Last Night

LaMarcus Aldridge started the season off with a bang, leading all scorers as Portland lost to San Antonio, 106-97. After sinking the very first basket of the NBA’s 2007-08 season, Aldridge finished with 27 points on 12-of-19 shooting. Unfortunately, he often had difficulty getting rebounding position against the talented Tim Duncan, logging only three boards on the night. But on the plus side of the ledger, L.A. looked comfortable in Nate McMillin’s up-tempo offense. He ran the floor remarkably well for a big man, including one great fast-break dunk during a third-quarter comeback.

The Lakers staged a late rally to tie the Houston Rockets in the final seconds, but ultimately lost, 95-93. Maurice Evans and Chris Mihm provided some minutes off the bench, although Mihm did not even see the floor until the third quarter. Evans contributed with two rebounds, two assists, and a steal in his fourteen minutes of play. Meanwhile, Mihm saw most of the minutes at center eaten up by Kwame Brown and Andrew Bynum. Chris played eight minutes, scoring three points and pulling down two boards.

Tonight

T.J. Ford and the Raptors kick off the season at home against the 76ers. (6 PM Central)

Royal Ivey plays his first game as a Buck when Milwaukee travels to Orlando. (6 PM Central)

The defending Eastern Conference champions start the season on national TV as Daniel Gibson and the Cavs host last year’s first-round flameout, the Dallas Mavericks. (7 PM Central, ESPN)

The Texas Exes doubleheader continues when Kevin Durant leads the Sonics to Denver in another nationally-televised game. (9:30 PM Central, ESPN)

It’s time for the second installment of the four-part “Meet the freshman” series, and for the second straight day, the Austin-American Statesman provides us with a story about one of the newest Longhorns. But while yesterday’s news regarding Dogus Balbay was troubling, today fans learn that Gary Johnson has been cleared to play in the exhibition.

Johnson was the prize jewel of Rick Barnes’ 2007 recruiting class, sitting in the top 25 of every major reporting outlet’s rankings. An undersized post player at 6-foot, 6-inches, Gary is known for his incredible post moves, constant motor, and sweet touch from the blocks. Sound familiar? It should. Johnson’s game has drawn comparisons to P.J. Tucker for some time, and now that he’s donning burnt orange, journalists and sportscasters will surely rehash that point.

Gary played his high school ball at Aldine in Houston, where the Mustangs reached the Class 5A Region III semifinals in each of the last two seasons. Johnson was also a member of the insanely loaded Houston Hoops AAU team, which included Jai Lucas (Florida), Mike Singletary (Texas Tech), and Anthony Jones (Yates HS, Baylor commit).

Uncertainty surrounded Johnson all summer after it was announced he was suffering from a heart condition. News from the Forty Acres came out in trickles, as the basketball program kept tight lips regarding the situation, citing privacy concerns. First, there were whispers that GJ was taking part in individual workouts. Then, the Statesman announced he was cleared for team practice. With this latest bit of news, there is a very strong chance that Johnson will be ready before non-conference play is over.

Conditioning will likely be an issue for the first few months, as Johnson added weight during the sedentary phase following the initial diagnosis. But this Texas team is in strong need of a presence in the frontcourt, and Johnson — owner of a 7’1″ wingspan — is the leading candidate. Once he gets up to full speed, he’ll likely lead the team in rebounds and will be one of the top scorers.

Perhaps most important for fans to remember in all of this is that Texas will exercise extreme caution. Johnson is going to be re-evaluated after Friday’s game to see how his body handles the added stress of game conditions. Even if he’s then cleared for the regular season, doctors and coaches will still take things slowly. But when Gary and the medical staff think it’s safe enough for him to take the court full-time, he is guaranteed to immediately and dramatically improve the team.

The new NBA season tips off tonight, and while there are only three games on the slate, burnt orange will still be invading the airwaves.

LaMarcus Aldridge and the Trailblazers travel to San Antonio to check out a ring ceremony and try to dethrone the champs. (7 PM Central, TNT)

Chris Mihm and Maurice Evans continue the long road back from injury as the Lakers host Rick Adelman’s Rockets. (9:30 PM Central, TNT)

With the season less than two weeks away, we’re rolling out a four-part feature here at LRT to introduce the fans to the newest faces on the Texas roster. First up is Dogus Balbay, the young Turkish point guard expected to spell D.J. Augustin. Unfortunately, that plan took a big hit when Texas announced today that Balbay is undergoing surgery on Tuesday and will be out indefinitely. Initial reports had indicated the point guard was only visiting doctors tomorrow for further evaluation of the knee that he injured in early October. At this point, it is unknown if he will be available at any point this season. At 6-foot, 1-inch, Balbay would have added a little bit of height to very small backcourt. His European style of play also provided a reputation as a solid perimeter defender, which was a significant weakness for the Longhorns in many of their losses last season.

