The Chicago Bulls’ Derrick Rose and the Denver Nuggets’ Ty Lawson have been named the Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week for games played Monday, Feb. 27, through Sunday, March 4. Rose led Chicago to a 4-0 week with averages of 28.8 points, 7.5 assists and 1.75 steals. Rose tallied 30-plus points twice, including a high of 35 to close the week on March 4 during a 96-91 win at Philadelphia. With three of their four wins coming away from
The Rockets have struggled offensively out of the gates after the All-Star break. Facing the Nuggets at home may just be the cure they needed, because Denver is the worst defensive road team in the league. The Houston Rockets (21-15) look to regain their offensive form against the Denver Nuggets (19-17) as both teams fight for playoff positioning in the Western Conference in Friday’s game of the night. The odds favor Houston (the line is 3.5) as they sit 15-4 at home this
On Monday, there were four injuries that could dramatically impact the NBA playoff picture. Chief among those was Chauncey Billups, who is out for the season with a torn Achilles’ tendon suffered in the Clippers bittersweet win over Orlando. An MRI exam revealed a full tear of the tendon. During the fourth quarter, Billups was trying to stop backpedaling, and he injured himself when he tried to switch direction and run forward. Averaging 15 points and 4 assists, Billups’ numbers will have
Kobe Bryant needed 22 points to pass Shaquille O’Neal on the all-time scoring list and got them in the first 21 minutes. He looked like he was on his way to 50, a great way to celebrate his annual trip to his hometown. The Lakers held a 55-30 advantage in rebounds. Andrew Bynum (20 points, 20 rebounds) and Pau Gasol (16 and 11) looked like they were playing against children. And LA held a seven-point lead with less than five minutes to
The highlight of the night once again involved Blake Griffin. But it was not the type of Griffin highlight you are accustomed to seeing. As friend and former colleague Beth Harris of the Associated Press described in four perfectly succinct words, Blake Griffin got Mozgov’d. Or to put it in words that would never be seen on the AP wire, Timofey Mozgov knocked Blake Griffin on his ass. It was one heck of a hard foul, and it came during one heck of a
The Los Angeles Clippers have come a long way. Once the laughingstock of the NBA, they are on national TV for the second straight night as they welcome the Denver Nuggets in Thursday’s best game. This is a rematch of the Clippers’ 109-105 victory on Sunday. This time, the Nuggets will have back speedster Ty Lawson to run with the Clippers’ star guard trio of Chris Paul, ex-Nugget Chauncey Billups and Mo Williams. It will also be the first time Timofey Mozgov
In fairness to the basketball expertise possessed by Jim Dolan, trading for a superstar usually works out great for the receiving team. The cliché in the NBA is, in fact, never trade away a superstar because you can’t get value. The danger in analyzing trades that are not even a year old and involve key players in their 20s, however, is that change can occur unexpectedly. That was the case in 1971 when the Baltimore Bullets sent sensational guard Earl Monroe to
Remember the old NBA slogan “I love this game!?” (It pre-dates “Where Amazing Happens”). If you are in your early 20s, you may not. But that’s OK. Lots of people in their early 20s seem to believe the world began 10 years ago, and have no recollection of crappy cell phone reception, dial-up Internet or the fax machine. But those who are a bit older certainly remember that ad campaign, and Sunday was one of those days when love for the game