Tony Parker was back on the court yesterday for the first time since he sprained his ankle last month and gave every Spurs fan Manu Ginobili flashbacks. In a European Championships (EuroBasket) qualifier, TP made a five-minute cameo in France’s win over Finland, scoring three points … The issue of NBA players getting hurt or worn down in the offseason during international tournaments is one that comes up every summer — although you rarely ever hear Americans questioning a Team USA guy for suiting up — and most recently surfaced when China’s sports officials blamed the Rockets for Yao Ming‘s injury. Read More »
You know if Ben Wallace was from, say, Antigua instead of Alabama, people would start questioning whether he’s been pulling a Miguel Tejada on us — that he’s really 3-4 years older than what he’s listed. (He’s officially 35.) It was only a couple years ago that Big Ben was still a force: getting his double-digit boards and two blocks a night on auto-pilot, staying deep in the Defensive Player of the Year discussion, and pulling down superstar-level money in the process. Seemingly overnight, things done changed: Wallace has only been as attractive as his expiring contract, he was barely a factor in the latter part of his tenure with the Bulls and his entire run in Cleveland, and now he’s settling for minimum-level money. What happened? Big Ben is headed back to Detroit now, agreeing to a one-year, $1.3M deal with the Pistons yesterday … Read More »
Nobody was more disappointed in Jerryd Bayless‘ NBA rookie campaign than Bayless himself. After destroying the ’08 Vegas Summer League (29.8 ppg), Bayless went into the regular season as a darkhorse Rookie of the Year (or at least All-Rookie Team) pick, but soon found himself sitting behind Portland starters Brandon Roy and Steve Blake, and fighting for backcourt minutes with Rudy Fernandez and Sergio Rodriguez. While Bayless had some standout moments — like scoring 23 points in a Jan. 15 game at New Jersey, and dropping 19 on the Hornets on Feb. 2 — for the most part, the 6-3 combo guard’s first go-round in the League (4.3 ppg, 12 mpg) was pretty forgettable. Read More »
Now that Brandon Roy has gotten paid, the expectations on him and his Blazer teammates have never been higher. By signing that extension, the Blazers are entrusting him with their future – they fully expect him to be one of the NBA’s truly elite guards.
Check out the web-exclusive extended version of skate legend Paul Rodriguez‘s new commercial from Nike SB. Inspired by Ice Cube’s 1993 hip-hop classic “It Was A Good Day,” the spot shows Paul’s version of what a perfect, sun-drenched day on the board would look like in LA.
This is amazing. Watch Fog Raw (Mo Williams), Velvet Hoop (Kevin Durant), Chief Blocka (Andre Iguodala) and Ice-O (Rashard Lewis) – also known as the Hyperizers – show some style as they debut their new single.
Even the worst team in the NBA is one monster season by one player away from getting back in the playoff race. And it doesn’t always have to be a superstar putting in an MVP-caliber effort, either. Earlier this week (Part 1 and Part 2) I looked at some ’09 Lottery teams and pinpointed one player who can get them back into postseason contention in 2010. Here are the remaining five guys in need of a big year…Read More »
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