I always wait until the final day of the season to make up my mind on my official NBA ballot choices. Why? Because during the lockout-shortened NBA season in 1999, I was in San Antonio covering a forgettable game at the Alamodome when I spoke with a veteran writer for a national publication who had already submitted his ballot after only 44 of the 50 games had been played. I asked him, and I asked myself … “What’s the rush?” I was working at
The Atlanta Hawks are going to lose to the New York Knicks tonight. The only question is by how much? A victory would not be a good thing for Atlanta. They would move up to fifth place (along with a Chicago loss), and they would be setting themselves up for a second-round beatdown against the Miami Heat — if they were first able to defeat Brooklyn in Round One. And no, the Hawks would not be the ones beating anybody down if
Life without Kobe Bryant for the Los Angeles Lakers began Sunday night, and it wasn’t so bad. In fact, it was pretty good. With Dwight Howard having a big game and Steve Blake somehow outplaying Tony Parker, the Lakers defeated the suddenly struggling San Antonio Spurs and need just one more win to clinch a playoff berth. [Read more…]
So, we now know that the Miami Heat will get the chance to experience springtime in Milwaukee. Except for the fact that springtime in Milwaukee typically lasts about two days. Then winter returns. Then summer magically appears out of the blue. And there’s no telling from year to year whether those two days will be in April, May or June. True story: While covering the Eastern Conference finals in 2001, it was May 31 and the Bucks had just finished practice and
Maybe it’s just me, but folks sure seem a little too certain that the Los Angeles Lakers are going to make the playoffs. Yes, they control their own destiny. But they still, in all likelihood, will need to win out in their final three games to get the job done — and those three wins are far from sure things. The opponents are Golden State, San Antonio and Houston, all of which are still playing for something. Golden State (1-2 against Los Angeles
They don’t do T-shirts in Los Angeles. They do trophies. So while the New York Knicks and Golden State Warriors were showering their players with shirts and shouts celebrating their respective achievements, the Lakers were doing their best to be T-shirt-worthy. Yes, they are back in eighth place in the Western Conference thanks to 23 fourth-quarter points from Kobe Bryant (there is a reason why he retains a top 10 spot in the MVP rankings) in a 104-96 victory over New Orleans.
The most impressive thing about Carmelo Anthony’s 36-point outing in the Knicks’ 12th consecutive victory Sunday was the way he got his points. Unlike the night when he went for 50 against the Miami Heat while shooting almost nothing but jump shots, Anthony displayed a power game in the low post and a tenacity on the offensive glass. He now holds a slight lead over Kevin Durant for the NBA scoring lead, and he is the only one standing in the
The NBA is dark tonight. All eyes will be on Atlanta, where Louisville and Michigan will play for the NCAA national championship. So this gives us time to reflect … With 10 days remaining in the regular season, what are the 10 biggest unanswered questions from around the league? [Read more…]