-pursue-G-Jamal-Crawford=1&blockID=690806&feedID=5212 There's supposed to be an interview on Portland local radio where Jamal will clarify himself in a few minutes.~lw3

Who'd-a-thunk-it? Some bullet points from the article, "Outscoring Opponents in the Clutch" by Henry Abbott and company over at ESPN: ("crunch time" is defined as the final five minutes of the fourth quarter or overtime... click on the article for a team-by-team chart sorting "NBA Crunch Time +/-, Last 5 Seasons") http://espn.go.com/blog/truehoop/post/_/id/40886/outscoring-opponents-in-the-clutch Clutch-in-Crunch. Mmmm. Now I'm hungry for some toffee-coated-popcorn. Or maybe some cereal. ~lw3

"That is all..."~lw3

I never saw it confirmed but I believe it had something to do with a multiple-teams-tied scenario (Atlanta, Milwaukee, and either Boston/Philadelphia) where the cumulative head-to-head would have had the Hawks on the short end of the stick.~lw3

~lw3

What a difference a day makes! Threes weren't rally falling, but generating 18 Raptor turnovers, 27 Raptor fouls, and lots of questionable Raptor shots after the first quarter more than made up for that. Congrats to Ivan Johnson on a career high night, and to Jeff Teague for 10 assists and just one turnover. And best wishes to Willie Green and la familia! ~lw3

It’s Basketball Night in Canada! And the Hawks have a little more to play for than just clinching a playoff spot for the fifth consecutive season. A victory tonight in Toronto will cement their Away record at 17-16, marking the first time since 1999 and only the sixth time in 44 seasons that an Atlanta Hawks team finished the season with a winning record on the road. Last year, the Hawks lost their last three road games and five of their last six to finish just short of the .500 mark, at 20-21. Previous seasons of “Road Warrior Hawk”: 1998-99: 16-9 1997-98: 21-20 1993-94: 21-20 1986-87: 22-19 1969-70: 18-16 They’ll need a far more spirited effort on both ends of the floor than they exhibited last night at the Dimlight Factory. It’s hard to avoid playing this team with so many more bigs to throw at you in a physical way, but it will help the Hawks’ cause to keep the fouling to a minimum. Not because they’re a bit shorthanded upfront, but because the Raptors are just 6-27 when they draw less than 20 fouls, 16-12 otherwise. The Raptors feasted on the Hawks’ interior on Sunday, shooting a season high 86 percent at the rim. Sound positioning for rebounds from the forwards and centers, and better defensive positioning from the guards, will help minimize the necessity for fouls. Keeping a lid on wasteful offensive possessions will also go a long way toward victory tonight, as the Raps strive to keep opponents to one-and-done offense. A team that ranks third in defensive rebounding rate, Toronto is 10-5 when snaring 45 or more rebounds in a game, 12-34 otherwise. In 19 of Toronto’s 22 wins, including last night, the Raptors outperformed their opponents in defensive rebounds. Even without Bargnani around, it remains baffling why the Raptors rely so much on long jumpers (29.6% of FGAs from 16-23 feet, ranking 3rd; 36.6 FG%, ranking 24th), although that choice worked out quite well last night without much defensive pressure from the Hawks (34.2% of FGAs from 16-23 feet; 12-for-26 shooting). On the season, no one other than 10-day pickup Alan Anderson (now signed for the "long" haul, along with Ben Uzoh) is hitting more than 40% from this range. Atlanta’s small forwards must have clearly defined roles on defense – limiting DeMar DeRozan, Linas Kleiza, and James Johnson to contested jumpers outside the paint and helping with boxouts (Marvin and Joe) or helping disrupt driving and passing by the Raptor guards (T-Mac and Vlad). Our three point marksmen have to be at-the-ready to catch-and-shoot when the kickout comes, and if they are not ready, swing the ball around the arc until it finds a guard who is open. The Hawks are 17-3 when connecting on 8 or more assisted threes in a game (only 5 last night), and 19-3 when hitting more than 40% of their three-point attempts, with two of the losses by just one point. Sadly, we won't have Justin Dentmon to kick around. His 10-day contract expired today without the Raptors renewing it. Going 3-for-10, 1-for-6 beyond the arc, and leading the team in turnovers last night pretty much did him in. However, he did lead them in assists with four last night, so the starting point guard (Uzoh) will have to pick up the slack. Jeff Teague will need to create more Toronto turnovers (they're 6-22 when turning the ball over 15 or more times a game), and get around Uzoh to draw fouls from the Raptors' big men (as noted yesterday, Toronto leads the league in personal fouls... plus, they're 6-21 when fouling 24 or more times in a game). Jose Calderon (eye) will be in uniform but remains unlikely to appear in tonight's game. Go Hawks! ~lw3

