January Player of the Month – Ishmael Faye, Indiana Pacers – 29.5 points, 7.5 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 2.0 steals and 6.0 blocks per game.
January Rookie of the Month – Derion Perez, Minnesota Timberwolves – 20.4 points, 3.8 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 0.4 steals and 0.9 blocks per game.
Denver trade:
2043 1st round pick
Memphis trade:
SF Andre Miller
Winner – Memphis. Another team trading away their lottery bound pick for a pretty average player to Memphis. How are they doing this?
The Hawks are just not on our level and we show our dominance with a 129-110 win that was done at half time. Marshod had 33 points and 8 rebounds but was helped by Harms’ 18 points and 18 assists and Pin’s 14 points and 16 rebounds. John Meliet had 34 points and 10 rebounds but with Michael McQuay back it means that Jordan Williamson is back to the bench where he’s not happy with.
Phoenix Suns 35-12
Sam has a sore shoulder so Herb gets the start at PF against Dallas and he does alright with 11 points and 6 rebounds as we win again 119-99. Harms was the star with 27 points and 10 assists and even with a sore shoulder Sam blocks four shots in 11 minutes, so it mustn’t hurt that bad. Chris Howard had 23 points for the Mavs but Shaun Tebbs and Matt Hackett went 7/23.
Phoenix Suns 36-12
Even the Sonics are good this season but they weren’t good enough for our two superstars as Marshod and Harms combined for 78 points, 13 assists and 10 rebounds as we beat them 117-101. Yep, two players had nearly 80 points between them. Mac Davis had 18 points off the bench and even though Seattle shot 52% from the field we had 16 more free throws than our opponents.
Phoenix Suns 37-12
Well that was interesting. Not only did Joe Adras torch Harms for 30 points and 8 assists but Diego Acosta had his best game ever, going 18/23 for 43 points and 16 rebounds as the Kings beat us 118-104. This was one game where one player took over everything and won it on their back alone. Marshod was our best with 21 points.
Phoenix Suns 37-13
New Orleans’ seldom used Matt Smith destroyed all comers in the Slam Dunk Contest, beating out Indiana’s Lamar Traylor 70-48 in the final. Another Indiana player went one further as Winston Shannon beat out his opponents to win the Long Distance Shootout pretty comfortably.
The Rookie/Sophomore game was not close as the second year guys shot 57% from the field, 28/49 from three and forced the Rookies into 22 turnovers to win 169-133. Brodney Smith hit 11/14 threes on his way to 43 points and 12 assists to win the MVP award. Brian McGadney had 24 points in 20 minutes as everyone had quality minutes. Derion Perez had 33 points and 8 rebounds for the Rookies while Mathias Wabbes added 28 points. Rashon Woods had a shocker, going 4/13 for 8 points and 6 rebounds.
The All Star game was much closer with both teams having multiple leads but it was the good conference that came out on top as the West won 137-130. James Carroll was named All Star MVP with 21 points and 5 rebounds but there were seven other players with double digit points. Mack Haston had 20 points off the bench and Tip Rice added 17 points and 8 rebounds. We only had one participant in Michael Harmon who had 5 points and 2 rebounds in 17 minutes. The East was dominated by Juia Henchoz and Winston Shannon who added 70 points between them. In a scare for Detroit, Jamie McMillian started and played 8 minutes before leaving the game with a possible back problem, however he came up alright and won’t miss any time.
Eastern Conference All Star Starters
Winston Shannon, Indiana Pacers (2nd selection)
Daniel Brazzle, Toronto Raptors (3rd selection)
Juia Henchoz, Orlando Magic (6th selection)
Arthur Carey, Cleveland Cavaliers (1st selection)
Jamie McMillan, Detroit Pistons (6th selection)
Eastern Conference All Star Reserves
Rich Muckle, Brooklyn Nets (2nd selection)
Kurt Sutton, New York Knicks (2nd selection)
RT Adams, Charlotte Bobcats (2nd selection)
Joey Peterson, Miami Heat (1st selection)
Adam Bell, Memphis Grizzlies (1st selection)
Jonathan Roland, Washington Wizards (1st selection)
Luigi Cannavaro, Brooklyn Nets (3rd selection)
Western Conference All Star Starters
Axel Rancik, Oklahoma City Thunder (4th selection)
Cliff Havens, San Diego Riders (5th selection)
James Carroll, Houston Rockets (4th selection)
Matt Hackett, Dallas Mavericks (1st selection)
Tip Rice, Golden State Warriors (1st selection)
Western Conference All Star Reserves
Michael Harmon, Phoenix Suns (9th selection)
Scott Oates, Utah Jazz (1st selection)
Mack Haston, San Antonio Spurs (5th selection)
Ryan Holcomb, San Diego Riders (1st selection)
Mitch Edwards, Seattle Supersonics (2nd selection)
Nathan Gordon, Los Angeles Lakers (4th selection)
David Baxley, Sacramento Kings (3rd selection)
Our first game back from the All Star weekend was dominated by our guards as Harms scoring 32 points and 8 assists while Roman put up 24 points and 11 rebounds as we beat the Bulls 119-104. Sam and Pin also had nice games to combine for 21 points, 21 rebounds and 8 blocks but it was Harms and Roman who did the damage. Victor Hoiberg had 23 points and 11 rebounds for Chicago but Kevin Morrison has a torn knee tendon and will be out for a loooooong time.
