Donald T. Sterling Sterling World Plaza Beverly Hills, Calif. 90210 Dear Donald, Well, you said to write again when I found work! As you may have heard, I’m no longer with the large, if not as large as it was once, metropolitan paper in Los Angeles. Of course, times are even tougher in newspapers than David Stern said they are in the NBA, although in our case, we have the casualties to show it’s not just woofing. But enough about moi, look at you! After all those years
Perhaps it is time to re-examine two beliefs that have mostly gone unquestioned during the first three months of this 66-game NBA season. No. 1: The Los Angeles Clippers are going to the playoffs. No. 2: The Philadelphia 76ers are going to win the Atlantic Division. Don’t be so sure of either one. Let’s start with the Clippers, the darlings of December and January who were surpassed in the Pacific Division standings by the Lakers nearly a month ago. They haven’t won a road
Let the Wood-sanity begin. It has been three games since Mike Woodson took over the coaching duties of the New York Knicks after the firing resignation of Mike D’Antoni. The Knicks have since gone 3-0. Preaching defense and accountability — perhaps the polar opposite of D’Antoni’s style — Woodson has changed the attitude of his players and the results have shown in remarkable fashion on the court. Since going on a nightmare six-game losing streak that saw them fall out of the playoff picture, New
The trade deadline had passed at 3PM EST on Thursday afternoon. Everything seemed settled and players could finally take a deep breath and play basketball again. Not so fast. Moments after the official deadline had passed, word arrived out of Denver that they had traded away long-tenured Nene Hilario in a three-team deal, receiving JaVale McGee, Ronny Turiaf and a future second-round pick in the process. The loss of Nene turned out to be too much for George Karl and the Denver Nuggets
It was mostly Dwight Howard, with 29 points and 18 rebounds, as the Magic won in Chicago. Jason Richardson added 18 (including four 3-pointers) before leaving with a sprained ankle. Orlando doesn’t play again until Sunday, giving him some time to recover. J.J. Redick would fill in if J-Rich can’t go. For the Bulls, Carlos Boozer had 26 but Derrick Rose shot 6-22 and Luol Deng was 1-9, then admitted the torn ligament in his left wrist might need some
There’s some sort of event called the Pac-12 Conference tournament being held in the Staples Center in Los Angeles. I think it has to do with college basketball. Anyway, it has forced the facility’s regular tenants – the Lakers and Clippers – to hit the road for a stretch. And things are not going well for either team. The Lakers were dispatched on a brief three-game sojourn and already have lost the first two, dropping to an abysmal 6-14 on the road.
Ouch. The Celtics were crushed 33-17 in the opening quarter and never made a run. In just his second game as a starter, Evan Turner poured in 26 points and grabbed 9 boards to lead the Sixers. This is not good news for Jodie Meeks owners, but it makes Turner a very hot pickup, especially in keeper leagues. Thaddeus Young (illness) didn’t play, so Nikola Vucevic (14 & 12) got a little extra burn. In Other Action UTA @ CHA: Corey Maggette
As dominant as the Oklahoma City Thunder have been this season, they seem to get the benefit of the doubt when it comes to late controversial calls. The Thunder trailed by a point with 46 seconds remaining Tuesday night when Dallas center Ian Mahinmi appeared to cleanly block Serge Ibaka’s shot, but the whistle was blown for a foul, much to the dismay of Mahinmi and Rick Carlisle. Ibaka made both free throw attempts and the Thunder never looked back as they