NBA iLIKES – April 9
5 – Minnesota Timberwolves point guard phenom Ricky Rubio showed off a bit of his skills against the Boston Celtics, driving through the heart of the Celtics defence before delivering a pinpoint ‘no look’ pass to teammate Derrick Williams for the easy finish.
4 – The Denver Nuggets duo of Andre Miller and Kenneth ‘The Mannimal’ Faried combined superbly during their team’s encounter with the Utah Jazz on Wednesday. Operating in transition from a Jazz miss, Faried’s effort to sprint the length of the court was duly rewarded by Miller, who threw up an alley-hoop pass from beyond the half-line for Faried to slam home.
3 – Faried was on the receiving end of yet another brilliant assist, this time on Saturday, from teammate Andre Iguodala. Working to create space against his defender, Iguodala does a little ‘stop and go’ before going between the legs and tossing up a juicy pass that ‘The Mannimal’ had no choice, but to throw down.
2 – On Saturday night, Minnesota Timberwolves coach Rick Adelman became only the eighth coach in league history to register 1,000 wins when the T-Wolves got the better of the Detroit Pistons 107-101. It has taken him 22 seasons to accomplish the feat. He joins the ranks of Don Nelson, Pat Riley, Larry Bird, Phil Jackson and George Karl, who is the only other active coach with over 1,000 wins.
1 – Carmelo Anthony takes the top spot in this week’s NBA iLikes. The New York Knicks power forward experienced one of his best string of games in his career, scoring 50 points against the Miami Heat on Tuesday before following with performances of 40 points against the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday and 41 points against Milwaukee Bucks on Friday. His team is currently on a 12-game winning streak.
— Devaro Bolton