The worst night of Paul Pierce’s career had a hangover. It wasn’t enough that the future Hall of Famer was held scoreless Monday for the first time since 1999, when he was a rookie. It also wasn’t enough that the Brooklyn Nets forward’s scoreless night ended with an ejection for a flagrant-2 foul on Pacers guard George Hill. On Tuesday, NBA president of basketball operations Rod Thorn – apparently not in any sort of holiday spirit – fined Pierce $15,000 for his clothesline
In his stated effort to upstage Knicks owner James Dolan, Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov has become him. Like Dolan, Prokhorov desperately wants an NBA championship. Like Dolan, he has pursued that desperation with financial abandon, giving his GM an open checkbook. Like Dolan, he has overspent on overvalued big names. Like Dolan, he has mortgaged his team’s future by giving away multiple draft picks. And like Dolan, he appears headed down the abyss. In two months, the Nets have gone from contenders with
Remember back in October, when the handicappers in Vegas said the Philadelphia 76ers would win about 16 or 17 games? And remember in November, when the 76ers started their season with three straight wins, beating the Miami Heat, Washington Wizards and Chicago Bulls with Derrick Rose? How are those 17 wins looking now? Without the Hubble telescope, the Sixers can’t see them. The small sample size of the season’s first week – three surprising wins, a rookie as Player of the Week – is
It’s challenging to be a fan of a struggling team, but the real fans are able to do it. Bill Simmons has been a lifelong Celtics fan. He’s criticized his team many times over the years and has even butted heads with some of the top people in the organization. Though, after many losing seasons in the 2000s, the Celtics did have its championship run in 2008. This season, things weren’t looking very promising for the Celtics. After losing Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett
Rudy Gay, who has one of the most overbearing contracts in the NBA, reportedly has been traded for the second time in less than a year. Yahoo! Sports reported Sunday night that a seven-player deal is being finalized that would have the Toronto Raptors send Gay and the $37 million remaining on his contract to the Sacramento Kings. The report said the Kings would also get deep reserves Aaron Gray ($2.69 million) and Quincy Acy ($790,000), both of whom have deals that
The gambling life ain’t easy, folks — which is where today’s tale begins. But by the time you get to the end of today’s column, hopefully you’ll be amused by my personal adventures and enlightened by my leaguewide analysis. We are at the quarter-pole of the NBA season, and trends have emerged. First, to truly appreciate what it means to gamble on the NBA on a daily basis, you had to experience what it was like to bet on the Philadelphia 76ers
BROOKLYN – Mikhail Prokhorov once vowed to take over New York as owner of the Brooklyn Nets and turn Knicks fans into Nets fans. But on Thursday night in front of a national TV audience, it was the Knicks who took over Brooklyn and Barclays Center. It was so bad, Brooklyn’s introductory video malfunctioned before loud boos for Kevin Garnett and Jason Kidd filled the arena during the starting lineup introductions. Chants of “Let’s go Knicks” began as New York pulled away
Parity \ˈper-ə-tē\ — the quality or state of being equal or equivalent. Parity is what most professional sports leagues strive for. Parity, or competitive balance in the case of sports, is good for business. It means games are competitive. It gives fans—of all teams—hope and reason to fill arena seats. Unfortunately for the National Basketball Association, parity seems non-existent nearly 20 games into the 2013-14 season. Former Boston Celtics forward Antoine Walker took notice of the disparity between the NBA conferences. [Read more…]