After last week’s loss in Atlanta, Memphis Grizzlies coach Dave Joerger – whose team has the fifth-best record in the NBA – lamented his roster’s shortcomings. “We have to get another playmaker on the floor,” Joerger said. “We’re going to have to start playing multiple point guards (at the same time). We’ve got to be able to get inside of defenses.” It doesn’t matter that the Grizzlies have been at or near the top of the league for most of the season.
It’s hard to find an NBA player – let alone a rookie – who had a better week than Jusuf Nurkic. Last Saturday, the center from Bosnia and his Denver Nuggets teammates were lying in wait for the Memphis Grizzlies, who were coming off a tougher-than-expected road win over the Los Angeles Lakers the previous night and had to make one of the league’s tougher overnight trips. LA to Denver may not seem like much, but it is a long flight
In today’s NBA, the formula for winning in recent years was simple: Accumulate as many maximum-salary stars as you can without breaking the bank. But when you start piling up eight-figure salaries against the luxury tax, the bank breaks pretty quickly. So teams fill out their rosters with minimum-salary veterans. And if you look at the top of the NBA standings right now, many teams are getting very productive seasons from veterans signed to minimum-salary deals. The Chicago Bulls added Pau Gasol to Jimmy
Whether you are in the schoolyard or the prison yard, the theory remains the same: If you’re the new guy and want to prove your toughness, go pick a fight with the biggest guy in the yard. That’s what Boston Celtics rookie Marcus Smart did in Wednesday’s home win over the Sacramento Kings. In the fourth quarter with the Celtics pulling away, the 6-4, 220-pound Smart ran directly into the chest of the 6-11, 270-pound DeMarcus Cousins, who was trying to set
Superstar LeBron James will miss at least two weeks while he recovers from knee and back strains, the Cleveland Cavaliers announced Thursday. The seemingly indestructible James sat out the last two games with what was called soreness in his left knee. He underwent a barrage of tests at the Cleveland Clinic that included an MRI and revealed strains to his left knee and lower back, the team said in a statement. Treatment will include anti-inflammatories, rehabilitation, training room treatments and rest. James’
Every time someone summons up the nerve to ask, “What’s wrong with the Spurs?” the defending NBA champions have provided an emphatic response: Nothing. They did it in November, beating the Clippers and Warriors on the road on consecutive nights after losses to Houston and New Orleans. They did it again in December, beating the Clippers to end a four-game losing streak that included back-to-back excruciating triple-overtime losses. And they did it again last night, beating the Rockets for the first time
When the offseason began, all the talk around the Chicago Bulls was regarding the acquisition of veteran All-Star forward-center Pau Gasol and how he would work in a three-man big rotation with Joakim Noah and Taj Gibson. Then the focus shifted to former MVP point guard Derrick Rose and his arduous comeback from a pair of debilitating knee injuries as he played for Team USA in the World Cup and arrived in training camp. Once the first two months of the season
While many GMs were working the phones this week, Knicks president Phil Jackson was using a different, more contemporary form of communication: Twitter. On Thursday, Donnie Nelson and Danny Ainge swung a five-player trade that sent Rajon Rondo to Dallas and draft picks to Boston. On Friday, Daryl Morey, Flip Saunders and Sam Hinkie worked a three-team deal that landed Corey Brewer and Alexey Shved in Houston and draft picks in Minnesota and Philadelphia. But not Jackson, and not the Knicks. Jackson doesn’t