Lebron James Eastern Conference Player of the Week

Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James was named today as the NBA’s Eastern Conference Player of the Week for games played Monday, March 5 through Sunday, March 11.

In four games during the week, James led the Cavaliers to a perfect 4-0 record by averaging a league-high 32.8 points on .515 shooting, 8.5 rebounds and 7.8 assists per game. James has now won the award 10 times in his career: twice this season (Nov. 13-19), five times in 2005-06 and on three occasions during the 2004-05 campaign.

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 BASKETS

Orlando’s Dwight Howard had his 45th double double with 16 points and 12 rebounds against the Rockets.

BRICKS

Houston is 37-17 when Tracy McGrady plays and 2-7 when he doesn’t this season.

INSIDER

The Wizards are 8-30 all-time in regular season games in Miami.

Boston guard Delonte West missed his second game with a mild concussion, while forward Ryan Gomes sat out his second game with a sprained left foot.

Chicago forward Malik Allen stayed behind in Chicago and didn’t make the trip to Boston after spending Thursday night in the hospital with an irregular heartbeat.  He was released from the hospital on Friday.

Richard Hamilton is second among the Pistons with 11 technical fouls.  Rasheed Wallace, whose one game suspension Sunday cost him $146,341 in salary, set a record with 38 technicals in 1999-2000 with Portland and eclipsed that mark the following season with 40.
 

 

It’s All About The Q

During the month of February, Quicken Loans Arena offered lots of religion, loaded tons of dirt, set the stage for Justin to bring “SexyBack,” and Josh to bring down the house with “You Raise Me Up.”  In between, The Q laid down the hard court for the Cavaliers to host seven home games, four of which were sellouts.   

When it was all said and done, consecutive day changeovers took place nine times and approximately 230,000 fans took in the most diverse offering of events from Northeast Ohio’s premier sports and entertainment showplace. 

“The Q is a multi-faceted facility that gives us the opportunity to bring a wide range of events to the region,” said Chad Estis, executive vice president and chief marketing officer for the Cavaliers and Quicken Loans Arena. “In any given week, we can transform from basketball to a major concert to an ice show and back to basketball again.  Nine back-to-back changeovers in February is a good example of The Q’s versatility.”

 Quicken Loans Arena Event and Attendance for February 2007:

 Feb. 2  Cavaliers vs. Charlotte                   20,562 (sellout)

Feb. 3  Justin Timberlake                          13,492

Feb. 4  Cavaliers vs. Detroit                      20,140

Feb. 7  Cavaliers vs. L.A. Clippers              20,129

Feb. 9  Cavaliers vs. Miami                        20,562 (sellout)

Feb. 11 Cavaliers vs. L.A. Lakers               20,562 (sellout)

Feb.16-17  Monster Jam                          29,667

Feb. 18  Josh Groban                              12,358

Feb. 22  Cavaliers vs. Chicago                  20,562 (sellout)

Feb. 23  Joel Osteen                               17,108

Feb. 24  World’s Toughest Rodeo            9,041

Feb. 25  *Praisefest                               6,000 (free community event)

Feb. 27 Cavaliers vs. NO/OC                   19,619

 The Cavaliers continue to be one of the NBA’s most watched teams and are currently on track to record the highest home attendance average in franchise history. They have already recorded the second-most sellouts in team history having sold out 22 of the 31 games played at The Q thus far this season.  The Cavs also currently rank #2 in the league this season for road attendance, averaging 19,131, which marks their highest road attendance average ever. In total, the Cavs combined home and road attendance average of 19,784 also ranks #1 in franchise history.

 

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MORE PROBLEMS FOR TINSLEY

Indiana Pacers guard Jamaal Tinsley was suspended for Saturday night’s game against Philadelphia for conduct detrimental to the team.  Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said the suspension was unrelated to Tinsley’s recent problems with the law, which include one felony and three misdemeanor charges leveled against him last month after a bar fight in Indianapolis.

RASHEED

He told them “It don’t matter to me.  They think suspending me one game, I’m losing all this money and this and that.  Money ain’t nothing to me for the simple fact I wasn’t born with it.  Just as fast as you get money, you can lose money.  Money’s not going to change my character, money’s not going to change the person I am.”  Rasheed Wallace, who incurred an automatic one game suspension after getting his 16th technical foul of the season in the Piston’s 95-82 victory over the Denver Nuggets on Friday.

ARTEST RETURNS TO KINGS

Sacramento said Saturday it will allow Ron Artest to return to the team, five days after his arrest on suspicion of domestic violence.  Artest was excused from all team activities Tuesday, one day after being arrested at his home in Sacramento, California.

IN A NUTSHELL

Seattle guard Luke Ridnour has missed three straight games with a herniated disc in his neck.  The Celtics have used 20 different starting lineups this season after using 18 last year.  Kevin Garnett has led the Timberwolves in rebounding 58 times in 61 games.

