According to this article, “LeBron James didn’t practice Friday and will miss his fifth straight game with a sprained left index finger when the Cavaliers play Saturday night at Charlotte.” His finger is still tight and stiff and according to medical reports, he should not have any physical activity with his finger until further notice. The Cavs are now (9-11) without ‘The King.’ LeBron’s other teammates: Larry Hughes, Donyell Marshall and Anderson Varejo are all out with different injuries as well. According to LeBron, “Teams better get their wins now,” he said. “They try to kill us and talk trash about us now … When we get our guys back, it’s going to be a different story.” And I think LeBron is right. The Cavs are struggling without their main ingredients, and until The King and the gang are back, the Cavs are just going to have to keep moving along with their heads up.
The North Carolina State Wolfpack traveled to Greenville, North Carolina to face the East Carolina Pirates Saturday evening. With State fans in disbelief , according to this article, Guard Sam Hinnant led his Pirates to a victory over the Wolfpack. East Carolina pulled off a 75-69 upset against State. This will be their first win against an Atlantic Coast Conference opponent in the history of ECU basketball. Although some say with home court advantage, anything can happen, NC State should not have lost this game. The Pack was supposed to finish 3rd in their Atlantic Coast Conference division. This is probably one of N.C. State’s most frustrating losses of the season, simply because they were supposed to get this win pretty easily. East Carolina is known particularly for having a great football program, not necessarily a developed basketball program. However, this win will really benefit the Pirates in the long run, giving them confidence and assurance to beat any team out there. Go Purple and Gold!
On Saturday, the first of December, the Charlotte Bobcats fell short on both offensive and defensive sides of the court, losing to the Chicago Bulls. Star point guard Raymond Felton played 29 minutes; however he only scored 5 points, providing just 2 assists. This is by far his season low. And it wasn’t just Ray. The Bobcats as a whole did not play well at all; the team had only 24 rebounds combined, in addition to a low shooting percentage. Monday’s (December 3rd) loss for the Charlotte Bobcats did not prove to be any better. Mr. Felton went scoreless (0-8) the entire game against the Toronto Raptors. He only played twenty minutes. It seems like Ray and the Bobcats are in a slump, but that’s normal for young teams—well all teams, as a matter of fact. Michael Jordan once said, “I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed. I’ve never been afraid to fail.”I know Raymond will get back on track and lead his Bobcats to many more victories. Like Michael said, everyone fails—just stay positive, keep shooting; never give up.
According to this article, “In the Big East/SEC Invitational, South Carolina pulled out a 68-67 victory over the Providence Friars Thursday night.” For the Gamecocks, Devin Downey came away with 21 points and 5 assists. Mike Holmes put up 12 points, and Frederick and Riley-Ross came away with 10 points each. South Carolina is now (5-4) on the season, pulling off a huge road win against the Friars. Clearly, the Cocks knew this was an important game, simply because next week they will take a pause and break for exams. Pulling off a win right before a break gives you confidence and determination to get right back at the next opponent. We needed this W; great work guys! Go Cocks!
The Gamecocks travel to face the Providence Friars this evening in Philadelphia. The game will begin at 7:00 ET and will be on ESPN. With the Cocks at 4-4, this win could be really big going into the break for exams. The Friars are (5-1). Two of their biggest wins so far: the upset of #18 Arkansas and Boston College. This evening should be a good contest for both teams. South Carolina has had some pretty tough match-ups so far, especially in the Old Spice Classic (NC State, George Mason, and Southern California)—which were all close games, despite the Gamecock’s losses. This will indeed be another tough game for the Cocks, but nothing is ever impossible for the garnet and black. Go Cocks!
‘The King’ sat out once again for the fourth game in a row due to his sprained left index finger. The Cavs are now (0-4) without their star player, losing their fourth straight game Wednesday night against the Washington Wizards. According to Zydrunas Ilgauskas, “”It’s tough. The coach is struggling because he’s trying to find new combinations. When LeBron is on the floor, 80 per cent of our offence runs through him, and we feed off of him and that’s why we’re good.” LeBron had a few minor injuries last season, sitting out around four to five games; however he never sat out four consecutive games. Missing LeBron in a game is like not having a major piece to a puzzle. While everyone on the team makes their contribution, LeBron brings everyone together as one. He is credited for 30+ of the points for the Cavs each game and not having him is causing a much lower point average for the entire team. Coach Mike Brown will just have to push the Cavs for extra determination and intensity without LeBron being there. And in the end, maybe this will help the Cavs grow stronger as team. Regardless: Get well soon, LeBron!
According to this article, “LeBron James missed his third straight game Tuesday night because of his sprained left index finger.” With the Cavs at (9-9) on the season, the boys have lost two straight games without Mr. James. The injury was evidently supposed to heal after one to two weeks, but according to his absence in three straight games, it may take longer than expected. Regardless of how long it takes, I think it is most important for LeBron to be healthy and 100% before returning to the court. Coach Mike Brown did not have any comments on LeBron’s injury. So as time progresses, hopefully we will get a positive report on “The King’s” ankle, and he will be back ready to play to lead his Cavaliers.
The Heels once again captured another road victory against Pennsylvania Tuesday night. With UNC now at (8-0) and Penn at (2-7), Hansbrough and the boys didn’t have too tough of a matchup last night. Needless to say, the Quakers certainly deserve much credit for hanging with the #1 ranked team in the nation. The Tar Heels ended up winning 106-71, with Tyler Hansbrough at 29 points and Danny Green with 19. According to this article. “Wayne Ellington, a Philadelphia-area native who played high school games at the Palestra, sank an open jumper from the left side that gave North Carolina a 73-48 lead”; he ended up with 13 points and third leading scorer. UNC has had three straight road games (Ohio State, Kentucky and Pennsylvania), and will have one more at Rutgers on December 19th. The next four games will be in Chapel Hill, and then the ACC madness will begin!
So as the Heels break for exams, let’s just hope they will be back in action and ready to keep ‘rollin’ down victory lane when they return.
Saturday afternoon, in Little John Coliseum, the Clemson Tigers unfortunately snagged a 74-85 win against the Gamecocks. According to this article, “Poor shooting and bad defense at times did South Carolina in. The Gamecocks made just one of eight 3-pointers in the first half and trailed by 17.” K.C. Rivers led the Tigers with 24 points and helped his team for the fourth time in a row beat their in state rivals. With Clemson at 7-0 on the season, Oliver Purnell seems to have a talented bunch on his squad this year. Things are looking up for the Tigers as they face the East Carolina Pirates in Greenville, NC this week. Though the Cocks are 4-4 on the season, they still have a lot of growing up to do. With a young group of players, Dave Odom will hopefully continue to push his team to many more victories this season.
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The Tar Heels, (7-0), pulled off two huge road wins this week, one against Ohio State in Columbus, and the other against Kentucky in Lexington. Monday night, the Heels won with a 66-55 victory over the Buckeyes. Surprisingly enough, star point guard Ty Lawson was not able to play due to his ankle injury, and Bobby Frasor filled in, having a great performance. Tyler Hansbrough had eleven rebounds and eleven points, with Wayne Ellington at high scorer with 23 points. This was not only a huge road win, but it represented a back to back victory for North Carolina over Ohio State. In addition to the Ohio State victory, on Saturday afternoon, the Heels pulled off another W against the Kentucky Wildcats in Lexington. This represented another huge win on the road for UNC. With Danny Green at his personal career high—twenty points, the Heels went on to win 86-77.
“The Tar Heels are off to a 7-0 start for the first time under Williams and the first time since the 1998-99 squad began the season 8-0” (GO HEELS).
