// The Boston Celtics have some serious issues. Friday’s 88-79 home loss to Chicago was the third straight for the Celtics, who fell to 4-6. It is the first time in the “Big Three” era that they have been two games under .500. They are 19-18 since trading Kendrick Perkins. The Celtics simply cannot score, averaging 79.3 points during the slide. Paul Pierce is still looking for his rhythm after getting a late start to the season and is averaging 13.6 points
Highlight Performance: Deron Williams, New Jersey Nets – The talk of Williams typically encompasses either his displeasure of being a Net or his possible future with Dwight Howard. Whatever his motivation last night, D-Will put up a stellar fantasy line, scoring 35 points on an efficient 11–for-18 from the field, six 3-pointers and 7 free throws made, not to mention dishing out 14 assists while turning the rock over only two times. In our 9-CAT league in which Assist/Turnover Ratio is
BEIJING — J.R.Smith nearly got involved in a fight with some fans at a road game in China after his sister, a spectator, tossed a bottle onto the court to protest a hard foul. With 4 minutes left in the 3rd quarter, Smith was blocked by Bayi’s center Xu Zhonghao, and fell against an advertisement board. No foul was called.Sitting in the crowd of fans, Smith’s sister and girlfriend were irritated because it appeared dangerous. To show her anger, Smith’s sister threw
It’s time for the Boston Celtics to snap out of it. When the Celtics host the Chicago Bulls in the first game of ESPN’s Friday doubleheader, they will be trying to avoid a third straight home loss, something they have not done since the tail end of the 2009-10 season, when they were beaten by San Antonio, Oklahoma City and Houston. Optimists in Celtics Nation will point out that Gang Green managed to regroup that season and ended up within a stop
NEW YORK – The Knicks will matter, and Iman Shumpert is going to be the main reason why. And yes, I say that, notwithstanding the 94-83 beating the Knicks took at the hands of the Memphis Grizzlies on Thursday night. The Knicks lost Carmelo Anthony to a sprained ankle, were outworked by the well-rested Grizzlies, and obviously had dead legs—converting on only 31 of their 83 field goal attempts. The loss ended their 4-game win streak, and the Knicks might be looking
Technically, fan balloting for the All-Star Game ends Jan. 31, and TNT plans to announce the starters on Feb. 2. In reality, fan balloting already is over, and the starters already have been announced. While Twitter was all atwitter Thursday, with everybody and their fathers sending snippets of the first returns released by the NBA, we didn’t see anyone point out the yawning margins between the potential starters and also-rans. To unseat the current leaders at each position, it would take a “vote
Highlight Performances: Dwight Howard, ORL – For those in leagues with Free Throws Made, let’s all give thanks to Warriors coach Mark Jackson for hacking D12 so much that Howard set an NBA record with 39 free throws, of which he hit 21. Howard shot 12-of-21 from the field, totaling 45 points, and also had 23 rebounds, 4 steals, and 2 blocks. That is one huge fantasy line! Given the Magic only had two games on their schedule this week, I
// Thursday was a painful day in the NBA. Painful for the fans, who had slim pickings from the five-game slate of snoozers and blowouts. Painful for a handful of teams who lost key players to injury. And painful for the purists, who watched Dwight Howard historically distort the sport. Repeatedly sent to the line through intentional fouling, Howard broke Wilt Chamberlain’s 50-year-old record for free throws in a game, attempting 39 and sinking 21 as the Orlando Magic edged the Golden