It was just a typical weekend in the NBA with coaches getting fired, rivalries being renewed and players calling each other out.
The Indiana Pacers, amid a portion of games that has seen them lose seven of eight, have decided
Bird, was very matter of fact when discussing the change as he stated that the Pacers still had the goal a gaining a post season berth. The blame was not placed squarely on the shoulders of O'Brien but regardless, the change was made. It was a bittersweet moment for Vogel who credits O'Brien with giving him the opportunity to be an NBA assistant coach.
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In the latest instalment of the Lakers and Celtics rivalry, it was Boston that delivered a message with a 109-96 victory in Los Angeles. Despite a huge 41 point performance from Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles dropped its seventh game at home. Bryant did his best to try and carry his team to victory but Boston's defence was too much, as there was no help for Bryant. Only two other Lakers had more than 10 field goal attempts as the rest of the Los Angeles squad was held to 38.5 per cent from the floor. There was no ball movement for the Lakers, as they finished with only 10 assists leaving most of the offense to Kobe, as he worked hard for his points.
Consider this observation from ESPN. Bryant took 29 of the Lakers' 66 shots from the floor. It's the 10th time this season that Bryant has taken more than 40 per cent of the Lakers' shots and in those 10 contests, the Lakers are 3-7. The fact that the Lakers had only 10 assists, speaks to the lack of ball movement and Bryant possibly not trusting his teammates enough to help him.
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And finally following Miami's win, in Oklahoma City, Kevin Durant had this to say about Chris Bosh after a brief set to in the first half, after the two players exchanged words.
The perception of Bosh has changed in a number of ways this season, as he is now playing with a contender. Both, players around the NBA and the national media in the United States seem to be commenting more on Bosh, as a result of him joining the Heat with LeBron James and Dwayne Wade.
Perhaps Durant's thoughts may have been something he was thinking for years but with Bosh's former team irrelevant, in his eyes, there was no need to say anything. Now however, it's a different story. For his part Bosh simply said he wasn't going to take that from Durant after he told James Harden, he should dunk the ball on Bosh the next time he had the chance.
