Carmelo Anthony is finding out that, strangely, brand reinvention may be harder than brand invention in the first place. The critics seem to have finally caught up with ‘Melo this season. Why else would Knicks team coming off a 54-win season be getting no respect? [Read more…]
It’s exactly 10 days into this NBA regular season, it feels like 10 weeks for those who cover the league on a regular basis, and a whole hell of a lot has already happened. Few things have gone as expected, of course the undefeated start for the Pacers is an exception, and surprises abound across the league. Here are 10 that immediately came to mind, including a pair of dazzling young point guards, one major market team in big trouble and
We’ve heard plenty about the issues Dwight Howard had with Kobe Bryant over the summer, and why he wasn’t happy playing with the demanding superstar. With the center back in town to face the Los Angeles Lakers – he already heard plenty of boos while playing in Staples Center against the Los Angeles Clippers this past Monday – perhaps it’s finally time to close this chapter of his story for good, for both himself and everyone else around the league. STORY
When it comes to a discussion involving the Defensive Player of the Year award, no one gets more excited than Indiana Pacers center Roy Hibbert. Many around the league believed that Hibbert was one of the best – if not the best – defensive centers in the league last season. His 2.6 blocks were good for fourth best in the league, but blocking shots was far from the only thing he did as the defensive anchor of the team. His ability
Five days into the 2013-14 NBA regular season, two players continue to dominate to the point that the record books have taken notice. Surprisingly, it’s not LeBron James and Kevin Durant, or even Carmelo Anthony and Dwight Howard, for that matter. It’s Anthony Davis and Michael Carter-Williams. Davis, a second-year power forward for the New Orleans Pelicans, has been dominating on both ends of the floor. Carter-Williams, a rookie point guard for the Philadelphia 76ers, has been doing the same, but in
The deadline for teams to sign players from the draft class of 2010 to extensions came and went at the stroke of midnight ET on Nov. 1. Those who did not get extensions will be unrestricted free agents this summer. Six players received extensions, with three of them getting done during the offseason. Two more were completed during training camp and the last one was executed Thursday in Memphis, just hours before the deadline. Meanwhile, three other rumored extensions did not get
The Indiana Pacers have the best record in the NBA, 2-0, after defeating the New Orleans Pelicans and the Orlando Magic. So my suggested plan is working perfectly for them. In our massive season preview package, I picked the Pacers to win the championship but said they MUST have homecourt advantage for a possible Game 7 against Miami. Only way they can do that is by making Miami chase them throughout the season. So far, so good. [Read more…]
As you can see, Memphis Grizzlies small forward Quincy Pondexter had quite a treat waiting for him on Halloween. That’s Pondexter, a member of the 2010 draft class, signing his contract extension, reportedly worth $14 million over four years. Pondexter became the sixth member of the 2010 draft to get an extension, and might be the last. Teams have until midnight ET to lock up players drafted three years ago with long-term contracts, and no one else seems close to a deal. Pondexter