The four All-Stars on the Magic’s starting lineup get a lot of attention, but the one guy that doesn’t is a huge piece of whether or not the Magic succeed.

Mickael Pietrus provides… something.


“I still think his size and athleticism gives him the best chance to go out against the best players in this league and make it hard for them defensively,” Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said. “Plus he can really shoot the ball. I think he’s a huge key for us. His energy is up and down as a result he’s up and down. When he’s playing well I think he makes us significantly better.”

That inconsistency is one thing Van Gundy would like to see change. He’d rather have Pietrus base his energy on his defense rather than on how consistently his shots fall.

Pietrus said he can help the team either way. But he does have one specific goal.


Click here to read the full article – By tania ganguli of Orlando Sentinel

The Detroit Pistons will attempt to put the brakes on a seven-game losing streak Tuesday, when they welcome the New York Knicks to The Palace of Auburn Hills.


The Pistons will also play host to Chicago on the brief residency and are 8-6 at home this season. They suffered their seventh consecutive defeat on Sunday in a 102-95 decision at Toronto, as Richard Hamilton returned to the lineup from a sore right hamstring and scored 15 points for the Pistons

Ben Gordon netted 15 points off the bench, while Rodney Stuckey had 14 points, eight boards and five assists in a losing cause.

“Early in the game I didn’t feel like I had my legs, but it got better as the game went on,” Gordon said. “We had some decent looks later in the game, but just couldn’t make the shots.”

Click here to read the full article – By of sportsnetwork.com

Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James was named today as the NBA’s Eastern Conference Player of the Week for games played Monday, December 21st through Sunday, December 27th.

In four games during the week, James averaged an Eastern Conference-best 29.5 points on .511 shooting, 7.8 rebounds, 7.3 assists and 1.8 steals in 38.0 minutes per game. James wins the award for the second time this season and the 22nd time in his career. He led the team to four consecutive wins during the week (all over Western Conference opponents) and the Cavs have now won nine of their last 10 games, bringing their record to 24-8 on the season, 11-3 overall against the Western Conference and 14-3 (.824) against teams that had at least a .500-record the day of the game.

James finished with 29 points, six rebounds, four assists and two steals in a 109-91 victory over the Suns on December 21st, helping the Cavs become the first team to defeat Phoenix at home this season and handing Phoenix its first home loss since March 12, 2009, a span of 285 days. The Cavaliers are the only opponent to win in Phoenix in the Suns’ last 21 home games. In that span, the Suns are 19-0 against the rest of the NBA and 0-2 against the Cavs.


Click here to read the full article – By of woio.com

Rajon Rondo’s brilliance for 47 minutes and 58 seconds Sunday night was overshadowed by his inability to even come close on two free throws that would have given the Celtics the lead against the Los Angeles Clippers.


Rondo’s 20-point, 6-assist, 2-steal performance is forgotten because he was unable to convert the last-second freebies, which, along with perimeter shooting, is his biggest weakness.

Rondo appeared unfazed after the Celtics’ 92-90 loss, but not only did he miss the free throws with the score 90-90, his counterpart, Baron Davis, drained a 22-foot, buzzer-beating shot with Rondo looking on helplessly.

Rondo’s success at the line has been an issue most of the season, but, entering last night’s game at Golden State, he improved to 60 percent in December after shooting 38 percent in November. Yet, even after a 7-of-9 showing in a 103-99 loss to the Warriors last night, he’s last on the team at 55.4 percent.

Click here to read the full article – By Gary Washburn of Boston Globe

The Hawks, who will play the Cavaliers in Atlanta on Tuesday night and in Cleveland on Wednesday night, made the playoffs last year, but their 47-35 record did not scare any of the Eastern Conference’s elite teams.

By the time the Hawks met the Cavs in the playoffs, they had been slowed by a seven-game series against the Miami Heat and were swept in four games.

This season’s Hawks, led by Joe Johnson (21.4 points, 5.3 rebounds and 5.1 assists per game), are playing at a higher level. They are 21-8 and showing no sign of drop-off.

They rank fourth in scoring and lead the NBA in point differential in their victories.

The Cavs still make their name on the defensive end of the court. They rank second in the league in field-goal percentage allowed, a fact that has contributed greatly to their four-game winning streak, three of which came at the end of a West Coast road trip.


Click here to read the full article – By George M. Thomas of Beacon Journal

Benched New York Knicks guard Nate Robinson was fined $25,000 by the NBA on Monday after his agent made a trade request.


