While the news of the day is most certainly that Oklahoma City guard Russell Westbrook will be sidelined until after the All-Star break due to an unexpected arthroscopic knee surgery, life in the NBA must go on. And on it will go for the New York Knicks, who according to ESPN’s Marc Stein, will remain intact for the time being: [Read more…]
Can money buy happiness? If you’re the Brooklyn Nets and New York Knicks, the answer is no. The Nets have the league’s highest payroll, while the Knicks rank second. The combined exorbitant payroll has produced a deflating 18-38 record and proven any championship aspirations were merely a pipe dream. Ironically, speaking of the pipe, J.R. Smith was the first Knick to panic back when the team was only 3-8 at the time. Now, it appears Smith’s anxiety was warranted. Thanks to injuries, a lack
What are the Brooklyn Nets right now, other than a pathetic underachieving ballclub? Brook Lopez is not coming back this season after breaking his foot, and the Nets dropped to 2-8 without him after Monday’s 103-86 loss to Indiana. Brooklyn is 9-18, a .333 winning percentage. “It’s certainly a big setback, he’s a great player,” Indiana coach Frank Vogel said. “One of the best centers in the league, so it’s obviously very difficult to replace what he gives on both ends.” What’s worse
Is this how things are going to be for the Brooklyn Nets without their starting center? In the first game since losing Brook Lopez to a season-ending foot injury, the Nets got ripped by the Indiana Pacers and suffered an embarrassing 103-86 loss at home. To be fair, they did lose to the best team in the league (at least from a record perspective). The Pacers are ranked No. 1 in defensive rating and allow a league best 89.4 points. That’s
In his stated effort to upstage Knicks owner James Dolan, Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov has become him. Like Dolan, Prokhorov desperately wants an NBA championship. Like Dolan, he has pursued that desperation with financial abandon, giving his GM an open checkbook. Like Dolan, he has overspent on overvalued big names. Like Dolan, he has mortgaged his team’s future by giving away multiple draft picks. And like Dolan, he appears headed down the abyss. In two months, the Nets have gone from contenders with
Damian Lillard is very good. Okay, maybe we knew that already. But watching him carry the Blazers to an incredible win against a Cavs team that was very much on top of their game tonight, and then cap it with a game-winning three… that was something else. LaMarcus Aldridge is also very good, and so are Wesley Matthews and Nic Batum. But it’s Lillard who makes the whole thing work. [Read more…]
This was NOT the scene in Indianapolis after the Pacers defeated the Heat, but it is a fitting approximation of the post-game mood at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. What to make of the Pacers’ come-from-behind victory over the Miami Heat on Tuesday night. Well, for starters, it provided some validation for Indiana after their scintillating start to the season. showing that they have the goods (and the composure) to compete with the two-time defending champs. But when will REAL
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