April is supposed to be the time of the NBA season when the best teams gear up for the playoffs and head into it playing their absolute best basketball. The Heat must have missed that memo. And the Bulls’ starters, too. With the NBA regular season slowly but surely winding down, two of the top teams in the Eastern Conference are heading into the postseason with plenty of uncertainty and several important questions to still resolve. For the Chicago Bulls, the team with
We try to make The Bernucca List somewhat challenging, but last week’s edition appeared to be a bit too challenging. Just one reader chimed in – Dylan, whose incorrect guess was followed by, “This is a tough one.” Apparently so. For the third time in for weeks, our readers were unable to come up with the right answer, which was “Active players who have been suspended or fined for moving violations.” We thought the inclusion of Tyreke Evans, J.R. Smith and Delonte
Who needs Kobe Bryant? Not the Lakers, if last night’s impressive road win means anything. You have to start with Andrew Bynum grabbing 30 rebounds, which has happened exactly twice in 12 years. He added 16 points but was unhappy with his 7-20 shooting. Metta World Peace had 26 points, easily a season high, and Pau Gasol (21 & 11) played well. It was a rare off-night for the Spurs: Danny Green scored 22, but Tony Parker went just 2-12
As the truncated season winds down, teams are jockeying for playoff positioning and home-court advantage. One of those teams should be the San Antonio Spurs. But coach Gregg Popovich is playing a different game. Popovich, the silver-haired, long-tenured guru who is among the frontrunners for Coach of the Year Award, decided to sit out three of his top three players – Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili – for the second time this season. The result was the same as the last time
Since their previous meeting on March 24, when Vinny Del Negro’s job was in the balance, the Memphis Grizzlies and Los Angeles Clippers have lost a combined three games. Needless to say, they have been two of the hottest teams in the Western Conference. They collide again for the third and the final time this season as Chris Paul and the Clippers visit Rudy Gay and the Grizzlies in Monday’s best game. The Clippers (34-22) hosted and won the first two meetings between
When the shortened season started and the Philadelphia 76ers came out blazing with a 20-9 record to lead the Atlantic Division, there was little doubt in anyone’s mind about the new direction Doug Collins and the team was headed. They had experienced a tough playoff run against the Miami Heat the previous season, and had looked to grow from the experience. It was, however, noted that they also had one of the easiest schedules to start the season. Looking back, they played the
This column was originally going to be a convincing piece as to why Maurice Cheeks (full disclosure: my favorite player of all time) deserves to be in the Hall of Fame. Then Stan Van Gundy decided enough was enough and exposed for all of us Dwight Howard’s true character – a selfish brat whose childish demands and indecision make him utterly impossible. When this mess in the Magic Kingdom shakes out sometime in May, Van Gundy will be unemployed, because that’s what
NEW YORK — Sacramento Kings center DeMarcus Cousins has been fined $25,000 for public criticism of NBA officiating, it was announced today by Stu Jackson, the NBA’s executive vice president of basketball operations. Cousins was fined for comments made to the media after the Kings’ 93-85 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers last night at Power Balance Pavilion, a game marked by some especially physical contact between Cousins and Blake Griffin. Cousins was especially annoyed by the fifth foul he picked up with 1:11 to play