BOSTON — From the beginning of the 2007-08 season until the final horn sounded after Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Miami Hea last June, the Boston Celtics were encapsulated by the Big Three +1 of Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen and Rajon Rondo. If anyone needs a refresher course on what was lost when Ray Allen decided to head down to Miami to team up with Dwyane Wade and LeBron James, last night’s performance by the Celtics
MIAMI – Here’s how you know it’s a new day for the Miami Heat: They lead the league in points per game and rank second-to-last in points allowed. “We make our mark defensively,” MVP LeBron James said. He’s right. But maybe that’s about to change a little bit. Maybe. For years and years, the Heat have prided themselves on defense. That’s the culture. This is the team that gets its defensive philosophy from Pat “Contest Every Possession” Riley. It is defensive-minded right down
You can point to a handful of reasons why the Los Angeles Lakers are on the verge of panic. Dwight Howard missed all of training camp and most of preseason recovering from back surgery. Kobe Bryant has a sprained foot that requires him to wear a walking boot. Steve Nash is out for a while with a fracture in his fibula. That lack of continuity led to 11 straight losses – all eight in the preseason, which the Lakers dismissed as games that don’t count,
The NBA is a strange place sometimes. As this blog goes to press, the Bobcats and Rockets are undefeated, while the Lakers and Celtics are winless. We’re not even a week into the season, of course, but all 82 games count the same. Nick Gibson was a witness to James Harden’s 45-point outburst in Atlanta last night, and it’s up to the boss where to put The Beard in the debut of the MVP race rankings on Sunday. Also on Sheridan Hoops,
You can say what you want about Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban. You can say he’s cocky or arrogant; call him a jerk…some might even think he’s bad for the NBA. Then, there are those of us who think he’s great for the league and he has a big heart—despite whatever shortcomings he may have, because nobody is perfect. However, nowadays, actions speak louder than words.
With only one game on the docket, Thursday is a relatively slow day for the NBA and its athletes. Quite a few teams are hitting the road, taking flights and traveling to the locations of their next game. Most teams travel by plane, and different people deal with flights in different ways. All-Star shooting guard Dwyane Wade and the Miami Heat are on their way to Big Apple to prepare for their second game of the season against the New York Knicks. Wade’s method
MIAMI – LeBron James has completed the rarely seen transition from national villain to national darling. For the first time in two years, there’s no over-the-top hatred for James to start the season. There’s no venom or vitriol. It’s been an amazing transition to watch. Kobe Bryant made a similar change/comeback a few years ago. LeBron’s might have been bigger. “Quicker,” Dwyane Wade said with a smile. “But I don’t know about bigger. You can go with quicker comeback.” OK, he’s got a
This time it counts. The Lakers, 0-8 in the exhibition season, were supposed to turn it on and dominate the league. Not yet. Kobe Bryant played on that sore foot, scored 22 points but did nothing else to help his fantasy owners. Dwight Howard took all of one night to kill your FT% category, making a pathetic 3-14 from the stripe. He did have 19 PTS and 10 REB before fouling out. It was a tremendous upset for the injury-plagued
