This offseason was an eventful one for the Bobcats and their fans. It started the same as the previous one: looking for a new coach. This time, the search did not last quite as long as they snapped up long-time Jeff Van Gundy assistant Steve Clifford. Then they stunned analysts and fans alike at the draft by selecting Cody Zeller over Nerlens Noel, Ben McLemore and Alex Len at fourth overall. With newfound financial flexibility because of DeSagana Diop’s expiring contract, the
Now 11-2 under coach P.J. Carlesimo, the Nets rode the hot hand of Joe Johnson (25 PTS, 5 AST, 3 REB) at the beginning and end of an excellent game. Brooklyn earns temporary NYC bragging rights and is now just one game back of the Knicks in the Atlantic Division. [Read more…]
We are down to the bargain bin of free agency. Reduced for clearance! Everything must go! Up to 90 percent off! Yes, we know Mickael Pietrus and Derek Fisher aren’t exactly scrap heap material. Both were key players for playoff teams last season, as were Leandro Barbosa and Kenyon Martin. But most of what is left falls into three categories: Olympians, amnesty victims and veterans too proud to take minimum deals. There is some variety remaining at both forward spots and shooting guard but
The lowly Charlotte Hornets upset the Magic as Corey Maggette scored 29 points and teenager Bismack Biyombo, matched up against Dwight Howard, had 10 PTS, 15 REB and 7 BLK. Boris Diaw, who wants to be traded or released, was benched in favor of D.J. White. This is fantasy gold in some deep leagues. You can pick up White as a FA, then get Diaw ridiculously cheap and hope he ends up in a better situation. If you already own Boris,
There will be better recaps of the All-Star game than mine, because the main fantasy takeaway is Kobe Bryant’s broken nose and Luol Deng falling on his already very sore wrist. Neither returned, but both are warriors who won’t miss many games, if any. Andrew Bynum was a surprise starter after having his knee injected two days earlier, and lasted just five minutes. We’re going around the league today, in alphabetical order. The string of numbers after each team is games
It was about time for Jeremy Lin to have a bad game. Everyone does. The ferocious Miami defense harassed the Knicks’ PG into eight turnovers, and held him to 1-11 shooting. Don’t panic; the Heat can do this to a lot of teams. Amare Stoudamire turned the ball over six times and had just 13 points, and while Carmelo Anthony scored 19, he shot 7-20 with five FG attempts blocked. Only J.R. Smith and Steve Novak seemed unaffected by the