King and the "warriors"

TEAM OF THE WEEK

Starting a week with a victory over the leader of the “East” and ending with the defeat of the leader of the “West” is a huge achievement even for the favorite of the championship, not to mention the team that is not in the playoff zone. Nevertheless, such a trick failed Golden State . True, to be honest, the Californians dealt with “Detroit” last Monday, which is not included in the period under review. This does not detract from their merits. Especially when you consider that it was the “warriors” who stopped the march of “Dallas”, which won 17 matches in a row and seemed almost invulnerable.

Last week, the Warriors also outperformed the Western Eight Denver and Clippers, losing only to the weak Portland. Justification - in this meeting, the doctors decided to save the sore knee of the Golden State top scorer Baron Davis.

HERO OF THE WEEK

It was necessary to criticize LeBron James on the eve of the "all-star weekend", to show him reproaches for the lack of leadership qualities, as the King got up and put Cleveland back on the winning path. His weekly averages were 33.0 points, 7.3 rebounds, 7.7 assists and 3.0 interceptions. The team scored five victories in a row, and on Wednesday dealt with the leader of the Detroit conference, in a match against which the LB scored 41 points.



This video didn’t include the “treshka” abandoned by James from 9 meters, which could have brought Cleveland victory before overtime, but not counted (the ball left the player’s hand 0.1 seconds later than the siren sounded), and the spectacular block shot to Rip Hamilton in decisive moments.

LEGIONARIES OF THE WEEK

This is Leandro Barbosa from the Phoenix and Manu Ginobili from the San Antonio. Why two at once? Both left the bench and both became leaders of their teams, members of the NBA elite. The Brazilian Barbosa for a week in two matches scored 32 points, the Argentinean Ginobili in one noted 31.

Chasing the week

“Miami” scored in two matches. First, in the second half of the meeting with “Chicago” (the most frequent - in the positive and negative senses - the heading of the column), the Floridians made a stunning 38: 9 spurt, and then in the course of the final quarter they won 12 lag points from “Washington”. Moreover, the victorious ball was thrown by Eudonis Heslem - a man who in such situations is given the right to complete the attack last.

PHOTO OF THE WEEK

03/10/2007. The oldest NBA referee Dick Bavetta offers Reggie Miller to help his native “Indiana” in a match with “Philadelphia”. The Pacers, who had lost their leader Jermaine O'Neill for an indefinite period of time, really needed help.



CONFUSES OF THE WEEK

Veteran Lindsay Hunter is suspended for 10 matches for using illegal drugs. What got the defender of “Detroit”? According to him, he accidentally (!) Swallowed a diet pill prescribed for his wife - and it contained phentermine - a substance classified as amphitamine and providing short-term energy release. Well, Lindsay doesn’t accidentally swallow birth control ...

FIGURES OF THE WEEK

Iverson in the course of the first quarter of the meeting with “Sacramento” managed in 17 seconds to make a loss, earn 3 fouls and get technical!

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

"I just said" oh "and ran to replace. How can I foul for this? Perhaps this is the most strange remark in my career," - Allen Iverson on the technical.

TOPIC OF THE WEEK

The fire in the eyes of the East was lit not only among the leaders. The race for tickets to the playoffs was sparked with renewed vigor, and the increased chances of yesterday's “losers” forced the club bosses to reconsider their attitude to the coaches . The boss of “Philadelphia” Billy King assured Maurice Cheeks that there is no threat of dismissal over him, and the next championship “76th” will begin under the leadership of Mo. And the owner of “New York” James Dolan and did extend for several years (a specific term has not yet been specified) a contract with coach Isaiah Thomas. Notice, at the beginning of the championship, Dolan, dissatisfied with the results, assured reporters that until the end of the season he would not make a decision - he would look at the progress of the team. This progress, according to him, is obvious now: the “Knicks” have already won 6 more victories than last year, climbed to the 8th line in the conference, became like a real team, plus young people added noticeably - Eddie Curry and David Lee

MOMENT OF THE WEEK

Oh, New Yorkers love to play on the nerves of the fans. A huge number of matches this season for them was decided in the last seconds. This week in Washington, Steve Francis distinguished himself by saving his grandmother who swallowed valerian in the end.



WAITING FOR THE WEEK

On Wednesday, a match will take place, which many are in a hurry to call a rehearsal for the finals of the playoffs of the Western Conference - “Dallas” will “Phoenix”. The next day, in Denver, they promised to help Kobe Bryant recover from injuries Lamar Odom and Luke Walton - their presence is urgently needed in the Lakers crisis. On Saturday, the upcoming LeBron James in Cleveland will try to stop Andrei Kirilenko. And on Sunday there will be an “early playoff final” - Dallas will be visiting Detroit.

And Scotty Pippen is still nobody ...

Nikolai TSYNKEVICH