Dwight Howard just wants to win, according to him. It remains to be seen if he stays in Orlando, but games like the Magic’s previous outing won’t be very convincing for the best center in the NBA. With the trade deadline approaching, Howard and the Magic suffered their worst loss of the season when they allowed Charlotte — the worst team in the league — to turn a 20-point deficit into a 100-84 win. The Magic (25-15) now have the daunting task
Who was that masked man? Did you mean the one in San Antonio, or the one in Los Angeles? Original masked man (aside from the “real” original, the Lone Ranger) Richard Hamilton made his long-awaited return to the starting lineup for the Chicago Bulls as they pulled off one of their most impressive road wins of the season, defeating the Spurs 96-89 in San Antonio. And Kobe Bryant slipped on a mask over his broken nose in Los Angeles and dropped 31 points
With fantasy leagues on hold during the all-star break, here’s a quick trip through the rumor mill. There’s interest from multiple teams in Jose Calderon and Leandro Barbosa. The Lakers may have already signed Rasheed Wallace, covet Michael Beasley and have been linked to Raymond Felton. Non-stop speculation about Dwight Howard will continue. A few fantasy VIP — very important players — are expected to return soon: Joe Johnson, Zach Randolph, Danilo Gallinari, Elton Brand and Manu Ginobili. Other useful
Rajon Rondo has been scoring in bunches lately, and that’s not a good thing for the Boston Celtics, who visit the Chicago Bulls in Thursday’s best NBA game. Rondo is averaging 15.2 points, 9.6 assists and 4.9 rebounds – excellent all-around numbers and what we’ve come to expect from the former All-Star point guard. But Rondo’s play hasn’t been the key to Boston’s success this season. The Celtics are just 15-13 overall and 6-2 without Rondo, although it should be stated that
Detractors of the Philadelphia 76ers point to their easy schedule thus far. On Wednesday night, they have an ideal opportunity to prove those folks wrong. The Chicago Bulls visit Philadelphia in Wednesday’s best NBA game and should be one of the toughest tests the 76ers have faced thus far. Philadelphia (15-6) is just 3-4 against teams with winning records, and one of those wins came Monday night vs. floundering Orlando. The 76ers have lost to Portland, Utah, Denver and Miami. The Sixers have
Critics of LeBron James often point to his late-game disappearances in the postseason. When the Chicago Bulls visit the Miami Heat in the NBA’s best game Sunday afternoon, they will have no recollection of any of those instances. That’s because in last year’s Eastern Conference finals, James was spectacular down the stretch in all four of Miami’s wins. In Game 2, James scored nine points in the final 4 1/2 minutes to take home-court advantage from the Bulls. In an 85-75 victory
Injuries may have finally caught up with the Chicago Bulls. But no one has caught up with them in the Eastern Conference. Late in Wednesday’s loss to Indiana – Chicago’s first at home this season – Derrick Rose turned on the afterburners, sped to the basket and whipped a bullet pass to the weakside corner for a potential go-ahead 3-pointer by his small forward. However, standing in the corner was not Luol Deng, who is out with a wrist injury. In his
Highlight Performance: Shawn Marion, DAL– With Dirk out, Marion stepped up in a big way Monday Night, posting 29 points, 4 rebounds, and even hit 4-6 shots from long range (Not to mention he has THE weirdest shot I personally have ever seen). After scoring 22 a few nights ago and scoring 14 along
Although his shot is unorthodox, Marion is still producing on a nightly basis.