Previous weekly reviews: 31.10 - 6.11. | 7.11 - 13.11. | 14.11 - 20.11 | 11/21 - 11/27 | 28.11 - 4.12 | 5.12 - 11.12 | 12.12 - 18.12 | 12/19 - 12/25
HERO OF THE WEEK
Spit on the results of “Denver”, who won two out of four matches. We close our eyes to the rate of fire of Kobe Bryant and Gilbert Arenas. Let's look better at Earl Boykins - you need to be a real hero to play so great with a height of 165 cm! Last week, the league's shortest basketball player scored 24.5 points on average per match, while not once dropping below the “twenty” mark. Denver coach George Karl is not afraid to use the miniature Boykins-Allen Iverson pair in the absence of disqualified Carmelo Anthony and J.A. Smith. And in the league fearless undaunted kids.
TEAM OF THE WEEK
Among those who were not afraid of high-speed “nuggets” was the leader of the Dallas League, who once again finished the week with a 100% result and came out on top in the standings. Moreover, “Denver” was defeated without the participation of the formidable Dirk Nowitzki, on the eve of the aftermath. Mavericks is now increasingly relying on hardworking Josh Howard, who is rapidly reaching the All-Stars level. Nowitzki's health is preventing him from fully helping the team. Although the German retained enough strength to score victory goals - like this, in the Phoenix ring.
CONFUSES OF THE WEEK
Play “Charlotte” is always not very nice. And it’s especially disgusting that evening when you score 58 points. This is exactly what happened to Kobe Bryant . As usual, taking control of the game on December 29, the Lakers attacker was so exhausted that in the end he barely moved his legs. At the finish of the third overtime, he consistently fouled on Derek Anderson, allowing him to abandon the key penalties, then missed himself and earned a deletion, crashing all the same into Anderson.
TOPIC OF THE WEEK
Unlike the NHL, the NBA has long been waiting for the first coaching reshuffle of the season. Naturally, she happened in the worst team of the league - “Memphis”. General manager Jerry West was forced to fire his friend Mike Fratello : "I just realized that the players had lost confidence and we needed a change." Vacant place on the rights of "acting" took the lead scout club Tony Barone Sr.
And one more thing: on January 1, an old leather ball returned to the league. “God is,” Kevin Garnett commented on this event.
LEGIONARY OF THE WEEK
Steve Nash again desperately wanted in this category, but once again we lowered the barrier in front of the Canadian. This time, to mark Chicago striker Luola Deng , whose efforts, the bulls completed the year with three consecutive wins. Deng’s statistics were 20.3 points (with excellent percentage of hits) and 8 rebounds. On December 30, Luol spoiled LeBron James’s birthday with 32 points, securing the Chicagoans a victory over Cleveland ... In the end, he deserves special attention at least for this block-shot that hit Jason “White Chocolate” Williams.
Oh yes, about the international roots: Deng was born in Sudan, grew up in England, and received his education in the USA. Last fall, he completed the lengthy process of obtaining British citizenship (in addition to American) for the opportunity to play for the United Kingdom at the 2012 Olympics in London.
FRAME OF THE WEEK
Having starred in the Christmas and New Year clip for the NBA, the girls from Pussycat Dolls tried to create a festive mood for us fans. It turned out with a touch of comic. Costumers, of course, could not have suggested that Chauncey Billups would meet 2007 on a sprained ankle, they might have forgotten about Shaquille O'Neill's problems, but Kobe Bryant's eight on a T-shirt Nicole Scherzinger was a real rarity - that the Lakers leader "went to number 24 it became known in the spring ... The design for the song Right Now performed by the girls turns out to be out-of-date ...
FIGURES OF THE WEEK
Basketball players, “New York”, it seems, can be put up for competition “iron people”. In a cut-off form, they won the third match in 10 days , the fate of which was decided in extra time, and the third in a season when they had to play more than one overtime - this is the first time in the history of the NBA! The victory over “Detroit” with a score of 151: 145 (!) Also brought a career record for the “piston” of Rip Hamilton, who scored 51 points and became the first basketball player after Michael Jordan who managed to score more than a fifty dollars on a visit to Madison Square Garden.
Among other numbers, we note the 100th victory of the young coach Avery Johnson at the wheel of Dallas and the 800th victory of veteran George Karl, whose Denver celebrated the coach’s anniversary, upsetting his former Seattle club.
MOMENT OF THE WEEK
On December 29, in a match against the Boston Golden State trio, Mikael Petrus, Baron Davis and Jason Richardson demonstrated an “all-up” worthy performance by a group of basketball acrobatics.
It is a pity that later in a collision under the ring of Petrus and Richardson, the author of the slam dunk J-Rich broke his arm and was out of action for two months.
DIALOGUE OF THE WEEK
"He is the only player in my career who has never liked to work. I can imagine how difficult Pat is now," - Phil Jackson about Shaquille O'Neill.
"How can one trust the words of Benedict Arnold?" - Shack about Phil Jackson, recalling the famous traitor-general who, at the time of the American Revolution, surrendered Fort West Point to the British.
Chasing the week
The only defeat of “Chicago” in seven days was a battle. Last Tuesday, the team lost to “Minnesota” 45:70 in the middle of the third quarter, but made a terrific breakthrough, equalizing the score 7.1 seconds before the siren. Unfortunately for guests, the “wolves" again flashed the newcomer Randy Foy, who in the remaining time scored the next most important ball ...
WAITING FOR THE WEEK
Everything is clear: tonight will be the match “Denver” - “Philadelphia”, the first game of Allen Iverson against the former team. I wonder how many passes he will give to his former partners? An international match is scheduled for Wednesday: Toronto awaits guests from Phoenix. And on Friday - the highlight of the program: the Texas duel of the best league teams, “San Antonio” against “Dallas”.
Nikolai TSYNKEVICH