Court Awareness: Eddie House, Nate Robinson, TJ Ford, and the Rest of Wednesday

Being a head coach in the NBA these days is like being in a reality show where one contestant gets voted off every week. Of the league’s 30 coaches, 22 of them probably panic every time their cell phone rings and they see their general manager's name on the display.

How busy has the coaching carousel been this season? Of the 12 games on the NBA schedule Wednesday night there was only one in which both head coaches held their respective jobs last season—Denver vs. New Orleans.

The New Orleans Hornets proved that on a night where Tyson Chandler and David West were out with injuries and Chris Paul scored just 12 points, that the team, contrary to popular belief, has the depth to beat one of the league’s division leaders.

Peja Stojakovic tied his season-high with 26 points and Devin Brown was 6-7 from the field, including 3-3 from downtown, in leading the Hornets (28-14) to a 94-81 victory. 

The Nuggets (30-16) were playing their tenth game without the injured Carmelo Anthony, going a respectable 6-4 over that span. Anthony, who has been nursing a broken hand, is expected to return to the lineup on Friday.

Anthony, as well as teammates Chauncey Billups and Nene, will find out on Thursday whether they will be named reserves in this year’s All-Star Game in Phoenix. It would be an unpleasant surprise for Nene, who is scheduled to tie the knot the weekend of the game.

Kenyon Martin led the Nuggets with 22 points.

The House Is On Fire

Last Wednesday Eddie House torched one of his former employers when he scored 25 points in a victory over the Miami Heat. This week it was another of House’s prior teams—the Sacramento Kings—who now know what it’s like to get burned by the Celtics’ sharpshooter.

House scored 28 points on only 13 shots in helping the Celtics (38-9) win their ninth straight game over the visiting Sacramento Kings, 119-100.

House has made eight of his last nine three-point attempts, and over his last four games, has made 22 of 32 attempts from downtown.

Is House trying to make his case for inclusion in the league’s three-point shootout, or is he just responding to the Stephon Marbury rumors by reminding the Celtics that they already have a bona-fide bench scorer?

Next up on House’s revenge tour are the Phoenix Suns on February 22. House spent the 2005-06 season playing for the Suns.

John Salmons led the Kings (10-37) with 22 points. The Kings are now 0-20 against the Eastern Conference this season.

First Trifecta For Triano

The Toronto Raptors have their first three-game winning streak under interim coach Jay Triano after defeating the New Jersey Nets, 107-106 in East Rutherford on Wednesday night.

The Raptors (19-28) began the season with three consecutive wins but had failed to repeat the feat in their five attempts prior to Wednesday night.

Despite being nine games under .500, the Raptors are only two games back of the Milwaukee Bucks for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. The Raptors are one of seven teams separated by only 2 1/2 games fighting for the eighth slot.

The Nets (20-26) had a chance to win the game but Devin Harris missed an open 16-foot jumpshot at the buzzer. Harris finished the game with 25 points and 10 assists. Carter added 27.

Both Harris and Carter will also be tuned in to hear if they will be called as reserves in the All-Star Game. Carter has spent the past week lobbying on Harris’ behalf.

Jose Calderon returned from a hamstring injury to score 17 points and dish out 11 assists. He didn’t attempt a free throw, keeping his streak of 83 consecutive free throws made to begin a season, and 86 straight overall intact. He remains 11 shy of the record set by Michael Williams in 1993.

Have You Driven A Ford Lately?

The Milwaukee Bucks already knew that life without Andrew Bogut wasn’t fun. Now they are finding out how much it stinks without Bogut and Michael Redd.

As if things weren’t bad enough for Milwaukee Wednesday night, they had to watch a former member of their team torch them.

T.J. Ford tied his career-high with 34 points in leading the Indiana Pacers to the 107-99 victory. The Pacers (18-28) were playing without leading scorer Danny Granger, who sat out with a sore knee.

Charlie Villanueva—the player the Bucks received from Toronto in exchange for Ford—scored 28 to lead Milwaukee (22-27).

The Pacers have had the NBA’s toughest schedule this season (based on opponents’ winning percentage,) so expect them to improve their record over the second half of the season. Eleven of their next 14 opponents have records at or below .500.

As for the Bucks, it will be interesting to see how the Redd injury will affect the team. Does GM John Hammond make a move to try to make the playoffs this season or does he focus more on the future? Should he decide to trade Villanueva, there will be a number of teams lining up for a big man who can shoot from outside.

The Need for Sheed

Rasheed Wallace scored 25 points—including seven straight in the last two minutes—in helping one of the league’s coldest teams defeat one of its hottest, 99-98. 

With the Pistons (25-19) ahead of the Timberwolves by just a point with 1:47 remaining, Wallace made two free throws, a 17-foot jump shot, and a 25-foot three-pointer to increase the lead to seven just 54 seconds later.

Al Jefferson scored 24 points to lead the Wolves (16-28). Kevin Love continued his improved play, scoring 17 points and grabbing 10 boards. It was the sixth time in his last seven games that Love has scored in double figures.

Elsewhere

• The Philadelphia 76ers had 14 blocks, overcame a 14-point deficit, and got at least 14 points from four different players in defeating the Rockets in Houston, 95-93.
• The Rockets (28-19) have now lost three of four while the Sixers (22-22,) have won nine of their last 11. It was also the first time that Yao Ming, Tracy McGrady, and Ron Artest shared the court since Jan. 2.
• The Dallas Mavericks used a huge second quarter to help defeat the Golden State Warriors, 117-93. Jason Terry led the Mavs (26-19) with 22 points, while Stephen Jackson paced the Warriors (14-32) with 25 points.
• The Chicago Bulls ended their five-game losing streak by defeating the Los Angeles Clippers, 95-75. Luol Deng scored 23 points and rookie Derek Rose scored 21 to lead the Bulls (19-27.) Eric Gordon continued his own stellar rookie season with 19 points to lead the Clippers (10-35.)
• The Charlotte Bobcats (19-27) looked like a team that played a double-overtime game the night before in losing to the Portland Trailblazers, 88-74. LaMarcus Aldridge scored 25 points, and Greg Oden scored 14 points and grabbed 14 boards to lead the Blazers (28-17). The Bobcats were led by Emeka Okafor’s 18 points.
• The Memphis Grizzlies lost their eleventh straight game on Wednesday, this time falling to the Oklahoma City Thunder 114-102 in overtime. After outscoring the Thunder by 10 points to force overtime, the Grizzlies were outscored 14-2 in the extra frame. Kevin Durant scored 35 for Oklahoma City (11-35). Rudy Gay scored 25 for Memphis (11-34).
• Dwyane Wade had 14 points, nine rebounds, and nine assists to lead the Heat (25-19) over the Washington Wizards, 93-71—and he only needed 29 minutes to do it. Antawn Jamison scored 21 for the Wizards (9-36) who have already lost only three fewer games than they lost all of last season.
• Nate Robinson scored 20 of his 24 points in the fourth quarter to help the Knicks defeat the Atlanta Hawks. The Knicks (20-25) have now won five straight at home. The schedule stiffens however, with their next three home games coming against the Lakers, Cavs, and Celtics. Marvin Williams scored 28 points to lead the Hawks (26-19).

One Last Thing

Charlotte’s Gerald Wallace remained in a Los Angeles-area hospital for observation after suffering a collapsed lung on Tuesday night against the Lakers. Wallace took what appeared to be an inadvertent elbow to the chest from Lakers’ center Andrew Bynum in the Bobcats’ double-overtime victory.

The NBA will decide if any disciplinary action will be taken against Bynum before the Lakers’ next game against the Wolves on Friday night.