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…]
It won’t be long until Ricky Rubio is back, flinging passes through his legs and behind his back to astonished teammates. Rubio is way ahead of schedule (we were guessing Christmas) in his recovery from knee surgery, and took part in the T-Wolves’ practice on Sunday. Decimated by knee injuries to Chase Budinger and Brandon Roy, with Andrei Kirilenko (back) day-to-day, the team can use any healthy body. While it may take some time before the flashy Spaniard plays a game,
We have a special affinity here for those who stand up to authority, and this week that affinity translates into a new hombre at the top of our MVP rankings. [Read more…]
Gregg Popovich and the Spurs got their money’s worth. Now, it’s a question of whether the refs should be fined. Helped by an egregious non-call late in overtime, the San Antonio Spurs defeated the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday night 99-95, rallying from a 15-point deficit in the second half behind some great play from their well-rested Big Three. [Read more…]
For the first time since Mike D’Antoni took over as coach, the Lakers really played his style. Shooting early, often and from anywhere, they hit 17 of 33 attempts from 3-point range, one of them by Dwight Howard! [Read more…]
I’m filling in for our peerless, fearless editor-in-chief for this week’s edition – – which means these will be our Most Improved Rankings in more ways than one. This is perhaps the most difficult award for media members, because every season there are dozens of candidates and almost as many parameters for what constitutes improved. A case in point came last season, when the media clearly voted for the wrong guy. [Read more…]
The 5-0 Knickerbockers had to step it up in the fourth quarter against the stubborn Magic. Carmelo Anthony led the way with 25 points and 8 boards, Raymond Felton added 21 with 5 assists, and J.R. Smith stayed hot with 21 off the bench. [Read more…]
The Cleveland Cavaliers have finished a combined 40-108 the past two seasons. Despite their growing pains following LeBron James’ departure, Cavaliers fans have an intriguing team moving forward. Cleveland won its first game of the season against Washington but arrived in Los Angeles after a two-game skid in which they lost to Chicago by 20 and to Milwaukee on Brandon Jennings buzzer-beating triple with 0.7 seconds left. Such is life for a talented yet youthful team: There will be surreal highs and