NEW YORK – You don’t need a watch to know Father Time has caught up to Kobe Bryant. With that in mind, I asked Bryant what he wants his legacy to be when he retires. “As a talented overachiever,” Bryant replied with a laugh. “I really worked my butt off every single day to make sure I left no stone unturned and try to push it as much as I possibly could.” “My message has been consistent all the time,” Bryant said. “If
We’re now a little more than a week into the NBA season, so there’s been a bit of time for some statistical trends to emerge. Despite the sample sizes still being extremely small, here are several things that have jumped out when it comes to several of the league’s players. 1. It has been ugly for Kobe Bryant and the Lakers through four games. Bryant has missed 40 of his 62 shots overall, is just 7-for-34 from the arc, LA is
BROOKLYN — If there was such thing as NBA purgatory, that would be where the Brooklyn Nets franchise is currently situated. At 0-4 with no first round pick next June (and no control of any first round pick until 2019), no hope for a real superstar on the roster until at least the summer and a lack of talent to compete in the Eastern Conference, it looks more likely by the day that this will be a painful lost season for
If you take a quick look at the contract extensions given to the 2012 NBA draft class, nothing seems extraordinary. Eight eligible players received extensions. While collusion conspiracy theorists might point out that it’s two less than the 2011 class, it also is one more than the 2010 class and the same number as the 2009 class. As in previous seasons, the top pick got a five-year max deal and at least one other lottery pick also received a max deal of
NEW YORK — Kristaps Porzingis walked gingerly into the locker room, put a few tablets in his mouth, took a sip of water, tilted his head back slightly and ingested what was most likely a pain reliever. The cause of Porzingis’ pain was the result of the fall and subsequent collision with Carmelo Anthony with 3:02 left in the 4th quarter. Thankfully, there seemed to be no serious consequences and New York will see how the 7-foot-3 rookie responds in the next few days. But
Well, we’ve almost made it through the first entire week of hoops, and the only significant loss since the season started has been a broken foot that will sideline the Pistons’ Jodie Meeks for 3-4 months. Oh, and Grantland. ESPN’s decision to pull the plug on the offshoot site founded by the groundbreaking Bill Simmons is the latest ill-advised move by the powers that be in Bristol, Conn., site of the fortress-like complex that continues to lower the bar for what constitutes
In NBA circles, Jan Vesely is considered a bust. The Wizards took the athletic Czech power forward with the sixth pick in the 2011 NBA draft to catch lobs from John Wall and become part of a young core with tons of potential. It did not go according to plan. He would notoriously airball his first NBA free throw attempt, and that set the tone for a rocky rookie year. He averaged 4.7 points and 4.4 rebounds in 19 minutes per
NEW YORK –The world ain’t all sunshine and rainbows, as Rocky Balboa once said. Just ask New York Knicks coach Derek Fisher. The Knicks were coming off Wednesday’s season-opening 25-point win at Milwaukee. New arrival Derrick Williams scored 24 points. Rookie Kristaps Porzingis shot 12 free throws. Heck, Carmelo Anthony had five assists. One night later, the Knicks laid an egg in their home opener with a 112-101 loss to the Atlanta Hawks. They allowed Atlanta to shoot better than 50 percent