Toward the end of the film “Se7en,” two detectives are driving a serial killer to a supposed location of one of the killer’s victims. The serial killer, played by Kevin Spacey, tries to convince the detectives of the lasting importance of his acts. One of the detectives, played by Brad Pitt, dismisses the serial killer’s claims by saying, “You’re a T-shirt. You’re a Movie of the Week.” That pretty much sums up Jeremy Lin. [Read more…]
The best team flying under the radar has two rookies in its starting lineup. But it’s not the Charlotte Bobcats. It is missing its oft-injured big man. But it’s not the Philadelphia 76ers. It has All-Star candidates at point guard and power forward. But it’s not the Los Angeles Clippers. It is an original NBA franchise that has not won a title since the 1970s. But it’s not the New York Knicks. [Read more…]
David Stern is disingenuous. How’s that for one of those million-dollar words that the NBA commissioner loves to use when talking to the hoi polloi about basketball? In slapping the San Antonio Spurs with a $250,000 fine for resting their trio of stars in a nationally televised game, Stern said in his customary, quite lawyerly fashion, “The result here is dictated by the totality of the facts in this case.” [Read more…]
Now that we are about a month into the NBA season, are you disappointed in the performance of a player or two on your favorite team? Take a number and get in line. There are dozens of players who are not coming close to meeting expectations this season. And when you factor in their salaries and how much they limit their team’s financial flexibility, it can be downright infuriating. [Read more…]
Forget small ball. The NBA’s best team plays bully ball. The Memphis Grizzlies don’t have a fleet of sharpshooters standing on the arc. They don’t have a stretch 4. They don’t have a dual point guard backcourt. Heck, their shooting guard can’t even shoot. [Read more…]
While all of the focus has been on the soap opera swirl around the Los Angeles Lakers, the NBA’s other similarly storied franchise has its own set of issues. The Boston Celtics also raised expectations by adding some key pieces in the offseason, then promptly stumbled out of the gate. But there were no death stares, insurrections, coach beheadings or panic moves. But there are some problems in Beantown. Let’s allow team leader Kevin Garnett to explain. “You can’t speed chemistry up,” Garnett said.
You can point to a handful of reasons why the Los Angeles Lakers are on the verge of panic. Dwight Howard missed all of training camp and most of preseason recovering from back surgery. Kobe Bryant has a sprained foot that requires him to wear a walking boot. Steve Nash is out for a while with a fracture in his fibula. That lack of continuity led to 11 straight losses – all eight in the preseason, which the Lakers dismissed as games that don’t count,
In all, seven players from the 2009 draft class received contract extensions, with three – DeMar DeRozan, Jrue Holiday and Taj Gibson – going down to the wire Wednesday night. Two players received maximum extensions – top overall pick Blake Griffin and No. 3 pick James Harden, who had to change cities to get the deal he wanted. By contrast, five 2009 first-round picks became unrestricted free agents before their four-year rookie deal was completed, including No. 2 pick Hasheem Thabeet. And