NEW YORK — Dwight Howard and Marc Gasol were named the Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week today by the NBA for games played Monday, Jan. 16, through Sunday, Jan. 22. Howard averaged 19.5 points, 18.8 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 2.8 blocks as Orlando went 3-1. Howard posted three double-doubles, including back-to-back 20-point, 20-rebound games to close the week vs. the San Antonio Spurs and Los Angeles Lakers. For the season, Howard ranks first in the NBA in rebounding (16.1
Glen “Big Baby” Davis returns to Boston in Monday’s best NBA game. No word yet as to whether he and the Orlando Magic will leave Celtics fans crying in their beer. A fan favorite and Kevin Garnett’s occasional whipping boy, Davis spent his first four seasons with Boston and was a member of the 2008 championship team. Prior to this season, he joined the Magic in a sign-and-trade for Brandon Bass. “He’s emotional. He might cry. We’ll make sure we bring a
Hard to believe that anyone’s role model in the NBA would be . . . the Cleveland Cavaliers? The little team that couldn’t? The franchise so unattractive that it could not even entice local sensation LeBron James to stay? The team that has lost its last three games by an average of 28.3 points per game? Admittedly, it is difficult to look up to the Cavaliers when they went from seasons of winning 66 and 61 games to winning only 19
Will the New York Knicks fire Mike D’Antoni? Should Kobe Bryant & the Lakers panic as they keep failing to score 100? And are the Indiana Pacers to be taken for real? CineSport’s Noah Coslov & Chris Sheridan of SheridanHoops.com discuss. //
Lior Eliyahu, whose NBA rights are owned by the Houston Rockets
Definition of a winner: A guy who gets his nose broken (as he is called for a foul), retreats to the locker room, has the trainer stuff cotton up his nostrils, breathes through his mouth the rest of the evening and then makes the big plays down the stretch. For all the breathtaking moments we’ve already seen at the Staples Center through the first 4 weeks of the NBA season, what Roy Hibbert did Sunday night for the Indiana Pacers ranks
Highlight Performances: Paul Pierce, BOS– The Celtics veteran had a big game Sunday Night in their win over the Celtics, posting 34 points, 8 rebounds, 10 assists, and 3 steals. Pierce has been having a solid yet unspectacular season, and has been very inconsistent scoring the ball. His rebounding and
Pierce may be getting old, but he can still produce at a very high rate.
Sunday night’s best game starts after the football is over and has the surprising Indiana Pacers visiting the Los Angeles Lakers, who are in a favorable stretch of their schedule and have an opportunity to fix some of their issues on offense. The first issue is scoring. Despite having the NBA’s leading scorer in Kobe Bryant, the Lakers are just 21st in offense at 92.1 points and dead last in the NBA in 3-point percentage at 25.7 percent. Derek Fisher is 7-of-29,