Many people were surprised by Anthony Bennett’s first career double-double on Tuesday. Bennett’s struggles as the top overall pick in the draft have been well-documented. So when he broke out for 19 points and 10 rebounds in Cleveland’s home win over Sacramento, there was somewhat of a collective gasp across the NBA. Yes, Bennett established season highs in both points and rebounds in the same game. And yes, it appeared to come out of nowhere. But the truth is that Bennett has
Another lottery pick has lost his starting spot. First it was Orlando Magic guard Victor Oladipo, who began the season as a starter and has shifted back and forth from the bench to the starting lineup as teammates have become healthy or injured. To Oladipo’s credit, it has not had a serious impact on his performance. Then it was Sacramento Kings guard Ben McLemore, who began the season as a reserve, was elevated to starter as coach Mike Malone became disenchanted with
It has taken a generation, but the NBA has finally figured out the format for the All-Star Rookie Game. Now known as the Rising Stars Challenge, the league’s midseason showcase for young players didn’t always look this way. And it wasn’t always a good game, either. When the game debuted in 1994, it featured only rookies playing against each other. The teams were called the Phenoms and the Sensations. The following year, the teams were simply called White and Green. Now there’s
The 1997-98 Houston Rockets were a fun bunch. Since winning consecutive championships behind Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler, the Rockets had added a number of veterans to challenge the dynastic Chicago Bulls. The roster included Charles Barkley, Kevin Willis and Eddie Johnson, all thirtysomethings who been around the block a couple of times. In late February, the Rockets arrived in New York for a Sunday matinee against the Knicks. Despite sputtering near .500, they were in high spirits – probably a carryover
Martin Luther King Day is more than a day of celebration and reflection for the NBA, which probably has done more positive things for race relations than any other sport in the Civil Rights Era. It also has become the unofficial midway point of the season. By the completion of Monday’s action, more than half of the league’s 30 teams will have played half their games. With that in mind, we present our midseason awards with this reminder from the bookie of hopeless
Last season, the Portland Trail Blazers had one of the worst benches in the NBA. Portland’s reserves were last in minutes (13.3), points (18.5), rebounds (10.5), offensive efficiency (21.1) and defenseive efficiency (minus 17.7). It was a big reason they had three players in the top nine in minutes per game, including rookie Damian Lillard, who led the entire NBA in minutes played. It also was a big reason why those players burned out and Portland lost its last 11 games
When Pero Antic arrived at training camp for the Atlanta Hawks, he was their fourth-string center. The 31-year-old rookie from Macedonia was behind former All-Star Al Horford, veteran Elton Brand and journeyman Gustavo Ayon in the pecking order. Even on the NBA’s smallest team, the 6-11 Antic didn’t figure to play much. And he didn’t. Even with Ayon sidelined by a shoulder injury suffered early in camp, Antic had 11 DNPs in the first 22 games as new coach Mike Budenholzer relied
It was kind of hard to figure out what the Milwaukee Bucks were doing this offseason. Allowing their entire backcourt rotation of Monta Ellis, Brandon Jennings and J.J. Redick to leave via free agency seemed to indicate a rebuilding project was about to begin. Jennings and Redick brought youngsters and draft picks in sign-and-trades, reinforcing that premise. Then GM John Hammond used his newfound cap space on middle-tier free agents O.J. Mayo, Zaza Pachulia and Carlos Delfino before dropping a big contract