There was a scary knee-on-knee collision between LeBron James and Josh Smith just before halftime, but both were able to return. LBJ was tantalizingly close to a triple-double (21 PTS, 11 REB, 9 AST) as the Heat won a close one in Atlanta. Dwyane Wade (illness) didn’t play, but Chris Bosh picked up the slack, leading all scorers with 24, and Ray Allen (17) had another solid night. Jeff Teague was impressive in defeat with 20 points and 11 assists,
(This is another in a series of 30 guest columns that will run in October, when optimism reigns supreme across the NBA. The theme will be “Five Reasons to Feel Positive About … ” We encourage you to follow the authors on Twitter and visit their sites. – CS) After seven straight years of 50-plus wins from 2001-2008 – including one championship – it has been a rough half decade for the Detroit Pistons. The trade of fan favorite Chauncey Billups was supposed
One day after the NBA implemented a new anti-flop rule to penalize players with fines for flopping, there were plenty of reactions around the league, from happy campers to those that weren’t quite sure if it was the best of ideas. See what was said around the league about the change along with other news around the league on Thursday: Blake Griffin thinks the flopping rule is a great way for the league to make money on, from Marc J. Spears
Mike Dunlap will be asked to cook the dinner in Charlotte. But he won’t be allowed to shop for the groceries. At least not at the NBA draft. Dunlap, the former St. John’s assistant hired as the new coach of the Charlotte Bobcats, told SheridanHoops he won’t have much input on the team’s No. 2 pick in Thursday’s draft – if it uses the pick at all. “I’m secondary,” Dunlap said in a lengthy telephone interview. “These guys (owner Michael Jordan, president of
Ben Gordon was once the linchpin of the Detroit Pistons’ rebuilding plan after their long run of Eastern Conference finals appearances ended. He turned out to be such a bad signing – OK, not as bad as Charlie Villanueva that same summer of 2009 – that Joe Dumars had to sacrifice a future No. 1 pick just to get rid of him. The Pistons traded Gordon to the Charlotte Bobcats on Tuesday for Corey Maggette, another free agent bust from a couple
Congratulations if you were a winner last night. I’m pleased with my results, including a couple of championships. Finishing second in the 20-team elimination was satisfying and rebuilding went very well in some deep keeper leagues. Every other year, fantasy basketball has ended with the regular season, but I didn’t know about Draft Street before. Looking forward to the challenge of that game throughout the playoffs. There’s also Fantasy Postseason if you like the idea of drafting a team and collecting points
With the NBA regular season winding down, it’s time for a look back at what I consider the top 10 individual performances of the year. One name is conspicuously missing, and one date on the calendar accounted for two of this season’s best performances. Here we go … 1. Tony Parker: 42 points, 9 assists, 0 turnovers in 39 minutes February 4 vs. Oklahoma City in a 107-96 Spurs victory. The four-time All-Star point guard, who I stated last week deserves consideration for the MVP
