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NBA: Daily Slate -- April 14, 2007

http://www.sportsgrumblings.com/basketball/articles/articles/83/1/NBA-Daily-Slate----April-14-2007/Page1.html

John Georgopoulos

Senior Editor and Founder John T. Georgopoulos is a 15-year veteran of the fantasy sports industry. He has been a three-time finalist for various FSWA writing awards, written for several national fantasy magazines and has appeared on sports talk stations around the country.

By John Georgopoulos

Published on 04/14/2007

Dwyane Wade scored 23 points, 14 in the fourth quarter, of the Heat's 100-96 win over the Pacers on Friday night

Injuries, moves, rumors and newsmakers...

Wade getting ready for postseason; Bobcats have work to do in offseason; Will Patterson stay with Bucks?; Jazz beat up on undermanned Mavs; Lakers recall Farmer; Kidd's still got it; Van Horn eying job with Nuggets?; Mitchell hoping Bargnani back on Sunday; Philly playing for pride; Haywood remains inconsistent in Washington...

BOBCATS
Michael Jordan and the Charlotte front office have some major work to do this offseason. Matt Carroll and Gerald Wallace both have the ability to walk away, while the face of the organization, Emeka Okafor, will decide whether he wants to sign a long-term contract extension. Both Carroll, an unrestricted free agent, and Wallace, who has the right to opt out of the final year of his contract, should attract plenty of interest from around the league. Both have said they want to stay, but if another team backs up the Brinks truck, don't be surprised to see either or both bolt. Then again, Charlotte is also positioned nicely to pick off one of the top two picks for the 2007 blue chip draft that will feature Kevin Durant and likely Greg Oden.

BUCKS
It may not have been a very good year for basketball in Milwaukee, but forward Ruben Patterson should come out of the season in pretty good shape. With Milwaukee big men Bobby Simmons and Charlie Villanueva banged up for much of the year, the nine-year veteran stepped in and posted career-high numbers with 14.6 points, 5.4 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game. He has told the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel that he is hopeful of re-signing with the Bucks, but that decision will not be made until he and his agent get a better idea of what he will be worth on the open market.

HEAT
Dwyane Wade scored 23 points, 14 in the fourth quarter, of the Heat's 100-96 win over the Pacers on Friday night. And while it was the biggest offensive output he has had since returning to Miami's lineup four games ago, it was his second most important statistic on the night. The thing that had coach Pat Riley smiling was the fact that Wade was able to play 44 energetic minutes in the victory. He had played 27, 21 and 34 minutes respectively in his previous three games. With the playoffs set to begin next week, it is imperative Wade get his conditioning up to snuff.

JAZZ
The Rockets, who are trying to hold off the Jazz for home court advantage in the playoffs, likely were not too pleased with the effort Dallas turned in against Utah on Friday night. Mavericks coach Avery Johnson sat banged up Jason Terry, Erick Dampier and Jerry Stackhouse, allowing the Jazz a much easier road to their 104-89 win. Carlos Boozer dominated inside for the Jazz, scoring 32 points and adding 14 rebounds. Utah's Andrei Kirilenko (thumb) missed his fourth straight game.

LAKERS
The Lakers announced on Friday that they have recalled Jordan Farmer from their Developmental team and he will stick with the big club for the remainder of the season. A first-round pick in 2006 (26th overall), the point guard will give coach Phil Jackson another substitution option for those times when starter Smush Parker is not playing to his liking.

NETS
Jason Kidd may be in his 13th season in the NBA, but he still has major game. On Friday night he picked up his 12th triple-double of the 2006-07 season with 13 points, 14 rebounds and 11 assists in the Nets' 100-86 win over the Knicks. It was the 87th career triple-double for the 34-year-old. Assuming the Nets make the playoffs, Kidd will likely need to fire up a few more efforts like this one if his team is to have any hope of surviving the first round. If the postseason were to begin on Saturday, New Jersey's first-round opponent would be the Bulls, a team they've beaten in two of the three games they've played so far this season. They will play for the fourth time on Wednesday.

NUGGETS
According to the Rocky Mountain News, Keith Van Horn is interested in possibly signing in Denver for the 2007-08 season. Out of the NBA this season, the former University of Utah star now lives near Denver with his wife and four children, making the Nuggets a good fit from his perspective. Whether Denver coach George Karl would be interested in the injury-prone perimeter forward is another question altogether. Van Horn averaged 8.9 points and 3.6 rebounds per game for the Mavericks during the 2005-06 season.

RAPTORS
Toronto had been hoping to have Andrea Bargnani back in the lineup on Friday, but a touch of flu forced the Italian to miss the Raptors' come-from-behind 87-84 win over the Pistons. The rookie has now missed 12 contests since undergoing an emergency appendectomy in March. Despite his absence, the Raptors have been surging, going 10-2 while he has been sidelined. Sparkplug guard Juan Dixon has taken on Bargnani's sixth-man role. Toronto coach Sam Mitchell is hoping to have the 7-footer back for Sunday's tilt with the Knicks. That would give him three regular season games to find his legs before the playoffs begin. Forward Jorge Garbajosa received a thunderous ovation from the appreciative crowd as he made his first appearance at the Air Canada Centre since his grisly ankle injury last month.

76ers
Unlike some of the other cellar-dwelling teams, Philadelphia does not appear to be playing for last place. Going in to Saturday's game against Orlando they have won three in a row to pump their record up to 33-45. The fact that the Sixers won the last two without their best player, Andre Iguodala, speaks to their character as a team. The athletic swingman is listed as questionable for the Magic game and even if he is unable to go, don't be surprised to see Philly run their winning streak to four games.

WIZARDS
Brendan Haywood has been in and out of Washington coach Eddie Jordan's doghouse a lot recently. On Tuesday when the Wizards faced the Nets, he did not leave the bench. One night late, he was a force against the Nets, pouring in 14 points to go with 10 rebounds. On Friday, it was back into the doghouse for the big center as he chipped in two points and no rebounds in nine forgettable minutes of a 98-85 win over the Hawks. If the injury-ravaged Wizards are going to have any chance in the playoffs, it will take supporting players like Haywood to stand up and deliver.

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