Around The World: April 9

04/10/12

Written by: DHawes22

April 9

Trailblazers.tv: Video: Trail Blazers 94, Bucks 116

Trailblazers.tv: Video: Trail Blazers 99, Mavericks 97

Trailblazers.tv: Video: LaMarcus Aldridge Buzzer Beater

Twitter: MarcusCamby23
"Back in #ripcity! Can't wait to get to the Rose Garden tomorrow night!"

Trail Blazers: Trail Blazers fall short at Milwaukee
"It wasn’t the fourth quarter (that was the difference in the game), it was a tale of two halves," said Portland coach Kaleb Canales. "I thought we came out energized, focused, ready to go. We had a great first half, probably one of our best offensive halves of the season. But again, it starts and ends with the defensive end for us."

Trail Blazers: Image Consultants Need Not Apply
"But since taking over the job as head coach, Kaleb has the players putting out maximum effort again, and battling from start to finish every night. That's all he wanted from each of his guys when he met with them for the first time in his new role. In front of their teammates, each guy was asked directly by Kaleb if he could count on them bringing everything they had to each game left on the schedule. To a man, they all promised they would. And when you make a promise to Kaleb Canales, however large or small, you just get the feeling you better not let him down. You know he'll be in your corner every minute of the day. How bad would you look if you couldn't hold up your end of the bargain?"

Trail Blazers: World Defeats USA 84-75 At 2012 Nike Hoop Summit
"I wasn't really aware of (the scoring record)," Muhammad said. "I just thought my shot was going in tonight. I thought we really played well in the second half with the rotations on defense. If we would have done that in the first half, we would have come closer to winning the game."

Oregon Live: Portland Trail Blazers vs. Houston Rockets game preview
"Camby, the former Blazers center, makes his first visit to the Rose Garden since being traded to the Rockets on March 15. Before Sunday night's game at Sacramento, Camby was averaging 6.7 points, 8.9 rebounds and 1.9 blocks in 10 games with the Rockets. During his first start with the Rockets in a win over the Memphis Grizzlies on March 30, Camby finished with 16 rebounds and a season-high six blocked shots. ... After Sunday night's victory, the Rockets are 11-17 on the road. They are the only team in the NBA to defeat the Chicago Bulls, Los Angeles Lakers and Oklahoma City on the road this season."

Columbian: Jayne: Time for Blazers to think about future
"And while you could generate a significant bar discussion over the merits of being a sacrificial first-round lamb vs. taking a shot at the draft lottery, the real quandary is which of those would be better for the long-term good of the franchise."

Rip City Project: Game 57 Recap: Blazers 94, Bucks 116
"One other story coming out of Saturday’s game is that Nicolas Batum is suffering from some lingering knee tendonitis. Conventional wisdom says that if it’s really bothering him (Saturday he was 4-of-8 from the field 1-of-5 from three for nine points) then he should shut it down. Tendonitis, as those that have it or have had it will tell you, cannot be treated by surgery. If you took health in high school, you might be familiar with the acronym RICE. It stands for Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation. (Some add an S making it RICES, which isn’t a word. The S stands for Stabilization.) This is the protocol for dealing with basic injuries. The key to treatment of tendonitis is the R in RICE, followed by the I. Stay off of the limb that is experiencing pain, and following any use apply a regimen of ice. For Nic to get better, in short, he’s going to have to stop playing."

Blazersedge: Portland Trail Blazers vs. Houston Rockets Preview
"The Houston Rockets (31-25) are on quite a roll lately. They're 7-3 in their last 10 but 2 of those losses came in overtime. They've been right there in every game regardless of opponent, actually beating the Lakers twice, the Grizzlies, and the Bulls. They're right in the middle of the race for the 5-10 spots in the West, standings changing hourly. Our internal clocks are all messed up because of the lockout-shortened schedule but the end of the regular season is two and a half weeks away. That means this game will be crucial to the Rockets. Technically the Blazers aren't totally eliminated from the playoffs either. They currently reign as the best of the teams who almost-for-sure aren't going to make it, but that "almost for sure" means they shouldn't be losing home games to teams that aren't clearly elite."

