At the end of the 1952-53 season, the NBA recognized an individual player for the first time when it presented the Rookie of the Year award to Don Meineke of the Fort Wayne Pistons. Three years later, Bob Pettit of the St. Louis Hawks won the first Most Valuable Player award. Later, the NBA either created or sanctioned awards honoring the best coach, executive, sixth man, defensive player, most improved player and even the best citizen . There has been one significant oversight,
Monday’s 10-game slate includes the NBA’s only unbeatens facing tests as Miami hosts Atlanta and Oklahoma City travels to Dallas. Elsewhere, the New York Knicks return home to face Toronto and the Orlando Magic take their four-game winning streak to Detroit. But the most intriguing game undoubtedly is at the Target Center, where the Minnesota Timberwolves host the San Antonio Spurs and perhaps giving Ricky Rubio his long-awaited duel vs. Tony Parker. I will be the first to admit that I have
Ricky Rubio impresses, DeMarcus Cousins gets banished, and the Heat and Thunder stay undefeated. CineSport’s Brian Clark and Chris Sheridan of SheridanHoops.com discuss these story lines. //
// Happy New Year from me, too. Bernucca wrote that lede in yesterday’s roundup, and imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. But enough of that. We’re here this morning to talk about Ricky Rubio, and you can’t do that without referencing Licky Lubio (more on that below). The Minnesota Timberwolves have become Must-See TV. Readers who are 30 or older might remember the buzz surrounding Jason Williams in the early days of 1998 when the Sacramento Kings were the hep team
// Best Performance of the Night: Rajon Rondo- 18 Pts, 11 Reb, 14 Ast Worst Performance of the Night: Rudy Gay- 2-12 FG, 5 Pts, 3 Reb
Test.
Wow. Four games into the season, and there is a new big man for other teams to drool over aside from Dwight Howard. This guy, however, has a reputation as a head case. DeMarcus Cousins has reportedly requested a trade from the Sacramento Kings, and coach Paul Westphal told him not to attend tonight’s game against the New Orleans Hornets. More from Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee: “We’re not quite sure what happened after The Bee’s Jason Jones, Ailene Voisin and Matthew