When Josh Smith was waived by the Detroit Pistons earlier this season, the Houston Rockets were eager to pick up who they thought would be a key piece in helping them make a run in this year’s playoffs. Of course, there were also plenty of doubts, given Smith’s overall ineffectiveness with the Pistons, how much better they became without him and how quickly he was relegated to the bench with the Rockets despite reports claiming he was only going to join
There has been enough debate on the MVP award, including three columns on this site — all in favor of James Harden. Which, of course, means he will finish second. Or maybe not. I do know this: It is going to be interesting to see exactly how close the vote is from a historical perspective. And speaking of history, I have a little (OK, a lot) of my own in the NBA. So today, I’m going to share a few personal stories and
NBA free agency is still over two months away, but rumblings are already starting that the top realistic name available is very ready to explore the market come July. ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne reported last week that LaMarcus Aldridge was more likely to leave the Blazers than most folks around the league realize, while The Oregonian‘s Jason Quick quoted an anonymous Portland teammate as estimating the chances of Aldridge returning to Portland are 50-50, at best. The rumor mill picked up even more steam
It’s been less than a month since Houston Rockets coach Kevin McHale laughed at media questions over additional playing time for rookie big man Clint Capela. In fact, exactly three weeks before Tuesday’s Game 2, McHale said the idea of meaningful postseason minutes for Capela would mean that “a lot of guys are hurt”, adding that the Rockets would be “in trouble” if that happened. Yet there Capela was on Saturday night at Toyota Center, running the floor like a gazelle while playing
Except for one minor upset (a five-seed edging a four-seed in overtime) home teams are undefeated in the first round of the NBA playoffs and the stars are shining. [Read more…]
This shouldn’t really be a surprise to anyone anymore, but Draymond Green played a key role in helping the Golden State Warriors take a 2-0 lead against the New Orleans Pelicans with a 97-87 victory on Monday in Oracle Arena. Green, who has been instrumental all season long for the Warriors on the defensive end of the floor and is a strong candidate to win this year’s DPOY award (although you’d never know it if you were listening to Charles Barkley
Can I have last weekend back? I mean, seriously. The playoff games were duds, almost all of them. And the one game that went to overtime happened so early Saturday afternoon, lunch was not even finished. Watching playoff games should never feel like a chore, but it sort of felt that way the past two days. The second-most compelling thing I saw on video was Blake Griffin posterizing Aron Baynes twice in a row, and technically that did not happen over the
A funny thing happened on the Clippers’ way to continued ignominy. Imagine finishing the season on a 14-1 surge that takes you to the third seed in the brutal Western Conference and finding yourself facing the sixth-seeded booby prize, the defending NBA champion San Antonio Spurs, who are favored in the series opener on your floor. What else is new? As one buzzard said to another, “I’ve been having Clipper luck.” Oh, you say the Clippers won? Fairy tales can come true; they just