The Los Angeles Lakers and fans in general have adjusted to life without Kobe Bryant in the NBA this season. The superstar guard has yet to suit up for his struggling team, as he continues to rehab from the torn Achilles tendon he suffered last season. He did raise some eyebrows last week, telling Rick Fox in an interview that if the playoffs began today, he would play. He further encouraged us all by taking part in the team’s workouts
It has been a tough road for Steve Nash since leaving the Phoenix Suns to join the Los Angeles Lakers last season. Aside from all the scrutiny his team has faced due to a lack of success with what was supposed to be a championship roster, he has not been the same player he once was since breaking his leg last season. When he did come back, his impact on the game diminished as he adjusted to playing next to Kobe Bryant
When you’re an adored star in this league, you get a pass on a lot of things. And Dwyane Wade got a pass for an absolutely rockhead play in Miami’s inexplicable loss to Boston on Saturday. The Heat led by four with less than two seconds to play. On their home floor. Against the Celtics. And lost. In regulation. And most of it was on Wade, who (a) faltered in the clutch; (b) made his own strategic decision without any input from the
Over the years, bashing the Clippers has hardly been an art form primarily because if anyone can do it, it’s not art. As lousy of a history as the Clippers have had, they have always been an underground favorite of writers. At certain points of the season, most writers have some sort of burnout. When that happens, Clips owner Donald Sterling will inevitably do something absurd and, boom, you’ve got a column. The wacky Sterling stories are so numerous that it’s
It’s exactly 10 days into this NBA regular season, it feels like 10 weeks for those who cover the league on a regular basis, and a whole hell of a lot has already happened. Few things have gone as expected, of course the undefeated start for the Pacers is an exception, and surprises abound across the league. Here are 10 that immediately came to mind, including a pair of dazzling young point guards, one major market team in big trouble and
When a player suffers a devastating injury or has a debilitating condition, one of two things usually happen: he works his way back and comes back stronger than ever, or shows that he is no longer the player he once was. There are different ways of going about such situations. When you look at a guy like Amare Stoudemire, whose troublesome knees seem to require surgery every time he seems ready to get back into the swing of things, he finds
With week one of the NBA season officially in the books, there is a lot to discuss. Although the season is still young — and it is important to keep that in mind when critiquing a team, player or coach — there are some truths that have been revealed. Before we get to today’s top stories, here’s a few quick hitters: [Read more…]
Back in 2008, I covered the U.S. Olympic team in Beijing, where Jason Kidd was the No. 1 point guard, Chris Paul was No. 2 and Deron Williams No. 3 — but it was a close contest between CP3 and DWill. They were considered equals then, but Paul is already having the type of season that shows why he has grown into the better player — and why he is the more popular of the two (having Blake Griffin as a