POWER PLAYS ON CHRISTMAS DAY

There is a certain touch of magic that comes in an NBA Christmas day game. Some of the most outstanding individual performances in regular season play were dished out during the happiest day of the year. Maybe it's the turkey on Christmas eve or they had wished for it the night before from old Santa. Whatever it is, the fans truly enjoyed it to the fullest.

So herewith is a compilation of the most memorable performances on Christmas day:

• POINTS

Bernard King of the New York Knicks vs. New Jersey Nets, 1984, 60 points;
Wilt Chamberlain of the Philadelphia Warriors vs. New York Knicks, 1961, 59 points;
Rick Barry of the San Francisco Warriors vs. Cincinnati Royals, 1966, 50 points;
Jerry West of the Los Angeles Lakers vs. New York Knicks, 1963, 47 points;
Tracy McGrady of the Orlando Magic vs. Detroit Pistons, 2002, 46 points;
Wilt Chamberlain, Philadelphia Warriors vs. Syracuse Nationals, 1959, 45 points;
Tom Heinsohn, Boston Celtics vs. Syracuse Nationals, 1961, 45 points;
Dominique Wilkins, Atlanta Hawks vs. Philadelphia 76ers, 1987, 45 points.

• REBOUNDS

Wilt Chamberlain, Los Angeles Lakers vs. Boston Celtics, 1970, 22 rebounds;
Wes Unseld, Baltimore Bullets vs. Chicago Bulls, 1970, 22 rebounds;
Dennis Rodman, Chicago Bulls vs. Detroit Pistons, 1996, 22 rebounds;
Bob Lanier, Detroit Pistons vs. Milwaukee Bucks, 1971, 21 rebounds;
Wes Unseld, Batimore Bullets vs. Philadelphia 76ers, 1971, 21 rebounds;
Wes Unseld, Washington Bullets vs. Atlanta Hawks, 1974, 21 rebounds;
Moses Malone, Washington Bullets vs. Philadelphia 76ers, 1986, 21 rebounds.

• ASSISTS

Nate Archibald, Kansas City Kings vs. Milwaukee Bucks, 1972, 18 assists;
Nate Archibald, Kansas City Kings vs. Phoenix Suns, 1975, 16 assists;
Gail Goodrich, Phoenix Suns vs. Boston Celtics, 1969, 14 assists;
Norm Van Lier, Chicago Bulls vs. Phoenix Suns, 1972, 14 assists;
Billy Cunningham, Philadelphia 76ers vs. Detroit Pistons, 1970, 13 assists;
Darnell Valentine, Portland Trailblazers vs. Los Angeles Lakers, 1983, 13 assists.

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Still on NBA Christmas day game, the rematch of last year's finals between the Boston Celtics and the LA Lakers can be seen live on Starsports on December 26 at 6:00 am (Manila time) with replay at 6:30 pm, while two other games are on tap over Basketball TV (BTV) also in the same day.

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The December 2008 issue of Tower Sports NBA, the only locally-produced NBA magazine in the country, is finally out in the market. Newly-formatted 2008-09 team-by-team preview by Atty. Ed C. Tolentino is a must-read for all NBA followers. Also, everyone can reminisce the 2007-08 Championship run by the Boston Celtics courtesy of "The Dean" Quinito Henson, who likewise had a very interesting feature on the NBA Hall of Fame. Tolentino also shared his views on Team USA's redemption in the Beijing Olympics. And there's a lot more. Kudos to editor Henry Liao for a job well done. So get a copy now!

A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL!!!

TRIVIA #1

Starting today and once every week, I'll be sharing with you trivia and unusual facts in the world of basketball, as requested by some of my friends. My initial sets are courtesy of my book entitled "Basketball's Most Wanted", the top 10 book of hoops' outrageous dunkers, incredible buzzer beaters, and other oddities, written by Floyd Conner. So fasten your seatbelts and enjoy:

• OLLAMALITZLI

"Basketball was not invented until 1891, but another game using a ball and hoop existed previously. Ollamalitzli was played with a rubber ball and stone ring by the Aztecs in the sixteenth century. A player making a shot was entitled to the clothing of all spectators. Players on the losing side were less fortunate. Occasionally, the captain of the losing team had his head cut off."

• JAMES NAISMITH

"In 1891, James Naismith, a young Canadian instructor at the School for Christian Workers in Springfield, Massachusetts, was given the assignment of creating an indoor game as a recreational activity for students during the long New England winters.


