NBA takes game outdoors, and thrills turn to chills - NBA

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Cold Weather and Wind Gusts Make the NBA's Outdoor Game an Ugly One to Watch
Published 10/12/2008 by Brett Edwards at FanHouse
Filed under: Nuggets, Suns, NBA Fans Fans were plenty excited about the concept of the NBA playing a pre-season game outdoors (even if they couldn't necessarily explain why), but cool temperatures and wind gusts of up to 15 mph in the fourth quarter made last night's game between the Nuggets and the Suns a brutal contest to watch. The game ended up as a 77-72 Nuggets victory, and with a final score that low, you can be assured that there are some gawdawful statistics to go along with it. The teams combined to miss 24 of their 27 three-point attempts. The Nuggets alone made just 18 of their 38 free throw attempts. And both teams finished the ...

Shaq Prefers Indoor Basketball
Published 10/12/2008 at The Sporting Blog
... The NBA got in on the "play your indoor sport outside" gimmick last night, setting up an exhibition between the speed demon Nuggets and the whimsical Suns at Indian Wells in the California desert. The NHL's Winter Classic was a raging success, and even the WNBA's foray earned good reviews. But this venture, which saw near constant 15-mph winds and temperatures dipping into the low sixties? Shaquille O'Neal explains the problem (via ...

The Outdoor Game! Phoenix vs. Denver
Published 10/13/2008 by noreply@blogger.com (Jack Brown) at Deceptively Quick
I watched that outdoor NBA preseason game the other night. This pretty much sums it up. Once the novelty wore off, I realized I was watching some horrible basketball. The highlight of the game had to be when Suns GM Steve Kerr joined the broadcasting team for a chat. I'm not sure what was said, but there was a Suns dancer wearing the tightest pants ever in the background, and she was absolutely working it. So, you know, that was nice.

Outlet Pass (10/13/08)
Published 10/13/2008 by Rob Mahoney (noreply@blogger.com) at Upside and Motor
Rick Carlisle gets his guy. I'm not sure what Shawne Williams is going to offer the Mavs at this point or where he lies on the depth chart due to how deep the Mavs are at the wing positions. The interesting thing is that despite all that depth, they still face the glaring weakness of being able to put a productive two guard on the floor who can effectively guard a dynamic scorer from the position. I'm not saying it's easy, but there needs to be improvement. D'Antoni went on a bit of a rant the other night on his teams' oft-criticized defense. Knickerblogger notes that the Suns were more average than bad on that end, and you've gotta feel for the guy; high ...