Here’s something you may not have expected to hear after the first 17 games of the NBA season: the Lakers are 8-9, two games back from the Golden State Warriors in the standings. Why do the Warriors keep winning games, despite missing their main defensive weapons in Andrew Bogut and Brandon Rush? David Lee spoke with us to explain his team’s success on Sheridan Hoops Radio on Monday. What does it mean for the Lakers, who many expected would dominate and even
Fantasy Spin: October 8, 2012
Sunday Games GSW @ LAL: Way past my bedtime, the Warriors poured it on in the second half to trounce the Lakers. Festus Ezeli got the starting C assignment for Andrew Bogut, who is being brought along slowly. The Nigerian, by way of Vanderbilt, played 22:25 and while he didn’t fill the stat sheet, appears to be ahead of Jeremy Tyler (13:17) and Andris Biedrins (11:24) in the pecking order. Round 1 in the SF “battle” went as expected. Brandon Rush started,
Hornets’ Jack has stress fracture, done for season
New Orleans Hornets starting point guard Jarrett Jack has a stress fracture in his right foot and will miss the rest of the season, the team announced Monday. Jack missed the team’s last three games with the injury. Although very few noticed because the Hornets are enduring a miserable season, Jack was having the best year of his career, averaging 15.6 points, 6.3 assists and 3.9 rebounds, all career highs. Jack had his first career triple-double with 17 points, 11 assists and
Fantasy Spin: Sunday April 8
That’s what we should be expecting from Ray Allen as the sixth man. Five 3-pointers, four steals and 19 points in 33 minutes. Avery Bradley (4 PTS in 29 minutes) is starting mostly for defensive purposes, and Paul Pierce (24) is the main scoring option. Kevin Garnett (15 PTS, 7 REB) got a lot of support from Greg Stiemsma (10 PTS, 9 REB, 5 BLK) up front. Many of the Pacers played just as well as they had in upsetting
Fantasy Spin: Saturday March 24
The one game I expected to be a “rout” last night was instead a classic. What an effort by Kevin Love, who scored 51 points in the double-overtime loss, including seven 3-pointers. J.J. Barea had his first career triple-double for Minnesota (25 PTS, 14 AST, 10 REB) while playing 47 minutes — off the bench! Russell Westbrook (45) and Kevin Durant (40 PTS, 17 REB, 5 AST. 3 STL) were terrific for the Thunder, and although Derek Fisher missed nine
Jason Smith of Hornets suspended two games for flagrant foul
NEW YORK — Jason Smith of the New Orleans Hornets has been suspended two games without pay for his Flagrant Foul Two against Blake Griffin of the Los Angeles Clippers, it was announced today by Stu Jackson, the NBA’s executive vice president of basketball operations. The incident, in which Smith made excessive contact with the upper body of Griffin, occurred with 4:06 remaining in the fourth quarter of the Hornets 97-90 win over the Clippers on March 22 at New Orleans Arena. Smith will serve his
Del Negro at risk as Clips lose to Hornets; Celtics snap Bucks’ streak
The marriage started out so beautifully. Chris Paul was traded to the Los Angeles Clippers from the New Orleans Hornets as Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan jumped for joy and proclaimed themselves as “lob city.” The team got off to a tremendous 19-8 start and looked destined to be an immediate contender. Soon after losing Chauncey Billups to a torn Achilles tendon, however, the team’s lack of cohesion became more apparent by the game. Caron Butler fell off the map, Griffin’s offense proved to be limited