Shall the focus be on the individuals or the teams this morning? Well, the individual part takes less explanation, so let’s start there: Andrew Bynum grabbed 30 rebounds, yes, 30, in San Antonio on Wednesday night as the Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Spurs 98-84 to become only the fifth visiting team to win at the At&T Center this season. The 30 boards were the most in an NBA game this season, shattering the mark of 25 shared by Dwight Howard and
NEWS Al Harrington of the Denver Nuggets does not want to sit out with a torn right meniscus as his team is in the middle of a playoff chase. Darren Collison of the Indiana Pacers will miss his second straight game with a groin injury. Ricky Rubio of the Minnesota Timberwolves is not sure if his surgically repaired left knee will be ready in time for training camp. NOTES This isn’t what Crawford expected when he signed with the Blazers four months ago. This summer,
I got the distinct impression that “the Picker” did not like being challenged yesterday by Gus Forrest, who put his pinkie ring into play but did not acquit himself well by going 4-4 while “The Picker” went 2-1. But I also got the distinct impression that “the Picker” is now feeling a little extra motivated, which I credit to his editor knowing which buttons to push, and how hard to push them. (Having worked in the past for editors with the
The New York Knicks have yet to lose two consecutive games since Mike Woodson took over as the interim head coach. A loss tonight would end that run, and more importantly, they would surrender the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference. New York (29-28) looks to even up the season series as they visit the Milwaukee Bucks in Wednesday’s best game. The first two games between the teams were taken by the Bucks, but playing for the fourth time in five nights, they
There are a lot of horror stories that can be told by former general managers and front office executives who spent time working for billionaire owner Paul Allen in the Portland Trail Blazers’ front office. John Nash refuses to speak about his time there. Rich Cho is too busy in Charlotte trying to be the next Sam Presti, and is too positive of a guy, to tell those stories publicly. Kevin Pritchard, Steve Patterson and Tom Penn have moved on with their lives,
Sixteen days to glory. The title of Bud Greenspan’s documentary of the 1984 Olympics also is fitting for the NBA season, which has just 16 days remaining and a dozen playoff spots still up for grabs. For argument’s sake, we’re going to assume middle-of-the-packers Indiana, Boston, Atlanta and Orlando will eventually clinch berths in the Eastern Conference, while the Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Clippers and Memphis will sew up spots in the West. All seven of those teams have fewer than 25
We have a little shakeup at the top of the rankings, or say good-bye to the Thunder (now No. 3), Bulls (5) and Heat (6). And our newest leader, and The New Team No One Wants to Meet in the Playoffs is…. The Spurs? OK, there’s a stipulation. This is only if Gregg Popovich brings his whole team, since he doesn’t always. While the other good teams have been taking it between the eyeballs, the Spurs coach saw his team win 11 in a
