Golden State Warriors coach Mark Jackson isn’t your typical NBA coach. When he isn’t trying to figure out how to get his team out of offensive slumps from the sideline – the Warriors are surprisingly ranked only 16th in offensive rating – he is at a church teaching the word of God. He is a pastor off the court, and that makes him a motivator as a person and as a coach. That much is clear when you look at the inspirational
The Cleveland Cavaliers are an absolute mess this season, and owner Dan Gilbert has finally had enough. After watching his team suffer a humiliating defeat at home against a depleted Los Angeles Lakers team on Wednesday, Gilbert made the decision to fire general manager Chris Grant, the architect of this currently-disastrous team. Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports first reported the news: Gilbert informed Grant of his dismissal late Thursday morning, sources said. Assistant general manager David Griffin will take over as the interim GM,
It was announced on Thursday that Indiana Pacers star Paul George would enter this year’s Slam Dunk contest along with John Wall, Damian Lillard, Terrence Ross, Harrison Barnes and Ben McLemore. George, who entered the contest back in 2012 as a second-year player still learning the ropes of being an NBA player, showed in the contest that he can dunk with the best of them. He converted his first attempt with an impressive dunk over 7’2″ teammate Roy Hibbert. His second
The Los Angeles Lakers have been short on bodies all season long due to an assortment of injuries to key players. In Wednesday’s 119-108 victory against the Cleveland Cavaliers, the shortage reached a new level. Already without Kobe Bryant, Steve Nash, Pau Gasol, Jordan Hill, and Jodie Meeks, the Lakers also lost Nick Young (knee) and Jordan Farmar (leg) to injuries during the game, which left them with just six able bodies. Chris Kaman, however, was already fouled out of the game
When Joakim Noah went into Half-Baked mode and cursed at all the referees before leaving the game against the Sacramento Kings on Monday, many expected the league to come down hard on the Chicago Bulls center. Interestingly, the punishment he received wasn’t as bad as some expected – a $15,000 fine. The pattern of fines given this season have been unique under Rod Thorn. Coach Mike Malone of the Kings was hit with a $25,000 fine for this tantrum, and Mark
Prior to the New York Knicks’ game against the Milwaukee Bucks on Monday, Tyson Chandler was ambitious about where his team could end up by the end of the regular season. Despite holding a 19-28 record, the center believed the Knicks still had a chance to end up with the third seed of the Eastern Conference, which is currently held by the Atlanta Hawks (25-21). Here is Chandler’s quote from Ian Begley of ESPN NY: Obviously, we didn’t come in expecting to
The Los Angeles Lakers have been one of the unluckiest teams in the league in terms of having to deal with an endless number of critical injuries, particularly to their list of point guards. It’s one thing to miss your starting point guard. It’s another to then lose your backup point guard and your third string point guard. That’s precisely what happened to these Lakers, with Steve Nash, Steve Blake and Jordan Farmar all going down with significant injuries. They became
Is there any way to cool off the Memphis Grizzlies? The hottest team in the league (along with the Oklahoma City Thunder) continued its torrid streak on Friday by beating the Minnesota Timberwolves 94-90. The Grizzlies have now won five straight and 10 of their last 11 games. Overall, they hold a 25-20 record and are now just half a game behind the Dallas Mavericks for the 8th seed in the Western Conference. [Read more…]