Since their previous meeting on March 24, when Vinny Del Negro’s job was in the balance, the Memphis Grizzlies and Los Angeles Clippers have lost a combined three games. Needless to say, they have been two of the hottest teams in the Western Conference. They collide again for the third and the final time this season as Chris Paul and the Clippers visit Rudy Gay and the Grizzlies in Monday’s best game. The Clippers (34-22) hosted and won the first two meetings between
Miami’s LeBron James and Houston’s Goran Dragic were named NBA Players of the Week on Monday. James won for the Eastern Conference. He averaged 30.5 points, 5.8 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 2.3 steals as Miami went 3-1. He led the Heat in minutes and scoring in all for games. James scored a season-high 41 points – including 14 straight Miami points in the fourth quarter – in a 99-93 win over Philadelphia on Tuesday. Dragic won for the Western Conference. He has been
A quick check of history reveals the saying “the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry” came from a 1785 Scottish poem by Robert Burns. Before translation, however, the original makes English sound like a foreign language: “The best-laid schemes o’ mice an’ men Gang aft agley, An’ lea’e us nought but grief an’ pain, For promis’d joy!” After reading that, I was sure I had found the perfect introduction for a treatise on Lamar Odom’s career in Dallas. He may have
// You may have noticed that the Chicago Bulls are in a bit of a swoon, the Miami Heat have been going through their own lulls whenever they leave the comforts of home, and the Oklahoma City Thunder have been prone to letdowns. What about the fourth team among the NBA’s Big 4? Why do the San Antonio Spurs, who carry an 11-game winning streak into tonight’s game against the Utah Jazz, keep winning so consistently despite having so many different lineups
New Orleans Hornets starting point guard Jarrett Jack has a stress fracture in his right foot and will miss the rest of the season, the team announced Monday. Jack missed the team’s last three games with the injury. Although very few noticed because the Hornets are enduring a miserable season, Jack was having the best year of his career, averaging 15.6 points, 6.3 assists and 3.9 rebounds, all career highs. Jack had his first career triple-double with 17 points, 11 assists and
Lamar Odom is no longer with the Dallas Mavericks, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com, who is always on top of all the latest news concerning the defending champions. The Mavericks and Odom spent Easter Sunday working out a separation that frees the struggling Odom to leave the team immediately without actually being released, Stein is reporting this morning. “The Mavericks and I have mutually agreed that it’s in the best interest of both parties for me to step away from the
Nineteen points, eight rebounds and two blocks. To the casual eye, that reads as a pretty nice box score. But, for Wang Zhelin and Chinese basketball as a whole, it will remain as a historic stat line stuffed with something way more important than just numbers: Potential. By now, word of Wang’s impressive aforementioned performance has gotten around to basketball circles all around the world. In China, he’s getting some love for what is by far the best showing a Chinese player has ever
Derrick Rose was impressive in his long-awaited return, with 29 points, but he did miss 19 shots and turned the ball over eight times, showing a bit of rust. Carmelo Anthony was even better, scoring 43 including the clinching 3-pointer in overtime. Tyson Chandler (8 PTS, 16 REB, 3 BLK) was a huge factor and Iman Shumpert (15 PTS. 6 AST, 9 REB, 3 STL) made up for a quiet day from the hobbling Baron Davis. Luol Deng played almost