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| Rafer Alston, who was injured with five minutes left in the second quarter of Game 6 against the Utah Jazz with an ankle injury, has been ruled out for the rest of tonight's game. |
Our View: ESPN reports that Alston's ankle x-rays were negative. He will have follow up treatment when he arrives back in Houston.
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| ESPN is reporting that Lakers shooting guard Kobe Bryant has won the league MVP award. The announcement was based on Insider speculation. |
Our View: The award is well deserved after a solid season and a first-round playoff sweep of the Denver Nuggets.
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| Ray Allen dropped 20 points in Friday night's loss to the Atlanta Hawks. Atlanta's win forced an improbable Game 7 in Boston.
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Our View: Allen recorded five rebounds and three assists in the loss.
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| Kevin Garnett paced the Celtics with 22 points on Friday night but it wasn't enough as the Atlanta Hawks beat the top-seeded Celtics 103-100 on Friday night. |
Our View: Garnett added seven rebounds and added five helpers against the upstart Hawks.
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| Marvin Williams led the Hawks in Friday's 1-3-100 victory over Boston with 18 points, despite missing most of the fourth quarter with a knee injury. |
Our View: Williams' Game 7 status has yet to be determined.
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| Joe Johnson shook off a poor shooting night to hit a crucial 3-pointer with 1:07 remaining and the eighth seeded Hawks have forced what most thought impossible, a Game 7 with Boston. Atlanta beat the top-seeded Celtics 103-100 on Friday night. |
Our View: Johnson was 4-for-13 from the floor scoring only 15 points in the win.
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| Wally Szczerbiak registered a career playoff-best with 26 points in the Cavs 105-88 win over the Wizards on Friday night. |
Our View: Cleveland advances to the Conference semi's with a 4-2 series victory over Washington.
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| LeBron James scored 27 points, pulled down 13 rebounds and dished out 13 assists for his third career playoff triple-double as the Cavaliers beat the Wizards 105-88 on Friday night.
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Our View: It was the third consecutive season that the Cavaliers eliminated the Wizards. Each of the playoff series ended on Washington's home floor.
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| There are no plans for the injured Lakers center Andrew Bynum to begin practicing any time soon, this according to the LA Times. If the Lakers eventually advance to the NBA Finals, the earliest start date would be June 3.
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Our View: Bynum has been out since Jan. 13 because of a bone bruise in his left knee and a subluxation of his left kneecap -- a brief dislocation that popped back into place.
Bynum said there was no swelling in the knee, but acknowledged it was painful.
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| Gilbert Arenas will have his surgically repaired left knee drained of excess fluid, beginning the process of preparing for next season, this according to the Star Tribune.
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Our View: This season ended for Arenas before Game 5 on Wednesday, when he announced he wouldn't play again, no matter how far the Wizards went in the playoffs.
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| The NBA suspended Darius Songaila for Game 6 of the series against the Cavs for hitting LeBron James in the face in Game 5, according to the AP. "We got tangled up, my arm got caught inside of his, and when he tried to free himself, it was just an accident. He lifted my arm and it him right in the face. It was caused by him," Songaila. "It wasn't my intention or anything like that. If anything, it was an accident." |
Our View: The play wasn't malicious, but apparently the league that it was malicious enough to warrant a suspension. Andray Blatche should get more minutes with Songaila out.
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| Tony Parker was held out of all physical drills during Thursday's practice after tweaking his ankle, though Parker said the ankle wasn't the reason he sat out. "I've got a sore everything," he said in the San Antonio Express-News. "It was just to try to make sure I take care of everything and be ready by Saturday night." |
Our View: Parker was on the injured list in Feburary because of an injury to the ankle, but it sounds like he's just aching all over. He'll be good to go on Saturday.
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| Adonal Foyle has been upset with his reduced minutes in the playoffs, according to the Orlando Sentinel. Foyle played more than rookie Marcin Gortat during the regular season, but Gortat saw 24 minutes of playing time in the Toronto series to Foyle's seven. "You have to take it personally," Foyle said. "You have to be mad about it or you should stop playing the game. I understand the situation, but if you are a competitor, you're mad." |
Our View: Foyle said he won't decide until the offseason whether he'll exercise an option and become a free agent. He's unlikely to start wherever he lands.
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