The Global Top 10 is your weekly guide to NBA global news. In this week's edition find out who got hurt, who got healthy and which player was honored for his 17-year NBA career.
Is Deke Done?
Has the time finally come? While
Dikembe Mutombo has yet to officially declare that his playing days will soon be done, on Wednesday night during halftime of the Houston-Minnesota matchup the Rockets paid tribute to the 17-year vet's outstanding career. The Kinshasa-born athlete received the Defensive Play of the Year award four times throughout his career. He is an eight-time All-Star and has been named to six All-Defensive Teams and three All-NBA Teams. Mutombo has been an integral part of the Rockets' squad this season after teammate Yao Ming announced he'd sit miss the remainder of the season. While some had suggested that the big man bow out years ago, Mutombo has proved that he still has much to offer an NBA team. As his fans, teammates and coaches celebrate his illustrate career, many wonder has the 41-year old had enough? Mutombo explained to the
Houston Chronicle, "I want to play this year and go home. If I change my mind, I'll let you know. At some point, I have to come to the decision that I'm going to walk away from this game. If it doesn't happen today or tomorrow, someday it has to happen." Thanks for the clarification Deke.
1. Is Deke Done?
Has the time finally come? While
Dikembe Mutombo has yet to officially declare that his playing days will soon be done, on Wednesday night during halftime of the Houston-Minnesota matchup the Rockets paid tribute to the 17-year vet's outstanding career. The Kinshasa-born athlete received the Defensive Play of the Year award four times throughout his career. He is an eight-time All-Star and has been named to six All-Defensive Teams and three All-NBA Teams. Mutombo has been an integral part of the Rockets' squad this season after teammate Yao Ming announced he'd miss the remainder of the season. While some had suggested that the big man bow out years ago, Mutombo has proved that he still has much to offer an NBA team. As his fans, teammates and coaches celebrate his illustrate career, many wonder has the 41-year old had enough? Mutombo explained to the
Houston Chronicle, "I want to play this year and go home. If I change my mind, I'll let you know. At some point, I have to come to the decision that I'm going to walk away from this game. If it doesn't happen today or tomorrow, someday it has to happen." Thanks for the clarification Deke.
2. Nene Makes Courageous Comeback
While NBA teams have been battling for a postseason berth, NBA player
Nene has been fighting for his life. Diagnosed in January with a malignant testicular tumor, Nene underwent chemotherapy just a little over a month ago. Some questioned if he'd ever return to the basketball court and almost no one believed he'd be back this season. But Nene beat the odds as he laced up and entered Denver's game against Dallas on March 27, just 75 days after he last appeared in an NBA boxscore. While the cancer survivor only played 1:17, logging no points or rebounds in Denver's 118-105 victory, he was the night's most celebrated player. He defeated an opponent more potent than
Jason Kidd and more destructive than
Erick Dampier. Not to mention he could not use his 6-11 frame to muscle this cancerous enemy. So what makes him a champion? He told the
AP, "I survived, I'm still here."
Photo: Nene receives a warm welcome
3. Manu Makes Moves on Mavs
While the belief of legendary women's basketball coach Pat Summit is that championships are won in the offseason, the Spurs' 88-81 victory Sunday night was won in the third quarter. Dallas edged San Antonio 40-36 at the half but the Spurs put the pedal to the metal in the third going on a 19-0 run. Reserve
Manu Ginobili contributed eight points to the run and 12 points in the quarter. Meanwhile, Dallas' star
Dirk Nowitzki left the game late in the third with an ankle/knee injury. The injury provided further encouragement for the Spurs, as Ginobilli said to the
AFP, "When Dirk went out it was big motivation for us. They have one less go-to guy." Entering the fourth with a 65-58 lead, the Mavs were unable to recover and the reigning NBA champs held the lead for the remainder of the game. Ginobili registered the game-high 26 points and drained 11-of-11 from the charity stripe while the Mavs only went to the line 11 times. As the coach of the passionate and talented athlete, Gregg Popovich told to the
AFP, "Manu's a great competitor. We've seen it before. He's got a great drive to win and he does it lots of different ways."
Video:
Manu: Assist of the Night
4.Krstic Knocks Knicks
Even though the Nets dropped the first three games they played against the Knicks this season, they defeated New York on Monday night 106-91. So why was New Jersey finally successful against their cross-river rivals? "It was
(Nenad) Krstic. He had some big shots, so I thought he was big for them,"
said the Knicks' Jamal Crawford. Krstic missed all three prior matchups between the two squads as he was recovering from left knee surgery, but on Monday night he was back in action and tearing up the court. He logged a season-high 22 points, including three consecutive shots in the third quarter all from
Vince Carter. The Serbia native even had the Nets' normal lethal weapon impressed as VC told a horde of reporters, "I wanted to run the same plays as many times as I could to build up my assists, not being selfish or anything he was shooting the ball really well tonight and I just wanted to get him the ball."