Well to be fair, Boston already lost to the Raptors twice. So there! #althoughnotby16pointsBring on the Celtics!~mgjr

(Aside: RIP Dwayne Schintzius)shortlist of UFA shooting guards (not already on the Hawks) so far. Who would you take that wouldn't break our "I'm-not-gonna-pay-a-lot-for-this-muffler" budget?Ray AllenMarco BelinelliMarquis DanielsCarlos DelfinoC.J. MilesAnthony Parker (may retire)Mickael PietrusMichael ReddDeShawn StevensonDelonte West~lw3

We just really missed Zaza. Vlad and JaCo getting those minutes was a big negative. Kirk has got to plug the dam better against the guards he's sticking to. And Joe has to find his All-Star offense no matter how good the defensive players are covering him. And whether Joe does that or not, Jeff needs to find more than 4 shots to take in the whole doggone game.It's always so awkward to see the Arena crew trying to keep us entertained in listless blowouts against no-name competition like this. It's like karaoke night in a stuck elevator.~lw3

Welp, it sure looks like the Hawks want someone else to do the clinching for them. Go Wizards on Wednesday!~lw3

(Aside: someone make sure Arthur Blank gets a copy of Saturday morning's Times-Picayune). Any creative names for the new New Orleans ex-Hornets? I like "Rollers" (use a streetcar in the logo; good times rolling, pick-and-roll, and all that) or "Squeakers" (use a frog in the logo; squeakers are a type of frog, so hops and wetland animals and stuff, plus the squeaking sounds on the court, squeaking out victories and such). If they go the non-plural route, I like "Krewe" (it's a Mardi Gras thing). You can see I'm thinking way too hard about stuff like this! I think Utah's stuck with "Jazz," so unless we pull a CFL (2 teams named "Roughriders"), I think we can rule that name out. And can Charlotte get "Hornets" back, similar to the way Cleveland got to keep the "Browns"? Nobody in Charlotte is feeling that "Bobcats" name, especially with "Bob" a distant memory. ~lw3

Teams we don't want:IndianaMilwaukeePhiladelphiaOrlando (especially without Dwight)~mgjr

~lw3

One more pile-on defensive note. The Raptors' opponents shoot just 43.8% on the season, ninth lowest in the league and the lowest among all non-playoff contenders. And they're not letting up at all (43.5 FG% for Raps foes in April).~lw3

For ideal positioning in the first round, we need to be ahead of the Celts (record-wise) at 5, or otherwise catch the Pacers at 3 and hope the Knicks climb up to 6.~mgjr

