The runaway NBA leader in 20-20 games is Dwight Howard. The runaway leader in triple-doubles is Rajon Rondo. And since the All-Star Game, they have been the runaway leaders in trade rumors. But while Howard’s name will remain at the head of the list, Rondo took a huge step Sunday toward taking his name out of sourced stories. Last week, Rondo reportedly was headed to Golden State for Stephen Curry before Celtics president Danny Ainge said it was highly unlikely his All-Star
Anybody want the Atlantic Division? The Nets don’t want it. They would much rather have Dwight Howard, who paid a visit to “The Rock” on Wednesday night and got the full recruiting pitch. In Orlando’s 108-91 road victory over New Jersey, Howard provided a complete showcase with 20 points, 17 rebounds and two blocks. He also made just 2-of-10 free throws and dropped below 50 percent (184-of-373) for the season. Nets fans couldn’t care less about the incessant clanging. They cheered Howard, chanted
There aren’t many fringe benefits that come with a 66-game schedule, but one cool quirk is that All-Star Weekend is splitting the season almost exactly in half. When the Lakers and Thunder wrap things up late Thursday night, all but six teams will have played half their games as the league takes a four-day break in Orlando, where the forecast is less than ideal. Speaking of less than ideal forecasts, below are our midseason award winners, delivered with the complete understanding that “they
There is a school of thought that after a slow start, the defending champion Dallas Mavericks are starting to figure things out. There also is a school of thought that after a quick start, the Philadelphia 76ers are coming back to the pack. Both of those notions will be tested when the Mavericks visit the 76ers in Friday’s best NBA game. The Mavericks (19-11) have matched a season high with five straight wins, and there’s not a bad one in the bunch.
Wednesday’s best NBA game has the first-place Philadelphia 76ers figuring out a way to defend Dwight Howard as they visit the Orlando Magic. Howard seems due for a big game, having managed 11 points and 14 rebounds at Milwaukee on Saturday and 11 points and seven rebounds as he was limited by fouls vs. Minnesota on Monday. Despite the drop in production from Howard, the Magic (18-11) won both games. His presence in the post allowed Orlando to make 27-of-67 3-pointers in
On Friday afternoon, I got an email from the NBA Store shamelessly plugging a Jeremy Lin jersey. Jeremy Lin certainly has made the most of his opportunity, and you can’t blame the NBA for trying to make the most of Jeremy Lin. But the cynic in me viewed the shameless monetization of a week-long fad as some sort of hex that surely would knock the Knicks neophyte off his cloud and bring him hurtling back to reality. Wrong again. Lin had his best
It is very rare to see the Miami Heat lose. It is even more rare to hear Rich DeVos speak. Both happened last night in Orlando, where the Dwight Howard trade situation again took center stage in what has been a circus of a season for the Magic. In a nutshell, DeVos doesn’t want to trade Howard, and the Orlando owner revealed that he has told Howard the grass is not always greener on the other side — although he did not rule
Points will be at a premium in Wednesday’s best NBA game when the Philadelphia 76ers host the San Antonio Spurs, who are in the midst of club record-tying nine-game road trip. Philadelphia’s top-ranked defense is allowing just 86.6 points a game. The 76ers have won six of their past seven games, beating contenders Orlando, Chicago, Atlanta and most recently, the Los Angeles Lakers. The Sixers (18-7) are even better at holding onto the ball. With four turnovers against LA and only 42