Whether you are in the schoolyard or the prison yard, the theory remains the same: If you’re the new guy and want to prove your toughness, go pick a fight with the biggest guy in the yard. That’s what Boston Celtics rookie Marcus Smart did in Wednesday’s home win over the Sacramento Kings. In the fourth quarter with the Celtics pulling away, the 6-4, 220-pound Smart ran directly into the chest of the 6-11, 270-pound DeMarcus Cousins, who was trying to set
Every time someone summons up the nerve to ask, “What’s wrong with the Spurs?” the defending NBA champions have provided an emphatic response: Nothing. They did it in November, beating the Clippers and Warriors on the road on consecutive nights after losses to Houston and New Orleans. They did it again in December, beating the Clippers to end a four-game losing streak that included back-to-back excruciating triple-overtime losses. And they did it again last night, beating the Rockets for the first time
Kevin Durant $10900 scored 30 points in 19 minutes on Thursday before rolling his ankle. Though it’s not a serious sprain, his status tonight is unknown. Russell Westbrook $11500 might have to carve up L.A. by himself, with a little help from Serge Ibaka $6800. [Read more…]
I am going to tell you a couple of stories about the players that changed teams in today’s Rajon Rondo trade, but allow me to get right to the heart of matters first: Rondo is one of those rare players, a la Jason Kidd, who can totally dominate a game without taking a shot or scoring a point. If you don’t think the Dallas Mavericks just became instant championship contenders, I respectfully disagree with you. This move puts them over the top.
I started on this mission to dig into One and Done with two main goals in mind. The first was to shed light on the issues in a fact-based way, free from rhetoric and bias. For years the entire policy has been discussed in a way that obscures the facts, not clarifies them. The second is to have the policy viewed as more than an argument over what age to draw the line restricting players from entering the league. While I
Anybody who signed an NBA contract prior to Sept. 16 is now eligible to be traded. And the “Most Likely” list begins and ends with Lance Stephenson … sort of. In the NBA, you never really know when someone will have a hair trigger and pull off a deal that becomes addition by subtraction (yes, we are talking about you, Stan Van Gundy/Josh Smith). But the primary guy who fits under that subcategory is Stephenson, the prized offseason acquisition of the Charlotte
It is often easy to look to our favorite athletes and just see them as stars and icons apart from the rest of the world. We watch their games, support their teams with fanaticism and get lost in the revelry and competition of sports. It is easy to forget that our favorite athletes are humans just like us, that they, too, have feelings and are affected by the world and people around them. Then, on occasion, there comes a time when
At this time of the NBA season, when all stimulating conversations must be cooled off with the buzz-killing “small-sample-size” argument, it might be a good idea to attack this issue from the other side. Which player is shooting the lights out at an unsustainable clip, who is playing out of his depth, and whose numbers will eventually straighten themselves out? Before it’s too late, fans, here are your “sample-size All-Stars.” [Read more…]