Would anybody outside of Chicago and Toronto protest too much if we just scratched the 8th seed in the East? It’s not like we want to give LeBron a bye into the second round; it’s just that the Bulls and Raptors are playing like they don’t deserve a playoff spot. Tied in the standings going into Friday, they both blew golden opportunities to get a step ahead of the competition … Absolutely no excuse for Chicago losing to the Nets. Terrence Williams hasn’t played in a meaningful basketball game since he had “Louisville” across his chest, yet he was the best player on the court against a Bulls squad that has everything on the line. Read More »

When Cincinnati freshman Lance Stephenson said he was entering the 2010 NBA Draft earlier this week, the popular response was “Too early.” For a player who has been hyped since the 8th grade as the Next Big Thing coming out of New York City — more specifically, from the same Lincoln H.S. in Brooklyn that produced Stephon Marbury and Sebastian Telfair — the “bust” monitors of cynics have been on red-alert for years, and this didn’t change things. Read More »

If the rules had allowed, Derrick Favors would already be in the NBA. I first met the 6-10 teenager when he was a sophomore at South Atlanta (Ga.) High School, and I knew even then that he was a future pro whose sights were locked in on the NBA and getting there as soon as possible. The kid who grew up in the same AAU program as Dwight Howard, who was seemingly being groomed to be the next Dwight, would have gone pro straight from high school like Dwight if he could have. Read More »

In what has been a banner season for the NBA’s D-League — with a record 23 players getting called up to the bigs — no one has been more of a success story than Reggie Williams.

The Virginia Military Institute alum was dropping 26 points a night for the Sioux Falls Skyforce when he was brought up by the Golden State Warriors in early-March, and has stuck with the team ever since, averaging 14.9 points per game and cracking the starting lineup. Read More »

Remember when Sean Elliott wasn’t a full-time complainer? Remember Matt Fish? (Neither do we.) Remember that one time Shawn Bradley got crammed on? Plus appearances by Penny Hardaway, Scottie Pippen, Shawn Kemp and Eddie Jones…

This morning we were on Sneakerfiles.com, one of our favorite sneaker sites, and caught these David West Nike Air Max Rise Player Exclusives. Besides looking great, the Sneakerfiles experts point out that “West’s ‘Home’ PE features a white leather upper accented by a purple outsole, white to aqua midsole, purple swoosh, aqua stitching, purple inner lining, and aqua laces.”

More pics/angles after the jump. Read More »

Beast of the Night: Mo Williams did his best to fill in for LeBron James and finished with 35 points, 6 threes, 3 rebounds, 10 assists and 4 turnovers. He shot 50 percent (12-24) from the field and 100 percent (5-5) from the line. After struggling with inconsistency in March, Williams has had a decent April so far but could sit out a game or two before the season’s done. Noteworthy Lines: Antawn Jamison – 10-19 FG (53%), 3-3 FT (100%), 23 Pts, 6 Reb, 3 Stl, 2 TO; He’s improved his scoring in each of his four games this month but his bum shoulder and new injury (see below) will likely grant him a DNP or two before the season is over. Read More »

As much as we talk about Dwight Howard, have you thought about how much of a beast Joakim Noah would be if he developed an offensive game? With the Bulls battling for a playoff spot and getting a gift on Thursday with LeBron James (rest) sitting out their game as a late scratch, Noah helped them pull into a tie with Toronto thanks to those intangibles he’s known for; namely effort, energy and being in the right place to make the right play at the right time … Twice in the final two minutes, Noah (17 pts, 15 rebs, 4 blks) gave Chicago the lead: once with one of his ugly mid-range jumpers, and again with a tip-in. Read More »

Even though LeBron James and Dwyane Wade have hinted that they’re going to pass on playing for Team USA this summer at the World Championships in Turkey, The Mamba says he’s in … as long as he’s still in one piece once the season ends.

Yahoo! Sports’ Marc Spears quoted Kobe on his playing status for this summer and Kobe’s take on ‘Bron and Wade sitting out. From Marc’s piece: Read More »

Now that we know what’s up with Kentucky’s pro prospects, expect the 2010 high school recruiting class to come into focus. With the announcement that five Wildcats — freshmen John Wall, DeMarcus Cousins, Daniel Orton and Eric Bledsoe, plus junior Patrick Patterson — have declared for this year’s NBA Draft, high-profile undecided high schoolers like Brandon Knight, C.J. Leslie, Josh Selby and others now know what they’re going into should they sign with Kentucky. The rest of the undecided chips will fall accordingly. Read More »