PHILADELPHIA—This was the night Philadelphia 76ers fans had longed for; a chance to shower their love on their new big man (didn’t quite turn out that way) while at the same time bidding good riddance to the player who had unwittingly become an eyesore to the local hoops community over the past eight years: Andre Iguodala. Who could have imagined that those MVP chants reverberating throughout the building in the closing stages of the Sixers’ opening night 84-75 win over Iguodala’s
Here are this morning’s top NBA news stories: “Kobe Bryant of Los Angeles Lakers will miss remainder of preseason due to foot injury,” by Dave McMenamin from ESPN.com “T-Mac starts new chapter in China,” from China Daily “D-Will: Knicks ‘not my friends anymore,'” by Mike Mazzeo from ESPN.com “Andrew Bynum ailing, unable to practice with 76ers,” by Marc Narducci from the Philadelphia Inquirer “Knicks’ Chandler to have MRI on left knee,” by Ken Berger from CBSSports.com “Clippers’ Chris Paul rests as Coach Vinny Del Negro prevails,” by Broderick Turner from the Los
The latest crippling blow to the wounded Knicks is the loss of Tyson Chandler to a left knee injury. In the first minute of last night’s game, he collided with Gerald Wallace and crashed to the floor. On crutches after the game and headed for an MRI today, Chandler thinks it’s a sprain, not a tear. Stay tuned… Already without Amare Stoudemire and J.R. Smith, waiting for Marcus Camby’s calf to heal and for Rasheed Wallace to get in shape, the
When the 76ers acquired Andrew Bynum from the Los Angeles Lakers, the team and its fans showed unreal support for the center and treated him like a rock star as they expected big things – in a franchise altering way. What they probably did not expect or anticipate, however, was the possible acquisition of damaged goods. This is not to say that Bynum is significantly injured, but he has already missed the entire preseason due to pain in his knee and
The NBA has changed the format of its All-Star ballot, removing the center position and splitting players into backcourt and frontcourt categories. NBA executive vice president of basketball operations Stu Jackson announced the change Wednesday. For the first time, fans will choose two guards and three frontcourt players when selecting starters for the 2013 NBA All-Star Game in Houston. In years past, fans had to vote for two guards, two forwards and a center. Jackson said the change was made to reflect the
Here are this morning’s top NBA news stories: “NBA to change All-Star ballot. eliminating center,” by David Aldridge from NBA.com “Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak sees his window of opportunity,” by Mark Medina from the Los Angeles Daily News “Jennings isn’t worried about contract situation,” by Greg Woelfel from the Racine Journal-Times “Raja Bell’s agent disputes report claiming he said trade being pursued,” by Jody Genessy from the Deseret News “Jerome Jordan making case to stay with Grizzlies,” by Ronald Tillery from the Memphis Commercial Appeal “Gilbert Arenas near deal
Here are this morning’s top NBA news stories: “Memphis Grizzlies sale to be voted on by NBA Board of Governors on Thursday,” by Marc Stein from ESPN.com “Is Luis Scola Phoenix’s X-Factor,” by Bill Ingram from HoopsWorld “Expect Warriors to go small early in season,” by Matt Steinmetz from CSNBayArea.com “Oklahoma City’s James Harden a hot ticket,” by Paul Coro from the Arizona Republic “The differences between Dwight Howard and Andrew Bynum are plain to see,” by Mike Bresnahan from the Los Angeles Times “Pierce: ‘it would be difficult’ to see
When we wrote last month that the Western Conference playoff picture would be filled in by the Dallas Mavericks and Minnesota Timberwolves, it was assumed that both teams would have their alpha dogs at power forward. Now that Dirk Nowitzki and Kevin Love are both out until at least December, that picture could be changing. Nowitzki and Love both are top-10 players whose presence instantly legitimizes their teams as playoff-worthy, regardless of the other 14 players sharing a locker room and airplane with them.