Charlotte
at Miami

There are some truly pitiful games on tonight. Four of them,
actually, and not a winner in the bunch. Even the game I picked is a bit of a
downer, since it is in Miami,
which means plenty of annoying public address nonsense.

I am paying attention to the Heat/Bobcats pairing the most
because Miami
continues to intrigue me. Dwyane Wade continues to play some of the best
basketball we’ve seen in 2008-09, and the Heat as a team isn’t shackled by the
slow-down, tepid play we had to take in even during the best years of the
Wade/Riley/O’Neal triptych.

The team still drags a bit too much for my liking,
but this is a good offensive team that has a chance to become a great one
within the confines of an 82-game season.

The Bobcats have slid a bit since taking four of six over
the last two weeks. And with games against six straight playoff hopefuls (the
Heat, Mavericks, Pistons, Hornets, Hawks, and Bulls) coming up, now’s the time
to right the ship. Go ahead and right it. It’s been four and a half years.
You’re due.

Honestly, I love me some BtB, and the games that provide the
fodder, but this night is a bit of a miss. I’m most looking forward to BBC America’s re-airing of the first "new" (BBC originally broadcast it on June 22^nd
in England, and it’s been passed around from torrent to torrent in the months
since) episode of
season 11 of Top Gear around 11 p.m. tonight. Good thing we have a bunch of
early starts tonight, and room on the Tivo.

In the meantime: Rockets/Grizzlies, Warriors/Thunder,
Clippers/Magic. Yikes.

Miami Heat: 11-9, 91.2 possessions per game
(20^th-most in the NBA), 108.1 points scored per 100 possessions (10^th),
106.5 points allowed per 100 possessions (15^th). Move.

Charlotte Bobcats: 7-13, 87.6 possessions per
game (28^th), 101.7 points scored per 100 possessions (27^th),
105.6 points allowed per 100 possessions (12^th). Boplicity.

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According to the Chicago Tribune’s Full-Court Press blog, Bulls rookie Derrick Rose missed Monday’s practice after he needed 10 stitches to close a gash suffered at home while — you’re not going to believe this one — slicing an apple in bed. Amazing.

"It was a silly incident," Rose said. "I was cutting up some food and I laid on a knife getting lazy in bed. I went to go get a bottle of water, came back, forgot the knife was there, then sat down and sliced my arm."

Rose is expected to play Tuesday night against the Knicks at the United Center, which is good news, but it begs the question: why is Rose cutting Red Delicious apples with a machete? That seems excessive.

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A look around the league and the web that covers it. It’s also important to note that the rotation order and starting nods aren’t always listed in order of importance. That’s for you, dear reader, to figure out.

C: SLC Dunk. "With all apologies to Deron Williams, who is the heart and soul of the Utah Jazz, Andrei Kirilenko has been the best Jazz player this season."
PF: Ben’s Suns Blog. The Suns aren’t broken yet, they just need a few remedies to salvage the season.
SF: The Good Point. An exclusive interview with Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment boss Richard Peddie.
SG: Hoop Heads North. There’s no crying in basketball! Ahem. The NBA’s top five crying moments.
PG: Fresh Cherries From Yakima. Eight songs Dickey Simpkins would have enjoyed in 1995.
6th: Bullets Forever. Is Derrick Rose the next Rod Strickland? Does Derrick Rose enjoy hotdogs?
7th: SI.com. Five NBA players who are seizing their opportunity to shine.
8th: The Donté Greene Show, Ep. 2. Donté plays video games and calls on his altar-ego "Dontanian".
9th: CSL. Good things tend to happen when Paul Pierce contributes beyond the box score.
10th: NY Daily News (see sidebar), via SLAM. "The Clippers’ Baron Davis is getting paid $250,000 for endorsing a weight-reduction drink. The Clippers privately say that the weight Davis gained to do the endorsement accounted for his slow start."

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BDL reader Dexter, in New York, points out an extremely unusual statistical anomaly arising from last night’s Bucks-Lakers game. Check out the box score. See anything odd? Note that not one of Milwaukee’s starters managed to reach double figures in any category — save minutes played. Not points, not rebounds, not even field goals attempted. Neither Dexter nor I know when this last happened — or exactly how rare it is — so I figured I’d toss it out to you stat heads. Any idea, Elias’ Army?

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The Wolves are on the brink of firing have fired coach Randy Wittman, according to Jim, NBA sources and oh, me last week. But Al Jefferson says it doesn’t matter who holds that clipboard: "They could do whatever they wanted to do," Jefferson said of Wolves management. "But it starts right here in this locker room with us. Jesus Christ himself could come out here and coach us, but if we don’t go out there and play hard and play together, it won’t mean nothing." Yikes. Best caption wins a hug. Best of luck.

After the jump, Rocky gets high.

Winner, Hambone:
With tough economic times leading to layoffs in the maintenance department, everyone has to do their part when the Jumbotron goes on the fritz.

Runner-up, tmic23:
Little does everyone know, that within the mascot’s costume, lies Sam Mitchell.

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