When Jeremy Lin sat out a playoff-implication game against Milwaukee due to a sore left knee on Monday, the absence was expected. When he sat out again two days later against Orlando, there was cause for concern. As teammates said, Lin is not the type of player to sit out games unless it was something serious. After avoiding the media prior to the game against the Hawks on Friday, it became clear something was amiss. Then suddenly, at least for now, the sensation
All it took was for me to speculate here that something “must be wrong” with Monta Ellis, and he finally had a huge night — 33 points and 8 assists — to lead the Bucks to a much-needed win. Brandon Jennings added 18 and Drew Gooden (16 PTS, 5 REB, 5 AST) was solid. Ekpe Udoh played well in place of Ersan Ilyasova, who sat out with back spasms. For Atlanta, Josh Smith stuffed the scoresheet with 30 PTS, 18
Versatile forward Boris Diaw signed with the San Antonio Spurs on Friday, going from the league’s worst team to one of its best. Diaw was in the final year of his contract when he was bought out by the Charlotte Bobcats on Wednesday. He joins the Spurs, who are second in the Western Conference and appear intent on chasing another championship. Earlier this month, the Bobcats sat down Diaw, 29, for four games as they made a commitment to their younger players.
Dwight Howard posted his 39th double-double, scoring 28 points along with 16 rebounds. The Sixers are now 6-12 since beginning the season with a 20-9 start. The Bulls are now 11-4 without Derrick Rose this season. Josh Smith had 32 points and 17 rebounds tonight. According to ESPN Stats & Information, this is his second 30-15 game of the season, and only Kevin Love has produced 30-15 more than once this season. Nene Hilario had 22 points and 10 rebounds in his Wizards debut. Stephen
If there were rankings for the NBA’s overlooked and underestimated, the San Antonio Spurs would be No. 1. They are the contender people love to forget. That’s not to say they aren’t respected. Four titles since 1999 and the potent management duo of Gregg Popovich and R.C. Buford translates to a substantial bottom line. But the last few years, it seems that when championship aspirants are rated, any mention of the Spurs is followed with “yeah, well … but … they
Deron Williams missed his 4th consecutive game with a strained right calf. According to Elias Sports Bureau, LeBron James leads the Heat in PPG, RPG, and APG. If he does so, it would be the second time in his career he has done so, and only the 5th time it has been done in the past 10 seasons. The Heat are 5-0 this season when leading by 25+ at halftime. Sixers C Spencer Hawes sat out Friday’s game but will play Saturday against
Brandon Jennings had 34 points, 7 rebounds, 7 assists, and 2 blocks in their win over the Nets. The lats player to post such a line was Alvin Robertson on January 16, 1990. Kris Humphries scored a career-high 31 points, as well as pulling down 18 rebounds. His previous career-high is 25 points, and he also had 19 rebounds earlier this year. A team has not scored 73 on the road and won since April 6, 2008. Every point scored by Charlotte
There are a variety of ways to quantify a player’s worth to his team, with a myriad of variables with which to play. One way is by utilizing NBA.com/Stats’ PIE (Player Impact Estimate)*, which measures a player’s overall contribution to his team. Perhaps not surprisingly, the Miami Heat’s LeBron James leads the league in PIE at 23.2 percent, and is the lone player in the league with a PIE above 20 percent. James is on pace to set new career