Earlier, Naismith had designed an exercise in which students threw balls into boxes. He wanted square baskets for his new game, but the school's janitor, Pop Stebbins, suggested peach baskets, which he nailed to the overhead running track 10 feet above the gymnasium floor. Since there were 18 students in the class, it was decided that there would be nine players on each side. The game consisted of two 15-minute halves. A soccer ball was used in the first contest, and the final score was 1-0. William Chase scored the only basket on a shot from midcourt. Since the peach basket did'nt have a hole in the bottom, it was necessary to use a ladder to retrieve the ball after a shot was made. Naismith never envisioned his game as an athletic competition; it was meant as a conditioning exercise. In his lifetime, Naismith played the gameonly twice. It was suggested that it be called Naismith Ball in his honor, but he preferred the name basketball. Otherwise, the NBA might have stood for Naismith Ball Association."

• SENDA BERENSON ABBOTT

"Senda Berenson Abbott was the Director of physical education at Smith, an all-female college in Northampton, Massachusetts. When she learned of Naismith's game, she decided it would make an excellent addition to her curriculum. She stressed its exercise benefits and downplayed its competitive aspects. The first women's collegiate game was played between the freshman and sophomore classes of Smith College in 1893. Male spectators were not permitted to attend for fear they would be titillated by the sight of women in bloomers."

• SCHOOL FOR CHRISTIAN WORKERS

"The first public basketball game was played in March 1892 between the students and teachers at the School for Christian Workers in Springfield, Massachusetts. The students won the game, 5-1. Amos Alonzo Stagg, who went on to fame as a football coach, scored the teachers' only goal."

• BROOKLYN CENTRAL YMCA

"The first basketball tournament was played in 1893 in New York City and featured local teams. The tournament was won by a squad from the Brooklyn Central YMCA."

Watch out for the second set next week.

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As the Boston Celtics romped to their 18th straight win at the expense of the hapless New York Knicks, 124-105, which tied a franchise record, Kobe Bryant and his Los Angeles Lakers on the other hand are fast becoming the league's newest heartbreak kids.

Bryant missed consecutive buzzer-beater jumpers over the weekend as the Tinseltown outfit lost their Florida swing to the Miami Heat and Orlando Magic, respectively. The back-to-back defeats brought down the Lakers over-all slate to 21-5 win-loss card. The Celtics meanwhile had improved to a league-best 26-2 slate.

The recent tailspin of the Lakers are the last thing the basketball fans are hoping for as only a few days remain before their much-awaited showdown with the men in green takes place on Christmas day. With the way things are going on right now, the Celtics are coming into the game heavily favored to smother the slumping boys of Phil Jackson. But in the tradition of the old rivalry, anything can happen in a Celtics-Lakers confontation.

THE NEXT PISTOL PETE?

If you had watched the TV coverage of games involving the Spanish team in the recently-concluded Beijing Olympics basketball competitions, chances are you've heard a lot about Ricky Rubio. He was praised to high heavens by the TV commentator, hailing him as the second coming of NBA great "Pistol" Pete Maravich. And to go further, he was even mentioned as a possible number one draft pick over-all in next year's NBA draft becoming only the third foreigner to be selected as top pick after Yao Ming and Andrea Bargnani. Now who really is this Ricard "Ricky" Rubio Vives?

Rubio was born on October 21, 1990 in El Masnou, Barcelona, Spain. The 18-year old wonder kid presently plays for DKV Joventut in the Spanish ACB league and the Euro League. In 2005, he became the youngest player ever in Spanish basketball history to play professional ball. The 6-4 Rubio is regarded as the best European prospect since the late Drazen Petrovic. His flamboyant style ably aided by scoring dominance and creativity drew raves from basketball pundits around the continent including top scouts from the United States. His uncanny ability to create scoring opportunities for himself and his teammates can not help the experts but compare him to Maravich.

From all indications, Rubio really looks like the real deal but is he ready for the big leagues? Or will he be another Marco Bellineli or Sarunas Jasikevicius, who both turned out as Euro busts in the NBA? We will know in a year's time.

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The Boston Celtics cruised to their 16th straight win with an 88-85 victory over the Atlanta Hawks yesterday. With the win, the Celtics now has a league-leading win-loss slate of 24-2. The men in green are really dead serious in their bid to score a back-to-back title run.

Before the season began, coach Glenn "Doc" Rivers stated that they do not stand a chance of repeating if they will just be duplicating their performance last year. They had to be better than last season. Well at this point they certainly look that way.

