When Chris Smith, the brother of J.R. Smith, made the New York Knicks roster a few days before the start of the season, there were whispers around the league that the move was made largely because of his family ties with J.R. Politics, as some would call it. Smith actually signed a contract with the Knicks last season, but was cut before the start of the season after suffering a knee injury. The 26-year-old guard has yet to see playing time this
Some of the teams around the league had tough decisions to make on Thursday with the talented but unproven players they have on their rosters. With the deadline approaching for rookie extensions, do you pay big money knowing those players could hit the market and sign huge offer sheets? Or do you let the season play out and hope that they don’t exceed your expectations? With Eric Bledsoe and Gordon Hayward, their respective teams have decided to take a risk. STORY
There’s a new rivalry brewing in California, and it’s between the Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Clippers. With both teams facing high expectations this season and looking to lead the Pacific Division, tempers flared as the teams faced each other for the first time on Thursday night. Things got interesting in the first half when the level of physicality grew between Andrew Bogut and DeAndre Jordan. The two eventually had enough of each other and got into a shoving match: [Read
The NBA season has finally begun, and there are plenty of things to read up on. Is Rudy Gay going to be traded this season? How did teams try to convince Dwight Howard that going to Houston would be a bad idea? Is Ty Lawson the right player to run Brian Shaw’s big-man oriented offense? The answer to these questions and plenty more can be found below. STORY OF THE DAY: As the new general manager of the team, Masai Ujiri moved
When the Miami Heat loses 114-110 to the Philadelphia 76ers – a team that some experts believed might have single-digit wins this season – you expect them to suffer serious backlash. Usually, that is the burden of being a two-time champion, and it’s what happened on Tuesday night, when the Los Angeles Clippers surprisingly got run over by the Los Angeles Lakers and took some serious heat from ESPN analyst Bill Simmons. It didn’t matter that the Heat missed Dwyane
Here’s something not many thought would happen in the opening night of the NBA on Tuesday: The bench of the Los Angeles Lakers ruled the starting lineup of the Los Angeles Clippers for a decisive 116-103 victory. This is not how things were supposed to go for the Clippers, who have been voted the favorites to come out of the West by various members of the media around the league. Most have expected the Lakers to miss the playoffs this season,
The Los Angeles Lakers have plenty of question marks heading into the season-opener on Tuesday with Kobe Bryant’s unknown status. One less thing they have to worry about is the status of Chris Kaman, who has missed some time in the preseason due to ill-effects of a nasty stomach virus. The center feels well enough to play, and went as far as to say that nothing can stop him from going against the Los Angeles Clippers, his former team: Well let’s
We all thought Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling had turned the corner from the ugly days. The days when he used to heckle his own players during games. The days when he didn’t take care of the people in his organization. The days when he’d accuse the best player he’s ever had of manipulating the front office decisions. The days of being the absolute laughingstock of the league and not giving a hoot, as long as he was saving