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2011 NBA All-Star Starters Revealed, What About the Reserves?

Fanhouse NBA Blog - suns — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 01:57:51 +0000

Filed under: Bulls, Celtics, Clippers, Hawks, Heat, Hornets, Jazz, Knicks, Lakers, Magic, Mavericks, Nuggets, Rockets, Spurs, Suns, Timberwolves, Trail Blazers, Warriors, Eastern, Western, NBA All-Star Game, Thunder

Denver coach George Karl likes to say each All-Star squad should have 15 players, rather than 12.

It's a great idea for the West this season, with there about to be some serious snubs. As for the East, 10 seems a better number this season in a conference that after the top teams has as much depth as the local park's kiddie pool.

Perhaps the East should concede two spots to the West. Throw in that Houston's Yao Ming, named the West starting center, will miss the Feb. 20 Game in Los Angeles, and that would give the West 15 players with All-Star recognition.

The starters were announced Thursday night, and there wasn't anything to complain about other than how ridiculous it was that fans (hello, China) continued to vote for Yao in bunches even after it was announced Dec. 17 he was out for the season with a foot injury. Even before then, he was averaging 10.2 points in a meager five games.

The East starters will be Orlando's Dwight Howard at center, Miami's LeBron James and New York's Amar'e Stoudemire at forward and Miami's Dwyane Wade and Chicago's Derrick Rose at guard. Other than Yao, West starters named were Oklahoma City's Kevin Durant and Denver's Carmelo Anthony at forward and the Lakers' Kobe Bryant and New Orleans' Chris Paul at guard.

Now, on to the reserves. After the coaches cast their ballots, here's who should be announced next Thursday as well as which players might be ticked off:

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The Works: The Clippers Come Around Again

Fanhouse NBA Blog - suns — Sat, 22 Jan 2011 08:58:51 +0000

by Bethlehem Shoals and Eric Freeman

Filed under: Celtics, Clippers, Suns, NBA Fans, The Works

Today in The Works: everything you ever wanted to know about players' eating habits and the Suns take a field trip.

But first, the cosmic significance of the Clippers.

We Are All Clippers Fans

The Clippers are a weird team, to say the least. By general consensus, it's the worst organization in basketball, and likely the worst in all of pro sports. There must be real Clippers fans, though I suspect some of them are motivated just by dislike of the Lakers, or of tickets at the Staples Center when Kobe Bryant is playing. For the rest of this, though, this team is a laughingstock, with a consummate scumbag writing the checks, that every once in a while -- almost by accident -- spits out a squad that really captures our collective fancy.

There was the hectic, flashy, and ultimately doomed Clippers of Lamar Odom, Elton Brand, Darius Miles, and Quentin Richardson; nor are they the Brand, Sam Cassell, Chris Kaman, Corey Maggette assemblage the found its way into the 2005-06 playoffs and, supposedly, vindicated the long-suffering fan-base, that great underclass of Southern California basketball. Now, we are in the middle of the third Clippers awakening, another moment when a franchise that, almost since its inception, had been a punchline. Or maybe it was born under a bad sign, stolen from Buffalo when two owners traded rosters and the Braves franchise was easiest to pry free.

The Clipper curse has been about individuals: Bill Walton, walking wounded during his time in San Diego; Danny Manning, blowing out his knee and destroying such sweet promise. In fact, it's been a general malaise. It could be the fall stars, it could be Sterling. Whatever the cause, this franchise has long been death in a handbag. And then, in the 21st century, it started to squirm, to periodically show life. Sometimes, the Clippers matter, and we all perk up. This is one of those moments.

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The Works: Sizing Up the Final Western Playoff Spots

Fanhouse NBA Blog - suns — Thu, 20 Jan 2011 01:36:03 +0000

by Bethlehem Shoals and Eric Freeman

Filed under: Clippers, Grizzlies, Heat, Mavericks, Nuggets, Rockets, Suns, Trail Blazers, Warriors, NBA Playoffs, The Works

Today in The Works: looking at which conference is best and going over big draft gaps.

But first, the worst best teams in the West..

Who Is Least in the West?

This week, all NBA teams will play their 41st game of the season, if they haven't already. That means we're effectively at the halfway point of the 2010-11 season, a time for both reflection on the first half and some forward-thinking consideration of the rest of the regular season campaign.

Nowhere is this speculation more necessary than for the Western Conference playoff picture. While teams like the mighty Lakers and powerful Spurs are virtually guaranteed of spots in the postseason, the last two places one the West playoff dance card are up for grabs. With current holders Denver (No. 7) and Portland (No. 8) perpetually perched on the brink of disaster, there could be one heck of a fight over these last few months of the regular season. Let's preview the melee, team by team.