GLOOMY XMAS BANDWAGON

Two ex-NBA stars had taken the hop into the gloomy Christmas bandwagon of fired coaches. With the sacking of Philadelphia's Maurice Cheeks and Sacramento's Reggie Theus, a record number of six head coaches now had been given the pink slip even before the completion of the season's first two months.

Cheeks, a member of the 76ers 1983 championship team, took the management decision in stride and even blame himself for the team's poor start this season in a press conference three days after his dismissal. When asked by the media for the real reason behind the 76er's slow start, he simply blurted "In my case, it was the coach". Before his Sixers coaching stint, he also coached the Portland Trailblazers. Cheeks was replaced by Philadelphia's assistant team manager Tony DiLeo as interim head coach for the remainder of the season.

After a 6-18 start, the Kings decided to let go of Theus and look for a new lease on life with assistant coach Kenny Natt at helm for the rest of the season. Natt is likewise a former NBA player, who had a journeyman career. Theus was tapped to coach the Kings before the 2007-08 season and led the team to a 38-44 finish despite having a ragtag squad. Kings guard Bobby Jackson summed it all up regarding the coaching change, "We feel for him, because Reggie is a great guy who did a lot for this organization. Coach Natt, he’s like a drill sergeant. He’s from the old school, and I’m looking forward to that. If you work hard, you’re going to play. That’s his philosophy.” In addition, erstwhile assistant coach Chuck Person, yeah the rifleman of yesteryears, was also fired by the Kings organization.

Cheeks and Theus's recent ordeals just shows that being great players in the past are not an assurance of a likewise outstanding coaching career. Just ask Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, and Isiah Thomas. Usually, marginal players do better like Doc Rivers, Rick Carlisle, Don Nelson and George Karl to name a few. Will Natt be not far behind? The Kings are keeping their fingers crossed.

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Only a week remains from the much-awaited Christmas day game between last year's finalists, the Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers. So what are you waiting for? Keep those votes coming on our polls section on who do you think will win. The Celtics and the Lakers are currently showing the way in the Eastern and Western Conferences with win-loss records of 23-2 and 20-3, respectively.

PLAIN STUPIDITY

The Phoenix Suns organization is going nuts! First, they traded "the matrix" Shawn Marion for aging wonderless Shaquile O'Neal. Then they let go of the man behind their recent success, coach Mike D'Antoni and replaced him with a so-so mentor in Terry Porter (remember Milwaukee?). And now they sent two of their longtime assets in Raja Bell and Boris Diaw to the Charlotte Bobcats for injury-prone and sometimes erratic Jason Richardson. I wonder if the so-called experts will brand these transactions as rebuilding. I think the more appropriate term is DESTROYING.

Bell and Diaw, together with D'Antoni, two-time MVP Steve Nash, Amare Stoudemire and Marion brought the Desert City outfit to near greatness in recent memory. They had been a perennial contender in the Western Conference in the last few years and they could had finally broken the barrier this season of going into the NBA finals if not for these brainless transactions.

Nash was greatly affected by the trade of Diaw and Bell and could not hide his disappointment with the organization. "It's a tough business. While I'll welcome my new teammates with open arms, it's tough when you lose two of your best buddies. It's tough and it hurts.It's tough", Nash emotionally said. With the way Nash is feeling right now, it is very clear that he was not involve in the team discussions prior to the trade. And to by-pass the team's heart and soul for talks on such vital personnel movement is big slap on the face of Nash. It is a common practice in the league to have your star player deeply involve in such discussions and get his thumbs up approval. Just ask Larry Bird or Magic Johnson or Michael Jordan or even Paul Pierce. Respect is definitely an alien word for the Suns franchise.

Now the question is who will be next? I know who you are thinking of and that may probably be the same as mine!

FOUR AND COUNTING

After PJ Carlesimo, Eddie Jordan and Sam Mitchell, now comes Randy Wittman. The Minnesota Timberwolves had finally given the former Atlanta Hawk swingman the pink slip.

Wittman was fired after guiding the Twin City outfit to a poor 4-15 start and after dropping seven of the last ten games this season. He compiled an over-all record of 38 wins and 105 loses in more than two years at helm of the T-Wolves. Before mentoring Minnesota, Wittman also coached the Cleveland Cavaliers from 1999 to 2001, posting a record of 62-102 slate.

Before embarking on a coaching career in the NBA, Wittman saw action for 9 years in the league suiting up for the Hawks, Sacramento Kings and Indiana Pacers. He can be best remembered as the spot-up shooter of the high-flying Hawks team in the 1980s, which was led by the "Human Highlight Film" Dominique Wilkins.