Robinson has not played in the Knicks’ last 12 games. A two-time winner of the All-Star slam dunk contest, he has played in only 12 games this season and is averaging 11 points.

Agent Aaron Goodwin recently told reporters he’d asked the Knicks to move Robinson to another team. Robinson was fined for statements detrimental to the NBA.

“Players are not permitted to make trade requests publicly and are responsible for public statements relating to them made by their representatives,” NBA spokesman Tim Frank said.

Goodwin said the benching was personal, not basketball related. A day after Goodwin’s comments on Dec. 19, Knicks president Donnie Walsh said he would probably begin talks with the agent about a trade.


Click here to read the full article – By Associated Press of ESPN.com

Milwaukee Bucks coach Scott Skiles contemplated making lineup changes before Monday’s game against Charlotte, but announced about an hour before tipoff that he’d decided to “give it another game and see how we do.”

Trailing by 22 at halftime of another miserable performance, Skiles had seen enough. And his moves jolted his struggling team.

Michael Redd and Andrew Bogut never took off their warmups in the second half of the Bucks’ 94-84 loss to the Bobcats. The team’s second- and third-leading scorers were benched after combining to shoot 1-for-10 and play little defense in a one-sided matchup of teams that figure to contend for one of the final Eastern Conference playoff spots.

“What do I need to say? We were 4-13 in our last 17 games, now 4-14 in our last 18,” Skiles said. “Everybody has got to look at themselves right now.”

Click here to read the full article – By Associated Press of ESPN.com

Their 10-point fourth-quarter lead squandered, Marc Gasol had a feeling the Grizzlies would regroup.

O.J. Mayo scored 28 points, Zach Randolph had six of his 23 points in overtime and the Grizzlies beat the Washington Wizards 116-111 on Monday night.

Gasol finished with 20, and his two free throws with 9.5 seconds extended the Memphis lead to 115-111, assuring the Grizzlies of their fourth straight home win.

“We have faith in each other,” Gasol said. “We know everybody can make plays. We did kind of run a little out of gas. But we won. In the end, that’s all that matters.”

Randolph made two free throws with 0.3 seconds left in regulation, sending the game to overtime tied at 102.

“That one stung,” Wizards guard Randy Foye (11 points) said of the play leading to the foul. “We had no time on the clock and up by two. We stopped the initial play, and Zach Randolph went to the basket and got fouled. This one is going to be hard to swallow.”

Click here to read the full article – By Associated Press of ESPN.com

The Oklahoma City Thunder seemingly have found a winning formula — Kevin Durant and a lot of defense.

Durant matched his season high with 40 points and the Thunder defeated New Jersey 105-89 Monday night, sending the Nets to their 10th straight loss — their second double-digit losing streak of the season.

The key for the Thunder was the final 17 minutes when they limited New Jersey to 17 points, including 13 in the final quarter.

“I was so pleased with the how we played in the fourth quarter,” said Durant, who made 15 of 22 shots and excited the road crowd with a couple of big dunks. “No matter if I got 40 or not, we played so hard in the fourth and limited their touches, limited them to one shot and out and we got some easy baskets. That was a great effort in the fourth.”

The win was a season-high third straight for the Thunder (16-14).

“We have a long ways to go,” Durant said. “We still have a lot of slip-ups in games, but we are getting better. Hopefully, we peak at the right time.”

Click here to read the full article – By Associated Press of ESPN.com

Chicago Bulls coach Vinny Del Negro said an ESPN.com report that a decision to fire him already has been made is “totally not accurate.”

Citing sources with knowledge of the Bulls’ thinking, Chris Broussard of ESPN The Magazine reported on Sunday night that a decision has been made and the Bulls are just waiting to find Del Negro’s replacement.

The coach said he and Bulls management are on the same page, and Del Negro told reporters to ask vice president of basketball operations John Paxson or general manager Gar Forman about the situation. Forman declined to speak to reporters after practice Monday.

Phone messages left for Paxson and Forman were not returned on Sunday, but in text messages to ESPN The Magazine on Sunday night, Paxson neither confirmed nor denied the report.

“It’s just funny to me,” Del Negro said. “There’s really nothing to say. You have all these people that have rumors, and everyone has their sources. It’s just not accurate.


Click here to read the full article – By Nick Friedell of ESPNChicago.com