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FanHouse Live: Sam Amick on Lakers’ Struggles, Blake Griffin’s Growth

Fanhouse NBA Blog - suns — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 20:03:34 +0000

by FanHouse TV

Filed under: Heat, Lakers, Suns, NBA Videos

As the Los Angeles Lakers continue their quest for another "three-peat" there are currently four teams in the NBA with better records. Although the Lakers are certainly playing well, they are not playing a championship brand of basketball. Is it their yearly mid-season swoon, or is there really something to worry about?

FanHouse Senior NBA Writer Sam Amick was a guest on "FanHouse Live" and weighed in on that among other hot topics around the league.

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The Works: The Works Does Christmas

Fanhouse NBA Blog - suns — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 23:37:17 +0000

by Bethlehem Shoals and Eric Freeman

Filed under: 76ers, Clippers, Jazz, Knicks, Magic, Nets, Suns, Warriors, The Works, NBA Business

Today in The Works: we proposed some NBA-related Christmas specials and ponder Amar'e Stoudmire's new fashion line.

The Reason For The Season

Tonight is Christmas Eve, the time when families all over America get cozy beside the yule log and watch their favorite Christmas specials and movies on their giant flat-screen televisions. It's a tradition as old as high definition itself. But if you're a Jew like us, you spend this holiday producing entertainment rather than consuming it.

This holiday season, the NBA has gotten into the Christmas spirit by creating their own specials for the most joyous night of the year, with helps from The Works, of course. So tell your grandpa to stop telling stories and check out these previews of tonight's best offerings. And hey, don't hog all that figgy pudding!

A Very Special Tom Tolbert Christmas: The former NBA journeyman NBA and current television personality welcomes you into his bro palace to revel in some holiday cheer. Armed with enough Four Loko to kill a pony and the latest in Santa fashion from Ed Hardy, Tolbert and pals DJ Rony Seikaly and Jud Buechler give tips and hints on how to have the most brotastic holiday season around. Tolbert starts by demonstrating proper dye technique on your soul patch to give it that extra red/green Christmas oomph. Seikaly follows by dropping the best house remixes of "O Holy Night" and "Jingle Bells," while Buechler and special guest Mystery set you straight on how to pick up your lady coworkers at your office's holiday party.

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Los Angeles Clippers 108, Phoenix Suns 103 — Comebacks fall short

Michael Schwartz — Mon, 27 Dec 2010 01:36:34 +0000

In Sunday’s 108-103 loss to the Clippers, we saw the Suns as equal parts naughty and nice. There was the lethargic unit in the first half that appeared to enjoy too much Christmas ham as the...

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The Works: When Owners Care Too Much; Respect for Blake Griffin

Fanhouse NBA Blog - suns — Sat, 04 Dec 2010 03:02:06 +0000

by Bethlehem Shoals and Tom Ziller

Filed under: Clippers, Hornets, Mavericks, Suns, Trail Blazers, Warriors, The Works

In today's Works: how one master dunkers commends another; why everyone feels bad for Greg Oden; and the eternal challenge for retooling the Hornets.

But first, the difference between hands-on owners and the handsy ones.

On Meddlesome Owners

If you haven't spent some time with Sam Amick's wonderful, elucidating Q&A with new Warriors owners Joe Lacob and Peter Guber, please stop, click the link and read it. That single piece will give you everything you need to know about Golden State's new era.

One of the items Lacob touches on is how he relates to the idea of a "meddling owner," and fan backlash in respect to such. "Meddling" is one of those descriptive words that has a very specific connotation in NBA discourse, and it's not positive. When dissing Mark Cuban, you use the word "meddling." If you wanted to commend Cuban or any other owner for his activity level, you'd call the owner "engaged." But no one ever calls an owner "engaged," because engagement is not the preference.

It's a double-standard, that fans who so often (think they) have all the answers despite thin (more like non-existent) basketball resumés criticize owners with thin basketball resumés who pretend to have all the answers.

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NBA Schedule 2010-11: Key Matchups You Need to Know About

Fanhouse NBA Blog - suns — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 00:35:11 +0000

by Jordan Schultz

Filed under: Bulls, Cavaliers, Celtics, Clippers, Heat, Jazz, Kings, Knicks, Lakers, Magic, Suns, Trail Blazers, Wizards, Eastern, Western, NBA Media Watch, Thunder, NBA Previews, Sports Business and Media

The NBA season doesn't start until Oct. 26, but it's never too early to highlight some of the most exciting and critical matchups on tap.

