ORLANDO — We’ll begin this morning by offering our congratulations to Sam Smith for receiving the Curt Gowdy Media Award, which means he gets to join our own Mark Heisler and former AP colleague Jim O’Connell in the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass. Smith, like Heisler a victim of the Tribune company’s talent purge, now writes unfiltered for Bulls.com. You should read his column every Monday. He gets to write without being edited, which can be a blessing and
There was one “game” last night, the Rising Stars Challenge. While it was an entertaining exhibition, and Kyrie Irving a deserving MVP, we’re here to report fantasy news. Kawhi Leonard skipped the game with a sore calf that shouldn’t be an ongoing issue. Among the other rookies and sophomores, with no defence being played, a few performances were disappointing. Jeremy Lin, looking tired, was limited to 8:55 on the court and Blake Griffin (10:33) was also given plenty of rest,
Two days ago, Rajon Rondo had nearly a week off for the All-Star break. Now he’s an extremely busy man. The star point guard of the Boston Celtics, added Wednesday to the Eastern Conference All-Stars as an injury replacement for Atlanta’s Joe Johnson, will also fill in for injured Stephen Curry of Golden State in the Skills Challenge on All-Star Saturday. The NBA announced the move Friday, hours before media availability begins in Orlando, Fla. Sheridan Hoops is on site and will
There aren’t many fringe benefits that come with a 66-game schedule, but one cool quirk is that All-Star Weekend is splitting the season almost exactly in half. When the Lakers and Thunder wrap things up late Thursday night, all but six teams will have played half their games as the league takes a four-day break in Orlando, where the forecast is less than ideal. Speaking of less than ideal forecasts, below are our midseason award winners, delivered with the complete understanding that “they
James, Durant Earn Weekly Honors The Miami Heat?s LeBron James and the Oklahoma City Thunder?s Kevin Durant today were named the Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week, respectively, for games played Monday, Feb. 13, through Sunday, Feb. 19. James led Miami to a 4-0 week, averaging 27.8 points, 8.3 rebounds, 5.8 assists and 2.0 steals. Durant helped Oklahoma City to a 3-1 week which included wins over the Utah Jazz and Denver Nuggets. Durant averaged 32.0 points and 8.0
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
The return of Kyrie Irving (22 points) is great for his fantasy owners and the Cavs. The probable Rookie of the Year showed no ill effects from his recent mild concussion, and made his teammates much better. Semih Erden is suddenly a hot fantasy pickup in many leagues. The big Turk had 18 PTS on 7-8 shooting and grabbed 8 REB, cementing his role as the starting center while Anderson Varejao is out. Coming off the bench didn’t hurt Ramon
According to a source, the NBA is hoping to add Lin to its All-Star lineup by having him participate in the Haier Shooting Stars competition during All-Star Saturday night. The competition features one current NBA player, one current WNBA player and one TNT on-air talent and legend on each team. Lin would be the obvious choice, especially since he has become an overnight sensation. He is 5-0 as a starter and the Knicks have won six straight games since Lin became