Hoops

Vince Carter ejected yesterday Mavs Vs OKC

Dallas Mavericks guard-forward Vince Carter has been suspended one game without pay for throwing an elbow and making contact with the head of Oklahoma City Thunder center Steven Adams, it was announced today by Rod Thorn, President, Basketball Operations.

Carter will serve his suspension tonight when the Mavericks visit the Minnesota Timberwolves.

After a physical loss against the Oklahoma City Thunder, Dallas Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki gave the Thunder’s rookie center Steven Adams a new nickname: “the white Kendrick Perkins.”

Dirk Nowitzki on OKC rookie center Steven Adams' willingness to mix it up: "They've got the white Kendrick Perkins now."

“I saw it on the replay and said, ‘Goodness,'” Jeremy Lamb recalled. “Looked (at him) and I said, ‘Did that hurt?' He said, ‘What?' I said, ‘the elbow, did it hurt?' He was like, ‘Not really.' So he's a real tough kid.”

Kevin Durant told Anthony Slater of the Oklahoman: “He does all the little things for us [...] He's getting better every time he steps on floor. Tonight was no different.”

Training with guys like Collison is def going to accelerate his development and his attitude and work ethic along with his discipline are only going to earn Steve the respect of Brooks, Westbrook & Durant

I could see him starting by the end of the season - he's already good and just going to get better

I watched this game, enjoyed it very much and thought Adams was never out of his depth, he is an NBA level player for sure. Just give him a year or two with this program and watch him become a genuine threat to Australia in the future when we play cross Tasman games, look out...

His potential is scary.

People say he is raw, and he is in a way.

Yet, some of the plays he makes he looks like a seasoned veteran. Fundamentally, he is actually really solid.

- Setting screens: he knows when and where. He understands angles perfectly. Gets Durants looks. One of few bigs you see that has the ability to sprint into a screen and stop on the dime (without committing a moving screen).

- Off-ball positioning and moving without the ball: When Durant drove down the lane, you saw Adams wheel out to the opposite side and get in a position to dunk.

- Rebounding: Gets those elbows out

- Early post: Sprints down the court exceptionally well. Doesn't have a wide array of post moves, but boy, his size, footwork and strength is impressive. He made Blair look silly on that post move.

- Unfazed and disciplined: Didn't react to the Robinson incident. Didn't react to Carter's shot. Im sure if you are aware of what the kid has dealt with in his life, you"ll see that an elbow to the face is not going to get a reaction out of him.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLGdWXvH92M <-- video of the incident. Full marks to Adams, came off looking great from that incident.

it was because the contact was with Vince Carters head I believe.

There is good footage of the incident on NBA.com

There was also a great passage of play in the 2cnd quarter when Carter drove on Adams but as he back peddled he fell over backwards, he quickly got up to his feet in time to block Shaun Marions shot. Adams then ran down the court and got a good seal deep in the paint, Durant drove towards the hoop and Adams man rotated to help leaving Durant with an easy drop off pass for Adams to dunk it. On the next play Adams got a steal and passed it ahead to a guard who in turn bounce passed the ball to Westbrook flying up the court for the big transition dunk. Great passage of play from the rookie and drew a lot of praise from the commentary team.

When will the Sydney Spirit and Oaklahoma City franchises unviel their colours/logo's etc? Anyone know?