TORONTO— Say this for Russell Westbrook: It’s only fitting that someone who embodies Kobe Bryant’s ceaseless competitiveness would take home the MVP award in Bryant’s final All-Star game. Westbrook-ASG Russell Westbrook scored 31 points, grabbed eight rebounds and dished out five assists to take home his second straight MVP award in a 196-173 win— a record number of points in the game and for the winning team— for the West over the East on Sunday night at Toronto’s Air Canada Centre. “That’s
It’s been five years since Chris Bosh found himself in a truly competitive race for a playoff spot. The 2009-2010 season, his last as Toronto’s franchise player and his last before having LeBron James as a teammate, saw his team finish 40-42 and a game behind Chicago for the 8th seed in the Eastern Conference. In his first year without James since that ’09-’10 season, Bosh and his teammates will now compete in a tight playoff race for the first time in half
One thing you can be assured of when looking at the NBA’s Eastern Conference: Everybody is impressed with the Atlanta Hawks and their 42-11 record. Another thing you can be sure of: Nobody is shaking in their boots at the prospect of facing them in a playoff series. Still, there is no queston the Hawks are going to be a tough out, and they will likely play the Cleveland Cavaliers or the Chicago Bulls in the second round of the playoffs. Avoiding
An already aggravating season for the Boston Celtics just got worse today. Celtics All-Star guard Rajon Rondo tore the ACL in his right knee and will be forced to shut it down for the rest of the season. It is possible that Rondo could return for the start of the 2013-14 season, but a timetable for that date will certainly not be clear until after surgery. [Read more…]
Roster for tonight’s game: Lebron James Miami Kevin Durant Oklahoma Carmelo Anthony New York Blake Griffin LA Clippers Dwight Howard Orlando Andrew Bynum LA Lakers Derrick Rose Chicago Kobe Bryant LA Lakers Dwyane Wade Miami Chris Paul LA Clippers Chris Bosh Miami Kevin Love Minnesota Roy Hibbert Indiana Russell Westbrook Oklahoma Paul Pierce Boston Dirk Nowtzki Dallas Deron Williams New Jersey Marc Gasol Memphis Luol Deng Chicago LaMarcus Aldridge Portland Andre Iguodala Philadelphia Tony Parker San Antonio Rajon Rondo Boston Steve Nash Phoenix Joe Johnson Atlanta There’s a rumor circulating involving Howard, where the deal actually will come down March 1. It goes something like this: The Magic send Howard, SF Hedo Turkoglu and Nelson to the Lakers; the Magic receive Bynum and Gasol. The salaries are close to matching up, making
csprtContainer(); ORLANDO — We shot this video at the NBA Jam Session at the Orlando Convention Center, the first Jam Session I have spent extensive time at since 1994 when the game was in Minnesota and I saw Gheorghe Muresan walking around the Metrodome like a kid in a candy store. The opening and closing topics here were somewhat related: The first question was what was biggest surprise of the first half of the season, and I went with the decline of
Next year’s All-Star Weekend will be in Houston. The NBA announced Wednesday that the Rockets and the city of Houston will host the 62nd All-Star Game on Feb. 17, 2013. It marks the third time Houston has hosted the game. It first hosted in 1989 and again in 2006. Beginning with 2006, the NBA has made a commitment to placing All-Star Weekend in supposed warm-weather sites such as Phoenix, Dallas, Los Angeles, etc. However, All-Star Weekend 2006 in Houston was marked by consistently overcast