The Rockets have targeted Orlando center Marcin Gortat as a desirable pick-up. Whether this had been the plan all along, or whether Yao Ming's injury has forced management's hand(s), it doesn't matter. It only matters that the Rockets are seriously serious about landing Gortat, who caddied for Dwight Howard this season.
How serious? Right around midnight, Houston GM Daryl Morey posted a message on Facebook and Twitter imploring Rockets fans to tell Gortat how much they love him.
The Larry O'Brien itself is plenty of motivation for the participants in the 2009 Finals. But there will also be a few individual goals driving those involved.
Dwight Howard: Everyone marks Kobe as the NBA's preeminent love-him-or-hate-him player, but D-12 earns a fair amount of vitriol, whether for his lack of refinement in the post, his Shaq II free throw stroke, his alleged faux-choir boy persona or the sentiment that slam dunk stardom has rendered the D.P.O.Y. publicly overrated. Let's just say those Patrick Ewing comparisons (ahem) would disappear with a ring.
Hedo Turkoglu: Like kindred spirit Lamar Odom, Hedo will be a free agent signing his last long-term, high-dollar deal this summer. A marvelous turn which began in Game 7 against Boston could land Hedo near the top of the offseason ledger, above everyone but Carlos Boozer. Turk needs a good Finals series to keep that hope alive, though.
Dwight Howard didn't win this one with his thunderous dunks, or his natural shot-blocking ability, two skills in which he led the NBA this season.
He won it with his free-throw shooting.
Seriously. No kidding.
The Magic took a 2-1 lead in the Eastern Conference final Sunday night with a 99-89 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers, riding the free-throw shooting – yes, free-throw shooting -- of Howard.
Howard, who shot just 59 percent from the line this season, hit 14 of 19 free throws, including eight of 10 in the fourth quarter to preserve a lead the Magic held throughout the second half.
On paper, Game 6 looked like a throwaway game for the Magic. Let's face it, not many teams can lose two starters (Dwight Howard to suspension; Courtney Lee to a broken face) and still pull off a win on the road, especially when going against a surprisingly feisty opponent with their backs against the wall.
But instead of following the script, taking their beating and regrouping for Game 7 on Saturday, Rashard Lewis and company reminded the 76ers that there's more to the Magic than Superman and an upstart rookie, clinching the series with a surprisingly easy 114-89 win.
A few weeks ago, Dwight Howard expressed a similar sentiment on his blog, stating that he is often upset by Van Gundy's screaming during games. Gortat is one thing. Howard is another. With the Magic down 1-0 and (we can only assume) Van Gundy apoplectic about it, does Orlando have a problem?
Andre Iguodala's game-winner to seal Philly's upset will be the highlight everyone sees the most from Game 1 in Orlando, but the most impressive (if not relevant) actually came from the other side. After the jump, peep 34-year-old Anthony Johnson going coast-to-coast to posterize 36-year-old Theo Ratliff in a YouTube clip 70 years in the making.
NBA Essentials provides the must-see links, quotes and videos of the day.
* Brian Scalabrine: "It's not going to be a difficult negotiation,'' he said. "I'll just go to Danny and say, 'I don't want to go anywhere else. Please re-sign me.' If he says yes, that'd be great. If he says no, that's when I'll probably have to start begging." -- HoopsHype
* Kevin McHale on Al Jefferson: "He'll make a lot of them," McHale said. "You miss a couple early in your career when you should have gotten them, and you make some later in your career when you have no business making it and your reputation gets you there. It'll all equal out for him." -- Star-Tribune
Every night there are some stupendous, silly, stupid, or downright outlandish individual lines from around the lig. Doing Lines lets you know which one tops the list.
The game of the night in Cleveland lived up to the hype ... for one team. Boston watched LeBron James throw up one of the most complete games in recent regular season history: 38 points, seven rebounds, six assists, four steals and three blocks. Those usual weaknesses of LeBron, three-pointers and free throws? The Chosen One shot perfectly from the line (9-for-9) and above 40% (3-for-7) from deep. And all this came in a 15-point win over the champs. G.O.A.T.
NBA Power Rankings: Ours is much more of an emotional look than most. Recent events matter, and long-term projections are (mostly) ignored. After all, no one wants to simply read the Vegas odds for winning the title each week, right?
In this week's edition, the Celtics remain on top since, you know, they never leave Boston to play anybody that might actually beat them. Cavs and Lakers in the same spots too, since both teams keep winning. Although Cleveland is definitely doing it a bit more impressively than the Lakers right now.
After the top three teams, there's a cluster of about six or seven that could all be right there at season's end. That's also the most volatile part of the rankings; on a week-to-week basis it seems like that's where we've had the most movement.
A new wrinkle we've added is that you'll now get analysis from all of your favorite writers here, not just from yours truly. (Even I get sick of me sometimes, know what I'm saying?) So check out the latest edition and find out where your team fits in to this mad NBA world, after the jump.
Matt Watson brought you the thrilling account of Marcin Gortat's flight which has earned him the nickname "The Polish Dr. J." After a recent Magic practice, Gortat dunked from the free throw line ... twice, much to the shock and dismay of teammate Mickael Pietrus.
The reporter who broke the Dr. G story, Kyle Hightower of the Orlando Sentinel today offers a less stellar moment in Gortat dunking lore. The following highlight comes from the 2004 German league All-Star Game dunk contest, according to Hightower. Heeeeeere's Gortat.
Once this gets around the Orlando locker room, Gortat's reign atop the Magic Swag Rankings will end. The only counter, Marcin? Break out the Dr. J during a game!
The Rockets have targeted Orlando center Marcin Gortat as a desirable pick-up. Whether this had been the plan all along, or whether Yao Ming's injury has forced management's hand(s), it doesn't matter. It only matters that the Rockets are seriously serious about landing Gortat, who caddied for Dwight Howard this season.
The Larry O'Brien itself is plenty of motivation for the participants in the 2009 Finals. But there will also be a few individual goals driving those involved.
Dwight Howard didn't win this one with his thunderous dunks, or his natural shot-blocking ability, two skills in which he led the NBA this season.
On paper, Game 6 looked like a throwaway game for the Magic. Let's face it, not many teams can lose two starters (Dwight Howard to suspension; Courtney Lee to a broken face) and still pull off a win on the road, especially when going against a surprisingly feisty opponent with their backs against the wall. 
Marcin Gortat made comments to a Polish publication earlier this week (summarized by the Orlando Sentinel) which asserted that Stan Van Gundy's frantic courtside behavior made the players nervous and hurt the team.
NBA Essentials provides the must-see links, quotes and videos of the day.
Every night there are some stupendous, silly, stupid, or downright outlandish individual lines from around the lig. Doing Lines lets you know which one tops the list.
