Court Awareness: Mo, Roko, D-Will, and the Rest of Wednesday Night in the NBA

If Amar’e Stoudemire has played his last game for the Phoenix Suns, then Wednesday night’s game against the Cleveland Cavaliers probably wasn’t the way he envisioned his Suns career ending.

Stoudemire, the subject of numerous trade rumors, scored 22 points on 9-21 shooting in the Suns’ 109-92 loss.

It was the last game for both teams heading into this weekend’s All-Star Game.

Mo Williams was the story of the game for Cleveland. Williams scored a career-high 44 points on 18-26 shooting, including 7-9 from downtown.

LeBron James chipped in with 26 points.

The Blazers, Bulls, Pistons, Heat, Warriors, Nets, and Raptors have all reportedly expressed interest in Stoudemire but one team that hasn’t been mentioned as possible a suitor is Cleveland.

The Cavs possess one of the NBA’s most attractive assets in Wally Szczerbiak’s expiring contract but they have cited the chemistry concerns that come with changing personnel when asked if they planned on making a deal before the deadline. 

It’s no secret that Stoudemire isn’t a great defender. Nor should it come as a surprise that he would prefer to be his team’s first or second option on offense. But how could the Cavs not at least explore the possibility of trading Szczerbiak for a better player who only has one more year left on his contract? It’s not like Szczerbiak is Gary Payton on defense.

If the Stoudemire experiment fails then Cavs general manager Danny Ferry should have no problem finding a taker for Stoudemire before next season’s trade deadline.

While the Cavs probably wouldn’t mind parting with J.J. Hickson, they probably won’t have a draft pick high enough to satiate Phoenix. Although the Cavs could offer Phoenix their 2011 first-round pick—a possible lottery pick should James decides to flee Cleveland after next season.

Injuries to Delonte West (fractured wrist) and Sasha Pavlovic (high ankle sprain) mean that Daniel Gibson wouldn’t be an option if the Suns weren’t interested in Hickson.

Another potential deal that has been reported involving Szczerbiak has him going to Milwaukee for Richard Jefferson. That deal seems much more realistic since it’s a straight up one-for-one deal. 

Ferry might be reluctant to make another deal like the three-team, 11-player deal he made at last year’s deadline because of how long it took for the Cavs’ new players to get acclimated.

He Got Game…And A Hyper Extended Thumb

Chris Paul returned to the New Orleans Hornets lineup on Wednesday night but it wasn’t enough as the Hornets lost to the Boston Celtics, 89-77. 

Paul, who had missed the Hornets’ last four games with a strained groin, scored 13 points and had five assists.

Ray Allen left the game in the first half after he hyper extended his right thumb. Preliminary x-rays taken during the game were negative.

Paul Pierce led the Celtics with 30 points and Kevin Garnett added 14 points and 10 rebounds.

Last week Allen was named as an All-Star Game replacement after Jameer Nelson tore his right labrum against the Mavericks.

If Allen is unable to go then NBA Commissioner David Stern will determine Allen’s replacement. Mike Bibby, Caron Butler, and Andre Iguodala are sure to be mentioned as possible replacements.

David West led the Hornets with 15 points.

Roko Ain’t No Joke Yo

You’d have a hard time finding a better example for the phrase “That’s why they play the game” than Wednesday night’s game between the Toronto Raptors and San Antonio Spurs.

The Raptors, who were 20-34 heading into the game, were playing without injured starters Chris Bosh (sprained knee) and Jose Calderon (sore hamstring).

The Spurs, who were 35-15 before the game started, were still basking in the glow of Sunday’s victory in Boston over the Celtics.

Raptors’ rookie Roko Ukic made two huge shots for the Raptors, including the game-winner with 20.8 seconds to give the Raptors a 90-89 lead.

Andrea Bargnani scored 23 points to lead the Raptors and Jason Kapono added 21.

The Spurs got 32 points from Manu Ginobili, 22 points from Tony Parker, and 20 points from Tim Duncan but the rest of the team combined for only 15 points.

The Spurs will no doubt be mentioned in a number of different trade scenarios between now and next Thursday’s trade deadline. While they don’t have an expendable player making a large enough salary to net an impact player in a one-for-one deal they do have a chip they could decide to use to make a deal happen.

Robert Horry, who wasn’t re-signed in the offseason, has yet to officially retire and could be used in a sign-and-trade deal to acquire either John Salmons or Brad Miller from Sacramento.

