Has LeBron James rid himself of his image as a villain? Jersey sales would certainly suggest that. The NBA released the top 15 selling jerseys from April through Cyber Monday, and James has reclaimed the top spot. James last had the top-selling jersey in April 2011, less than a year after he joined the Miami Heat via “The Decision” and before his poor performance in the NBA Finals against the Dallas Mavericks. [Read more…]
Where to begin? Mike Brown’s exit? Phil Jackson’s overnight disappearance? The unending string of power forward injuries? A reformed J.R. Smith on the undefeated New York Knicks? This season has been full of shocking developments; if you look closely enough you can find a significant surprise in nearly every division and on every team. [Read more…]
There are a number of noteworthy players that are on the verge of becoming a restricted free agent by season’s end, including guards Stephen Curry, Jrue Holiday, Brandon Jennings, Tyreke Evans and others. Why? Because their respective teams have yet to decide whether they are worth the long-term investment. James Harden was also among the boat of players looking to receive a contract extension, but we all know how that ended up (he is preparing to suit up for the
// When the Los Angeles Lakers acquired Dwight Howard, I didn’t stutter when I declared that they would win 70 games this season. Well, it took nearly all of the preseason, but we finally got a look at Howard back on the court in a Lakers uniform. And I saw nothing to change my mind.
It seemed more like an inevitability than a possibility when news about the status of Dirk Nowitzki’s knee broke out earlier in the preseason. There was swelling in his knee, and the German hinted at the possibility of surgery if the condition did not improve. Unfortunately, the swelling continued, forcing Nowitzki to undergo arthroscopic knee surgery on Friday. The procedure will sideline him for about six weeks. Chris Bernucca has the details of the situation. Playing without the heart of the team
Even for hoops addicts, watching NBA preseason games presents a challenge. The baseball playoffs are under way, the college football and NFL seasons are in full swing, and there is this small matter of a presidential election. There is no subscription package for the preseason. League Pass takes a pass until the regular season starts later this month. So the only way you can watch games right now is on NBA TV, which isn’t part of the basic package of a number
The Western Conference, as we’ve become accustomed to, is once again stacked with playoff-level teams. This means one or more of those teams will miss the playoffs due to the level of competition, even if they end up with a winning record. The Mavericks could end up being one of those teams if Dirk Nowitzki, who has a swollen knee that has yet to improve, misses an extended period of time this season. See how the sharp-shooting big man plans
Here are this morning’s top NBA news stories: “Allen Iverson won’t sign with Maccabi Haifa for games in NBA,” from Sportando “Extending Manu Ginobli,” by Yannis Koutroupis from HoopsWorld “NY Knicks’ Kurt Thomas not thinking retirement as veteran enters season still feeling young,” by Frank Isola from the New York Daily News “Dwightmare seems very far away as Howard reboots with lakers,” by Ken Berger from CBSSports.com “Mavericks’ Dirk Nowitzki on new NBA flopping rules: ‘A bunch of crap,'” by Eddie Sefko from Dallas Morning News “Rose playing recruiter,” by Joe