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Named as replacement for Wittman on an interim capacity is the T-Wolves' Vice President for Basketball Operations Kevin McHale. It will be the second tenure of the former Celtic great as interim head coach of Minnesota. During the 2004-05 season, he took over from Flip Saunders and guided the Timberwolves to a 19-12 card in the last 31 games of the season.

There are talks that McHale may give up his front office position to his deputy Fred Hoiberg to fully concentrate on his head coaching job.

Now, the million-dollar question is: can the ex-University of Minnesota star change the fortunes of the floundering franchise? Or shall we see the likes of Saunders, Avery Johnson, Jeff Van Gundy and Doug Collins roaming the NBA sidelines once again, sooner than we expect? For now, that remains to be seen.

THE MISSING LINK

The New Orleans Hornets are on a roll. The Big Easy outfit had won seven of their last ten games and currently holds a 2-game winning streak (11-6 over-all). Most of Byron Scott's stalwarts from last year's conference semi-finalist squad are back led by sensational gem of a pointguard in Chris Paul.

Last year, the Hornets run in the playoffs were cut short in the conference semis by the San Antonio Spurs in seven exhilarating games. They posted a 3-2 lead in the series but blew the final two games in a heartbreaker. But even with their sorry exit, the Hornets were rated high by the experts to figure prominently in the race for the 2008-09 diadem.

During the off-season, the team further enhance their title aspirations with the free agent signing of one of Boston's unsung heroes in James Posey. The 6-8 veteran forward out of Xavier College in Ohio was instrumental in the Celtics' winning of last season's tiara. He had the uncanny ability to score in clutch situations and also highly regarded for his defensive stops. Before his tenure in Beantown, Posey was also a vital element in Miami Heat's championship run in 2006.

With Posey in the team, it looks like the Hornets had finally found the missing link to get them over the hump in the Western Conference and a possible shot for the league championship. Posey so far had a 100% batting average in terms of finals appearances, with the Heat and the Celtics.

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ROOKIE UPDATE: Herewith is a close look into the current individual statistics of the first five picks in the 2008 NBA draft.

1. Derrick Rose (Chicago Bulls) - 20 games, 18.5 ppg, 3.90 rpg and 6.1 apg
2. Michael Beasley (Miami Heat) - 20 games, 14.1 ppg, 5.20 rpg and 1.0 apg
3. O.J. Mayo (Memphis Grizzlies) - 20 games, 21. 1 ppg, 4.40 rpg and 2.5 apg
4. Russell Westbrook (Oklahoma City Thunder) - 20 games, 12.5 ppg, 3.6 rpg and 4.2 apg
5. Kevin Love (Minnesota Timberwolves) - 19 games, 9.2 ppg, 7.10 rpg and 1.2 apg

Additionally, last year's top over-all draft pick Greg Oden of the Portland Trail Blazers, who did not see any action at all during the 2007-08 season due to an injury, is technically considered a rookie this year. In 15 games so far, the 7-0 center out of Ohio State is currently submitting norms of 7.8 ppg, 7.70 rpg and 0.8 apg.

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The much-awaited 2008-09 issue of Tower Sports NBA magazine will be out very soon. The only locally-produced NBA magazine is edited by renown NBA expert Henry Liao, and backstopped by popular NBA writers like Quinito "The Dean" Henson, Ed C. Tolentino, Bert Ramirez, Butch Maniego, Ricky Santos, Bill Velasco and Patrick Olivarez. In a recent telephone conversation with Liao, he said that the coming issue will be full of interesting stories such as recap of last year's playoffs, the off-season free agent signings and 08-09 team-by-team previews. I truly can't wait to get my hand on it!

GIANT SLAYER

The Indiana Pacers had done what the other 27 NBA teams have not so far this season, that is beating the two finalists last year in the Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers, all in a period of one month.

The Pacers beat the defending champs Celtics, 95-79 last November 2 and Tuesday night (yesterday morning, Manila time), they scored an epic 118-117 win over the Lakers before a wildly-cheering crowd at the Conseco Fieldhouse.

Staring at a 16-point deficit with ten minutes to go in the payoff period, the Pacers limited the league scoring leader Laker team to only 16 last quarter points as Troy Murphy scored on a buzzer-beater tip-in off a Marquis Daniels missed shot to steal the game. It was the Lakers' first ever road loss this season after winning five straight which likewise snapped its seven game winning streak.