Phoenix Suns 38-13
Next up is the Neon and we demolish them, shooting 57% from the field to win 140-114. Marshod and Harms had 64 points while everyone played lots and everyone but Keith Dudley scored at least once. Petrick Rancik is becoming more comfortable with starting and had 23 points on 8/11 shooting.
Phoenix Suns 39-13
Sigh, we just couldn’t slow down Pete Edgerson and Juia Henchoz as we go down to Orlando 126-115. The Magic’s dynamic duo had 65 points and 16 rebounds and even though we shot better than them and we only turned the ball over seven times, they had 15 more free throws than us and hit seven more three pointers. Marshod had 33 points on 13/16 shooting while Roman had another 20 point game with 20 points.
Phoenix Suns 39-14
Adam Bell got his 17 points and 4 blocks but needed 19 shots to get them and that’s where we won it, in our efficiency. We shot 51% to their 42% and only turned it over 12 times as we beat the Grizz 115-98. Harms had 31 points and 11 assists while Marshod was a great back up with 29 points. Pin is blossoming before our eyes and had 10 points and 17 rebounds tonight.
Phoenix Suns 40-14
Our last game of February was a strange one as the Hornets got out to a 43-26 first quarter lead before we won every other quarter, with a 36-15 last term, to win 129-114. Marshod was the catalyst with 36 points and 8 rebounds while Harms backed him up with 21 points and 11 assists. David Stetson had 15 points in the first term on his way to 30 points with Jeff Seabrooks and Lewis Jones added 16 points apiece.
Phoenix Suns 41-14
It’s same old same old as we are sitting in fourth place in the West with San Antonio at 46-10 and San Diego at 43-10. It’s crazy that fifth placed Dallas are also plus .700 at 39-15. Minnesota are wallowing at the bottom at 17-45.
Detroit are leading the way in the other conference at 44-18, which would be good for sixth in the West. Orlando and Charlotte are second and third while Toronto’s wheels have fallen off at 13-45 and our pick is looking better and better.
Phoenix Top Points
Marshod Anderson – 27.2
Michael Harmon – 22.1
Pin-zhen Yuan – 13.6
Phoenix Top Assists
Michael Harmon – 9.6
Olaf Milosz – 3.4
Romanos Demosthenous – 1.6
Phoenix Top Rebounds
Pin-zhen Yuan – 10.7
Marshod Anderson – 6.0
Sam Russell – 5.7
League Leaders
Points – Tip Rice (GSW) – 29.9
Assists – Israel Payne (SDR) – 13.8
Rebounds – Pin-zhen Yuan (PHO) – 10.7
Blocks – Adam Bell (MEM) – 4.3
Steals – Arthimus Smallwood (HOU) – 3.1
Efficiency – Axel Rancik (OKC) – 29.5
Rookie Leaders
Points – Derion Perez (MIN) – 21.1
Assists – Marcus Johnson (UTA) – 4.1
Rebounds – Rashon Woods (TOR) – 8.2
Blocks – Rashon Woods (TOR) – 2.8
Steals – Marcus Johnson (UTA) – 1.2
Efficiency – Matias Wabbes (PHI) – 18.1
Third Round of NBA Draft Prospects –
1. PG Antoine Bedard (High School), Senior, 6’4”, 201lbs
2. PF Desmond Taylor (Indiana), Sophomore, 6’10”, 218lbs
3. SG Randolfo Da Vinci (Italy), 17 years old, 6’7”, 199lbs
4. SG William Cornette (Massachusetts), Freshman, 6’6”, 197lbs
5. PG Scott Smith (High School), Senior, 6’1”, 162lbs
Thoughts – This is all about Bedard. Not only did he start with great stats but he’s actually INCREASED them to 37 points, 12 assists, 13 rebounds and 3 steals a game! What? Yep.