Big Opening Night for Blue Devils in the NBA

[VaDukie]

Boozer leads Jazz to win over Golden State scoring 32 points and hauling in 15 rebounds.

Not to be outdone, Battier hits the game winning 3 pointer over the Lakers with 2.5 seconds left.

[SilkyJ]

Boozer leads Jazz to win over Golden State scoring 32 points and hauling in 15 rebounds.

Not to be outdone, Battier hits the game winning 3 pointer over the Lakers with 2.5 seconds left.

Just watched the end of the Rockets/lakers game. Battier was having an OK game at best. playing solid d, but he was guarding kobe, who put up 46 or something...of course 8 of that came in the last minute. Kobe hit a big 3 in battier's eye to bring it within 2, and then fisher hit a deeep two to tie it, then battier hit the 3.

winner.

also, turns out he had the 12th best 3pt% in the league last year...

[Turtleboy]

Anybody know why Josh was not on the roster for Portland last night?

[dcarp23]

Not exactly sure as to the answer, but I know he suffered a somewhat bad foot/ankle injury which held him out of most of the preseason. My guess is that it had something to do with that.

[MChambers]

They include +/- scores. for each player, just like in hockey. Glad to see our guys on the plus side. There is also a column labeled BA, after BS (blocked shots, that is). Anyone know what BA is?

[jlear]

They include +/- scores. for each player, just like in hockey. Glad to see our guys on the plus side. There is also a column labeled BA, after BS (blocked shots, that is). Anyone know what BA is?

BA = Nate James

and I think it means - Blocks Allowed

[Indoor66]

BA = Nate James

and I think it means - Blocks Allowed

What is a "Block Allowed"? I mean, a situational description of a block allowed.

[jlear]

What is a "Block Allowed"? I mean, a situational description of a block allowed.

I think it tracks how many times you have allowed your shot to be blocked. Notice in the NBA box scores that blocks for one team match the blocks allowed by the other team.

[Indoor66]

I think it tracks how many times you have allowed your shot to be blocked. Notice in the NBA box scores that blocks for one team match the blocks allowed by the other team.

Wow, I never realised that players "allowed" their shots to be blocked. Is this part of the game-fixing scandle? I always thought a block was an excellent play by the defense and not an allowed event by the offense.

[jlear]

Wow, I never realised that players "allowed" their shots to be blocked. Is this part of the game-fixing scandle? I always thought a block was an excellent play by the defense and not an allowed event by the offense.

It will be interesting to see how long guys can go without being blocked. I wonder how many times Kareem Abdul-Jabbar "allowed" his shot to be blocked in his career.

[phaedrus]

From what I saw, Battier played great defense on Kobe. He ended up shooting like 13/32 with 5 turnovers, and even the shots he made were generally tough shots.

[mr. synellinden]

Boozer leads Jazz to win over Golden State scoring 32 points and hauling in 15 rebounds.

Not to be outdone, Battier hits the game winning 3 pointer over the Lakers with 2.5 seconds left.

If Boozer stays healthy this season he is going to make a serious run for MVP. He should have received more consideration last year but usually it takes an establishment year before you are seriously part of the conversation. And he's already proved he can carry a team in the post-season. I always felt that he could be a Malone-esque power forward in the NBA and he is getting close to that territory.

[darthur]

And he's already proved he can carry a team

That's really what it comes down to. There are plenty of people putting up good numbers, but team performance is the key. Last year's winner: best player on the best team (based on regular season record). Two years ago: best player on the elite team that people thought would not be elite. Three years ago: the best player on the best team. Four years ago: the best player on the second-best team.

[blazindw]

Battier played a good a D as you could against Kobe...Kobe's always going to get his shots. Also, he went to the line 27 times, and even though he shot pretty poorly from the line, you're still going to rack up the points that way.

Pretty hard to go to bed last night when the Lakers started coming back. It was almost like the Lakers were trying to pull their own version of "Gone in 54" when Shane was like "Nope, not gonna happen". Huge 3 had me stifling screams into my pillow at 1:45am.

[SilkyJ]

If Boozer stays healthy this season he is going to make a serious run for MVP. He should have received more consideration last year but usually it takes an establishment year before you are seriously part of the conversation. And he's already proved he can carry a team in the post-season. I always felt that he could be a Malone-esque power forward in the NBA and he is getting close to that territory.

The announcers pointed out a great stat last night for boozer: last year he led the league in 20pt/10reb games with 44 (including postseason). Thats amazing.

Boozer for MVP!

[SilkyJ]

Dunleavy and duhon continued our success in the L tonight. Dunleavy blew up for 25pts,12rebs,4asts and Duhon had 10pts,6asts, no TOs. That was particularly good for C du as Sefalosha had been playing a lot in preseason.

deng also had 22pts,11rebs.

JJ only played 5 minutes...but that may be due to his hand injury...

[JasonEvans]

JJ only played 5 minutes...

Shhhh, if you listen carefully you will hear Gary's head exploding

[throatybeard]

Shhhh, if you listen carefully you will hear Gary's head exploding

It's all part of a conspiracy against Duke alum pros.

[_Gary]

Shhhh, if you listen carefully you will hear Gary's head exploding

You could hear that all the way in Atlanta? Wow, I thought I had kept it under better control.

It was nice to see Dunleavy start the season off nicely. But he had done well in Indiana last year after the trade and this wasn't a surprise. I knew from early on that he would need a change of scenery to be successful.

Deng did his thing. We all know he's a star. And Chris, who started that game being the fourth guard in the rotation, busted his butt on defense all night. He had some great drive and dishes, although the recipients didn't always help him by making their wide open shots. Still, he had a great game.

Now to JJ. In all seriousness, I saw a player that was none to happy last night - if body language means anything. JJ has gone from battling for a starting job to being about the 10th guy in the rotation. Now, perhaps his hand is hurting him, but if that was the case I don't know why he would have played at all. The poor guy really is in a tough spot because Orlando has a logjam at the 2. Not only is Bogans ahead of JJ, but so is Dooling. So our boy has got some serious work ahead of him if he's going to get the 20+ minutes a game many of us hoped he'd get. And I'd be happy with that for him. But right now I don't see him as getting more than 10. I realize it's only the first game, but if you guys could have seen his facial expression on the bench you'd understand. I'm telling you, the guy is not a happy camper at all. And it's only the first game. I realize I'll catch flack for this (just like I did when I said it about Dunleavy), but I think ultimately JJ is going to need to go somewhere else to be successful. It's nobody's fault. Sometimes it just works out that way. I think that's what will ultimately need to happen for JJ.

Just my two cents. And yes, it's only one game (thought I'd beat everyone to that).

Gary

[lavell12]

ya they may have a log jam in Orland but if he doesn't beat out Keith Bogans and Keyon Dooling then he won't have much look any where else. Sad thing is if he is given time he could be a real good player too.