Here's what went down in the week that was in the NBA, where holiday shopping took a backseat to injuries, drama and the most meaningful regular season game played in Boston since Larry Bird, Kevin McHale and Co. actually did walk through that door:
1. Alonzo Mourning saw his knee bend the wrong way defending a drive from Atlanta rookie Mario West and broke his PCL, likely ending his career. Having announced that he'd be retiring come season's end, it's unlikely that he would put in the rehab to come back another season simply because this one ended prematurely.
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| With Alonzo Mourning's fighting spirit, don't be surprised if he returns from his latest ailment. (AP) |
"I went through so much in my life that if I had to crawl off the court, I would have," Mourning said. "Nobody was going to push me on a stretcher off the court. That wasn't going to happen. I've been through a whole lot worse than this, but it's disappointing to think that my career will end this way. But there's so many other things that life has to offer for me." The world has his charitable contributions to look forward to, particularly in South Florida. If he decides for certain that he's not coming back, they should retire his number immediately.
That may not be the only honor awaiting him. Given his numbers, over 14,000 points, 7,000 rebounds and 2,300 blocks, not to mention a standout career at Georgetown, he's got a shot at the Hall of Fame. Certainly, he's a Hall of Fame warrior.
2. Tracy McGrady's sore left knee flared up. Uh-oh. He missed the second half of a home loss to Orlando and didn't suit up for Thursday night's visit to Denver, though he did travel with the team. McGrady isn't interested in having an MRI done at this point, believing the injury to be nothing more than a bone bruise that will heal on its own with some rest. The Rockets All-Star guard missed a pair of games last month with an elbow injury and expects to be back sooner than later, but given his history of injury trouble, there's cause for concern. They're 0-3 without him this season and went 2-5 during his longest absence last year (back trouble). Given its slow start, Houston can't afford to be without him much longer, already having fallen behind San Antonio, Dallas and New Orleans in its own division. Currently under .500, the Rockets have to be considered the biggest disappointment in the Western Conference at this point in the season, particularly since one of their expected strengths was supposed to be the increased depth acquired in the offseason.
3. Isiah Thomas had a 4x8 foot pink slip delivered to him by disgruntled Knicks fans following another blowout home loss to Indiana, but saw his team respond with one of their best outings of the season against the Cavaliers.
Maybe the Knicks are tired of hearing opponents like LeBron James and Allen Iverson criticize their character? Whatever the case is, Thomas has asked for two weeks to turn the team's fortunes around before he considers placating the fans that want him gone.
The campaign started strong with the silencing of LeBron, but the Knicks went back to their own tricks in Charlotte on Friday night, getting outscored 67-44 in the opening half of another sorry double-digit defeat.
4. Portland continued its unlikely run, winning its ninth consecutive game by rallying from a 7-point fourth quarter deficit against Toronto behind Brandon Roy's 25 points, nine rebounds and eight assists. Roy is headed towards a third consecutive Western Conference Player of the Week award and has the Blazers in the playoff hunt through the quarter point of the season.
"He's not just having a hot streak," coach Nate McMillan said. "What we're seeing out of him is what he is capable of doing."
Given his production and the steady development of LaMarcus Aldridge, Travis Outlaw and Martell Webster, it's scary to think what the Blazers would be doing if top draft pick Greg Oden were healthy. As it stands now, they're right in the chase for the top spot in the Northwest Division.
5. As a result of losing that late lead to Portland, Chris Bosh called out his teammates for a lack of confidence, saying that team morale must improve, particularly late in games. It's not the first time Bosh has assumed a vocal stance as a leader, but it's proof of his maturation and a necessary development given the continued absence of guard T.J. Ford due to neck and spine-related issues. Ford has seen two specialists during his planned one-week break from basketball-related activity, yet there's no clear indication of what lies in his future and the Raptors are wisely not putting any pressure on him to rush back.
6. Detroit defeated Boston in an early preview of the Eastern Conference finals. In case you were hiding under a rock and missed it, the Celtics 12-game unbeaten run at home ended, as did their pursuit of the best start in team history, which would have been 21-2. They took the loss hard, but have vowed to learn from costly mistakes. One possible alteration involves bringing veteran Gary Payton in to help defend bigger guards, with the guard gladly volunteering his services as he hopes to chase another ring.
7. LeBron James' Cavaliers earned their fourth straight win over Kobe Bryant's Lakers, with James and Bryant going head-to-head in a memorable fourth quarter. James outscored Bryant 33-21 and forced him to miss a late attempt that would've tied things for L.A.
8. The Wizards, already trying to get along without Gilbert Arenas, officially lost Antonio Daniels for a period of two-to-four weeks to a sprained MCL. Washington had done a great job in the initial portion of their time without Arenas, but asking them to survive this is just too much. Daniels is a glue guy, a steady ball-handler and an anchor on defense. In his place, the Wizards will try to tread water with Roger Mason, rookie Nick Young and the recently-signed Mike Wilks picking up minutes, while Caron Butler takes on the role of increased playmaking duties and DeShawn Stevenson takes over the role of primary perimeter defender.
9. Meanwhile, Denver's fortunes look much brighter. Already sitting on top of the Northwest despite numerous injuries, the Nuggets saw Chucky Atkins shine in his season debut and cleared power forward Nene to begin full-contact practices, which means he should be back next week.
10. That's bad news for struggling the Jazz. Not only has Portland caught fire and surpassed them, but now the rival Nuggets are nearing full strength. Utah had another tumultuous week, which included a tough loss in Charlotte that saw them blow a fourth quarter lead, as well as Jerry Sloan kicking Gordan Giricek off his bench, sending him to the locker room and banishing him from the final two games of the team's Southern road swing. His days with the Jazz are probably done. It didn't look like they missed him in Friday's rout of Orlando, their first road win in December.