5.Duncan Defeats Dwight
In a battle of the ages the experienced and accomplished
Tim Duncan took on the young and talented
Dwight Howard on Tuesday night. While The Big Fundamental excellent numbers looked paltry next to Superman's 24 points, 21 rebounds and two rejections, it was the nine-time All-Star who led his team to a 107-97 victory. Humble and hard working, the Virgin Islands native achieves the tangibles as well as the intangibles for his squad, often making his teammates better players and facilitating productivity on both ends of the court. Following the win teammate
Tony Parker told the
Orlando Sentinel, "Timmy makes my job, everyone's job easier. When you have a dominating guy inside, it gives everyone opportunities. He is why this team has been successful so long. He plays hard, practices hard and always comes to work. He doesn't take days off. When your star does that, it works."
6. Dalembert Dominates on Defense
After an ugly loss to Orlando, a determined 76ers team bounced back on Saturday night with a 91-87 victory over New Jersey. While
Andre Iguodala dropped a game-high 28 points,
Samuel Dalembert's dominant play inside the paint also had a large impact on the outcome of the game. The Haiti native registered a game-high 18 rebounds and five blocks to go a long with 11 points. Fierce on defense and potent on offense, after the game the 76ers' center explained to the
The News Journal, "We knew we had to win after stinking it up [Friday] night. It was a crucial game for us."
Photo:
Dalembert dominates down low
7. Z Keeps Game Close
It was close call but no cigar for the Cleveland Cavaliers. On Wednesday night the Cavs took on the Hornets but fell to the first seeded Western Conference team 100-99. However, in this tight matchup it was not the usual
LeBron James who kept the Cavs motor going throughout. Big man
Zydrunas Ilgauskas logged a season-high 29 points to go along with 15 rebounds and two rejections. In the end the diminutive guard Chris Paul outshined Big Z to get his team the win. Paul fed David West the ball in the finals seconds of the game for the money shot. The Cavs' superstar LeBron James explained to
HOOPSWORLD, "That's why (Paul) is the best point guard in the league. We had him bottled up (on the final play), but he has eyes in the back of his head."
Photo: Big Z leads Cavs
8. Scola Scares Wolves
For the Houston Rockets every game counts. Win or lose, the outcome of each matchup will effect the direction in which the Rockets rise or slide in the tight Western Conference seeding. With his eye on the postseason prize, rookie
Luis Scola flexed his muscle when Houston took on Minnesota. On the Rockets home floor, the Argentina native played with a sense of urgency, registering 18 points and a career-high 18 rebounds. As a result of his now or never attitude the Rockets downed the Wolves 97-86. Teammate
Tracy McGrady, also deserved credit for the win as he chipped in a game-high 23 points. After the game Scola explained where he got his motivation to the
The Sports Network. Scola said "We have to be ready, we have to play hard and we have to win as many games as we can, because if we don't, then we're going down."
9. Iverson Calls on Kleiza
Allen Iverson got by New Jersey with a little help from his friend. Reserve
Linas Kleiza poured in 23 points in addition to Iverson's 26. As an unexpected potent force on the offensive end, the Lithuania native shot 9-of-11 from the field and 5-of-7 from three-point land en route to Denver's 125-114 triumph over the Garden State. After the game Kleiza told the
AP, "It was one of those nights where our bench needed to come through and we did."
10. Dirk Goes Down
Losing to the Spurs 88-81 on Sunday was the least of the Mavs problems. Late in the third quarter of the matchup,
Dirk Nowitzki took an ugly fall after blocking a shot by
Ime Udoka and was forced to leave the game. The Germany native described the incident to the
AP. "I fell awkwardly and my left leg got caught underneath of me,'' he said. Following the game the reigning MVP learned he had suffered a high left ankle sprain and a mild left knee sprain. While there is currently no timetable for the seven-footer's return, he has set his hopes on suiting up in one to two weeks. Unfortunately for Dallas, the timing of Dirk's injury couldn’t get much worse. As they hold the seventh seed in a tight Western Conference, the absence of their leading scorer could cause them to fall out of the playoff equation. While the seven-time all-star is out of commission, his teammates refuse to give up. Forward
Brandon Bass told the
Dallas Morning News. "We've just got to play hard as hell – every day, every game. It's got to be a team thing. No individual is going to replace him."
Photo:
The Dirk disaster leaves Mavs' star sidelined
NBA Access with Ahmad Rashad
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