FOULEDOUT!

NBA Commissioner David Stern named Ray Allen as the replacement for injured forward Caron Butler in the All-Star weekend.

This will be Allen’s eighth All-Star appearance and the Boston Celtics will be fielding in two players for the big game.  Paul Pierce will be playing as an All-Star reserve. Celtics forward Kevin Garnett was a fan favorite for the All-Star but had to withdraw because of abdominal muscle injury.

Butler is still nursing an injured hip flexor and that leaves the Washington Wizards with only one representative, Antawn Jamison, in the All-Star game.

I have nothing against Ray Allen, but I think this decision is plain stupid. Allen is a good choice as a replacement, but I think he is not the best choice. I’d pick Hedo Turkoglu over Allen at this time of the season. Allen is a proven shooter, but Turkoglu has been playing better basketball then Allen. Turkoglu should’ve been the replacement and not Allen. Hedo is playing the best basketball of his career so far and he very much deserving to be in the All-Star game. Ray Allen and Hedo Turkoglu are both deserving players, but based on the numbers and performance, I’d certainly pick Turkoglu over Allen.

-fouledout

The Washington Wizards have proven to the rest of the league that they can win against teams with winning records when they beat the league leading Boston Celtics 88-83 for the second time in three days.
The game was pretty close and was decided only in the fourth quarter when the Wizards outscored the Boston squad 29-20.
Caron Butler scored 9 of his 21 points during a 25-6 run in the middle of the fourth period and gave the Wizards a back-to-back win against the Celtics. Antawn Jamison had another double-double night with 20 points and 10 rebounds. Butler and Jamison had plenty of help from their teammates. DeShawn Stevenson had 16 points while Brendan Haywood added 14 points and 7 rebounds. Antonio Daniels scored only 7 points but dished out 9 assists.

Kevin Garnett played strong and tallied 23 points, 9 rebounds and 6 assists but had little help from his teammates. Paul Pierce finished with only 18 points and Ray Allen struggled in the game and finished with only 16 points on a 5-14 shooting. No other Celtics player scored in double figures.
Even with the loss, the Boston Celtics still holds the league best 30-6 record while the Washington Wizards improves to a 20-16 record.

-fouledout

With more or less thirty games played into the season, there have been a lot of surprises around the league. Underachieving teams like the Chicago Bulls (9-17), Cleveland Cavaliers (13-16), Houston Rockets (13-15) and Dallas Mavericks (19-10) have been very disappointing. There have been a lot of expectation from these teams in the pre-season and up to now; they have not lived up to the expectations. But aside from these underachieving teams, there are also some positive surprises in the NBA. There are some surprising teams that have played above average and maintained records above the .500 mark.

In the Eastern Conference, it’s surprising to see the Atlanta Hawks above the .500 mark at this time of the season. They are currently second in the Southeast division with a 15-12 record. It’s pretty amazing for this team to be playing at this kind of level. I must admit that I never thought that the Hawks can play this big this season. Joe Johnson is still playing great basketball although his statistics have dropped a little compared last season. The athletic ability of Josh Smith is helping the Hawks as he increased his statistical averages compared last year. Rookie Al Horford is also contributing quality points and rebounds as he is averaging close to a double-double with 9.1 points and 9.6 rebounds per contest in his rookie season. It’s too early to tell if the Hawks will qualify for the playoff rounds, but if they continue to play like this, they will surely grab a spot in the Eastern Conference playoffs. The keys to their success are teamwork, consistency and staying healthy.

The Washington Wizards have been pretty impressive too. Even without Gilbert Arenas, the Wizards have managed to post a 14-13 record and stay just right above the .500 mark. Different guys have been stepping up for the Wizards, most recently Roger Mason posting career high 24 points against the Charlotte Bobcats. The injury plagued Wizards have relied heavily on Caron Butler and Antawn Jamison who have been playing extremely well this season. Butler leads his club in scoring with 22.2 points per contest while Jamison developed into a double-double threat this year as he averages 21.9 point and 10.8 rebounds in 27 games. The Wizards may be short-handed now, but they are still playing fantastic basketball and if they can continue to play at this level until February until Arenas comes back, I like their chances in the playoffs. Staying healthy as a team is a big factor in winning because they are now missing four players in their roster, they can no longer afford to miss more players. Hard work and consistency from the bench are also vital factors to consider if they are to pick up more wins.

-fouledout