Back from Vegas, I took in the Lakers-Knicks game at Madison Square Garden on Sunday and listened to a dejected Pau Gasol lament a lack of effort and espouse his frustrations over a lost Lakers season. You can be damn well sure he is looking forward to the trade deadline, waiting to find out if he’ll play a single meaningful basketball game before summer arrives. But once summer does arrive, the big Spaniard is going to have a lot left in the
NBA fans do an awful job of protecting the image of their favorite sport. This is not the NFL, which has been America’s pastime for a generation and can do no wrong in the eyes of its fans. The only time the NFL has an image problem is when a storm affects satellite reception. This is also not baseball, which has a considerable image problem with its collection of prima donnas on PEDS. But it also has more than a century of
In a highly contested matchup between the Portland Trail Blazers and the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Trail Blazers prevailed to win their 33rd game of the season. Though 33 wins in an 82 game season isn’t exactly a major feat, it does tell of how far this team has come in one season. There are still 38 games left in the season, and Portland has managed to tie their total amount of wins from last year in half that time. [Read more…]
After months of anticipation, the All-Star voting results finally came in on Thursday, courtesy of NBA on TNT. There were plenty of expected names on the roster like LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Blake Griffin, Carmelo Anthony, Dwyane Wade and (gulp) Kobe Bryant. There were also plenty of first-timers like Stephen Curry – receiver of the fourth most votes in the league – along with Kevin Love, Paul George and Kyrie Irving. [Read more…]
Adam Silver is a nice guy, or so I’ve come to believe. There are those who will tell you the exact is opposite, but they say so in a whisper. They are not what is known in NBA headquarters as an FOA (Friend of Adam), and thus they fear and loathe him the same way so many basketball fans fear, loathe … and hate, yes hate, outgoing commissioner David Stern. Fairly or unfairly, Stern has become a lightning rod for every grievance
The title of this post says it all: Is DeMarcus Cousins an All-Star? Well, I’ll say this — as I say below in my interview with Grant Napear of KHTK Radio in Sacramento — he is certainly an All-Star talent, and I have even given him an All-NBA third team vote in the past. But then I’ll also ask you this: Is Gordan Hayward an All-Star? Again, the Jazz shotmeister is certainly an All-Star talent, but an All-Star? I’ll leave that for the
ERIC BLEDSOE OUT INDEFINITELY: The season of major injuries continued on Thursday, as news broke that guard Bledsoe will be out indefinitely due to expected surgery on his troublesome right knee. Marc Stein of ESPN broke the news: Phoenix Suns guard Eric Bledsoe, a top contender for the NBA’s Most Improved Player award, is out indefinitely after the team determined he needs a surgical procedure to repair cartilage in his right knee, according to sources with knowledge of the situation. Sources told ESPN.com that the
So much for Kobe Bryant’s abilities as a campaign manager. Despite his public prodding for fans to vote for Damian Lillard, the NBA’s leader in 3-point field goals, the Portland point guard trails seven other backcourt players in the latest Western Conference balloting results released Wednesday. At least he is getting some respect on this site. Did you see where he landed in our latest MVP rankings? LeBron James of the Miami Heat and Kevin Durant of the Oklahoma City Thunder lead their