Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant is on an indomitable scoring tear while leading his team to five consecutive wins. Over the course of that stretch, he has averaged 40.4 points per contest—including a 54 point outing against the Golden State Warriors. Additionally, Durant has scored 30 or more points in nine consecutive games. Not only is he putting up big numbers, he is being exceptionally efficient at it. He is shooting 52.6 percent from the floor and over 39 percent from
Kobe Reminiscences on Celtics-Lakers Rivalry You and I weren’t the only ones that were disappointed when the Boston Celtics shipped off Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett this past summer. Kobe Bryant was right there with us. Their departure not only had a domino effect on the competitive landscape of the Eastern Conference, but the entire NBA. The Celtics would no longer be a threat, and that would mean the revived Celtics-Lakers rivalry that this generation finally got to experience to the fullest would also
Not for the faint of heart among two-time defending NBA champion Miami Heat fans, Wednesday night—after a two-day trip that included a stop by the White House—the “Heatles” fell to the Washington Wizards in disastrous fashion. The loss was their third straight. Many have insinuated that the Heat have been coasting through the early part of the season. Prior to Wednesday’s game against the Wizards, reigning MVP LeBron James addressed the coasting talk, “We’ll see Wednesday how I’m coasting. You’ll see the
Coming into Wednesday’s contest against the Washington Wizards, LeBron James scoffed at the notion that the Miami Heat were coasting this season. In fact, he even made a bold statement to follow up his claim that neither he nor the Heat were coasting, from Tom Haberstroh of ESPN: With two days off this weekend and a refreshing visit to the White House on Tuesday, James promises we’ll see a different James against the 17-19 Washington Wizards. “We’ll see Wednesday how I’m coasting,” James
NBA on ESPN analyst and Grantland editor in chief Bill Simmons maintains many titles: writer, fan, Los Angeles Clippers season ticket holder, husband, dad, among a few others. Among the many hats that he wears, he is an avid Boston Celtics fan. If you’ve followed his blogs or read his book, you know that he has been a big Celtics fan since he was a child—when his father would take him to the old Boston Garden. While still maintaining his Boston NBA
Memo to Brad Stevens: You are the new Michael Dukakis in Massachusetts. For those too young to remember, a short history lesson: Before he got trampled in the 1988 U.S. presidential election, the former governor of Massachusetts tried to toughen up his softie image by doing a photo op with Army troops, riding on an Abrams M1 tank. The whole thing was so ludicrous, so obviously staged, that Dukakis riding a tank became a euphemism for anything that seemed so completely out
Monday brought with it the FIFA Ballon d’Or 2013 Award Ceremony, where the world’s greatest football (soccer) player is honored. No different than the rest of the world, many NBA players are avid soccer fans. Prior to the award being announced a couple took to Twitter to express their anticipation for the award’s announcement. Los Angeles Lakers forward Pau Gasol seemed exuberant about the closeness of the competition for FIFA’s top honor. Very tight race this year but we will know pretty
I covered the Lakers in 2010-11 when they were chasing a third straight title and four straight Finals appearances. It was a strange experience. That group started the season 13-2, feasting on a home-heavy, fairly soft schedule. But from there, warning signs started popping up. They had several multiple-game losing streaks, and dropped games to some absolutely hideous teams (the 19-win Cleveland Cavaliers, for example). Those Lakers, save a brilliant run of 17 victories in 18 games coming out of the All-Star