Previews for Friday

[Greenbacks]

These articles are copied and pasted,just some information for tonight`s card.....




Preview: Golden State at Toronto

For the Golden State Warriors, life without Baron Davis began with a blown opportunity in their season opener.
Looking to bounce back, the Warriors kick off a three-game road on Friday night when they meet Toronto Raptors in their home opener at the Air Canada Centre.
Golden State, which saw Davis sign with the Los Angeles Clippers in July, led New Orleans by a point with 28 seconds left on Wednesday. But the Warriors failed to stop the Hornets' Chris Paul, who had the go-ahead layup with 19.4 seconds to play en route to a 108-103 loss.
"We competed, we played well for our first game. I'm not happy about losing, but I'm happy about our effort. We played at a high level the whole game," new Warriors point guard Stephen Jackson told the team's official Web site.
Jackson played all 48 minutes and had 26 points, including five 3-pointers. Corey Maggette - signed away from the Clippers the same day Davis joined them - scored 27 in his Golden State debut.
Davis was Golden State's leading scorer each of the last two seasons, and also topped the team in assists.
"We can't think about that," Jackson said. "We've got to go with what we've got."
One player the Warriors are going with for now is Al Harrington, who was 5-of-17 from the field and finished with 13 points, one day after publicly requesting a trade. The veteran post player said he wanted to play more minutes, and logged 42 against New Orleans.
"For us to win, I need to be more productive," said Harrington, who's averaged less than 27 minutes in 27 career games against the Raptors. "I think everybody knows that."
The Raptors opened their season on Wednesday with a 95-84 win in Philadelphia as Chris Bosh led the way with 27 points and 11 rebounds. Toronto's biggest offseason acquisition also got off to a strong start after missing a good portion of 2007-08.
Jermaine O'Neal, obtained from Indiana on July 9 as the key of a six-player trade, scored 17 points on 7-of-15 shooting and grabbed eight rebounds. He also appeared healthy after playing in just 42 games last season due to lingering pain from a torn knee ligament repaired the previous summer.
O'Neal's production dipped from 19.4 points per game in 2006-07 to 13.6 last season. He also saw an equally sharp drop in rebounding from 9.6 to 6.7. After scoring 27 points on Jan. 13 in the start of two straight games against the Warriors, he did not score a point in just nine minutes during the next contest, and then missed more than two months.
"I feel really good," O'Neal said. "I said from the time I got here that I wanted to be part of the team and bring playoff-type intensity every night. We have to treat every game like a playoff game."
Golden State has won nine of the last 12 meetings between the two teams, but the Raptors have split the past four home games with the Warriors.
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[Greenbacks]

Preview: Sacramento at Miami


With a new coach, two talented rookies and a returning superstar, the Miami Heat are trying to create a new identity in 2008-09. But after Wednesday's opening-night loss, the result looked the same as it did 67 times last season.
When Miami hosts the Sacramento Kings on Friday, it faces another team that came close before falling short in its season opener.
In his first regular-season game since March 8, Dwyane Wade had 26 points, seven rebounds and nine assists as the Heat lost 120-115 to the Knicks at Madison Square Garden in Erik Spoelstra's coaching debut.
Wade fouled out with 1:25 left when he tried to block Jamal Crawford's 3-point attempt after Miami (0-1) had trimmed a 21-point, fourth-quarter deficit to six.
"I've been on a team like this before and I understand when it goes well, it can go well," said Wade, who sat out the final 21 games in 2007-08 to rest his surgically repaired left knee. "And I also know when it goes bad, it can go bad, from last season. So just trying to figure out our identity."
The Heat's identity now includes Michael Beasley and Mario Chalmers. They became the franchise's first rookie duo to start an opening-night game since Oct. 28, 2003, when Wade and Udonis Haslem did against Philadelphia.
Beasley made 4-of-14 shots and finished with nine points and four rebounds, while Chalmers had 17 points, seven rebounds and eight assists.
Daequan Cook, whose third-year option was picked up by Miami on Tuesday, hit three 3-pointers and scored all 13 of his points in the final 4:09 - his third from long range cut New York's lead to 118-115 with 13 seconds left.
"We started the game so slow," said Beasley, the No. 2 overall pick. "By the time we woke up, it was too late."
Haslem had 23 points and 10 rebounds, and Shawn Marion added 14 points and 11 rebounds for Miami, which opened 0-5 last season en route to a 15-67 finish.
Reggie Theus, who begins his second season coaching Sacramento, witnessed a similar comeback on Wednesday before his team lost 98-96 at Minnesota. With the Kings (0-1) trailing 95-86 with 3:40 left, John Salmons scored six points and Kevin Martin and Beno Udrih each hit a pair of free throws during a 10-2 Sacramento run over the next 2:38. But Martin missed a 3-pointer with two seconds left and Salmons' put-back was off at the buzzer.
"We're proud that we hung in there," said Salmons, who had 24 points and eight rebounds. "We never gave up, we kept fighting. That's an encouraging thing. Definitely built some character today."
Martin - the Kings' leading scorer last season (23.7) - missed 14 of 19 shots and scored 17.
"If Kevin has any type of game at all, we beat this team by 10," Theus said.
Spencer Hawes had 12 points and 14 rebounds, and rookie Jason Thompson scored 18 points and pulled down 10 rebounds.
"I thought Jason Thompson played extremely well, made a few mistakes defensively, but overall played big, like big guys are supposed to do down around the basket," Theus said.
Sacramento and Miami split two meetings last season, each winning on its home court. Marion scored 24 to lead seven players in double figures as the Heat defeated the Kings 107-86 on Feb. 26 in Miami.
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[Greenbacks]

