The trade deadline had passed at 3PM EST on Thursday afternoon. Everything seemed settled and players could finally take a deep breath and play basketball again. Not so fast. Moments after the official deadline had passed, word arrived out of Denver that they had traded away long-tenured Nene Hilario in a three-team deal, receiving JaVale McGee, Ronny Turiaf and a future second-round pick in the process. The loss of Nene turned out to be too much for George Karl and the Denver Nuggets
We always begin here with a quick review of last night’s games. The Sunday Spin, posted a few hours later than our usual 8:00 a.m. deadline, previews not just today’s contests, but the week ahead for all 30 teams. Finally, there’s an account of my efforts to learn daily fantasy games on DraftStreet.com, which I hope is as much fun for you to read as it was for me to write. UTA @ CHI: As expected, Luol Deng got the night
One man started the rumor of a Pau Gasol trade on Twitter in the afternoon and it had swept the globe by tipoff. Possibly distracted, Gasol had 12 points and 11 boards in the Lakers win, though Andrew Bynum (26 & 10) did the heavy lifting and Kobe Bryant scored 34. Kevin Love was a very late scratch with a sore back, but the return of Nikola Pekovic (25 & 13) and a great effort by rookie Derrick Williams (22
Traditionally, Kobe Bryant has enjoyed playing against Minnesota: he has yet to lose to them in 17 tries in the span of five years, the longest active winning streak by one team against another. That streak could come to an end if the Lakers (23-16) continue to drop winnable games away from home. They look to avoid a fourth straight loss on the road visiting the surging Minnesota Timberwolves (21-19) in Friday night’s best game. The Lakers are a force to be
It’s amazing how much of a difference one season can make. At this time last year, the Los Angeles Clippers and Minnesota Timberwolves were the laughingstocks of the Western Conference. Now, the Clippers are contenders and the Timberwolves are fighting for a playoff berth. Coming off their All-Star appearances, Kevin Love and Blake Griffin – the two best power forwards in the game – go head to head for the second time this season as the Timberwolves (17-17) visits the Clippers
It’s my pleasure to be joining Team Sheridan with a daily look at fantasy hoops. The proud owner of Jeremy Lin and Nikola Pekovic in a competitive 20-team league, my specialty is picking up free agents before they get good. Statistics are useful, of course, but they are available to everyone. Other tidbits of information (injuries and rotation shuffles) can be even more valuable in making your roster decisions. The advice dispensed here is rarely going to concern superstars, or consistent
Five games in seven nights. Five wins. 26.8 points, 4.2 rebounds, 8.0 assists, and 2 steals per game. Most points for any player in his first four starts since the ABA/NBA merger, surpassing Allen Iverson. Thus ended one of the most improbably historical weeks the NBA has ever witnessed. And to cap it, Jeremy Lin, for the win. In a much anticipated matchup between two of the most up-and-coming point guards in the league, Lin ended his Cinderella week by holding off Ricky
The Thunder have found a knack for finishing off close games, as true championship contenders do, thanks to MVP candidate Kevin Durant. (Have you voted yet in that MVP poll to your right?) After winning a closely contested and controversial game one night earlier against the Trail Blazers, Durant scored 33 points for the second consecutive night and hit the game-winning bank shot with 14 seconds left against the Golden State Warriors in a wild game. Russell Westbrook also had a