I have been an MVP voter for the past six years, and it remains to be seen whether my departure from the mainstream media will impact my chances of casting a vote for the seventh straight season (When I was the NBA writer at the Associated Press for 10 years prior to my six at ESPN, we were not permitted to vote — the same rule writers at the New York Times have to follow). The guy who sends out the
The following sentence you are about to read is true. In Tuesday night’s home win over Philadelphia, LeBron James scored 14 straight Miami points in the fourth quarter. Look, a lot has been made of James’ disappearing acts in the guts of the game. Some of it is hater bait, but some of it is warranted. And most of what has been warranted dates to when he arrived in Miami at the beginning of last season. For the most part, James wasn’t like
NYK @ IND: It took a tremendous fourth-quarter comeback led by Danny Granger (27) and Paul George (18) but the Pacers pulled this one out. Carmelo Anthony was heroic in defeat with 39 PTS and 10 REB; the Knicks need much better guard play than they got from Iman Shumpert (2-6, 5 PTS) and Baron Davis (2-8, 6 PTS) although J.R. Smith had 11 PTS, 9 REB and 4 AST before being ejected. Elsewhere SAS @ CLE: A ridiculously easy win as
The way the Heat have played as of late, especially on the road, LeBron James’ MVP candidacy may be in jeopardy when it seemed to be his to lose after the All-Star break. Lucky for him, his team plays the next five games at home to try to make amends for their sudden road struggles, including an embarrassing 91-72 blowout loss to the Boston Celtics on Sunday before a national television audience. They are 21-2, the best home record in the league,
MIAMI — Re-introduce yourself to the Miami Heat, still the NBA’s most hated team, but now they’re hated for a new reason – because it appears they don’t always play hard, because it seems as though they get bored, they coast. Somehow, this group, despite having the NBA’s third-best record at 37-14, is re-defining Heat Hate. Who knew there was an extra flavor of Haterade? “We’re a tale of two teams sometimes,” coach Erik Spoelstra said. And that’s exactly what makes people dislike
So it looks like control of the Pacific Division will indeed be at stake Wednesday night when the Lakers and Clippers meet at the Staples Center for the fourth and final time this season. The primary reason why is the Clippers’ six-game winning streak that has moved them within a game of the Lakers entering Tuesday night’s games (which include the Lakers playing the Jersey Juggernauts). And the primary singular reason for the Clips’ surge is none other than Chris Paul, who
This week, there was a groundswell for Kevin Love’s inclusion in the MVP conversation. Thanks for joining us in 2012, folks. Love should should have been in it months ago. We know all the names that already comprised the conversation – LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Kobe Bryant, Chris Paul – with Tony Parker and Dwight Howard on the periphery. Those six candidates differ from Love in two ways. 1. They all play on winning teams. 2. This season, they all couldn’t wash Love’s socks. Yes,
