Do the Oklahoma City Thunder have a toughness complex? One of the reasons the Thunder have the NBA’s second-best record is because they have three young, explosive players – Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and James Harden – who simply cannot be contained off the dribble. When defensive schemes cannot prevent a player from getting to the basket, teams usually resort to rough stuff as discouragement. Michael Jordan went through it. So did Allen Iverson. Tony Parker still gets thrown to the floor
It’s amazing how much of a difference one season can make. At this time last year, the Los Angeles Clippers and Minnesota Timberwolves were the laughingstocks of the Western Conference. Now, the Clippers are contenders and the Timberwolves are fighting for a playoff berth. Coming off their All-Star appearances, Kevin Love and Blake Griffin – the two best power forwards in the game – go head to head for the second time this season as the Timberwolves (17-17) visits the Clippers
// Before All-Star weekend arrives, there is one last test game for a couple of teams. It comes Thursday night when the Knicks visit the Heat in Miami, and it is a test in many ways. For New York, now with a full complement of healthy players and a level of depth that exceeds what they’ve had over the first half of the season, it is a chance to measure themselves against a Heat team that has been steamrolling through the
The team not enough people are paying much attention to is creeping up the standings. Unable to get past the second round of the playoffs for the past three seasons, not many gave the aging San Antonio Spurs much of a championship-contending thought when the shortened season began. They were regarded as aging, middle-of-the-pack type team in the Western Conference. It’s time for second thoughts. Playing the sixth consecutive game on their annual rodeo road trip, the Spurs found a way to squeak
Teams usually struggle when starters and franchise players are constantly in and out of the lineup. But try telling that to the Chicago Bulls, who hold a record of 25-7, the best in the league. Derrick Rose missed his fourth straight game due to back issues Thursday night, but it did not matter as the Bulls improved to 7-2 without their franchise point guard and continued their dominance at home by defeating the Celtics 89-80. Granted, most of those wins without Rose
In a major upset, global sensation Jeremy Lin was added to the player pool for the Rising Stars Challenge at All-Star Weekend. Lin, the second-year point guard of the New York Knicks, was a late addition to the pool, as was Miami Heat rookie guard Norris Cole. TNT analysts Charles Barkley and Shaquille O’Neal served as GMs and chose from a pool of 10 sophomores and 10 rookies. Here are there picks (O’Neal had the first pick): TEAM SHAQ Blake Griffin Greg Monroe Markieff Morris Ricky Rubio Jeremy Lin Kemba
Psst. There’s a white American guy in the Slam Dunk Contest. Houston Rockets forward Chase Budinger was among the four players announced Thursday as participants in the Slam Dunk Contest that will take place on All-Star Saturday night Feb. 25. Budinger is the first white American player entered in the contest since Chris “Birdman” Andersen in 2004 and 2005. That didn’t go so well. Other white American players to participate are Bob Sura (1997), Rex Chapman (1990, 1991), Tom Chambers (1987) and of
Dwight Howard notched hit 23rd double-double of the season as the Sixers fell to 0-6 when their opponent scores 100+ points. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, theCeltics have held their last 26 opponents under 100 points. That’s tied for the 6th-longest such streak in a single season in the shot clock era. The Pacers arrived at their Cleveland hotel to find Miami’s team was also staying at the Ritz-Carlton. Vogel joked, claiming they deserved it. “Take that,” he said. “You don’t