Aside from Murphy, who had 16 points and 17 rebounds, making things happen for the Pacers was Danny Granger, who had a game-high 32 points. On his game-winner, Murphy said, "it looked like it sat on there forever. But I'm happy it finally went down".

The win improved the Pacers' over-all record to 7-10 win-loss slate. After that stunning victory over the LA boys, they immediately travel to Beantown to meet the Celtics in a rematch the following day. And any way you look at it, it's one hell of a back-to-back games for Jim O'Brien's wards.

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Sam Mitchell had followed Eddie Jordan and PJ Carlesimo to the showers after the Toronto Raptors fired him a day after the team's embarassing 132-93 defeat to the Denver Nuggets.

Mitchell's exit was quite surprising to many considering that he was the NBA coach of the year in 2006-07. With the Raptor's 8-9 win-loss card, Mitchell can not do anything right with all the injuries that the team had endured. His interim replacement is Jay Triano, a seven-year assistant coach of the Raptors. Triano is a Canadian native and together with the legendary Leo Rautins, and former PBA import Jim Zoet, saw action for Canada during the 1978 World Basketball Championships in Manila.

Mitchell's departure just shows that there are no sacred cows in the league. Coaching in the NBA is really a thankless job.

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Free agent power forward Antonio McDyess is currently sitting out the mandatory one month period for clearing off waivers. According to reports, he will suit up once again for the Detroit Pistons, the same team which traded him together with Chauncey Billups to the Denver Nuggets last month. McDyess refused to play for the Mile High City outfit which forced the Nuggets to waive him.

This rule needs some serious review from the Commissioner's Office. A player once traded should honor the transaction no matter what. Pro basketball is all business. The period of clearing waivers must be amended. So, why not make it a two-year waiting period for those players who do not honor a trade. This surely makes sense.

WHERETO "STARBURY"?

Isiah Thomas is gone, Zach Randolph had already been traded and now only one obstacle rermains from the triumvirate of New York Knicks' headaches. Disgruntled guard Stephon Marbury continue to hug the headlines lately with his never-ending lambasting of the Gotham City squad.

Marbury had not seen action since the start of the 2008-09 season and for sure, he will not be part of coach Mike D'Antoni's grand plans this year. The 12-year pro out of Georgia Tech is well known in the NBA circles as a "prima donna" kind of player. No doubt, Marbury is blessed with superb basketball skills but he is likewise a big headache to his coaches and teammates. Last year, he refused to suit up in an outing in one of the Knicks west coast road swing just because he would not start a game.

His latest brouhaha came out a few days ago as he criticized the team and his co-Knicks. He blame his teammates for not siding with his telenovela acts. And as a result, Knicks President Donnie Walsh had issued an order to Marbury to stay away from from the team (both in practice and actual games). It's the best decision the team can do right now as they try to improve their 8-8 win-loss card. The Knicks had just won only four of their last ten games. So that will be the scenario from hereon as both the Knicks and Marbury continue their discussions on a possible contract buy-out.

Get Marbury out quickly and expect a big turn-around in the Knicks campaign this season!

ON A COLLISION COURSE

They had a great storied rivalry. They both have the most NBA titles in league history. They played each other in last year's finals. They both have the best records in the east and west, respectively, so far this season. The Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers are on the road for another collision course for the NBA diadem.

Both the men in green and the tinseltown outfit owns the two best records thus far this season and are currently riding high on a 6-game and 8-game winning streaks, respectively. Last season, the Celtics won their 17th NBA title at the expense of the Lakers in six grueling games. New recruits Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen collaborated with oldhand Paul Pierce to become the new version of the Celtics "Big 3". They run roughshod over the opposition in the regular season but encountered some rough sailing come the playoffs. They survived two seven-game series in the early rounds but history can not be denied as they nailed down their first league title in 20 years.

A mid-season injury to promising slotman Andrew Bynum proved costly to the Lakers campaign last year. Even the arrival of erstwhile King Grizzly Paul Gasol was not enough to cover up for Bynum's absence as they fell short of winning the league crown. But with a healthy Bynum at the start of this season and a revitalized Kobe Bryant, they had become the early favorites to win it all come June next year.

Are we gonna witness a title rematch? So far, everything points that way.

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Still on the Celtics-Lakers, they will play each other on Christmas day as part of the NBA yuletide package. For sure it will be one heckuva of a game. So here on this site, I put up a polls section where you can vote on who do you think will be triumphant in the said Christmas day battle. Cast your votes now and see for yourself if your choice will come out right on December 25 (December 26, Manila time).

So keep those votes coming!