If Mike D’Antoni’s New York Knicks do not defeat the winless Washington Wizards tonight … Well, as Moke Hamilton pointed out in his Friday column about the Knicks, there is no telling what Jim Dolan might do. But there certainly is a growing vulture culture surrounding the fourth-best team in the Eastern Conference’s worst division following the Knicks’ brutal home loses to the Raptors and Bobcats, and D’Antoni does not enjoy the comfort level he once had when Donnie Walsh was the
Guest column: Rubio big again in Spain
By Noelia Roman Lamas BARCELONA — Americans are not the only ones discovering Ricky Rubio. In Spain, he is being re-discovered. Two weeks ago, the Spanish media scarcely mentioned Ricky’s situation when reporting about the end of the NBA lockout and the buildup to the upcoming season. They talked about Pau and Marc Gasol’s futures, Rudy Fernandez getting traded, Serge Ibaka (a member of the Spanish national team) playing for a legitimate championship contender, even Jose Calderon’s prospects with the lowly Toronto Raptors. Ricky was forgotten,
Tonight’s best game: San Antonio at Minnesota
Monday’s 10-game slate includes the NBA’s only unbeatens facing tests as Miami hosts Atlanta and Oklahoma City travels to Dallas. Elsewhere, the New York Knicks return home to face Toronto and the Orlando Magic take their four-game winning streak to Detroit. But the most intriguing game undoubtedly is at the Target Center, where the Minnesota Timberwolves host the San Antonio Spurs and perhaps giving Ricky Rubio his long-awaited duel vs. Tony Parker. I will be the first to admit that I have
More on Rubio, Cousins
Ricky Rubio impresses, DeMarcus Cousins gets banished, and the Heat and Thunder stay undefeated. CineSport’s Brian Clark and Chris Sheridan of SheridanHoops.com discuss these story lines. //
Mitnick: NBA “All-Import” Team, Euro-rules style
TEL AVIV –In most European countries, there are separate post-season awards for local players and import players. The NBA justly classifies all of its players into one category, as passports are a non-factor when post-season awards are up for discussion. While the approach taken by the NBA is certainly the right one, as the absolute acceptance of foreign players into the NBA has made a big impact on the league in the last two decades, and fans are always looking for
Exhibition game exhibitions and exhibits
They chanted “O-le, Ole Ole Ole” for Ricky Rubio in Minneapolis, and an M-V-P” chant was bestowed on — of all people — Renaldo Balkman of the Knicks at the Prudential Center in Newark. There was real basketball played Friday and Saturday around the NBA as the truncated preseason began, so let’s take a quick look at who was turning heads: SATURDAY: Knicks 92, Nets 83 With the off-the-court focus on whether Baron Davis will join the Knicks (or the Lakers, or the Heat)
Gibson column: Euroleague Preview
By Nick Gibson of EuroleagueAdventures.com Kevin Durant doesn’t seem too keen on spending his lockout overseas. Dwight Howard says he has a soft spot for China, but that’s what Dwight Howard does: says things. And though self-proclaimed Europhile Kobe Bryant has entertained overtures from Italian and Turkish squads (Chinese, too), not even the Black Mamba has inked a deal that would keep him busy while the NBA plays its games in conference rooms instead of on basketball courts. So no, we haven’t seen
Eurobasket: Navarro’s “masterpiece” puts Spain into 2012 Olympics
By Chris Sheridan KAUNAS, Lithuania — “He was like a maestro today. He was like a picture in the Louvre or something like that — just beautiful. Juan Carlos, you’ve got to recognize, is one of the artists of European basketball.” It was a DaVinci of a quote that Spanish coach Sergio Scariolo delivered Friday, about as eloquent of an assessment a man could deliver after what he witnessed from his own personal Michelangelo. Juan Carlos Navarro scored 19 points in the third quarter to single-handedly break