Scouts note that his rebounding skills are remarkably strong for a six-footer, and are high on his ability to break down defenses off the dribble. With D.J. Augustin also constantly attacking the defense, the similar style of play ensures that there won’t be a drop-off when Balbay spells the starter. The similarities between Dogus and D.J. don’t end there, as reports constantly mention Balbay’s athleticism and ability to hang in the air, drawing fouls and executing late passes under the rim.

After spending two years with Turkish club Fenerbahce Istanbul, Balbay moved to New Hampshire to study and play basketball at Brewster Academy. Big 12 fans will recognize Colorado guard Xavier Silas as another graduate of the Academy, while recruiting aficionados may also be aware of Brewster big man Emmanuel Negedu in the 2008 class.

This summer, Balbay rejoined his Turkish national team at the UMCOR U18 European Championships, where they finished second in group B and ultimately placed eighth. While the team relied heavily on Dogus as a scoring threat in the tournament, most notable amongst his numbers were the three steals he averaged per game. He also played for the U19 team in the World Championships a month later, where Turkey finished seventh.

At the end of last season, it became increasingly apparent that D.J. Augustin could not withstand the constant abuse of 38 to 40 minutes per game. And in the games where Augustin was forced to the bench with foul trouble, the Longhorn offense often screeched to a halt. The signing of Balbay seemed the perfect remedy for this lack of depth, but this latest bit of injury news quickly dampens that excitement. Only time will tell how long the frosh remains unavailable, but he is clearly going to be an impact player when he does finally see the court at the Frank Erwin Center.

The NBA season tips off on Tuesday night with LaMarcus and the Trailblazers heading to San Antonio to take on the defending champs. But before EJ and Kenny start making fun of Barkley for his inability to win the big one, let’s take one last look at how the former Horns did in the exhibition season…

Royal Ivey‘s summer play earned him a spot with the Milwaukee Bucks, although it looks like he’ll typically be coming off the bench to give Charlie Bell a breather. Royal with Cheese played in all eight preseason contests, averaging six points in his 20 minutes per game. His assist-to-TO ratio was a little troublesome for a guard, sitting at 1-to-1.54, but the defensive-minded Ivey did log seven steals.

T.J. Ford started every game for the Toronto Raptors, but averaged only three more minutes per game than his evil time-stealing teammate, Jose Calderon. When he was on the floor, Ford logged 9.4 points and 7.6 assists per game. If those numbers are extrapolated to just 36 MPG, T.J. would be averaging a double-double. While these numbers were put up in the preseason, it might be an early sign that Ford is on the verge of a breakout season.

 

Chris Mihm is back on the floor for the L.A. Lakers after missing an entire season due to ankle problems. Mihm has seen limited minutes in the preseason as he looks to improve his conditioning. The Westlake product started only three of his seven preseason games and played only a quarter of each game, but still managed to put in 5.3 PPG and 3.4 RPG. Look for Mihm’s role in L.A. — and his numbers — to increase as his stamina improves throughout the year.

Mihm’s Laker teammate Maurice Evans is also bouncing back from an injury, as he was hobbled down the stretch in 2007 by knee problems. Mo once again ran into injury problems this October, missing two of the Lakers’ preseason games with hamstring troubles. While Evans did not start in the other five games, he did still log an average of 18 MPG. He is expected to be ready for the first game on Tuesday night against the Rockets, and will be looked to for some critical minutes off of the bench.

LaMarcus Aldridge missed one game about a week ago to do an injury on his right pinky toe, but came back with a vengeance in the preseason finale. The Marcus finished his six exhibitions with a 19.5 scoring average in only 27.3 minutes per game. With Greg Oden out for the season, Aldridge will be relied on even more as a defensive presence in the paint for Portland this year.

Daniel Gibson and the Eastern Conference champion Cavaliers spent some time in the far east this preseason, taking part in exhibitions in China. D-Gib strained his hamstring and only saw the floor for four preseason contests, but played a team-high 29 minutes in those games. He also continued to impress behind the arc, hitting at a 45.5% clip from three-point range. After missing the last two preseason games, it remains to be seen if Boobie will be ready for the season opener against the Mavs.

Kevin Durant is already being leaned on heavily in Seattle, as the rookie led the team in both MPG (29.8) and PPG (18.8) this preseason. The man with the freakishly-long wingspan swiped the ball ten times in his six appearances, but logged only 4.3 rebounds per game as the Sonics toyed with using him at the 2-guard position. K-Smoove was forced to miss an exhibition with an ankle sprain, but is expected to be ready for his regular season NBA debut on Wednesday against the Nuggets in Denver.