NBA recap All-Star edition: As Celtic's struggle, Rondo continues torrid pace, Bobcats Mohammed shines
By Paul Jordan
Rajon Rondo (Celtics)-14.4 PTS, 9.8 AST, 2.5 STL
Rondo made a point last week to let the nation know that there could very well be some unrest in the Celtics locker room. This week allows for some of the dust to settle, with All-Star weekend starting giving Boston some much needed time to recover from various injuries and ill-health.
Rondo hasn’t slowed down at all this season. In the C’s last five games, Rondo had double-digit assist totals in four of the team’s last five games. The 96-89 loss to the Magic Sunday afternoon was quite a letdown, but Rondo didn’t disappoint. He almost recorded a triple-double with 17 points, 9 assists, and 8 rebounds. In that same time span Rondo is shooting a ridiculous 58% from the field, but only 62% from the charity strip. With so many chances—35 after losing to the Magic—he would certainly increase his scoring average even more. Look for Rondo to continue his torrid pace when the All-Star break ends.
Chuck Hayes (Rockets)-4.7 PTS, 6.1 REB, 0.5 BLK
You thought the Celtics were doing bad, think again and take a look at Hayes and the Rockets. They still are just four and a half games behind the division leading Dallas Mavericks but the end of January and the beginning of February hasn’t been so kind to Houston. The Rockets have lost six of their last nine games and got totally dismantled Tuesday night, losing to the Heat 99-66.
Hayes played solid in the loss (4 PTS/12 REB) and continues to get around 20 minutes a game, with the likes of Luis Scola and Carl Landry picking up the scoring load. Houston currently sits in ninth place in the Western Conference, just short of making it into the playoffs. Guys like Hayes will have to make sure to give that much more each game to give the Rockets the best chance to get to the round of eight.
Jodie Meeks (Bucks)-4.2 PTS, 0.6 AST, 29.5% 3P
Meeks just can’t seem to buy any luck during his rookie season. An injury to starting shooting guard Michael Redd was supposed to give Meeks the opportunity to play more. That opportunity however, ended up going to guys like Carlos Delfino and Charlie Bell. Meeks got a one minute last night in a 93-81 loss to the Detroit Pistons.
Cats fans will never truly know what Meeks can do at the ‘next level’ until he gets ample playing time to display his skills. He’s primarily a spot-up shooter which clearly hasn’t pleased Bucks head coach Scott Skiles enough to give him more playing time. With the All-Star break coming up, maybe Meeks will have some extra time to rest and refocus for the second stretch of the season.
Keith Bogans (Spurs)-4.8 PTS, 1.3 AST, 37.7% 3P
Back-and-forth. Back-and-forth. If you wanted a description of the way the Spurs season has gone of late, back-and-forth would be it. San Antonio lost to Denver on the last day of January, but won several nights later 115-113 over the Kings. The Spurs then went on a three-game road trip losing to Portland, beating the Clippers, and again losing to the Lakers Tuesday night. The trend has left the Spurs with a 5-8 record over their last 13 games.
Bogans continues to get solid minutes with Michael Finley out of the lineup and head coach Greg Popovich looking to get a spark from anywhere on the court. Bogans fits the bill, but hasn’t lived up to the chances. He did have 12 points against the Kings last Wednesday in 31 minutes of action. Other than that, Bogans has been relatively quite as of late only grabbing a rebound during a 101-89 loss to the Lakers who were without Kobe Bryant. San Antonio definitely needs the rest coming up and will need a dire resurgence after the All-Star break to stay relevant in the Western Conference playoff race.
Nazr Mohammed (Bobcats)-8.3 PTS, 5.1 REB, 0.8 BLK
Mohammed followed up a career night last Wednesday against the Lakers—23 PTS & 17 REB—with another solid outing against the Hornets three nights later tallying 15 points and 5 rebounds. The 11th year pro has had a resurgence in his career as of late, helping the Bobcats become a playoff contender and one of the NBA’s better ‘young’ teams.
Mohammed is the ‘elder statesmen’ on the team, but has given head coach Larry Brown everything he’s got. Tuesday night’s game against the Wizards was indicative of Mohammed’s efforts. He had only four points, but it was his rebound totals that were most impressive racking up 10 on the night. Mohammed isn’t going to the All-Star game and isn’t one of the more ‘known’ centers in the NBA but is without a doubt, one of the better big men in the league right now regardless of name.
Jamaal Magloire (Heat)-2.4 PTS, 3.7 REB, 0.3 BLK
Before Tuesday’s monster victory over the Rockets, the Heat had lost four straight games. Magloire got around seven minutes a game and didn’t really produce in that time span. He had two points last Thursday and two rebounds during the 99-66 victory over the Rockets last night.
Tayshaun Prince (Pistons)-9.7 PTS, 4.3 REB, 2.1 AST
Prince has done better as of late in getting back into the mix of things. At 18-32 on the season, the Pistons surely aren’t going to the playoffs, but that doesn’t mean Prince can’t have an improved affect on this year’s squad. His veteran leadership has been felt as of late as Prince scored 18 points Tuesday night in a 93-81 victory over former Wildcat Jodie Meeks and the Bucks.
Prince’s minutes have increased since his return from injury and things shouldn’t change. You’d like to see his rebound and assist totals increase as well, but that has never really been Prince’s ‘game.’ His defense and leadership will be key to any improvement the Pistons have in the second half of the season.
Randolph Morris (Hawks)-2.3 PTS, 1.3 REB, 0.1 BLK
The Hawks continue to surge towards the playoffs and will be a major factor in the Eastern Conference race, but that may not be the case for Morris. In the team’s last five games, Morris has played all of four minutes coming during the Hawks 108-94 victory over the Grizzlies. Don’t expect much to change for Morris.
Kelenna Azubuike (Warriors)-injured
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