Some weeks ago while he was still running the show for the Los Angeles Lakers, Kobe Bryant – who has since been lost for the season with a painful Achilles tear – promised that his team would be in the playoffs. That promise was fulfilled on Wednesday when the Utah Jazz lost to the Memphis Grizzlies to end their hopes of beating out the Lakers for the final playoff spot. Even if they won, it wouldn’t have mattered because the Lakers
By now, you have to have heard about Kobe Bryant’s torn Achilles. It’ll put him out of the rest of the season and, should the Lakers hang on, the playoffs, too. He’ll likely miss at least some of next season, although the Lakers were saying today that the recovery time is 6-9 months — and the goal is to have him back at the start of next season. As for amnestying him? Forget it, GM Mitch Kupchak said. Not even being
Note to coaches who wish to employ the Hack-A-Dwight strategy: if the man starts making his free throws – and he is capable of making them if you send him there frequently enough – ditch the stubborn tactic and go to something else. For some reason, Orlando Magic coach Jacque Vaughn kept going to this play, despite Howard’s gradual increase in success rate. The Los Angeles Lakers center eventually made 16 of his final 20 attempts at the line, finishing 25-of-39
Riddle me this: If I were to ask you which NBA team could eviscerate the leagues most respected defense, the Chicago Bulls, for 103 points – an offensive efficiency that’s seven points higher than the average mark of the league leading Oklahoma City Thunder – a handful of teams might come to mind. [Read more…]
NEW YORK — “What is this, the fiscal cliff?!” exclaimed Gregg Popovich as he came out of the Spurs’ locker room following the Knicks’ second half surge to a 100-83 victory over San Antonio at the Garden. The grizzled, veteran coach was in high spirits despite his team’s first loss in eight games, and with good reason. [Read more…]
The new lineup wasn’t the answer for the setting Suns, losers of six straight. Jared Dudley started at SF but scored just 8 PTS in 18 minutes; Michael Beasley actually played better than usual off the bench (21 PTS, 5 AST, 4 REB) but was -21 in 30 minutes and made a couple of boneheaded turnovers. [Read more…]
According to his job description, David Stern is supposed to be totally neutral and impartial. Except for possibly desiring a big-market rather than small-market team to advance to the NBA Finals, who wins and who loses shouldn’t be something that concerns the commissioner. However, I absolutely guarantee that Stern was passionately rooting for Miami to beat San Antonio in Thursday night’s already infamous M.I.A. game. [Read more…]
Did Gregg Popovich screw the fans and the NBA by making the decision to sit out four of his starters for a nationally televised game on TNT, on a night where only two games were on the schedule? Because lets face it: no one is exactly clamoring to see the Heat take on a bunch of role players that casual fans know nothing about – the Spurs aren’t exactly the most popular team to watch to begin with. Hell, even the