LeBron James has been the subject of debate for much of the season due to his perceived inability to perform in the clutch, despite having a jaw dropping statistical season for one of the most dominant teams in the league. He has been referred to by many as a choker and a second-tier closer. On Saturday night at home against the Pacers, the opportunity to show late-game execution presented itself again as the world watched to see what James would do in the
This is all on Carmelo Anthony. Enough excuses have been made for a so-called superstar whose one-dimensional game arrived in New York over a year ago. There has been an initial acclimation period, an abbreviated training camp, a hole at point guard, an injury and another acclimation period due to a revamped roster. In and of themselves, those excuses had some legitimacy when they arose. But there has been one consistent thread through Anthony’s tenure with the New York Knicks: When he
NEW YORK — New York Knicks guard J.R. Smith has been fined $25,000 for posting inappropriate pictures on his Twitter account, it was announced today by Stu Jackson, the NBA vice president of basketball operations. On Thursday night when the Knicks were in Milwaukee, Smith tweeted the photo shown at the, ahem, bottom of this post. The thong-covered posterior belongs to Tahiry Jose. Deadspin said she is a self-described “bartender-turned-magazine cover model” who has a Facebook fan page that refers to her as “The aGirl with the biggest ass
Two days after having their eight-game winning streak snapped, the Chicago Bulls host the Utah Jazz tonight in a game that should feature a lot of hard drives to the rim. Derrick Rose, one of the most athletic guards in the league, is mired in a mini-shooting slump in his last two games and may be feeling the burn of the lockout-shortened season. That, or being a part-time member of an injury-riddled backcourt. Rose shot just 6-for-22 against in a 99-94 loss to
A division 1 coach who had a pretty successful year this year told me something very interesting when it comes to recruiting players out of high school. He said he tells them that 85% of the NBA are role players then asks them what, besides scoring, can you excel at at the professional level. What can you do to dominate a game that doesn’t include putting the ball in the basket that will make you a pro. And can you work
Timberwolves point guard Ricky Rubio’s compelling rookie season is over, ended by a torn anterior-cruciate knee ligament that ends his season, a team source said this afternoon. Minneapolis Star-Tribune On the Howard front, the Magic clearly need to make the decision to trade him or risk losing him in free agency. League sources maintain the Magic will hold out and not deal if they see any glimmer of hope Howard will choose to remain with them. But with the Nets suddenly feeling a renewed
Ricky Rubio’s season is over. We won’t see him at the Olympics, either. A source close to Rubio told SheridanHoops.com that tests performed Saturday morning showed a torn anterior cruciate ligament in Rubio’s left knee. He was injured in a collision with Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers late in Friday night’s loss. “There are no other tears,” the source said of Rubio’s knee. Rubio has averaged 10.5 points, 8.2 assists and 2.2 steals for the Timberwolves, the most surprising team in the Western
One man started the rumor of a Pau Gasol trade on Twitter in the afternoon and it had swept the globe by tipoff. Possibly distracted, Gasol had 12 points and 11 boards in the Lakers win, though Andrew Bynum (26 & 10) did the heavy lifting and Kobe Bryant scored 34. Kevin Love was a very late scratch with a sore back, but the return of Nikola Pekovic (25 & 13) and a great effort by rookie Derrick Williams (22