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SEASON ENDS

Boston Celtics forward Wally Szczerbiak underwent season-ending surgery on his left ankle Thursday.  Szczerbiak sprained his left ankle during Boston’s game against Sacramento on Feb. 20, the latest of several injuries to his ankles this season.

CLIPPERS GUARD

Clippers guard Shaun Livingston is scheduled to have reconstructive surgery on his left knee Tuesday in Alabama.  Livingston tore parts of his anterior cruciate ligament, posterior cruciate ligament, medial collateral ligament and lateral meniscus in a victory over Charlotte on Feb. 26.  The Clippers’ third-year pro may be sidelined for a year or more.

BRYANT DEFENDS ACTIONS
This was hardly the homecoming Kobe Bryant envisioned this season, returning to the city that launched him to the NBA while having to defend himself in the wake of a play that wasn’t exactly full of brotherly love.
After serving his second one-game suspension of the season, Bryant specifically wanted yesterday to address the perception — fueled by so many replays of him striking Manu Ginobili and Marko Jaric in the head — that he is in some way a dirty player.
“The reputation that I want to have is that of being a physical basketball player that plays hard,” Bryant said. “Not one that goes out and tries to intentionally hurt people. That’s something that I guard against. I respect the game too much.”
The suspension could not have come at a worse time for the “fragile” Lakers, as Bryant put it.
The Lakers have dropped four consecutive games after Wednesday’s loss in Milwaukee and are down to just 10 available players because of injury.
There also is the matter of how Bryant will avoid a third strike, both literally and figuratively, with the league office. He has been suspended for two plays in which he flailed his arm trying to draw a foul after having his shot blocked.
“When you play, you try not to think about that type of stuff because it winds up affecting your game,” Bryant said. “You go out there and just play basketball. That’s what I try to do. I just have to be a little bit more mindful, I guess.”
Lakers coach Phil Jackson said he had “umpteen” video examples of Bryant flailing his arms after shots with nobody around. He said Bryant would have to be on guard to avoid a third offense but also called on the league not to be punitive.
“There are people that pile on and we know there are NBA people that like to pile on and add to that,” Jackson said. “We know that he’s a competitor and he’s a performer and we trust the league’s got a fair analysis of that.”
Bryant described having a “helpless” feeling watching in two different restaurants as the Lakers never led against Milwaukee. He also made clear that he felt he had been singled out not once but twice with the suspensions.
“I can’t go through a process of just feeling bad for myself,” Bryant said. “Obviously, I believe I got a raw deal on both of them. I’ve seen a lot worse go down. But there’s nothing you can do about it.”
The Lakers have lost 10 of 13 games, with Jackson describing them as “free-falling for three weeks.”

 

 

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HEAT HIT AGAIN

Dwayne Wade started rehabilitating his dislocated left shoulder Tuesday, a piece of good news for the Miami Heat.  Jason Kapono, though, may be fore for a while.  Kapono, the NBA’s leading 3-poiont shooter at 51.3%, will miss an “indefinite” number of games after being diagnosed with a high left ankle sparin.  The team said Kapono would be re-evaluated in 10 days.

DIAW RETURNS

Boris Dian is expected back in the Phoenix starting lineup tonight when the Suns play the Charlotte Bobacts.  The 6-8 Frenchman has missed nine games because of back spasms but practiced Tuesday and pronounced himself ready to retun.

ARTEST IN THE NEWS

Sacramento Kings forward Ron Artest slapped a woman’s face and grabbed her repeatedly, causing visible injuries, according to a sheriff’s report made public Tuesday.  Artest was released from custody after posting a $50,000 bond and is awaiting a March 22 arraignment.

Rasheed Wallace expected to play tonight

Wallace is expected back in uniform tonight when the Pistons the Cavaliers.

He said the foot is not 100 percent but has noticeably improved since he injured it Feb. 25 against Chicago. He practiced for about an hour yesterday.

“I always like getting up against teams like this even when I was younger. It gives you that little spice, that little pep in your step. That’s what I like,” Wallace said.Wallace”

“Any time you play a team in your division it’s always a rivalry, especially where they’ve been. We had a great series with them last year as far as going seven games,” Saunders said. “When you’re playing against LeBron James is one of the great players in the league, it’s always a challenge.”

So far this season, the Pistons have played well against James. Tayshaun Prince gets the bulk of the defensive responsibility, but it takes solid team defense to control him.

“I’ve always thought one of the most important things about his game is his ability as far as court awareness and how he passes the basketball. When you double-team him he always knows where the open man is, he always finds the open guys,” Prince said. “What we’ve done, we’ve been doing a good job of defensive rotations, that’s why we’ve had success the last couple times.”

Since the Cavs took Game 5 in Detroit in May, the Pistons have mercilessly won four straight. In those four, the Cavs haven’t been able to crack the 80-point barrier.

“We’ve got to find a way to execute down the stretch against them,” Cavs coach Mike Brown said. “We played OK basketball against them in the first three quarters.”

“We’ve got 20-plus games left; there’s no doubt we could catch them,” James said. “That’s why (tonight’s) game is so important.”