New Year’s Day brought the latest round of All-Star balloting returns, and it’s a safe bet that the five leading vote-getters in each conference will remain there. Stephen Curry and Kobe Bryant lead the West backcourt, with James Harden trailing Kobe by about 180,000 votes. In the West frontcourt, Anthony Davis is a shoo-in, with Blake Griffin and Marc Gasol second and third, and Tim Duncan trailing Gasol by 55,000 votes. In the East, John Wall and Dwyane Wade are No. 1
Whether you are in the schoolyard or the prison yard, the theory remains the same: If you’re the new guy and want to prove your toughness, go pick a fight with the biggest guy in the yard. That’s what Boston Celtics rookie Marcus Smart did in Wednesday’s home win over the Sacramento Kings. In the fourth quarter with the Celtics pulling away, the 6-4, 220-pound Smart ran directly into the chest of the 6-11, 270-pound DeMarcus Cousins, who was trying to set
Now that Josh Smith is gone, what does the long-term future hold for Greg Monroe? A rival executive believes he will end up with the New York Knicks. “I could see $48 million for four years. I don’t think he’s a max (contract) guy, but he is pretty good. He might get more based on who is left on the board. I could see New York overpaying him,” the executive told SheridanHoops. Monroe has a trade veto after signing his qualifying offer
While many GMs were working the phones this week, Knicks president Phil Jackson was using a different, more contemporary form of communication: Twitter. On Thursday, Donnie Nelson and Danny Ainge swung a five-player trade that sent Rajon Rondo to Dallas and draft picks to Boston. On Friday, Daryl Morey, Flip Saunders and Sam Hinkie worked a three-team deal that landed Corey Brewer and Alexey Shved in Houston and draft picks in Minnesota and Philadelphia. But not Jackson, and not the Knicks. Jackson doesn’t
Rajon Rondo made his debut count with the Dallas Mavericks on Saturday night against the San Antonio Spurs. The Mavs new point guard scored six points on 3-of-11 shooting and dished out nine assists, adding seven rebounds in a 99-93 victory. It seems like a typical Rondo night. He didn’t score until the third quarter, was well below 40% from the floor, but made all the plays we’ve seen him make in Boston the past eight plus years. [Read more…]
I know, I know. The photo of the day is not Rajon Rondo packing his bags and heading to Dallas to join in his new teammates. Nor is it Rondo in a Mavericks uniform. Yes, it’s a huge deal and shakes the entire Western Conference on it’s damn head, but that’s news that Chris Sheridan and our other writers have, and are going to tackle. The reason why you ask, though? Because Carlos Boozer took a photo today that, in my
I am going to tell you a couple of stories about the players that changed teams in today’s Rajon Rondo trade, but allow me to get right to the heart of matters first: Rondo is one of those rare players, a la Jason Kidd, who can totally dominate a game without taking a shot or scoring a point. If you don’t think the Dallas Mavericks just became instant championship contenders, I respectfully disagree with you. This move puts them over the top.
After going on an eight-game tear through the early parts of December, it looked as though the Cleveland Cavaliers were finally starting to figure things out. LeBron James took on more of a point forward’s role, Kyrie Irving became the go-to scorer, and Kevin Love was seemingly the third option on most nights. But just as things began to look much better, the tides have turned again recently, with the Cavaliers losing three of their last four contests, including Wednesday’s 127-98