The man only had one lockout-shortened season on the Lakers bench and we’re merely five games into 2012-13, so why is everyone freaking out? Not only did he install a new offense during camp; he had to do it with an offseason’s worth of fresh bodies. So after a loss in their fifth game, a single question divided most of the Basketball God Fearing world: should CSKA Moscow fire Ettore Messina? Not the former Laker coach you were expecting? I’m sure this
Even for hoops addicts, watching NBA preseason games presents a challenge. The baseball playoffs are under way, the college football and NFL seasons are in full swing, and there is this small matter of a presidential election. There is no subscription package for the preseason. League Pass takes a pass until the regular season starts later this month. So the only way you can watch games right now is on NBA TV, which isn’t part of the basic package of a number
// Team USA will face Spain on Sunday in a rematch of the 2008 Beijing final. The Americans survived Pau Gasol’s 21 points to win a 118-107 classic and recapture the gold medal they were unworthy of in Athens four years earlier. There was no way to tell by watching that fiercely contested final that only a week earlier, the United States had beaten the same Spanish team by 37. And when it comes to Olympic basketball, that’s just it. Given the
Since when did going after another player’s “jewels” become the act of frustration or retaliation in basketball? Just two days after watching Carmelo Anthony take a “cheap shot” to the groin from Argentinian guard Facundo Campazzo, we saw another hit to the groin take place on Wednesday when a frustrated Nicolas Batum threw a vicious shot at Juan Carlos Navarro. Check out what went down between France and Spain, along with how Team USA defeated Australia to move onto the semifinals below.
In 1992, Lithuania ran onto the floor of Palau Municipal d’Esports in Badalona, Spain led by Arvydas Sabonis and Sarunas Marciulionis, both draped in the greatest warm-ups in the history of sports. Their shirts were tie-dyed in Lietuva’s red, green and yellow and featured a dunking skeleton slapped across the middle. Jerry Garcia and the Grateful Dead were behind the slick get up, and very much behind Lithuania’s cause, as the Baltic nation sought to escape the Soviet’s shadow and compete under
Tony Parker’s rough adjustment to life in goggles carried over into France’s game against Argentina on Tuesday. At halftime, he had managed just four points. While eyewear may have slowed Parker in the first half, Pablo Prigioni could do no such thing in the second, and France beat Argentina 71-64, putting them in the catbird seat for the coveted second slot in Group A. The French point guard dribbled around high screens and slower Argentines to get into the lane and, more importantly,
We’ve had a very positive preparation for the Olympics! Tomorrow we start competing! Let’s see if you like this video!youtube.com/watch?v=j1Q0H6… — Pau Gasol (@paugasol) July 28, 2012 The self-proclaimed “beast” of the London Olympics shared this 5-minute lovefest video with the world, and make no mistake — Spain is going into these Olympics supremely confident. However … Pau’s brother Marc has a bruised shoulder that kept him out of the final friendly against Team USA. Juan Carlos Navarro, the team’s best guard, has plantar
ISTANBUL — It’s a city so massive that it spans two continents, and even the taxi drivers have to stop and ask for directions. The five daily calls to prayer give Istanbul a conservative soundtrack, while folks who flock to Istiklal Street by the thousands soak up a nightlife that dares even the most adventurous party-goers to keep up. Venders hawk you through the halls of the Grand Bazaar, clamoring for your business in whichever language you’re willing to bargain; still,