Fans who took part in All-Star balloting, take a bow. You got nine out of 10 right. Yes, you again chose with your heart instead of your head, as you have done on an annual basis for as long as we can remember. But unlike past years – when your infinite wisdom voted undeserving players such as A.C. Green, Dan Majerle, Steve Francis, Ben Wallace and an injured Yao Ming as starters – at least this time your choices won’t cost anyone
The first reader with the correct answer to last week’s edition of The Bernucca List was Sam Millner, who noted that the seven players had played for both the Lakers and Clippers and were active. Nice job, Sam. When we put together these lists, those sort of qualifiers are kind of important, so you have to include them in your answer. This week’s list is below. I sense it may be too easy. But there is that all-important qualifier. As always, post a
In a major upset, the coaches of the teams that won the most games in the season’s first month were named NBA Coaches of the Month. The league announced Wednesday that Tom Thibodeau of the Chicago Bulls and Scott Brooks of the Oklahoma City Thunder were January’s recipients. Thibodeau was Coach of the Year last season. He actually had to do some serious juggling with his roster as the Bulls were hit hard by injuries. Nevertheless, Chicago sped to the top of
To win the NBA Rookie of the Year award, it helps to have the ball in your hands. The rookie race is pretty much acknowledged as down to two players – point guards Kyrie Irving of Cleveland and Ricky Rubio of Minnesota, each of whom were named Rookie of the Month for January, the NBA announced Wednesday. Irving, the top overall pick in the 2011 draft, won for the Eastern Conference. In January, he averaged 18.1 points (tops among rookies) and 4.9
// // Carmelo Anthony returned, and the Knicks finally won a game. Forgive the cynical New York media if it wasn’t that impressed. The Knicks were back home and hosting the Detroit Pistons, who would have trouble winning games if they played in the Big Ten Conference instead of the Central Division. In a season of awful performances, this one may have been the worst. Detroit established season “highs” for points allowed and margin of defeat, which is saying something when you
There are 15 active players among the list of 35 of the Greatest McDonald’s All Americans announced Tuesday by the McDonald’s All American Games. The active players are Grant Hill (1990) of Phoenix, Jason Kidd (1992) of Dallas, Jerry Stackhouse (1993) of Atlanta, Vince Carter (1995) of Dallas, Kevin Garnett (1995) of Boston, Paul Pierce (1995) of Boston, Kobe Bryant (1996) of the LA Lakers, Carmelo Anthony (2002) of New York, Amar’e Stoudemire (2002) of New York, LeBron James (2003) of
Critics of LeBron James often point to his late-game disappearances in the postseason. When the Chicago Bulls visit the Miami Heat in the NBA’s best game Sunday afternoon, they will have no recollection of any of those instances. That’s because in last year’s Eastern Conference finals, James was spectacular down the stretch in all four of Miami’s wins. In Game 2, James scored nine points in the final 4 1/2 minutes to take home-court advantage from the Bulls. In an 85-75 victory
// Fans in the NBA’s two biggest markets can’t be very happy right now. For that matter, neither can David Stern. The New York Knicks and Los Angeles Lakers are the NBA. They predate instant replay, maximum salaries, team planes, the draft lottery, the 3-pointer, free agency, conferences and leather sneakers. For more than 50 years, they have anchored the league on opposite coasts, guaranteeing interest in the two biggest cities in the country. Both teams basically have unlimited budgets. Both teams