Preview: Orlando at Memphis


The Orlando Magic quickly learned that defending a division title will be tougher than improving to win one like they did last season. They hope to apply that lesson learned Friday night in Memphis, where the young Grizzlies play their home opener.
Orlando, which went from 40-42 in 2006-07 to Southeast Division champions last season, was on the short end of a 99-85 home loss on Wednesday to Atlanta, arguably their primary rival in the division. Dwight Howard had 22 points and 15 rebounds, but the Magic shot 37 percent from the field and failed to show the kind of effort that produced 52 wins in 2007-08.
"They played the game like they really, really wanted to win it," Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said of the Hawks. "And we sort of showed up, I guess, thinking it would just happen if we walked out there. We didn't have one guy who can say he played well at both ends of the floor. And several guys were just abysmal at both ends."
Howard had 12 points in the fourth quarter as the Magic attempted to rally, but the Olympian and All-Star center noted the loss should have served notice on what the team has to do going forward.
"I just think it's eye-opening for us," he said. "You can't take anything for granted, you can't take any team for granted. We have to do it as a team to get better. We have to stay focused knowing that every team is going to play us as hard as the Hawks did."
The 22-year-old Howard has recorded four straight double-doubles against the Grizzlies, averaging 25.5 points and 16.0 rebounds while shooting 79 percent (34-for-43) in those games, and posting two 20-20 efforts.
Not much is expected from the Grizzlies, who are coming off a 22-60 season as they try to navigate the difficult Southwest Division. But they showed some grit in an 82-71 loss at Houston on Wednesday. Rudy Gay had 20 points while rookie Darrell Arthur added 11 and 15 rebounds off the bench for Memphis, which limited Houston to 37 percent shooting and outrebounded the Rockets 49-44.
"We took some big strides," Gay insisted. "We will learn from this. It was a little sloppy. We were scrappy and that is what we need to do to be successful."
The youthful starting backcourt of O.J. Mayo and Mike Conley will have to make the biggest strides if the Grizzlies are to be competitive. The two 20-year-olds were a combined 8-for-28 shooting, with Mayo - the third overall pick - missing all seven of his attempts from 3-point range and finishing 5 of 20 overall.
"It came down to execution and we made some turnovers down the stretch," said Conley, whose team was held to 14 fourth-quarter points and went 0-for-13 from beyond the arc for the game. "The big key was they made shots and we didn't. We just couldn't make our 3s, and if we had the game would have been different."
Gay scored 52 points and shot 62.5 percent (20-for-32) as Memphis split two games with Orlando last season. Hedo Turkoglu hit six 3-pointers and finished with 26 points in a 112-85 Magic rout at Memphis on Jan. 23 in the most recent game between the teams.
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[Greenbacks]