The league opener is sure to be full of drama as the revamped Miami Heat travel to Beantown to play the Celtics and their most recent addition, Shaquille O'Neal, which will tip at 7:30 p.m. ET and will be broadcast on TNT.

Other notable early season games include a matchup of the Florida teams as Orlando travels to South Beach to play the Heat on Oct. 29 at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN.

In a rematch of the 2009 Western Conference finals, the two-time defending champion L.A. Lakers will play in Phoenix against the Amare-less Suns in Game 2 of ESPN's double-header the night of Oct. 29th.

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The Pre-Season Finale and Season Beginning

Adam Brennan — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 17:24:03 +0000

The Suns conclude their pre-season schedule tonight in Vancouver, Canada vs. the Portland Trailblazers. This is the Suns 2nd match-up vs. Portland this pre-season, with the Suns winning 110-104 in Portland. In the last meeting, the Suns defense actually looked solid and carried them to the victory. However, tonight’s game will likely be played with a little more intensity as it is the final tune-up before the regular season begins. The Suns face the Los Angeles Clippers Wed, Oct. 28 7:30pm TV: My45 HD Radio: KTAR 620 AM in the Staples Center. This will be the 1st regular season appearance of the highly touted #1 draft pick of 2009 Blake Griffin. Griffin has average 15 points and 8.2 rebounds this pre-season while leading the Clippers to a 4-2 record thus far.

The Suns officially trimmed their roster to 13 last night by releasing G Dan Dickau and F Carlos Powell. Steve Nash will play tonight vs. Portlanddespite spraining his ankle early in the second half in Phoenix’s 143-127 win over the Sacramento Kings on 10/20. This game represents a homecoming for Steve Nash who is from Victoria, British Columbia. In addition, some of the proceeds from the game will be going to benefit the Steve Nash Foundation.

The Suns pre-season has largely met the expectations of fans and experts abound with a few exceptions. Channing Frye has shown this pre-season that he is a substantial 3 point threat. Frye has shot 13-26 from downtown this pre-season leading the Suns in 3 pointers made as well as 3 point %. This is particularly interesting because Frye in in first 4 seasons in the NBA is only 20-70 from 3 point land. It is clearly evident that the 6′11″ Frye will be a major asset this season if he can continue to stretch the defense withthis seemingly new found shooting range. Goran Dragic has also been a relatively decent surprise for the Suns this pre-season. This was most evident when Nash left the Sacramento game with a minor ankle sprain. Dragic came in and performed admirably scoring 21 points combined with 8 rebounds and 4 assists. Is it possible, that Dragic can finally fill the role of backup point guard that the Suns have been lacking since Steve Nash’s arrival? This point is more important than ever, especially considering Nash is getting long in the tooth andwill need additional rest to stand the rigours of the 82 game NBA Season.

Jason Richardson will begin to serve his 2 game NBA imposed suspension against the Los Angeles Clippers on 10/28. Look for Alvin Gentry in the final pre-season game tonight to try a wide variety of lineups to overcome his absence. This may include having Goran Dragic and Steve Nash on the court at the same time as well as an increased role for Leandro Barbosa.

Finally, I promised I would give my prediction on where the Suns would finish this regular season. I am picking the Suns to finish 5th in the Western Conference this season. This is in contrast to ESPN’s experts blended rating of 8th for the Suns in the West. The teams I project ahead of the Suns in the regular season are as follows: 1. Los Angeles Lakers 2. San Antonio 3. Denver Nuggets and 4. Portland Trailblazers.

The countdown to Phoenix Suns basketball has officially begun: 6 days 9 hours and 12 minutes!

Go Planet Orange!!!!!

Sports Greats Past and Present Get Together for a Great Cause

Elie Seckbach — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 16:00:00 +0000

Filed under: Bucks, Celtics, Clippers, Hornets, Lakers, Suns, NBA Awards, NBA Draft, NBA Videos, Interviews, NBA Twitter, FanHouse Exclusive, NBA Coaches

Elie Seckbach, the Embedded Correspondent, brings his exclusive video reporting to FanHouse. Check back regularly for more videos.

For the past nine years the Harold Pump Foundation, created by David and Dana Pump (known as the gurus of high school and college basketball) has raised over $3.5 million dollars to fight cancer. The foundation's efforts have not gone unnoticed. Major stars such as Magic Johnson, Paul Pierce, Sugar Ray Leonard, Pete Sampras and Denzel Washington have all joined the Pump brothers. In this report we also hear from young NBA stars like Kevin Love, Brandon Jennings, and Blake Griffin.

Check out the video after the jump.

Sports Greats Past and Present Get Together for a Great Cause originally appeared on NBA FanHouse on Tue, 18 Aug 2009 11:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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