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Bulls hold on to beat Knicks in NBA

NEW YORK, Feb 2 AFP-AP – Derrick Rose’s Chicago Bulls edged the New York Knicks 105-102 in NBA action on Thursday thanks to a balanced offensive attack that saw five players reach double figures.

Griffin, Bryant get NBA All-Star nods

NEW YORK, Feb 3 AP – Clipper players Blake Griffin and Andrew Bynum have been voted to start the NBA All-Star game, joining Lakers players Kobe Bryant and Chris Paul to give Los Angeles four starters.

General Information

Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five active players each try to score points against one another by placing a ball through a 10 feet (3.048 m) high hoop (the goal) under organized rules. Points are scored by throwing (shooting) the ball through the basket, the team with more points at the end of the game wins. The ball can be advanced on the court by bouncing it or passing it between teammates. Disruptive physical contact (foul) is penalized and there are restrictions on how the ball can be handled (violations).

Basketball is one of the most popular and widely viewed sports in the world. In some countries, basketball is also a popular spectator sport. Some of the more powerful basketball playing countries include: USA, Argentina, Spain, Greece, Serbia, Lithuania, Germany, Italy, Australia, China, Puerto Rico, Angola, Turkey, New Zealand, Russia, Brazil, France, Croatia, Canada & Slovenia.

The NBA is the most highly regarded Basketball competition in the world is played in America and is known as the NBA or National Basketball Association League. The National Basketball Association (NBA) is North America’s professional men’s basketball league, composed of thirty teams: twenty-nine in the United States and one in Canada. The NBA is one of the four major North American professional sports leagues, which include Major League Baseball (MLB), the National Football League (NFL), and the National Hockey League (NHL).

The NBA originated in 1946 with 11 teams, and through a sequence of team expansions, reductions, and relocations currently consists of 30 teams. The United States is home to 29 teams and one is located in Canada. The Boston Celtics have won the most championships with 17 NBA Finals wins. The next most successful franchise is the Los Angeles Lakers, who have 15 overall championships (10 in Los Angeles, 5 in Minneapolis), including the most recent one. Following the Lakers are the Chicago Bulls with six championships, all of them over an 8-year span during the 1990s, and the San Antonio Spurs with four championships, all since 1999.

The current league organization divides thirty teams into two conferences of three divisions with five teams each. The current divisional alignment was introduced in the 2004–05 season.

Current National Basketball Association (NBA) teams are:

Eastern Conference

Atlantic – Boston Celtics, New Jersey Nets, New York Knicks, Philadelphia 76ers, Toronto Raptors

Central – Chicago Bulls, Cleveland Cavaliers, Detroit Pistons, Indiana Pacers, Milwaukee Bucks

Southeast – Atlanta Hawks, Charlotte Bobcats, Miami Heat, Orlando Magic, Washington Wizards

Western Conference

Northwest – Denver Nuggets, Minnesota Timberwolves, Oklahoma City Thunder, Portland Trail Blazers, Utah Jazz

Pacific – Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles Clippers, Los Angeles Lakers, Phoenix Suns, Sacramento Kings

Southwest – Dallas Mavericks, Houston Rockets, Memphis Grizzlies, New Orleans Hornets, San Antonio Spurs

The NBA regular season begins in the first week of November. During the regular season, each team plays 82 games, 41 each home and away. A team faces opponents in its own division four times a year (16 games), teams from the other two divisions in its conference either three or four times (36 games), and teams in the other conference twice apiece (30 games). NBA Playoffs begin in late April, with eight teams in each conference going for the Championship. The three division winners, along with the team with the next best record from the conference are given the top four seeds. The next four teams in terms of record are given the lower four seeds. Having a higher seed offers several advantages. Since the first seed begins the playoffs playing against the eighth seed, the second seed plays the seventh seed, the third seed plays the sixth seed, and the fourth seed plays the fifth seed, having a higher seed means a team faces a weaker team in the first round. The team in each series with the better record has home court advantage, including the First Round.

The playoffs follow a tournament format. Each team plays a rival in a best-of-seven series, with the first team to win four games advancing into the next round, while the other team is eliminated from the playoffs. In the next round, the successful team plays against another advancing team of the same conference. All but one team in each conference are eliminated from the playoffs. Since the NBA does not re-seed teams, the playoff bracket in each conference uses a traditional design, with the winner of the series matching the 1st and 8th seeded teams playing the winner of the series matching the 4th and 5th seeded teams, and the winner of the series matching the 2nd and 7th seeded teams playing the winner of the series matching the 3rd and 6th seeded teams. In every round except the NBA Finals, the best of seven series follows a 2-2-1-1-1 home-court pattern, meaning that one team will have home court in games 1, 2, 5, and 7, while the other plays at home in games 3, 4, and 6. For the final round (NBA Finals), the series follows a 2-3-2 pattern, meaning that one team will have home court in games 1, 2, 6, and 7, while the other plays at home in games 3, 4, and 5. The 2-3-2 pattern in the NBA Finals has been in place since 1985.

The final playoff round, a best-of-seven series between the victors of both conferences, is known as the NBA Finals, and is held annually in June. The victor in the NBA Finals wins the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy. Each player and major contributor – including coaches and the general manager – on the winning team receive a championship ring. In addition, the league awards a Bill Russell NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award to the best performing player of the series.

On August 2, 2006, the NBA announced the new playoff format. The new format takes the three division winners and the second-place team with the best record and rank them 1–4 by record. The other 4 slots are filled by best record other than those other 4 teams. Previously, the top three seeds went to the division winners.

Some of the greats of this competition of recent times include: Michael Jordan, Earvin “Magic” Johnson, Larry Bird, Julius Erving, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Rick Barry, Scottie Pippen, Karl Malone, Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O’Neal, LeBron James plus many more. Australian notables have included: Luc Longley, Andrew Bogut & Shane Heal.

The NBL (National Basketball League) is Australasia’s top-level professional basketball competition. There are currently 8 teams in the league, with teams in the capital cities Adelaide, Melbourne and Perth, as well as regional centers Cairns, Townsville, Gold Coast and Wollongong, plus New Zealand. This comes after a turbulent period, when the league lost teams from Australia’s three largest cities, Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. A second Melbourne club, the South Dragons, entered the league in season 2006/07, but pulled out after season 2008/09. The National Basketball League has also become the first Australian sporting league to field a team from Asia with the Singapore Slingers playing in the 2006/07, through to the 2007/08 season. The Gold Coast Blaze joined the competition this 2007/08 season.

Current teams include: Adelaide 36ers, Wollongong Hawks, Cairns Taipans, Gold Coast Blaze, New Zealand Breakers, Perth Wildcats, Townsville Crocodiles, Melbourne Tigers

Some recent former & defunct teams are: Brisbane Bullets, Canberra Canons, Hunter Pirates, Singapore Slingers, South Dragons, Sydney Kings, Sydney Spirit / West Sydney Razorbacks