NEW YORK — The Charlotte Bobcats’ Kemba Walker and the Minnesota Timberwolves’ Kevin Love today were named NBA Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week. Walker led the Bobcats to a 4-0 week behind averages of 22.5 points (tied for seventh in the conference), 8.8 assists (second in the conference) and 5.5 rebounds. His 40.5 minutes per game ranked third in the East. Walker tallied 20-plus points three times and eclipsed the 30-point plateau once. He scored 24 points, handed out a
It turns out the Heat without LeBron James/MIA are still pretty good. They pulled away from the cold shooting Bulls in the fourth quarter as Dwayne Wade/MIA and Mario Chalmers/MIA led the way. Neither the Clippers nor the Thunder were interested in playing defense in the first half, and despite the determined play by Kevin Durant/OKC, the Jamal Crawford/LAC-led Clippers came through in crunch time. In the evening contests, the Wizards had a rare “easy” win over the Cavs, but
All season, the Indiana Pacers have maintained that homecourt advantage for the Eastern Conference playoffs, and their chemistry will give them a great chance to dethrone the two-time NBA champion Miami Heat. Are both slipping away? In the last two weeks, Indiana’s grip on the East’s best record has loosened considerably. And the Pacers’ big move at Thursday’s trading deadline, acquiring Evan Turner, illustrated that their belief in chemistry may have been overstated. [Read more…]
Before getting hitched, I lived with my future wife for a few months, then we were engaged for about a year and a half. We were told over and over: “It’ll be different when you’re married.” Then the day came, and guess what? Our routines were the same. We treated each other just as we had before. In that sense, absolutely nothing was different. But around us, context changed. People viewed our relationship differently. Making the bond official added a layer of obligation
Sunday no longer belongs to the NFL. Instead, it was the NBA that stepped up with a star-studded slate of games. There was a historic league-first, a clash between top contenders, a star who re-established his status as elite and a number of other critical results. For that and more, check below for everything that you need to know about last night’s action. [Read more…]
The NBA has been plagued by injuries for the majority of the past two years. Stars and impact players have been knocked out for extended time, and in most cases, full seasons. With Miami and Indiana looking to be the only legitimate contenders in the East, the conference needs every bit of talent to be healthy that they can get. Tonight, another team will hold their breath as an impact player awaits the results of an MRI. [Read more…]
About a year ago, I found an interview with an end-of-the-bench big who had just been traded. It caught my eye because of the frankness and wit of the player involved. He said that what kept him in the league was his ability to give fouls, and said he chose his number to make the refs hold up a lot of fingers. I don’t think I ended up including it in my blog, but it stuck with me nonetheless. That player
I noticed recently that ESPN’s Bill Simmons had been using the term “Third Banana” when referring to the third-best player on a team. A simple concept, but it did get me thinking. Who are the best “third bananas” in the NBA? I decided to put together a list ranking every team’s third-best player, and then I’d put that player into an overall league ranking, from 1-30. Ultimately I was hoping to stumble upon a correlation between how high a teams Third Banana