Two of the elite NBA teams won their games last night, but in neither case was it easy. The Portland Trailblazers looked like they were going down in flames, but rallied and won the game in overtime. The Oklahoma City Thunder built a big lead, only to almost blow it in the final minutes. James Harden/HOU injured his ankle which made it easier for the new look Kings to beat the Rockets. Despite another solid game from Stephen Curry/GSW, the
The Clippers are hardly the Knicks/Nets dumpster fire through their first 25 games. They’re not a sub-.500 bunch with a new coach working in the shadow of the old like the Grizzlies, or a sexy preseason Finals pick currently positioned outside the top 8 out West like Golden State. Nope, the Clippers are firmly planted in the playoff picture, coming home for six of their next eight after polishing off a seven-game road trip with a win Saturday in Washington. Chris Paul
Sunday, December 15 was a slow day for the NBA, but the action was still high-octane. 12 teams participated in six ultra-competitive games that featured a buzzer-beater, a fourth-quarter comeback, the continuation of a career year, and the further establishment of an elite championship contender. The question is, what do you need to know about last night’s action? Let’s find out. [Read more…]
Last week news broke that the Houston Rockets were planning to trade center Omer Asik by December 19th. Tonight, ESPN’s Marc Stein provided an update, suggesting that the Rockets already have a deal in place, but may hold out until the 19th to see if anybody can top it. [Read more…]
Detroit Pistons center Andre Drummond continues to show everyone why he’s one of the classiest young players in the NBA. Drummond wrote the name of each victim of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting on his shoes for tonight’s game. He will also donate his game jersey to the school. The shooting occurred one year ago yesterday in the community of Newtown, Connecticut. One man entered the school and open fired on faculty and children. In total, 28 were killed, including the
Trade season is officially upon us. Of course, don’t tell the Kings: they’ve already gone out and gotten Rudy Gay and Derrick Williams. And the Raptors have dealt Gay and been very involved in discussions around Kyle Lowry. One thing we do know: Omer Asik should be on the move any day now. But nobody knows where to. The Knicks were interested in dealing for Lowry, but that may have fizzled out. So what will they do next? Peter May has a few
Philadelphia’s Daniel Orton had played 24 minutes this month. Portland’s Meyers Leonard had played 31 minutes this season. So when they both got extended minutes in prolonged garbage time, they couldn’t control themselves. In the fourth quarter of the Blazers-Sixers mess Saturday in Philadelphia – check the score and the time remaining as the video begins – the two big men got in a good old-fashioned tussle with both delivering significant blows. Leonard grabbed Orton and threw him to the floor. As
Contrary to my prognostications, the Lakers rallied and won their first game since Kobe Bryant’s/LAL return. The Trail Blazers were the only team playing the first of back-to back games, so they were motivated to blast the Sixers, which they did. The Cavaliers put up a good fight against the Heat, which was good news for those banking on a big game from LeBron. Elsewhere, the biggest surprise was the Raptors’ easy win in Chicago over the Bulls. There are