DALLAS — The times are changing in Dallas. For the first time since 2001, Dirk Nowitzki will not represent the Mavericks as an NBA All-Star. And for the first time since 2000, the Mavericks are playing out the string of a lottery-bound, dud of a season. [Read more…]
NEW YORK — After the Los Angeles Clippers beat up on the New York Knicks on Sunday afternoon, Carmelo Anthony scoffed at the notion that the Knicks need to make a change or two. “Shump ain’t going nowhere,” Anthony matter-of-factly said when asked about the recent trade rumors involving Iman Shumpert and a potential deal to the Phoenix Suns. “The Knicks shouldn’t even be in trade talk right now,” he said as he walked out of the Knicks locker room. Au contraire. [Read more…]
BOSTON — A productive offseason. A rejuvenated roster. A commitment to a championship. A proud tradition. All-time great performances and Hall-of-Fame predecessors. All of it, so rich. Yet those are not what will help the Los Angeles Lakers make the playoffs this season. With Pau Gasol sidelined indefinitely, the spotlight now shines on Dwight Howard. Brightly. [Read more…]
Have the Knicks regressed to the mean? From here, it kind of looks that way. No doubt they are a good basketball team. But since beginning the season with a blistering 18-6 record, the Knicks have gone just 10-9 and enter play February 1 as the second seed in the Eastern Conference. Still, with just three games separating the Knicks from the sixth-seeded Atlanta Hawks and the trade winds swirling around the NBA – you know, with it being February and all
“Must win” is probably one of the more overused expressions among NBA fans, and especially Knicks fans. But Thursday night in Boston, it would have been appropriate. To most around the NBA, Carmelo Anthony’s team is fugazi. The Knicks don’t rebound particularly well. Their defense is inconsistent. They are going to set the NBA record for 3-pointers hoisted in a season. They’re not bruisers, they’re not bangers. From here, they look to be the quintessential “win 55 games and lose in the first
NEW YORK — Is it possible that we haven’t seen the New York Knicks play their best basketball yet? I’m going to have to say “yes” to this one. That seems a bit strange considering Carmelo Anthony’s MVP-caliber season and the team’s 25-13 record. [Read more…]
NEW YORK — On February 6, 1995, Vernon Maxwell, then a member of the defending NBA champion Houston Rockets, pulled a Ron Artest while Ron Artest was still just a 15-year-old, acne-faced sophomore at New York City’s La Salle Academy. During the third quarter, with the Rockets trailing, 79-52, Maxwell did the unthinkable – he charged into the stands and punched Steve George, a 35-year-old fan, right in the kisser. Commissioner David Stern’s hand wasn’t as heavy back then. Maxwell got a
I have already made my thoughts known about how I feel Carmelo Anthony should have handled his dust-up with Kevin Garnett the other night — a nice, hard flagrant foul. [Read more…]