The Los Angeles Clippers have won two straight games by a total of eight points. Both wins, which allowed the Clippers to shave one game off of the L.A. Lakers’ lead in the Pacific Division, came down to late-game heroics by Chris Paul. Late in Saturday’s 95-91 victory over the Houston Rockets, Paul scored 10 consecutive points in less than 2 1/2 minutes, beginning with a 16-foot jumper at the 2:42 mark of the fourth quarter, to bring the Clippers
There are a variety of ways to quantify a player’s worth to his team, with a myriad of variables with which to play. One way is by utilizing NBA.com/Stats’ PIE (Player Impact Estimate)*, which measures a player’s overall contribution to his team. Perhaps not surprisingly, the Miami Heat’s LeBron James leads the league in PIE at 23.2 percent, and is the lone player in the league with a PIE above 20 percent. James is on pace to set new career
Orlando Magic Chief Executive Officer Alex Martins indicated Sunday that the team has not decided whether it will trade Dwight Howard before the NBA trade deadline on Thursday afternoon.The Magic face one of the most momentous personnel decisions in franchise history: Do they trade the best center in the sport before the deadline to ensure they receive assets in return or do they hold onto Howard and accept the risk that he could sign a free-agent contract with another team
Timberwolves point guard Ricky Rubio’s compelling rookie season is over, ended by a torn anterior-cruciate knee ligament that ends his season, a team source said this afternoon. Minneapolis Star-Tribune On the Howard front, the Magic clearly need to make the decision to trade him or risk losing him in free agency. League sources maintain the Magic will hold out and not deal if they see any glimmer of hope Howard will choose to remain with them. But with the Nets suddenly feeling a renewed
Brook Lopez is expected to miss 3 weeks with a sprained ankle. Rip Hamilton is day-t0-day with a shoulder injury. The fresh-faced CEO of the Orlando Magic tries to speak to Dwight Howard daily, pushing hard to accelerate a relationship with the franchise’s most important asset. He’s late to the job, to the recruitment and understands 7½ years are difficult to replicate in his personal window of 90 days. Outside, everyone else tells Alex Martins: Give in to the inevitable, find an acceptable
A closer look at the top 3 leading scorers in the NBA: Lebron James, Kevin Durant, and Kobe Bryant. James is the more efficient scorer. He attempts fewer shots per game (18.6 compared to Bryant’s league-leading 23.7 and Durant’s 19.7, which rank second), yet shoots a higher percentage from the field (.549) and from beyond the arc (.397). James also boasts a superior Plus-Minus Score Differential. The Heat enjoys +9.0 ppg advantage with James on the court; the Thunder is +5.4
Rajon Rondo had 18 points, 17 rebounds and 20 assists Sunday against the Knicks. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the last player to record a triple-double with at least 17 in each category was Magic Johnson, who had 24 points, 17 assists and 17 rebounds on April 18, 1989. The last player to exceed Rondo’s performance in each category was Wilt Chamberlain, who had 22 points, 25 rebounds and 21 assists on Feb. 2, 1968. With performances like the one
Insiders say that David Stern is planning to tell NBA owners at their April Board of Governors meeting that he’s good for two more seasons, and that he’ll step down as commissioner then. “At one point, he had talked about doing it for one more season, but it looks now like two more,” said a league source. New York Daily News Josh Robbins: Dwight Howard did acknowledge his whole situation has worn on him. Tough to block it out even during games, he said. Twitter But