// Louis Amundson, Jeff Pendergraph, Gana Diop, Bismack Biyombo, Dexter Pittman, Ed Davis, Gary Forbes, Robin Lopez, Sam Young, Luke Babbitt. No, it’s not another edition of The Bernucca List, because we’re going to give you the answer right away. Of the 115 players who took the floor in Tuesday’s five NBA games, those were the 10 who did not score. Those were also the same 10 who Carmelo Anthony managed to outscore. That’s Carmelo Anthony, fourth in the NBA in scoring at
Hard to believe that anyone’s role model in the NBA would be . . . the Cleveland Cavaliers? The little team that couldn’t? The franchise so unattractive that it could not even entice local sensation LeBron James to stay? The team that has lost its last three games by an average of 28.3 points per game? Admittedly, it is difficult to look up to the Cavaliers when they went from seasons of winning 66 and 61 games to winning only 19
Rookie sensation Ricky Rubio finally gets a national television audience and two of the NBA’s best power forwards clash when the Minnesota Timberwolves visit the Los Angeles Clippers, which should be the best game on Friday’s schedule. A year ago, the idea of this game being televised by ESPN was ludicrous. Even with their recent resurgence, the Timberwolves (.238) and Clippers (.314) have the two worst winning percentages over the last four years. But the intrigue surrounding Rubio and the Clippers’ accumulation
// Dwyane Wade came back, but so did the Golden State Warriors. Derrick Rose dueled Ricky Rubio. And Kobe Bryant erupted for 48 points. But they all have to take a momentary backseat to the Washington Wizards, who finally won a game. All it took was an overhaul of their starting lineup, a spark from their previously invisible prized rookie and a visit from the weary Toronto Raptors. The last winless team in the NBA broke through Tuesday night with a 93-78 win
If Mike D’Antoni’s New York Knicks do not defeat the winless Washington Wizards tonight … Well, as Moke Hamilton pointed out in his Friday column about the Knicks, there is no telling what Jim Dolan might do. But there certainly is a growing vulture culture surrounding the fourth-best team in the Eastern Conference’s worst division following the Knicks’ brutal home loses to the Raptors and Bobcats, and D’Antoni does not enjoy the comfort level he once had when Donnie Walsh was the
Monday’s 10-game slate includes the NBA’s only unbeatens facing tests as Miami hosts Atlanta and Oklahoma City travels to Dallas. Elsewhere, the New York Knicks return home to face Toronto and the Orlando Magic take their four-game winning streak to Detroit. But the most intriguing game undoubtedly is at the Target Center, where the Minnesota Timberwolves host the San Antonio Spurs and perhaps giving Ricky Rubio his long-awaited duel vs. Tony Parker. I will be the first to admit that I have
// Happy New Year from me, too. Bernucca wrote that lede in yesterday’s roundup, and imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. But enough of that. We’re here this morning to talk about Ricky Rubio, and you can’t do that without referencing Licky Lubio (more on that below). The Minnesota Timberwolves have become Must-See TV. Readers who are 30 or older might remember the buzz surrounding Jason Williams in the early days of 1998 when the Sacramento Kings were the hep team
Why did Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook get into another fight on the bench last night, as they did in last year’s playoffs? One reason is because they are young and emotional, and youngsters get into fights and show their emotions more than most veterans. Kids will be kids, after all. Also, one of them is more mature than the other. Does it mean Durant and Westbrook hate each other? Far from it, as I explain in the above video. Want to win two free