Mike Dunlap will be asked to cook the dinner in Charlotte. But he won’t be allowed to shop for the groceries. At least not at the NBA draft. Dunlap, the former St. John’s assistant hired as the new coach of the Charlotte Bobcats, told SheridanHoops he won’t have much input on the team’s No. 2 pick in Thursday’s draft – if it uses the pick at all. “I’m secondary,” Dunlap said in a lengthy telephone interview. “These guys (owner Michael Jordan, president of
Kevin Durant scored 44 points but his team lost their third straight game. Russell Westbrook was close to a triple-double (21 PTS, 11 REB, 9 AST) but missed 16 FG attempts, which doesn’t help fantasy owners. Serge Ibaka played less than 20 minutes; only his coach knows why. The Pacers are in a groove — Danny Granger led the way with 26 and Paul George had 16 rebounds from the backcourt. Roy Hibbert (21 PTS, 12 REB, 4 BLK) played
For the second straight game, LeBron James carried his team, with 34 points, 10 assists, seven rebounds, four steals and a refusal to lose. Dwayne Wade did play, but had “only” 19 with 5 TO, while Chris Bosh (12) was quiet again. The Heat overcame 30 from Kevin Durant and 28 from Russell Westbrook by effectively shutting down everyone else. This game was rough and intense; if it really was a Finals preview, I can’t wait. In Other Games IND @ WAS:
You have to admire the Rockets. They came out fast, then had a horrible second quarter and could easily have given up. Instead, they won the second half by 17 points behind the unlikely Big Three of Goran Dragic (21), Luis Scola (18) and Marcus Camby (12 PTS, 11 REB.) Chicago, which hadn’t lost two in a row all season, got 24 from Luol Deng and 16 from Carlos Boozer, but their guards were disappointing. Richard Hamilton played 20 minutes
It was the Russell Westbrook show in L.A., especially in the third quarter, when he scored 17 of his 36 points. Kevin Durant missed eight of his first nine before heating up; he finished with 21 PTS and 11 REB, plus 5 AST and 2 BLK. The Lakers — except for Andrew Bynum (25 PTS, 13 REB, 4 BLK) — did not shoot well. Kobe Bryant had 23 points on 25 FG attempts. Elsewhere WAS @ IND: Hardly a classic, but a
Kobe Bryant, wearing a mask to protect his broken nose, had 31 PTS, 7 REB and 8 AST as the Lakers trounced Minnesota. We know that Mamba is also playing with a sore wrist and maybe even a mild concussion. He’s one of the few athletes in any sport who seems impervious to pain. Kevin Love did not play, due to sore ribs and the flu, so this one was no contest. Anthony Randolph got 19 minutes and played well;
In a major upset, global sensation Jeremy Lin was added to the player pool for the Rising Stars Challenge at All-Star Weekend. Lin, the second-year point guard of the New York Knicks, was a late addition to the pool, as was Miami Heat rookie guard Norris Cole. TNT analysts Charles Barkley and Shaquille O’Neal served as GMs and chose from a pool of 10 sophomores and 10 rookies. Here are there picks (O’Neal had the first pick): TEAM SHAQ Blake Griffin Greg Monroe Markieff Morris Ricky Rubio Jeremy Lin Kemba
Wanna see Ricky Rubio throw lobs to Blake Griffin? How about John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins teaming up again, as they did at Kentucky? It could happen in the BBVA Rising Stars Challenge, which revealed its player pool Wednesday. As we reported Tuesday, the Rookie-Sophomore Challenge is no more. NBA assistant coaches picked the pool of nine rookies and nine sophomores listed below, but TNT analysts Charles Barkley and Shaquille O’Neal will serve as GMs and draft teams Feb. 16 on the