Beast of the Night: Russell Westbrook put up 29 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals and 4 turnovers while shooting 54 percent (13-24) from the field and 60 percent (3-5) from the line. In leagues that take into account field goal percentage and turnovers, Westbrook’s value is limited, but it’s clear that he’s capable of filling the stat sheet every game he plays. Read More »

For the casual reader that sees the above headline, they wouldn’t be surprised. Not because the Bucks currently sit 13-18 after starting the season 8-3, but because January is the coldest month in Milwaukee (with high temperatures averaging 27°F). Sure, of the 50 largest cities in the United States, the Brew City has the second-coldest average annual temperature (next to that of only Minneapolis), but weather aside, Michael Redd has finally had enough. I hate to say it Bucks fans, but he wants out. Read More »

It was only a matter of time:

One of the better dunks of the season came from the most unlikely source. Last night, 36-year-old forward, Juwan Howard surprised everyone (especially Chris Kaman) with this monster cram during the second quarter in a game against the Clippers last night. Honestly, I don’t remember Juwan dunking that hard, even when he was at Michigan.

Ranking the NBA from worst to first…

30. New Jersey Nets (3-30) Last week: Beat New York, lost to Cleveland. After closing out December by experiencing the thrill of victory for the third time, the Nets have a handful of winnable games coming up this month, including the Wizards, Pacers, Sixers, Bucks and Clippers at home.

29. Minnesota Timberwolves (7-28) Last week: Lost at San Antonio; lost to Utah; lost to Orlando; lost at Indiana. The League’s third-worst three-point shooting team (and 4th-worst in triples made) needs a shooter or two. Anybody know what Chuck Person and Anthony Peeler are up to? Read More »

The recession definitely affected the way teams allocated their resources during last summer’s free agency. And while owners and GMs were certainly more cautious when it came down to splurging their money on players, there were some free agents that walked away with some handsome paydays. Now that we’re nearing the halfway point of the season, I took a look at some of the summer’s biggest signing and determined whether teams got any return on their investments. Read More »

I’d presume every man who grew up with a father figure in his life had a significant chunk of his sports experiences shaped by that father figure. I played football because my Dad played, I wanted to wear #22 because he wore it, and today I still always root for Black coaches and Black quarterbacks thanks to my Dad’s influence.

Another thing I picked up from my Dad: The need for constant variety in sports. Pops hates it when the same teams contend for championships every year. “Mix it up” is one of his favorite phrases, so he likes it when Cincinnati and TCU threaten to crash the BCS bowl party, or the Orlando Magic upset the norm to make the NBA Finals over the boring old Celtics. Read More »

For Chris Paul and Deron Williams to go head-to-head and put up underwhelming numbers isn’t a surprise anymore. For Devin Brown — the rare NBA starter who could also appear on “Who He Play For?” and stump Charles Barkley — to steal the show from both of those guys is definitely a surprise … Brown (30 pts, 5 threes) got it rolling early, scoring 10 of N.O.’s first 18 points, wetting jumpers and getting layups in transition off Utah turnovers. Despite Brown’s hot start, however, the Hornets struggled overall, falling behind by double-digits in a first quarter highlighted by C.J. Miles‘ 360 two-hand dunk. Read More »

Gilbert Arenas met federal prosecutors and local police in Washington, D.C. this afternoon to discuss the hoopla around the guns incident(s) that has dominated news the last week or so. After his meeting Gilbert and his attorney both released statements about the incident and today’s meeting. Not sure if what he said in the meeting or his statement will help him in any way with the law or with David Stern, but it’s something. No matter what, he is almost certainly looking at a serious suspension.

For what it’s worth, here’s what Gil had to say about the whole thing: Read More »

Watch as Jason Kidd, Gary Payton and Damon Stoudamire talk about their likes and dislikes as they wait for some clothes the dry. Classic.