Preview: San Antonio at Portland



Without one of their key players to start the season, the San Antonio Spurs weren't happy with their performance in their opener, starting 0-1 for the first time under coach Gregg Popovich.
Still, they're feeling much better than the Portland Trail Blazers.
As prized 2007 top pick Greg Oden recovers from another injury, the Blazers will look to rebound from a lopsided loss to start the season Friday night in their home opener against the Spurs, who've beaten them 12 straight times.
Portland (0-1) had high hopes for 2008-09 after the young Blazers managed to finish .500 last season even with Oden out for all 82 games following microfracture knee surgery.
But Oden's long-awaited debut didn't last long on Tuesday night, as he played only 13 minutes, did not score a point and sprained his foot in a 96-76 road loss to the Los Angeles Lakers.
The 7-footer from Ohio State is expected to miss two-to-four weeks after landing on the foot of Lakers guard Derek Fisher. Joel Przybilla will slide into the starting center spot for Portland.
"You don't want injuries, and he's worked so hard throughout this summer to get himself back," Blazers coach Nate McMillan said. "And we tried to do everything we could to get him ready for the season and the opener, and he steps on a guy's foot."
Oden's injury wasn't Portland's only concern in an ugly loss Tuesday, as the Blazers shot 34.5 percent from the field and trailed by 15 at halftime. They scored 76 points or fewer only three times all of last season, but their offense was out of sync against the defending Western Conference champs.
Brandon Roy was just 5-of-15 from the floor, while Channing Frye missed all seven of his shots and LaMarcus Aldridge went 4-of-12.
"(The Lakers) did what they needed to do," Frye said. "They disrupted our whole offense and our whole system. They completely threw us off and they definitely proved a point tonight. We have a lot of work to do but we have to remember this game."
One bright spot was the play of Spanish rookie Rudy Fernandez, whose NBA debut went much better than Oden's, totaling 16 points and four assists off the bench and shooting 3-of-5 from 3-point range.
"Rudy was the one player that was pretty aggressive out there tonight," McMillan said. "... He did some nice things and he seemed pretty comfortable."
The Spurs, playing without Manu Ginobili, weren't pleased with their own performance on Wednesday, when they lost to Phoenix 103-98 at home.
San Antonio had won its previous 12 openers under Popovich, but despite 32 points each from Tim Duncan and Tony Parker, the Spurs couldn't contain the high-powered Suns.
"Several people made poor decisions in the game down the stretch," Popovich said. "It was the worst transition defense I've seen in years. I can't imagine how bad it was. We didn't rebound. It was our poorest performance in the preseason up until this time. It was very disappointing."
The Spurs will have to learn to win without Ginobili, who won't return to the court until December following offseason ankle surgery. They were also without center Fabricio Oberto, who is expected to miss another game Friday after suffering from an irregular heartbeat.
Perhaps facing the Blazers will help San Antonio. The Spurs have won 12 straight and 19 of their last 20 in the series, sweeping all three meetings last season.
On their only trip to Portland in 2007-08, they held the Blazers to a season low in points in a 72-65 victory on April 6. That was a rare poor performance at home for the Blazers, who were 28-13 at the Rose Garden.
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[Greenbacks]

Preview: Chicago at Boston

With the coronation of the NBA champions complete, it's now back to business for the Boston Celtics as they defend their first title in 22 years.
It won't take them long to come up against a new challenge as they welcome No. 1 overall draft pick Derrick Rose and his Chicago Bulls to Boston on Friday night.
Before their season opener on Tuesday, the Celtics received their championship rings and raised the franchise's 17th banner to the TD Banknorth Garden rafters in an emotional ceremony that drew tears from finals MVP Paul Pierce.
"Only one team in the world can have this night, and it's us," Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. "But now I'm glad that we can concentrate on basketball."
It took them a while to do that Tuesday, but after a slow start, Pierce and his teammates managed to tighten up their signature defense against Cleveland, holding the Cavaliers to 35 second-half points in a 90-85 victory.
Kevin Garnett was just 5-of-15 from the field and Ray Allen had only eight points on 2-of-9 shooting, but Pierce compensated for his fellow All-Stars, scoring 27 points. Leon Powe added 13 off the bench for the Celtics, who continued their dominance at home after going 48-7 there last season, including the playoffs.
"We just kind of settled in," Pierce told the Celtics' official Web site. "We didn't really play well in the first half defensively, and we are a defensive team. After halftime, emotions got out of the way, and we started to play our brand of basketball."
The next task for the Celtics (1-0) is duplicating their dominant start to last season, when they won their first eight games and 29 of their first 32 to announce their resurgence.
The Bulls (1-0) are also hoping for improvement following a difficult 33-49 season, and though they probably aren't on their way to a championship season, they're hoping their 108-95 victory over Milwaukee in Tuesday night's opener is a positive sign.
"I had a bad taste in my mouth all summer," guard Kirk Hinrich said. "We're excited about getting this first win, but it's just a step. We have a long ways to go."
The man in the spotlight for Chicago on Tuesday was Rose, who had 11 points and nine assists in his NBA debut after leading Memphis to the NCAA tournament title game last season. The Chicago native helped pace a balanced Bulls offense, as six players scored in double figures, led by 21 from Luol Deng and 18 from Ben Gordon off the bench.
New Chicago coach Vinny Del Negro, a winner in his first game, said Rose was upset about his four turnovers, but Celtics coach Doc Rivers was still impressed by the young point guard.
"(The Bulls are) much improved," Rivers told the Celtics' official Web site. "... Rose, he didn't have a great game, but you can already see that he's going to be a great player. He's already controlling that team, they're running at a better speed. His decision-making is what stood out."
As happy as they were with their season opener, the Bulls are well aware that they'll be in for a much tougher test on Friday. Chicago lost all four of its games to the Celtics last season, including the two in Boston by a combined 48 points.
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[Greenbacks]

