It’s been one of ‘those’ seasons for the Dallas Mavericks. Already without Dirk Nowitzki (knee) and with assorted other injuries to key players preventing them from getting used to each other on the court, plus the Delonte West soap opera, they still got off to a 3-1 start. Now they have lost Shawn Marion to a sprained MCL. The initial prognosis is “at least three games” and the Matrix himself calls it “a minor little thing,” so his teammates and fantasy
The Nets are undefeated in their new home thanks to Brook Lopez, who scored 27 points. He used his size to get Jonas Valanciunas in early foul trouble, then his speed to beat Aaron Gray, after Toronto coach Dwane Casey showed his prize rookie some tough love at the end of the bench. Deron Williams (19 PTS, 9 AST) did a nice job of facilitating, and C.J. Watson got 28 minutes; he’s the backup PG but played off the ball with D-Will quite a bit and could be
All the attention in the NBA right now is on the Lakers, who lost again last night. Unlike the first two losses, to the Dirk Nowitzki-less Mavericks and the projected also-ran Blazers, this one was to the Clippers, who are a likely playoff team and potential title contender. But that’s not a whole lot of consolation to the Lakers, who are now 0-11 including preseason games. And amidst all the discussion of Mike Brown and the Princeton offense, the Lakers got
ATLANTA — James Harden is warming up to this whole ‘foundational player’ thing. The Rockets’ new $80 million man spoiled Atlanta’s home opener by dropping a career-high 45 points on the Hawks in Houston’s 109-102 win on Friday night. Not a bad encore to his 37-point Rocket debut on Halloween. Working those mammoth stat lines into wins should be even more encouraging to Kevin McHale, Daryl Morey and everyone else (outside of Oklahoma City) who had a hand in making Harden so
As much as I enjoy the NBA, there is a tedium to the preseason that only makes me feel dissatisfied. I’m that much closer to regular season basketball, but yet I don’t quite have it, kind of like Al Pacino and his retirement in The Godfather 3. Nonetheless, as we enter a new season, I’m always looking for players who will emerge as stars. I also look at who has a realistic chance of getting traded. And then I like to
(This is another in a series of 30 guest columns that will run in October, when optimism reigns supreme across the NBA. The theme will be “Five Reasons to Feel Positive About … ” We encourage you to follow the authors on Twitter and visit their sites. – CS) The Atlanta Hawks spent the last seven years developing a contender in the Eastern Conference and the last five cultivating a core of Joe Johnson, Josh Smith, Al Horford and Marvin Williams. Dubbed
If the NBA is a restaurant, the preseason games are its appetizers: often tantalizing, but only occasionally tasty. Chris Bernucca has a look at the yummy aspects of the first few games, namely what can be learned about some of the league’s top teams. We’re also continuing our series of guest columns on why fans of all 30 NBA teams have reason to feel good about their squads, with the latest installment covering the Grizzlies from Tom Lorenzo of StraightOuttaVancouver. And whether you
The Fantasy Spin is delighted to be partnered with FanDuel this season. Daily fantasy games are challenging, exciting and can be lucrative. Compared to 20 years of Roto and a dozen or more Head-to-Head seasons, I’m a novice at this. The FanDuel hoops game is beautifully simple: pick nine players — 2PG, 2 SG, 2 SF, 2 PF, 1 C — and whoever scores the most points wins. The scoring system is also uncomplicated: 3-pt FG = 3pts; 2-pt FG = 2pts; FT =