Thursday, April 06, 2006
Thoughts on a Thursday
Whew. I guess I've been a bit too distracted by the Boo Chanco Issue lately to be thinking about basketball. My bad... Yeah, right.
Anyway, I've picked up on a few notable things/events on the NBA front as of late. Let's begin with this most recent development:
Cavs trumped by the Knicks
Tough, tough, tough loss for the Cavs. Before this setback, Cleveland has been streaking with 9 straight victories--as LeBron James has been playing mad ball, in the process leading his team (finally) into the postseason.
New York, meanwhile, has been streaking, as well--albeit in their own special way: with 9 straight losses.
LeBron was able to pick up from a slow start to finish with 36 pts and 7 assts. His 21-point fourth quarter, however, was cancelled out by Jamal Crawford's go-ahead basket with 6 seconds left in the game. Tough, tough, tough.
Although I'm Phoenix-Suns-all-the-way, I've become rather concerned about the fate of the Cavs merely by virtue of the facts that (1) LeBron has been my Fantasy League hero for two years straight (this way, the dude has earned my respect in him being a legit NBA superstar); and (2) I've been reading YaySports! NBA a tad too much. I sure hope The Cavalier can get over this.
(Photo from Yahoo! Sports)
Cause for concern for Suns fans (especially me)
(Geez. I sure hope I could come up with two sub-headings whose titles didn't begin with the same letter.)
The drama involving Amare Stoudemire's knees is far from over. STAT recently went under the knife again--this time, to clear up "debris caused by the wear and tear of [his] kneecap." While the good news is that this has nothing to do with the rehabilitation of his microfractured knee (his left; this surgery involved his right knee), this effectively renders Amare out for the season.
Not as if the Suns had been doing awfully without him throughout this season, but it could still be argued that his supposed comeback--or news of it, at the least--has obviously shaken his team up a bit, one way or another.
The Suns have been losers of 6 of their last 10. What has been noticeable during this stretch is that while Phoenix has been able to maintain its high-scoring game (except in that ugly game against the Nets), the Suns' opponents have been scoring right along with them. Clearly, the Suns defense is lacking. Man, do we miss Kurt Thomas.
Obviously, this has serious implications heading into the playoffs. Of course, I have faith that the Suns could pull it off and go all the way. But hardcore fan though I may be, I must be realistic and say that until the Suns defensive focus returns, only the second round of the postseason can be the best I can expect from the team.
Then again, better go through a stretch like this nearing the end of the regular season (when the second West seed has been nearly locked up) and have time to adjust, than go through it and whittle away during the playoffs.
Here's hoping no long-term effects ruin Amare's run at a Hall of Fame Career.
By the way, check this out. Somebody else is concerned apparently. Yay.
The East Rombo family continues to grow!
Everybody, welcome
GROUP HUG!!! Awwwww.
My Whomping Willows look shaky
Damn your Team-inang Yan, G! Looks like my Fantasy Title defense is going to be tougher than I had expected, in light of how most of the season went for me.
Oh well. Whatever happens, I still love you, G. Hug.
But wait, I also love you, too, Eums, Bit, Chito, Jopoy, Alvin, and Jeff. Don't go jelly on G...
Anyway, I've picked up on a few notable things/events on the NBA front as of late. Let's begin with this most recent development:
Cavs trumped by the Knicks
Tough, tough, tough loss for the Cavs. Before this setback, Cleveland has been streaking with 9 straight victories--as LeBron James has been playing mad ball, in the process leading his team (finally) into the postseason.
New York, meanwhile, has been streaking, as well--albeit in their own special way: with 9 straight losses.
LeBron was able to pick up from a slow start to finish with 36 pts and 7 assts. His 21-point fourth quarter, however, was cancelled out by Jamal Crawford's go-ahead basket with 6 seconds left in the game. Tough, tough, tough.
Although I'm Phoenix-Suns-all-the-way, I've become rather concerned about the fate of the Cavs merely by virtue of the facts that (1) LeBron has been my Fantasy League hero for two years straight (this way, the dude has earned my respect in him being a legit NBA superstar); and (2) I've been reading YaySports! NBA a tad too much. I sure hope The Cavalier can get over this.
(Photo from Yahoo! Sports)
(Geez. I sure hope I could come up with two sub-headings whose titles didn't begin with the same letter.)
The drama involving Amare Stoudemire's knees is far from over. STAT recently went under the knife again--this time, to clear up "debris caused by the wear and tear of [his] kneecap." While the good news is that this has nothing to do with the rehabilitation of his microfractured knee (his left; this surgery involved his right knee), this effectively renders Amare out for the season.
Not as if the Suns had been doing awfully without him throughout this season, but it could still be argued that his supposed comeback--or news of it, at the least--has obviously shaken his team up a bit, one way or another.
The Suns have been losers of 6 of their last 10. What has been noticeable during this stretch is that while Phoenix has been able to maintain its high-scoring game (except in that ugly game against the Nets), the Suns' opponents have been scoring right along with them. Clearly, the Suns defense is lacking. Man, do we miss Kurt Thomas.
Obviously, this has serious implications heading into the playoffs. Of course, I have faith that the Suns could pull it off and go all the way. But hardcore fan though I may be, I must be realistic and say that until the Suns defensive focus returns, only the second round of the postseason can be the best I can expect from the team.
Then again, better go through a stretch like this nearing the end of the regular season (when the second West seed has been nearly locked up) and have time to adjust, than go through it and whittle away during the playoffs.
Here's hoping no long-term effects ruin Amare's run at a Hall of Fame Career.
By the way, check this out. Somebody else is concerned apparently. Yay.
The East Rombo family continues to grow!
Everybody, welcome
Alvin "The King" Ang,
Jopoy "Popoy" Pandaraoan, and
Jeff "Resident Tabloid Writer" Sanggalang,
the newest additions to the East Rombo Basketblog roster. Although they have expressed that they wouldn't be able to post much at the moment, we're still glad to have them on the team, ready to post their own share of basketball nonsense--whenever they're ready.Jopoy "Popoy" Pandaraoan, and
Jeff "Resident Tabloid Writer" Sanggalang,
GROUP HUG!!! Awwwww.
My Whomping Willows look shaky
Damn your Team-inang Yan, G! Looks like my Fantasy Title defense is going to be tougher than I had expected, in light of how most of the season went for me.
Oh well. Whatever happens, I still love you, G. Hug.
But wait, I also love you, too, Eums, Bit, Chito, Jopoy, Alvin, and Jeff. Don't go jelly on G...
