When the Magic really put the hurt on another team – as they did to the Heat on Sunday – they do so by working their way from the outside-in.

So what happens when their outside shots aren’t falling?

In general, Orlando is incapable of setting a physical tone on the block, dominating a game in the paint in order to open up things for their shooters. Read More »

I suppose I could use this space to gloat. Again. After my last “Why don’t people realize how good Tony Parker is?” column was met with the same “But he’s got Duncan and Ginobili on his team!” argument, TP proved the critics wrong again, dropping 37 and 12 on the Mavs last night while Duncan and Manu were out with injuries.

But I’m not here to brag. Instead, I want to focus on something Cousin Ahmad said during NBA TV’s “NBA Gametime” following Parker’s performance: “Tony Parker gets to the basket better than anybody playing basketball today.” Read More »

Jrue Holiday

Unlike last year, this year’s crop of highly touted freshman hasn’t proven that they’re NBA-ready material. However, that doesn’t look like it’s going to stop a lot of them from declaring for the draft come June.

At the beginning of the college season, a bunch of us were itching for one of these rooks to separate themselves from the pack. Greg Monroe‘s first three games of Big East play made him look like a sure-fire lottery pick, as he tallied 17.3 points and 7 boards per game against UConn, Pitt and Notre Dame. But since then he’s cooled off as quickly as his disappointing Georgetown team.
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Once you get past Nebraska’s thrilling display of ball movement and patience, the actual highlight is Texas A&M’s Dash Harris unceremoniously crowning some poor ‘Husker. And this wasn’t even the best part of the game: A&M’s Josh Carter later drained a three at the buzzer to give the Aggies their all-important 20th win of the season, possibly their Golden Ticket into the NCAA Tournament.

Just the other day we were talking about Jeff Green‘s rookie experience, when he was routinely left on his own to get the service from the likes of Kobe Bryant and Joe Johnson and other charter members of Buckets Phi Buckets. Hopefully, Jeff had some encouraging words last night for OKC teammate Kyle Weaver, who got lit up by Kobe (36 pts) in the decisive stretch of Lakers/Thunder, which had to give Green a flashback. Oklahoma City had pulled to within one point early in the fourth quarter with Kobe on the bench, but after Kobe checked back in, Scott Brooks decided to use valuable minutes of a winnable game to get Weaver some first-hand experience against the biggest of the big dogs. But in hindsight, this was neither the time nor the place. Kobe took charge as L.A. scored on eight straight possessions, busting Weaver up in between finding teammates who were left open as the other OKC defenders got caught Kobe-watching. One time Kobe had the rookie Weaver posted up, got him in the air with a series of fakes, and after Weaver predictably landed on Kobe’s back, he tossed in a fadeaway, plus-one. Brooks eventually took Weaver out and stuck Thabo Sefalosha on Kobe to try and stop the bleeding, but it was too late … Read More »

Minutes ago, the Knicks issued a press statement on behalf of the team and Stephon Marbury, announcing that the two sides have agreed on a contract buyout and Steph will be placed on waivers. The move clears the way for Steph to sign with another team, and all sources indicate he’s headed to the Celtics. The deadline to sign with a team and still be playoff-eligible is Sunday. (Remember Sam Cassell got in just under the deadline last year.)

Reports are that Marbury — who hasn’t played since Jan. 11, 2008 — will forfeit about $2 million from his $20.8M salary. The C’s still need a backup who’s a real point guard (Eddie House doesn’t count), and there isn’t a better talent on the market than Marbury. The Mavs and Heat are also said to be interested.

Is this a good move for Boston?

Watching the Hawks right now, there are a couple of things that are supremely frustrating.

First, I still can’t see how anyone thought it was a good idea to take Marvin Williams ahead of Chris Paul or Deron Williams. What was Marvin’s ceiling out of UNC? Shawn Marion? He was an athletic three with physical tools, but the Hawks management got swept up in the hype surrounding that National Championship run, no doubt.

But that’s just the tip of the iceberg in Atlanta right now. There’s a much bigger issue, though it might seem inconsequential. Switching screens. Read More »

After leaving the Zipway meeting with John Starks, we walked a couple blocks down to 34th Street (Home of Madison Square Garden)to hop on the train. For all you non New Yorkers, 34th street is a huge foot traffic hub because you can take trains from Penn Station (34th’s other name) all the way to Philadelphia, New Jersey Boston and Connecticut. Read More »

Many times you hear about former athletes getting involved in apparel and footwear lines and the results are just dreadful. I mean…does anyone remember DaDa Supreme with the spinning Sprewell rims on them?!? But sometimes players get it right and drop a line that really is a good look. Read More »