MIAMI – The zone defense is killing the Miami Heat. OK, it’s not really killing the Heat. After all, they won 58 games and went to the NBA Finals last year, and so far they’re 5-1 this year. But you know what I mean. The zone is hurting the Heat badly when applied correctly by good teams. Dallas did it in the Finals last year. Boston did it this year. And on Monday, Atlanta did it well enough to defeat the Heat,
At the end of the 1952-53 season, the NBA recognized an individual player for the first time when it presented the Rookie of the Year award to Don Meineke of the Fort Wayne Pistons. Three years later, Bob Pettit of the St. Louis Hawks won the first Most Valuable Player award. Later, the NBA either created or sanctioned awards honoring the best coach, executive, sixth man, defensive player, most improved player and even the best citizen . There has been one significant oversight,
// Happy New Year from me, too. Bernucca wrote that lede in yesterday’s roundup, and imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. But enough of that. We’re here this morning to talk about Ricky Rubio, and you can’t do that without referencing Licky Lubio (more on that below). The Minnesota Timberwolves have become Must-See TV. Readers who are 30 or older might remember the buzz surrounding Jason Williams in the early days of 1998 when the Sacramento Kings were the hep team
CHICAGO — I tried to not get caught up in all the hype surrounding the first week of the NBA season because, well, it’s the first week of a 66-game season. No matter how frantic the pace – four games in six nights for the Bulls – there’s still plenty of basketball to be played, and much more to be revealed. The first four games for Chicago, and the rest of the league for that matter, were more like an exercise
The 2012 NBA Draft has the potential to be both very strong at the top and deep because several elite players chose to remain in college this season because of the NBA lockout, and were joined by a number of impact freshmen. The lottery figures to be rich with bigs – scorers, shot-blockers and rebounders. Here is a look at the Top 10 Americans who could be available, including seven power forwards or centers: 1. Anthony Davis, PF, 6-10, 220, Kentucky The consensus No. 1
Evan Fournier, France
After Carmelo Anthony gave a sold-out Madison Square Garden a great Christmas gift last Sunday, the Knicks have dropped consecutive games. On Wednesday night, they visited Oakland and lost to Mark Jackson’s Warriors, 92-78. And Thursday night’s showdown in Los Angeles saw Kobe Bryant and the Lakers defeat them, 99-82. During Thursday night’s telecast from the Staples Center in Los Angeles, TNT’s Reggie Miller and Kevin Harlan, while calling the game, had the following exchange: RM: “What kind of basketball is this we’re
Andray Blatche is a knucklehead, and the Wizards better get rid of him if they want to keep John Wall. It is becoming next to impossible to prevent NBA superstars from flying the coop. They want to play in more attractive big markets. They want to play alongside other superstars. They want to win championships. And of course, they want to get paid. What they don’t want is to be stuck with a lottery-bound team. They don’t want to share a locker