Rod Thorn, the NBA’s dean of discipline, has a tough decision to make. Should Dwight Howard’s elbowing foul against Andrew Bogut from Game 4 of the Western Conference finals be upgraded to a flagrant-2, which would force Howard to miss Game 5. The precedent is there, whether it was Al Horford getting ejected from Game 3 of the Atlanta-Cleveland series or J.R. Smith getting suspended two games for elbowing Jae Crowder of Boston during the first round. Elbows to the head are a
If you’re like me, then you know that the best thing about League Pass is those Wednesday and Friday nights where there are 10 or 12 or 13 games and you can just keep bouncing around to watch the last four minutes of each one. One-possession game, four minutes to go. We all live for that crap, right? Well, this Sunday, NBA is taking those four minutes away. Sort of. Sunday’s preseason game between the Boston Celtics and Brooklyn Nets at Barclays Center
When the Washington Wizards open their season on Oct. 29 at Miami, they will be shorthanded in the frontcourt. Four Wizards – including rotation bigs Nene and DeJuan Blair – were suspended one game Wednesday by the NBA for leaving the bench during Monday’s scrum with the Chicago Bulls in an exhibition game. Also suspended were Xavier Silas and Daniel Orton, although they are long shots to make the team. The Wizards have 13 guaranteed contracts plus Glen Rice Jr., last year’s
The NBA doubled down Thursday on the controversial ending of Game 5 of Clippers-Thunder, fining coach Doc Rivers $25,000 for blasting the officials afterward. The fine was announced by NBA president of basketball operations Rod Thorn and came one day after the league came to defense of the officiating crew, whose replay ruling left most fans baffled by their decision. [Read more…]
Doc Rivers is probably going to get fined by the NBA for saying the Clippers were “robbed” last night in Oklahoma City. That is the kind of comment that crosses the line, no matter how true it might have been. But what about referee Tony Brothers? Is he going to be publicly chastised by the league office for saying replays of the ball that clearly went off of Reggie Jackson’s hand were “inconclusive?” [Read more…]
LeBron James has been all over the internet for the past 24-hours. Thursday night, as he and the Miami Heat hosted the New York Knicks in what became a 26-point home victory, the internet was all abuzz over the carbon-fiber mask he wore to protect his broken nose. The mask drew comparisons to all sorts of popular characters: Zorro, Hannibal Lector and, of course, Batman. The mask garnered so much attention that someone started a Twitter account for it. There were tons
Excuse my venom, but the Adam Silver would be OUT OF HIS MIND if he instituted a new rule establishing a 4-point shot. That is the kind of gimmick the Harlem Globetrotters use to sell tickets, and I’d hate to think of Silver as Abe Saperstein 2.0. Thank goodness the NBA called out ESPN for making up a story “that does not exist.” Rod Thorn seemed to divulge yesterday in an interview with ESPN.com’s Henry Abbott that a 4-point shot is one
NEW YORK — The NBA acknowledged another mistake by its referees Sunday, saying a 3-shot foul should have been called at the end of last night’s Pelicans-Mavericks game. “After reviewing postgame video, we have determined a foul should have been called on Dallas’ Monta Ellis for illegal contact on the arms of New Orleans’ Austin Rivers while Rivers was attempting a three-point field goal. Rivers should have been awarded three free throws with 0.6 left on the clock,” NBA vice president