Fans who took part in All-Star balloting, take a bow. You got nine out of 10 right. Yes, you again chose with your heart instead of your head, as you have done on an annual basis for as long as we can remember. But unlike past years – when your infinite wisdom voted undeserving players such as A.C. Green, Dan Majerle, Steve Francis, Ben Wallace and an injured Yao Ming as starters – at least this time your choices won’t cost anyone
The first reader with the correct answer to last week’s edition of The Bernucca List was Sam Millner, who noted that the seven players had played for both the Lakers and Clippers and were active. Nice job, Sam. When we put together these lists, those sort of qualifiers are kind of important, so you have to include them in your answer. This week’s list is below. I sense it may be too easy. But there is that all-important qualifier. As always, post a
Who deserves the props today? The Clippers? Or the Sixers? It’s a toss-up. Sort of like that lob pass Chris Paul threw to Blake Griffin for a dunk seven seconds into their latest quality win, 107-105 on the road against Utah, where they hadn’t won since Saddam Hussein was running Iraq. And sort of like that scoop pass Andre Iguodala tossed out to Jrue Holiday after going around his back, one of several highlight-reel plays Iguodala made before exiting to a standing
Highlight Performances: Danny Granger, IND– Granger was outstanding Wednesday Night, scoring 36 points with 7 boards and 2 assists. George Hill, the sharpshooting 6th man, suffered an ankle injury last night, and is out indefinitely. Granger and Paul George figure the main beneficiaries of this injury, however production-wise, Granger seems destined for the biggest uptick. He will be leaned on more heavily for scoring production, so consider his value on the rise. Serge Ibaka, OKC– This is not to say that there
In a major upset, the coaches of the teams that won the most games in the season’s first month were named NBA Coaches of the Month. The league announced Wednesday that Tom Thibodeau of the Chicago Bulls and Scott Brooks of the Oklahoma City Thunder were January’s recipients. Thibodeau was Coach of the Year last season. He actually had to do some serious juggling with his roster as the Bulls were hit hard by injuries. Nevertheless, Chicago sped to the top of
To win the NBA Rookie of the Year award, it helps to have the ball in your hands. The rookie race is pretty much acknowledged as down to two players – point guards Kyrie Irving of Cleveland and Ricky Rubio of Minnesota, each of whom were named Rookie of the Month for January, the NBA announced Wednesday. Irving, the top overall pick in the 2011 draft, won for the Eastern Conference. In January, he averaged 18.1 points (tops among rookies) and 4.9
Live from Staples Center, it’s the Next Great Team! No, of course, it’s not the Lakers. They’re the Last Great Team. If the next great one is busy being born here, it’s the Clippers, who are already spectacular and aiming for bigger things. If you want to know what the Clippers could be, it’s no longer a problem because they just turned it all loose, for one night, anyway, routing West-leading Oklahoma City. After rolling up 38 points in the first quarter, or as
Detractors of the Philadelphia 76ers point to their easy schedule thus far. On Wednesday night, they have an ideal opportunity to prove those folks wrong. The Chicago Bulls visit Philadelphia in Wednesday’s best NBA game and should be one of the toughest tests the 76ers have faced thus far. Philadelphia (15-6) is just 3-4 against teams with winning records, and one of those wins came Monday night vs. floundering Orlando. The 76ers have lost to Portland, Utah, Denver and Miami. The Sixers have