The gambling life ain’t easy, folks — which is where today’s tale begins. But by the time you get to the end of today’s column, hopefully you’ll be amused by my personal adventures and enlightened by my leaguewide analysis. We are at the quarter-pole of the NBA season, and trends have emerged. First, to truly appreciate what it means to gamble on the NBA on a daily basis, you had to experience what it was like to bet on the Philadelphia 76ers
The Golden State Warriors (11-8) were back home at Oracle Arena after a four-game road trip, and appeared to be in for a relatively easy win against the lowly Toronto Raptors (6-11) on Tuesday. Perhaps feeling a bit complacent, they came out flat and watched the Raptors take a surprising 36-19 lead after the first quarter. Stephen Curry had just three points after the first half, and things only got worse in the third quarter when the Warriors’ deficit ballooned to
Just when the Golden State Warriors finally seemed to put away the Oklahoma City Thunder for an impressive 112-110 overtime victory on the road, Russell Westbrook happened. After somehow tapping away a Jermaine O’Neal rebound on Serge Ibaka’s missed shot with about 6.4 seconds remaining in the game, Westbrook saw Thabo Sefolosha jump into the stands to save the ball from going out of bounds and made himself available for the catch. He then went to the 3-point line and launched
Kyle Korver won’t tie Dana Barros’ record for most consecutive games with a 3-pointer. At least not tonight. Korver is one of three members of the Atlanta Hawks who did not make the trip to Houston to play the Rockets on Wednesday night. He remained in Atlanta to receive treatment for a bruised rib. So why are we giving you an injury report on an otherwise ordinary player with a fantastic shooting stroke? Because the last time Korver didn’t make a 3-pointer in a
Stephen Curry suffered a mild concussion on Monday after Marvin Williams inadvertently fell on top of Curry’s head. As a result, the point guard will miss Wednesday’s anticipated matchup against the Memphis Grizzlies, a team the Golden State Warriors haven’t beaten since Nov. 3, 2010. With both Curry and Toney Douglas out, the Warriors may be forced to play Andre Iguodala at the point. Third stringer rookie Nemanja Nedovic may be another option for the team. The absence of Curry means he
The Los Angeles Lakers and fans in general have adjusted to life without Kobe Bryant in the NBA this season. The superstar guard has yet to suit up for his struggling team, as he continues to rehab from the torn Achilles tendon he suffered last season. He did raise some eyebrows last week, telling Rick Fox in an interview that if the playoffs began today, he would play. He further encouraged us all by taking part in the team’s workouts
When a player suffers a devastating injury or has a debilitating condition, one of two things usually happen: he works his way back and comes back stronger than ever, or shows that he is no longer the player he once was. There are different ways of going about such situations. When you look at a guy like Amare Stoudemire, whose troublesome knees seem to require surgery every time he seems ready to get back into the swing of things, he finds
In today’s news, Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry has an ankle injury, while the Milwaukee Bucks center Larry Sanders has been spared from criminal charges, and Dennis Schroeder has been suspended by the NBA. [Read more…]