Any of the residual gratification felt by the New York Knicks and their fans was quickly erased Sunday when the Indiana Pacers came into Madison Square Garden and manhandled the Knicks to take away home court advantage. Indiana’s top-ranked defense protected both the rim (eight blocks, five by Roy Hibbert) and the arc (the Knicks made just seven 3-pointers, one less than the Pacers) as they led for the entire second half and took away many of New York’s secondary weapons.
Monday night was all about the National Championship game between Louisville and Michigan, and rightfully so. This was one game no basketball fan should have missed. Check out the details of the amazing game, along with players’ reactions here. Back to the NBA: with the season winding down, there are plenty of questions to wonder about. Will the Los Angeles Lakers make the playoffs this season? Who will be the Coach of the Year? Can Carmelo Anthony hold off Kevin Durant
Erik Spoelstra may be hunting for the greatest winning streak of all-time, but there is probably no one having more fun with his job than Denver Nuggets coach George Karl these days. Sure, a 14-game winning streak is no 24-game winning streak, but the reigning champions were supposed to be this good at some point this season. Not a whole lot around the league expected Denver to play this big of a role in the Western Conference. After the improbable 101-100
Now that Rudy Gay has finally been traded, who is the next significant player to go before the trade deadline? How about Atlanta Hawks forward Josh Smith, who thinks he deserves a max deal because, well, because he’s Josh Smith? The Phoenix Suns were highly interested in acquiring the services of Gay, but with that option out the door, their desires may be shifting towards Smith, according to Alex Kennedy of Hoopsworld: The Suns are pursuing Josh Smith, according to multiple league sources.
Kobe Bryant, or Magic Bryant? Whatever you want to call him, the Los Angeles Lakers shooting guard has drastically changed his style of play over the past two games for the greater good of his reeling team. And it’s working out quite swimmingly, too. After suffering 10 losses out of 12 contests, Bryant dropped his quest to lead the league in scoring and decided to put his focus on more important things – at least for the current make of this team –
A forgettable season for Cleveland Cavaliers center Anderson Varejao somehow got worse on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Varejao, who has been out with a leg injury, will reportedly miss the rest of the season after developing blood clot in his lower right lung, from NBA.com: [Read more…]
What has gotten into the abilities of the once-great Deron Williams? This is a guy that was once touted as the best point guard in the league during his tenure as a Jazz. Clearly, that sentiment was still strong over this past summer when he was heavily pursued by teams, before the coveted guard chose to sign with the Brooklyn Nets for nearly $100 million. Is it a simple case of a lack of effort for the guard, who has been handsomely paid?
Be it a fine or a suspension, we knew something big and bad was coming from commissioner David Stern. He had no choice but to do something significant after apologizing to the fans for what Gregg Popovich did and promising “substantial sanctions” against the San Antonio Spurs just before the start of their contest against the Miami Heat on Thursday. There were no suspensions of any kind, but Stern hit the Spurs organization with a hefty fine of $250,000 on Friday. Here