BROOKLYN – Mikhail Prokhorov will reportedly be in Turkey on Sunday celebrating his 50th birthday with legions of $20,000 models hoping to console him after his American playtoy’s season came to a crashing halt at the hands of the Atlanta Hawks in Game 6 Friday night. So what does the unabashed playboy do with this broken playtoy? A little more than five years ago, Prokhorov vowed to bring a championship to Brooklyn or get married if that didn’t happen within five years. Now,
NBA free agency is still over two months away, but rumblings are already starting that the top realistic name available is very ready to explore the market come July. ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne reported last week that LaMarcus Aldridge was more likely to leave the Blazers than most folks around the league realize, while The Oregonian‘s Jason Quick quoted an anonymous Portland teammate as estimating the chances of Aldridge returning to Portland are 50-50, at best. The rumor mill picked up even more steam
In his most recent column, Danny Schayes noted how the Utah Jazz were doing a pretty nice job of playing spoilers, beating a bunch of the top playoff contending teams. Lots of crazy outcomes can happen in the late days of a season, and Schayes recounted a pair of instances when his team was out of the playoff picture but came up with victories that were not only unlikely, but uncommon for the circumstances that surrounded them. Here is a link
Marc Gasol did not sound like a player who is leaving the Memphis Grizzlies for the New York Knicks – or any other team, for that matter – when he becomes an unrestricted free agent in July. Gasol’s history in the city of Memphis and what he has spent a large portion of his life building with the Grizzlies will almost certainly prove too much to leave behind this offseason. The Grizzlies clinched the playoffs for the fifth straight season and
The NCAA Tournament has been fantastic on so many levels, but what really moves the meter among NBA fans is the question of who has been improving their draft stock. Coach Bobby Gonzalez, who turned the NCAA world on its head a couple times when coaching in the big dance, has been watching almost every game. (He is a columnist now, so click here for his archive as you listen. When you get a guy likes Gonzo on the radio and start picking
In a meaningless game between two of the NBA bottom-feeders, the New York Knicks and the Philadelphia 76ers, a player who hasn’t played all season gets the social media glory for … dancing? Nerlens Noel, who led the Sixers in scoring, rebounds, steals and blocks with 23 points, 14 boards, five steals and three blocks, should be the 17-52 team’s unsung hero. However, it seems to be 2014 draftee Joel Embiid who is grooving to whatever tune Noel could possibly be singing. [Read
Dwyane Wade leads the NBA in fourth-quarter scoring. His team has defeated LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers twice during the regular season when the Cavs have traveled to Miami. If there is one potential matchup that is going to make the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs interesting, it is Heat vs. Cavaliers. As the standings look now, a 2 vs. 7 matchup between the teams could take place. But Miami could still fall to No. 8 or rise
The San Antonio Spurs lost to the New York Knicks 104-100 in overtime on Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden and Spurs coach Gregg Popovich was not happy with his team’s performance. In a short yet purposeful postgame statement to the media, Popovich bashed the way the Spurs played and complimented the way the Knicks played to earn just their 14th win of the season. “We didn’t respect the game, we didn’t respect our opponent,” Popovich said. “It was a pathetic performance. And I