NEWS The 1977-78 NBA scoring race was so close — San Antonio’s George Gervin (27.21 ppg) edged Denver’s David Thompson (27.15 ppg) — that if you turn to the Official NBA Guide for the points leaders for that season, you’ll discover Gervin’s and Thompson’s averages extend two decimal points rather the traditional one, necessitated by the fact that the league’s closest scoring race ever was determined by a miniscule .06 ppg. That contest has entered the realm of the legendary based
Memphis is famous for barbeque, Beale Street and Blue Suede Shoes. Each of those has helped produce some of the finer institutions in the city including brisket, bourbon and, when the King was around, Burnin’ Love. If there is one area where Memphis has failed to captivate the masses, however, it is basketball – at least the professional variety. Yes, it’s true that a fanatical group of perhaps 150 natives – give or take a few (very few) – remember those glorious
Usually, the winners make the headlines. In today’s roundup, however, the losers were the story of Saturday night as a handful of teams fighting to make the playoffs came up short. With three different teams — Milwaukee, Utah and Phoenix — still within reach of the eighth and final playoff seed in their respective Conferences, how many of them came out with a victory? None. Starting with the most inexplicable blowout of the night – the only game on national television – the Spurs
The banged-up Utah Jazz and Memphis Grizzlies will both try and rebound from costly losses as the playoffs draw near in Saturday’s best game. After upsetting the Spurs as the eighth seed in last year’s playoffs, Memphis (34-24) lost to San Antonio for the fourth time this season on Thursday, 107-97. Forward Rudy Gay said the team remains confident, “I still feel like we can match up with them or anybody.” They’ll have to prove it by not letting the Jazz sweep them
April is supposed to be the time of the NBA season when the best teams gear up for the playoffs and head into it playing their absolute best basketball. The Heat must have missed that memo. And the Bulls’ starters, too. With the NBA regular season slowly but surely winding down, two of the top teams in the Eastern Conference are heading into the postseason with plenty of uncertainty and several important questions to still resolve. For the Chicago Bulls, the team with
As the truncated season winds down, teams are jockeying for playoff positioning and home-court advantage. One of those teams should be the San Antonio Spurs. But coach Gregg Popovich is playing a different game. Popovich, the silver-haired, long-tenured guru who is among the frontrunners for Coach of the Year Award, decided to sit out three of his top three players – Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili – for the second time this season. The result was the same as the last time
Since their previous meeting on March 24, when Vinny Del Negro’s job was in the balance, the Memphis Grizzlies and Los Angeles Clippers have lost a combined three games. Needless to say, they have been two of the hottest teams in the Western Conference. They collide again for the third and the final time this season as Chris Paul and the Clippers visit Rudy Gay and the Grizzlies in Monday’s best game. The Clippers (34-22) hosted and won the first two meetings between
When the shortened season started and the Philadelphia 76ers came out blazing with a 20-9 record to lead the Atlantic Division, there was little doubt in anyone’s mind about the new direction Doug Collins and the team was headed. They had experienced a tough playoff run against the Miami Heat the previous season, and had looked to grow from the experience. It was, however, noted that they also had one of the easiest schedules to start the season. Looking back, they played the