According to reports, Horry has made it known he wouldn’t have a problem accepting a fat check for doing nothing. He also listed San Antonio, Houston, and Boston as teams he would be open to playing for if asked.

The Lakers Didn’t Get the Memo

Mehmet Okur may have made the biggest shot of the night in helping the Jazz beat the Lakers on Wednesday night but it was something Okur didn’t do that proved to be just as crucial.

With 1:07 left in the game and the Jazz up by two points Kobe Bryant missed a three-point shot that would have given the Lakers the lead. Kyle Korver rebounded the ball and was instantly hounded by Derek Fisher. Bryant went over to help and stripped the ball from Korver’s hands.

Bryant went in for the game-tying layup and Okur conceded the basket. Okur, who was playing with five fouls, made a conscious effort not to commit his sixth foul because it not only would have disqualified him from finishing the game but could have also resulted in a three-point play for Bryant.

19 seconds later he knocked down a 25-foot three-pointer over the outstretched arms of Pau Gasol and the Jazz put an end to the Lakers seven-game winning streak, 113-109.

Deron Williams led the Jazz with 31 points and 11 assists. Okur finished with 22 points.

Bryant led the Lakers with 37 points but he needed 33 shots to get them. Lamar Odom had 19 points and 19 rebounds. He now has 54 rebounds in his last three games.

The Jazz may see the return of Carlos Boozer and Andrei Kirilenko following the All-Star break.

Adam Morrison, who the Lakers acquired in a trade with the Charlotte Bobcats last Saturday, suited up for the first time as a member of the Lakers but didn’t play.

While it doesn’t seem that the Lakers have any intention of moving Morrison again before the trade deadline, the only way that a player can be traded twice in 90 days is in a one-for-one deal.

Streak Snapped

It had been 17 years since the Denver Nuggets last beat the Magic in Orlando. After 15 consecutive unsuccessful trips to Orlando the Nuggets finally broke the streak in beating the Magic 82-73 on Wednesday night.

The starting center for the Nuggets that night back in 1992 was a rookie from Georgetown named Dikembe Mutombo. 

The starting point guard for Orlando was current Milwaukee Bucks head coach, Scott Skiles.

That’s how long ago it was.

The Magic played their worst game of the season, committing 23 turnovers to only 12 assists and every member of the Magic’s starting five was guilty of at least three turnovers.

Orlando is realizing that life without Jameer Nelson is a lot harder than they might have expected. They are now 2-2 without Nelson in the starting lineup.

Dwight Howard led Orlando with 16 points and 15 rebounds.

Carmelo Anthony scored 29 points and had eight rebounds to lead Denver.

Elsewhere

•Vladimir Radmanovic scored 21 points in his second game with the Charlotte Bobcats in helping them defeat the Washington Wizards, 101-89. Caron Butler led the Wizards with 26 points.

•Joe Johnson scored 27 points and Flip Murray added 27 off the bench in handing the Pistons their 13th home loss of the season, 99-95. The Pistons, who only lost seven games at home all of last season, were led by Allen Iverson’s 28 points.

•Six Portland Trailblazers scored in double-figures, led by Brandon Roy’s 22 points, six rebounds, and five assists in the Blazers 106-92 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder. Russell Westbrook had 21 points and 12 rebounds for the Thunder.

•The two Andres—Miller and Iguodala—combined to score 42 points in helping the Philadelphia 76ers defeat the Memphis Grizzlies, 91-87. Hakim Warrick scored 31 points and had eight rebounds for Memphis.

•Richard Jefferson scored 32 points and Charlie Bell added 20 off the bench in leading the Milwaukee Bucks over the Indiana Pacers, 122-110. Three Pacers scored more than 20 points but it wasn’t enough.

•Yao Ming had 24 points and 18 rebounds and Luis Scola and Ron Artest each scored 19 in leading the Rockets over the Sacramento Kings, 94-82. Kevin Martin led Sacramento with 18 points.

•Rookie Eric Gordon scored 30 points and Baron Davis had 20 assists in guiding the Los Angeles Clippers to a 128-124 overtime victory over the New York Knicks. Nate Robinson had 33 points, 15 assists, and nine rebounds but Al Harrington’s boneheaded technical foul gave the Clippers a chance to tie the game and send it into overtime.