First, the magic number is down to one, so the next Hawks win will have them back in the playoffs for the fifth straight year! Only Boston, Orlando, the Lakers, San Antonio, and (maybe) Dallas and Denver can say the same. John Hollinger, your thoughts??? Second, your satirical sports article of the week: http://www.theonion.com/articles/toronto-raptors-think-of-really-good-comeback-10-m,27916/ All levity aside, despite playoff extinction, the Raptors have not even begun to tank. Coming off a four-game skid, they pulled off arguably their biggest victory of the season on Friday, winning against the smug division-leading Boston Celtics for a second straight time at Air Canada Centre. With sadly few opposing Europeans around to menace, Kevin Garnett struggled to keep Aaron Gray, Amir Johnson, Linas Kleiza, and Ed Davis off the boards. Simply, the Raps aren’t taking their lotto destiny lying down. Toronto’s abbreviated losing streak included a five-point loss at red-hot Indiana, one night after playing Oklahoma City. That streak followed a three-game string of wins this month, blowing out the Sixers in Philly in the second half. Three weeks ago, they started strong but fell by one point in overtime at the United Center against the Bulls, who needed a buzzer-beating layup by Luol Deng. Against playoff contenders, Dwane Casey’s crew has found their groove lately by throttling opponents defensively over the course of a quarter or two, including the Knicks (16 in the 1st quarter and 17 in the 3rd quarter), the Nuggets (11 in the 4th quarter), the Sixers (15 in the 3rd quarter and 7 in the 4th quarter), and the Celtics (16 in the 2nd quarter and 11 in the 3rd quarter). Ben Uzoh and Justin Dentmon will get some burn at point guard when the Raptors roll into the Highlight Factory. Both are on 10-day contracts (Uzoh on his second one), and it looks like at least one will be extended based largely on how they perform today. Assist-master Jose Calderon didn’t make the trip after injuring an eye in a collision with Thaddeus Young last week, and Jerryd Bayless may get wrapped up for the year after tearing his left oblique muscle a couple weeks ago. Local Kirkwood native and longtime NBA vet Anthony Carter was waived at the trading deadline, the same day gunner Leandro Barbosa was shipped to Indiana. In his only two starts, including the last Boston game, Uzoh has gone 8-for-17, averaging 8.5 points, 7.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 1.0 turnovers. Also getting major audition time is Alan Anderson. On his second 10-day contract after not playing in the league since 2007 with the Bobcats, the wing player has moved into the starting lineup the last six games. As a starter, he’s shooting just 42% overall, but a whopping 52% from three-point range (how bad is he shooting twos???). Those threes will come in handy against the Hawks. In their last six consecutive losses against Atlanta, Toronto has shot just 19.7% on three-pointers. Their leading healthy scorer, DeMar DeRozan, has yet to gain any traction against the Hawks. Over his short career, he’s managed just 11.7 PPG and 1.0 APG on 41.1 FG% against Atlanta, the lowest numbers against any Eastern Conference team. This season hasn’t been much better, with 9.5 PPG and 1.5 APG on 30.8% shooting in the two January games. He only shot 4-for-14 on Friday versus Boston, but got his 22 points courtesy of a 13-for-13 effort at the free throw line. With the Hawks missing their top two centers, look for a frontcourt offensive blitz from Toronto. Linas Kleiza, James Johnson, Amir Johnson, Ed Davis, and upcoming free agent Aaron Gray continue to cannibalize each others’ minutes with mostly interchangeable production. All are playing with next season in mind -- with Andrea Bargnani returning healthy in 2012-13 alongside Jonas Valanciunas, several of these guys will be moved or not re-signed. Davis has upped his rebounding of late, with 12 on Friday against Boston and averaging nine per game this month. A martial arts aficionado, Jeff Teague’s old Wake teammate James Johnson kicks butt on defense when he’s focused (leading the team with 1.2 SPG and 1.4 BPG), but falls into Hero-Ball mode on offense frequently and plays right into the opponent’s hands. He’s only gone 6-for-31 shooting (19.4%) in the last four games. Much like the late Big Pun, Toronto’s still not a player, but they hack a LOT. Their 23.3 personal fouls per game lead the league and would be the most by a team in the last three NBA seasons. Atlanta staying focused at the line will go a long way toward keeping the Raptors at bay. Go Hawks! ~lw3