ESPN: … No matter the reason, I came up with a 15-man sleeper team for the second half. The rules? For starters, this isn’t an all-underrated team as much as it’s an all-no-exposure-whatsoever team. The other criteria are more obvious: They’re playing well, and in most cases they’re young enough that they’re likely to keep it up or improve on it in the future.
Ronny Turiaf, Lakers: L.A. has a ridiculously deep and productive bench, but the one member of the group who gets fairly little attention is Turiaf. Yes, he can’t shoot, he’s a below-average rebounder and he seemingly fouls on every play. But despite those shortcomings, he’s a very productive player.
Turiaf isn’t a refined post player but can pile up points on garbage baskets because he runs the floor and never stops moving — he is scoring 15.5 points per 40 minutes on 50.6 percent shooting this season. The hyperactivity also helps on D, where he posts over a block a game in just 17.3 minutes of action.
With Andrew Bynum and Chris Mihm out, Turiaf is getting a much bigger opportunity to showcase his skills, and he could become important come playoff time. Even if he doesn’t, he’s a restricted free agent after the season who could prove tempting to teams with holes in the frontcourt.
Loading ...
LeBron carries Cavaliers to win over Lakers
James and his Cleveland Cavaliers won out in the end, even surviving a few raindrops at Staples Center.
James scored 14 of his 41 points in the final period, and the Cavaliers beat the short-handed Lakers, 98-95, this afternoon for their 12th win in 15 games.
Bryant scored nine of his 33 points in the fourth quarter, and also had 12 rebounds and six assists, but it wouldn’t be enough to keep the Lakers from losing their third straight to match their longest losing streak of the season.
Zydrunas Ilgauskas had 16 points and 11 rebounds before fouling out with 6:14 to play, and Larry Hughes also scored 16 points for the Cavaliers (24-19), who have beaten the Lakers in their last five meetings.
Lamar Odom had 14 points and nine rebounds for the Lakers (27-15), who have a 2-4 record since center Andrew Bynum injured his left knee. It was their fourth game without Trevor Ariza, who broke his right foot. Neither player is expected to return before the middle of March.
Continue reading ‘LeBron carries Cavaliers to win over Lakers’