Ball Don't Lie: Carmelo Anthony 3-pointers force overtime, beat Bulls as Knicks rise to East’s No. 7 seed (VIDEO)
"Likewise, 'Melo doesn't get the chance to play hero without Chicago stars Luol Deng and Derrick Rose missing four straight free throws in the final 34 seconds to keep the margin at three points and within one possession of all-square. Deng is a 79.1 percent free-throw shooter on the season; Rose has an 81.5 percent mark. The misses, while critical and timely, were gifts."

Ball Don't Lie: Lamar Odom leaves Dallas Mavericks after rocky, disappointing season
"According to ESPN.com's Marc Stein, an agreement reached Sunday allows the two sides to part company immediately, with the long-struggling Odom leaving Dallas for the remainder of the season without the defending NBA champs actually having to release him, and thus holding on to his rights."

Ball Don't Lie: Antoine Walker retires from basketball
"The man's retiring from hoops, a sad occasion for anyone whose body is telling him that he has to find something else to do for the next two-thirds of his life, and I'm charged with writing nice things about his game. His peak, and his prime. The problem is that there was no sustained peak. He was an All-Star, but once you factor in minutes, pace and efficiency Antoine's numbers ring hollow. He was, by most accounts, a sweet guy who could certainly rile up a huddle in a good way, as we saw during Boston's Game 3 comeback victory in the Eastern Conference finals. A game in which Antoine scored 23 points on 18 shots, with 12 rebounds."

DIME: Daily Fantasy Basketball Diagnosis: 4.9 (Weekend Recap)
"Kevin Durant averaged 33.5 points, 5.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.0 steal, 2.0 blocks and 3.5 threes in two games over the weekend. He shot 58 percent from the field and 89 percent from the free-throw line, and averaged 2.5 turnovers per game in that stretch. He continues to hold onto that crown as the most valuable fantasy basketball player of the 2011-12 NBA season."

DIME: The NBA’s Top 10 Best Clutch Shooters This Season
"By the percentages it’s not even close with Rudy, who’s at .638 eFG on 17-of-29 shooting overall and 3-of-5 on three-pointers. His calling card this year isn’t the shot at the game’s end, but doing all the things right before the final possession."

SLAM: Post Up: Call Me Carmelo
"What a game. Derrick Rose was finally back in uniform after missing 12 games due to injury, and the Bulls and Knicks squared off in what could be a first-round Playoff matchup. The Knicks took a 21-point lead in the first quarter, only to see it become a 10-point deficit by the fourth quarter—good thing New York had Carmelo Anthony on its side. Melo finished with 43 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists in 47 minutes, getting every big bucket for the Knicks all game long. None bigger than these two, though—first, he forces OT with a three. Then, he finishes the game off with an eerily similar trey, outdueling a rusty DRose (29 points, but on 8-26 shooting) in a game when both teams shot sub-40 percent from the floor."

SLAM via Hornets.Com: Jarrett Jack to Miss Rest of Season With Stress Fracture on Foot
“The New Orleans Hornets announced today that Jarrett Jack will miss the remainder of the season due to a stress fracture in his right foot. Jack has missed the last three games due to the injury. Jack has appeared in 45 games (39 starts) this season for the Hornets, averaging career-highs of 15.6 points, 6.3 assists and 3.9 rebounds in 34.0 minutes of play.”

SLAM via Commercial Appeal: Zach Randolph Involved in a Car Accident
“Grizzlies power forward Zach Randolph was involved in a car accident this morning and did not participate in the team’s shootaround. A vehicle rear-ended Randolph on the freeway near 385 and 240, according to a source with knowledge of the incident. Randolph did not leave the scene in an ambulance but it is not known whether he suffered any injuries.”

NBA: Power Rankings
"The Blazers showed some signs of life last week, especially in Friday's overtime win in Dallas. They're the West's spoiler team down the stretch, with six games remaining against teams 5-10 in the standings, starting with Monday's visit from Houston and another game against the Mavs on Friday."