Preview: Denver at L.A. Clippers


The Los Angeles Clippers have plenty of incentive to bounce back Friday after being routed in their season opener. Center Marcus Camby, though, has loads of personal motivation to try and play despite a bruised heel as the Clippers host the Denver Nuggets.
Camby, who missed the entire preseason and is doubtful for this game, watched from the sidelines as the Clippers were routed 117-79 by the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday. But the 6-foot-11 center is also still sore from the way the Nuggets handled his offseason trade to the Clippers that gave Denver the option to swap second-round picks in 2010.
After spending six seasons with the Nuggets and leading the NBA in blocked shots for three of them, Camby was upset no one from the team notified him of the trade, which he learned through his agent.
"I thought the way (the Nuggets) went about it was classless," Camby said when introduced by the Clippers in July. "I thought it could have gone down a whole lot better. I'll get over it once training camp begins when I'm around the guys. You never forget. I'm definitely looking forward to those couple games (actually four) we play against Denver."
Even if Camby is able to play, the Clippers (0-1) still have to put Wednesday's loss behind them after shooting 39 percent and committing 18 turnovers.
"It was a rude awakening for us, to let us see that mountain we've got to climb," said guard Baron Davis, who had 11 points and seven assists in his much-hyped Clippers debut. "Did I expect to lose like that? No. Do I expect us to go 0-7? No.
"We're going to just have to figure it out on the fly."
Al Thornton led the Clippers with 16 points, while Cuttino Mobley and Tim Thomas each added 11.
While Camby's absence left a massive void in the Clippers' frontcourt - they were outrebounded 51-32 by the Lakers - his departure from the middle of Denver's lineup may have caused an effect in its 98-94 loss at Utah as the Nuggets were outrebounded 46-35.
Last season, Camby pulled down 13.1 rebounds per game as Denver averaged 44.1 boards - fifth-best in the NBA.
The Nuggets also were without Carmelo Anthony - the team's second-leading scorer at 25.7 points per game last season - as he served the first of a two-game suspension due to an offseason DUI arrest. While Kenyon Martin and Allen Iverson led the Nuggets with 18 points apiece, Nuggets coach George Karl lamented the lack of a go-to scorer to take control of the game.
"We didn't have a hot player. We didn't have anyone give the offense some juice or some life," he said.
Denver (0-1) erased a 14-point, third-quarter deficit to tie the game at 82 with 6:11 left, but never retook the lead as Utah hit 12 of 14 free throws in the final 5:39.
"We had opportunities to win the game. we just couldn't get it done," Iverson said.
The Nuggets and Clippers split two meetings in Los Angeles last season, but Denver won three of the four matchups in 2007-08.
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[Greenbacks]

That`s it......Nothing on the Knicks - 6ers

Good luck:toast:

 

[yanni_gogolak]

Nuggets coach George Karl lamented the lack of a go-to scorer to take control of the game.
"We didn't have a hot player. We didn't have anyone give the offense some juice or some life," he said.

george karl is an idiot. sometimes you have to win the game in other ways, thats what makes a good team. he would know nothing about that obviously.

 

[BUCSnotYUCKS]

JR Smith played well and was hot, they didn't go to him though. Carter hit some nice shots, but the dumb bastard killed them with turnovers late.

 

[Cappin'Guru]

Good luck tonight GB. I think everyone will be hammering Boston tonight... Then again the public has been on and off this NBA season so I'm not too sure.

I think Chicago might be a play here.

 

[yanni_gogolak]

JR Smith played well and was hot, they didn't go to him though. Carter hit some nice shots, but the dumb bastard killed them with turnovers late.

smith is a great scorer. i dont think karl likes him or something b/c he doesnt play him as much as he should.

 

[THE GREEK 05]

thanks for the info gb good luck tonight!!

 

[krk1030]

I dont get why JR smith doesnt play more. Obviously the nuggets dont care about defense, so why should he not play more.

 

[HighFlyinKilla]

george karl is an idiot. sometimes you have to win the game in other ways, thats what makes a good team. he would know nothing about that obviously.

Hes a moron. JR Smith was hot in the 4th qtr he needs give him more playing time. His love affair with Anthony Carter and refusing to give guys of the bench minutes is killing this team.