If the Boston Celtics are actually tanking, they are doing a really bad job of it. The Celtics played three very different kinds of basketball games over the previous five days – I was at two of them – that showed a lot about the way this team is operating. And giving away wins for ping-pong balls isn’t part of the plan. On Friday, Boston scored the first 14 points against Denver and led 39-15 after the first quarter. The Celtics nearly gave
STORY OF THE DAY: It was reported last week that the divorce between Jason Kidd and Lawrence Frank was brewing since the beginning of the season. Mike Mazzeo of ESPN came up with a few more details on what exactly went down: Brooklyn Nets coach Jason Kidd allegedly used “a 13-letter word” against assistant Lawrence Frank during a blow-up at some point following the team’s loss in Orlando on Nov. 3. In an expletive-laced rant, Kidd told Frank to sit down and be quiet. “I’m
Leave it to the NBA’s reigning Executive of the Year to upstage Kobe Bryant’s return. Going into the Raptors’ game with the Lakers in the Staples Center, all the buzz was (rightfully) on Black Mamba’s return from a torn Achilles, but with the Raps shedding Rudy Gay’s contract, it seems like Kobe’s return has been kind of pushed to a side burner for now. Not the back burner, but it’s not all that’s getting talked about. [Read more…]
The gambling life ain’t easy, folks — which is where today’s tale begins. But by the time you get to the end of today’s column, hopefully you’ll be amused by my personal adventures and enlightened by my leaguewide analysis. We are at the quarter-pole of the NBA season, and trends have emerged. First, to truly appreciate what it means to gamble on the NBA on a daily basis, you had to experience what it was like to bet on the Philadelphia 76ers
BROOKLYN – Mikhail Prokhorov once vowed to take over New York as owner of the Brooklyn Nets and turn Knicks fans into Nets fans. But on Thursday night in front of a national TV audience, it was the Knicks who took over Brooklyn and Barclays Center. It was so bad, Brooklyn’s introductory video malfunctioned before loud boos for Kevin Garnett and Jason Kidd filled the arena during the starting lineup introductions. Chants of “Let’s go Knicks” began as New York pulled away
When I lived in the US, I took both Thanksgiving and Black Friday off from just about everything except eating, sleeping, and watching TV. Even fun things like the internet and video games. Now I live in Canada, so I don’t get to take either day off, but if you’re like me, only American, you could be forgiven for missing yesterday’s Sixth Man rankings. [Read more…]
BROOKLYN — Can one quarter ruin a basketball team’s season? It could if that 12-minute span of poor play happens over, and over and over again — compounding the many problems the team has overall. The Detroit Pistons outscored the Nets 34-15 in the third quarter on Sunday afternoon at the Barclays Center in a 109-97 loss that dropped Brooklyn to an almost unfathomable 3-10 on the season. In the Nets’ 10 losses, they’ve been outscored by a total of 96
The big news of today is that Derrick Rose has another knee injury. This time, it’s not an ACL tear, but it is a meniscus tear, which obviously isn’t a good thing. This is terrible news for the Bulls, of course, but it could be good news for any team shopping a point guard. Orlando and Jameer Nelson, I’m looking at you. Also, do the Suns really need Goran Dragic right now? There’s not many prospective playoff teams in the market for